megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
I found this bird a couple hours after my miss Wednesday. He gobbled twice to me late morning, but only after laying hard on him with the calls. While repositioning, I bumped him lightly off the plot he was on with 3 hens and he headed off the property to the next club over.
I came back to check the area yesterday and found a fresh set of gobbler tracks at noon (rain had ended 2h before). I knew he was close, so I set up 100y south of the plot in a swamp and listened for 45 min hoping he would gobble, then called lightly off and on for another 1h 15min... nothing.
I figured I'd give him a check this morning as my starting point. I got there early, climbed up to the high point 150y before getting to the plot in the dark and finished my morning coffee. A few owl hoots with no response over the course of 30 minutes and it was getting time to leave and try to locate a gobbling bird on the limb. One last hoot before I left and he gobbled back about 300y away over a drain/ swamp on the other side of the plot. GAME ON!
I made a wide loop through the timber keeping a small ridge between me and where I thought he was roosted, as it was plenty light enough to get picked off. After 15 minutes, I got to a point where I could not advance any further without risking bumping him without another gobble to be sure I was safe. 10 minutes later a crow cawed and he gobbled. Perfect, he's 225y away off the NE side of the plot; I'm 100y south of the plot, I can advance down and across the swamp to hit a trail on a ridge leading to the plot and set up.
I did that, set up laying prone to minimize my profile in a bushhogged trail leading to the plot about 15 yards off the plot where I could see a tiny bit of the plot, but I still felt he would come out of the plot into the woods searching for me. I sent my first tree clucks and a few yelps... nothing. 10 minutes later, he gobbles on the ground just under his roost tree. I yelp back to him a little louder.... nothing. Over the next 45 minutes, he gobbles 5 or 6 times, never in response to me.... but he is working toward the plot. I give him the silent treatment for 20 minutes, and he gobbles directly in front of me in the plot. I'm cramping from laying prone for the past hour, but I can hear him spitting and drumming 75y away. A few purrs/ clucks and he has to close to my lane off the plot. NOPE. refused to budge any closer than 75y. Also refused to answer any of my calls, I just couldn't flip the script. Exactly why I hate working birds in food plots. I finally realized he was not going to come looking for me, so I hit him with a series of jake caulks. That did it... head went pale, started heading out of the plot the way he came, game over.
15 or 20 min later he free gobbled under his original roost tree 125y away. Perfect, have a bead, time to reposition. I headed directly away from him down the finger which projects into the swamp, changed to a combo cut call I had not ever used on him before (normally I'm not much of a believer in which call is used, but this fellow had heard the same call past 3d and it wasn't working). I gave him a 3 note yelp to let him know the love of his life was leaving, then turned 90 degrees and headed 50 more yards parallel to the direction he headed earlier. After a few minutes, he gobbled again, and I threw the 'machine gun' at him... 'ratt-a-tatt-tatt, yelp, yelp, yelp, ratt-a-tatt-tatt' out of desperation. He gobbled back to me for the first time in 2 hours of working him. I cut him off with another machine gun volley and got ready. After a minute he gobbled again 75 yards away. I turned away from him and threw another volley down the swamp away from him and got ready. A couple minutes more I see him in the thick stuff searching 30y away, but he's not even looking toward me, he's looking down the open timber in the swamp, working straight out of the thick stuff and into the wide open timber of the swamp. I tell myself, 'he's not going to spook, wait for a perfect wide open shot... be patient'... and I do... he eases parallel to me 25 yards, I'm already in position and I wait for him to hit a wide open spot between the big trees. Checkmate, BOOM, drop. 25y shot, no idea I was there.
I've not had many birds that absolutely refused to ignore all my calls, and for some reason it almost pisses me off. Much satisfaction for besting such a persnickety bird. Hate he flopped in the swamp and got wet to mess up my pictures. Really cool spur on one side, never seen that before. It's actually 1 1/8" following the outside curve, other spur is just over an inch. 9in beard, guesstimate 18-19lbs, pretty big bird for down here.
Spent the next 6 hours covering several miles on Natl Forest looking for a bird for tomorrow. Didn't hear one, but did call up a vocal hen. Found some fresh scratching in a different area, so I may go back there tomorrow AM. Glad to have redemption after my miss Wednesday!
I came back to check the area yesterday and found a fresh set of gobbler tracks at noon (rain had ended 2h before). I knew he was close, so I set up 100y south of the plot in a swamp and listened for 45 min hoping he would gobble, then called lightly off and on for another 1h 15min... nothing.
I figured I'd give him a check this morning as my starting point. I got there early, climbed up to the high point 150y before getting to the plot in the dark and finished my morning coffee. A few owl hoots with no response over the course of 30 minutes and it was getting time to leave and try to locate a gobbling bird on the limb. One last hoot before I left and he gobbled back about 300y away over a drain/ swamp on the other side of the plot. GAME ON!
I made a wide loop through the timber keeping a small ridge between me and where I thought he was roosted, as it was plenty light enough to get picked off. After 15 minutes, I got to a point where I could not advance any further without risking bumping him without another gobble to be sure I was safe. 10 minutes later a crow cawed and he gobbled. Perfect, he's 225y away off the NE side of the plot; I'm 100y south of the plot, I can advance down and across the swamp to hit a trail on a ridge leading to the plot and set up.
I did that, set up laying prone to minimize my profile in a bushhogged trail leading to the plot about 15 yards off the plot where I could see a tiny bit of the plot, but I still felt he would come out of the plot into the woods searching for me. I sent my first tree clucks and a few yelps... nothing. 10 minutes later, he gobbles on the ground just under his roost tree. I yelp back to him a little louder.... nothing. Over the next 45 minutes, he gobbles 5 or 6 times, never in response to me.... but he is working toward the plot. I give him the silent treatment for 20 minutes, and he gobbles directly in front of me in the plot. I'm cramping from laying prone for the past hour, but I can hear him spitting and drumming 75y away. A few purrs/ clucks and he has to close to my lane off the plot. NOPE. refused to budge any closer than 75y. Also refused to answer any of my calls, I just couldn't flip the script. Exactly why I hate working birds in food plots. I finally realized he was not going to come looking for me, so I hit him with a series of jake caulks. That did it... head went pale, started heading out of the plot the way he came, game over.
15 or 20 min later he free gobbled under his original roost tree 125y away. Perfect, have a bead, time to reposition. I headed directly away from him down the finger which projects into the swamp, changed to a combo cut call I had not ever used on him before (normally I'm not much of a believer in which call is used, but this fellow had heard the same call past 3d and it wasn't working). I gave him a 3 note yelp to let him know the love of his life was leaving, then turned 90 degrees and headed 50 more yards parallel to the direction he headed earlier. After a few minutes, he gobbled again, and I threw the 'machine gun' at him... 'ratt-a-tatt-tatt, yelp, yelp, yelp, ratt-a-tatt-tatt' out of desperation. He gobbled back to me for the first time in 2 hours of working him. I cut him off with another machine gun volley and got ready. After a minute he gobbled again 75 yards away. I turned away from him and threw another volley down the swamp away from him and got ready. A couple minutes more I see him in the thick stuff searching 30y away, but he's not even looking toward me, he's looking down the open timber in the swamp, working straight out of the thick stuff and into the wide open timber of the swamp. I tell myself, 'he's not going to spook, wait for a perfect wide open shot... be patient'... and I do... he eases parallel to me 25 yards, I'm already in position and I wait for him to hit a wide open spot between the big trees. Checkmate, BOOM, drop. 25y shot, no idea I was there.
I've not had many birds that absolutely refused to ignore all my calls, and for some reason it almost pisses me off. Much satisfaction for besting such a persnickety bird. Hate he flopped in the swamp and got wet to mess up my pictures. Really cool spur on one side, never seen that before. It's actually 1 1/8" following the outside curve, other spur is just over an inch. 9in beard, guesstimate 18-19lbs, pretty big bird for down here.
Spent the next 6 hours covering several miles on Natl Forest looking for a bird for tomorrow. Didn't hear one, but did call up a vocal hen. Found some fresh scratching in a different area, so I may go back there tomorrow AM. Glad to have redemption after my miss Wednesday!
