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