What a morning! Cool, clear with a beautiful sunrise. Kip Feroce of www.ferociouscalls.com and I went for a gobbler hunt. Early we set up on two gobblers and all was seeming to fall into place for a good hunt. I was set up close to the birds and the woodland area was predominately open. Kip was well behind me. The birds flew from their roost going down slope and the dominant gobbler worked back towards Kip’s calling. The old boy, stopped behind a patch of young leafed-out trees, approxiamtely 40 yards in length and eight yards wide. Here he hung up. He was about sixty yards from me and would not budge around the patch of growth. The big bird gobbled often including at the scratching sounds I was doing on the dried leaves. The gobbler believed that sound to be a feeding hen.
Another gobbler, approached from behind us, rapidly came past and joined the old gobbler. He was just out of my range. I never did see his beard since he only stopped a couple of times during his approach. You guessed it, when he did stop his breast area was always behind some leaves.
Sometime towards 8:00 the big bird drifted off, still, gobbling periodically. We followed and played the common game of ridge-running. At one point, we were above him. Kip, later told me, he believed the tom may have circled him. He heard a possible alarm putt behind him.
( In an attempt to “shock” the gobbler into giving up his presence, I used a goose call and, also, I “gobbled” with my natural voice. Shortly, Kip said to me ,”I heard your goose call, but what was the noise you did?”…………I reluctantly told him that was me gobbling. I, also, expressed how deeply that hurt and then we both laughed.)
We continued covering the woods calling and listening. We had made a circle to our original starting point when another gobbler was heard on the hill’s top and in a field. We, hastily began to ascend. the time was about 11:35. (The season is over at noon.) The bird answered me twice and shut up.
I would like to thank Kip
for the invite and the great time chasing turkeys. The day was exceptional.. lots of gobbling, a beautiful woodlands and good company. I think I will try again tomorrow chasing those bronzed -backed beauties!!!
Larry A. Smail's Blog 
Glad you had such a good time today! Sounds like the Gobblers had their eyes on you just as much as you had on them ;~p
An exceptional day it was! No man should ask for a more exciting morning afield. We were very close the action often.
Those Toms’ have tough legs for good reason.
Thanks Larry for making those memories with me.
Often times when hunting, the close calls are remembered more than harvests. Kip
Larry, Sounds a lot like the morning I had yesterday… close encounters but no shots fired. A combination of poor decision making and impatience did me in. Hey… it’s better to hear someone say ‘what was that noise you were making’ after one of your turkey hunts rather than after one of your concerts! Dana