Two Jakes and Them Darn “Skeeters”

 

It was Good Friday, April 18, 2003. It was overcast and muggy in South Carolina. My brother, a friend of ours, our friends boy (age 6 or so) and I, were off to turkey hunt. The “skeeters” were so loud it sounded like the recent NASCAR race at Bristol with all of the buzzing around our heads. We could barely hear the owl hoots. I almost couldn’t see any of the camouflage on my brother’s “Hat” because of the “skeeters”. I mean there were at least 40 plus just on his hat. After applying bug spray a second time, we headed off.At the first place we stopped, we were only greeted by the skeeters and a couple of barred owls that commenced at a few fly-bys in perfect wing-tip to wing-tip formation. Since we didn’t hear any birds gobble, our friend suggested that we move to a different spot and give it a try. We decided to set up a few yards off a dirt road where we had seen a lot of fresh tracks. We placed a pair of hen decoys on our side of the road and a Jake decoy on the other side. All of the decoys were arranged so any birds walking down the road would have to be within 50– 60 yards before they could see them. We didn’t want a bird to hang-up more than 100 yards and not come in.

With the decoys placed, my brother gave a series of clucks and purrs on his Lynch Jet slate call. No answers. Then he gave a few series of yelps on his Gaskins Box call. We sat there and nothing showed up. We waited for almost an hour. At 8:30AM there was neither a sight nor sound of any turkeys, so my brother asked me to ease out into the road with my gun and see if anything was up or down it. I was very quiet when I made my way to the edge of the road but there was nothing up the road and nothing down the road. So I turned and walked back to pack up my stuff.

My brother passed me on his way to get the decoys. Our friend and his son were 15-20 yards diagonally behind us over our left shoulder packing up. Nobody had spoken a word. I get my seat in my pack and turned to look at my brother. He’s frozen hunkered beside the first decoy. He stuck up two fingers and motions up the road. He then motions for us to quickly sit back down. I motioned to our friend and his boy to sit back down. By this time my brother was back to the tree motioning to our friend that two birds were coming down the road. My brother had seen one bird standing at attention in the road at 100 plus yards. Also, there was another bird feeding that had a white head; so we knew that there was at least one gobbler out there. I think my brother called a few times more; a few series of clucks, purrs & soft yelps. My heart was racing. I shifted a little more in their direction and waited.

At 8:50AM there was no sign of them. So my brother does a low crawl slowly out to the edge of the road to take a look. Peering from behind one of the hen decoys, he sees a head rise up at about 60 – 70 yards in the middle of the road. They were still making their way down to us; apparently they weren’t close enough to see the decoys yet. My brother was using his binoculars to try to see them working down toward us. At 9:15AM, he decided to low crawl back out and see if they were still coming toward us. He had picked up his binoculars and was crawling back out to see if they were on the way or if they had turned off the road into some scrub oaks.

He didn’t have a chance. Four seconds later a dog barked three times about 200 yards behind us and a long beard gobbled 50 – 75 yards in front of us. My heart stopped and the “Ol Shakes” kicked in. I turned a little more towards the sound. My brother grabbed his Gaskins Box and gave a series of soft yelps and clucks. We waited and waited with no answer. About 9:27AM my brother said, “Don’t move!! There they are!! Don’t move!! Breathe!! Don’t move!!” Two birds were making a beeline down the road right at the decoys. We were shoulder to shoulder and I couldn’t see anything. We were looking in the same direction but I couldn’t see what he was seeing.

An oak tree about 10 inches in diameter that was about four yards in front of us blocked my vision. My brother’s breathing changed and I knew it was on!! At eleven steps, he could see two solid red heads twisting and turning in the roadbed. The gobblers were looking at the decoys trying to decide what to do. My brother could see their heads in plain view but I could not see anything. He saw the birds turn around and start to walk back in the direction that they had come from. With my peripheral vision, I caught movement to my right. I rolled my eyes as far as I could. I saw the black body of a turkey and the head on that bird was so red it should have been on fire. That was the first gobbler I’d ever seen while hunting. Over the other five hunts/days this year, it was just hens.

So I watched him take two steps and he was out of my sight. I still couldn’t see what my brother was seeing. So I shifted my body as quickly as I could, and got the thunder stick pointed on the spot where he had been and there goes another bird through. I didn’t know what it was, so I did nothing. “Ooh!! Wait!! There’s more movement coming into the opening from the left side”. As he stepped into the small opening my brother said, “Can you see him?” I said, “Yes!” My brother “putted” once to stop the bird. He said, “Take him!!”
I didn’t hear my gun go off at all. I remember seeing smoke and that big black dot rolling over away from me. The Super Black Eagle 3 ½” thunder stick roared to life. I paused. I was in disbelief when I saw that. He said, “Run!!” So I flipped on my safety and I was running before I even stood up. I got over to him and he’s graveyard; stone cold dead. Wait a minute! What is that behind him? There’s a wing bouncing 10 feet behind him. “Uh oh,” I thought to myself. “I didn’t see that hen there.” Just then my brother came running by me and grabbed it up. He looked at my bird that was still flopping just a little and says, “Pick him up by the neck”. So I grabbed it up and his neck was warm and bloody. My brother reached around and took the bird from me with his right hand. He didn’t say anything about the second bird; nothing. Soon as he turned and started out towards the road the second bird spun towards me and WWAAAAHOOOO!!!!!!!!! It had a BEARD too!!

We got out into the road and started walking back towards our gear and our friend was walking up the road toward us just a grinnin’. His son was all smiles too. I’m all over the place. I’m shaking, and grinning. I’m pacing backwards and forwards. I was in shock. Since I couldn’t control the “Shakes” long enough to unload it, I gave my brother my gun to unload. I got my first turkey and second turkey with the same shot. I went over to get my pack and find my spent shell. I looked back to where they were standing when I shot. I still can’t believe it. I walked it off, toe to heal with my boots. I don’t remember running through all the brush and small trees that I had shot beside. It was about 25 yards to the first one & the second was less than 5 yards past him. Man oh man!!!

Thanks to our friend for being a great guide. Thanks to my brother for calling them. Thanks to our friend’s son, “The Lucky Leprechaun”, for being on my hunt. My day was made even before I made the kill. It was great to see that little guy all decked out and ready for action. The Legend of the “Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Crème Pies” continues. It is alive and well in 2003 here in South Carolina. First Bird- 14lb., 5 1/2in beard, 1/2in spurs Second Bird- 16lb., 5in beard, 1/2in spurs.

By, Anonymous