Team Wilcox teamed up with Team Gobblemasters for a mid-April turkey hunt at beautiful Sweet Apple Farm. Tommy & I spent the afternoon before trying to roost a bird to make our jobs the next morning a little easier. The only thing we were successful at roosting though, were mosquitoes. We woke up early the next morning still unsure of our game plan. Tommy, in his usual Wilcox fashion, started his day with 108 push-ups & 2 bottles of water. I, in my usual McCaa fashion, started the day with a pot of coffee & a honey-bunn.
We decided to try a location on the backside of the property where there were some nice sized fields along a creek bottom lined with mature hardwoods. We arrived in the area & decided to just ease along the creek owl hooting & listening. The first gobble was a good piece off but it amped us up & lifted our expectations. Unfortunately, that bird never gobbled again & we were forced to move on.
We had moved down the creek a good quarter mile when we heard the second bird gobble. By this time, the blackness of night had turned to early-morning gray. The birds were singing & Tommy was getting a little concerned that we hadn't set up on a bird yet. So we decided to just set up right there to see what would happen. I started out with some tree yelps & then progressed to steady clucks. Next, I sharpened the clucks & ran them together sporadically leading up to the world famous fly-down cackle that has killed more birds than Colonel Sanders. He gave his position away when he gobbled the second time. He was over 400 yards further down the creek... on the other side. Tommy looked at me & I smiled and asked, "You ready?" We got up & moved quickly with the quiets of a Choctaw until we reached a little area where the creek turned sharply back to our right. That's where we ran into our first problem of the morning.
We're standing there listening & I notice Tommy shifting from side to side. I ask him what's wrong & he tells me he's got to take a crap! "Right Now?" So he hurries back up the creek to find the appropriate spot to do his business. Now I'm not mean spirited, but sometimes I just like to have fun.... After waiting a few minutes, I let out a loud series of yelps & then follow it up with, "There he comes Tommy!" Now, in the next few seconds I almost passed out from holding my laughter in. The bushes started shaking & I could see him hopping around with his britches around his ankles. When he got back to me & saw me laughing, I heard words that would make a sailor blush. It took a few minutes to re-gain our composure, but we finally crossed the creek & got back to business.
I could see where the trees gave way to this massive field. I was sure the bird was already down, but I wasn't sure exactly where he was. I called again & this time he answered me. He was in the left hand corner of the field which was over-grown with sage grass making visibility very tough. We moved to the edge of the woods & glassed hard. We couldn't see him. I decided to try and pin-point him with one more gobble. I let out a few soft yelps & he hammered. We both saw him at the same time. He was moving out of the woods about 150 yards down the tree line to our left & straight toward the middle of this huge field. We were stuck right there.
As we watched him move we noticed turkey after turkey walking in a straight line toward the middle of this field. They were angling away from us so I floated another soft series of yelps behind us. He cut me off & they started slowly angling back to the road cutting through the middle of the field. At best, if he made his way on the road, we would have a 50/50 chance at getting a shot. In fact, this road was our only chance. If they hit the road & went left they would be walking directly away from us. But, if they hit the road & turned right, they would pass within 40 yards & well inside the deadly Mossberg 835,Rhino choke,Nitro shell combo Tommy was packing.
Apparently, Tommy looked down to reposition a little the same time I decided to look down & check the camera settings. Needless to say, we both lost sight of him. We could make out turkeys, but couldn't tell which one he was. They were all heading straight to the road when I decided to do something I usually don't do... call again. This time, as softly as possible, I yelped 3 times and clucked twice... floating the calls back into the woods to our right. This time when we gobbled, he blew up in full strut & stayed that way. A hen was the first to hit the road. She stopped & looked left, for what seemed to be an hour, & then turned and walked right... right down the road beside us. Next was a jake. He followed her & stopped right in front of us and stood there until another hen passed him. He turned & walked back up the road toward the boss. Tommy was trying not to panic, but he thought that turkey saw us & we were busted. As soon as the jake got back to the Gobbler (who just hit the road) the Tom charged the jake & ran him back down toward the 2 lead hens.
The boss took his time, strutting the whole way. Jakes & hens passed us without picking us out. I don't know exactly how many birds went by but I would guess around 8. Remember, we aren't set up. We are both standing there behind this old cottonwood tree a few yards deep into the wood-line. We have one perfectly framed window we can both shoot out of & it's up to this gobbler to make his way onto the screen. He steps in & stops as if to deliver a monologue. He knew he was a star & so did we. Tommy took steady aim & asked me if I had him. To which I replied, "cluck... cluck." Boss man broke his strut & lifted his head...KABOOM! Tommy's shot was true & that tom was down! 19 pounds, 9 inch beard, & 3/4 inch spurs. This was a made for TV morning that couldn't get any sweeter than this Sweet Apple turkey hunt.