South Carolina Double Beard

by Josh Grossenbacher
Zink Calls
3 April 2009

Vital statistics
Weight - #18
Beards - 10 inches and 6 inches
Spurs - ¾ inches

On our first day in South Carolina - 2 April - CJ White, Walt Gabbard, and I were joined by Zink Z-Unit staffer, Mark Hoke. Our plan was to chase swamp gobblers, always a very tricky proposition. The morning started off great, as CJ and I got on a hot tom early; everything was going as planned...until I missed! Down but not out, we kept working the calls throughout the mosquito-infested swamp. Eventually, we came across an abandoned railroad track. Glassing the length of the rails, we spied two longbeards with a small group of hens. Unfortunately, the terrain, otherwise known as standing water, prevented a closer approach.

After lunch and a quick nap, we decided to combine a bit of hunting and late afternoon roosting. Around 7 o'clock, after calling for an hour, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye - a big longbeard! Leaving the tracks, the old bird strutted at 40 yards; however, a large pile of brush prevented a shot. Eventually, he worked back up onto the old tracks, and pitched up into the trees not 60 yards from our location. We had our plan!

Early the next morning, CJ and I headed for the tracks and got in tight with the old boy. Not long after we got positioned, the gobbler could be heard spitt'n and drumm'n on the limb. As it began to grow light, he gobbled once, then again, but my tree yelps went unanswered. With the sun climbing into the Eastern sky, he dropped down and headed straight for the tracks and out of sight. This bird was going to take some strategy.

We hadn't gone 100 yards when I slid up to the edge of the tracks to see if I could spot the gobbler. There he was - 50 yards, and coming right back! CJ had the camera rolling; the old boy had no clue there was a human being within miles. A few steps, and he stopped, stretched, and caught a load of #6s right in the noggin. Down for the count on the tracks - the same strutting ground he'd been using for weeks.

The Bottom Line
The key on this particular hunt was not hesitating to move once we knew the bird wasn't going to play fair. He gave away his pattern, and we took advantage of that routine.