Although the birds had gone quiet, I knew they were still there. I set up in, ummmm...a very small clearing. It was quite thick in there, especially with all the early growth this year.
All it took was one set of yelps, using my voice box...and a gobbler sounded off, not 60 yards away. I caught him moving through the brush and tried to find him in the scope. He was gobbling his fool head off the whole time, looking for the 'hen' he had just heard. It was really thick in there so I took my eyes off the scope and scanned the brush for him again. I could hear him, but couldn't see him. Then, there it was, his head, in a small opening. He was standing on the other side of a small hill, so all I could see was his head. I judged the distance at 45 yards and figured the shot was too long.
He hung up right in that spot for what seemed like hours, but was probably six minutes, gobbling and frantically looking around for the hen that called him. I made the decision to take the shot. I had patterned my gun out to 50 yards, using Hevi 13 #6s and an Indian Creek choke and knew it patterned well. I turned my Leupold scope's power up to 7, max power and found the bird's head in the scope.
I squeezed the trigger and, of course, couldn't see the bird. I got up, crested the small hill through the brush and there he was, stone cold dead. People can be naysayers of the 'premium' shot, but that stuff works. I've never thrown better patterns out of my gun.
I was out the next day on a different property in the same area and what a change! No gobbling at all, from any direction. I stayed out until 10:30am or so and had glassed a few birds in adjacent fields, but, no dice...completely unresponsive.
After spending a couple days away from home, I'm taking a day off today and will be back out tomorrow trying to get my wife's cousin her first bird. The gun will be in her hands and she has first dibs. I already have a good bird under my belt for this season, after all.
22lbs
9.5" beard
1" spurs
Good looking Thunder Chicken and great story to go along with it!
