SpurHunter
Well-known member
With a kid in tow, I am heading back after the long-beard that has eluded us this last few weeks. I had almost given up hope that he was still in our hunting area after he seemingly dissapeared for more than a week. I wondered, Had he been killed, run off by the gaggle of jakes in the area, wounded in a territorial battle with a more dominant bird in the surrounding area? Coyotes, poachers, the list of dangers to a turkey of this caliber are many. One thing is for sure, he's a brute, and he is starting to haunt me. <div class="moz-text-html">
Although ANY turkey that a hunter, especially any bird achild harvests, is a trophy, there is something special about a monster long-beard. Their eye-sight and hearing is beyond compare to any other species...you don't often "sneak-up" on a mature bird, not on foot anyways. So I hunt on...</p>
<u>THE BIRD</u></p>
I had seen the big tom the first time on an adjacent property on the evening of the 6th, saw him on the huntable property feeding along all alone on the evening of the 7'th and at that point started to make a plan of attack. </p>
I was confident I knew where he was roosting, and the early morning of the 8th, with my daughter in tow, we reached the battlefield before daylight to setup a blind for the future hunts. He was sounding off to his hens as we got there, not exactly where I had planned, but even closer. "This will be the easiest bird I have ever hunted" I had thought at the time. It was pure torture hearing him bellow over and over while putting up the blind, and knowing I did not have time to hunt this very morning while he was hot. </p>
The wait to hunt him the evening of the 8th was almost too much to bear, but after getting the girl into the blind and seeing a turkey right where I had expected just an hour later was good medicine for a Spur hunter and his daughter. The old tom had tricked us and sent his army of jakes into our battlefield ahead of himself, and we were very fortunate to harvest a fine double-bearded jake that evening, but with-in 30 mins after that hunt was over, we had already started hoping to get a chance at the elder gobbler. </p>
The early hours of the 11'th were full of promise as we snuck into the roost area to get a hand-up on the big bird, only to discover that he had allowed the aforementioned gaggle of jakes to use his roost site. It was still a very neat expiration for Storm to see turkeys wake from their slumber and start the day. At one point I swear I heard the big gobble in response to a fly-down cackle from a hen in front of us, but no followup response for the 2 hours we waited, called and hoped. Before leaving, we saw a grouped of 4 jakes mingling and strutting for each other, practicing their mating dance for next years prom, which gave me hope that big boy had run them off and was conducting his courting of the harem of hens that day. </p>
Work and everyday life has kept us out of the hunt since that morning, but my scout was keeping me updated on the sights and sounds around the area, at one point cementing my fears the dominant bird was gone when reporting he had seen a hen with a jake in tow. NOT something a mean long-spured bird would allow if he knew what was going on. </p>
I decided to lay my own eye's on the property on the 19'th to confirm or reject my fears he was gone, and as I drove to a place I could see my blind placement, I was relieved, angered and disgusted all at one time to see a very lonely long-beard standing 10 feet, not yards, from our blind. Had we hunted that afternoon, we would have been set-up in the blind a good 30 mins before he arrived and with my Hazel Creek hen and jake decoys out to draw him in to us, it would have been game-over forthis birds rein of terror. </p>
Will he be there today and put on a show for us? Time will tell, at 6pm EST, I intend to have a child in tow, 20 ga in their hand, and holding a video camera waiting to record the events. </p>
Two weeks into season and I am already getting mentally tortured by wild turkeys...and I wouldn't have it any other way. </p>
</p>
</p></div>
Although ANY turkey that a hunter, especially any bird achild harvests, is a trophy, there is something special about a monster long-beard. Their eye-sight and hearing is beyond compare to any other species...you don't often "sneak-up" on a mature bird, not on foot anyways. So I hunt on...</p>
<u>THE BIRD</u></p>
I had seen the big tom the first time on an adjacent property on the evening of the 6th, saw him on the huntable property feeding along all alone on the evening of the 7'th and at that point started to make a plan of attack. </p>
I was confident I knew where he was roosting, and the early morning of the 8th, with my daughter in tow, we reached the battlefield before daylight to setup a blind for the future hunts. He was sounding off to his hens as we got there, not exactly where I had planned, but even closer. "This will be the easiest bird I have ever hunted" I had thought at the time. It was pure torture hearing him bellow over and over while putting up the blind, and knowing I did not have time to hunt this very morning while he was hot. </p>
The wait to hunt him the evening of the 8th was almost too much to bear, but after getting the girl into the blind and seeing a turkey right where I had expected just an hour later was good medicine for a Spur hunter and his daughter. The old tom had tricked us and sent his army of jakes into our battlefield ahead of himself, and we were very fortunate to harvest a fine double-bearded jake that evening, but with-in 30 mins after that hunt was over, we had already started hoping to get a chance at the elder gobbler. </p>
The early hours of the 11'th were full of promise as we snuck into the roost area to get a hand-up on the big bird, only to discover that he had allowed the aforementioned gaggle of jakes to use his roost site. It was still a very neat expiration for Storm to see turkeys wake from their slumber and start the day. At one point I swear I heard the big gobble in response to a fly-down cackle from a hen in front of us, but no followup response for the 2 hours we waited, called and hoped. Before leaving, we saw a grouped of 4 jakes mingling and strutting for each other, practicing their mating dance for next years prom, which gave me hope that big boy had run them off and was conducting his courting of the harem of hens that day. </p>
Work and everyday life has kept us out of the hunt since that morning, but my scout was keeping me updated on the sights and sounds around the area, at one point cementing my fears the dominant bird was gone when reporting he had seen a hen with a jake in tow. NOT something a mean long-spured bird would allow if he knew what was going on. </p>
I decided to lay my own eye's on the property on the 19'th to confirm or reject my fears he was gone, and as I drove to a place I could see my blind placement, I was relieved, angered and disgusted all at one time to see a very lonely long-beard standing 10 feet, not yards, from our blind. Had we hunted that afternoon, we would have been set-up in the blind a good 30 mins before he arrived and with my Hazel Creek hen and jake decoys out to draw him in to us, it would have been game-over forthis birds rein of terror. </p>
Will he be there today and put on a show for us? Time will tell, at 6pm EST, I intend to have a child in tow, 20 ga in their hand, and holding a video camera waiting to record the events. </p>
Two weeks into season and I am already getting mentally tortured by wild turkeys...and I wouldn't have it any other way. </p>
</p>
</p></div>
