Bottom of the Ninth
Dale and I met up on a farm we have hunted a couple times early Wednesday morning. Dale had not hunted this farm this season and I had hunted it once this season. On my one hunt Big Bird and I saw a lot of turkey sign in the old logging roads and we had also been very close to a gobbler.
Dale and I set up at an old slab pile and Dale built a quick blind while I set the decoy out. There was no need to use a locator call that morning since crows, owls, dogs and trains were doing an excellent job for us. Only problem was only one gobbler was sounding off about 200 yards away. We continued to sit listening to the distant gobbler gobble several times. About ten minutes later a hen clucks to our right about 80 yards away. Dale starts some small talk and a gobbler gobbles from about 80 yards away straight ahead. Somehow we had set up perfectly on a roosted gobbler. After several minutes of me thinking the gobbler was on the ground I see the longbeard sitting in an oak tree. As soon as I see him he launches out of the tree and lands in the clear cut behind some small buck pines. I shift to my right and let Dale know that there is bird on the ground. About thirty seconds later the bird walks out at 32 yards and stops to look at the decoy. The Stoeger 2000 barks and the bird is down.
I would like to thank Dale and Big Bird. I have had a difficult season and was beginning to think I was going to be birdless this year. There is nothing better then carrying out a bird with a good friend and calling another at home so he can here one flop.
