The morning started slow, in fact I didn't even hear a gobble. But the place held birds so I chose to sit tight. I did all of my usual tactics, but got no responses to anything.
The wind started picking up, so at 08:25 I broke out the box call. 5 minutes later, a hen came through at 15 yards. After she left, I called some more with the box call. This time
I got 3 gobbles for an answer!!
Immediately after the 3 gobbles, a ruckus ensued. I heard loud fighting purrs, wings whacking on turkeys, more gobbles, yelps, cackles and cutting. It was music to my ears.
I floated out a few more yelps on my box call, which were immediately jumped on by the gobblers. Then more fighting ensued. For the next 10 minutes the birds slowly worked their way in, following the subtle yelps I sparingly offered. The last time they gobbled, they had drifted to my right, so I had to switch my gun to my left shoulder. I caught sight of a turkey, it was a hen. Then another, and another, and another. Hens followed each other single file spaced 10 feet apart. They all passed through a 3 foot opening 25 yards
from me. I pointed my gun at the opening and watched for the gobblers.
After 10 hens passed by, 3 gobblers followed close behind. They were all in half-strut, bumping into each other, trying to assert their dominance. I waited until they were 10 feet from the opening, and then peered into my scope, aiming at the opening. When the first tom stepped into the open, I put the crosshairs on his head and dropped the hammer on him!!!
The hens scattered, but the two remaining toms came back to whip up on their fallen pal. I had to walk over and stop them. My slow morning had morphed into a very exciting hunt!!!!!
My bird weighed 19 lb's, had a 9-1/2" beard with 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" spurs, for a score of 64.25!!
Not a bad way to open the season!
We went down a closed road about 3 miles to get to the area on the other side of the creek. We walked down a dike road that was bordered by swamps and patches of hardwoods. As it got 
It seems that he had been coming to the call, but I did not know it. I spotted a fallen oak 10 yards in front of me, so I dashed to it, laid my barrel across the tree and knelt behind it. My girlfriend grabbed a seat next to a big oak. 
Later on my girlfriend would tell me that she had heard him spitting and drumming. I could not hear it due to my hearing loss. The birds have to be practically in my back pocket for me to hear that. I knew he was close though. 
Two steps behind him was a hen - I knew it!!! He stepped behind another tree, and I took aim where he would come out on the other side. When he stepped out I clucked a couple times and he raised his head to look. That's when I dropped the hammer and he dropped 
So, when I took the shot, the wad - with the pellets still in it - hit the limb, and 
But, I was still very fortunate, and the bird dropped in it's tracks, and flopped very little. I had come close to getting my first miss............I was very lucky. 
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