Got my shirt handed to me again

[poorhunter]

First time back out in a week. Walked my trail to the back of my property to where I have a good listening spot from where I could go in a couple directions from easily. Heard the first bird sound off across the holler, then another right across the creek maybe 150 yards away. Maybe 30 seconds later two gobble above my head! It was still pretty dark, and a lot of understory right there, so I snuck about 50 yards away and sat down. He commenced to gobbling very regularly, and then gobbling a lot, along with all the other birds in the neighborhood. Crazy crazy roost gobbling. I had 7 birds within striking distance in different directions gobbling their fool heads off. I heard a few birds fly down, but the one by me stayed in the roost gobbling. And stayed, and stayed, and stayed…it was almost 7 before he finally flew down, and not too surprisingly it wasn't right in front of me on the trail.
He continued to gobble on the ground, slowly working away from me, but he gobbled at all my calling. He never got more than 150 yards away and pretty much stayed put. I decided to try and make a move on him since I had a 9 o'clock appointment I couldn't miss. There was a creek right behind me 10 yards away, so I dipped down in it and moved 100 yards down it in the direction he had been moving, getting ahead of him and and back on the trail I have. He is still in the same place and I knew I had him where I wanted him.
Started calling and he is still hammering at every call and every scratching I do. Still won't finish. He gets maybe within 75 yards but no closer. I look at my phone and it reads 826. I give him everything I got with mouth call and slate at the same time trying to force him to commit, but all I get is more double and triple gobbles. At 835 I throw in the towel and sneak out. Not sure if it's the same bird I was on last Monday, but he sure acted like it. His name is El Diablo.

 

[tellico4x4]

I've got one of them that I tried 4 times since season opened.... Beginning to think he has trail cams up to pattern my approaches

 

[PalsPal]

Ah yes, the season wrecker has been named.

He'll consume your ever-waking thoughts.

I look forward to the next chapter. Good luck.

 

[Carlos]

That sounds like you did everything right and he just got lucky this time.

 

[Gravey]

Do not schedule an appointment early during turkey season if you have the opportunity to hunt. Good luck catching up to him later.

 

[woodsman04]

First time back out in a week. Walked my trail to the back of my property to where I have a good listening spot from where I could go in a couple directions from easily. Heard the first bird sound off across the holler, then another right across the creek maybe 150 yards away. Maybe 30 seconds later two gobble above my head! It was still pretty dark, and a lot of understory right there, so I snuck about 50 yards away and sat down. He commenced to gobbling very regularly, and then gobbling a lot, along with all the other birds in the neighborhood. Crazy crazy roost gobbling. I had 7 birds within striking distance in different directions gobbling their fool heads off. I heard a few birds fly down, but the one by me stayed in the roost gobbling. And stayed, and stayed, and stayed…it was almost 7 before he finally flew down, and not too surprisingly it wasn't right in front of me on the trail.
He continued to gobble on the ground, slowly working away from me, but he gobbled at all my calling. He never got more than 150 yards away and pretty much stayed put. I decided to try and make a move on him since I had a 9 o'clock appointment I couldn't miss. There was a creek right behind me 10 yards away, so I dipped down in it and moved 100 yards down it in the direction he had been moving, getting ahead of him and and back on the trail I have. He is still in the same place and I knew I had him where I wanted him.
Started calling and he is still hammering at every call and every scratching I do. Still won't finish. He gets maybe within 75 yards but no closer. I look at my phone and it reads 826. I give him everything I got with mouth call and slate at the same time trying to force him to commit, but all I get is more double and triple gobbles. At 835 I throw in the towel and sneak out. Not sure if it's the same bird I was on last Monday, but he sure acted like it. His name is El Diablo.

Sounds like he could have been bothered by you being so close at daylight?

I've had that happen before. All I can figure is they knew something wasn't right on the ground.

I also don't call to them in the tree. Not sure if you did or not, it's just something that doesn't seem to work for me.

 

[poorhunter]

Sounds like he could have been bothered by you being so close at daylight?

I've had that happen before. All I can figure is they knew something wasn't right on the ground.

I also don't call to them in the tree. Not sure if you did or not, it's just something that doesn't seem to work for me.

I have had the same thing happen before where I get too close to one on the roost and "think" I didn't bother him because he still gobbled on the roost. That one did the same thing this one did…stayed on the roost a long time and didn't come in after he flew down.

I almost never call to a bird on the roost, and didn't with this one for sure.

 

[PalsPal]

I hunted one a few years ago that wouldn't fly down until he saw a hen walk to his tree.

I know this because after being unsuccessful on 3 previous hunts, my dad and I made the 2 hr trip the last Saturday of the season. He was in the same tree, and I decided to see how close I could get with the full folage. I got close enough that I could see him on the limb and it was a good hour or so after first light.

I seriously thought about it, but before that temptation overcame me, he flew down and landed about 15 steps from me. At the shot, the hen that I had no idea was around flew from about 30 yards past him.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

Fighting purrs and wing beats in the leaves….