Opening Day Turkey - Close but no cigar!

[roundball]

Never heard any roost yesterday afternoon so this morning I sat the edge of a tiny 2 acre green field where I often see a flock, using a GM .62cal Flint smoothbore (Hawken drop-in barrel).

A half hour after first light a heard a tom way off in the distance...then at 8:00am a lone hen stepped out about 50yds away, eyed my decoy 20yds in front of me, then proceeded to just slowly forage around the field in front of me.

About 9:00am I heard a tom a couple hundred yards behind me...every 5-10 minutes he'd gobble again and was getting closer but passing behind me on a line that would take him across the road.

I couldn't get him to turn to the field, and was afraid to get up to try and run / head him off because the darned hen was right there in front of me, and I hoped she might call/decoy him in by herself...he had to be within 50yds of the edge of the field where she was.

But at 9:30 the rain started with T&L and I figured I didn't need to be sitting there holding a steel lighting rod in my hands so I bailed...didn't see a beard but a great morning to be out anyway...