Ohio Bird 5/13/15

Got the opportunity to hunt some unpressured land in Pike Co Ohio last week Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The evening was quiet and boring lol. Wed. morning was not. I set up and had a bird gobbling really close, but he was across a deep creek draw and wouldn't fly down my way. I moved pretty quickly after fly down and got to the spot I was supposed to be at about 7am. (it was dark and I missed a trail I was to take) i set up on an older logging trail and had a corn field adjacent to the woods. I was videoing the hunt and doing my "I'm out here in Pike County Ohio..." when I get cut off by a gobble. I turn the camera toward the deke I have out, but he won't commit. I worked him a while and he stayed in the same spot for the next half hour strutting and gobbling. I had stood up because there were two separate lanes to the field and he'd work between them. I see a deer walking toward me and my deke. My only thought was she was going to blow my hunt. She never smelled me, but she saw the deke and kept looking at it funny. I moved to the closer of the two lanes and crawled to the field edge, crouched and waited a few minutes. I started seeing heads pop up looking around, but due to the rise of the field and the weeds I could not make out the turkey age (jake or tom) I called with my FNI mouth call and the biggest bird gobbled, fan tail visible and strutting toward me. He dropped out of strut- I could see him clearly now and no birds in the way but him. Like most Buckeyes dream of, he came to stay in Indiana. 20yds and #6 Winchester XR did a number on him.

I was blessed to get out and call in my sons first bird, I killed a jake in Indiana, I took a father daughter team out and we heard gobbles, but no bird and was able to get a shot for a disabled American Hero injured in Afghanistan. Though he missed a jake at Brookville it was a heart pounding hunt for him and we got most of it on video. God has blessed me with a great turkey spring!