megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Past 2 days in south MS have been the best hunting all season!
I haven't heard a gobble since Mar 23rd or so, haven't heard a single roost gobble all season. a little over 80 miles covered in 4 counties. The only bird I worked all season in over 20 hunts was a bird on private that gobbled great, came to 50 yards (25 yards from the property line), then hung up on a blackberry thicket until he gobbled up a real hen.
Yesterday afternoon after I got off work I headed to my private lease. The 3rd or 4th spot I checked, I found a fresh (past 3-4 days) set of gobbler tracks. I set up on an interior road between 2 parallel pipelines 350 yards apart, but I was 35 yards from east pipeline. A series of blind calls, nothing. 20 minutes later, I gave a 3 note yelp, and gobbler immediately cut me off 150 yds away toward the farther pipeline. Holy crap, a hot bird at 3:30 pm. I got into position just off the road in the thick stuff where he would have to round the corner of the road in gun range to look for the hen. I gave him a few minutes with no further gobbling, so I softly clucked and yelped... nothing. Turned the volume up just a little bit and he gobbled in the thick stuff about 125 yards away, but working from the pipeline he was on toward the other pipeline, but through the woods instead of heading to my interior road. I cutted excitedly back to him, and he double gobbled. Perfect, this bird is already dead I thought. After another 5 minutes, he gobbled on the pipeline I was closest to 80 yards away. I made my final position shift, got ready aimed where the road I was on intersected the pipeline he was now on. His head popped up behind a rise, then I saw a 2nd blue head! He looked down the road toward me with his body still behind a drainage burm. Finally, not seeing the hen he looked for he walked a few more steps down the pipeline with his body in full view. I just couldn't decide if he was a jake or a tom... 5.5 to 6.5 in beard (must be 6in in MS to be legal, or have a full fan, or have 1/2 in spurs). Maybe the 2nd bird would be a no brainer. I clucked and purred hoping to get him to strut to see his fan and the 2nd bird went into half strut, but I just couldn't tell if he had a jake fan. Finally, the first bird eased parallel to me down the pipeline, and the 2nd bird followed. The second bird was definitely a jake with a 4.5in beard. Oh well, it was a great hunt. I suppose the first bird was a super-jake and the one with the full mature gobble.
Last day of the MS season today, a little cooler temps, and I decided to hit public on DeSoto. I had been to this general area 3 or 4 times during this season, and heard a bird gobble during the first week of the season, but he wasn't interested in me. It's a fairly easy hunt, and my wife and I are headed to move my daughter out from college later today, so I only had a couple hours to hunt. I hiked a half mile in to my listening spot before first light and sat down and waited. After 15 minutes, I thought I might have heard a gobble 600yds away at the very edge of my hearing ability, but wasn't sure. Still plenty dark, and started heading that way. Another couple hundred yards, and a definite gobble ahead, but in an area I had not explored before. Cut the distance in half in the dark and waited for his next gobble, which didn't take long. Cut the distance again in half and sat down where some more open timber meets some crazy thick stuff with less than 10 yards visibility. He gobbled again and I pinpointed his roost tree 80 yards away. Crap, this is a terrible set up, and I can not move any more. He is roosted over some crazy thick stuff on the west side of the steep drain at my level, I'm on the east side of the same drain/ cut on a 45 degree slope. Open timber behind me, crazy thick stuff ahead, but there is a flat open bench 80-100 yards ahead of me according to my maps. My only chance is to sit him out until he flies down to that bench, then move up to 30 yards from the bench and call him to the lip. I sat there another 30 minutes with him gobbling every 3-4 minutes. Crap, if this bird doesn't shut up, he is going to call every hunter in the county on top of us. I had hiked in from my direction far enough where someone else could easily get on him from another access road. He kept gobbling, and gobbling, and gobbling. I didn't make a peep, as he would likely spot me from his roost tree. Finally wing beats, and here he comes- RIGHT AT ME! He flies right over my head, and lands on his side of the drain 10 yards behind me. As I'm waiting for him to get behind a tree so I can spin, raise the gun, and shoot, I hear more wing beats from his original direction. I look up, and a second tom flies right over me and lands 5 yards away on my side! Both start walking back up the drain the way I came in without a care in the world. The first tom topped the crest and disappeared just as the 2nd tom went behind a tree at 25 yards. I spun, raised the gun, and shot him when he cleared the tree. Holy crap, I can't believe it happened that way. Hunt over at 6:05am. 1st roost gobble I've heard all season, and most gobbling I've heard all season!
Not the biggest by any stretch of the imagination, just a 2yo with thin 7.5in beard and 1/2in spurs, but man, I am sure grateful for him. I may not have earned him on this particular hunt, but I feel I more than earned him with the time I've put in this season. Still pretty special to kill a south DeSoto public land bird, esp on the last day of the season!
I haven't heard a gobble since Mar 23rd or so, haven't heard a single roost gobble all season. a little over 80 miles covered in 4 counties. The only bird I worked all season in over 20 hunts was a bird on private that gobbled great, came to 50 yards (25 yards from the property line), then hung up on a blackberry thicket until he gobbled up a real hen.
Yesterday afternoon after I got off work I headed to my private lease. The 3rd or 4th spot I checked, I found a fresh (past 3-4 days) set of gobbler tracks. I set up on an interior road between 2 parallel pipelines 350 yards apart, but I was 35 yards from east pipeline. A series of blind calls, nothing. 20 minutes later, I gave a 3 note yelp, and gobbler immediately cut me off 150 yds away toward the farther pipeline. Holy crap, a hot bird at 3:30 pm. I got into position just off the road in the thick stuff where he would have to round the corner of the road in gun range to look for the hen. I gave him a few minutes with no further gobbling, so I softly clucked and yelped... nothing. Turned the volume up just a little bit and he gobbled in the thick stuff about 125 yards away, but working from the pipeline he was on toward the other pipeline, but through the woods instead of heading to my interior road. I cutted excitedly back to him, and he double gobbled. Perfect, this bird is already dead I thought. After another 5 minutes, he gobbled on the pipeline I was closest to 80 yards away. I made my final position shift, got ready aimed where the road I was on intersected the pipeline he was now on. His head popped up behind a rise, then I saw a 2nd blue head! He looked down the road toward me with his body still behind a drainage burm. Finally, not seeing the hen he looked for he walked a few more steps down the pipeline with his body in full view. I just couldn't decide if he was a jake or a tom... 5.5 to 6.5 in beard (must be 6in in MS to be legal, or have a full fan, or have 1/2 in spurs). Maybe the 2nd bird would be a no brainer. I clucked and purred hoping to get him to strut to see his fan and the 2nd bird went into half strut, but I just couldn't tell if he had a jake fan. Finally, the first bird eased parallel to me down the pipeline, and the 2nd bird followed. The second bird was definitely a jake with a 4.5in beard. Oh well, it was a great hunt. I suppose the first bird was a super-jake and the one with the full mature gobble.
Last day of the MS season today, a little cooler temps, and I decided to hit public on DeSoto. I had been to this general area 3 or 4 times during this season, and heard a bird gobble during the first week of the season, but he wasn't interested in me. It's a fairly easy hunt, and my wife and I are headed to move my daughter out from college later today, so I only had a couple hours to hunt. I hiked a half mile in to my listening spot before first light and sat down and waited. After 15 minutes, I thought I might have heard a gobble 600yds away at the very edge of my hearing ability, but wasn't sure. Still plenty dark, and started heading that way. Another couple hundred yards, and a definite gobble ahead, but in an area I had not explored before. Cut the distance in half in the dark and waited for his next gobble, which didn't take long. Cut the distance again in half and sat down where some more open timber meets some crazy thick stuff with less than 10 yards visibility. He gobbled again and I pinpointed his roost tree 80 yards away. Crap, this is a terrible set up, and I can not move any more. He is roosted over some crazy thick stuff on the west side of the steep drain at my level, I'm on the east side of the same drain/ cut on a 45 degree slope. Open timber behind me, crazy thick stuff ahead, but there is a flat open bench 80-100 yards ahead of me according to my maps. My only chance is to sit him out until he flies down to that bench, then move up to 30 yards from the bench and call him to the lip. I sat there another 30 minutes with him gobbling every 3-4 minutes. Crap, if this bird doesn't shut up, he is going to call every hunter in the county on top of us. I had hiked in from my direction far enough where someone else could easily get on him from another access road. He kept gobbling, and gobbling, and gobbling. I didn't make a peep, as he would likely spot me from his roost tree. Finally wing beats, and here he comes- RIGHT AT ME! He flies right over my head, and lands on his side of the drain 10 yards behind me. As I'm waiting for him to get behind a tree so I can spin, raise the gun, and shoot, I hear more wing beats from his original direction. I look up, and a second tom flies right over me and lands 5 yards away on my side! Both start walking back up the drain the way I came in without a care in the world. The first tom topped the crest and disappeared just as the 2nd tom went behind a tree at 25 yards. I spun, raised the gun, and shot him when he cleared the tree. Holy crap, I can't believe it happened that way. Hunt over at 6:05am. 1st roost gobble I've heard all season, and most gobbling I've heard all season!
Not the biggest by any stretch of the imagination, just a 2yo with thin 7.5in beard and 1/2in spurs, but man, I am sure grateful for him. I may not have earned him on this particular hunt, but I feel I more than earned him with the time I've put in this season. Still pretty special to kill a south DeSoto public land bird, esp on the last day of the season!
Possible he might have thought you were a Hen walkin and lit on you like that, but without a least a single cluck, to go along with the scratching, I can't give you any respect. Now if you would have let them walk off, repositioned, and then called one back, I would have been impressed.
