mole
Active Member
Opening morning was a bust as the birds stayed on the neighbors. I sat in the blind till 11:00 and decided to break for lunch and a quick nap. I was back in the blind at 2:30. I was hot, took a drink and realized I had not knocked an arrow.
I took care of the bow and looked out into the field to see a tom strutting 150 yards away. I began to purr on the slate call and he disappeared. Five minutes later he popped over the hill at 60 yards only to disappear again.
This time I got a little more aggressive and he reappeared with another tom in tow. This time the lead bird came right to my setup. The only problem was he went behind the blind. He was close enough that I could here his wings rubbing the blind.
After several nerve racking minutes he stepped into my shooting window. I let him have the arrow treatment at 8 yards and watched him run down the hill. At this point the other tom jumps on the wounded bird. My tom then makes it into a HUGE multiflora rose patch. As I approach the bird I see that he is still very much alive.
To make a long story short I spent the next hour chasing this bird in a multiflora rose patch, trying to get him out so I could get a finishing shot. I finally got a softball size opening and was able to put a head shot on him. How he survived the first shot is a mystery. The arrow broke his left leg and he was bleeding profusely. These are incredibly tough animals.
Hot, tired, sweaty, and almost as bloody as the bird I crawled out of the thorns with my bird. 23lbs, 9 1/2" beard, and 1 1/4" spurs. A great, hard fought trophy.
Pics to follow, I was unable to locate my digital and had to use the "old" 35mm.
mole
I took care of the bow and looked out into the field to see a tom strutting 150 yards away. I began to purr on the slate call and he disappeared. Five minutes later he popped over the hill at 60 yards only to disappear again.
This time I got a little more aggressive and he reappeared with another tom in tow. This time the lead bird came right to my setup. The only problem was he went behind the blind. He was close enough that I could here his wings rubbing the blind.
After several nerve racking minutes he stepped into my shooting window. I let him have the arrow treatment at 8 yards and watched him run down the hill. At this point the other tom jumps on the wounded bird. My tom then makes it into a HUGE multiflora rose patch. As I approach the bird I see that he is still very much alive.
To make a long story short I spent the next hour chasing this bird in a multiflora rose patch, trying to get him out so I could get a finishing shot. I finally got a softball size opening and was able to put a head shot on him. How he survived the first shot is a mystery. The arrow broke his left leg and he was bleeding profusely. These are incredibly tough animals.
Hot, tired, sweaty, and almost as bloody as the bird I crawled out of the thorns with my bird. 23lbs, 9 1/2" beard, and 1 1/4" spurs. A great, hard fought trophy.
Pics to follow, I was unable to locate my digital and had to use the "old" 35mm.
mole
