tomgobbler Report post Posted April 30, 2011 Well after helping 4 other people get turkeys from the san carlos, to the youth, and then the first hunt, MY tag was finally here.... BUT a really good friend of mine and his dad had tags in a unit that wasnt the same as mine, so i opted to go with them instead, my friend couldnt make it but his dad came up, so him and i headed out. It was one TERRIBLE day, 55 mile an hour gusts, you couldnt of heard a turkey if he were standing in the bed of your truck..... ( not that they are cooperating much anyway) Anyway having a really good knowledge of the area and were the turkeys like to go, him and i put our heads together to figure out were they might be on a day like this were we had seen them in the past. about 10:00 we were able to get him with in range of 6-8 turkeys feeding turkeys. and he sealed the deal. ( hopefully he will e-mial me the picturtes off of his camera so i can add a few of them) So this morning with the wind a lot less, i headed to my unit to try and see if i could outsmart these dang things.... this has been one of the most frustrating springs i have ever had turkey hunting.... i have seen over 35 gobblers ( in the 3 weeks i 've been hunting them) and 95% of them were by themselves, with little to no gobbling... i have seen that many single hens by them selves as well, i can not figure out what is going on this spring.... i have called in 4 gobblers, and been involved with 7 being taken this year so far ( well now 8 !! ) Anwyay back to my story i figured i would really have to get my game plan together if i wanted to harvest a nice mature bird.... so i started out on my favorite road ( has never failed to produce a turkey) and heard one gobbler, gobble 3 times on the roost and then NOTHING... typical for this year, they have been kicking my butt..... SO i said to myself ( after 2 hours of trying to get another bird fired up) if they are not going to play your game then you will have to play theirs... SO i know of a little tank, that has green grass all around it that they like to come strutt in, and eat dandylions ( yes if you did not know turkleys LOVE dandylions) anyway so i headed for that tank hopeing to find them already there , or i was going to set up in some brush and wait them out.... well as luck would have it they were already there as i slipped down the little 2 track to peak around the corner to take a look.... 1 gobbler, and 4-5 hens feeding on the back side of the tank in the grass.... ok now how to get with in shotgun range with out them seeing or hearing you... going around behind them was out of the question as it was pretty thick, BUT very NOISY as it is terribly dry.... so a frontal approach.... well lets see, if i go from this tree to that bush, then get on my belly and belly crawl for about 85 yards i should be able to keep the tank bank ( about 2feet high, so not much of a cover) inbetween us, as long as they stay in the back, and dont work around the sides.... So off i went on my belly, i could see the white fan of the strutting tom from time to time over the top of the bank, and was afraid of getting busted..... but after what seemed like eternity on my belly, ( with my heart beating so hard it was kicking dust up into my face) i finally made it to the base of the tank, so i slid my gun up through the grass and ever so carefully and slow up over the edge were the muzzle would clear everything i raised up just enough to get my eyes over the top and there he was strutting 68 yards away.... DANG TOM that is a long ways, BUT i have killed predators that far with this gun and these shells so why not give it a try, your not getting any close, your out of cover, and they are going to feed out the back edge into the trees... ( or so i thought) .... So with my mossberg loaded with 3 1/2 #4's and a high viz sight i centered that gobbler as best i could with a great rest and i let-r-fly.......!!!! well the grass exploded with turkeys that instantly took flight mine included, wow did i miss, i watched as he only got about 1/4 as high as the other turkeys and only went about 30 yards, then crashed to the ground flopping for a minute, and was done. i jumped up, had to cross a fence and get over to inspect my trophy.... a NICE gobbler 10" beard, 1" spurres and beautiful fan...... did i call him in... not this time, but when you can belly crawl and sneak up on 6 turkeys i think you have accomplished about as much..... and was kind of fun too.... good luck to yawl!!! I was by myself as everyone else had to work or were busy today, so i went alone, so had to get pictures when i got home, my daughter tried to take them, they came out ok.... tommy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted May 1, 2011 Great story and congrats on your bird! Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted May 1, 2011 Great write up and nice bird. Congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted May 2, 2011 That is a great story Tom!! I have never belly crawled up on a gobbler! Great job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ptowns Report post Posted May 2, 2011 Great job, Tommy. Congratulations. Thanks for your help. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted May 2, 2011 Good story Tommy and it all came together because of all the help you were to the others. The hunting gods always reward those who help others. Great write up and congratulations on getting it done for yourself. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
