2008 Hunts are brought to you by: Click on a logo to visit the sponsor's website                                                 2008 Late May Strutters   By Keith Beasley   It was the last week of May and after many challenging hunts with the archery gear Keith finally relented and grabbed the shotgun. After an uneventful early morning hunt, Keith and Paul relocated and ended up in a battle of wits with two big toms. With some aggressive calling and stalking techniques Keith was able to lure the long beard into gun range.         With only a week left in the season, my wife's birthday on the long weekend, and very little time left to hunt, it was about time I filled my second tag.     Attempting to harvest a turkey with archery equipment can prove to be a very challenging venture at times. During the season I worked multiple birds into shotgun range but never released an arrow as the wary toms never presented a shot. This short clip shows a text book turkey hunt as we worked this mature gobbler into range. We knew where the birds were roosted and where they were flying down to feed. The approach was simple, we would wait for the feeding birds to settle down well after daylight and then begin to work the calls. The plan worked to perfection as we set up in a small hay field with a 250 yard piece of timber between the birds and us. Placing a jake and a hen decoy 20 yards off the tree line in our field we began to call. Right off the first call the tom responded and as you will see on the video he continued to work with us. I was tucked into an overgrown fence line and needed the bird to leave the cover of the trees to investigate the decoys. Well, this old boy had different plans and strutted, spitted, drummed and gobbled a mere 18 yards away at the edge of the woods never giving me a clear lane to slide an arrow through. It was an exciting hunt and as you can see a great display from a smart bird. One of the great parts of hunting is the unknown, this hunt may have had better results if no decoys were visible, forcing the tom to leave the cover of the trees to find the hen making all the racket. You never know!     Below is a video of a close call Keith had with a tom and a bow in his hand         This late in the season, morning was coming very early and wary birds had been playing the game for some time. Paul and I were in the woods before the critters woke and by the time daylight joined us, the gobbling tom we were after was not very co-operative. It was now 9am and the sun was high; our morning hunt had been unsuccessful so we decided to leave and try a hunt on another tract that a good tom was frequenting. We new this was a risk as the piece we had permission for held very little woods. The property was surrounded by bush and usually the birds worked into the pastures on our side of the fence throughout the morning. If they were there, the challenge was getting into position to work them without being detected.     We made the 15 minute drive and by the time we geared up and began the walk from the barn, the heat had beads of sweat running down our faces. The sun was now high in the sky and we needed to crest a large hill 100 yards away to look down across the 30 acres of pasture which we hoped would be holding some birds. We crept ever so quietly to the edge of the hill and slowly put our heads over the crest but could not see any turkeys. We both sat patiently with our Zeiss binoculars tight to our eyes searching every crease and crevice of the landscape. There was a small 1 acre island of timber 300 yards directly in front of us. The island was at the end of a long finger of swamp with the nearest tree line being 100 yards from its perimeter. We sat glassing the edges of that woodlot knowing that the birds could easily be feeding on the back side of it or even in it. As we watched for nearly 15 minutes with no action, we debated whether or not to light up a call. The dilemma on calling was that if there was a bird ready to work, we were in very poor position should he start to come in. We opted to wait and continue to glass.     It was not long after that discussion and Paul caught movement on the edge of the island. Through the tall trees on the left side we could see two feeding hens. The game was on and we were confident based on our previous scouting that a tom should be near. We continued to watch the pair of hens work in and out of the long grass and before too long a tom appeared. The strutting bird entered the frame and even from 300 yards with trees obstructing our view his beard was clear through our 8x30 optics.     We knew that we could backtrack the way we had come, get below the hill and circle around the pasture out of site and then creep to the opposite side of the 1 acre island. If the birds stayed in that vicinity we would be at the back side of the island and within 100 yards to begin calling. The stalk took us about 20 minutes. As we moved blindly into the location, we set up and everything was calm. We were now 100 yards from where the birds were last seen and looking at the back side of the island. The set up was perfect but the question remained.were the birds still there or had we been busted? We waited for 5 minutes before making a call to see if they would give up their location. With no gobbling or any visual clues, we worried that we may have been busted. I let out some very soft purr's and clucks on the pot call but received no response. Paul and I looked at each other with the feeling of defeat thinking that the birds were gone. Knowing it was so late in May and the big boys were not as easily worked into a frenzy, we held tight and I continued to work the call. I made a series of calls every few minutes and then waited. This process continued for about 15 minutes when finally, 75 yards away on the edge of the 1 acre island, the tom came around the corner in full strut. The big bird held his spot and moved in and out of view. We knew we had a stubborn bird on our hands as we had still not heard him gobble but we were sure thrilled to see him. I then decided to increase the volume and frequency of the calls and began clucking on the diaphragm. At the end of my first loud sequence, a thundering gobble shot back in our direction. Paul and I both looked in amazement as another three followed, none of which were from the bird we were working. To the right of the strutting tom was a small knoll that sat at the edge of the cedar woods. The gobbles continued to echo across the pasture and soon a fan tip was visible cresting the knoll and it was confirmed to be another tom. This was the best news we had all day as a competitor was coming into range. As the fan grew larger the red head soon appeared and the two strutting toms were both in view at 75 and 90 yards. As the new bird worked towards us the other tom tried to cut him off. Both would walk towards each other and circle. It was obvious the new tom could see the two hens but was unsure if he should compete for them or come to my call. This went on for twenty minutes and the pair would move in and out of our view, gobbling back and forth to each other. We were getting desperate so we both began to work the calls. This seemed to work as the second tom re-entered the picture and walked down the treeline to us in full strut, gobbling most of the way. It was a tough decision for him now as we could hear the other tom's gobbles getting fainter as he was leaving with his hens. When our strutter reached the 60 yard mark he stopped, came out of strut and stared in our direction for 3 minutes looking for the hen responsible for all the racket. When he did not see her he turned and went the direction of the others.     Paul and I knew it was time to let him go and re-work the bird another way. We waited 5 minutes and then called again to determine their location. Both birds responded and were now on the complete opposite side of the island from us roughly 150 yards away but out of sight due to the 1 acre of trees. As soon as we located both gobblers we moved to the last location the birds had held up at for so long. Once in position, I sat 10 yards inside the island treeline and Paul sat 10 yards behind me. Now set up, Paul began to work the call. The tom responded immediately following his first call. Paul called again and the love sick bird fell right into the trap and walked directly back the way he had left, gobbling every step of the way. Paul knew he was committed and would return to the same spot we saw him last so he stopped calling to let the bird search for the hen. When I first spotted his red head bobbing along the treeline and long grass he was 60 yards away. I waited anxiously for him to step through the hole and when he did I let out one lone cluck from my diaphragm. The big bird stopped on the spot, stretched his head high and looked right at me. At this point the bead was centered and the gun roared, sending the Winchester Supreme turkey load on its way causing the bird to crumple in his tracks. Paul and I soon shared some well deserved hugs and high fives as that trophy long beard was coming home with me. It was 8:30am when I placed the tag on the bird's ankle and my 2008 turkey season ended with a bang!     Below is a video of Keith discussing the hunt afterwards. Keith's bird had failed to grow a spur on his right leg. Simply a genetic oddity that shows up from time to time, oddly enough it was the second bird from the same property that year like that.     Return to 2008 Hunts Page