Posted by tomg/IL
on 4/25/2009, 1:19 pm
206.125.154.232
At 6:10 this morning, my 20 gauge fusil with 80 gr. 3F Goex and 1 5/8 oz. #5s took a jake at around 18 yards. This was the third day of Illinois' seven-day fourth season. This was the second day that I had hunted these birds and I had briefly glimpsed a group of 6-8 on opening day about 200 yards away in an open field as they headed for another spot.
Since I was going to be setting up about 100 yards from their usual roost area, I got to my spot by 4:45 a.m. Forty minutes later, two birds began gobbling, one where I expected and the other at least a quarter mile away. The near bird was soon answered by hens and I thought, "Here we go again. The hens will lead him away." Sporatic gobbling kept coming for the next 20 minutes.
After fly down, they all went the other way. That's when I opened up with loud yelps interrupted by my gobble tube, making it sound as if there were a new boy on the block getting involved with some of the local girls and he was having a great time!! After about 10 minutes of this, I could tell that the gobbling was coming my way, so I quit yelping and only gobbled in response to its gobble.
I was setting about 70 yards out on a thin wooded point tucked in behind a blowdown. This was in the field where I'd seen them previously. A Pretty Boy and Pretty Girl along with another hen decoy was planted about 15 yards out in front of the gigantic cotton wood tree against which I had placed my 6" high seat with comfortable back cushion. As the gobbling got close, I shut up and just let the decoys do their work. I counted three birds slipping through the undergrowth several yards back in the woods. Upon spotting the set up, they crossed a 5' ditch and came running the 70 yards to the decoys. I was straining to make out a 10" beard on any of the three, but quickly determined that they were all jakes with the last one being the largest and probably the one doing the gobbling. While I already had my smoothbore to my shoulder, they came in so fast that I needed to shift to my right ever so slightly if I were going to take the shot...and they caught my movement. All of a sudden, they were nervous and I had to make a quick decision as to take the largest jake or try for an older bird in the four remaining days of the season. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" ran through my mind as they putted and turned to head back to the safety of the woods.
This fusil has a very light trigger and before I knew it, the largest bird was flopping in front of me. He weighed 17#, had a 5" beard, and nubbins for spurs. While I took a 23# bird with my 12 gauge fowler last sping, this is my first turkey with a 20 gauge. I've got one more tag which will be for Illinois' final 8 day season that starts this coming Thursday. After that, if I want to hunt turkey, I'll have to wait until the fall season in late October. Oh well, there's always deer.
Tom (Sorry...I don't have any way to take photos.)
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