Well its been a tough hunt thus far and have come close on a couple of occasions to closing the deal, but something would always go wrong. Most of my frustrations have been birds shutting up after pitch down and being henned up....which this bird did both. I was in a good spot surrounded by long beards gobbling and the the sun was up....then the pain hit 
...after taking care of nature with my shotgun beside me I eased back to my tree. After about an hour of listening I decided it was time to make a move. I started a stalk on a strutting bird (1 of 4) in a sage field. I belly crawled for about 75 yards. I saw his fan drop and thought the gig was up....until I realized he was breeding a hen. I used this opportunity to move even closer and was able to drop him at about 40 yards. This will be my first turkey mount. 8 beards: 10.5", 4", 4", 3.5", 3", 2.5", 2", 1.5" and possibly a ninth @ 1". Spurs 3/4. Weight 19.25 pounds. The pics of the beards don't show all of them....sorry...will post pics when I get him back from the taxidermist!!
...after taking care of nature with my shotgun beside me I eased back to my tree. After about an hour of listening I decided it was time to make a move. I started a stalk on a strutting bird (1 of 4) in a sage field. I belly crawled for about 75 yards. I saw his fan drop and thought the gig was up....until I realized he was breeding a hen. I used this opportunity to move even closer and was able to drop him at about 40 yards. This will be my first turkey mount. 8 beards: 10.5", 4", 4", 3.5", 3", 2.5", 2", 1.5" and possibly a ninth @ 1". Spurs 3/4. Weight 19.25 pounds. The pics of the beards don't show all of them....sorry...will post pics when I get him back from the taxidermist!!
