Post by redmandant on May 8, 2013 10:16:17 GMT -5
It all started out on saturday when I was talking to my cousins son. 'Wanna kill a bird?' I say in a drunkin stupor at my 40th b-day party. 'Hell ya!' he says.. We made some plans for today and he arrived at my door at 4:15am. I scouted a bunch of properties last night but there was nary a bird to be seen anywhere. We head to one property that traditionally carries some birds and off we go. Down the back 40, thru the cedars (where we bust a bird off the roost..) and across a swampy area getting a couple of soakers for our troubles. Out go two hen decoys and a Jake and we settle in against a cedar rail fence and some old sugar maples.
Legal time brings gobbles in the distance but nothing close, then I start to see some movement in the trees 60yds away. At fly down we have 4 hens milling around us paying no attention to the dekes and Steven was pretty excited about that. We played with them for a while exchanging some yelps but no cutting at all, one even had a dust bath for 10mins 40yds from us before heading off over the hill.
At around 6:30 I see a mangy yote making his way down the treeline and I tell Steven I want you to kill it when it gets close. Well 20yds was close enough for him and he gave it a load of #6 as it lunged at the decoy and the follow up shot gave him his final resting spot in the middle of the bog...(hence no pictures)
We stayed put and were rewarded an hour later when the gobbles started up again. 2 Toms enter the field struttin away for 4 hens 3ooyds away. The hens started to lead them away when they saw our decoys but I was having none of that. I pull out the crystal and started hammering away with a long series of fighting purrs. The Toms break away from the hens and head towards our set up, strutting all the way in 80, 70, 50 and at 20yds the big boy stretches his neck out when I loudly whisper 'Kill Him!'..
Stone dead at 20yds, the 20ga thunder stick roars again. Would have been an easy double as the second Tom stood there until Steven let out a 'WOOHOO!!!" louder than the gunshot... but alas, his dad had to work today.(sucker)
Anyways, congrats Steven on your first of many, thank you for letting me be a part of it.
20lb, 10.5" beard, 1" spurs
RED
Legal time brings gobbles in the distance but nothing close, then I start to see some movement in the trees 60yds away. At fly down we have 4 hens milling around us paying no attention to the dekes and Steven was pretty excited about that. We played with them for a while exchanging some yelps but no cutting at all, one even had a dust bath for 10mins 40yds from us before heading off over the hill.
At around 6:30 I see a mangy yote making his way down the treeline and I tell Steven I want you to kill it when it gets close. Well 20yds was close enough for him and he gave it a load of #6 as it lunged at the decoy and the follow up shot gave him his final resting spot in the middle of the bog...(hence no pictures)
We stayed put and were rewarded an hour later when the gobbles started up again. 2 Toms enter the field struttin away for 4 hens 3ooyds away. The hens started to lead them away when they saw our decoys but I was having none of that. I pull out the crystal and started hammering away with a long series of fighting purrs. The Toms break away from the hens and head towards our set up, strutting all the way in 80, 70, 50 and at 20yds the big boy stretches his neck out when I loudly whisper 'Kill Him!'..
Stone dead at 20yds, the 20ga thunder stick roars again. Would have been an easy double as the second Tom stood there until Steven let out a 'WOOHOO!!!" louder than the gunshot... but alas, his dad had to work today.(sucker)
Anyways, congrats Steven on your first of many, thank you for letting me be a part of it.
20lb, 10.5" beard, 1" spurs
RED