After ten 3a.m. wake up calls and the birds being henned up, and working 12-hour days, AND my being involved in some of my daughters senior-year activities, I almost just turned the alarm off and rolled over this morning. But I decided to listen to the words of my Grandaddy and go anyway. [&o]

Well, I drove to my camp, walked about a mile and a quarter in to my setup and listened...and called...and listened...and called... and FINALLY heard one WAAAAAYY off. So I jumped up and grabbed the decoy and RAN another half-mile to where I thought I was close. I clucked ONCE to try to locate him and He was just around the bend in the trail -- and interested! [8D]

I jammed the decoy in the ground and piled up against a pine tree half hidden by a little cedar and looked up just in time to watch the 2-year-old come skidding to a stop, almost knocking my decoy over, and puff up into a strut! I watched him for a little while before pulling the trigger. I won't forget that sight for a looong time.

Got my first bird of the season! 20 lbs, 1 inch spurs, and a 9 inch beard!

His buddy started to fly but hung around for a little while before leaving. So I have another bird to hunt, now. He was the only bird that I heard all morning.

By the way, What my Grandaddy told me was "You can't kill 'em if you don't go!" Those old-timers are pretty smart sometimes...[&:]