man what a lesson today....

got to the field where i wait and listen at this spot and one sounded off maybe 100yds in the woods dead straight in. i slipped in 15-20yds from the field edge...hes maybe 50-60yds infront of me gobbling good.

starts breaking light...i give him a soft tree yelp...he keeps gobbling and starts gobbling harder..

its about fly down time...i give him a flydown cackle and flydown with my hat...he lost it and cut me off and got REAL fired up...kept gobbling and a couple minutes later i seen and heard him pitch down...50yards infront of me just outta sight.

a couple minutes pass and no bird...no gobbles...crows crowing and no gobbles..hmmm? busted? henned up already!?

i decide to get real aggressive figuring he was henned up...hoping to fire up the hen(s) i cut hard and rolled it into a hard series of yelps on the glass call...he came unglued. he cut me off twice and double gobbled after the yelps. gun up and ready...

10-15 minutes no bird...no gobbles...give him some clucks and yelps...he cut me off and gobbled once when i was done...~50yds dead right. i repostition and get ready...he hears me and gobbles..

15 minutes and hes ~50yds behind me in the field gobbling...hmmm sneaking in behind me? i give him some soft yelps..he gobbles...i got good cover so i stand up behind a cherry and peak out...grass is waist high..i couldnt see him...he gobbled a couple more times...he went 100yds up the hill and left around the knoll...never to be heard again...

i move back 30yds and cut and yelp trying to fire him up...nothing.

10 minutes later i spot a turkey body slip behind a cherry tree less than 20yds infront of me..here he comes!! gun up...bird pops out...HEN!!!!! big hen. she clucked and milled around looking for me for about 5 minutes...no gobbler...no gobbles.

ive never had a bird respond like that and not show himself. im still scratching my head. i was honestly doing the victory dance in my head thinking for sure i was gunna be carrying him out.

my setups are always setups where for the bird to look for the hen, he gotta pop up within range.

my only guess is he was henned up and followed the hen(s) and gobbled the way out trying to get me (the hen) to follow...

dont know if maybe he slipped by when that hen was around me or not...i was glued and couldnt move...he didnt walk within my vision but could went left or right unnoticed...

i should have stuck around but i was shivering uncontrollably...i had to walk in in that grassy field for 1/2 mile...its waist high...pants were soaked...rubber boots filled with water....by 730 i was shaking so bad i had to go. walked the ridge out the way he left and couldnt get a response with the crow call


todays lesson.....he aint dead till hes on your back and your carrying him!

awesome hunt. very exciting morning...thats just how it goes....i did it all right...great setup...great calling...should probably hung around longer, but really couldnt. dont know if i should kept calling hard or not...i figured its better to call less than more. less wont spook him like more often does, but maybe in that situation i should have kept cutting hard and kept him fired up and kept trying to make the hens come...though the hens never spoke...

i'll be back for him in a couple days or next week if i dont fill my tag before then.