Opening Morning Success

[JALA RUT]

The morning started off with some gobbles from on roost, sounding like at least two gobblers in the area.  As shooting time arrived I did some soft tree yelps that I eventually followed up with two fly down cackles.  We exchanged some yelps and gobbles back and forth throughout the first hour of the morning but they were a no show sticking to the hens that I can hear with them.  I tried aggravated the hens with my calling trying to be louder than them and cutting off their calls but to no avail as eventually the hens and gobblers calls became fainter and fainter.  Doing sporadic yelps and cuts throughout the morning, some gobbles were finally thrown back at me a little after 8:00, from the direction the gobblers had walked off with the hens.  They were coming back looking for the amorous hen they heard in the area earlier.  However they eventually walked back along their same trail, within hearing distance but still out of sight and eventually walked out of the area again. So, I decided to move along the pond and down along the edge of some pines to get me closer to the area they had moved through. I couldn't go into the area that they were moving through as this was posted property to the north of my property so I sat along the pines on my side hoping to pull them onto my property.  Once in position, I let out some yelps that were immediately answered with some gobbles.  By sound, I guessed that they were within a couple hundred yards of my set up.  My next set of yelps were answered with additional gobbles confirming that they were closing the distance.  Eventually I saw four turkeys heading my way but they hung up on the posted property about eighty yards away.  I could now see that they were four jakes and they were gobbling their heads off...that is such an awesome sound in the spring woods.  Well, I decided that I was going to pass on the jakes but wanted to see if I can still call them into my set up and started playing with them.  I was throwing yelps and cuts at them, enjoying the show listening to these four jakes gobbling like mad in quartet fashion.  Eventually they worked their way into about 25 - 30 yards of me and now in view of them, I couldn't use my slate without them seeing the movement.  So they just stood there looking for the hen that was teasing them so bad.  They were so hot and bothered that they were gobbling at any bird sound or other sound in the woods ... an amazing show!  After about 3 or so minutes of not seeing the hen that should be there, they started to slowly wander off.  After they moved through some thick brush and trees as they walked away out of range, I started to second guess passing on them, remembering striking out last year.  I thought that I should have taken one of the jakes and then hold out for a chance at a long beard the rest of the season.  So, I grabbed my pot call again, now that my movement was shielded by brush and trees.  I let out some yelps and cuts that were immediately cut off by a quartet of gobbles again.  I let out a few more yelps and some cuts that the quartet immediately gobbled to and I put down the pot call and readied my gun.  Low and behold they were coming back again looking for this disappearing hen.  I steadied my bead on one of the jakes' head and ended up dropping him in his tracks at about 30 yards.  What an exciting awesome morning.  Now to find one of them long beards!

Good luck all!  

[G-Man]

Congrats

[Lawdwaz]

A bird in the hand..........

[maytom]

Congrats!!!