Post by nybuckstalker on Apr 22, 2012 10:34:03 GMT -5
I killed this bird on Friday, April 20th on public land in Worcester County. I located him prior to season one morning and had a good idea of where he headed after fly down. I called him in on opening day but he hung up on the other side of some thick brush. I never got a glimpse of him but he was close enough I could hear him spitting and drumming. He eventually worked away but continued to gobble. I followed him out and discovered the nice set of open woods along the swamp bank where he was strutting.
My brother-in-law (left) came in from NY on day two. He owed me from last year so he took over calling. We heard nothing on the roost within the same zip code so we headed to the strut zone. He called in a hen and exchanged a hail of aggressive clucks and yelps for over an hour. She circled us three times and stayed within 40 yards the whole time she was in. During the show, a jake came in but never gobbled. He didn’t even attempt to approach the live or decoy hen. This led us to believe Old Swamp Donkey was still in the area.
We came back in Friday and heard him gobbling on the roost. He was about 200 yards down the swamp but we decided to set up in the known strut zone. He did just as we thought on fly down and quickly closed the distance. He was within 100 yards when a hen fired up. He stopped gobbling for about 5minutes and we saw the hen run out of the area (We think he bread her). He gobbled on his own and one cluck and yelp series fired him up again. He came in slow, strutting almost non stop. He broke over the swamp bank, spotted our decoy and continued to strut the rest of the way in. The rest is history.
Typical two year old. 18lbs, 9 ½” bear, ¾” spurs.
My brother-in-law (left) came in from NY on day two. He owed me from last year so he took over calling. We heard nothing on the roost within the same zip code so we headed to the strut zone. He called in a hen and exchanged a hail of aggressive clucks and yelps for over an hour. She circled us three times and stayed within 40 yards the whole time she was in. During the show, a jake came in but never gobbled. He didn’t even attempt to approach the live or decoy hen. This led us to believe Old Swamp Donkey was still in the area.
We came back in Friday and heard him gobbling on the roost. He was about 200 yards down the swamp but we decided to set up in the known strut zone. He did just as we thought on fly down and quickly closed the distance. He was within 100 yards when a hen fired up. He stopped gobbling for about 5minutes and we saw the hen run out of the area (We think he bread her). He gobbled on his own and one cluck and yelp series fired him up again. He came in slow, strutting almost non stop. He broke over the swamp bank, spotted our decoy and continued to strut the rest of the way in. The rest is history.
Typical two year old. 18lbs, 9 ½” bear, ¾” spurs.
