Thanks for the kind words but I probably wouldn't have tried this if people on this site hadn't helped out. So congrats back at ya!
Normally, I would be on the mountain across from the house with my longbow. However, with all of the snow this year that just wasn't going to happen.
I prefer to ambush or stalk turkeys without blinds or decoys. Last night, after work, I hiked up to where they normally stage up before flying to roost. Nothing happened even though there was lots of sign. No response at all to my calling.
I decided to angle downhill and check on what the ravens were feeding on. They had been making a racket for a couple days and my curiosity was up.
As I was making my way through the timber and blowdowns, I heard a gobble down below me. I kept going until I felt I should be fairly close. About then, I realized that I had an old bear stand in this area from 30 years ago. Of course I started looking for the tree that held my stand and actually found it a short distance away. As I was standing by the tree, I looked through some brush and saw a turkey strutting. I took a knee and was able to pick out several more toms and got glimpses of hens feeding through the timber. I had lots of time so just waited since they were just out of range.
Eventually, the hens started leaving on an elk trail that ran in front of me, clucking as they left. There was a narrow opening in the brush that I could shoot through but it was pretty tight. It wasn't long before the toms started following along. Two or three went through the opening but there was just too much brush in the way for a killing shot. Just when I thought it was over, this tom came through and offered a clear head shot. He dropped on the spot and all the other birds came back to check what was going on.
Third time I had shot the new smooth-bore so I was pretty happy. Now my son is fired up to give it a try.
