Opening Day-Crazy Day in the field!

Started out this morning with a light rain in Clay County Indiana on my farm and then right at day break the rain stopped and the hunting chaos (fun) begun for the morning. It was a cold and windy all morning hunt, but starting right off the bat my buddy and I had 3 coyotes come racing across the field that we were set up on to my lone feeding Zink decoy in a bean stubble field. It was at about 7am and I hadn't heard or seen anything yet so I decided to do some coyote nuisance quality control and this particular one pictured didn't get to try a turkey decoy sandwich today before breakfast, just some number 5's from my trusty ole Remington 870! Then at 8:05am my gobbler that I ended up taking today pitched off the roost from directly across the big field and landed about 150-200 yards away into the field we were set up on. After a total of 15 deer came up behind us (that blew, snorted, skirted around and wheezed at us) during the entire morning hunt (6 hours) and then yet another coyote decided to try running at my tom and only after the coyote stopped at a mere 30 steps from my tom did this coyote then decide not to fight my defiant tom and it then made its way over to attack my decoy at about 10:30 am this crazy morning. I had to yell to get this coyote at a mere 15 yards to get away from us and the decoy. Only after all this commotion did the ole boss gobbler in this field decide to start heading my direction-not real sure why at this point. And I might mention that this was only after I decided to hit him with a gobble tube a few times and a big wet box calls to cut through the heavy wind this morning!!! He could care less all morning long to my sparse beautiful serenades of turkey mouth and slate calls up to this point, but I finally had him committed and coming our way. Oh I also forgot to mention that this tom stopped a grand total of 5 times while in this stubble bean field to sit down and literally rest/lay down during the 4 hours it took to for him to finally get within 40 yards of me to take him and give him a final dirt nap that he so deserved! I nick named him lazy and crazy bird during this period of the hunt today, seemed appropriate. Patience is a virtue that is to never be forgotten and to always take it all in! This has to be one of the craziest, longest one set up sits and weirdest turkey hunts I have ever been a part of in my 30+ years of chasing birds, but one I will never forget and for the books! I must say I have never seen a tom turkey face down a coyote in an open field and the coyote turn and head away! It must have been a full moon somewhere or something and you could literally throw out the standard text book how to hunt turkeys on this particular hunt as it did not apply in any shape or form. Still a very fun and successful/entertaining hunt - good luck to all this year and be safe!

Clay County Indiana (4.22.2015) Opening Day
22 pounds 3 oz.
1.25 L spur
1.25 R spur
11.50 beard length (3.0 inch wide coming out of the bird) Paint brush beard!