This turkey season has been a grind to say the least, making this bird very rewarding. Last Monday night, my mom and I were on the way back from my baseball game and spotted a strutter with six other birds. They were in a field probably 500 yds from a chunk of public land. I had never stepped foot on this property before, so last night after baseball practice, I threw my camo on and headed out there. I got to the piece around 6:00 and started walking and calling. Never struck anything up so I went to the far corner of the property, putting me closest to where the strutter was earlier in the week. I set my Jake decoy out in the CRP and setup in a shadow under a big tree. After about 20 min of calling with the box call(kinda windy out), I struck a gobble in a low spot of the same field we seen the strutter in. I would say he was about 400 yds away. He sat in that spot and gobbled at every call for 30 min before another gobbler fired up in the same exact spot as the strutter on Monday. They gobbled back and forth and at my calls for probably a half-hour. I switched to using a slate call during this time. Around 7:30, the first gobbler sounded off, what sounded like a little closer than where he originally was. So I shut up and waited 5 min. He never gobbled again so I called again and he fired back at 60 yds. It was so close, I felt it in my chest, a feeling that is indescribable. There was a berm behind me so I wouldn’t be able to see him till he came around a tree at 45 yds. So after he gobbled at 60 yds, it took only seconds till he rounded the corner full strut. Within 7-8 minutes, he covered 400 yds across that field to me. He then seen my decoy and ran in!! Popped strut at 15yds, turned around enough for me to pull my gun up. He came out of strut and I filled my 2019 tag!! I immediately called my dad and brother. They came out to take pictures and celebrate the kill.
I feel what killed this bird was observation. If I hadn’t seen that strutter in that field last Monday, I don’t think I would have come onto this property. I also can’t figure out what made him break and come in. Possibly me switching to using a slate call?
24lbs, 10” beard, 1” spurs, 49”- #Longbird
