A pretty cool day
For me, this has been a really different season than most I have had. I have had some gobbling, and have put several birds in the trap that have turkeyed right out of it. Not my usual bonehead mistakes, but turkeys just doing turkey things that led to their survival.
On Monday I finally got my old man to chase turkeys instead of bass, and we had a great hunt. His hearing is really bad these days, but he had recently upgraded his hearing aids and thought he would enjoy it again.
We headed to a place that he has in St Matthews where we have had success before and set out in the dark. We only had one distant gobble at daylight, and after waiting for others, we headed off in his general direction. This place is very open, and my dad is as stealthy as a grand piano, but we worked our way to an area that turkeys like and where we would at least be in contact. Get him hidden, hit call and bam. He gobbled about 200 out, then gobbles again on his own. After a few minutes I get a little more aggressive and I’m cut off by him and 2 more that are 300ish 180 degrees from where the single was. Over the next 10 minutes, he shuts down, they get roaring hot and it’s on.
Pops is on my left, Birds coming from the right, open pines, just not a perfect situation. They gobble at 50ish and I see them coming down the sandy road. The looker is about 10 yards in front of the strutter, so he is going to be all up in my business before the strutter gets in my dad’s range. I’m buried in a small Longleaf and they are starting to figure this out when my dad dishrags the looker at 10 steps. I grab my gun and click the red dot in one motion in time to chop the strutter at 40(thank God for TSS).
We have had days where I killed 2, he killed 2, each killed 1 on different setups, but never a bam bam double.
You never know how many more hunts you have together, and I will certainly remember this one. He choked down his 101 mini bottle with frequent sips of sweet tea, and refused to pay the turkey Gods for he second. I think they’ll understand.
One more cool thing about this hunt was that Spurhunter sent me an old Greenleaf strap vest with a very kind note. He simply asked that I send him a pic with a dead turkey. I have kept the note in the pocket for just this occasion.
Them that don't know him won't like him, and them that do sometimes won't know how to take him
He ain't wrong, he's just different, and his pride won't let him do things to make you think he's right
They don't put Championship rings on smooth hands
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