kdsberman

Hey guys, just shot this bird yesterday morning at about 9:18am here in Hemlock, MI.

The day before, I worked a nice tom for about 2 hours, only to pass up a 17 yard shot because of a small amount of grass/branches in my shooting direction. He spotted me, and putted away. After thinking about it later, I should have shot it because im about 95% sure I would have gotten it. But its that feeling most "responsible" hunters have about waiting for a nice, clean shot. I was pretty heartbroken. But....the Lions drafting Ndamukong Suh later made me feel a little better!!

Anyways, the next morning, I had a hen come out to my Pretty Boy/Pretty Girl setup and a tom gobbling behind me. I couldnt get him to come out and later realized he was probably courting a hen based on how he would gobble and wait a few minutes to gobble again.

Well, I saw him about an hour later, 15-20 yards away, and sure enough, he was with a hen, strutting around. Just as i pulled my gun up to shoot, he walked into some thick part of the woods. I was 5 seconds too late. He strutted in back of me for a while and finally headed out to a field and walked off the opposite direction of me, 100 yards away. I thought it was over.

But..

He did a complete U-Turn. And came back with a hen in my direction. He was still in back of me in real thick stuff, but there was a very small spot where, if he walked there, I just might be able to get a shot. Well, after coaxing him enough (I think), he walked in that "window", and I let him have it. This was my 6th tom since ive started turkey hunting in 2000, and it was my biggest. Out of the 5 before, not ONE has been over 20 pounds, or 9" beard. Well, this bird was a milestone in both categories.

21#
10" beard
7/8" spurs

Mossberg 835
Jellyhead Choke
Nitro H517 shells