After a nap under a shade tree I wandered about the property again. I figured the birds might be thinking the same as me, hide under a shade tree. It was pretty windy, so I used the wind to sneak up on the big trees. Unfortunately there were no birds there. I was heading back towards the truck when I heard a gobble. I quickly clucked back and received a gobble in return. This went back and forth several times but the Tom was hung up and wouldn't budge. I decided to stick with that bird. I cut the distance in half as quietly and quickly as I could and I clucked and purred again. The gobble was distinctly louder due to the closer proximity. We started a conversation and suddenly I could tell the bird was moving towards me. I set out the decoy and backed up against a big tree. The conversation went on, but my clucks and purrs got softer and more subdued. Movement on my right caught my attention. The red ball moving towards me was obviously a gobbler. As he came over the rise to the level of my decoy he looked huge. When he was about 10 feet from the decoy he decided to move back right and away from "her". When he was somewhere around 20-25 yards I put the bead on his chin and squeezed the trigger. I could hear the flopping before the smoke cleared. I kept him covered with the gun but no need for the second barrel, he was dead right there. This is a real heavy bird and I am thankful and blessed....
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