After having a heck of a hard time finding any adult gobblers in the eastern part of the state for three hard hunting weeks of the Tenn season, I began to really focus my attention on birds in the mountains in east central Tennessee later in April. I grouse hunt a lot of this area and I knew where some birds might be, if they had not been boogered with too much. This is extremely rugged terrain, owned by large land companies or TWRA and is public hunting...or poached to the point it might as well be public. At any rate bird one was located on a windy , intermittent rain day while prospecting a mountain log road d at 8 am....I hit a series of loud calls at 8 am and this bird covered it up . I judged him to be 125 +- yards out in front of me, but it was hard to tell as there was a 20 mph wind with higher gusts. I took a chance and moved forward 75 yes as fast as I could down a long straight stretch in the road, , getting real close to a curve with lots of cover...I get down, and as I get the calls laid out, he gobble s just around the bend...this was a situation where you knew it was getting ready to happen..so I got the gun up and here he comes, gobbling and strutting around the curve..in range...a three yr old mtn bird..19 pounds, spurs over an inch, and a nice beard.




After about 20 days of the season I was finally in the Tenn book. A few days later a friend asked me to go to his place in middle Tenn near Tullahoma and hunt one morning. I got there the night before in time to look around a little and at daylight the next day I elected to try a small pasture that was so close to his place that I carried a coffee mug from the kitchen to the woods with me..I had seen some hens in n the field the afternoon before...at daylight , nothing..it was cold though...mid 30's. I just listened and finally 40 minutes after first light I heard a bird gobble twice at 250-300yds away..down a creek and in to another adjoining pasture. I made one of those strategic moves and picked up and ran 100 yards towards the bird, getting to a fence line that adjoined the pasture he was in(I thought). I get down, get the gun up, make one series of calls, and he gobbles hard back, and in a few seconds I hear gobbler clucking and over a rise in n the field at 125 yds here comes the bird, half running, half strutting, and clucking loudly..he came to with in 30 yds of where I am set -up, stops and goes in to full strut...I distinctly remember saying to myself"this is too good to be true"..a nice bird with the longest single beard I have ever taken myself..12 .5 inches...nice spurs too...




...then last week I go back to the big mountains and hear a bird I have hunted twice this year already. I know pretty much where he is when he gobbles at an owl before daylight and move to a place that is 100 yds in steep elevation below him and ..gulp..east of him...This choice of places violates every rule I have for a roosted bird set-up..never under and east. But I had killed birds in this one flat spot on a steep mountain in years before and believed he probably strutted in there some. So I set up before leaves the tree. I let him free gobble on his own until he hits the ground, and hoped for the best as far as hens. When he gets on the ground I do a fly down, and a light call series. He covers it..as does another bird 400 yds across a high mountain hollow. Closer bird gobbles and he gobbles, but I did not answer as I felt the bird knew exactly where I was. After 15 minutes the long bird across the hollow is on the ground but sounds a lot closer, like he has flown my way, and when he gobbles I answered him...at which point the closer bird(125 yd +-) goes nuts and marches straight down the hill in full strut to the gun. A mountain general I call them. Maybe 17 pounds, 10.5 inch beard and sharp inch spurs.



Then late one afternoon this weekned, my son and I went after a pasture bird that had eluded us one afternoon last week..I will let him post his story ...but his was the most exciting hunt of the year for me to observe...In more than 30 years of my experience, this has been the strangest spring season in the eastern part of Tenn. I think there are very very few adult birds in the area east of Knoxville; jakes a plenty. But hunters I know who have killed nice birds annually are still birdless this year. I am glad I moved west, or I could be in the same boat.

GN, some great hunts and some great stories. One definately has to adapt this season as compared to others. Congrats on a hard earned season.

Congratulations on a great season, hope to see you in June maybe.

Man i hear ya! Fine hunts, fine stories, and fine birds! Way to not give up and earn 'em! CONGRATS

Never had any doubts that you wouldn't score on several really nice toms before the season was over and with great stories to go with them. Congrats GN !
Sandbagger...... hummm!!
GS..

Great year GN.

Good going masked man!

Great work GN!!!

Doug

Put you on my hero list Congrats on a great spring!

Great Job GN!!!

Good Show GN!!!!..Congrads!!!!

I glad you got you nice bird. I just return from mountain of va. and got three gobbler this week. I thought I was going to get skunk and finally got them. I have tag out for last 11 year in turkey.

Larry, welcome to the board..generally what area of sw va are you hunitng? I hear some of the Lee Co areas aparently were really poor this last year? If you got 3 mature birds this spring, you did good I would say ...

You the man GN...........

Congrats GN.. we can always count on you and Three Toes to tag out ... bet I could learn a thing or two from you..