Mountain Screamer

[Improvinghunter101]

     I haven't had time to post this any earlier, but my two year streak without a turkey has ended.  Finally!!
     Let's start the day before (04/18/12).  I had just got back from my Nebraska trip the night before and fell asleep around midnight. I woke up without my alarm.  Only thing was I must have shut my alarm off because it was an hour after I wanted to get up.  The ground I hunt is approx an hour away so I had to beat feet over there and see what I could find.  As I get out of the truck I hear one gobble.  I headed for it and got within a couple hundred yards of him.  I sat down and wanted everything to settle down before I started calling.  I was pretty sure the birds were probably already on the ground.  I started to do some soft calling and was hoping that may be something would answer somewhere nearby.  I called off and on and finally heard the one I had earlier.  Just then two deer came in.  So I took off heading the other direction hoping not to spook the deer.  I made a half circle and went around to where I thought the bird would be heading too.  Started calling and got an answer but he had made it a little bit further away than I anticipated.  Just after I got an answer a deer snorted me.  I sat there for about 5 minutes and didn't hear a gobble after the snorting incident, which I was hoping the turkey didn't hear.  But everyone knows how that goes.  If something makes a sound in the woods, a turkey hears it.  So I figured he probably heard it so I went back to the house for the day and took a nap before work.
      For the second day (04/19/12), I went back to the same spot where I left off from the morning before.  I got there in the pitch dark.  As I sat there waiting for light to hit I was playing in my head what happened the day before.  I was hoping there would not be any more deer incidents.  It got daylight and he was fired up on the roost.  I waited until just before fly down and hit him with a couple yelps and cutts.  He started gobbling and then there was silence.  I figured he had flown down and was possibly on his way in.  However the next time I heard him, he was headed the other way.  I went back out to the field and kept low and walked all the way to the south edge of the field.  I hadn't heard the gobbler in a while but I figured he would have went down this way from past experiences.  Just as I started to enter the timber a deer snorts me and heads off heading west.  I was hoping the deer did not "blow" the chances of tagging the gobbler. <-Pun intended.  haha.   I then headed south all the way until I ran out of timber which was another 300 yards south of the field.  I started heading west for about ten minutes or so.  Sat down at a nice big ole cottonwood tree.  Started some soft calling and kept getting louder til I got a response.  He was even further west than I had expected.  So I circled back around and went even further west.  Heard him again and he had gone further north.  I was for sure that there was no chance of getting this gobbler because I figured he was henned up.  I started heading a little further north to close the distance.  I could tell he was about 150 yards out by the gobbling that he never seemed to stop doing.  I started yelping and cutting.  I even threw a purr in.  Then I started clucking and raked the leaves.  He went absolutely insane.  Next thing I know I could tell he was getting closer by the thunderous gobble he was using to tear up the timber.  Due to the thick underbrush I couldn't see him.  He gobbled one more time at about 60 yards.  I was hoping it was going to be game over when I finally saw his head peaking through some vegetation.  He was coming fast.  So fast I was afraid to move as much as he was.  He would put his head down and disappear and then pop back up 30 feet from where he was.  He got to about 20 yards and poked his head up.  I aimed as low as I could go on his neck and let him have it.  As I stood up and saw him laying there I let out a shout.  I had finally broke my streak of not being able to capitalize on these thunder chickens in a couple years.  I put a tag on him and took off.  Gobbler went down around 745.  Finally made it back to my truck 40 minutes later.  He was a beast.  24 lbs, 11 1/2" beard and 1 3/16" spurs.  Best bird to date.  Granted I've only been hunting turkeys for 15 years, but I'm sure this one will stand at the top for a while.  There's nothing more exciting to hunt than turkeys.
      I don't know if the gentleman who makes the Mountain Screamer calls is on here, but you guys should check him out.  A few years ago, my brother and my father started using these mouth calls as I stayed with slate calls.  They swear by them and they are the only diaphragm they use.  This year I started to get the hang of using a mouth call with a little practice using a more beginner type diaphragm.  My brother made a trip to the local farm and home store and saw that they were sold out.  On Easter my brother showed up to dinner and gave me a little gift.  He gave me the Mountain Screamer Triple Cutter and Triple V Cut.  I practiced from that day on using those calls.  They sound absolutely amazing.  I will be using these calls for a while.  So if you are on here, thank you Mountain Screamer!   

[mikejd]

Congrats on a good hunt.

I know what its like to be in a slump then break it.

I also don't sweat the deet snort issue to much as I have been watching birds while deer have busted me and the birds paid it no mind.

[pullit]

Broke you streak on a great bird, congrats

[surehuntsalot]

 

[tomstopper]

Congrats. Good job.

[intherut]

Congrats!

[turkey slayer]

Nice work!

[captin_hook]

 

[cannonball]

Congrats!