So I get up Saturday morning at 4:30 and I hear rain hitting the trailer pretty good. Wyatt my youngest (18) and I pretty much cashed it in. Wyatt took off the camo and went back to bed in the travel trailer and I just started drinking coffee. The lil lady ends up at 5:30 having to do her buisness at the nearest bathroom. When she got back, she tells me she is hearing birds gobbling over the direction I wanted to hunt so I go take a listen Sure enough 2 birds close to 1/4 mile apart...one on public hunting, one on no hunting state ground. Rain was real slow right then, so I grabbed the gun. After I done MY buisness, they were still gobbling, so I take off after the one west that was huntable. I'm easing through there not knowing the area good enough and sporadically I see vaguely hens were roosted along the creek 70 yards or so.. No sooner then I cross on to public hunting, the east tom was getting LOUD. It wasn't until I could hear the air in his chest while gobbling that I realized he was following me in unknowingly . I was fortunate there was a little hill where I was standing so down it I went and quickly got against a tree and clucked for some unknown reason. 45 seconds after I sat down he was standing 20 yards at the top of that little hill. The ol H&R single got another notch.
Then Sunday evening I got too close to the roost and didn't end up with a shot, so had to sneak out at dark. I'd seen one bird go up right where I needed to walk out some hundred yards away with little other options. I successfully snuck away from the roost but then the one bird in my way I still had to deal with, but she left me with a memory. It was a hen...I seen that plainly. She roosted maybe 20ft high max in a smallish tree. I got beside and under her, and then past her without spooking her off...but the ground was real quiet from rain and lack of leaves . I kept creeping inch by inch expecting to flush her But never did!...But in the process I took pics and video of her....even with the flash and her eyes lit up!
My video..
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The element of surprise can never be replaced by persistence.