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- Model: u720SW,S720SW
- Exposure Time: 1/40 sec
- Date/Time Original: 4/27/2007 8:21:17 AM
- Flash: Flash did not fire, auto
- Focal Length: 20.1 mm
Hunted hard the last two days on WMA trying to get Pop a longbeard in. Had a hen at 10 yards that stuck around for 45 minutes Friday morning. Butt went flat!
This morning we had 2 gobbling close and 2 way off down at the old Tyger River stomping grounds. At one point they had us surrounded and when one came in at 15 yards, you guessed it, Pop couldn't get around on him and was facing the wrong way. Then a nice guy and his son blundered into our setup and ran them off. We talked to them for a few minutes before parting ways and they were good guys and apologized for messing us up. I told him "No harm, you didn't know we were here and we had our chance." It was good to see a fellow and his young son hunting, reminded us of ourselves years ago when we were green and blundering into other hunters setups . On the way out I somehow spotted a bedded deer about 80 yards off. It was a pretty fair sized buck with velvet knobs. We watched him with binos as he chewed his cud. Fantastic hunt and we didn't have to clean a gun or a turkey!
Hunted the Monday and Tuesday for Pop on a Tyger River WMA tom. We thought we had him figured and set up real nice Monday morning. He flew down, strutted and gobbled on the ridge about 100 yards above us for an hour and a half. I finally got up and walked off behind Pop calling hoping to drag him on in. The tom gobbled 3 more times and then just walked off. Hunted the rest of the day and saw a jake at another spot. Tuesday we sat up on the ridge. The tom roosted further down the swamp but answered me a good bit before moving off. We pulled stakes and moved around the ridges to try to cut him off. We ended up on a knoll where two ridges met and heard a gobble below in the hollow. We sat down and I called lightly. He gobbled further off in the swamp. So I figure it's the last day right? Blow his ears off! Cutt, yelp, cutt, cutt, cutt, yelp and a hen cranks up out there. I just cover over her calls with my own for several minutes and the tom gobbles about 15 times. Then she is getting closer and Pop is breathing all funny. She comes into view on the ridge to the left walking straight up his gun barrel. She gets to 15 yards and I am praying she goes on by. A jake tops the ridge and stands looking. The hen sees something she doesn't like and starts putting and moving off to the left away from us. I again cover over her calling with cutting and a few low yelps. Then his majesty eases up the ridge to see what's going on and fans at about 75 yards. The jake steps off to the side and the tom strutts a couple times before standing to try to figure out where his hen went. I low purred and clucked hoping he would come on our way but they finally slid back off the ridge from where they came without their hen about 5 minutes later. That was the last time we saw them. Now we got him patterned real good! I told Pop on the way out, "I'll kill that bird next year." He replied "Huh! I might kill him myself." Apparently I had deserted the home team with my statement so I told him "Good Luck!" and we eased on home at about 2 PM after a few more fruitless setups in the heat. There is always next year the Good Lord willing.
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