"The Don" strikes at the Brick Yard

We have hunted the brickyard every Saturday of the season besides the week I went to SC, and every time we have hunted from about an hour before sunrise till noon which until this weekend was the legal shooting limit. Every day we have had a lot of action and multiple close encounters. On opening day we had a long beard come in silent behind us, the second week of the season we got a bird hot at about 11am and had him come to about 80 yards and hang up, and last weekend we had 3 gobblers talking to us and one came in to about ten steps but would not show us anything but his head. Needless to say we had a blast on every one of these hunts, but the thought of the season coming to an end with out putting one of these gobblers on the ground was starting to haunt us. Fortunately, The Don stepped up and hammered this bird at about 40 yds.

When we were walking into our spot we bumped three different birds off the roost, and it was starting to feel like a bust. About 45 minutes after we set up,I watched three birds come off the roost about 400 yds away on the opposite side of the bowl we were hunting. Earlier in the season we had seen birds work from the bowl into the corner of the field we were set up in. We only heard one bird gobble and he was not on the property we were hunting. I called sparingly, and the birds from the bowl slowly worked their way into our field. It ended up being two jakes and one long beard. As they were working their way towards us a hen came off the roost and flew into the field with them when they were about 100 yds away. I thought for sure that she would take them away from us and the hunt would be over, but fortunately she broke off on her own our three birds did not pay her any attention. These birds got to about 50 yds and the long beard hung up and sent the two jakes in to about 20 steps to check us out. They seemed concerned and started putting softly, but never completely bugged out. The Don was set up to be the gunner and he made us sweat it out. I probably would have pulled the trigger at 50 but the bird worked a little closer and The Don dropped the hammer. It was his first bird ever, and it was a nice once. He was definitely a three year old bird and he had inch long spurs and a 9.5 inch paint brush. Redemption is sweet! Time to let the brick yard rest.

Power Line Revenge

Went down to visit my buddy Ragsdale in South Carolina again and once again he delivered the goods. This bird started gobbling early and often which helped us set up within about 75 yards of him without getting busted. He almost gobbled himself hoarse in the tree, but as soon as he flew down he was on a rope and he got it in the face at about quarter to seven. It was about as text book as it gets. I am disappointed the footage is so lousy. I was really hoping the audio on the gopro would pick up his gobbling because he had to gobble at least 157 times before he flew down.

This bird had a double beard with the main beard at 12 inches and the second at 6.5 inches. He also had 1 1/8inch spurs. He is the biggest bird I have ever killed and ties for the longest beard ever shot on the property, and Rags and crew kill A LOT of turkeys.