BBD - Turkey Hunting - Turkey Hunting

Tuesday 7 PM send text to “The Great One” saying Big bird down.

But, Lets start a few days prior to that with the details.

About a week ago I was on the phone with TGO talking about how quiet and henned up the birds had been during the few days prior. He brought up a possible solution to that problem and I logged it away as a last resort tactic.

Sunday Afternoon, season starts Monday morning. Head out to a few different areas and no sign anywhere. One honey hole left to check. Jackpot, Twelve birds, but only two of them are Toms. I had scouted earlier at this spot, and knew they would roost one of two locations. I sat down and waited for dusk. Heard a few other distant gobblers, but the two I saw were silent. Not even the hens made a sound. What to do now. Jump back to TGO’s remark about how to get them. Confident that I could call the other birds in if I screwed this move up I went ahead and did it.

Monday 3:30 AM was thirty yards from the roost. I had talked myself out of and back into this idea several times over the past few hours, so I did it. Ripped a howl on the yote call and watched them fly.

Monday 5:30 set up with my 5 Y/O son on a trail that led through a narrow area between a pair of swamps. Daybreak the woods is loud. Both gobblers are looking for their hens, twenty minutes pass, pulled out a proto box call I have been working on for a while. Few calls and the one commits. He gobbles a few times making his way through the woods, but he was coming from the back side and I knew we were in trouble. Just before he broke out of the brush he spotted the decoy and a few alert puts later was gone. On our way back to the truck we spotted one strutting in the field, but he wanted nothing to do with us.

Monday Afternoon. Same location hoping for a little change in the results. Nothing happening. Went home at dark hoping when I finally get back out Friday morning the turkey gods might give me a shot.

Tuesday Afternoon. I got done at work early, and I had left the blind out from the night before so I headed back to the same spot as Mon. Called a few times here and there with no response. About 6pm a squirrel woke me from a short nap, and gave it a few more calls. Nothing. Got out of the blind to glass the field 100 yards to the north, and made a few more call and still nothing. An hour later after debating weather or not to shot that dam squirrel that had woke me, I gave it one last try. If this one didn’t produce I figured I could still go check some spots for later in the week. Silence…… then from about 60 yards away he sounded off. Again my blind was facing the wrong way. Switched call to a purr pot, and I opened the back window just enough to see him strutting. A soft purr, and he’s on his way twards me. Now kneeling on the ground, holding the window open with one hand and the other on the gun that was resting on the window, I took the shot. BBD.

A 10 1/4 half busted off beard. 1″ and 1 1/16″ spurs and he weighed in at 21# 7 oz. He has some cool white stripes on the middle tail feathers.

I was using Wall’s Calls, 3.5″ Federal #5 Mag Shok shells with the flight control wads and a Covert blind. This turkey took his last strut after hearing the prototype Wall’s TGO box, and the field and show proven Wall’s Calls 3.5″ slate pot call.