weekender
Well-known member
My wife and I started opening day in separate areas. I heard gobbles but nothing would answer my calls. She on the other hand had one fired up by 7:15AM. She worked her magic using mainly her wing bone but occasionally used her box call as he seem to hang up. There's lots of standing water in the swamps where we hunt. It been a pretty wet spring. Her fear was he was on the wrong side of the many sloughs throughout the river bottom. Not so though, so my text went from "I hear one" to "closer". A while later, another text "I see him". Later I would find out that was at about 100 yds. From there on in my wife was treated to a show. Strutting back and forth and doing what my wife called "his mating dance". In her words the gobbler was showing the hen decoy what he was about to do to her. With breast feathers all puffed out but tail feathers stiff but straight out the back vs full fan, the gobbler would shuffle his feet rapidly rubbing his legs together. He did this dance in between struts as he inched closer. I was close enough to hear the boom in the distance and awaited the next text, "I gotem". Kick my rear for not getting her pic with that one, she took this pic with her cell then I let her down forgetting to take one with her in it. 9" beard 3/4" spurs but at 21 lbs., the heaviest of the day.
We decided to spend the rest of the day hunting together and my wife came to where I was. We would sit back to back against a large oak, both able to see a decent ways into the vast river bottom. The day was slow as the gobbling had stopped and only one hen had stopped by to speak her piece to our lone hen decoy. I'm not sure what she said, but I don't think it was nice. Round and round the decoy she went babbling away and finally just wondered off. We took turns calling every 15 minutes or so, my wife's calling sounding better than mine. About 4:00, my wife was calling on her bone and I chimed in with mine. We tried to mimic what the hen had said earlier only trying to sound like dueling hens. It was loud and it was fast calling, all on the bones. Within a couple minutes I could see a gobbler coming, no wait there is two I whispered to my wife. She being on the back side of the tree could not see them. Now three, four, gobblers and jake to boot. All baring down on one hen decoy. I might have got caught moving when they were 35-40 yards as they were coming from my right, I am right handed so I had to turn hard to my right to shoot. Only one was strutting, two now on full alert locked up and getting nervous. I wanted the strutter and would take two if I could. The one that had been staring me down finally said he had seen enough and turned to leave. The others tried to follow but the strutter and the one closest to him met their maker. As the two I shot started to flop, one of the bashful ones came running back to flog his flopping comrade and I told my wife to ease around to my side of the tree. "with my gun" she said, "yes" I replied. She had some maneuvering to do but got around quick. I laid down low in my turkey seat and she leaned over me and ended our hunt with her second and our number four now joined in the flopping. These were all nice 3 yr old birds with 1 1/8" spurs. Not a bad way to spend opening day.
We decided to spend the rest of the day hunting together and my wife came to where I was. We would sit back to back against a large oak, both able to see a decent ways into the vast river bottom. The day was slow as the gobbling had stopped and only one hen had stopped by to speak her piece to our lone hen decoy. I'm not sure what she said, but I don't think it was nice. Round and round the decoy she went babbling away and finally just wondered off. We took turns calling every 15 minutes or so, my wife's calling sounding better than mine. About 4:00, my wife was calling on her bone and I chimed in with mine. We tried to mimic what the hen had said earlier only trying to sound like dueling hens. It was loud and it was fast calling, all on the bones. Within a couple minutes I could see a gobbler coming, no wait there is two I whispered to my wife. She being on the back side of the tree could not see them. Now three, four, gobblers and jake to boot. All baring down on one hen decoy. I might have got caught moving when they were 35-40 yards as they were coming from my right, I am right handed so I had to turn hard to my right to shoot. Only one was strutting, two now on full alert locked up and getting nervous. I wanted the strutter and would take two if I could. The one that had been staring me down finally said he had seen enough and turned to leave. The others tried to follow but the strutter and the one closest to him met their maker. As the two I shot started to flop, one of the bashful ones came running back to flog his flopping comrade and I told my wife to ease around to my side of the tree. "with my gun" she said, "yes" I replied. She had some maneuvering to do but got around quick. I laid down low in my turkey seat and she leaned over me and ended our hunt with her second and our number four now joined in the flopping. These were all nice 3 yr old birds with 1 1/8" spurs. Not a bad way to spend opening day.
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