Skychief
69 Cal.
Today was the second day of our Indiana Turkey season. I found myself in the predawn darkness hoping to hear a gobble as the opener was really wet and the Toms were in a bad mood (read:NO gobbling).
I heard a gobbler 1/4 mile away on a neighboring property. As hard as I listened, no other gobblers were heard, so off I went....
I neared the edge of my property and put my dummies out (a jake and two hens) and started calling to him. He answered and answered about 300 yards away. I will swear that he gobbled at least 150 times this morning!
After about an hour of conversing with him, I could hear that he had hens with him. I told myself that if I get a chance it would likely come in a few hours once he had serviced his lady-friends. With this in mind, I took up a different position at the head of a deep holler as a lot of water was running today. I was afraid he would not be willing to cross this water.
Repositioned, I yelped in his direction. He answered heartily. I let him know I was still there every 15 minutes or so for about an hour. Suddenly, he did not answer. I liked when this happened as I knew he was traveling. The question was, toward or away from me......
I got the answer when I spied him and his swinging beard on "my" ridgetop getting closer! I first noticed him at 75 yards and quietly eased the hammer back and settled in for the show.
As he neared to within 30 yards, a jake popped out of nowhere in front of him. The jake came by at a too-close 6 yards from me and I was sweating that he would see a glint of sunlight from my eyeglasses or something similar. He didn't and I kept concentrating on the now strutting and drumming Tom.
As the terrain and cover dictated, he approached to NINE yards away (perfect muzzleloader distance :haha: ) before I had a perfect shot at his neck. I putted once and he lifted his head to recieve a dose of sixes.
After the shot, the jake skeedaddled as well as a hen that I did not even notice that was trailing them. We fed on him for supper tonight, using a new-found recipe that was simple and delicious.
A more perfect day, I cannot even imagine! Thanks for listening and good luck to each and every one of you. :thumbsup:
He weighed in at 22 pounds 3 ounces, had 1 1/16th inch spurs and a beard of 10 3/4" and another 4" long.
Skychief.
PS- If any of you will PT me your email address, I will send a picture or two if you are willing to post them. I would really appreciate the help. :bow:
I heard a gobbler 1/4 mile away on a neighboring property. As hard as I listened, no other gobblers were heard, so off I went....
I neared the edge of my property and put my dummies out (a jake and two hens) and started calling to him. He answered and answered about 300 yards away. I will swear that he gobbled at least 150 times this morning!
After about an hour of conversing with him, I could hear that he had hens with him. I told myself that if I get a chance it would likely come in a few hours once he had serviced his lady-friends. With this in mind, I took up a different position at the head of a deep holler as a lot of water was running today. I was afraid he would not be willing to cross this water.
Repositioned, I yelped in his direction. He answered heartily. I let him know I was still there every 15 minutes or so for about an hour. Suddenly, he did not answer. I liked when this happened as I knew he was traveling. The question was, toward or away from me......
I got the answer when I spied him and his swinging beard on "my" ridgetop getting closer! I first noticed him at 75 yards and quietly eased the hammer back and settled in for the show.
As he neared to within 30 yards, a jake popped out of nowhere in front of him. The jake came by at a too-close 6 yards from me and I was sweating that he would see a glint of sunlight from my eyeglasses or something similar. He didn't and I kept concentrating on the now strutting and drumming Tom.
As the terrain and cover dictated, he approached to NINE yards away (perfect muzzleloader distance :haha: ) before I had a perfect shot at his neck. I putted once and he lifted his head to recieve a dose of sixes.
After the shot, the jake skeedaddled as well as a hen that I did not even notice that was trailing them. We fed on him for supper tonight, using a new-found recipe that was simple and delicious.
A more perfect day, I cannot even imagine! Thanks for listening and good luck to each and every one of you. :thumbsup:
He weighed in at 22 pounds 3 ounces, had 1 1/16th inch spurs and a beard of 10 3/4" and another 4" long.
Skychief.
PS- If any of you will PT me your email address, I will send a picture or two if you are willing to post them. I would really appreciate the help. :bow:
