Well, this morning started out cloudy and damp. Didn't hear a single gobble as daylight brightened. By 6:30 I had not heard a single turkey noise. I decided to stay until 7:00, then pick up and try another spot.
At 6:55 a train was coming by about a mile away and blew its whistle. Immediately a tom gobbled out in the field beyond where I could see. I yelped with my mouth call and got an instant answer. In a couple of minutes, I could see two white heads heading my way on the other side of the fence row.
The birds took their time checking out the strutter decoy I had out. Eventually, they came through the fence row and confronted the decoy. I watched for a couple of minutes while they circled the decoy. I took the larger of the two birds, even though he had only a 2-inch stub for a beard.
He was a 22.4 lb. bird with 1 3/16 spurs, and a 2-inch stub of a beard that had beard rot. He was the second "limb hanger" in three days.
-David Zielke-
