This past week has been a tough one. It seemed the weather was bad every chance I had to go and then the days I did go there weren't any birds interested. Sunday morning I took a buddy to a spot I hadn't hunted and ended up hearing several on the roost but after fly down they went silent. I kept one spot in particular in mind where I had heard a bird that morning and made a game plan for my next outing...
This morning the weather was finally going to be good and I was ready to act on my plan. I was set up well before light but as luck would have it not a single gobble from the roost! I was slightly discouraged since I had used vacation from work but decided I was going to sit and listen.
At 8am I heard what I wanted to hear. A gobbler let loose somewhere below me and was gobbling on his own. Game on!
I moved from my original spot and got about 200 yards closer and could tell he was somewhere near the bottom of the ridge. I kept working my way down listening to him to pinpoint his location. Once I reached the bottom I realized he was across the holler and on a bench about half way up the other side. He was on FIRE but with the lay of the land I was afraid getting any closer would bust him. With no other option I sat down beside the four wheeler trail with little cover and pegged the Montana miss purr-fect decoy right beside me.
After about 15 minutes of listening to him he shut up so I just sat watching the hillside. It wasn't long and I spotted him walking across the hillside and starting to head away from me. I quickly zoomed in on him with my camera to get some footage as he got into an open spot in the timber. What happened next I will never forget! As he hits the open area he locks up, craning his head around a tree staring right at my decoy! He takes two steps backward never taking his eyes off the decoy and turns around. At this point I'm thinking "ok he's turned that's good...maybe he will walk down here..". He walks about ten yards and I can tell he's excited. Then all the sudden he takes flight and here he comes!
Pretty sure I said in my head "oh crap! Get the safety off this is gonna happen quick!" LOL. I clicked the safety off while trying to follow him with the camera and he landed right in the four wheeler trail about 60 yards away just out of sight. At this point I knew he was dead if I just did my part. A few soft purrs on the mouthcall and he here comes strutting up the road to claim his prize "hen"
At around 20 yards I had a wide open shot and I dropped him with the Mossberg 500 20ga. I'm a little sad to see my 2017 gobbler season over, but with two great birds down I am extremely thankful for the blessed season I had. Can't wait to do it all again next year!
19.25lbs
9" beard
1 3/16" spurs
. At that point I said, I gotta make the decoy family all the same and ordered Miss purr fect !! 
