Rhett Steele
Well-known member
Indiana season opened April 22. My boy had a slight fever and sickness from a failed youth season, so he was withdrawn from school that day. It was sad to see him so sickly. We found ourselves on a high ridge getting healed from the fever. The timber chicken was on the ground hammering away with thunderous gobbles. With a nice hickory as a sick bed, junior sat. I monitored his position from 15' down hill and soothed the woods with my Marvin Gaye rendition of a love sick hen. With the scratching around of the leaves the bird went silent.
His next words of authority showed he was on his way in and was about 30 yards closer than his original location, I whispered, "get ready." A few seconds later there appeared his head after hearing the spits and drumming, as I surveyed the situation i was thinking to myself, SHOOT! He was blocked by a big red oak. I was trying not to jump at each gobble and hoping junior could keep his composure as well. Then the gobbler took 2 steps, i peered over and saw junior lining up his bead. The 870 belched and the bird dropped 20 yards away. The look on his face as he looked back at me was priceless.
The next day I too had a fever. I found myself on a high ridge just like the day before. This bird was blowing the woods down while on the roost, it was my goal to keep his attention on the ridge and not fly to the field below (hate field birds). My Marvin Gaye songs had him cutting me off at every stanza. The scratching of leaves had him double gobbling and running out of breath on his attempt to triple gobble. Then that gobble from the ground sounded, for 15 minutes he stayed out of sight in a little bowl spitting and drumming. The 870 was adjusted left and then back right as he gobbled giving me his potential area of approach. Then finally his head appeared, with the sun bearing down on me with no cover to my east I figured I was looking suspicious. Not wanting to risk the putt and run i leveled the beads and let her rip.
What a fun 2 days it was!
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. Shadow pic was really a neat idea, I may use it (if I remember) if I fill my second tag.