Ole Two Beards committed suicide this morning at 8:35
Now call me what you want but on the way back from the checking station and thinking back on the battles I've had with this bird, the emotions of pure joy of this hunt hit me and had me a little choked up. I honestly don't recall having that happen before on any bird I've killed so this one really is a special one for me. I got it done
23lb
11" beard (yes! O2B is actually one beard)
15/16" left spur
1" right spur
NWTF Score = 64.375
I've had bird bleed on me but never like this
I sure hope Tide or Shout lives up to their claims
Forgive me for the long read but it's how it wennt down.
Where to being? I’ll start it off with roosting two nights ago. I saw and got O2B to gobble but not on my side of the road. I can hunt both sides but the side he was on is the side other people can hunt. Now last night I was held up from my early roosting so I had to race to locate. I saw a hen going to roost and got a gobble on the posted property and nothing from the side he was on the night before. So this meant I had a hard decision to make as to where to start.
I decide to start where I saw the hen and heard the gobble. In order to not get trapped on the wrong side, I decided to start right in the on a class 6 road that split the fields. Five bells rolled in and I wasn’t hearing anything. The other day with Jake, he started at five on the nose and today it wasn’t until 5:17 that he started to crank up the gobbling. I stayed where I was until I knew what side he would commit too but it didn’t take long for me to start second guessing that move. He stayed right up on the knoll gobbling away and then back out to the big field. Several times I thought about making a move as he gobbled away and get him but I then heard a the hen that was roosted about 300 yards away from him. I started calling to her which ended up bring her right on my lap. She was stand 5 yards from yelping like crazy make O2B gobble more.
She walked off and I thought great…bring him in for me sweetie. Well she brought him in but with 3 Jakes as well. Turned out he stayed over the field hump while the Jakes marched 15 yards past me going after the hen. I decided to use the hedgerow to follow the 4 birds down the field hoping the gobbler would pop up over the hump to join them. This went on for the whole length of the field and I finally said enough! I need to go find this guy.
So up the class 6 road I went and crossed over the field. Walking down the field edge I thought about sitting in Jakes blind to dry off with the buddy heater which is still in there. I noticed two birds in the field as I crested the hump so I back off and headed into the woods. As I got down towards them, I could see the blind and the thought to get in it was there again. Not wanting what happened to us with the gobbler in the woods, I opted to set up right where he was gobbling the other day. Got settled under a big pine and let things quiet down before calling. Once I called the gobbler cut lose about 60 yards straight in front of me which was at 8:05. I didn’t get to aggressive with him from past experiences so I only clucked and yelped ever so lightly. I ended up switching over to my copper call with the Wood Wise wet stick and man was it singing sweet. I got a few more gobbles but only to the mouth call that I add into my calling sequence.
All was quiet when all a sudden he let out a gobble that came from about 30 40 yards to my left which happened to be where our blind was. My head sunk as I thought, “you got to be kidding me! In the blind, gobble down here! Set up down here, gobble up right from in front of my blind! I switched over to light purring and clucks which ended up bring him and the 3 Jakes back down towards his first gobbling spot. Half way there he turned and I ended up seeing the Jakes coming through the woods. Then I caught it, the white light bulb bobbing its way through the woods about 35 yards out. I knew it was check mate the second I saw him just by the way he was coming in and the angle. Still purring and clucking he stopped and stood broadside to me so I stopped calling. Now it was time for him to look for me and move in tight. As I dropped the copper pot on my leg, it slid off and hit a rock making a loud thud that got his attention. After what seemed forever of silence, he let out a gobble and I almost took the shot but thought it was too tight through the trees. I held my cool and he started making his way straight to me. I found a sweet opening at about 20 yards and gave O2B his official NH dirt nap!
A sweet memorable hunt that I’ll remember forever! All the piece of the puzzle fell into place perfect for me today. There’s not one thing I would have changed about the whole hunt other than I wish O2B could have done this on Sunday with my boy sitting in the blind hold the bead on his noggin. I ended up taking the bird to my taxidermist to be done with a fan, cape, wing, beard and spur display. Something I’m sure my son and I will be looking back on for years to come.
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