scouting for them about a good month in advance to our hunt. Every weekend I went out to the public and listened, drove around, glassed fields and learned the areas that held the most birds. Every spot I heard /seen a gobbler I marked on my map. it was obvious to see what areas held the most activity.
[bbvideo=425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ETWLtjwD8[/bbvideo]
[bbvideo=425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY9-CcsC8TQ[/bbvideo]
for 5 days in a row I was able to sneak into a known roosting area and watch the toms closely . 3 days prior to our hunt, I was sneaking around the roosting area and I was suddenly cut off by a VERY CLOSE GOBBLE!!!!! I quickly sat down and played around ...I did some mouth calls and he fired back. all the wile 4 other toms were making there way towards me unknowingly. I sat in aww as the 4 toms passed with in 15 yards of me
after they pasted and was out of view I snuck out and went up on the trail to see if I could see the tom that was gobbling. I looked down the trail and there he was in full strut! I gave him a few yelps and he walked right in, into 5 yards all I could do was stand there and watch him strut this stuff 5 yards away. he even gobbled a few times! what thunder!! what a rush!!! after he didn't see a hen , he walked back down the trail and I slipped out for good. [bbvideo=425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7REC36JEGHw[/bbvideo]
I left that area alone for opening day because I know its not hunted hard. its hard to hear the gobbling from any road in the area . you have to get off the beaten path to get back there. the night before opener I had a tom roosted for Jodi. we got up at 3 am, made coffee and headed out the door. "Early bird gets the worm". we arrived nice and early. we slipped in to about 50 yards of the roosted tom . I have some crazy awesome video of him gobbling and strutting up in the tree. The tom was all by him self . I thought It was a done deal! when the tom flew down he hung up just out of range of Jodi's youth model shotgun. he put on a good show for Jodi and walked off into the unknown. we slipped out of there with high spirts and went on to the next spot. first we drove around checking fields like usually and then settled for one of my favorite spots. we set up the pretty boy and dsd hen. it was kinda windy out so it was hard to hear. I let out some calls and swore I heard a gobble but couldn't tell . after about 15 minutes I called again and sure enough it was a gobble!!! I started cutting real loud and he cut me off instantly. I told Jodi to get ready and no sooner I look up and here he comes! he was on a dead run right for the decoys. I turned on my camera and got ready (I have all this on video just haven't uploaded it yet). he got to about 20 yards and she fired. it was a clean miss
her first miss. I said "welcome to turkey hunting" 
the rest of the day was pretty slow. that night I went into were Ive been watching those toms. I was able to get 2 toms located for the next days hunt. rain and fog was forecasted for the next morning so Jodi decided to sleep in. 3 am came early, I gathered my gear and left the house. it was a light rain and heavy fog. I snuck into the woods, crossed a small river and topped a small ridge were the toms were roosting. because of the rain I was able to sneak right under them to about 30 yards on the roost. I set up the stutter and dsd hen. light came fast and they sounded off like thunder!!! they gobbled like crazy to every little noise. wood ducks, truck horn, geese, cranes, frogs j/k.... At first they were facing away from me. as it got lighter one of them seen the decoy and turned towards me. the first tom pitched down right to me at about 545 am. I had him in my sights and waited for the other tom . with in seconds the other toms pitched down and know both toms were 15 yards from me looking at my decoys. i picked the biggest tom and fired . he didn't even flop i snapped some pics, headed back home and was back before Jodi got out of bed
to be continued onto Jodi's hunt and kill.......
23 pounds
9 1/2 in. beard
1. spurs
