Well Kev and i acquired another couple new spots and weve seen a few birds around so im up and on my way to kev's for 4.20am we are at the field in the dark and we decided to split up this time around i in the centre bush line and kev at the ditch line on the far side since this is where they head to it seemed to us dawn breaks i hear gobbles but there no where near me there half a concession away on privae land after about an hour and skeeters i get up and head down the field to kev and see what he thinks our next course of action should be , He in forms me that he had a gobbler answering his call but it was to far off for me to hear from where i had been set up .
So after a brief conference as to how we where going to close the distance we where off in pursuit across a field and around a bush we come around a corner and OMG there he is kev says i up with the nocks and inform him he has friends 7 to be exact 1 tom and 6 jakes and 1 hen for a family of 8 we watch them for a bit and decide once they step into the bush we double time it back to where we had first heard them and cut them off so after a bit of trying to coix them over into the bush they wander after all but ignoreing our efforts and were on our back around and set up in record time half hour goes by zippo nothing no calls to birds , Ok theres only one other place they can really be we figure and thats the otherside of the bush , Crap this bush does not lend itself to quite stealthy sneeking but we are determined to drop the hammer on a bird today and were off.
Snap , crack all the way though and it was not cause we where not trying to be quite but damn this seasons not giveing up a break at all i thought we finally get to the opposite side of the bush and kev puts the brakes on down he whispers there right infront of us 25 yrds away i look sure enough man these birds must be deaf not to of heard us comeing but hey finally a break we belly crawl across a ditch and through 10 yrds of sticks and long grass only to have them move off to a long grass section of the field where all we could see of them was there heads boobing through it while they chased each other around and trying to fend off a irrate black bird intent on pissing them off .lol
We decide to sit and wait half hour passes there not moveing and neither are we so we have to break the stalemate i suggest one of us do a sneek down the ditch line we crossed and pop up beside them i suggested Kev go but since it was my shot anyways i should go .
Off i slither down the ditch over rocks , logs , frogs and everyother thing for about 125 yrds when i slowly sneek a peek to get my bearings , crap another 25 yrds to go back into stealth mode i go i closed the distance to 18 yrds and i do my best belly crawl up next to a tree and get the stoeger lined up . I was ready to drop a jake since this season has been anything but kind to us but once im ready i get a surprise a gobbler stands up right infront of me and starts clucking like somethings up we where nose to beak for 5 minutes before i couldnt take it any longer and BOOOM 3" of winchester 6's are on there way i flipped this ole boy over 3 times before comeing to rest finally. The others ran across the field in Kevs direction and low and behold another gobbler sounds off right in there path
but we figure there pretty freaked out when they stepped into the bush so we collected my very hard earned tom .
Couldnt have done it without Kev though thanks again brother.
Tale of the tape
21.9 lbs
10.1/4" beard
1.1/8" left spur
1.1/4 right spur
