Very bittersweet day indeed. Woke up to pouring down rain at 430 am. Looked at the radar at Strasburg and it was pouring down there as well. Debated all of 5 minutes and said I gotta give it a shot. Did the one hour drive with a brief stop at Sheetz in Winchester were I slugged down some bad coffee while waiting for the downpour to stop and not soak me on the way to the 4Runner.



Drove the extra 20 minutes and it was just raining normal by the time I got there at 530. Pulled in the haybarn (big open tractor shed where they store both tractors and hay). Listened to the rain hit the tin roof for 5 minutes and then decided to put on the rain gear and get going. Big debate on whether to take the Abby Gun in the weather, but decided I'd just dry it out good afterwards as it appeared most of the rain was moving east of me. Did the all of 150 yard walk to where I had a ground blind set up and plopped my butt in a Thugs chair and immediately got a soaked butt. Too late now and wet it would stay for the entire duration of the hunt. I had put out the two hen dekes from yesterday about 15 yards out in front of me where a 2 track funnels its way right through two different patches of hard woods and scrub cedars. Good place for a grouse blind as the Cedars always offer some cover no matter the time of the year.



The wait begins. At 6:23 one gobbles. No idea where exactly he is as water is dripping on top of me from branches and hitting the rain suit making triangulation really difficult. 10 minutes later he sounds off again and I have his location figured out. About 150 yards in front of me where the woods run out and there's an open field. Then I hear the hens fire up and he hammers back at them. At 7 am I hear the last exchange of love talk and the silence begins.



Well, for an hour nothing and then I hear a crow fire off and bird gobbles at him. I know where he is walking a two track that circles back to me. I figure he is probably 400 yards away at least. I pull out the Heart Breaker and hammer it a few times and nothing. I decide to go into what I call the 15 minute cycle. Every 15 minutes I let out a series of yelps and then put the call down and wait another 15 minutes and then repeat the sequence. This continues and I never get a response. I decide that maybe they can see my dekes further down the trail and maybe the hens don't want company. So I sneak out and grab both dekes and put them behind the blind and sit back down.



Finally at a 10 am a hen comes walking by at 15 yards all by herself and just keeps on walking towards a monster wheat field in front of me.



I wait until she gets out of sight and then a few more minutes and then at 10:15 I do hit the Heartbreaker again and set it down. 15 minutes later I look up and a hen is walking right to me. I mean into my lap. She is about 4 yards from the blind. I can't even see her because she is below me and the blind is blocking my view of her. Well, I look to the right side of the blind where its back to being open again and she doesn't show. Then I try to peak my head up to see where she is exactly she is, because I think I can almost touch her with the gun barrel. I'm so engrossed with this hen that my ears and my mind are no longer connected. Finally they reconnect and I hear him plain as day. Spitting and Drumming and almost on top of me. Look to my left and there he is a 15 yards away coming from left to right clearing some brush between him and me. I pull the gun up hoping the hen truly can't see me and point the Abby Gun towards the gobbler and wait. At about 12 yards he suddenly stops and starts to fold up and I see just about a 3" opening in the brush where I think I can clearly see his head and pull the right trigger and touch off the RST's. Kaboom and he is flattened.



Jump up and run over, but no need to do anything. He's done. Rub a tear my eye as indeed this is the end of an era for me. What a wonderful way to end it.



Bird is the more typical Strasburg dominant bird. 22 lbs 12 oz. Razor sharp spurs and a 10" beard. Not sure if he was the dominate bird on the farm or not, but he certainly was a good one. A few pics attached.

Great ending. I wished you luck in a prior post but this episode here sort of goes beyond luck and in to some real tactics and skill. Congratulations again

Congrats on a great ending.

Congrats on a great hunt


Doug

I don't think you could have hand written a better ending of an era, Devine intervention, congratulations on two outstanding hunts to open and close.

Good way to end it.. places to hunt come and go man.. find a new favorite..

Perseverance pays. Good job and way to end it.
V

Congratulations Tom, I looked for this post all day yesterday and finally saw it as I was going out the door this am. Don't give up hope. The farm I hunted this morning is a place that I leased from a very good friend for about 20 years and grew dove plots on. When my friend died about 15 years ago his son really showed his true colors with his mother over the division of property in my friends will and I left never wanting to have any more to do with him (he directly inherited the farm minus the house and ten acres). I got a call from a Mennonite friend three years ago saying that he had leased the hunting rights from the son and he offered me hunting rights on the whole farm. In the past two years I have killed three birds off this farm, two with multiple beards. Every time that I hunt their I feel close to my old friend. Hope you have a similar conclusion.

Tut, I was waiting to see how your last hunt went and am glad it turned out the way it did.
Like WVBoy said, “...places to hunt come and go...” but this one will always be special.

Congrats Tut you've been on fire lately.

The ABBY gun, great bird, what a way to end an ERA. Congratulations on a lifetime memory.

Earl