Made it back to Mississippi...
This has been a fun season. I havent hunted for myself in almost a decade carrying friends and kids foregoing my kills for theirs. Plus, it's a LOT easier to kill birds by yourself than with another 1, 2, or sometimes 3 people in a wad.
The morning started off with a friend and I hunting together on a farm he got on birds just off the property line that were gobbling good yesterday. We hiked around listening to birds way off the property line and could not get any to come 500yds to us.
He had to leave at 8 to rest before night shift work, so I headed across the road by myself to the other side of the farm we saw 4 stutters and 6 hens the evening before. I worked slowly in an old stagecoach road in the wet leaves to the area they usually roost. Thought I heard one spit on the side of the hill above me and stopped and glassed.... nothing. Moved down the road calling as softly as I could on a diaphragm and heard another spit above me after 100yds. I dropped to a knee and started glassing. Found the group 75 yds above me with 3 Tom's that I could see with some hens. I called lightly to them and the Toms craned up looking for a half second then going back into strut behind the hens. The hens were silent, and my hopes of calling the flock to me were dashed. Aggressive calling at this point would have just pushed them away, so I just watched them mill around until the lead hen picked a direction to head. I bellycrawled away (I'm getting too old for that now) and moved parallel to them 100 yds to get well ahead, then moved up the hill to cut them off. Got set up and lightly purred, and after a couple minutes, the hens crossed by me at 30yds. Next 2 Tom's came by spitting and drumming, but I didnt have a shot to kill only one without injuring or killing the second, so I let them pass. Fat boy must not have been able to keep up, as he came by 10 yds behind the other 2. He hit an opening at 35 yds, I cackled, and he craned his head up and got himself killed.
This is the heaviest bird I've ever killed. I took one back in the late 90s that was 26.0lbs. He felt like 50lbs toting him out if there.
I'm done in TN for myself, the rest of my trips are others to get birds. I would like to get back on the swamp gobbler back here in MS, but even if I don't get him, I've had a fun season so far.
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