Once I finished cleaning and replacing parts on my Dad's old 11-87 I vowed that I would return to that field for my shot at that same bird. I had no grudge against him, he was just doing what turkeys do, I just wanted to see if I could get him after missing him the day before. Plus, I only had one more day to hunt before i began a week straight of guided hunts. After a disappointing miss the day before I wanted to harvest that bird more than ever.
Later that day I received a text from my friend Katie. She said there were several toms behind her house every morning and one of them was big. She told me I could hunt there if I wanted. Wanting to tag out more than regain my pride I decided I would hunt at Katie's rather than where I had missed earlier that morning. I arrived at the new location the next morning in the dark. Just after I finished setting up my blind I received a text from Katie informing me that there would be someone else hunting out there that morning. She apologized because she had only just found out herself. Not knowing where the other hunters were I decided to go back to plan A, and my chance at redemption. I packed up my blind and headed back to my original spot.
When I arrived at my hunting location I was a half hour later than planned, but given the fact that the birds were not roosting where I was setting up, and that they were not arriving until around 7am, I figured I still had plenty of time to set up without getting busted. I also knew that if I used the same setup as the day before, in the same spot, that there was no way that bird was going to come in again. So, I decided to adjust my location as well as the position and number of my decoys. I patiently waited as the sun rose through the trees in front of me.
One thing I noticed about the toms in this are was that they almost never gobbled, not even from the roost, which I think was to my advantage since most hunters scout by sitting on the side of the road listening for gobbles. The sun rose in the sky and the dew began to melt away as I sat and wondered if I made the right choice by coming here again. Just before 7am I watched a lone hen walk out about 20 yards in front of me and hop up onto a log to sun herself. There was no sign of the tom from the day before. I wondered if he had left the area, but a few minutes later he assured me he hadn't with two thunderous gobbles when he spotted my decoys.
He made his appearance in all his glory as he worked his way toward my decoys in full strut, spitting and drumming the he owned the place. His bright white head glowing like a beacon for me to aim at. I wasn't going to miss this time. I waited and watch as he worked his way in behind my decoys and then around to the side. As he strutted around in front of my decoys I waited for him to turn broadside and gave a couple quick alarm putts with my mouth. He quickly came out of full strut and stuck his head upward as if to say, "here you go." I squeezed the trigger and down he went. I had my redemption, and also regained my confidence in Dad's old 11-87. The fact that I was able to get him to come in only a day after shooting at him and missing didn't hurt my hunting confidence either. The bird weighed 19 1/2 pounds, had a 10 1/2" beard, and 1" spurs. Just the way I wanted to kick off my 2015 spring turkey season. I could now focus on my clients without feeling the disappointment of watching one of them kill that bird.
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