with Danny Whitt
I had heard a turkey gobble just before daylight on my 390 acres and was moving to him when I heard several other toms gobble down on the creek bottom, well away from where I was hunting. Since I didn’t get on the first turkey I’d heard, I decided to sneak down to the creek bottom where I’d heard the other turkeys gobbling. I had the land on both sides of the creek leased, but when I spotted the turkeys, they were actually on the neighbor’s property further away from the creek. I sat down, got ready and spotted a gobbler with a hen. I made one call and waited. Finally that gobbler left his hen and came straight to me. I was close enough to the creek, that I knew I could take him, if he came to the edge of the creek. That’s exactly what happened. The turkey was so close to the edge of the creek on my property on that side, and the bank he was on was about 10 feet above the water. So, when I shot him, he fell over the bank and down to the edge of the creek. I realized I’d have to wade that water to get my turkey.
The creek was about 10-12 inches deep I thought, however, I kept watching that creek as I waded across it, as it came higher and higher up the top of my boot. Finally when I had only 1 inch of boot left before my legs and feet would get wet, I got to the other side of the creek and picked up my turkey. That across-the-creek gobbler had an 8-inch beard and 1-1/4-inch spurs and was a very nice gobbler. I think the real secret to my taking that tom was I didn’t try to convince him that I was a hot hen and wanted him to come and fly across the creek to meet me. I just gave him one call to let him know where I was. Then when he got ready to leave the hen, or she got ready to leave him, he’d know where to come and look for me.
Day 3: Taking a Double-Bearded Turkey on My 390 Acre Lease
Tomorrow: Realizing the Old Way Still Works for Successful Turkey Hunting
