Well, with the afternoons being unlocked, my brother and I decided to get out and hunt a very large farm in Medina Co tonight. And boy did it pay off! We hiked in about a mile to a spot that he saw a tom yesterday evening who held up on him at 70 yards strutting for an hour and 15 minutes strait. After we stopped and he pointed out the exact spot that the tom had hung up, we saw 4 jakes skirt off and jump the creek. we pulled out the binos and made sure they were jakes and that our hunt wasn't over before it had even begun. Thankfully, they all were. We continued on to a spot that neither of us have sat before and we made ourselves comfortable. We set up the Avian Jake and Hen decoy and sat just inside the wood line next to a gas line clearing.
About an hour passed and my brother tells me, "I think we should move down the hill a bit where those jakes were earlier and the tom was the evening before. I said "hey, your guess is as good as mine". I pulled out the box call for one last rip and GOBBLE strait out in front of me coming from across the gas line clearing in some thick brush. We both gave each other the shit eating grin that says... IT'S ON! and slowly began talking to him. He gobbled back after all but 1 yelp. Finally he popped out of the thick stuff and showed himself, in full strut. I took a look to check the fan to make sure he was a tom and not a jake as I couldn't see the beard yet. I whispered, "It's a tom man, hes dead".
So there he was, sitting in full strut about 80 yards off on the opposite side of the gas line in the woods. He stayed put for nearly 25 minutes just quietly watching the two decoys. My brother whispered, "that's that smart sob that hung up on me yesterday man, take him as soon as he gives you the opportunity". Finally he couldn't resist that damn fine looking jake and hen decoy! He broke the wood line and quickly ran to the decoys. A moment before he blew back up into full strut, I let him have it! The 12 gauge rang and he dropped like a bag of bricks.
I've been bringing the filming equipment all season long so far but decided, I just want t get out and hunt tonight, the hell with the film. Couldn't be happier.
About an hour passed and my brother tells me, "I think we should move down the hill a bit where those jakes were earlier and the tom was the evening before. I said "hey, your guess is as good as mine". I pulled out the box call for one last rip and GOBBLE strait out in front of me coming from across the gas line clearing in some thick brush. We both gave each other the shit eating grin that says... IT'S ON! and slowly began talking to him. He gobbled back after all but 1 yelp. Finally he popped out of the thick stuff and showed himself, in full strut. I took a look to check the fan to make sure he was a tom and not a jake as I couldn't see the beard yet. I whispered, "It's a tom man, hes dead".
So there he was, sitting in full strut about 80 yards off on the opposite side of the gas line in the woods. He stayed put for nearly 25 minutes just quietly watching the two decoys. My brother whispered, "that's that smart sob that hung up on me yesterday man, take him as soon as he gives you the opportunity". Finally he couldn't resist that damn fine looking jake and hen decoy! He broke the wood line and quickly ran to the decoys. A moment before he blew back up into full strut, I let him have it! The 12 gauge rang and he dropped like a bag of bricks.
I've been bringing the filming equipment all season long so far but decided, I just want t get out and hunt tonight, the hell with the film. Couldn't be happier.
