Dead Decoys

We were doing an evening hunt and darkness was hours away as sat in the blind bordering a huge clearing. We were calling non stop, with the sound of a turkey answering us in the far distance. It was my turn to bag a turkey today, my daughter and nephew having bagged theirs earlier. So I just kept waiting, knowing that in a short while the turkeys would be coming into the open clearing.

We heard the turkey again... but this time, from behind us. So we turned around in the blind and watched through the mesh blind for the turkey, we called and called, but it stayed silent around us. Not a sound pierced the air. So we just continued to wait, hoping that the turkey hadn't decided we were more work than he thought it was worth.

Shortly after I heard the sound of something tapping against something, but I figured it was probably some type of bird in one of the trees along the clearing so I paid no attention. We just kept waiting. We all looked at each other and shrugged, where had the turkey gone? Just then I heard the movement of brush on the other side of the blind. So we all jumped up, twirled around and looked, there was the turkey coming over the other side of the blind, his wings flared as he flew over the mesh. *BANG* I nailed him, feathers flying all over because of how close the range I'd shot him at. He shot back out of the blind into the clearing about 25 yards with a trail of feathers trailing out to him.

It was funny to think that this turkey had tricked us. He'd pretended to be coming from behind us, but ended up sneaking in around the other side of us. Then we noticed that the decoys were knocked over on the ground... that tapping sound! He'd been pecking on the decoys wondering why they were dead. Then when he'd figured these turkeys were stiffs, he'd come to look to see if the calling meant there was a hen inside the blind. When he'd jumped over.. he'd found out there wasn't any hens in the blind, there was only retarded hunters.