Having roosted what I thought was one tom and three hens the evening before the start of the season, I had great hopes that this year may be lucky and I'd get my first opportunity for a bird on opening day. Well, as I eased through the woods at 5:45 am, he gobbled at the sound of a truck grinding it's gears. After that, the woods were alive with gobblers everywhere. I heard at least eight and hens a yelping up a storm. I slipped in underneath the hens and set up.

As the sky lightened, I could see four hens above me in the trees. The gobblers pitched down first and went strutting and gobbling on the rim of the bowl they roosted over. Those hens just kept talkin'. They kept gobbling and double gobbled when I added my fly down cackle to the mix. I could see the toms all blown up strutting at some 80 yards and figured I'd just have to enjoy the show as it didn't look inviting for them to walk my way. Too much thick stuff, I thought.

Well, I started yelping on my new JJ Tom coconut slate call and two loud thunder gobbles announced the presence of two toms right behind me. I didn't even know they were there. I had to walk right under them when I sat up on the two in front of me. As they sounded so close, I cut my eyes far left and saw nothing. So I slid around the tree and saw them right above me. Well, ole "Batman" must have been the boss of those woods as they gobbled once more and slowly departed the territory.

Back to the birds still in the bush, so to speak. I eased back around and watched them strut and saw the hens sail right to them. All I could do was call sporadically and smile with happiness when they returned each call with a lovesick gobble. Well, I must have sounded pretty sweet, for after a hour, here came both of them. As he came to the creekside, he puffed all up and then peered my way. His sidekick, "And Robin", came along side and was content watching his buddy strut. I couldn't resist the perfect opportunity and let Batman have a rush of 10 gauge.

Awesome hunt, shot in the same bowl, my son shot an armadillo in this winter and when we went to get the armadillo, a bat came out from underneath him. Hence, Batman's name.