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- The Buck Stops here
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.
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