We headed out Saturday morning and got to Knox City, TX around 3 pm. We met our contact and we jumped in his truck and he showed us 4 properties on the Brazos River that we could hunt. Probably totaled around 8000 acres. Around dark we went to a spot he told us they usually roosted, and sure enough, there were a bunch, gobbling their brains out. It was on!!!
The next morning, my buddy and i set up about 200 yards down the bank of the river from the roosted birds, on the edge of a wheat field. They gobbled in the tree till they got light headed and fell of the limbs.
...well it seemed like that happened. The first birds to appear were 3 longbeards hauling tail away from us, not saying a word. Then, 5 power jakes came and showed off for us...that's what was behind all that gobbling! We picked up and went to another property we dubbed "the Hog Farm" for obvious reasons.
I saw at least 100 wild hogs each day at this place...it was infested!!!!
It was about 9:30 now and my buddy and i split up trying to locate a late morning bird. About 10 minutes from the truck, he gobbled and i took off. I set up around 150 yards from him and after a few minutes he gobbled barely in hearing! These Rio's run! I jumped up and sprinted a couple of hundred yards and he gobbled again, and was dang near as far as before! So i keep on bookin it and walk farther than i needed to, because i figured he was still going. I cut on my slate and he 'bout knock me down! 50 yards max! I sat down and purred and clucked and saw them bobbing through the prickly pears and cactus. It was about 5 red heads coming, but 3 hung back. Two came to about 15 yards and i was trying to line them up, but they never would get right and finally, i couldn't take it any more and popped the one with the thickest beard. The other hauled tail in that thick stuff and i couldn't get on him.
That afternoon, my buddy went back to the first place we hunted, and killed a stud. Had sharp, curved 1 ¼” hooks.
The next morning, Monday, I went back to the Hog Farm, and my buddy went back to where he killed the previous day. I got on some, and they headed up towards some wheat fields. I ran to get ahead of them, but they beat me and there were 5 full fans, 3 jakes and about 15 hens out 350 yards in the wheat field when I got there. I jockeyed around the edge of the field till I got where I thought I needed to be and sat…about an hour later, they milled to about 100 yards, and I noticed that one longbeard kept getting whipped by the others when he strutted, and was hanging out about 75 yards from the rest of the flock. I knew he was my boy. I yelped softly on my red wasp diaphragm and they paid no attention. Ten minutes later I slip a slate slate out of my vest and yelped soft and they all gobbled. I cut a time or two and yelped and the loner started coming, being followed by the rest of the flock. I knew I was fixing to get at least 2 of these, and was ready. When the loner got about 40 yards, he perked up, putted, and turned and started trotting out of there. I have no clue what he saw. I got on him and popped him in the back of the head about 45 yards as he trotted away. The flock blew out of there…but at least I got 1 of them.
He was a fine bird too. 1 ¼” and 1 3/16” spurs.
That eve, my buddy and I went to one of the other properties and he killed an nice 3 yr old right before fly up.
Tuesday morning, we went to the same property as the evening before, and heard nothing!!! We high tailed it in the truck to the Hog Farm…nothing, then to another property we had not hunted yet…Oh yeah! There were some strutters, and other red heads sticking up out of the wheat. My buddy dropped me off, and went on to the property he killed his first on. Snuck through a thin 50 yard wide strip of woods, and could see them…they had lots of hens. I knew it was a lost cause because of all the hens, but I got my slate out again, because it had been my go-to call for these Rio’s. I yelped aggressively and they hammered…and here they come…the whole flock, heads up, in a fast walk. I couldn’t believe it. It took the less than 5 minutes to come 250 yards across the field and the hens entered in the woods with me about 30 yards to my right. The other red heads were longbeards too! 8 of them! I got on a strutter and was leaning around a small tree off balance and shot. I blew the tree in half. All the birds flush and the strutter hops up in the air a few feet and land right back where he was. My second shot was better…he flopped. I then saw the other strutter running down the edge of the wheat about forty yards away and I popped at him, but missed. I felt dumb…I knew better than to take a shot like that. I got to my bird and was let down slightly because it was a two year old. I just knew he was hooked up to have all those others not strutting. I then grab him and walk through the thin strip to the other side, where the road is. I sat for about 10 minutes, waiting on my buddy to get back. I then hear a kee kee, to my right. I turn my head and see a longbeard easing through the woods 45 yards away. I couldn’t believe it! I honestly didn’t know longbeards could kee kee. I grab my mouth call, slip it in, and kee kee. He looks for a few seconds, and here he comes. My gun is unloaded and leaning barrel up on the tree I’m sitting against. I ease my hand in my vest, fishing for a spare shell, because I shot all my good ones in the volley earlier. I feel one and ease it in my open chamber and slowly slide it shut, never taking my eyes off the longbeard. He goes behind a tree about as big as a coffee can and I swing my gun from my left side, up against the tree, to my right shoulder and on him in a flash. He steps out at about 28 yards and I am tagged out!!! He was a nice 3 year old with sharp curved 1 1/8” spurs. Right then, my buddy calls and he killed another too.
We had 7 down!
That evening, our last in Texas was uneventful, except for some jakes and hens.
We then leave out Wednesday morning, towards the mountains of New Mexico. We get there around 2 and go to a local i met on old gobbler.com’s camp and shoot the breeze with him. He gave us some advice on where he had seen some longbeards in the previous weeks. We left to go scout, for season did not open till the next day. I had to check out one of my honey holes from 2 years ago when we hunted out there. I walked about a mile into a meadow and it was full of elk. I slipped up and started glassing them and heard pffftt rruuuuum. I froze and a strutter and a hen stepped out about 40 yards from me. There I was staring at the final piece to my single season grand slam puzzle!
I got in there EARLY the next morning, Thursday, and put a hen deke out and sat. He gobbled his head off and flew down and went over the mountain gobbling in about 1 minute. I HATE these mountains. It is beautiful, but there is not enough oxygen! I climb for about an hour and reach the top of the mountain and now hear several birds gobbling below me. They were all heading down and crossed onto private land before I could get it front of them. I saw a nice one and several jakes, but they were hened up and leaving. I watched them cross the gravel road and go onto the private land and listened to them hammer for the next 2 hours, along with several others. My buddy picked me up about 1100 and had been on birds all morn, but had no luck. He was exhausted and ready to give up. We went and got lunch and I talked him into riding back out there about 1:30. I was telling him the spot where I saw them cross the road ahead of us and happened to look up the mountain and saw him strutting about 80 yards up there! We drove around the next curve, I jumped out and ran about 100 yards up the mountain, and call to see where they are…silence. I then hear running and look above me and he is running to me with beard flopping about 30 yards up. He cranes that neck and it is done!!!! *prt*y Another longbeard and five jakes then come and jump on him. I didn’t shoot the other longbeard, because my buddy needed one for his slam and he would do fine.
I got to him and noticed he had sharp curved spurs. I knew this was odd. Almost all Merriams have blunt short spurs, almost jake-like. Nice 8 7/8” beard too. I then went to the local's camp to get him measured for our $5 per person contest we had put in for the day before. They were going nuts. He had 1 3/16” on one and 1 1/16” on the other, and weighed 18 lbs, 15 oz. He said he had only seen one bigger since the mid 1970’s, and it was 1 ¼”, only 1/16 of an inch bigger than mine. They kept saying I had to mount it, and all. I shrugged it off and went to go get on another for my buddy. He ended up killed one that eve, and another the next morning and we headed home.
