megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
5 miles yesterday afternoon, called in 2 males that hung up at 25 yards with bodies below the rise. Couldn't tell if they were Jake's or Tom's. They didnt gobble on the way in, but purred and clucked excitedly, but less than the level of fighting purrs. I suspect they were Jake's.
Went back into the same area this morn in the dark, not a peep. Around flydown, I started making the rounds and struck a bird 2.5 miles in at 9am. He was across a steep ravine, so I walked and slid down to the bottom with him gobbling back at me every time I crashed. I crossed the creek and climbed up to the first bench. He gobbled over 100 times 100y away but wouldnt commit. I figured something was hanging him up and needed to make a move, so I crawled up a steep side ravine to 60 yards. He was on a bluff with a 20ft drop to the bench above me. Dunno why he refused to just pitch off the bluff to the bench, but after over an hour of working him, he finally moved off 75yds to a steep cut to walk down to the bench. At 25 yards, I clucked to him, then proceeded to fling my payload way above his head. Didnt even cut a feather, he walked off clucking, but I couldn't get him to come back for a second look.
It was a long and painful walk of shame back to the truck, telling myself at least I wasn't having to tote him thru 2.5 miles of Katrina devastated hardwoods (I think my eyes had gotten matted shut at least a dozen times from spiderwebs).
After arriving back to the truck, I ate a bite and drank a couple bottles of water. What the heck, I've got some time still, so I decided to check another block of public about 6 miles away where I found a set of gobbler tracks (and 2 sets of boot tracks) yesterday. Quite a few truck tracks on the forest service roads, so I expected this spot to be taken, but it wasn't. I started hiking in, and after a few hundred yards, I cut a set of gobbler tracks that had been made this morning since the rain last night! I continued on walking and calling along the ridge without response, the dropped into the south drain at the end of the road. After a short loop in there, I decided to go back to the gobbler tracks and see if I could tell which side of the road he cut off toward. On the way back, he hammered back to a kee kee yelp a couple hundred yards off the road in the north drain. I ran down the road another 100 yards to find a spot to cut into the woods (was way too thick between the two of us), then cut the distance to him in half and set up. He was crawling all over my calls, but then hung up down in the drain 100y away. I waited him out 30 min, but he refused to budge. I repositioned 30 y to the right and clucked, and he came to 60 yards just below the rise in front of me, but refused to commit. I crawled 10y to see over the rise and sat up. Nothing. He had been gobbling every 60s before that. After a few minutes, I heard him cluck thru some thicker stuff. Then again, then I picked him out and confirmed he was a longbeard. He was at 40y, must have seen me a bit, and started easing toward me clucking. When he got to 35, he clucked in quick succession, the started easing away. No problem, plenty close enough to die.... so I took aim, and flung another payload well above his head!. He clucked off, not a feather cut.
I headed out, gonna take a long time to get over today. Gonna head to the range to check zero. I must have knocked my vortex off in the past 5 days banging through all the thick timber.
Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
Went back into the same area this morn in the dark, not a peep. Around flydown, I started making the rounds and struck a bird 2.5 miles in at 9am. He was across a steep ravine, so I walked and slid down to the bottom with him gobbling back at me every time I crashed. I crossed the creek and climbed up to the first bench. He gobbled over 100 times 100y away but wouldnt commit. I figured something was hanging him up and needed to make a move, so I crawled up a steep side ravine to 60 yards. He was on a bluff with a 20ft drop to the bench above me. Dunno why he refused to just pitch off the bluff to the bench, but after over an hour of working him, he finally moved off 75yds to a steep cut to walk down to the bench. At 25 yards, I clucked to him, then proceeded to fling my payload way above his head. Didnt even cut a feather, he walked off clucking, but I couldn't get him to come back for a second look.
It was a long and painful walk of shame back to the truck, telling myself at least I wasn't having to tote him thru 2.5 miles of Katrina devastated hardwoods (I think my eyes had gotten matted shut at least a dozen times from spiderwebs).
After arriving back to the truck, I ate a bite and drank a couple bottles of water. What the heck, I've got some time still, so I decided to check another block of public about 6 miles away where I found a set of gobbler tracks (and 2 sets of boot tracks) yesterday. Quite a few truck tracks on the forest service roads, so I expected this spot to be taken, but it wasn't. I started hiking in, and after a few hundred yards, I cut a set of gobbler tracks that had been made this morning since the rain last night! I continued on walking and calling along the ridge without response, the dropped into the south drain at the end of the road. After a short loop in there, I decided to go back to the gobbler tracks and see if I could tell which side of the road he cut off toward. On the way back, he hammered back to a kee kee yelp a couple hundred yards off the road in the north drain. I ran down the road another 100 yards to find a spot to cut into the woods (was way too thick between the two of us), then cut the distance to him in half and set up. He was crawling all over my calls, but then hung up down in the drain 100y away. I waited him out 30 min, but he refused to budge. I repositioned 30 y to the right and clucked, and he came to 60 yards just below the rise in front of me, but refused to commit. I crawled 10y to see over the rise and sat up. Nothing. He had been gobbling every 60s before that. After a few minutes, I heard him cluck thru some thicker stuff. Then again, then I picked him out and confirmed he was a longbeard. He was at 40y, must have seen me a bit, and started easing toward me clucking. When he got to 35, he clucked in quick succession, the started easing away. No problem, plenty close enough to die.... so I took aim, and flung another payload well above his head!. He clucked off, not a feather cut.
I headed out, gonna take a long time to get over today. Gonna head to the range to check zero. I must have knocked my vortex off in the past 5 days banging through all the thick timber.
Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
just as I was starting, a bird free gobbled down the pipeline! Total luck, finished my business, then eased to the intersection of the road and pipeline. 4 birds total, including the tom 300y down the pipeline right where public meets private. I called softly but excitedly to try to get the hens interested, but they ignored me. The gobbler ate it up and gobbled at everything including crows, woodpeckers, and loud tweety birds.
