Post by Bartman on Apr 28, 2013 13:21:19 GMT -5
Knew I only had a short time to hunt today as I had to be at work by 8AM. I figured an hour or two is better than nothing so what the heck. My plan was to get to the farm and listen for a gobbler and do my best to get in close since I didn't have time to wait things out. Anyway, got out of the truck at 5:15 and by 5:30 most of the birds gobbling were across the street. I sat up in a random spot and figured I'd give it a shot. At about 6:15 I thought I heard a bird gobble on the back part of the farm, so I grabbed the jake and hen decoys and went for a look. I spotted 2 hens with a real nice strutter in tow at 500 yards in the field. I utilized what geography (aka going over my boots in the swamp) I could to close the distance to 200 yards. I was able to get a jake decoy on the edge of the field about 30 yards behind me. After about 15 minutes of the bird gobbling at everything I had, but not moving, I realized that I had to do something as my time to hunt was closing fast. I was unable to get any closer without spooking them (I was already kneeling behind a downfall with my feet in the water). That's when the idea hit me. I spotted a perfect 6ft branch that had a 90 degree bend with another 3 foot stick at the end (basically a big L). After some crude fashioning, I placed my hen decoy on the upright end of the stick and stuck it out on the edge of the field and moved it a bit while I yelped. When I looked down to set the stick down so the decoy didn't fall over I didn't realize that one hen was already on the run. She got within 15 yards with the big gobbler in a nice trot behind her. Anyway, I busted him at 30 yards and made it to work in time. My wife was kind enough to gut the bird for me and place it on ice until I could get some pics when I came home from work. Bird weighed 21.5lbs gutted had a 9" beard and 1 1/4" spurs. Definitely made my day. I'm glad my last minute ingenuity saved the hunt. I'll always fondly remember this bird as the one I had to shake a stick at.
