This has been a long time coming. My quest for my first turkey ended this morning at 8:40 est. Turkeys on me lease arent really hot yet so I decided to head to polk county to a secret spot in the national forest. My dad hasnt really been much on turkey hunting, hes getting into fly fishing now but I think i may have made him changed his mind.
I and my dad got to my parking spot at around 30 minutes before daylight and we got all my stuff ready and just started walking. We were planning to walk in around 3 miles total this morning. Really only a mile and a half as the crow flies from the truck but you know how those mountains are. Up and down and all around. Around 15 minutes after daybreak we were high enough up I decided to give a few yelps to get one to answer and boy did I, dang hills came alive. Heard 10 birds thunder from as far as we could hear (we are way up in elavation) and the closest around 300 yards. WE couldnt get to half of the birds but the one tht hit about 300 off was on the next ridge. We started boogie'n down the road bed. Closed about 175 yards and called one more time. Double gobbled, due to the terrain we were going to have to get on top of the ridge and drop of the side some were another met. Long story short we jumped a deer 100 yards from the bird, it spooked the bird and we saw it roost in a tree WAY off. Screw it, we'll find another one. Go back down and the road bed splits left or right. We went right walked 200 yards and one hammered at me on the other ridge the left split went to. We got moving and got back to the left split and walked 150 yards and heard him hammer while we are walking. We set up right there on the side of the road bed on the side of the ridge. I yelped real soft and and quiet and kept it short and soon as I got through he blasted around 100 infront of us to our left down in some 1000 foot deep hole to he!!
We sat around 30 minutes and I had called soft one other time and that was it. The woods were dead. Suddenly we heard a turkey gobble 300 yards down the ridge, thinking this was the same turkey moving away. We jumped and started going to it. We had taken no more than 15 steps and a turkey gave a little dinky half gobble down in the hole to our left at 50 yards. We hit the dirt and got to the first available cover. I laid out on the side of the road looking down it and my Dad sat behind me 10 yards looking down in the hole. Then one to our right blew the woods down at around 60 yards on top of the ridge after I purred to the birds in the bottom. We sat quiet for 10 -12 minutes and the turkey to our right double gobbled after I had been silent and I knew he was lookin for me then. I gave 4 or 5 soft yelps and he blew the woods down at 40 yards. He here comes, I could hear him in the leaves. Then I hear the turkeys to my left again coming out of the bottom. They get 10 yards from the road bed and start putting. I dont know what at, the turkey on the right was still coming blowing the woods down but the turkeys on the left were walking at a fast pace putting still coming to the road bed. First beard I see is wasted I thought, it was thick and I saw a some beard sticking out. Turkey got to the road and dropped him at 31 yards dead as a hammer. It was 2 jakes on the left and the one on the right im pretty sure was a longbeard doing the gobblin he was.
Only reason I shot and didnt wait on big boy to step in the road was because since the jakes started putting, I wasnt going to let one live after walking as far as I did and screwing up as much as I have in the past. I was thrilled either way. lol This is the 3rd time I have been to this mountain and the 2nd time I called a bird up.
Remington 870 super mag strut stopper choke and win. HV 2 oz. #5's ate him up.
I and my dad got to my parking spot at around 30 minutes before daylight and we got all my stuff ready and just started walking. We were planning to walk in around 3 miles total this morning. Really only a mile and a half as the crow flies from the truck but you know how those mountains are. Up and down and all around. Around 15 minutes after daybreak we were high enough up I decided to give a few yelps to get one to answer and boy did I, dang hills came alive. Heard 10 birds thunder from as far as we could hear (we are way up in elavation) and the closest around 300 yards. WE couldnt get to half of the birds but the one tht hit about 300 off was on the next ridge. We started boogie'n down the road bed. Closed about 175 yards and called one more time. Double gobbled, due to the terrain we were going to have to get on top of the ridge and drop of the side some were another met. Long story short we jumped a deer 100 yards from the bird, it spooked the bird and we saw it roost in a tree WAY off. Screw it, we'll find another one. Go back down and the road bed splits left or right. We went right walked 200 yards and one hammered at me on the other ridge the left split went to. We got moving and got back to the left split and walked 150 yards and heard him hammer while we are walking. We set up right there on the side of the road bed on the side of the ridge. I yelped real soft and and quiet and kept it short and soon as I got through he blasted around 100 infront of us to our left down in some 1000 foot deep hole to he!!
We sat around 30 minutes and I had called soft one other time and that was it. The woods were dead. Suddenly we heard a turkey gobble 300 yards down the ridge, thinking this was the same turkey moving away. We jumped and started going to it. We had taken no more than 15 steps and a turkey gave a little dinky half gobble down in the hole to our left at 50 yards. We hit the dirt and got to the first available cover. I laid out on the side of the road looking down it and my Dad sat behind me 10 yards looking down in the hole. Then one to our right blew the woods down at around 60 yards on top of the ridge after I purred to the birds in the bottom. We sat quiet for 10 -12 minutes and the turkey to our right double gobbled after I had been silent and I knew he was lookin for me then. I gave 4 or 5 soft yelps and he blew the woods down at 40 yards. He here comes, I could hear him in the leaves. Then I hear the turkeys to my left again coming out of the bottom. They get 10 yards from the road bed and start putting. I dont know what at, the turkey on the right was still coming blowing the woods down but the turkeys on the left were walking at a fast pace putting still coming to the road bed. First beard I see is wasted I thought, it was thick and I saw a some beard sticking out. Turkey got to the road and dropped him at 31 yards dead as a hammer. It was 2 jakes on the left and the one on the right im pretty sure was a longbeard doing the gobblin he was.
Only reason I shot and didnt wait on big boy to step in the road was because since the jakes started putting, I wasnt going to let one live after walking as far as I did and screwing up as much as I have in the past. I was thrilled either way. lol This is the 3rd time I have been to this mountain and the 2nd time I called a bird up.
Remington 870 super mag strut stopper choke and win. HV 2 oz. #5's ate him up.
Awesome!!!
