Finally put a bird on the ground. It has been a long/tough season. It started in mid-April with my stick and string. Didn't see many bearded birds, and the ones I did see where out of range. This farm doesn't seem to have a lot of Toms...but a pile of hens. It was nothing for me to see 8-10 hens everyday and not a single bearded turkey. This late in the season, I would think a lot of hens would be nesting, but I seen 7 hens before seeing the first bearded bird of the day.

Today was the first day I could leave my bow at home and take my shotgun. I couldn't get anything going at flydown, so I relocated to a new area. Still, nothing talking, nothing coming in, so I decided to do some runnin' and gunnin'. I seen about a 100 yards out a hen (imagine that), so I belly crawled closer for a better look. There were three hens and a Jake. A little sweet talkin' later, I got the Jake to leave the hens and come my way....until I dusted him at 30 yards.

Although it was only a Jake, it still feels pretty good. I had to work harder for this Jake than I did for any of my other birds in my short 10 years of turkey hunting. I put in more hours and more miles than any other year. After passing up some Jakes earlier in the year, I thought I better capitalize before the season skunked me and ended my five year streak (knock on wood). Now it is time to get catch up on some sleep.