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Got my butt handed to me again by the swamp gobbler

M

megalomaniac

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Mississippi
I havent hunted here in MS since TN season opened. Got off work at 730am and headed to the lease. I checked the sign in board, there has been a fair amount of pressure the past 12 days, but noone had killed, and furthermore, noone had hunted the swamp he lives in, so I was hopeful he was still alive. I eased down toward the swamp and soft called for 30 min with no response. Picked up the volume after a while, then snuck out with plans to come back midday and catch him fired up and looking.

At 11am, I came back and eased to the side of the swamp and soft called again.... nothing. Increased volume and intensity.... nothing. Humm. Maybe he moved on...

I decided to check a food plot I had a camera on that I caught a different gobbler in a couple weeks ago. This plot is on a gas pipeline that is about 600 yards from where I killed my 1st bird of the year. I had gotten several pics of a group of 4 jennies back in late March between these 2 plots, and was hoping they would be ready for their first breeding cycle.

As I crept toward the plot and camera, I barely caught a glimpse of a white turkey head just over the rise 60 yards away. He caught a glimpse of the top of my head as well, as he appeared to be moving off the plot to the woods. I crept over the rise and he was gone.

I pulled the card on the trail camera aimed down the length of the plot and tucked into a clump of privet with a large red oak at my back on one edge of the plot. I scanned through the pictures and just before I arrived at the plot there were 2 gobblers on camera. One was the 3 yo that had been there before, the other was the swamp gobbler! (Easily recognizable by the super thick beard (for down here) and the jet black 1.5in spurs. I got excited and kept scanning back through the pics. It looks like he moved here 3/4 mile from the swamp about a week ago, and was following the jennies around almost daily, and sometimes several times a day feeding on the flowering crimson clover in the plot.

I kicked back, hoped he would come back to the plot, and made a few soft calls.

30 min later, a hen clucked off the plot and he gobbled 100 yards away. I soft clucked back (prob too soft for him to hear)... nothing. After another 30 min, he gobbled in response to a crow over him. I did a 3 note soft yelp, just barely loud enough for him to hear. No answer. About 5 min later he gobbled with the younger bird, and I cut him off with another barely audible 3 note yelp. He gobbled back.

Nothing for the next 30 minutes, and I got bored and started thumbing one handed through the trail cam pics on my tablet which I had set off to the side on the ground. I caught a glimpse of movement in the plot coming over the rise 10 yards away and my pulse exploded. Just a hen though. I was frozen in the cover and she crossed by me 5-6 feet away in the plot. After she fed to 25 yards, I moved my head, looked across and down the plot expecting the toms to be following, but nothing. I eased my hand to retrieve my right hand glove off the ground beside me (it was off previously to scroll through pics on the tablet), then heard leaves crunching across the plot 45 yards away in the woods about 60 degrees to the right from where the hen had come. I slowly raised my head, looked across the plot to the woods on the other side, and there was the swamp gobbler with his new buddy at 40 yards. They immediately ran 3 or 4 steps, then took flight to the woods over the plot and down the pipeline.

I bet my gut feels worse now than if Jack Dempsey had punched me. I've never been on a bird that could pick me off like that (3d camo facemask and ghillie top.)

Sigh... I don't know if they will come back to the plot tomorrow, as I know they didnt get a full look at me, but I'm going back in the pitch black after him. The jennies have been working between 2 plots on the pipeline 600 yards apart, and if I can get close to the jennies, I think I'll have a chance at the swamp gobbler even if he doesn't go nuts off the roost.

Wish me luck, tomorrow may be my longest sit in one area ever on a turkey.

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Same bird I called in hammering and spitting and drumming off the roost and he came to me through the thick stuff and busted me at 8yds and flew.

Got on him sneaking in without an ounce of white on his head that same afternoon and elected not to kill him that way.

Got on him a week later coming silently, but he picked me off 80yds away.

Havent hunted him in 2 weeks. Kinda like knowing an old friend is still around. I've won 2 rounds, hes won 2 rounds. Tomorrow will be the tiebreaker.

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I wasn't being critical. Just making sure I was thinking about the right turkey. I'm really enjoying the saga of the Swamp Gobbler. Ready for the morning update.
 
Had to forego getting out here until a line of lightening passed through, so I didnt arrive till 745. I hope I didnt bump anything still in the trees. I've made a short series of soft yelps 20min ago, but havent heard a peep. I don't think they spooked bad yesterday, or at least I hope not. I'll give it till noon here, supposed to be strong storms this afternoon and eve.

Good news about the weather is that I have the entire lease to myself!

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Oh well, I shot the wrong one when they crossed... still thrilled to end the season chasing such a wary bird. Story later.
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Actually a boring story. When I found the swamp gobbler yesterday in person, then confirmed it was him on the camera on this food plot on the pipeline, then called him back in yesterday with his buddy, only to have him pick me off, I knew he wasn't going to give me the kind of hunt I like....

No way to go into the woods around this plot. Way too thick, only 5 yard visibility, and I didnt expect him to commit to that level. Which leaves me with the only option of hunting him on the logging road to the plot (which has no sign) or on the pipeline or the plot itself.

The pipeline drops off both directions to creek bottoms where he was probably roosted. The plot is 400 yards from each creek bottom, and the other bird has been using both. No gobbles after the rain passed, so I figured I'd better split the distance between the bottoms and stay in the plot itself. This is going to be a deer hunt, I figured....

I spent the next 2.5 hours calling with the corian side of Horberts Silver Thunder Extreme pot (which btw, is by far now my favorite call.... worked great in the rain last week in TN). He hadn't heard the corian side before, and to me sounds more like a young jennie. That was also perfect, as there were 4 jennies using the pipeline he has been seen with. I would do a sequence of 2 clucks, then a 3 to 5 note quick cadence yelp, then set the pot down and read history on my phone for 20 min. Rinse and repeat.

I was set up in the plot facing the direction they flew off to yesterday at midday, expecting them to come from that direction. Of course the pair came from behind me right down the plot. I first saw them at 60 yards, I was hidden well on the edge of the plot, but having had him bust me so many times, I knew I couldn't move. They kept coming slowly, alternating between half strutting, craning their heads up to look, and slowly waking and picking flowers to eat from the plot. I let them cross past me at 15 yards, and the breeze made my 3d camo move enough like leaves that they never even looked at me.

I had already made up my mind I would not cluck at them when it was time to shoot, since he had bolted to flight twice before when something didnt seem right to him.

Once they searched away to 30 yards, they were directly in front of me and I was able to raise my gun without them seeing me. Unfortunately, I could not see their beards anymore going away, so I picked the left bird out (the swamp gobbler had a thicker beard on camera) which was the bird that had the thicker beard earlier when they crossed by. I settled the red dot on the back of his head and fired when he came out of half strut and craned his head up. Instant crumple, the other bird gobbled, then my bird flopped a bit. The other tom then proceeded to flog the crap out of him on the ground. I putted once without moving, he craned his head, then took flight away.

I was shocked when I got to him that it wasn't the bird i was after. Evidently they had crossed at some point and i shot the wrong bird. This one was 3 or 4, the swamp gobbler had to have been at least 5.

18lbs (bathroom scale), 9in beard, 1 1/8in spurs. Like I said before, I'm still very happy with him, but I really wanted to end my MS season with the swamp gobbler. BUT, it's also a good feeling knowing I may get to chase him again next year.

I have no idea where these birds were last year tho.... they either werent on the lease or were total ghosts not visiting any of my trail cams.

Looks like that will be my last hunt of 2019, unless I venture off to Alabama. It's been a good season and produced some great memories. Best of luck to the rest of you all for the remainder of the season!



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Congratulations. Sounds like a great hunt even though you didn't get the one you wanted. Really like reading about real hunting stories especially since I've not had much time to hunt this year.
 

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