South Texas Rio

[DBraman]

Went to a new area the day before yesterday with a friend. We arrived about a half hour before daylight and started walking parallel to a creek that had some likely looking trees near it. One blow on the owl call and gobblers went crazy. There at least nine different birds gobbling, the farthest was maybe 300 yards away. We picked one of the closest and easiest to set up on and got into position. I made a couple quiet tree calls and four gobblers started hammering away. We sat in silence for what seemed like days until I finally heard the bird we were after fly down. I called to him again and he answered. I could hear him gobbling getting closer until he was within 50 yards but hidden by some brush. All of sudden he started walking away from us gobbling as he walked. We got up and found a road headed in the general direction of where he was going and ran ahead of him. We stopped maybe 100 yards ahead of him and a little south of the direction it sounded like he was traveling. I called again and he answered and started our way. At about 75 yards he hung up again just out of sight and stayed there for a half hour. I looked to our left with my binoculars and noticed an old weed covered road headed in the direction I was hearing him. Again, we got up and as quietly as possible snuck close to the intersection of the two roads. I figured he didn't want to come through the brush, and hoped he would come up that old road. We sat down again and I clucked a couple times and purred a time or two. Just as I hoped he started up the road. Within one minute he was in full view at 25 to 30 yards in full strutt. I made one little cluck on the call and he stopped strutting. The results are in the photo. We didn't have a scale but his beard was 9 1/2 inches long with spurs 1 1/8 and 1 5/8 inches. It's been two days since the hunt and my pulse is just now starting to get back to normal.

[hobbes]

sounds like a fun hunt..........great looking bird........congrats

[Cut N Run]

Congratulations, Dan.  Nicely played.
 
Jim

[Mossberg835]

Awesome hunt dude, your heart must have been pumping so fast. Any guess on how big he was?