Shortly after my last post I heard a gobble. It was around 12:30 and I’m a big believer that if you hear a turkey gobble midday you will kill that bird, unless you mess it up!
He was in the direction where I was headed. I decided to talk Turkey and make way to a clearing with a few apple trees in it and set up. Until this point I hadn’t used a decoy today, just calling. I get set up and talk to the gobbler for a bit, he is gobbling but doesn’t want to commit, because now there’s another hen yelping and working her way to me. The gobbler was just holding position what seemed about 100 yards up a small ravine from me. I couldn’t see him though. The hen finally gets there and I think I’m probably done. There is no gobbles and no yelps from the hen.
I move forward 50 yards, leaving my decoy where I was at. This will prove to be my fatal mistake.
After getting set up behind a deadfall I lay out some love notes for the Tom. Much to my surprise, I see movement about 40 yards away coming through the thick brush. It’s the hen. But 5 yards behind her is the Tom, strutting!! His head is blue as the clearest sky. The hen is feeding and looking for this other hen that should be there. She can’t find it and is starting to get nervous. Meanwhile, Tom is strutting two steps lefts, two steps right back and forth about 40 yards away but is not offering a shot. This goes on for what seems like an eternity, but it was probably 15 minutes until finally the hen has had enough and boogies out.
If I would have moved my decoy with me the hen probably would have committed, bringing the Tom with her. She was just concerned she could not see the turkey that was talking dirty to her man. So goes hunting.
