2008 Hunts are brought to you by: Click on a logo to visit the sponsor's website                                                 2008 Train Track Tom   -- By Keith Beasley --   Keith and Paul sat listening to a tom gobbling off the roost but decided not to call until the bird was on the ground. Well after the gobbling had stopped, the pair stalked closer to work the bird. They soon realized that the turkey was still on the roost and they were busted. They backed out and returned an hour later to the back of the property via the train tracks and called the bird into range.         A new job I had started took me out of town for 4 months of training. It was hard enough to be away from my family and new-born baby daughter for so long but to add insult to injury, I was missing the first 10 days of turkey season too. When I called home at noon on opening day, I got the news that Kevin and Paul had another double header that morning and then the pair tagged out by the end of the first week. That was good for me as the scouting attention now became all mine.     When I finally got back home, my first morning hunt arrived and it was such a relief to be back out in the turkey woods after a long winter. The clean air, chirping song birds and daylight gobbles were all a welcomed relief.     As daylight approached the tom we were chasing was roosted further away than we had hoped. We thought he would be at the front of the farm but he was about mid-way across the 100 acre tract. We had not let out a call yet, but opted to move locations to work the bird from a more advantageous position when he came off the roost. We waited until the gobbling stopped and gave him enough time to get on the ground before relocating. As we walked about 200 yards to our new set up, we settled down on the front side of a small thicket. We had a long finger pasture in front of us, thick woods to our left and a hay field on our right separated by an over grown tall fence line.     We set up and began to call with no response, we called and called and yet the tom never responded. We were very surprised as we knew we had moved into range of where he was roosted and did so very quietly. We were positive he did not see us, so we continued to call. Still no response, Paul tapped my shoulder and whispered to me that he could see a roosted bird 150 yards ahead at the end of the finger pasture. I was shocked by this as it was later in the morning and we had given the bird's more than enough time to be off the roost. I pulled my Zeiss 8x30 binoculars to my eyes and sure enough, there was a lone tom roosted high in a maple tree. The bird sat patiently waiting and never responded to a call. We knew we were busted as he had watched us set up. We were truly puzzled as to why he stayed in the roost so late into the morning. We licked our wounds and decided to re-group and hunt him in a few hours. Knowing that I would not have many days to hunt in May, we opted to go out for breakfast and make a new plan.     We knew the tom would not come to the front of the farm once he left the roost because he had seen us there 2 hours earlier. There was a small hay field at the back of the farm surrounded by heavy timber that the birds liked to use. We were positive that he would head that way and by the time we returned it was roughly 9:30am. We knew that walking to the back of the farm from the front might result in bumping him along the way so we opted to come in from the train tracks that bordered the back of the farm. We knew we could walk quickly and quietly from the road and set up only 100 yards from the small hay field and enjoy the natural clearing the railway bed provided.     We had the video camera with us, so when we hit the tracks we walked in and began to call as we walked. The very first call I made was returned with a loud gobble. His response gave away his exact location and he was right where we had hoped. We quickly moved into position to start working him. We chose a spot that was 75 yards away from the bird with 50 yards of trees between us and a downhill slope for him to travel.     As soon as we sat down, Paul was over my back with the camera rolling. I let out some soft clucks from the slate and he thundered back instantly from the same location. I swapped calls with him 8 or 10 times which got him completely fired up. He was so riled up that he would double and triple gobble off every one of my calls. Knowing that he was this anxious I quit calling. After less than two minutes of silence, the big long beard gobbled but I didn't respond. Another minute passed and the tom gobbled again. I let this process go on for a few minutes. When I felt that he was concerned the hen might have left, I let out a few soft calls which were immediately answered by gobbles back and this time he was 15 yards closer. We knew he was committed now; it was just a matter of what route he was going to take.     There was very little distance to close between him and I but he would have to be at the edge of the trees only 15 yards away before I could get a clean shot. The tension was high as we waited for him to reveal his location. I let out one more soft call and he again thundered back maybe only 40 yards away. I knew the last 25 yards before he reached shooting range would be the most difficult. I stopped calling and let him come. We could hear the odd twig snap as the bird worked down the hill. Then he began to spit and drum about 15 yards inside the tree line. It was a show I wish I could see but the trees were so thick that he did all this out of sight. We waited and did not call as we needed him to commit to the final few yards. The spitting stopped and moments later, Paul whispered that he could see him. Peering through the cedar boughs, I saw his feet appear first, then, with a couple more steps he lowered his glowing red head and stepped under a branch. At 15 yards I now had lots of shooting opportunities but needed Paul to say the word. The thick bearded bird walked to the edge and entered an opening when Paul whispered the words I waited all year to hear."shoot". I did not need another reminder and began to squeeze the trigger. The 12 gauge responded and the Winchester Supreme Xtended Range turkey load folded my first bird of 2008 on the spot. We laughed and hugged and celebrated right there on those train tracks as we had just enjoyed another incredible Ontario hunt.     Click on the video below to watch the hunt unfold. Click on the video below to listen to Keith recount the details of the hunt.     Return to 2008 Hunts Page