sureshot
The Hunt Never Ends....
After a crappy year of bow hunting for turkeys last year, I told myself I would never again try it. I think I’m jinxed or something to be honest with you! This year I decided I would give it a go again, and see if my luck would change. Well, it didn’t! Two misses and several close calls later I found myself without a bird and 4th season was already here. I went to Wally-world and bought a gun tag and decided I would try the bow in the morning, and if that didn’t work out I’d try to throw some pellets at one with the trusty old 12 gauge that my dad passed down to me.
I headed down to the cabin that my good friend owns to hopefully roost some birds and relax. The area I hunt is my favorite place to be in the world, whether I’m hunting or not. I could care less if I harvested anything, I just enjoy being out there and getting away from it all. As you guys know the harvest is just a small portion of what its really all about.
The view from the porch:
The morning found me sitting in my darkhorse before sunrise. As the sun started to lift over the horizon, the timber began to wake up around me. I had around 6 toms roosted within 150 yards of my setup, so I had high hopes of what the morning may bring.
As the morning progressed the birds worked their way to the north (but still gobbling like crazy) so I decided to take down the blind and head back to the truck to grab the 12 gauge. I grabbed my trusty ‘fan on a stick’ and took it with me in case I needed to stalk closer to the birds or use it to coax them in to my position.
As I crested over a small hill I could see a tom with four hens 200 yards away in a disked up bean field. I grabbed the fan and started my move, crawling with the fan in front of me and my gun slung over my back. For those of you who have never tried this, it really does work! The big bird saw me and began to strut his stuff, gobbling as I closed the distance from 200 to 150 yards. I had also grabbed the attention of the hens, and they wanted to come for a closer look. As the group headed my way they hit a small swale in the bean field where I could no longer see them. I stuck the fan into the ground, crawled 10 yards further up and stuck the hen in the ground, and then crawled another 30 yards towards the birds to a big oak tree so I was setup between the birds and my decoys.
Within a few minutes of setting up I could see the birds again and they were coming my way. When they reached 50 yards they crossed a fence and could see my decoys again. The tom came strutting right into the setup, and when he reached 20 yards I let the Winchester 12 gauge roar. He was down like a pile of bricks.
Here are some pictures of my setup and the bird. Sorry I didn’t get any good harvest pics with me in them but I was by myself and nobody was down in the area that could take any.
The Stats:
Beard= 10 inches
Spurs= 1 ¼ inches
Weight= 23.03 lbs
Chasing turkeys is fun and all, but man....i'm ready for deer season! Only a few more months before the cameras get put out and the pics start to roll in! I can't wait! :drink1:
I headed down to the cabin that my good friend owns to hopefully roost some birds and relax. The area I hunt is my favorite place to be in the world, whether I’m hunting or not. I could care less if I harvested anything, I just enjoy being out there and getting away from it all. As you guys know the harvest is just a small portion of what its really all about.
The view from the porch:
The morning found me sitting in my darkhorse before sunrise. As the sun started to lift over the horizon, the timber began to wake up around me. I had around 6 toms roosted within 150 yards of my setup, so I had high hopes of what the morning may bring.
As the morning progressed the birds worked their way to the north (but still gobbling like crazy) so I decided to take down the blind and head back to the truck to grab the 12 gauge. I grabbed my trusty ‘fan on a stick’ and took it with me in case I needed to stalk closer to the birds or use it to coax them in to my position.
As I crested over a small hill I could see a tom with four hens 200 yards away in a disked up bean field. I grabbed the fan and started my move, crawling with the fan in front of me and my gun slung over my back. For those of you who have never tried this, it really does work! The big bird saw me and began to strut his stuff, gobbling as I closed the distance from 200 to 150 yards. I had also grabbed the attention of the hens, and they wanted to come for a closer look. As the group headed my way they hit a small swale in the bean field where I could no longer see them. I stuck the fan into the ground, crawled 10 yards further up and stuck the hen in the ground, and then crawled another 30 yards towards the birds to a big oak tree so I was setup between the birds and my decoys.
Within a few minutes of setting up I could see the birds again and they were coming my way. When they reached 50 yards they crossed a fence and could see my decoys again. The tom came strutting right into the setup, and when he reached 20 yards I let the Winchester 12 gauge roar. He was down like a pile of bricks.
Here are some pictures of my setup and the bird. Sorry I didn’t get any good harvest pics with me in them but I was by myself and nobody was down in the area that could take any.
The Stats:
Beard= 10 inches
Spurs= 1 ¼ inches
Weight= 23.03 lbs
Chasing turkeys is fun and all, but man....i'm ready for deer season! Only a few more months before the cameras get put out and the pics start to roll in! I can't wait! :drink1:
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