Gotta love the Bluegrass State!

[dublelung]

I got an invite from a good friend to visit his place in Kentucky again this year and it was well worth the miles traveled. He'd hunted a few days before I got there and said he was concerned I'd be disappointed this year because the turkeys weren't on his property like they'd been being in years past. I assured him we had enough eats and drinks to make it a good trip regardless of how the turkeys cooperated.
First morning we split up with low expectations and went to our listening spots I heard one rattling the leaves way off on some property we couldn't hunt then finally heard one close to where he was listening from. After the 2nd and 3rd gobble I texted him and told him he should be in good shape for that bird but surprisingly, he never heard him. It's amazing to me as a flatlander how those Kentucky hills affect the sound from one area to the next. I was 600 yards away and could hear clearly while he was barely 200 yards away and couldn't hear him at all. Fly down time came with no more gobbles heard. I decided to do some yelping from where I was set up just in case there was anything in the creek bottom that didn't gobble. I made a few clucks and yelps then picked up my phone to check back with Dad in Mississippi to see where he was going to hunt. About 10 minutes later I made a few more yelps then heard what I thought was drumming. I strained my ears and listened harder and heard it again. I scanned the hill below me back and forth but couldn't see anything, the 3rd time I heard it I could nearly feel the ground vibrate. I peeked around the one and only decent sized tree in front of me and there he was in full strut, cutting doughnuts just 20 yards away. I hunkered down and waited for him to come out either side and BOOM! Barely an hour into my first of 3 mornings I had a longbeard on the ground. He had spurs 1 5/16" and 1 1/4" long, 9 5/8" beard and was 22.22 lbs









The 2nd day called for 100% rain all day, we woke up to a breezy but otherwise dry morning and checked the radar. It looked like we had about 2 hours to hunt so we hit the woods. Long story short, we heard turkeys on the neighbors property and got a wet butt. Bring on the eats and drinks!

My 3rd and final morning we went back to where we'd started the first morning but the only birds heard were way off on the neighbors property again. We walked and made a few blind sets ups hoping to call in a silent bird but no such luck. He decided to head back to his camp and tend to a few things but told me to hang with them if I wanted to so I did. At 1:30 I'd just texted him to come pick me up at the gate because my stomach had decided it was time for a snack. Just as I leaned forward to put my calls in my vest I saw a longbeard sail down into the field about 80 yards away then walk into the tree line below me. I quickly whipped out the phone and told him nevermind on the gate pick up! I hit the call and made a few yelps then shouldered the gun knowing he could pop over the hill at any place at any time. After an hour of nothing else seen or heard I decided to relocate into the creek bottom where I saw the gobbler go. As soon as I got down there I thought I could hear drumming so I set up and hit the trumpet call a few times. Out of nowhere a hen flew into the bottom directly in front of me and started yelping. A couple minutes later I heard another turkey fly in but couldn't see it. I heard the drumming again and this time it was much louder. I eased my head to the left and saw him in full strut coming to the hen. It was a wide open bottom and he was a beautiful sight all bowed up headed to his lady friend. When he got to 40 yards I couldn't take it any longer and let him have it! Gobbler #2 on the ground at 3:30 on my last day. He was also a beauty at 21.5 lbs, 10 1/4" beard, and 1 1/8" spurs.

[SteelerFan]

 

[buck_hunter21]

 

[Gold Spur]

Congrats on the awesome birds.    

[hobbes]

Thats what I call a great 3 day hunt. Congrats! 
All that green has me craving an Eastern hunt back home.

[beagler]

Congrats!

[Greg Massey]

nice birds, congrats

[renegade19]

 

[Gooserbat]

Great job

[taylorjones20]

Nice! Congrats!

[chatterbox]

That's some hooks!

[mgm1955]

Congrats!!