Another First in Bowhunting for Me

Saturday April 25, 2009 will go down as another first for me in the bowhunting world. I harvested my first turkey with archery equipment.

All it takes is one bird to follow the script.

I tried for a while last year to get one with the bow, but it just never happened and I ended up using my shotgun instead. This year I was going to use my full season tag for a bowkill only. And use my gun on the weeklong season. I had been out 4 times previously this season only to have the birds put me to shame.

I left home early Friday evening, so I could get there before dark and hopefully hear a bird or 2 go to roost. I get to my gate that I share with my neighbor and I cannot open it. My neighbor is having a cabin built on his property. And the construction crew has a second lock on the cable, so if you lock the 2 locks together either one will open the cable. Someone forgot one simple item and locked the construction lock on both ends of the cable. I drove back to where I get cell service and call the neighbor. He calls the contractor and is told someone will be there to let me in in 15 minutes. He shows up and opens the lock and apologizes. (Good thing I didn’t wait till the morning to drive up there.) 

I still get there in time to hear a bird go to roost where they have roosted once before this year and twice last year. They left the same direction each time. So I knew where I was headed in the morning. I got setup at the mouth of a big hollow that leads up to a picked bean field the birds like to feed in. I was in my ASAT Blind well before first light with a hen and jake decoy out front. The first gobble of the morning came from up near the bean field followed shortly by 2 from the bird I had roosted a couple hundred yards up the hollow. They gobbled back and forth for a while from the roost. Then I could tell my bird had flown down. I heard him gobble a couple more times, a little closer each time. Finally I could see his black form materialize out of the hollow. He was headed straight for my setup. But then he veered to my left instead of crossing the small ditch. I followed him thru the window and when he stopped at 23 yards I drew back the Iceman and sent a Rage his direction. It hit him right above his left leg and stuck in his breast bone. He did a couple of flips and a few wingflaps and it was over. I never made a call and by 6:05 I had my first bird by bow.

A happy hunter, they whipped up on me pretty good for 4 days.

My defination of Trophy Rock!!

Those babies could do some Damage!

The tale of the tape is:

24.25 lbs.

11.25” Beard

1.125” for each spur

Total Score = 69.25

Then on the walk back to my trailer to get the four wheeler to haul everything back on, I see this.

An added bonus to the morning.

I had a very good morning and will be eating well for a while!!

Some good eating there.