I am sorry that this is such a long post but this story has to be told in detail to make sense and to do it justice.

I was hunting LBJ Saturday afternoon and I decided to check out what I suspected was a strut zone that is on the public/private boarder. If you are familiar with LBJ you know that the boundaries are fenced and have a right of way cleared of trees on the public land running down the fence line wide enough to drive a vehicle down. Walking the trail and approaching the area I was interested in I thought I heard a gobble off to my left right where I was heading. So I cut off the trail through a grassy clearing toward the boundary about 60yds to my left. I get to the boundary line right of way and just start to edge around the corner to look down it when I hear a gobble, fairly close, from the woods back to my right. So I reverse my direction and head back into the grassy clearing sit down in some tall grass under a tree and try a few calls on my crystal call. Nothing, after 5-10 minutes of trying to call I again think I hear a gobble back over at the right of way so I get up and head back to the right of way. I come around the corner and there is a gobbler and a tawny colored hen on the private side of the fence about 30yds in front of me. I hit the deck in the grass. This spot happens to be near the top of a hill, the forest service built little berms across the right of way to control erosion. One of these berms happens to be about 15ft in front of me so I crawl on my hands and knees towards this berm. About half way there I decide I had better get rid of the pack I have on and roll out of it. I crawl on my belly carrying my crystal and striker in one hand and my gun in the other up to the berm and lift my head above the edge. I am surprised to see the gobbler is now just a few yards on the other side of the berm and the hen is actually coming around the end of it and crossing onto public land. So I bury my face in the grass and watch out of one eye as the hen wonders on up the fence line and back onto private land. During this time I rotate myself around to my left to try to keep myself in a position that I might be able to get a shot off if I can somehow lure him across the fence. So now I am laying next to and parallel with the berm. It becomes obvious that she is going to lead him away so I decide to try to call to him with my crystal. I am trying to call one handed laying on my stomach with the crystal in laying the grass so every time I press on the call it pushes into the grass which doesn't make for the best calling I ever done. But I do manage to squeak out a cut or two and the tom gobbles right back at me turning to look for this invisible hen. I am beginning to think I might actually have a chance to pull this off. About the third time he gobbles back at me another turkey gobbles back at him from just behind me and to my right. This must be the tom I had heard and tried to call out of the public woods back when this circus first started. So I call again and both toms go off at almost the same moment. This time the tom on public land is obviously very close so I ease my head up, turn it to the right and see this other tom about three yards to my right just on the other side of the berm. The tom on public land starts making "puck...puck...puck" sounds and I can tell from this that he is still coming closer. At this point I think he came to within a few feet of my boots and is just on other side of the berm. So here I am lying face down with one tom about 20yds to my left on private land and one within kicking distance to my right on public land. I can easily draw a bead on the illegal bird but my gun and I are facing the wrong direction in just about every way possible for the legal bird. I am thinking ninety miles an hour about what the blue blazes I am supposed to do here? I am pretty sure they never covered this situation in any of the turkey hunting videos I've watched and I have watched a bunch of them! I finally decide that there are so many ways that I can get busted that any further delay could leave me with nothing. So I roll to my left on to my backside swinging my gun around as I go and begin to sit up. Public tom spots this motion, decides it's time to leave the area and begins to run for it. But I find him in my scope and hit him before he makes 5yds. He goes down, I jump to my feet and run over there to make sure he isn't going any where(ya know what I mean Ray?). He looks good and dead so I turn back expecting to see nothing where the other two turkeys had been standing just moments ago and to my astonishment they are both still right where I had last seen them. So I crouch down again and try to regroup. My crystal and striker are laying in the grass by the berm so I pull my box call out and call to the tom and he gobbles right back at me. Then I pull one of my foam decoys out my vest fluff it up, grab it by the tail, stick my arm out and up as far as I can and start waving it in a "I am just over here picking at the ground" kind of way put it down and call again. About this time the tom that I thought was deader than a door nail starts to violently flap his wings and flop about, he does this for about 20 seconds or so then quiets down again. This really gets private toms attention so I call again, wave the decoy and public tom comes in right on cue with another fit of flapping. I believe private tom is thinking public tom is getting lucky over there on the other side of the fence and he had better take a closer look. The hen has started to move in my direction too so I hunker down and get my gun in position. In just a few seconds the hen has crossed the fence and is walking on the far side of the berm where I had been lying earlier. The tom has followed her but is still on private land at the far end of the berm. She rounds the berm and heads towards me, I guess he finally couldn't take it anymore and ducks under the fence. the first instant I see barbed wire behind his head I pull the trigger on him and he goes down on the spot. So I jump up and run over to tom number 2 to make sure he is dead. Then I notice the hen is still hanging around. It takes me a minute or two to come down from the adrenalin high and the complete wonder of what has just happened to collect my wits and start taking care of business. This whole time the hen continues to circle around me and her recently departed beau. so I finally get the idea to take her picture with my cell phone.

Here's a pic of the hen.

Well that was a good one. Nice way to finish a season

Wow what a good day. Congrats

Great hunt get the pics up

That's almost as easy as shooting them off your back porch

great story. lets see some pics!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome! Sounds like you almost needed to go "hand to hand" with those guys! Good job.

awesome story man, I enjoyed reading it. Sounds like you had far better luck than I out at the grasslands this year. I never could get any toms out in front of me this year. Saw plenty of hens, and saw a few gobblers after i had already quit for the day and was driving back out. I must have been hitting the wrong compartments again.

Man awesome story, just reading it got me excited. What section were you on? I was hunting on 16 Friday and Sunday, saw some fresh tracks but no gobbles at all. I took my 4 year old son on Sunday and that was alot of fun. Congrats!

Wow, that was a great story, you must have been wearing your camo crocs that day for sure (right TXvarminter)

Thanks.

I won't say exactly where it was but if you had been on 16 Saturday you may well have heard the shots.

That's great that you take your son already. I wish had started my son earlier.

Here are the toms.

Nice. Great story.

Awesome! Pine trees??

I should have hit my lease in Montague. I heard they were still going strong all around this weekend.

That is a great story Martin....

Figures you always pull that when I am not out there. Guess there is always next year.

I know exactly where those pine trees are and the pond in the back ground right off 908! good story and good lookin' bird's! You know if you were a member of Posted like me and Smiling Mallard then you would have had that private land bird dead way earlier in the story! hahaha! Being a member of posted alway's help's for those bird's that hang up on fence lines! lol

Thanks Buddy.

I've done my best work when I'm alone for years now.

Is Posted an exclusive club? Or can anyone join?

I tell ya my trigger finger was itchin' like you wouldn't believe. Ethics are hard.

After an entire day of heavy rain on Friday I thought they would be active Saturday if it cleared up at all.

hey that was great Martin. I agree- the flapping semi dead tom probably sealed the deal on the second one- great job and nice toms. Glad it paid off for you buddy.

Congrats on calling and taking two Toms, but with the second one which just cleared private property, you viloated a game law for an extra bird.

Restricted Methods
It is unlawful for any person, while hunting or engaging in recreational shooting, to knowingly discharge a firearm in such a fashion as to cause a projectile to cross a property line, unless the person owns the property on both sides of the property line or has obtained written permission from the owner of any land crossed by the projectile.

Thanks Kestral & Kyotee1.

Kyotee1,
Your Right. It hadn't even occured to me until you said it. It is so hard to remember every law in the heat of the moment.

Hopefuly: A) The Game Warden Isn't watching this and B) I'll remeber that the next time it is relevent.

LOL one of those I didn't see nothin'! Yup just about anyone can join posted! Please send your annual dues to Keith TT and Smiling Mallard! All dues are processed and donated to the drinking heavily foundation!

I was wondering how long it would be for someone to mention that. No way to prove it though. All pellets could be in the turkey.

wingman thats a heck of a way to end the season! Public land birds are tough kills. Nice pics and great story telling.
Flopping birds have been the death of many an ole tom and, by the way, that is some interesting coloration on that hen. For the record I would have dropped the hammer on that 2nd bird also.
I don't know how anyone could read that story and then try to issue you an internet citation when we all know you shot that bird parelleling the fence. I guess you should just go ahead and send in your fine to......officer 1st class wylie coyote@ 100 buzz killer dr...watching closley, texas

Great story.....!!!

A tom 3yrds off your boot.......WOW!!!

You must have been invisible. lol


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