Time spent in the woods finally paid off on Mother’s Day morning. I had this big guy fly off the roost and begin to strut outside of shooting range. Occasionally calling, he wasn’t very interested in me for over an hour since he had a hen beside him. Once he realized that he was unsuccessful in “wooing” this hen, he began to occasionally search and gobble to try to locate where I was calling from. In the meantime, there was another tom that began working his way in towards me and gobbling. This became more incentive for my tom to leave the hen he was with and try to find the hen I was imitating. Once he left the hen, he began walking right to me. When he was without a doubt in range, I was able to make a successful shot on him.

What an amazing hunt and memory for my first successful harvest of calling in a turkey by myself as well as such a beautiful bird.

Beard: 10 & 1/8 inches; Spurs: 1 & 1/4 inches