My second Va bird went down this morning. 17.4 lbs, 1" spurs, 9 3/8" beard. Wish I could talk about how great my calling was, etc., but the reality is I had been sitting for 2 plus hours and had seen 5 different hens and got cold. 34 degree's and lots of wind and well I'm old and I get cold.
I decided to go back to the barn and sit in the 4Runner for a while to warm up. Sat there for ten minutes and then decided to head down to a ground blind and put out a decoy and watch the bobber for a while. Had to walk through a rye field to get there and it had rises and dips. In years gone by I have spooked birds by walking into that field willy nilly and not taking it slow and looking hard. Walked up one of the dips real slow and there he was at 45 yards in full strutt. I immediately dropped to the ground and was digging around for a mouth call. Raised my head real slow and realized he was now at 40 yards and walking right at me. One second he would strutt and then he would stop and raise his head and look, and then start strutting again walking forward. Couldn't see the hen, but knew she had to be there. No time for camo gloves or anything. Raised the gun and waited. Sure enough he topped the rise and when I could see his head and the top of his shoulders I dropped the hammer on him. He was 22 yards away and fell over on his back and didn't twitch when the 20 gauge Heavyweights hit him. Hen was there of course and she went airborne. I'll never have an easier bird I'm thinking.
