My first gobbler: Story w/ Pic
04-21-2003 | 07:05 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 102
Likes: 0
From: des moines ia USA
My first gobbler: Story w/ Pic
Hey Guys, this morning at 7:50am I bagged my first gobbler. I am super pumped.
Here is how the hunt went. My dad and I got to the field at 4:45 am and set up in a finger of trees that stretched out into a bean field. I set out a feeding hen decoy along with a jake and hen breeding pair. As the sun started to rise I heard a turkey crash through the trees as it flew down from its roost a couple hundred yards away. It gave a couple soft yelps and then was quiet. Within in several minutes I saw 4 toms circle around the corner from where I was set up and I quickly but carefully raised my gun into position. I tried to get them to stop walking so I could get off a shot but they would not. So I ended up taking a shot at them and missed. I was in disbelief as I went to pump another load in the chamber and my gun jammed. I finally got the gun to take the second shell but by that time the turkeys were walking away out of gun range. I felt sick to my stomach. I had the perfect opportunity to take a tom and I blew it. But it did not give up. I continued to call and after about ten minutes I heard a gobble from about 150 yards away. I was tempted to get up and walk towards the gobble but I decided to wait it out. Thank god I did because after about 5 minutes I saw a gobbler and 3 jakes pop out of the woods into the field edge. The dominant tom began to strut and after he saw the decoys, however he was not proceeding. I was worried for a moment that they were going to get hung up, but then my luck changed. The 4 gobblers came running into the decoys and stopped about 10 feet from them. It was at that time that my Benelli Nova spit out some #5' s and knocked over my first tukey. It ended up being a jake but I could care less. In my book, any dead turkey is a good turkey. Anyway, sorry to be so long winded but I am still pretty excited about the whole hunt. I feel that I owe alot of my success to this message board becasue I read all of the new posts each day. Thanks again and hope to talk to you all again next Spring.
Here is how the hunt went. My dad and I got to the field at 4:45 am and set up in a finger of trees that stretched out into a bean field. I set out a feeding hen decoy along with a jake and hen breeding pair. As the sun started to rise I heard a turkey crash through the trees as it flew down from its roost a couple hundred yards away. It gave a couple soft yelps and then was quiet. Within in several minutes I saw 4 toms circle around the corner from where I was set up and I quickly but carefully raised my gun into position. I tried to get them to stop walking so I could get off a shot but they would not. So I ended up taking a shot at them and missed. I was in disbelief as I went to pump another load in the chamber and my gun jammed. I finally got the gun to take the second shell but by that time the turkeys were walking away out of gun range. I felt sick to my stomach. I had the perfect opportunity to take a tom and I blew it. But it did not give up. I continued to call and after about ten minutes I heard a gobble from about 150 yards away. I was tempted to get up and walk towards the gobble but I decided to wait it out. Thank god I did because after about 5 minutes I saw a gobbler and 3 jakes pop out of the woods into the field edge. The dominant tom began to strut and after he saw the decoys, however he was not proceeding. I was worried for a moment that they were going to get hung up, but then my luck changed. The 4 gobblers came running into the decoys and stopped about 10 feet from them. It was at that time that my Benelli Nova spit out some #5' s and knocked over my first tukey. It ended up being a jake but I could care less. In my book, any dead turkey is a good turkey. Anyway, sorry to be so long winded but I am still pretty excited about the whole hunt. I feel that I owe alot of my success to this message board becasue I read all of the new posts each day. Thanks again and hope to talk to you all again next Spring.
