Sitting the scene, is Texas opener last year just before daylight. Now the story:

I was slipping in as it was breaking day, walking up an old road on a piece of property consisting of 660 acres. As I was coming in the birds were gobbling in all directions. I would say at least ten different gobblers were sounding off. As I got closer to a small grove of live oaks I decided it was getting too light too fast and I needed to take drastic action. So I litterally I dove into that patch of live oaks. No time to do anything except put in a mouth call and plant my butt on the ground. Not even time to put my back against the tree.

Made one series of soft yelps and the closest gobbler cut loose of his roost. Next thing I know I hear him fly out of the tree, hit the ground and cut loose. I yelp again and he cuts me off and is coming in like a steamroller. Finally spot him and it is about 100 yards away running in fast, beard swinging this way and that. At about 50 yards away he stops and strutts. I'd call and he'd gobble and strutt some more. This went on for 20 minutes. Had my gun on my shoulder and thought both arms would fall off. Couldn't do a thing except make an occasional yelp as he was looking right at me. The stalemate continued for what seems like an eternity.

From the left side of me I suddengly realize there is a new bunch of players entering into the game. More birds coming in and they are angry and loud. I'd yelp to my hung up bird, he'd cut me off and they'd go nuts to my left getting louder by the second. Couldn't turn my head that way as my bird was still locked in on me looking hard for that hen. Finally as I was just about to pull the trigger and try that 50 yard shot, my bird folded his fan, tucked his wings and took off on a dead sprint 180 degrees away from me probably doing 40 mph.

Out of the corner of my left eye I catch movement and turn my head a few degrees and 4 long beards are coming in on a dead run chasing after my bird ready to kick a little satellite bird butt. As they come by in a blur, I shifted my Benelli to the left a tad and let out one yelp out of my mouth call. All 4 long beards come to an immediate and complete stop literally crashing into each other. I pick out the biggest bird and put him down at a distance of 11 yards. Three year old bird, 20 lbs 1.5 inch spurs, 9" beard.

That gentlemen is the best I've had. Would have made an incredible video.

Great story! I would love to have seen the video (if you had one). If that doesn't get your heart pumping, your dead

A few years ago while I was attending Virginia Tech I was dating a girl that went to Radford. One evening I was at the apartment in Radford, just got back from running and from across the New River i could hear a turkey gobbling. Since her apartment was right at the river, I walked to the water and hooted and he answered back. The next morning I drove around to the other side of the river and was trying to find where about the apartments were on the other side so I could zero in on the gobbler had been. As luck would have it I found the spot and down the road a woman was walking up the road. I pulled up and spoke to her asking if she knew who owened the land. To my suprise she said she did. Now everyone here knows what my next question was. I asked her if I could hunt and she said sure. I felt like I had won the lottery. I was expecting a No. However I had only one problem. I did not have a shotgun at school. So with me always wanting a Mosburg 835 that afternoon I went to a local gun shop and bought one. The next morning I got my stuff together and drove to the property. Sure enough as the sun came up so did the gobbler. It eneded up being one of the toughest longbeards I had ever hunted. After 2 hours of calling and moving from bottom to ridge I had him at 20 yards with a shotgun that had never been fired. As the gun went off he flipped over and rolled down the mountian towards the river. I finally got to him and just sat there holding on to the moment. Man was it beautiful up there. I do love turkey hunting in the mountians. I enjoyed every step back to the car and drove to the store where I bought the gun the day before and tagged the turkey. It drove those guys nuts. It was the greatest hunt from the first gobble I heard the evening before.

it all runs together....