Back In The Game

by Clint Roby
Zink Calls Pro Staff
5 May 2009

Vital statistics
Weight - 20.5 lbs
Beard - 11 1/4 inches
Spurs - 1 3/8 inches

This hunt actually started back in the summer of 2008 at an Avery convention where Stephen Pitt and I talked about trading hunts. As the spring turkey seasons opened across the south he and I visited regularly as he had fallen prey to a couple unsuccessful turkey trips. It had started to become somewhat of an ongoing joke that "the monkey was definitely on his back". As most any turkey hunter knows, you run into your share of dry spells but I was really starting to feel for this guy. Each weekend a different state but yet the same results. I'm not going to lie, I nearly hesitated to keep the invite open in fears that his luck would find a way to rub off on me...and that's one thing I can do without! About a week out from our hunt together we both got to checking the weather and par for the course for him this year...high winds and a good chance of rain. Needless to say, between his run of bad luck and the forecast, I was expecting the worst.

Friday afternoon I made the 3 hr road trip to where Stephen and I were going to hunt for the weekend. I tried to get a bird roosted but the 25 mph winds made that nearly impossible. The next morning he and I made our way to the backside of the farm where the birds traditionally roost but as it starts breaking daylight...nothing! Again the high winds aren't helping but I'm still expecting to hear something close enough that we can make a move on. Finally, off in the distance we hear a faint gobble. By the time we got through the valley and across the creek the bird had already hit the ground and made his way into the field we had just gotten too. With a fence half way across the field and us not really being set up in the best spot it was a long shot at best to have a chance at this longbeard. After he worked his way out of the field, we knew if nothing else, we had a good plan for him the next morning.

Anxious to try to get on another, more responsive bird, we made our way along the creek cutting and running but with little success. We did however spot 2 red heads in front of us in the brush. Stephen made his way ahead of me up to where he could get a shot. With the last month's worth of stories running through my mind I'm sure that despite the "untraditionalness" of this method that he would take anything he could get. Well, he didn't, as he had gotten up to the birds he noticed that they were only jakes.

300 yds after leaving them I noticed a fan along the edge of a green field as we were making our way through the creek bottom. We positioned ourselves well in the brush and glassed not just one strutter but now three at 200 yds! There was one hen in the field about half way between us and them. Stephen gave out a few yelps on the slate and the hen immediately came on a dead run but the gobblers stood their ground. She eventually worked her way off to our side and into the brush. After a few more series and 15 min or so the ole longbeards finally broke down and started working our way. It was a great show as they would work our way then go back into strut. Just as they broke the 30 yd mark Stephen squeezed the trigger and ended the drought! I can't tell you how relieved that guy was. I couldn't have had a more thankful guy in to hunt that weekend.

Tip of the Hunt
Never give up! Despite unsuccessful trips, poor weather, and depressing bird behavior reports, Stephen kept after them and it paid off. Sooner or later things will finally fall into place and you can begin a good run just as easily as you found yourself on the bad.