Frustrating AND Wonderful BOTH!

Today was both a frustrating and wonderful day in the turkey woods.  Left the house later than should have at 5:05 a.m. and it was foggy so that delayed me a bit getting there.   Drove down the lane to make up time instead of walking the whole way.  As soon as I got out of the truck, I heard birds gobbling in three areas of the farm.  Closest ones were almost on top of me.  They were roosted in a place they love to roost but haven't been roosting this year yet (at least not when I was there).  Short walk in to spot I chose.  Quickly set strutting tom and stuffer hen decoys out and hid behind tall grass and sat at base of tree.  Thought I was gonna be home by 7 and able to walk at the mall.  But that didn't happen.

Had 3 toms gobbling at every call I made for the next hour, even gobbled when I was silent.  Finally they came out to the lane I had the decoys on and wouldn't you know it, something spooked them!  They made a racket as they alarm putted, and flapped their wings and ran through the woods flying to safety and vanishing from my opportunity list!   Don't have a clue what spooked them.  And then they spooked another tom that was coming my way from a different direction.  And once again it was deadly silent.  So, I decided to make a move and go deeper on the farm where I had heard other birds gobbling earlier.

Wouldn't you know it when I got to that spot and got all set up, this time with only my stuffer hen decoy out, a bird was gobbling up where I had just left!!!

I debated going back to the front of the farm and trying to get on him, but was afraid of spooking him.  So, I got my Kindle out and started reading the Bible - read through Colossians two times and spent some time meditating on it and praying.   After a while the bird went silent, so I called to it and it responded but refused to come my way.  So, I read some more and sat quiet.

About 8 it started sounding off again but then by 9 it was silent.  And it had not come any closer.  So, I debated what to do was tempted to move toward it, but that usually results in two problems... either you bump the bird and never see it again or you trick it into thinking you are coming to it and it waits on you and doesn't come to you.  So, I read some more.  Been working on an interesting book called Veneer.     Good thing I had the book.  Or I wouldn't have stayed put!   About 9:45, I heard a gobble again and this time I called aggressively to it with my box call.  And in no time the bird was headed my way.   Only a few more calls were necessary until it came strutting down the lane and into my hen decoy.  Though at about 5 yards and before the opening I had, it decided something was fishy and it turned around like it was going to leave, so I found a place where I could get a shot through and took it.  Down it went and I had my first bird of the 2012 season!  And that is the wonderful part of this story! 

It weighed in at 19 pounds which is about a pound shy of average and had two beards (my first multiple bearded bird) one was 6.5 inches long and the other was 11 inches long.  And it's spurs are really long and straight at 1 3/8 inches long.

Here are some pics... they sure are pretty with all the feather variations!