I've got a good setup for the morning. Sunday morning there were several birds gobbling in the holler, and in particular two were on the edge of my pasture on the neighbors who I have permission to hunt on. I talked with them and they told me what they did so I had a pretty good idea what I was going to do this morning. Of course they never gobbled on the roost. I did faintly hear one towards the opposite end of my property and thought "oh well, might go see what I can do with him". So I walked up the ridge and across my property while he is free gobbling on the roost pretty good. I get close to where I thought I could call him in to and call once. He hammers me and he's only 150 yards away, so I sit down right there because the woods are still wide open here. Call again and he is fired up, along with another one with him, and they immediately fly down. I call and he gobbles(just the one) closer, and in thirty seconds I see him strutting up the spur opposite me which is where I knew I needed to be. He commences to gobble and drum and strut at my every call. I go silent, he still gobbles and struts at 100 yards. I start hitting him with cutts and long series of yelps and he double and triple gobbles at me, but still won't budge. After an hour of this I hear steps behind me, turn to look and I see two birds a Jake and another, not sure if a Tom or not. They see me at 10 yards and putt some, but don't spook badly. They ease off on the other side of a hill, I call and now I have two birds gobbling at every call with me in the middle! One at 100 and one at 40. The one I had been calling to finally breaks a bit towards me, and I think I got him now. The other birds make their way down the spur I'm on, across the draw and begin to go up towards where the one bird is, and he folds up and walks away quickly. Crap. The two come up and I see for sure one is a Jake but I think the other is a tom. They hang around like the one did, gobbling at me but don't come. Then I hear the original bird up the on top of the ridge in a place I think I can call him in, so I stand up and skedadle up there. When I get up a ways, I call and he gobbles, but so does the other one that I thought for sure I would have scared off when I made the move. I now have the one I'm after at 50 yards on a logging road over a rise. He isn't coming closer but the other ones are with one gobbling like crazy so I turn towards their direction. In a minute I see one in strut at 30 yards, and let him have it when he stands up. I stand up to go get him and the one I've been chasing is standing in the logging road looking at me at 40 yards. I yell at him to run off you dummy! And go pick up my dead jake. 
Ooof!
Tonight at dark I went to see if I could roost the original bird, and sure enough he's in the same tree. I know where I'll be in the morning.
Ooof!Tonight at dark I went to see if I could roost the original bird, and sure enough he's in the same tree. I know where I'll be in the morning.
