 These jakes represent a double victory. First, there were two of them. Second, they are the first birds I have taken alone, both calling them in AND shooting them.
If I were a more experienced hunter with a long history of successful hunting, I would probably have let these jakes walk. But I am an intermediate hunter with only two gobblers under my belt, neither of which I called in. So I took what was offered to me.
The story is simple. I called, they came in, and I shot them. Although they gobbled at me, I am still not sure if they came to my calls or if they were just doing what they do every day. As in real estate, much of success in hunting is due to location, location, location.
 I was in my beloved G-10 popup (teepee-shaped) blind. I love it because it is light (6 lb) and easy to set up (10 seconds plus the time to set up the tent pegs). The disk-shaped backpack is roomy enough to carry my decoys, stakes, and shooting stick as well as the blind. The blackout lining eliminates shadows and helps control scent I got my G-10 for $39.99. Another $10 would have gotten me an Outhouse which, unlike the G-10, is weatherproof and has Re-Leaf 3-D camo, which adds 2 pounds to the overall weight of the blind. The lighter weight is why I picked the G-10 and treated it for weather resistance myself.
By 6:15 and before I could get out my calls, I heard clucking to my west, then gobbling from the northwest to the southwest. I figured it was jakes, because they gobbled at everything, and their voices sounded like they were changing. A couple of hens came out and ignored the continued gobbling, never making a peep themselves, but looking in my direction whenever I called. The gobblers responded to nothing I did except clucks. The hens finished their traverse from the northwest to the northeast side of the field I was in, then doubled back and this time turned and paralleled a barbed wire fence that ran north-south about 15-yards to my west. This time, however, they were followed by two jakes. The first jake nearly spooked, and tried to leave but, as I learned when I went to collect them, was cut off by fallen logs. Unlike the first gobbler, which went down and stayed down, unmoving, the second one went down and flapped for a good while. For this reason, the third jake was initially hesitant to step into the danger zone. Finally the second one quit flapping and the third one ventured out. Had I been patient, I would have gotten three gobblers that day and limited out. However, I was not patient, and most of my shot probably went into a tree. I had no more rounds, and since I couldn't shoot the third bird I didn't want to spook him. As Scarlett O'Hara said at the end of Gone with the Wind, "Tomorrow is another day." So I waited while he nonchalantly picked his way through his dead comrades.
 As I watched him do this, I sent a text message to one of my best hunting buddies, telling him I got two jakes. His reply, "No way!" made me smile.
Meanwhile, The third bird wandered out of sight. I jumped up, buckled on my buttpack, struck my blind and packed up my decoys and slung them on my back I looked for a way through the barbed wire, secure in the knowledge that my Rocky Low-Country Snake Boots would protect me.
All season, I have been telling my hunting buddies that I wanted to call in and shoot a bird by myself, so I have been mostly hunting alone. But while I was planning this story, a quote by John Donne kept going through my mind, "No man is an island." On the face of it, yes, I took this bird alone. Yet that is far from the whole story.
 I knew the area and had hunted it several times. I wanted to hunt it again, but was unsure where to set up. A friend of mine, also familiar with the area, drew a map and showed me where on this particular field he thought I should set up. He said he had put a friend there last year, and that the friend had taken a bird there. I had been thinking of a place near there, but took his suggestion instead. The same friend last year loaned me the 3x sight that is still, with his permission, on my shotgun, and helped me sight it in. He also gave me a nice slate call and taught me how to take care of it.
Another friend, helped me sight in my Mossberg 535, 12 gauge shotgun this year and suggested I try using the buttpack instead of a vest. My sister-in-law gave me a really comfortable sling that actually stays on my shoulder. My other hunting buddies have helped me in so many ways that I cannot remember them all (you know who you are!) Another friend took this photo at the taxidermists house. A military policeman left a note that he had checked my vehicle and he wrote on the side. "Good Luck." Two more friends bought me lunch and made a huge fuss over me. After I got these birds my mom, formerly my biggest shooting skeptic, said, "Go get 'em!" And my husband a non hunter said proudly, "Way to go babe."
So my point is, did I get this bird alone?
No Way!
|
