# Auction Hunt With Thunderhead



## FreeTime (Jan 8, 2001)

So back in December I won the 2 day hunt that Thunderhead auctioned to help some needy folks enjoy the Holiday season a little more. 








My wife and I planned on Monday & Tuesday, the first 2 days of late season. Well Monday the weather looked bad so we pushed back a day and arrived on Monday evening to hunt Tuesday & Wednesday. 

This wasn't only a hunt but a chance for her and I to get away together. 

We arrived on Monday evening to a warm welcome from Tom. We spent the evening chatting about life and huntings, we forced ourselves away from good conversation to crash in the Thuderdome around midnight! 

4am alarm came really early! Tom was already up prepping and within the hour we were off to a new spot Tom had been scouting. 

Light came...no gobbles! This has been common for everyone this year as the birds are way ahead of schedule with the warm Spring. Around 6:45 a single hen starts to cross the field. A few minutes later my wife is pointing furiously at 4 birds heading out of the woods!! 

2 toms and 2 jakes. The one Tom headed straight across the field. Thunderhead brought the other tom and the jakes our way. They wer battling there way across the field with the tom making sure those jakes knew who was the boss! 

After a little arguing, Thunderhead brought all 3 right to us. We decided to go for the double. I would shoot the jake to the right and my wife was taking the tom to the right. 

Closer, closer, closer&#8230;Thunderhead brought them into the deke like they were on a rope. That man can call a bird like nothing I have every seen! 

Ready&#8230;1, 2, 3..take &#8216;em! Now, I know my wife is still a newer shooter and that if I go even a blink before her that she will jump. I wait to hear her gun go off. I see she missed! I didnt even think about it, I turned and dropped the tom at 22 yards. &#8220;Jenn, what happened?&#8221; &#8220;I don&#8217;t know!&#8221; 









Its 7:12am!* One bird down!

We can still see that other Tom on the other side of the field. After a little trying, he headed out. He was an older bird who looked like he had seen a few battles. 

Well, we have plenty of time right? We used it all. That 10a &#8211; 2pm when the hens are back on the nests and Tom&#8217;s should be traveling around hen searching was silent. Thunderhead called &#8216;em like a champ all afternoon and there was nothing talking. 

Around 4pm a single jake wanders down the side right at us. With a little skilled calling he came right in front of us. He is a pretty bird and Jenn decides he is for her. It was a bit of a fire drill getting her setup as this bird was spotted pretty close and came fast. The bird is at 10 yards(maybe less) She aims and fired. She misses&#8230;&#8230;..again! She had shot at the range for a month...no problem. 

After sharing a few curse words, her face is hanging pretty low. Thunderhead wasn&#8217;t having that at all and picked her right up and figured out what was going on. Like I said, she isn&#8217;t the most experienced shooter and was making a simple mistake in how she was using a new sight and aiming. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon working for a 3rd try. Nothing else going.

After 14 ½ hours, we had called it. We were exhausted after a great day together.








On the way home Tom took us to one of his other spots&#8230;.I liked the looks of it.

Back to the camp for a bite to eat, a couple pops, and more great conversation. Crashed around 11am. 

Wed 4am we are back up and headed to the new spot. First light had a few gobbles and high expectations. Once on the ground the birds were no where to be found. Thunderhead kept working the calls, the man doesn&#8217;t give up. 

All day Tom worked with Jenn to make sure she was confident and ready.

We had talked about callin it at around 10am. We were getting close to that, Tom was ready to go all day but Jenn was getting tired. Around 10, we here the gobbles and here he comes! 

A gorgeous big tom in some pretty thick wooded area! He was a smart bird who had played this game before. Tom called him around for awhile but wasn't coming close enough. If he was in the open he would have been toasted! After an hour or so he left us. 

Around noon we called it. 

We are on the way back and Tom pulls into another property he know and isnt hunting now. He wanted to wanted to make sure his lessons sunk in and she was on point with her shot. He tells her to load the gun, sets a water bottle on an old table at 20 yards and tell her to shoot it the way e show retaught her. Boom! She blew it in a million pieces. She instantly says "that was worth the whole trip, I will take that lesson with me and use it for the rest of my life"

We got back to Toms, cleaned up and hit the road. What a great 2 days with good company, a great guy, and my tremendous wife. Tom is an incredible host and caller. His skills are what I hope to achieve a tenth of. 


Tom could not have been more gracious to me and especially Jenn. He made lady feel very comfortable, welcomed all her questions(and she has a bunch!), made sure she was warm and happy the whole time. When she was down from her miss(es) he picked her up, when she had a problem he used his knowledge to fix it, and he made sure she went home with an improved skill that will last a lifetime. 

Thanks Thunderhead! We will be back soon! 

Dave & Jennifer Hodges


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## 2PawsRiver (Aug 4, 2002)

Sounds like a great time, thanks for taking us along.


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## Thunderhead (Feb 2, 2002)

That hunt was exactly that............a true hunt.

You guys worked hard and stuck with it. I'm proud of the way Jen hung in there and gave it her all. I was proud of her as Im sure you are too. 

Congrats on a great bird ! I had a great time hunting with you guys and look forward to sharing a camp with you again soon.


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## mechanical head (Jan 18, 2000)

Great story and very nice bird.. That 3,2,1 or 1,2,3 thing is harder than it sounds..


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## Playin' Hooky (Aug 29, 2002)

Great Story! Glad to hear that you got on some birds. Your wife will be back...and those toms had better beware!


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## DGF (Nov 23, 2000)

Now that's how you tell a hunting story! 

Great hunt and congrats on the bird. Sounds like you guys had a blast.

Dan


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## KalamazooKid (Jun 20, 2005)

Great story!:thumbup:

One finger at a time.


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## NoWake (Feb 7, 2006)

Congrats, sounds like a great hunt. Excellent story as well ! Thanks for sharing it with us.


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## deepwoods (Nov 18, 2002)

Congrat's on your hunt and thanks for sharing your story.


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