bowhunterfanatic
Well-Known Member
Been a pretty great weekend for me. Started off yesterday with a buddy and we called a bird through 4 foot high cotton stalks. I knew that at some point in time turkeys probably used cotton fields but I never imagined one would actually get out in all those stalks and do his thing. We were attempting to call the bird down the field edge and instead he went out through the meat of the field. We called his hen to inside 10 yards at one point and him inside 40 but we just never could get a shot on the tom due to the thickness of the stalks and his hen being so close. After laughing with each other about our bad luck on that bird I dropped my buddy off and went in search of another. It didn't take me long to find another field bird with two hens. After trying to call him every way imaginable with no success, I watched him breed a hen. As soon as he bred her she started trying to leave the field. I thought I had a good idea where she would exit the field so I got to stepping it and headed to that spot. As luck would have it I guessed correctly and beat her there. I watched her leave the field and her partner and the tom weren't far behind. I shot him at 41 steps.
This morning I did something that I'm very, very proud of and might not do again for quite a while. I didn't set an alarm this morning as I didn't really intend to go. I woke up at 4:50 and couldn't go back to sleep so I threw my clothes on and got in the truck. After hearing 0 gobbles on the roost in a couple different locations, I decided to spend 20 or so minutes getting deer stands down before the farmer plants his fields again. I had the stands down by 6:25 and didn't feel like going home yet, so I rode out to a small piece of ground my family owns. I had seen a gobbler there earlier in the year so I figured what the heck. As I was walking up the hill under the powerline some crows started making a ruckus and I heard him gobble. I knew exactly where he was so I picked up my pace. I slipped out to the field edge and to my surprise the gobbler hadn't quite made it out into the field yet, but his buddy and 3 hens had. I started calling a little and watched as the strutter made his way into the field. I got him to close the distance to roughly 55 yards but no closer. As I was sitting there contemplating my next move, one of his hens, which had already left the field, started cutting loudly. My hope waned as I watched the strutter and his buddy drop strut and literally run to the field edge and leave the field. Feeling defeated I made my way to the property line and watched as they strutted and gobbled in the neighbor's field. Two of the hens dusted themselves off real well and then started making their way out of the neighbors field. With nothing to lose I started calling for all I was worth. The strutter gobbled his brains out at me but never really moved. After a few minutes of this his buddy had heard all he could stand. He started coming. Luckily for me there is a rise in the neighbor's field so when they got behind it I scurried back 30 yards from the barbwire fence that runs down the line and set back up. I called one more time just to let them know where I was at and got my gun ready. After what seemed like an eternity I saw a fan coming my way through the field. I shot the strutter at roughly thirty yards right after he came through the fence. First time in my life I've successfully called a field bird off his hens, and to get him to come back through that fence just topped it off.
This morning I did something that I'm very, very proud of and might not do again for quite a while. I didn't set an alarm this morning as I didn't really intend to go. I woke up at 4:50 and couldn't go back to sleep so I threw my clothes on and got in the truck. After hearing 0 gobbles on the roost in a couple different locations, I decided to spend 20 or so minutes getting deer stands down before the farmer plants his fields again. I had the stands down by 6:25 and didn't feel like going home yet, so I rode out to a small piece of ground my family owns. I had seen a gobbler there earlier in the year so I figured what the heck. As I was walking up the hill under the powerline some crows started making a ruckus and I heard him gobble. I knew exactly where he was so I picked up my pace. I slipped out to the field edge and to my surprise the gobbler hadn't quite made it out into the field yet, but his buddy and 3 hens had. I started calling a little and watched as the strutter made his way into the field. I got him to close the distance to roughly 55 yards but no closer. As I was sitting there contemplating my next move, one of his hens, which had already left the field, started cutting loudly. My hope waned as I watched the strutter and his buddy drop strut and literally run to the field edge and leave the field. Feeling defeated I made my way to the property line and watched as they strutted and gobbled in the neighbor's field. Two of the hens dusted themselves off real well and then started making their way out of the neighbors field. With nothing to lose I started calling for all I was worth. The strutter gobbled his brains out at me but never really moved. After a few minutes of this his buddy had heard all he could stand. He started coming. Luckily for me there is a rise in the neighbor's field so when they got behind it I scurried back 30 yards from the barbwire fence that runs down the line and set back up. I called one more time just to let them know where I was at and got my gun ready. After what seemed like an eternity I saw a fan coming my way through the field. I shot the strutter at roughly thirty yards right after he came through the fence. First time in my life I've successfully called a field bird off his hens, and to get him to come back through that fence just topped it off.
