Wow, Where to begin from kidney stones to wind, rain and snow. My turkey season has been a roller coaster ride for sure. Watching JP connect on his second tom ever. Missing a tom at 35 yards. Having my youth hunter miss 2 jakes. Calling in a tom in 8 inches of snow for my dad. The unforgettable morning with Mike and Dan. There were plenty of highs and lows.
So when the WI “C” season rolled in I was ready. After catching a tom with what appeared to be a double beard on my trail camera. I was bound and determined to wrap my tag around his leg or eat it. Tuesday night I arrived at the cabin where since retirement my mom and dad now live. It’s more of a house than a cabin. It’s located in the center of our land and from the porch you can see a beautiful green field surrounded by creek bottom.This is an awesome place for toms to strut. Now while that is great for scouting it can be frustrating when taking a break from hunting mid-day.
So Tuesday evening I get there about 5 PM to scout dad says DB just left about 10 minutes ago. I take note 4-5 is a good time to be in the blind. Well it was a parade from then until dark with DB reappearing about 715 on his way to roost. Perfect he won’t be far.
“whitey”
Wednesday morning came and as no surprise it was raining.They gobbled pretty good on the roost they got quiet after fly down. I did see quite a few jakes and hens and had one tom skirt me at about 70 yards. About 1145 I decided to take a break as even with a comfortable chair and a nice Covert blind an all day sit can be tough when the turkeys aren’t talking. After a quick lunch and a warm up I took a quick peak out the window before I headed back down and sure enough 3 hens and a tom were right by the blind. I patiently waited for them to walk off then headed down and got settled for what would be an action packed afternoon.
About 430 the sun pokes out and the woods come alive with hens yelping and toms gobbling and the good news is they are headed my way. pretty soon a group of 9 hens come out followed by 3 toms the first tom goes into strut and I fell in love his tail tips were white and I instantly named him “whitey” and readied myself for the shot. Well he came as far as 55 yards and strutted and gobbled until his harem came back to him and they walked away. So Close !
The rest of the afternoon was filled with hens, jakes and deer including a group of bucks that was pretty cool to watch but sure can mess up a good turkey hunt by chasing the turkeys off. Maybe I shouldn’t set up by one of my mineral sites.
Ride in the truck with me !
Day 2 comes and I am in the Covert blind once again. Just like the morning before it is raining and just for fun some sleet is mixed in. Again they gobble well of the roost but quiet when they fly down about 7 two different toms fire up and I get one coming. Only to be betrayed by a hen that had kept me company all morning. About 11 AM it’s raining sideways so I head up to take a break warm up and eat something knowing that a tom was there yesterday at 2 and I needed to be back there by then. Well the tom must have broke his clock because at noon he was down there mocking me again two days in a row. I grab the binoculars and sure enough it’s DB. I watch him for quite awhile then I get dressed and decide to try to call him up to me. I belly crawl over to where I can see him call a few times only to have him break away from the hens, walk straight away from me and fly across the creek. Evidently this old tom had played the game before. I let him walk away and watch his hens fly across the creek also. Then I make my move to the blind. Luckily I get there with no farther damage done. Now I tuck my calls in my pocket and know theres only one way to kill this tom and that’s to wait him out.
Double Beard !
About 430 the parade starts with hens and jakes including one bearded hen. Then one hen comes back across the creek then another, I wait knowing he is close. Then from the front come nine hens followed by seven jakes then I hear wings flap behind me and around the corner a bit. I hear a few gobbles from back there and then I can hear it PFFFFFTTTTTTT VROOOOOOM and know it’s only a matter of time now. I peak out a side window and here come hen number three form earlier and old DB is in tow I let them walk by and get in the big window in the front I make a clucking noise with my mouth and at a mere 10 yards I lower the boom on my trophy tom. I look at my watch and it’s 645 PM. I get out to take a look at him and notice he also has double spurs. What a rare combination. A tom of a lifetime for sure.
The whole ride home from dropping him of at the taxidermist I kept telling myself it’s easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. But Lori knows me all too well as one of the first question was “So how is he going to mounted ?” To which I replied on a limb gobbling. I can’t wait to get him back .