Been meaning to post this for some time but been busy.

I travelled home to Oklahoma April 24th thru April 27th to do a bit of turkey hunting and hang out with a few friends I hadn't seen since fall.

So, Friday the 25th was the first day of hunting. My buddy and I got to the happy hunting grounds about 6:30 that morning and treated to overcast skies and a slight sprinkle every once in awhile. We set up on a location where birds typically strut and do turkey things! Sat there for about an hour and half without the slightest whisper of a turkey sound or sighting.

So, I decided to move across the road to a few small fields that were planted in wheat this year, which had been in alfalfa last year. On opening morning last year there was a huge tom strutting in the alfalfa with three hens until someone tried to shoot him from the road. Lucky for this person I didn't get a look at his truck while he sped off! Anyway, no turkeys on the wheat or fresh sign. I assumed it was because the wheat was already pretty tall.

So, we proceeded to an area on the same property where I called in two toms opening morning last year. My buddy shot the biggest one that weighed in at 21 lbs, 9.5 inch beard with 1 5/8 inch hooks. Damn sure a nice bird regardless of where he was taken! (I looked for a picture but I couldn't find one right off hand. Maybe I'll get one posted in the near future.) Matter of fact we were standing about 20 yards to the east of where we set up last year and about 15 yards to the south of where the bird was standing when the turkey was shot.

Well, my now the winds had kicked up to about 20-25 mph sustained with gusts over 30 mph coming out of the north/northeast. If it hadn't been my only weekend to hunt, I'd been at the house eating bacon and eggs instead of hunting!

So, we're standing there it is about 9:30 am using a variety of calls to try and strike a gobbler. My buddy had a new slate call he wanted to try out so I told him to hit. He made a series of calls with no answer. I told him to try it again and really put some mustard on it this time. As he was making his call, I heard a gobbler interupt him. He didn't hear it, really I don't think he believed me. I told him to hit again then and same thing happened, another faint gobble towards the north.

Now luckily my dad leases the property I thought the bird was on. So, we were cutting up the fence line in the direction of the bird. To try and expalin the situtation we were on a hilltop to the south, there were two small creeks/streams that came together at the bottom of the hill and the turkey seemed to be on the top of the other hillside to the north. All in all, there is about a quater of a mile between the two hilltops. I'm really lucky that the turkey heard us and I heard him with the wind howling the way it was!!!

Now back to the story. We were headed towards the turkey and had crossed the second little stream and was coming up it's north bank. As we were topping the bank, I noticed a white-tailed doe about 40 yards in front of us scratching her face with her right hind leg. While we're standing there watching the dow and not wanting to spook her for fear of her spooking the gobbler ahead. THen holy crap between her and us a hen sticks her head up about 25-30 yards from us working her way towards us. The hen dropped he head and I quickly dropped to my knees putting on my head net and getting my gun off my shoulder. While easing my way back up to a standing position the hen spotted me. She putted twice then head off to our left. Meanwhile, the doe is standing there looking for us, because she knows something is not right with the hen putting. We stand there another 5 minutes or so watching this doe feed off towards out northwest. We waited another 4-5 minutes to wait for her to move on off. So, we start heading for the gobbler again and about the time we get to where the doe was standing, damn it, we spooked 2 more does we hadn't seen, with one of the does running in the direction of gobbler.

We walk up to the top of the hill and hit the slates again. A gobble answers us right on the other side of the hilltop almost straight north of us. Where we were standing there is an opening about an acre in size. So, I quickly set up a hen decoy and we found our hiding palces. We hit the slates again after getting set up and the turkey gobbles again but off to the east. We sit there another 3-4 minutes and I hit the slate again. This time he is towards the southeast of us. This damn turkey walks right around us instead of coming over the top of the hill like I thought he would. So, now he is heading south and we try to out flank him by heading south too. No such luck though! he is still heading south and we can't get ahead of him quick enough. By this time it is about noon and we decide to head into town for lunch and come back after lunch.

While eating lunch, we run into one of my dad's friends and he decides to join us for the afternoon hunt. We decided to head to another property leased by my father, which is a bit further to the north and east of where we were chasing the gobbler. I had seen about 2 dozen turkeys on this property during deer season. NO luck though, not even a sign of a turkey!

So, we cut across the neighbor's pasture heading towards our property to come in on the northside of the gobbler. I kinda guessed where he was going to be and as we moved through the trees I thought I heard a gobble to our south on top of the hill (we were down by the creek). Sure enough it is him. I think he was on a new pad the oil companies as just built for natural gas collection. Anyway, we sit there for about 20 minutes with him answering our calls every once in awhile, when all of a sudden I see a turkey flying through the air, I hear a put, and he is heading towards the southeast again! Damn it!! I guess some piece of equipment must have turned on and spooked him. Who knows?

We then decided to give him a break and head back to where we had set up in the morning, and stop by an old mushroom patch along the way. Holy crap, our turkey hunt quickly turned into mushroom hunt. We ended up finding 35 morrels with some about 7 inches tall. After the muchroom picking we headed on farther south to another one of our properties that all touch one another. No luck though and headed back north towards the truck about 3 miles away as the crow flies!

We made it back to where we had been chasing this gobbler all day and damn if we didn't strike him again towards our north. So, we head south and try to out flank him to the north. Since all the hen calling didn't work, we decided I should try my gobble shaker at him. It worked! Every time he would gobble, I'd gobble back, but he first headed north, then to the south,then straight east. By this time it is about 7:45 pm and I know he is going to roost down by the creek. May tomorrow bring greater things!

Day 2: Saturday morning
We're back on him just after daylight. Sure enough he is down by the creek. We set up about 100 yards to his south in a little opening. He answers our hen calls and then I start gobbling at him again. He gobbles back immediately! I hit the gobble shaker again, he answers, this goes on for about 20 gobbles. I think man this thing is in the bag. Then SILENCE!!! I'm thinking he is on his way. We sit there about 30 minutes with not a peep. Then he sounds off to a series of calls. He hasn't moved an inch. I think he might be on the north side of the creek and we need to get on the same north side. We move to the east and then north and set up right where the hen was the previous day. We sit there about 15 minutes and he gobbles right where we come from but to the east a bit. I am heart broken to say the least. I look at my buddy and he says, "I don't know what to F'in do." My response is the same.

So, we head back to the south and east to try and flank him again. As we're making our way up the side of the hill, I hear what appears to be scratching in front of me. We freeze and hit the ground right where we were standing. The scratching appears to be getting closer and I get ready. Then I see her, a hen coming of the crest feeding towards us. I cover her with my gun and she gets within about 12 yards of me and realizes I'm there. She puts once and then heads back over the hill. He stay put for about 5 minutes and the scratching continues so I know they're not spooked to bad. I decide to head back to the southeast at the base of the hill along the creek around the south end of the natural gas pad that I think they might be headed to. Just to the west of the gas pad there is a road that runs along the top of the hill through the trees that we normally walk down to where we were standing when we initially struck this bird the day before.

I ease in a 100 yards or so and decide to set up where I can see down the road and onto the gas paddock. We sit there about 20-30 minutes and I hear nothing not a peep and we never call. I actually kick the head back and take a light snooze. When I wake up I'm pissed and decided to head back to where we had set up our decoys at daylight, because I had stashed the decoys earlier that morning because I was tired of carrying them!

As I'm slipping down the road I know the turkey could be anywhere. I'm easing down the road and something black catched by eye through a clump of post oak trees. I take a step back and realize it is a turkey pruining it's feathers. This turkey is probably only about 40 yards from me. I sit down right in the middle of the road in the perfect tripod sitting position aiming down the road. By buddy is following behind me about 10-15 yards but he didn't see the turkeys. While sitting there, I think damn I hope a hen doesn't walk into the road first because she is probably going to bust me.

I sit there about 10 minutes and I see a hen making her way towards the road. Then, she turns back away from it. Whew passed this time. I then see what I think is a fan through a group of trees. I kind of lean towards the left a bit and damn sure enough it's him!!!! He is slowing strutting into the road. He takes about 10 more steps in full strut right into the road. He turns slightly towards his left and I take the shot at about 25-30 yards. It is a bang-flop. I've never seen a turkey do a bang-flop before. I mean not even the slightest wiggle except for his feet. I look down at my watch and it is 11:12 am.

He ended up having three hens with him, which is why he had lockjaw after the morning gobbling session.

We weighed 19 lbs, 10" beard and 1 1/4" spurs. Not the biggest bird taken on this property but probably one of the most memorable!! A full day and a half chasing that dude of hill and creek, but he finally made a fatal mistake. I was beginning to wonder who was really the turkey.

Where he fell:


And the happy, exhausted hunter and hard earned turkey:


Sorry for being long-winded but I needed to add all the details so you'd understand my pleasure and happiness with taking this bird!

Beautiful bird!

Great bird! Congrats on a fine hunt.


Reloader

Thanks guys .. it was certainly a fun/frustrating hunt.