Pennsylvania Game News - May 2021 - 50

maneuvered for a shot.
Later, my dad and brother suggested that
maybe the turkey hadn't been spooked that
badly, and might offer a second opportunity
on another hunt. At least I'd be more familiar
with his routine the next time.
Returning five days later, my brother Ben
and I had a plan. Ben had never harvested a
mature tom, so I wanted to put him where he
had the best chance.
Ben set up near a plowed field that was an
ideal strutting zone, and after placing decoys
in the field, I moved and set up close to where
I'd been earlier in the week. I had a hunch the
tom wouldn't come straight to my calls this
time, but that I might be able to coax him to
fly down to the field where Ben was.
I set out a hen decoy and settled in.
Like clockwork, the gobbler began sounding off before first light. I made some soft
yelps, but this time he stayed on the roost
longer, and when he did fly down, he went
the other way. He'd gobble back at my calls,
but kept drifting away.
After about an hour-and-a-half of backand-forth talk with the tom, Ben came over
so we could make a new plan.
We decided we would move to another
spot and set up again, but just then, the bird
gobbled really close.
The gobbler was in the field where Ben
had been set up!
Ben was discouraged, and I got to thinking
about how this might affect our chances.
" Did you tear down the decoys before you
came over? " I asked.
He didn't, thinking we'd pack them up
before we quit for the day.
I figured it would be difficult to call the bird
since he was among the decoys and eventually
would discover something was amiss. I had
nothing to lose, though, so I sent out some
loud aggressive yelps and clucks, and the tom
hammered back.
The gobbler ran into view then went into
a strut when he saw my hen decoy. He was
almost in range, but what happened next
50

was not ideal. The logging road he was on is
slightly sunken, more so than I'd realized. I'd
been more concerned with Ben getting the
shot and paid closer attention to his setup than
mine. It was difficult to see the bird. And when
he finally came back into view, he quickly
disappeared behind some brush.
We could hear him drumming, so I yelped
softly.
A shattering gobble seemingly shook the
ground. He was so close I could hear his wings
rattle against his body.
I whispered to Ben, asking if he could see
the gobbler.
He could not.
Neither could I.
The turkey took a step and I spotted his
colorful head and long beard. Again, I asked
Ben if he had a shot. Ben still couldn't see him
and told me to take the shot.
I pulled the trigger on my 12-gauge shotgun and we both jumped to our feet as the
gobbler disappeared. We reached the bird as
he made his last wingbeats.
Although not exactly as planned, our strategy worked. We laughed with excitement and
high-fived. The gobbler weighed 19½ pounds,
had a 10½-inch beard and 1¼-inch spurs.
As hard as you may try, the turkey woods
can be unpredictable. Sometimes you need a
second chance.
Pennsylvania Game News - May 2021

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