“Roosted ain’t roasted” is a favorite expressing of turkey hunting guru Will Primos. Those three words define the uncertainty of turkey hunting. Even if you saw gobblers fly to roost, or heard them gobble from a familiar tree, there’s no guarantee you can slip in and call the boss in the morning.
Kim Cahalan and Bob Swanson typified a never-say-die strategy as they headed toward a tree full of turkeys they’d roosted the evening before. Either they confused the roost tree or the birds moved during the night, but birds filled the air after spotting the hunters’s approach. The duo, who hunt together occasionally, looked at each other in dismay. Okay, time for plan B.
The morning was still early and the duo heard gobbles in the distance. Using binoculars, Kim spotted roosting birds nearly a mile away. They changed gears, hastily covered ground, and circled behind the roost to sneak in. They got within 500 yards when a jake suddenly flushed toward the roost, pucking all the way. On to plan C.
Hearing another gobble in the distance, they hurried on and got a response with a diaphragm caller. The duo belly-crawled 50 yards to the crest of a hill, where they saw several toms and hens. They popped up a gobbler decoy and called, yet the flock wasn’t interested. Now what to do? Plan D could have been to back out and make a wide circle to get ahead of the flock, but Swanson wanted to stay with the approach.
Giving 
patience a try, the duo let the birds feed over a rise and then approached, belly crawling another 60 yards until they overlooked a steep bank. “Let’s hold back on the call and just use the decoy,” Swanson suggested.
The silent tactic worked, as two mature toms noticed the decoy intruder and began to strut toward it. Suddenly the opportunity for a double sprung to mind and Swanson whispered, “You take the bird on the left, I’ll shoot the one on the right. On the count of three, we’ll shoot.” Just then, the birds switched positions, foiling the plan.
“Just shoot the one on the left, on three. One, two, three!”
Boom!
Suddenly, the air was filled with feathers. Hugs and high-fives were exchanged as the two hunters celebrated their success. For the first two hours of the morning, everything had gone wrong, but every time lady luck dealt them a losing hand, they reshuffled and tried again. When it comes to turkeys, as it is with tortoises, persistence wins the day.
