Well, it wasn't the big old tom we were hoping to get, but we finally got my girlfriend her first Montana turkey last weekend. We put in a ton of hard work, had some bad luck, and made a bunch of mistakes this year, but it all came together on Sunday.
We were hunting the same piece of public ground that I had shot my tom on last weekend. We had been starting each morning in a ground blind we had built that was centrally located. Each morning, we would have birds in several directions, but they were always down below us on the neighboring private ground. Typically, the birds would work their way to the east and would emerge late in the morning onto an old road. Unfortunately, they just wouldn't cooperate by following that road to the public land. It was getting frustrating knowing that there were lots of gobblers in the area but we just couldn't go after them and they were not leaving hens to come to our calling.
Sunday morning was different from the start. The birds were roosted where we had expected them to be and right where they had been the day before. On Saturday, we made a move to the west towards the gobbling, only to have the birds head back to the east towards where we had just come from. Because of this, we were reluctant to head west towards the gobbling, as we feared they may do exactly as they had done the day before and we would be wasting our time and energy only to have to backtrack to square one. Sunday was different though, and the gobbling started to move further to the west, becoming faint at first and then the mountain fell totally silent. We decided we had to give it a shot, and we packed up the decoys and left the blind to chase after the group of gobblers. We descended into the draw bottom and then climbed atop the neighboring ridge. Once we crested this ridge, we could hear the gobbling again, but it was still a fair distance to the west. We kept moving but before long we had reached the corner of the public section that we were hunting. The gobblers were not too far, only a couple hundred yards away from the sounds of the gobbles. We got our decoys set up and began to call. The gobblers could definitely hear us and would gobble at each calling sequence. Another group of birds starting gobbling to the north of us, but they also sounded to be just over the boundary line and on private ground. The gobbling from the group we were originally following was getting further away, and things weren't looking too promising. After 15 minutes or so, a new bird let out a gobble, also to the north but definitely closer than any of the others. More time passed, and this bird only gobbled a couple more times and was gobbling far less that the other two sets of birds. The few times that he gobbled though, he definitely sounded to be closing the distance. Ashley was set up facing the decoys to the south of our position, while I was facing north towards the bird that seemed to be getting closer. We contemplated getting her turned around, but ultimately decided not to and instead hoped that if he came in he would see the decoys and work his way to them. A few clucks on the slate call and he lets out a gobble. It's a very short gobble but it's close. I let Ashley know that I think this bird is a jake, and she lets me know that it doesn't matter. At this point, jake or tom, lead is gonna be flying.
Then I spot movement and get the binoculars up. It's definitely him and he is headed straight towards us. I let Ashley know I can see a bird coming, and she asks if it is a tom or a hen. Right after she asks me he lets out a gobble and answers her question for me. At this point I put the call down and let his curiosity lead him in. He eventually works his way to my left and goes out of sight below a small rise. I don't see him again until he is nearly on top of us, when he lets out another gobble. Then I spot the red head to my left moving through the grass. He is close, probably only 30 yards at this point, and I can hear his steps. I am thinking that by now, he has spotted the decoys, and is headed for them. His path is going to take him right by Ashley, but she is still facing towards the decoys and away from the approaching turkey. He is coming from behind her and to her right, and he works past her at about 6 or 7 yards. He's too close for me to whisper anything to her at this point, but I am wanting to tell her to be patient and let him continue towards the decoys. If she shoots too soon she better be dead on because her pattern will be too tight. Luckily she must have been thinking the same thing and let the jake continue walking right towards the decoys. Once he was far enough past me I slowly got turned around so I could see it all unfold. She lets him get out to 15 yards or so and I am wondering when she is going to shoot. Just like that the Mossberg shatters the silence and the jake piles up. After all the hard work she put in during the season, I could feel the weight come off her shoulders after she made the shot. To say she was excited would be an understatement. I couldn't be happier with the result and it couldn't have come to a more deserving hunter. She earned this one without a doubt. Here are a few photos...
We were hunting the same piece of public ground that I had shot my tom on last weekend. We had been starting each morning in a ground blind we had built that was centrally located. Each morning, we would have birds in several directions, but they were always down below us on the neighboring private ground. Typically, the birds would work their way to the east and would emerge late in the morning onto an old road. Unfortunately, they just wouldn't cooperate by following that road to the public land. It was getting frustrating knowing that there were lots of gobblers in the area but we just couldn't go after them and they were not leaving hens to come to our calling.
Sunday morning was different from the start. The birds were roosted where we had expected them to be and right where they had been the day before. On Saturday, we made a move to the west towards the gobbling, only to have the birds head back to the east towards where we had just come from. Because of this, we were reluctant to head west towards the gobbling, as we feared they may do exactly as they had done the day before and we would be wasting our time and energy only to have to backtrack to square one. Sunday was different though, and the gobbling started to move further to the west, becoming faint at first and then the mountain fell totally silent. We decided we had to give it a shot, and we packed up the decoys and left the blind to chase after the group of gobblers. We descended into the draw bottom and then climbed atop the neighboring ridge. Once we crested this ridge, we could hear the gobbling again, but it was still a fair distance to the west. We kept moving but before long we had reached the corner of the public section that we were hunting. The gobblers were not too far, only a couple hundred yards away from the sounds of the gobbles. We got our decoys set up and began to call. The gobblers could definitely hear us and would gobble at each calling sequence. Another group of birds starting gobbling to the north of us, but they also sounded to be just over the boundary line and on private ground. The gobbling from the group we were originally following was getting further away, and things weren't looking too promising. After 15 minutes or so, a new bird let out a gobble, also to the north but definitely closer than any of the others. More time passed, and this bird only gobbled a couple more times and was gobbling far less that the other two sets of birds. The few times that he gobbled though, he definitely sounded to be closing the distance. Ashley was set up facing the decoys to the south of our position, while I was facing north towards the bird that seemed to be getting closer. We contemplated getting her turned around, but ultimately decided not to and instead hoped that if he came in he would see the decoys and work his way to them. A few clucks on the slate call and he lets out a gobble. It's a very short gobble but it's close. I let Ashley know that I think this bird is a jake, and she lets me know that it doesn't matter. At this point, jake or tom, lead is gonna be flying.
Then I spot movement and get the binoculars up. It's definitely him and he is headed straight towards us. I let Ashley know I can see a bird coming, and she asks if it is a tom or a hen. Right after she asks me he lets out a gobble and answers her question for me. At this point I put the call down and let his curiosity lead him in. He eventually works his way to my left and goes out of sight below a small rise. I don't see him again until he is nearly on top of us, when he lets out another gobble. Then I spot the red head to my left moving through the grass. He is close, probably only 30 yards at this point, and I can hear his steps. I am thinking that by now, he has spotted the decoys, and is headed for them. His path is going to take him right by Ashley, but she is still facing towards the decoys and away from the approaching turkey. He is coming from behind her and to her right, and he works past her at about 6 or 7 yards. He's too close for me to whisper anything to her at this point, but I am wanting to tell her to be patient and let him continue towards the decoys. If she shoots too soon she better be dead on because her pattern will be too tight. Luckily she must have been thinking the same thing and let the jake continue walking right towards the decoys. Once he was far enough past me I slowly got turned around so I could see it all unfold. She lets him get out to 15 yards or so and I am wondering when she is going to shoot. Just like that the Mossberg shatters the silence and the jake piles up. After all the hard work she put in during the season, I could feel the weight come off her shoulders after she made the shot. To say she was excited would be an understatement. I couldn't be happier with the result and it couldn't have come to a more deserving hunter. She earned this one without a doubt. Here are a few photos...
