Danny Whitt | Mossy Oak ProStaff
On the morning I took the biggest gobbler I’ve ever harvested on the 35-acre tract I hunt, I first heard that turkey gobble about 100 yards off my property. A road runs right through my land, and I could walk that road bed to get very close to the tom in the pitch-black dark. The first time I owl hooted, the tom gobbled. I immediately sat down and made one soft tree call. The turkey gobbled back to me. Then he flew down from where he was roosted, lit in a tree about 30 yards from me and gobbled for at least 30 minutes, until the sun first started coming up. I was thinking to myself, “What can I do? If I move just an inch, he’ll spot me.” I knew if the bird flew down to my right, I wouldn’t be able to get a shot, due to the thick cover there. As I looked closer, I saw one small opening where I might be able to get a shot. This tom was gobbling as much as I’ve ever heard a turkey gobble. He also was strutting and drumming in the tree. I’m convinced because of my Bottomland camo, that turkey couldn’t see me.
The turkey was facing to my right where I didn’t want him to go. But finally he turned around toward me and flew down right in the middle of the opening I’d spotted. When he landed in the opening, his momentum carried him somewhat further, and he stopped right behind a tree. I couldn’t get off a shot. Then he walked off the ridge, and there still was no way I could get a shot at him. But every time I called to him, he’d gobble. The turkey moseyed on down the ridge where he was. The next time the tom gobbled, I called to him. That time, a second tom gobbled behind me, just as I was finishing my call. I guess the turkey that had walked down the ridge heard the turkey behind me gobble and decided to meet the second tom and fight with him. In just a few minutes, the original turkey I’d started out hunting walked in front of me and presented a shot. That turkey had a 1-1/2-inch spurs and an 11-1/4-inch beard and weighed 22 pounds. So, then I knew at least one more gobbler was left on my 35-acre turkey hunting spot.
Day 1: Hunting a 35 Acre Turkey Lease
Tomorrow: Taking a Double-Bearded Turkey on My 390 Acre Lease
