I'm dealing with a devil bird that I think is trying to kill me before I kill him!
Ist encounter: I walk in cold to an area that had some birds last year. As I ease into a good listening spot, he hammers about 90 yds away. Woods are really open, so I start looking for a tree to set up on. The one I need is about 20 yds away. Unfortunately, there is a roosted hen between me and the tree. So I ease down. A light tree call gets a double gobble, and I put the pot away. I watch him fly down, and come my way gobbling hard. He is so close I can feel the percussion. But, due to steepness of the ridge, I can't see him at all. He finally gets away from the bank far enough that I see him strutting at 80 yds. The hen over my head, and another further down the ridge fly down to him. I figured it was game over at that point. But, he responds to the Dawkins and eases back my way. He is again gobbling where I can't see him. He shuts up, and I have the gun up looking for a head. There is a big oak and a patch of greenbrier between me and the bottom off the point. I figure he is going to pop out to the left of the oak. Of course, I catch him out of the corner of my eye to the right. Smallish bird with a nice beard. He sees me in a not well hid state and clucks a couple of times and walks back off the lead. He gives me a FU gobble at 40yds. Round 1 to him and a good reminder to always cheat to the right in a setup.
Next: A couple of days later, I ease in from another direction from where he was roosted. He has a buddy with him and they are gobbling hard. I slip in to about 80 yds in the dark and set up. As it gets towards legal shooting time, a light tree call gets a response. A few minutes later, legal time but dark down in the bottom of that hollow, I watch him, his buddy, and 4 hens fly down into the side of the ridge at 75 yds. A light series of yelps gets an immediate response. At 40 yds, I watch him stretch out his neck and gobble. I am on him. But, there is a head between me and his neck. All of them are in a wad, cutting, purring, and gobbling. It is so dark they are black blobs with no chance to pick out a gobbler head. The two gobblers head up the hollow gobbling. The hens stay above me raising heck. The commotion calls in another big gobbler almost directly behind me. I can see him standing and gobbling at 90 yds of wide open woods. Finally the hens ease off toward the gobblers they were with, and the bird behind me walks off. I try a call to him and no response. The first two gobblers are heading up the creek drainage gobbling. I wait a while to keep from spooking the world, and then try to make a big loop to get ahead of them. That plan is interrupted by another bird gobbling close enough to go to. But, one of the Westvaco pine/brier thickets was between me and him. By the time I got over to that creek drainage, he had shut up and wouldn't answer.
So, back to plan B. I finish my loop and set up in some pretty turkey woods. By that time, the wind is gusting to 20+, even down in the hollow. I crank down pretty hard on the Dawkins aluminum pot, and almost imagined I heard a gobble way off. The wind died for a second, and I called again, with no response. A few minutes later, I look out, and see a gobbler heading my way at a dead run. I shoot him at 20 yds before he could attack me. I think it may have been the bird that was behind me because he was bigger than the devil bird and his buddy. 10" paintbrush beard and 1.25" spurs. Probably a 3 yr old bird. So plan b sort of worked, just not as intended.
Fast forward to today. I eased in again in the dark, and they were way up the hollow. I made a quick loop to where I killed last week, but they shut up when they flew down today. No response. With an idea on where they might be headed, I ease back to the truck, and drive way around. Got to a good calling spot, and heard nothing. Figuring they might be headed to a green field where I saw some hens last week, I make a big loop to check it out. They beat me out of the creek drainage by about 10 minutes, and are gobbling walking away and will not answer. The get a couple of hundred yds away and I get set up in the shadows on the field. I finally get an answer, but he is steadily going the other way. I move toward him about a 100 yds, and he is gobbling about 80 yds from that set up. No answer, and then he shuts up. About 20 minutes later, I look back to where I was first set up, and see him strutting. His buddy is with him along with some hens. Obviously the whole crew headed back where I couldn't see them at the bottom of the field. Finally after watching him strut, I threw caution to the wind and got my brand spanking new Jolley scratch tube out that Mr. Wendell sold me last week. It sounds like real turkey when I run it right. But, I can get a screech as well. Got lucky with a good series, and he broke his strut and started ambling my way. I was HID this time. I had the gun up and a smile on my face.
Then, at 60 yds, with zero warning, he takes to the air. It is like what the heck as I knew he hadn't seen me. About that time, between me and where he was, a coyote pops out into the field. I'm pretty POd, so I waste two of my $10 shells on him. He runs off pretty bloody, and the other turkeys fly as well.
I know from dealing with other season wreckers that I need to go to the other end of the lease and find someone else to play with. But, it is like a moth to a flame.......
Ist encounter: I walk in cold to an area that had some birds last year. As I ease into a good listening spot, he hammers about 90 yds away. Woods are really open, so I start looking for a tree to set up on. The one I need is about 20 yds away. Unfortunately, there is a roosted hen between me and the tree. So I ease down. A light tree call gets a double gobble, and I put the pot away. I watch him fly down, and come my way gobbling hard. He is so close I can feel the percussion. But, due to steepness of the ridge, I can't see him at all. He finally gets away from the bank far enough that I see him strutting at 80 yds. The hen over my head, and another further down the ridge fly down to him. I figured it was game over at that point. But, he responds to the Dawkins and eases back my way. He is again gobbling where I can't see him. He shuts up, and I have the gun up looking for a head. There is a big oak and a patch of greenbrier between me and the bottom off the point. I figure he is going to pop out to the left of the oak. Of course, I catch him out of the corner of my eye to the right. Smallish bird with a nice beard. He sees me in a not well hid state and clucks a couple of times and walks back off the lead. He gives me a FU gobble at 40yds. Round 1 to him and a good reminder to always cheat to the right in a setup.
Next: A couple of days later, I ease in from another direction from where he was roosted. He has a buddy with him and they are gobbling hard. I slip in to about 80 yds in the dark and set up. As it gets towards legal shooting time, a light tree call gets a response. A few minutes later, legal time but dark down in the bottom of that hollow, I watch him, his buddy, and 4 hens fly down into the side of the ridge at 75 yds. A light series of yelps gets an immediate response. At 40 yds, I watch him stretch out his neck and gobble. I am on him. But, there is a head between me and his neck. All of them are in a wad, cutting, purring, and gobbling. It is so dark they are black blobs with no chance to pick out a gobbler head. The two gobblers head up the hollow gobbling. The hens stay above me raising heck. The commotion calls in another big gobbler almost directly behind me. I can see him standing and gobbling at 90 yds of wide open woods. Finally the hens ease off toward the gobblers they were with, and the bird behind me walks off. I try a call to him and no response. The first two gobblers are heading up the creek drainage gobbling. I wait a while to keep from spooking the world, and then try to make a big loop to get ahead of them. That plan is interrupted by another bird gobbling close enough to go to. But, one of the Westvaco pine/brier thickets was between me and him. By the time I got over to that creek drainage, he had shut up and wouldn't answer.
So, back to plan B. I finish my loop and set up in some pretty turkey woods. By that time, the wind is gusting to 20+, even down in the hollow. I crank down pretty hard on the Dawkins aluminum pot, and almost imagined I heard a gobble way off. The wind died for a second, and I called again, with no response. A few minutes later, I look out, and see a gobbler heading my way at a dead run. I shoot him at 20 yds before he could attack me. I think it may have been the bird that was behind me because he was bigger than the devil bird and his buddy. 10" paintbrush beard and 1.25" spurs. Probably a 3 yr old bird. So plan b sort of worked, just not as intended.
Fast forward to today. I eased in again in the dark, and they were way up the hollow. I made a quick loop to where I killed last week, but they shut up when they flew down today. No response. With an idea on where they might be headed, I ease back to the truck, and drive way around. Got to a good calling spot, and heard nothing. Figuring they might be headed to a green field where I saw some hens last week, I make a big loop to check it out. They beat me out of the creek drainage by about 10 minutes, and are gobbling walking away and will not answer. The get a couple of hundred yds away and I get set up in the shadows on the field. I finally get an answer, but he is steadily going the other way. I move toward him about a 100 yds, and he is gobbling about 80 yds from that set up. No answer, and then he shuts up. About 20 minutes later, I look back to where I was first set up, and see him strutting. His buddy is with him along with some hens. Obviously the whole crew headed back where I couldn't see them at the bottom of the field. Finally after watching him strut, I threw caution to the wind and got my brand spanking new Jolley scratch tube out that Mr. Wendell sold me last week. It sounds like real turkey when I run it right. But, I can get a screech as well. Got lucky with a good series, and he broke his strut and started ambling my way. I was HID this time. I had the gun up and a smile on my face.
Then, at 60 yds, with zero warning, he takes to the air. It is like what the heck as I knew he hadn't seen me. About that time, between me and where he was, a coyote pops out into the field. I'm pretty POd, so I waste two of my $10 shells on him. He runs off pretty bloody, and the other turkeys fly as well.
I know from dealing with other season wreckers that I need to go to the other end of the lease and find someone else to play with. But, it is like a moth to a flame.......
