Yes indeed, I tasted success early this season, my first opening day bird. Let me start off by saying that due to my work schedule, I didn't get to scout near as much as I normally do. Although I've been hearing plenty of birds for the last couple weeks, I haven't been in the woods much.

My Dad and I went to a public area that doesn't get hunted much. We listened there last Saturday and this past Wednesday and heard 2 birds roosting together on a long ridge above a farm where we have permission to park. Dad was there yesterday morning and heard....nothing. He went last night to try to roost the birds and once again the woods we're silent. So our outlooks we're gloomy for this morning but we decided to hunt this spot since there likely wouldn't be many people around.

We hiked to a high spot and stood until 6:15. Hearing no gobbling, we decided to backtrack and call. We crossed a hollow onto the ridge the birds had been roosting on. I pulled out a slate call and yelped and cutt to no avail. Then I got loud on a Blodgett box and got a response about 200 yards away. We hustled ahead and got set-up near a nice open flat. As we called to the bird, he became silent. As we discussed a move, another bird began gobbling down below us on a point. As his gobbling intensified, we decided to close the distance on him. We slipped onto his point and sat down. Dad sat about 25 yards behind me and began calling softly on his 26 year old Lynch World Champ. The bird was gobbling on his own and not paying much attention to our calling. He faded off the side of the point and continued to gobble. Dad switched to a glass call and got a little more aggressive. The bird still wasn't interested. Finally, I dug in my vest and pulled out my Cody Spec 1 slate. I fired off a barrage of cutting and the bird gobbled twice. Two pleading series of yelps drew two more gobbles from him and then silence. "...He's either broke and is on the way or someone spooked him" I thought to myself. After a few minutes a big white head appeared about 70 yards away. I purred on a Gulvas mouth call and scratched the leaves at my feet. He immediately popped into strut and started drumming. He inched his way closer and I slipped the safety off and traced him with my Beretta autoloader. Behind me I heard another gobble, far off. I silently hoped my Dad, who couldn't see what was going on, wouldn't move or call again, but he began clucking to the other bird who was approaching on his left. My bird was stalled at 60 steps and he gobbled in my face at the clucking. Dad shut up and the bird closed to about 50 yards. I was following him through my Simmons scope. He stopped in a little clearing and peered my way, not seeing his hen, he clucked once and prepared to leave.......

BOOM!! 1 5/8 oz. of Remington Hevi-Shot #6's smacked him to the dirt. I hustled out to him just in case, but there was no need. Tag punched by 7:00 am opening morning. Definitely more of a hunt than I expected after the silence we experienced early.

Specs: 23.4 pounds, two beards 10" & 7", both spurs dead on 1"

Tyler