PA Opening Day Double
05-01-2010, 12:28 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location:
Posts: 659
PA Opening Day Double
Here is our story. I decided to setup at a log landing on a flat just above the field. Al was below me about 80 yards at the field edge. Birds started rocking early and there were many different birds gobbling in different directions....but nothing close. Other than a hen roosted somewhere to my left, the closest turkeys were a group of at least two on the mountain bench above me, that seemed pretty interested in my calling and when they flew down they headed my direction but were playing a long time in working in and eventually seemed to hang up in some pines about 150 yds to my right and above me. I gave it to them pretty aggressive and they ate it up but didn't seem to be moving much, so I shut up to wait them out and see what happened. About twenty minutes passed and I was wondering if they had lost interest and I had shifted back to my left more towards my hen and jake decoy when all of a sudden two birds hammered to my right so close my ear drums rattled. I knew I had to move quick before they popped up over the edge of the flat on the logging road, so I shifted quickly to my right and settled into the gun. I gave two soft clucks and they hammered again and then I could see two white heads bobbing through an opening in the briars. Both birds locked up on my decoys and went into full strut and walked right into my shooting lane. They were too close together to shoot without getting both so I had to wait a second and let them separate. Both birds were tucked into strut and spitting and drumming but darned if I could see a beard on the first one. The second bird looked a little bigger and I glimpsed the beard but couldn't tell how long. Both birds had full even fans and alot of white and blue on the heads,so I was pretty sure they were mature, but as I was set up more open than I wanted to be and they were getting mighty close, so I settled the sights on #2's head and let him have the full 2 1/4 oz of that Hevishot magnum blend at 25 yards. He went down hard and the other bird jumped and ran off up the hill. A moment later, I heard Al's gun roar behind me at the field...less than 3 seconds after I shot. I thought, Oh no! I figured I screwed him up and it was a desperation shot or something. I got up and went to my bird, the whole time praying he wasn't a jake after all. I was pleasantly surprised (relieved) to see a respectable 9 1/4" beard and decent spurs of 15/16" and 1 1/16". When I got down to Al I was relieved to see him hoisting another nice longbeard in the air for me to see. Turns out his bird had gobbled to him on the roost from across an open field and a small stream and a township road, and he had been watching it come across several hundred yards of open field for the last 45 minutes. It had been in range for a while but he hadn't been able to see the beard. When I shot up on the log landing, it snapped up to alert and gave him the visual on the beard, and the shot opportunity he needed. 7 a.m. opening morning and our day is done! What an awesome morning! This was only Al's second bird....but this is two long beards in two seasons now, so he's off to a darn good start. His bird also had a 9 1/4" beard...though unfortunately with some rot in it so it was getting thin and falling apart. I've got one more tag to fill, some youth hunters to take out, and some time off work ahead, so I'm ready for some more action. To top it off, driving home we saw strutters in the fields on several more properties, some of which I can hunt. It don't get much better than today! We'll both remember and be talking about this day for a long, long time!
Congrats!
