1.) luv2bowhunt - 05/01/2013

My son-in-law called me Monday evening and asked what I was doing Tuesday morning. Was planing on going to work of course but he said a couple of birds were gobbling around his house all evening and had roosted on top of the hill.

This was a perfect opportunity to get him his first Spring gobbler I thought, so I decided I'd go into work a couple hours late. Next morning I met him and he informed me his mom had walked through the area just before dark and had pretty much busted up the entire flock.

Not excactly what I wanted to hear, but I told him it's possible it will work in our favor. The morning was fog and drizzle, soaking wet in the woods, dripping off the trees like rain. Not a morning I would have normally gone out, but it was worth a shot. Where the birds had roosted was at the top of a pointy hill, covered with tall pine trees that butted up against a freshly plowed field. There was virtually no way to get to the edge of the field without being right where they had roosted the night before. I really believed with the weather the way it was, that the turkeys would want to get out into the open where they could see and be out of the dripping wet forest.

We eased up the trail and I realized there was only one way out into the field. The field edges were completely filled with raspberry priors and the only access out to it was the trail we were on. We tried to be quiet and got to the edge of the field. I saw the only chance to setup here was about 40 yds to our left where there was an opening in the raspberries. I set the decoy up 10 yds from the edge of the woods and moved a fallen limb and a low hanging pine branch and set my son-in-law against a pine tree. I got up against a tree about 10 ft behind him.

After a couple minutes of silence I hear the flap flap flap of a turkey flying down from roost and a puff in the leaves beside me. Couldn't have been 10 ft. away. My son-in-law turns his head to look and I hear a putt-putt and I'm thinking we're busted. I'm looking straight ahead without moving a muscle and the only thing I can see is the decoy and my son-in-law.

I'm watching him and he eases the gun up, turns a tiny bit to his right, takes the safe off, and then waits. I'm beginning to see his breathing, more exaggerated, and uneven. I know exactly what he's feeling and just by watching him I know he sees a gobbler. Seconds seem like minutes and I decide to turn my head slowly to the right to take a peek.

Out in the field, maybe 15 yds away are 2 jakes. 1 is standing there staring at me and the other is strutting behind him. Again I figure we're busted, after all we had walked in right under them, made a bit of a ruckus setting up, and had sat down basically underneath them. But they had flown down, walked over to the field entrance on the trail and out into the plowed field.

Eventually they just start easing toward the decoy. My son-in-law has his gun up but it is sticking through the fallen branch and he can't swing left or right. When they start walking toward the decoy they are walking right into his line of fire and I can see this is going to be a 10 yd cake shot.

At the shot the turkey crumbles and just like that it was over. They never made a sound and I never even called. Just sat down and they walked to the decoy. The entire hunt once we had sat down, might have lasted 10 minutes.

And I think of all the times I busted my butt chasing them up and down mountains doing my best calling efforts, with nothing to show for it. Goes to show you just never know.

2.) Swamp Fox - 05/01/2013

Congrats to your son-n-law! You told him it almost never goes that way, right? :wink

Lots of stuff I could relate to in that story. :-)

3.) Ohbuckhunter - 05/01/2013

awesome story and congrats to the SNL

4.) Jon - 05/01/2013

[COLOR="#006400"]KOOL!
I love an easy hunt......they NEVER turn out that way you know!
tasty, hope he enjoys it.[/COLOR]

5.) crookedeye - 05/01/2013

nice going...

6.) Hunter - 05/01/2013

Way to go, Luv! Never complain about a gimmee!! :tu:

(By the way, could an inference be made that your LACK OF CALLING resulted in a successful hunt? :grin:)

7.) billy b - 05/02/2013

Congrats to your son in law, does he have a name or you keeping it a secret:cf:

8.) luv2bowhunt - 05/02/2013

Randy Kuntz but he prefers to be known as my son-in-law.

9.) Go Bucks - 05/02/2013

[QUOTE=luv2bowhunt;5622]Randy Kuntz but he prefers to be known as my son-in-law.[/QUOTE]

only because he wants to be in your will..

10.) crookedeye - 05/03/2013

[QUOTE=luv2bowhunt;5622]Randy Kuntz but he prefers to be known as my son-in-law.[/QUOTE]
randy dont work for you does he?? you dont want youre son in law coming home everyday smelling like asphalt, do you? randy kuntz is a cool name kinda like chuck norris, which reminds of that chuck norris joke..

"once chuck norris went to mars, thats why there's no sign of life...

11.) crookedeye - 05/04/2013

are another one is

chuck norris has a grizzly bear rug in his family room..the only thing is that the bear is still alive, but is afraid to move..

12.) crookedeye - 05/04/2013

i really need to practice on my joke telling presentation...i'm getting rusty..