Here's my '04 spring gobbler. Got him on May 6th...
It was a nice warm morning and it felt good to be in the woods. I had no idea where any gobblers were so I decided to set up along a clearing on top of the hill where I got my bird last year. Everything was quiet and I never heard any gobbling and got no response to my calling. I tried two different slate calls and also the HS Srut diaphram call my dad gave me a few days earlier. After about two hours I gave up on this area and decided to try the opposite side of the property. I slowly made my way along the trail over to this side where the sun was shining brightly. I didn't go to the edge of the woods but stayed about 15 feet in. I decided to start off with the diaphragm call to see if I got a response. Right away I heard a gobble halfway across the field but at the edge of the woods. I called again and he answered again. I got excited and hoped he was on his way and went to find a suitable place to wait for him. I wasn't happy with the trees around me so I decided to lie on the ground on this small mound of dirt. I called some more and I could tell he was coming closer. He was following the edge of the field in an L shape. I adjusted myself to where I thought he would come thru. He was gobbling the whole way and then when he was close he got quiet. My heart was pounding cause I thought maybe he spotted me. It was quiet forever it seemed and then finally he gobbled again. I gave a small yelp to let him know where I was. It was quiet again...then I heard some leaves rustling. Yeah, he's here! His head popped up and he took a few steps and I waited to make sure he had a beard. He stepped behind a small broken limb and gobbled. As he came out from behind the limb he looked right at me and the same time I thought I was busted I also pulled the trigger. Down he went flapping.... It was very exciting! My husband was down the hill walking the dog and said he heard the bird gobbling his way up to me. He knew I got the bird when the shot rang out.
He weighed in at exactly 20 lbs., beard was 8 inches, both spurs were 1 inch...scoring in at 56. I guess an average bird. I'm happy with him - tasted good after being in the crock pot for 4 hours..... If you'd like the recipe let me know...
