One Of Those Days

We have all heard the phrase in day to day conversation ,more often than not you may hear it, or say it yourself daily. “ Man,It’s been one of those days.”

We attribute those words to something bad, a day that you wish you could start again and change it. It could be a busy day, a stressful one, or just a day that you would have rather stayed in bed .A day where nothing goes right ,or the way you had planned.

We have all been there at one time or another.  We as hunters have those days in the field nearly as often as we have them at work. Especially us duck hunters. We are rough on equipment but then gripe and complain when something breaks. We operate on very little to no sleep for days on end,eat Little Debbie cakes for breakfast lunch and dinner,consume gallons of bad gas station coffee all to fuel our addiction. After we torture ourselves and the day don't quite turn out as planned we chalk it up to “One of those days”

The phrase can also have a very different meaning that is the polar opposite of  the one we are accustomed to hearing. We duck hunters give 110% everyday we are in the field for that one in a million chance that we might encounter “one of those days” where nothing goes wrong ! Where the stars and planets line up perfectly,and the Lord answers our prayers for a good day. These days only happen to the fortunate maybe once a year,for some guys its even longer in between those days. I’m talking about the days we tell out hunting buddies about for years,even ribbing them a little if they were not there.

Here are a few accounts of when I have been fortunate enough to have One of THOSE days.

It was mid December the weatherman was calling for low skies and a south wind. I had been hunting hard for the last few weeks and was in need of some rest. My plan was to sleep in a little(get up at 4 am instead of 2) and go bow hunting. At the last minute I changed my mind and threw my duck hunting stuff in the truck and hurried off to a place in the timber that I could not stop thinking about.

I stopped at my spot and was surprised that no one was there at this time of day. That could only mean one thing,there were no ducks using the area and I should be sitting in a tree this morning,but I pressed on. Once at the spot I wanted to be at a quick check of the wind,I tossed the decoys where I wanted them ,poured a cup of coffee and sat waiting for legal shooting time.

I glanced at my watch and it said 10 more minutes . I could hear the whistling sound that gets every duck hunters heart beating a little faster .The sky appeared to be full of ducks and they were landing in the woods all around me,but then I heard another sound. It sounded like decoys rattling in a bag. I turned to see another hunter making his way to the hole I was in. I hollered at him to let him know where I was. I offered for him to hunt with me because I was alone but he said he was gonna go on down to the next hole.He was   kind enough to let me know that the dome light in my truck was on ! Here we go.

As if on a timer when legal shooting time arrives so do the ducks. Three mallards two hens and a drake bomb into my decoys. 2 shots later a big green head is floating feet up in my decoys,but before I could even load my gun here came a cloud of ducks heading right for me. I pick out one with a green head , pull the trigger and it folds. I quickly shove 2 more rounds in my 870 and shoot 2 more times,and 2 more ducks fall and they are still coming in !

I wasn't long and they realized something was not right and left but 4 of their buddies were left behind. I gathered them up and glanced at my watch. In less than 5 minutes I had a limit of mallards. I made a quick dash to the truck to turn off the light and was back in the hole in no time. A pair of wood ducks raced thru the timber and one of them stayed with me. Not long after that several teal hit the water and one of them went onto my strap. All in all I had a full limit of ducks in 30 minutes and that included a trip back to the truck.

Another day I won't soon forget happened 2 or 3 years ago with my son Jamison. It was the third day of duck season and the conditions were perfect for a good day. I had forgot my phone at home so on the way in we met some guys that I knew and I told them I was not gonna shoot till after they did. There was a nice 10 mph west wind low skies and it was spitting snow. We headed off in the dark to a place where I knew no one would be because of the wind. When we go to the hole cut in the flooded corn the wind was almost in our face. Jamison looked at me funny and ask if the wind was wrong to hunt here. I explained to him that yes the wind was “wrong” but not for this spot. The ducks can cut way out around the field and plop right down in your face with wind like it was today. Here is where it helps to remember that sometimes there is not an “always” or “never” you have to know your surroundings, know how ducks react and set up accordingly .

We waited in the growing light wishing I had a watch. My buddies that were back from us a good way shot several times and yelled “ITS TIME” ! We had some ducks swimming around in our decoys and Jamison shot and killed 2 of them. The ducks just seemed to want to be right where we were and we had several flocks that we shot into and dropped ducks. I had been keeping count but wanted to go out and get an accurate body count.

I came back with 9  ducks ! I told Jamison that I thought he was down 2 and I had one to go. One flock latter and we were picking up.

The guys I knew that hunted farther back came around the corner and I motioned for them to come over to us for a time check. We had killed 2 limits in 15 minutes,not to shabby for the wind being “wrong”. it turns out that they got 3 limits in a little less time,but I was not complaining at all.

The last hunt I want to tell you about happend last year. As most know we had the coldest winter that I can remember in a long time and all of the water was frozen solid. A week before we had an 18 inch snow fall that blanketed the area. On the morning it snowed I went to a local WMA and killed a quick limit. We were hoping that we could draw a blind close to a pump and have some soft water.

We drew and once we got to our pit we did have some water on top of the ice so we prettied it up some,set decoys and waited. We were seeing a few high flying ducks and specks but none wanted to be where we were at. Somewhere around 10 o’clock we decided to call it a day. We were all picked up and heading out when one of the guys that ran the site pulled up. He told us that there was a blind that had killed out twice already and we were next in line for it if we wanted. We assured him that we wanted to give it a try.

He dropped us off and we saw nothing but open water in a standing corn field ! there was a pump right by the blind and it was keeping the water open. There were several ducks that jumped off the water when we walked up. A quick survey of where to place the decoys and we were hunting.

The ducks were coming to this spot as if they were on a string. The would lock up 20 feet over the trees and would sail right in to where we wanted them for easy shots. My brother Josh had 4 mallards and a pintail,I had 4 mallards and a spoonie hen in a matter of 10 minutes. We were looking for full limits but all that was coming in were mallards. I know a terrible problem to have right ? I was thinking that we were gonna go home 2 short of fill limits when out of nowhere a wad of gadwalls came in and saved the day. 2 shots latter we were picking up and heading to the house.

As duck season approaches we all have high hopes of what the north wind will bring us. No doubt there will be days with empty skies,there will be mishaps and broken boat motors,there will be cold mornings with leaky waders,but I hope and pray that thru all the misery we will have One of those days. http://bigmuddybottomsbucksnducks.blogspot.com/

Sorry .........Updates are coming soon ! ! !

Sorry that it has been awhile since I have done an update. Since my last story the seasons have sneaked up on me to quickly. We are in the tail end of my 2013 conservation snow goose season so I will have a few stories from that, deer season and duck season as well. Hang in there new stuff will be here soon !

2012 Youth deer season

     Our 2012 youth firearm season started the evening before with a little scouting trip. I Picked up Josh and Jamison from their house and we drove over to some public land that we would be hunting for the next two days. It was raining and there was a 10 mph north wind, Perfect conditions for sneaking around the edges to the fields to see what was going on.

      We put on our supposedly water proof and resistant jackets and headed off to a spot that has not only been good to be but Josh 2 years ago as well. That year we were not really even settled in when he shot a deer.

      As we made our way down the road right off we saw deer in the field. A closer look revealed three bucks eating in the cut corn field. One was a BIG one and another anyone would shoot .The other was a so so deer that I would be happy if one of the boys got.   

      We slowly and quietly backed out of there and checked out another area that I had not been to in several years. It didn’t look anything like it did 10-15 years ago when I called it my stompin grounds due to all the brush and what once was small saplings, but the lay of the land was the same and deer were using it just like they always have. We saw a few other deer and knew that we would be in a good area.

      The next morning we were there bright and early. The temperature  was somewhere around 40 with a north, north west  wind somewhere around 15 mph . The weather man said that the highs today would be around 50 so it is a perfect morning.

      Jamison and I left Josh in the spot that he likes to sit, the afore mentioned place that was good to him two years ago, and we made our way out across the field where we would find a pace to hide. We found two willow trees that looked good and was between two heavily used deer trails, but a deer would be right on top of us before we would see it. Not far away from there we found a stand of Russian olive bushes and a quick trim with my Gerber saw and clippers we had a blind that anyone would be proud to sit in.

      We sat in the darkness and watched as the sky went from pitch black to different shades of pink and orange. As the new day was being born the world around us began to wake as well. It was not long till we saw our first deer. A doe that Jamison spotted on the skyline and turned in to a dark shadow as it made its way to where she would lay around for the day. It was still 8 minutes till official shooting time, and with the two big boys we saw in this area the night before it was an easy decision to let her go on her way.

      Not long after our fist deer sighting we saw two more deer slowly making their way to our position. One was a doe and the other had some impressive head gear but was still a bit to far to shoot. A very tense few minutes with me coaching him to keep calm and slow his breathing, Jamison was in position to shoot. As soon as the buck stopped and gave a broad side shot at 75 yards James pulled the trigger. The shot rang out in the silence of the morning but the deer stood there and looked around. He quickly reloaded the H&R Ultra Slug Hunter and steadied the cross hairs on the deer again. This time the deer ran out into the field a little, but they were still unsure of what was going on.  After his third shot the deer disappeared over the hill, untouched by the slugs he was throwing at them.

      Somewhere around 9 o’clock we again had deer moving in our direction. It was a doe and a smaller buck. Jamison said he was not going to shoot the 4 pointer but if the doe offered a shot he was gonna take it. They both moved closer to us and the small buck gave one perfect shot after another the closest being at thirty yards. The doe gave a nice broad side shot at fifty yards and Jamison took it. At the sound of the shot the deer ran. It acted like it was hit but I could not see where. It kind of appeared to me that he hit one of her front legs.

      We climbed out of or hide and looked down the field were Josh was sitting. I could see Josh ,and someone else wearing an orange hat 75 yards in front of Josh in the field. I got on the radio and ask what in the world was going on down there. Josh said he saw the guy and he thought the guy saw him. Josh said the guy was carrying a bag and was bending down and picking stuff up. I told Josh to yell at the guy to let him know he was there and the guy made a quick exit, now back to looking for this deer.

      We went out and found where the deer was standing and started to run, the rain in the last two days really helped us out with that. I found one drop of blood as big as my pinky nail right there and another about half that size a few feet away. It was easy to see where the deer went into the grass field because of the dew on the ground. We then saw a doe standing out in the over grown grass 50 yards away and she made a quick exit. We followed the path the deer ran up until she hit some woods not seeing another speck of blood. From there we spread out and covered every inch of ground and found no  more sign of a good hit . After searching for almost 2 hours we decided the deer had to be hit in the leg and was going to live to see another day.

      We had Josh come down and help us with the search so we decided to find another spot to sit for another hour or so before we called it a morning.

      With Josh all set up in a new spot Jamison and I headed off to find us somewhere to sit when we spotted a heard of deer feeding in the corn somewhere around a half mile away from us. We opted to do a stalk and see how close we could get. So we backed off of the field a little bit and headed the direction where we saw the deer.

      As we got closer I occasionally would take a look out in the field and see if we were still on track. Everything about this stalk was going good, a little too good, but with the wind in our favor we pressed on.

      I could see the feeding heard just over the rise and it wouldn’t be long until it was trigger pulling time. I forgot to mention that when we met up with Josh I convinced them to switch guns. Josh has killed several deer with the H&R but James has not so he wanted to use it this morning and against my better judgment I let him. Now he has his Mossburg 500 youth with a rifled barrel and I have much more faith in his shooting abilities with it.

      With James behind me we slowly and carefully pressed on. All at once I spotted 2 deer bedded down  just 20 feet from us. James saw the deer just seconds after I did and as I stepped to the side and covered my ears they stood up. James fired and I saw one deer run off. We stepped out into the field and took just a few steps and saw his deer, a 1 ½ year old 5 pointer piled up.

      After a couple high fives we sat down and watched as the rest of the herd, 9 deer in all walked up within 30 yards of us, I wish we had brought Josh along.

      After a few pictures and text messages we field dressed the deer and I started the mile and three quarter walk across the muddy field to get the deer cart.

      That evening we had Jamison sit up on a hill and radio us information on where the deer were entering the field. Even though we saw several deer one never came close enough for a shot.

     We could not hunt the next morning but were back that evening in a different spot than before. We were at the willow trees and were counting on Jamison’s reports because we couldn’t see very far from our position. My friend Jeff and his son Ryan had joined us this evening as well and they were across the field from us in a spot the deer have always congregated in the past.

      After being spotted by a group of does not once but twice due to me not being as careful as I should have the end of the day was drawing near. All at once I heard something move behind us and turned to see a deer just a few feet away. Before I could let Josh know, the deer saw me and jumped and ran back into the overgrown field. Then the area exploded with deer. They seemed to be everywhere but the one that was going to make the fatal mistake was 30 yards behind us . The only thing we could see clearly was its head ears and neck. Josh steadied the gun against the tree but said he didn’t feel comfortable with the shot so he didn’t take it.

      We ended our 2012 youth deer season with only one deer but memories and lessons that will hopefully last a life time.

Another try. Didnt get the first one right.

GoPro video try

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5LOhv0U-BE&feature=youtu.be

From One River ti the Other

         From One River to the Other

    Well after 12 months of anticipation its finally here, 2011 gun deer season. I myself don’t get excited about gun deer hunting as I once did but two of my boys Josh 13 and Jamison 11 rate it higher on the list than Christmas.

    Not really liking to hunt public land that is over crowded with half drunk, two weekend a year, hunters from the suburbs and beyond, I like to find us private land to hunt. A friend from work helped out this year. His mother-in-law owns a fair amount of land in Hardin county, near the town of Rosiclare .

    With the truck packed up with hunting clothes, guns, and snacks we went to bed early anticipating the next days hunt. The next morning the alarm seemed to go of way to early at 0230 but we needed the extra time to make the two plus hour drive . In the darkness the boys slept while I sipped coffee and driving ,wondering why in the world we were not hunting closer to home. See I can drive 15 minutes from my drive way and be looking at the Mississippi River ,this morning I was driving to the far east side of the state to hunt on the banks of the Ohio River.

    We arrive at out hunting area right on time. I have high hopes for the day because I was here just a few days ago and there was a lot of deer sign and several deer sightings on the trip. My hopes were soon greatly diminished when we heard several deer blow and run AWAY from out hunting area. I did have reservations about parking here but it was really the only place on the one lane road we could pull off.

    The hunting area consisted of a hardwood ridge and a thick valley, the Ohio River on one end and the edge of town on the other. As we made our way along the ridge I knew exactly where we wanted to be. I did not set up stands, it is rare that we use them during gun season; we would just sit with our backs against a big tree to break up our outline.

     This way of hunting has both advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage, in my opinion, is mobility. With ladder stands that are easy for younger hunters to use they are much harder to move, if a move is in order. How many times have you been sitting in a stand and either the wind changes, or the deer activity is 200 yards from where your stand is? Now disadvantages. You cannot see as far and you have to sit still, and you have to be ready for a close encounter if needs be.

    Both James and Josh have both learned this art of hunting. The two things to keep in mind is , sit as still as you can , and when you have to move, move as slow as you can. I know Josh has killed at least one deer out of a tree stand, but Jamison never has big, bulky, two man stands are hard to put up, and hanging two stands is twice the work especially by yourself.

    This year Josh will be sitting by himself. So equipped with our H&R 20 ga Ultra Slug Hunter and a Motorola 2 way radio Jamison and I leave him in the darkness beside a huge oak with the instructions, DON’T SHOOT THIS WAY.

   Jamison and I slowly make our way down the ridge 200 yards or more from Josh and begin our morning vigil. We have a commanding view of the holler below. We sit quietly and watch the new day come alive. We are only 200 yards from the river and can hear ducks and geese flying south, various birds  ,and a few squirrels entertain us as we wait for a deer.

    Josh has reported a deer sighting but it was in the brush before he could get a shot off. Jamison and I had seen nothing. I was content with just being in the woods with my boys. Jamison had nodded off for a bit while I kept watch over the holler we were watching. My mind drifting here and there, while I was scanning the woods, when a shot rang out 200 yards to our right.  I gave him a good minute before I called him, on the radio, but I didn’t have to. I hear a very excited voice saying,” DAD! it was a BUCK ! I’m not sure if I got him or not. HE WAS CLOSE!”  With it being close to eleven we headed toward where we left Josh this morning. He did move up the ridge just a little, to give him a better view.

    We stood there and listened to a very excited story of how when he saw the deer it was only yards away from where he was sitting. He told us how he was looking the woods over and all the sudden out of nowhere there it was right beside him. Josh said he brought the gun to his shoulder very slow, and when he got the deer in the scope all he could see was brown. He backed the variable power scope from 4x to 1.5x and the second that he pulled the trigger the deer ran up the hill.

    Josh pointed out where the deer was standing when he shot and it was confirmed by the deep running tracks on the ground, but there was no sign of a hit. We followed the tracks up the hill until they were not obvious anymore without a speck of blood being seen.

    Since we had made some noise looking for our possibly dead deer we decided to head to the truck for some lunch. We ran down the road to Elizabethtown or E Town as it is called for a few greasy burgers and a bag of chips from the grocery, bait, gas, and all night video rental store. We went back out to the river front to eat out lunch and grab a nap before we made it back to the woods.

    After our lunch we discussed hunting closer to home the rest of the season. After a quick look at the IDNR web site to find out they did in fact have some Jackson county either sex tags left we ran up the road to Golconda. A small Southern Illinois river town made famous in the 1998 movie U.S. Marshalls. When we got there I bought the last two either sex tags for Jackson county or rushed back to Rosiclare to hunt the evening here.

    Josh elected to hunt the spot where he sat that morning so me and James headed back to our river outlook spot for the last 4 hours of the day.

    Josh spotted deer all evening while James and I weren’t even getting a sniff. The ones Josh was seeing were coming from our direction but must have been coming off the opposite ridge cause they were not walking past us.

    Late in the evening the 10-15 mph wind died down to dead calm,just like it always does at that time of day. As we were scanning the area I thought I heard something behind us. I turned around and looked ,but saw nothing. A few minutes later , I heard it again. I peeked around the tree again ,and this time saw what was making the noise , a deer eating acorns and moving in our direction.

    I looked again and saw that the deer was a buck. He did not have huge head gear ,but would make a fine first buck for Jamison. I didn’t want James to look around the tree too and spook the deer so I was doing all the looking. It was hard to tell which side of the tree he was gonna come out on. The one thing I was sure of was he was gonna be CLOSE when he offered the shot.

    When the deer was at 30 yards he turned broad side and seemed to have noticed that I stuck my head out and looked at him. He didn’t seem nervous at all , he really seemed curious . I told Jamison to turn around , get up on his knees ,  ease around the tree slowly , and shoot the deer.

    Even though he was under a little pressure he pulled it off great . Jamison got moved around and we both eased around the tree at the same time. I ask him if he had a good shot , he said yes. I told him to shoot whenever he was ready. A few seconds later he pulled the trigger of his 20 ga Mossburg 500 and the deer dropped in its tracks . We immediately hear over the radio  “ Was that one of you guys?”

    We get up and make it over to his deer a fine 6 pointer. I snapped a few pictures with my phone and sent them to a few family and friends. Jamison tagged and field dressed his with a little help from dad. It was now dark enough that we needed our head lamps.

    We drug the deer 200 or so yards before Josh began to help us. As soon as Josh saw the deer he said it was the one that he had shot at earlier that day . He could tell by one of the points being a little crooked.

    Once we hit the road I walked back to get the truck. We snapped a few more pictures ,loaded him up , and headed toward home.

    It was another great day in the woods with my boys. I don’t know who was more proud Jamison because he had his first antlered buck , because it was the first time he had killed a deer the first day , or me because they are both shaping up to be great hunters and woodsmen.

2012 First Season Turkey

Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, . . . . . . . . .
　
I had just stepped into a field that just looks like it was made for killing turkeys, but so had every place I have been the last 3 days. Even though its 10:00 I have very high hopes for this set because I have actually physically seen more turkeys between 10:30 and noon than I have at any other time of day.
　
It has been a rough three mornings. I thought hunting was supposed to be relaxing ,but the only word that sums up this years turkey season so far would be frustrating. Youth season was a bust even though we hunted hard from daylight till quitting time we had nothing but memories to show for our efforts.
　
April 9 th ,the first day of season started out with high hopes. First off there was no one else in the parking lot but me when I arrived so that almost gave me free range of this area. Second the forecast was for cooler temperatures than we have had the last few weeks.
　
In the darkness I made my way to my favorite place to start off the turkey season. I set out my Hunter’s Specialties hen and jake decoys and tucked myself back into the woods and waited for daylight. I absolutely love sitting in the woods and watching a new day come alive. The sights, and sounds of the woods waking up is something that will never get old to me.
　
A turkey gobble across the field from me brought me back to what I came here to do , fill a long beard with # 5’s. I started talking back to him on my Knight and Hale Glass Hammer ,but with no response. I tried soft calling, loud calling ,and medium calling but could hear him going the opposite direction than I wanted him to go so I broke out the big gun. I hit him with a VERY raspy split “V” diaphragm call, and he cut me off. A little more on the pot call and I hit him again with the mouth call, he cut me off again.
　
Now he is heading my way ,fast . Every time I hit the mouth call he cuts me off, and now there is another bird gobbling ,on my side of the field, and closer than the other bird. Now my heart rate increases and I start to anticipate the shot ,or which shot I’m gonna take.
　
The one across the field from me is sounding like he is going to be the first one to the party because he is closing the distance fast . He lets out a thundering gobble and I shift my attention to him ,but he never stepped out where I could see him. The foliage is much thicker than it should be at this time of year ,but I can hear him drumming so he is VERY close. Then silence. I hit the mouth call again and he is walking the opposite side of the field away from me. It sounds like the other gobbler is heading that way as well. Then all was quiet.
　
Several more sets throughout the morning results in nothing. The plan is to head back to where I started the day. Around 11:00 a hen with a long beard in tow came into the field 60 or so yards away ,but neither one had any interest or intention of coming any closer to me. I watched them for 20 minutes or so and they left the field.
　
The next morning I’m back in the same area ,but with a different game plan. Today I’m gonna get aggressive. Instead of sitting and trying to call the birds to me I’m going to be aggressive and go after them run and gun so to speak.
The first bird of the day heads away fast and though he is gobbling his head off , I can’t get in front of him. I chased him as far as I felt I could and gave up when I heard another bird gobble. I got as close to him as I dared and set out my hen decoy. Once again he got close enough for me to smell him, but never showed himself. These thick woods are killing me.
　
The next day as I ’m driving to my hunting area I decide to stay at the truck until daybreak and start hunting from there instead of going to the back side and hunting to the front.
　
To my surprise there is another truck in the parking lot when I pulled up. Two older guys were getting ready as I got out of the truck. They told me where they were planning in going and it worked out great because it was the exact opposite way that I was heading. I wouldn’t have to change my plans.
　
I head out across the field wondering why I have been passing up this great looking place for the last two days. I plan to listen for a gobble and then head out after him. I round the corner to find the two guys I spoke to earlier VERY far away from where they told me they were going to be . I chalk it up to them not knowing the area, so I back off.
　
I hear one bird gobble on the adjoining property and as soon as he flies down the woods go quiet. I sat for about an hour not really expecting to see or hear a turkey ,but more trying to come up with a plan ,and I think I have one. It may not be a good one ,but it’s a plan none the less.
　
I’m going to head back to the house, have some coffee , and get into the woods around 9:30. For one , turkeys that fly down and find a hen are usually looking for a new one by then and two I have been seeing them at this time of day.
　
I’m at a farm that I have kinda sorta scouted this year. Read that I walked across one field and saw a few tracks and that’s about it.
　
The farther back onto the property the better it is looking. This area is made up of winter wheat and CRP fields on the ridge tops sloping of to steep ,deep, hollers , and a few stands of pine. The fields are anywhere from 50 to 80 yards wide and 100 to 300 yards long. I had been trying to get one to gobble without any luck at all
　
When I stepped into this field I just knew this was the place. I quickly deploy my decoys and look for a place to disappear for the next few hours. I tucked back into the brush and started calling softly on my Knight and Hale Lonesome Hen push pull call.
　
I had been there calling less that 5 minutes and I heard something behind me , then I heard it again. I SLOWLY turn my head and see a red head and a fan 10 feet behind me heading to my right ,out to the edge of the field.
　
He went behind a honey suckle bush so I turn , and point my gun where I expect him to come out. The next thing I know he is right THERE ! Several thoughts are going thru my head. I need to make a decision and fast. I cant decide whether to shoot , club him with my gun barrel , or just grab him !
　
I aim my 870 Super Mag(in Big Muddy Buckbrush camo) right at his head and then aim up just a little bit. At this range with my HS Undertaker choke and 3 ½” shell if I aim right at him Ill blow a giant hole in him. When I pull the trigger he goes out of sight. I was not sure if I blew him to smithereens or missed completely .
　
　
I jumped up and ran the whole 8 feet to were I saw him last and there he was dead. I roll him over and am VERY disappointed when I see that I just shot a jake ! I had been so frustrated , and this all happened so fast I never really sized him up ,but it’s a little to late now.
　
I take a few pics , send a few texts and off to the truck I head. I’m really bummed out that it was a Jake but as a friend of mine pointed out , it’s a turkey ,it’s dead , and I killed it so it’s all good.
　
April 11, 2012 Jackson county
4” beard
½ “ spurs
16 pounds