BOWHUNT FOR THE RIO GRANDE
by Robert Hoague

The Last Stand

DAY 6 - Nice Day For A Grand Slam

MORNING: 48 degrees at day break. Back at the Gate again and saw 7 hens, but no gobblers. 

AFTERNOON: I left for the River Ridge at 2:00 sharp. First off I moved the blind 25 yards to a spot where I could have had a shot at every gobbler I have seen here this season. At 4:00 I called with the Woodhaven Copperhead mouth call and at 4:02 a hen walked by the front of the blind.

Then the hen gave an alert posture and quickly turned into the woods across from me and walked out of sight,

A minute later I heard a gobbler spit and drum behind the blind. It was very loud so the gobbler was close. The sound moved around the right side of the blind. The camera was in my hand and good to go as it  came into view -- 5 or 6 yards from me.

 This was the big longbeard from a few days ago. He looked around momentarily and then strutted back behind the blind. 

I waited to see the gobbler did not come into view on the left but he didn't. I gave the unknown situation 10 minutes and let go with a dozen abrupt, loud yelps on the Copperhead. A gobbler answered about 70 yards away. I waited silently.

At 4:47 I saw turkey shaped movement in the trees and brush across from me. I took a pic and you can see his head and eye and fat belly in it below. A gobbler was coming.

I couldn't tell yet if it was the same longbeard or another gobbler. The next time I saw him he was showing me the back of his tail fan. 

I made 3 cuts at him and he made a U-Turn and showed off his full strut self.

My rangefinder (Nikon Lazer 800) read 19.5 yards. He was already close enough for a shot ... but he needed to walk out of the woods. I did a quiet moan and a kee kee on the Woodhaven Copperhead and he stepped into an opening. It's Coming Down Now...

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