Yep, I got it all over me. It all started out like a normal cool spring morning in the turkey woods, but that was about to change....
I had high expectations as I drove to the woods this past Monday morning, I had heard a gobbler in this area last week and had seen alot of sign as well. I eased into the woods and started walking to where I had heard the gobbler last week. Around daylight I heard a gobble. I started toward him , I owled and he gobbled again. I locked on his location that time and I walked down to the draw that he was roosted over. I pulled out my crow call and hit it a few times and he answered immediately about 200 yards down the draw. I eased to within 100 yards or so of him and set up. I waited awhile and I didn't hear anything else out of him, so I decided to do a flydown cackle since it was about time for him to fly down. No response. About 15 minutes later, I gave a few soft yelps, still nothing. A few minutes after 6:00 I heard something walking in the leaves just over the hill where I was set up below. I positioned my gun and got ready. Aftere a couple of minutes I seen his head pop into view, but he was about 20 yards to the left of where I was aiming my gun. The sound was echoing over the hill, so I coursed him wrong. I slowly swung my gun over to the left, but by the time I had got my gun to the position where he was he had turned and went back in the direction that he had came. He didn't putt, he just didn't see the hen and decided not to hang around I guess. He had a pretty nice beard, he looked like a 2 yr. old turkey.
He was within 20 steps, so I was scared to swing my gun too fast, but I guess I should've swung it a little faster. It wouldn't be too bad if that was where this story ended, but as Paul Harvey says, here's the rest of the story. I stayed in the same spot hoping to call him back in. Around 7:30 I called in a jake to within 30 steps. After he walked away, about 15 minutes later I heard some soft putts behind me, I turned to see two of the finest long beards you'd ever want to see. They were between 50 and 60 yards away so I couldn't get a shot at them. They were coming in to my calling, but I had no idea they were even there until I heard that dreadful putt. I sure wish these gobblers would start gobbling more down here, these silent gobblers are killing me.
Yep, I got it all over me...
" If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all"
