I got up this morning expecting rain, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a clear sky and calm wind. I picked up my buddy and we headed to the woods. As soon as we got out of the truck the wind started blowing and it started to sprinkle, then it started to rain. We had to seek shelter under a white pine. We heard a couple gobblers a long way off, and were debating going to them, but my buddy decided he should call once before we moved. He let out a few soft yelps, and one gobbles about 100 yds from us. We stayed put!!! The bird eventually made his way in, strutting and gobbling the entire time, and my buddy was able to take him. Ok bird, nice 9 inch beard, but his spurs were only 1/2-3/4". He weighed about 16 lbs. Then it was time to find me a bird. We moved to a field and set up B-Mobile and some hen decoys, sat down and made a few calls. About five minutes later one gobbles, but he's really far off. My buddy calls again and he answers. The next time the bird gobbled he was much closer. We were hoping he'd come into the field and then up the field, if that had happened we would have had the perfect set up, that didn't happen. When he gobbled again we realized he was coming up a road just inside the woods, the problem with this was when we saw him he would be in our laps (5-10yds away), to close for comfort. We decided we needed to move, and do so quickly. The only good move we could make was to the edge of the field, facing back toward where we had just been sitting. We moved, my buddy called, the bird gobbled, he was still coming. That bird came right up the road, within 25 yds of us but it was so thick I couldn't get a shot. A couple times when he gobbled I could feel the bass of his gobble. My heart was pounding, I was breathing heavy, now all he needed to do was see the decoys and come out in the field and hopefully he'd be mine. He got to the spot were the road empties into the field, sees the decoys and "putt". My heart drops. He didn't spook, he just stood there gobbling, but he wouldn't go into the field with those decoys. A few minutes later here he comes back down the road, strutting and gobbling, I still couldn't get a shot! He goes to the other end of the field and gobbles, so I get turned in that direction, but he will not come up the field to the decoys. Then he swings wide through the woods (gobbling the entire way) back to the other end of the road where he just came from. Finally he decides he's had enough and leaves. I would have loved to have killed that bird, but even though I didn't get him it was a GREAT morning!!!! I'd be willing to bet he gobbled close to 50 times. Maybe we'll get him next time.
