I decided to go out to the public land that i have been trying to take a tom off from since the begiining of the season off and on. Got out there at 1pm thinking i would get set up and wait awile for them to come into the meadow where i had been seeing them. WRONG. They we just heading into it when i got there. I snuck up behind a tree and stuck my decoy out around it and set it up on the stake and then snuck back aways and tried a bit of calling. I really need to work on that calling stuff, because they are not at all interested in it. Didn't seem to impressed with my decoy either. After about 15 minutes they all wandered off. Ohh, by the way, there were 6 Toms and 2 hens in the bunch with 2 nice double bearded Toms. Anyway, after they moved off i went on over to the spot i had intended to set up and put the decoy out and got under a tree to wait, not knowing if they would come back or not, or maybe some others would show up. After about a half hour they came back into the open from the direction they had gone off in. After they didn't appear to take note of the decoy i tried some more calling. Nothing doing. So i sat there for over an hour watching them and calling occasionally as they fed around the meadow, took naps, and dusted themselves, hoping one would come close enough for a shot. Nope. Again they started to wander off so i decided to see if i could get close enough for a shot. Keeping a small rise between me and them, and crawling and using tress for cover, i managed to get within about 40 yds of them. Too long a shot for my cylinder bore .20 ga flinter, so i tried doing some lip smacking trying to imitate a hen. Finally the big 2 bearded guy started coming my way. I think my pulse was up just a little by this time. But he stopped about 30-35 yds out and strutted around and gobbled some. I clucked some more and he strutted some more, and we kept that up for about 10-15 minutes. I knew he was at the very edge of my range and really wanted him to come a little closer. After he wandered off and back a couple more times he finally took a few more steps my direction. I figured he was around 25 yds and decided if he turned facing me i was going to shoot. My flinter had been loaded for a week now, since my last time out, so i was really hoping it would go off right if i pulled the trigger. Finally he turned right towards me with his taal all fanned out and his wings out with his head up some and i pulled the trigger. Guess what? After being loaded for a week in this humidity when the hammer fell the pan flashed, and the gun went BOOM. The Tom never moverd, dropped right there. My biggest turkey ever, and in period clothes with a flinter. I was wearing my brown drop front trousers, a pull over longhunters shirt, a green bandana head cover i made, and my green and black frock. I was sitting in front of a tree for the first 1 hour of watching them with nothing in front of me but they never spooked away from me. I just never moved and they didn't notice so i guess the stuff blends in with the pines and oaks good enough. Tom was right around 20 lbs, with dual 10" beards, and 1" spurs. Here are some pics.
