I was out this morning! Called in 3 Jake's & 2 hens. They never made a peep & I wondered why. 3 minutes later ol' Tom gobbles & heads in. He hangs up about 50 yards out between the hens & my decoy. He loitered there for 10 minutes gobbling occasionally, debating my decoy vs. whipping some youngsters and taking 2 hens.

I'm sitting there like a stone up against a mesquite when I hear something crawling/slithering on the bark right behind my head. Rather unnerving but dammit I'm not gonna flinch. This Tom is just out of range. I held up for a couple of minutes.

The damn thing behind me is getting uncomfortably closer to my hooded head. I can't move or turn to look or I'll spook the bird. More scratching. 6" away. It's right by my freaking ear. I have visions of a snake slinking up behind me. When the beast finally decides to kill me, it hops on my shoulder, I jumped like I was hit with a hot shot. I had no idea what it was, but I wasn't going to sit there and be devoured or invenomated. I jerked forward, Tom goes putting off the other direction quick as you please. I look on the ground beside me to see a fence lizard the size of a juvenile velociraptor speeding away.

Edit: with pic of the soon to be fleeing Gobbler.

Good times.

Called in this fella around 8:00 this morning after putting him to bed last night. He wouldn't come in at all so I snuck in as close as I dared & set up again. He had a hen and a Jake with him and wasn't leaving. The hen got curious and wanted to check out my yelping, she came in and buzzed past my decoy and kept going. Tom & Jake followed. Couldn't get a shot because of trees. I got up and set up about 1/2 mile away…. To be continued

Lots of solid action. Could have shot a couple around 40 but thought they would commit all the way for video. Birds are flocked up, I think we needed a fan decoy to get them mad! Back at it this evening

Tagged a bird after my first sit, around 10:14 this morning. First heard him after 30 minutes & he was waaaaay off. Second gobble was much closer, the third he had passed me by. Eager boy. Gave him some soft yelps and purrs on the pot call & he came in. Watched him strut and drum for a minute before I hammered him at 30 yards. 9 inch beard, probably a 2 year old bird.

It was a grind in Wilson County but finally got one to come in right around 930AM. He put on the perfect show strutting

Busy with life but pulled over on side of road and called in some pretty birds to 10 yards for fun. Cars driving by and stopping to watch

Been seeing turkey all over this year. Took my ten year old out this afternoon and he smoked a gobbler around 5:30. We got into the blind with our two decoys out by 4 pm and I a called at 5. 5:15 hen comes into our spread and sure enough two big toms come in chasing her and attacking decoys - the shotgun blew him out of his seat but he killed the fanning gobbler at about twenty yards.
Bell county west of i35.

My 8 year old scored on a crazy thrown together hunt Sunday morning.

Almost ruined by dad (me) not loading his shotgun!

Not even trying to post in a bragging way at all but on an absolute heater so far. For whatever reason our birds have just been more fired up than I've seen in years. Killed my first bird 15 minutes after leaving the truck opening day, then dad drove over and we got him one within 30 minutes. Wife and I doubled this morning early, then took a buddy who had never turkey hunted in his life out and got 2 gobblers to come attack my jake decoy before he killed his first bird ever. He's hooked.

Decoy's new nickname is rattletrap because a certain wife sent a few tungsten pellets into my Avian X this morning.

All in all, no idea whats different but every bird seems hot right now here and its already the best turkey season I've ever experienced and I've hunted a total of maybe 2.5 hours to call in 5 killed birds not counting the others we didn't shoot. Just crazy swing from zero gobbles this same weekend last year hunting all day both days.

Taking my buddy's 5 &7 yr old boys out in the morning. May not even take a gun just see if we can get a gobbler to murder my jake rattletrap decoy. Won't take the laying hen one because might lead to questions that dad isnt ready to explain yet!