Opening Day Success!!!

[Rhino]

I love when a plan comes together. Well not quite the double I hoped for but 1 bird for my son, Bailey and a great hunt to boot.

As planned I took my son, Bailey this morning for our opener to a place where I had seen 3 birds strutting within 30 minutes of fly down of March 4th. I knew them suckers had to be roosted pretty close to there if they hadn’t relocated since I last heard them Saturday morning. We left camp in my cart at 4:45 with a fairly bright moon above the horizon. After parking my cart we still had a ½ mile walk to the spot I planned to set up and listen from. As we were walking in, 2 gobblers cranked up on the roost with nothing more than moonlight hitting the ground. I was shocked because it was only 5:15. The earliest I had heard a bird gobble during pre-season scouting was 5:50. The just don't do that on my home turf. They were roosted about 100 yards from where I wanted to be so we set up next to a pile of logs on the edge of a 1/4 acre food plot and kicked back and enjoyed the vocal show in the moonlight. Bailey was sitting on my left and the birds were gobbling to his left back in a group of tall pines. With our setup we couldn’t see the birds if they came in from a logging road to our left until they were inside the 25 yard line but they couldn’t see us until then either. With 2 birds gobbling close together I told Bailey, when the 1st bird comes in (like it’s really a given eh ) stay on the 1st bird until the 2nd bird shows up. If the 2nd one shows up, let him walk into your gun barrel and I’ll take the bird to the right when you shoot the left bird. Sound like good plan?

Around 5:50, 2 more birds crank up beyond the first 2 birds that are still trying to gobble themselves to death. 2 more distant birds chime into the gobbling frenzy these 4 birds have going on. About what I thought should be flydown time, I delivered a couple of clucks from the new Redbeard Special slate call. The 2 close birds cut off the 2nd cluck with loud gobbles but those suckers were still in the tree. Oops. Moments later Bailey whispers “I heard them fly down”. I deliver some more soft clucks with some purrs and they rock the ground with gobbles that echoed across the landscape. Those birds were coming and already pretty close. Now it’s getting good!

A minute or so later I start hearing drumming. I whisper the news to Bailey and we both get shotguns shouldered and ready for action. This was the 1st time Bailey had ever heard a drumming turkey. The drumming gets louder as the birds get closer. Then the 1st gobbler walks in. First he gives the log pile the eye and then goes into strut and resumes drumming. Like a champ Bailey is on him. The bird slowly struts and drums from left to right getting closer all the time with Bailey keeping a bead on him as he slowly struts along. When he gets right out in front of us a mere 15 yards away, he comes out of strut, sticks his head out, and gobbles right in our faces. The 2nd bird did not answer his gobble so now I’m wondering what happened to him. They had been gobbling together up to that point. The 1st bird goes back into the ol’ strut and drum routine and starts angling away from us. I figure “bird in hand and one lost in the bush” so I give Bailey the green light and he delivered a load of 3 ½” #5’s to the gobbler when he raised his head at 20 yards facing away from us. Slammed him right to the ground with not much more than a twitch. It was now 6:15 and the bird hit the dirt less than 10 minutes after flydown. Relaxing now Bailey whispers “what happened to the other one”. “I don’t know but great job and a great hunt.” High 5 time. Bailey stands up and says “OH NO” and I hear the tell tale sound of the 2nd gobbler putting as he is running off. According to Bailey, he was only about 30 yards from us just standing in the logging road checking out his buddy but completely out of our sight while sitting down. In a disappointed way Bailey says “we really coulda killed 2 if I hadn’t stood up”. My response was “hey you got a nice one and that’s all that matters to me. Besides, we can have more fun with him another day.” He pauses and says “Yea, you didn’t call very much at all so we can still work him again.” The boy is catching on.

As we are walking out toward my cart Bailey says “I just can’t get it out of my head.” I thought he was talking about the up close strutting and drumming show so I asked him about it. He said “no, I saw him come out of his strut, stick his head out, and knew what he was fixin to do and I still jumped!” LMBO The only thing I could think of to say at that moment was “Ain’t it great”. Another great turkey hunting morning along with another cherished memory to savor for the rest of my life.

Bailey’s bird weighed 19lbs. and 3 oz., sported a 9 3/4 “ beard and both spurs were 1 1/16” with one being a tad over that mark.

LOL everybody...I'm headin back to the woods to turkey hunt again Friday morning.

[RyanH]

One heck of a Story man!

Congrats! Thats Awesome and Good Luck on Friday!

[VermontHunter]

WOW !! Great hunt and CONGRATS to Bailey on a mighty fine bird....

Way to go Al,, wish I was there to join in on the FUN... and actually nail one for myself...

Can't wait to see pics of yours, and if it's anything like Baileys it's going to be a treat to see....

[huntinsonovagun]

Congratulations!! Gets me fired up for sure!!!

[redbeard]

Man Rhino, you and Bailey have made my day. Congrats to that fine young man. If that ain't a happy feller, I don't know one. Nice bird too boot. I know you'll track down his companion. Bully for you for makin' it a sport

First dead bird from a Redbeard slate other than mine. Thanks a trillion for using it

[outdoorgirl]

congrats.....nice turkey

[Rhino]

[ QUOTE ]
Man Rhino, you and Bailey have made my day. Congrats to that fine young man. If that ain't a happy feller, I don't know one. Nice bird too boot. I know you'll track down his companion. Bully for you for makin' it a sport

First dead bird from a Redbeard slate other than mine. Thanks a trillion for using it

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you so much for the call bud. First time that baby had a chance to do battle too. There's a lot of bird in it. Shoulda put a skull and crossbones on that sucker. There's 46 more days left in the MS season not to mention some Rios and some Missouri Easterns I plan on introducing to your call to also.

[TBryan]

Awsome!! Your making the wait even harder!!

[Chrud]

Congrats to you and Bailey!

[beagleboy]

Congrats

[VtBowhunter]

Rhino, congrats to you both..........now Bailey knows what a "ThunderStrut" is all about, lol.

[James7xChamp3]

Thanks for sharing a wonderful experience. That was a great read. A big congrats to Bailey! That's a very nice bird! Can't beat a day in the wild with family or friend!

Now you got me real anxious to turn my Redbeard slate loose on a strutter! May seems like such a long ways off. Hope I get to put a notch in mine also!

Again, congats on a great hunt!

[bowhunter56]

Good Job, still a few weeks to wait here in pa.

[arrow32]

Great job!! Ours opens April 24th cant wait.

[hoyt_hunter]

that's an awesome hunt, tell ur son my congratulations