Limited Edition HOBB

The day before, as we exited the woods, we ran into 10 or so birds on this plot and one of them was in full strut. We got up early, drank our coffee and ascended up the mountain. After about 15 minutes of pruning and erecting a make shift blind, we were settled in.

As was the case the day before, nothing would answer our calls. We sat quietly for a little over and hour and we hit the calls again. This time we could hear hens across the other side of the plot and down the ridge. As with any response we readied our selves and peered intensely through the broom sage. Unfortunately the birds never showed and after several long minutes, all was quite again. Sloppy and I dozed off from time to time and around 0915 I heard a gobble from the North Side of the mountain. Sloppy heard it as well and hit the Long Box. This time we had a gobble from our side of the mountain as well. Sloppy hit the call again and I began a series of putts and clucks. The bird answered a couple of times but it was very obvious that he was heading west. That being the case, we knew that Wayne was in that general direction and feared that he had caught the attention of our bird. We heard both birds gobble several more times but no shots and again all was quite.

Time wore on and Sloppy and I sat quietly and took small naps. I guess around 10 I heard the rustling of leaves just over our right shoulders…I nudged Sloppy and he snapped too. After a few tense moments, a hen popped up from the ridge at a distance of about 10 yards, She crossed the road and was soon standing directly in front of us. We sat and watched her for several minutes until she finally took flight and headed down the south face. Needless to say, it was an awesome moment to be so close and watch. Time marched on and I drifted into sleep.

At just after 11 I heard the rustling of the leaves again and snapped out of what was about to become a full-blown “Can’t wake me up with a bomb” nap. It took me a few seconds to focus my eyes and I peered to my left. Sloppy was out for the count and just as I nudged him, I found the source of the noise…it was a small “Black Snake” that had crawled to within 6 inches of my left thigh. The look in Slop’s eyes was priceless…can you say…”Deer in the headlights”…I sat motionless and the snake, sensing something was wrong, was gone seconds later…the adrenaline had given Sloppy and I a much needed boost and we hit our calls…nothing, not one peep of a response but still we sat.

At exactly 12 noon, we finally heard a distant gobble…the bird was hot and carried on without our help. By 12:15, and knowing that Wayne had left the woods by 11:00, Sloppy suggested we move westward and hit our calls a time or two. I agreed and welcomed the opportunity to move and stretch.

We had moved just over 100 yards down the mountain road and Sloppy realized that we had yet to test the HOBB LE Scratch Box made by "Craig King of Widow Maker Turkey Calls". He pulled the call from his vest and gave it a try. It garnished an instant reply. He waited a minute or two and hit it again…Bam! Another response, He and I immediately began to formulate a game plan. Sloppy played a soft tune on the scratch box and again a response but this time from two birds. It sounded as though the birds had moved west and we decided it best to get ahead of them. We moved another 100 yards and I stopped Sloppy about 30 yards short of disaster.

Since the bird's were close and in the bottoms, had we gone any further we risked being silhouetted at the top of the mountain as there was a steep draw that ran up to the road…I pointed to the flats and followed Sloppy in. Trust me, I had gone through 2 “Run and Guns” in this exact spot last year and got busted both times! Only on the second time did I realize what I had done wrong…no 3 peat for me.

About 40 yards in Sloppy found a suitable spot to call from and sat down. I remained standing and covered by a large “Black Jack Oak”. A couple of minutes passed and Sloppy kept the birds hooked up. I finally saw the 2 Toms 100 yards across to the next ridge. They strutted towards the top and I called out the distance. Sloppy began the "Sweet Talkin” on that glorious little box and both birds turned on a dime towards us….”80 Yards” I whispered. As soon as the birds disappeared into the bottom I went to my knees and whispered here they come. Sloppy kept the “Sweet Talk” rolling and I realized that he still had his weapon slung on his shoulder….”Scott” I whispered…”Get your gun ready”!!

Less that 30 seconds later I had both Toms in my sight. I was on the left bird and thought Sloppy was on the right…I got’em, I got a shot, I whispered…Sloppy didn’t see them, Both Toms stood motionless and in unison, stretched their necks like periscopes and I knew time was short…. “SCOTT”! “I’ve got’em…I have got to take the shot”!!…”Take the shot then” was the reply and Bang! The Punisher let lose of the Hevi13 #6 payload and found its mark. Only then did Scott see the birds and obviously it was too late for him to attempt and second shot.

I was actually, at least for a brief moment embarrassed and apologized to Scott for not waiting. He shook my hand and in a classic Sloppy tone replied…”Bro, I would have done the same thing” “Good Job Brother. Good damn Job”…still I was a disappointed that we hadn’t pulled off the double. After talking it over with Scott, I realized that he thought the birds were still hung up on the other ridge, he hadn’t heard me say they were coming our way, had he, it would have been a different out come I assure you.

We caught up with my bird as it continued with the death rattle and Scott and I were quite pleased with our efforts, it had been a long hot morning and our persistence and patience were rewarded. Another high five and we transported our bird to the camp. We talked about the Widow maker all the way back to camp and we both proclaimed the scratch box worthy of a permanent place in the vest.

In any case, I took this Tom at 27 yards. He has a 10-3/4 inch beard, 1.16-inch spur and 1.04 inch spur and weighed in at 18 pounds. That according to the NWTF Scoring System gives the bird 61.5000 points.