Post by BillCartwright on Mar 28, 2006 16:54:28 GMT -5
Well, it felt more like fall hunting than spring, but in the end I had 2 birds in the bag. Temps at night dipped below freezing and offered a heavy frost on my first morning. I was hunting private hunting club ground that had already been hunted for nearly 10 days. Reports were that the birds were not gobbling much and were with hens most of the day.
It didn’t take me long to agree with the non-gobbling report. Over 3 days I heard 3 gobbles. Not 3 birds, but 3 gobbles. Fortunately, one of those gobbles came on my first morning hunt and just after the tom hit the ground . I was hunting familiar ground this morning. I could not bank on the birds being roosted there, but knew it would be a place to start. This 2 year old hit the ground on a ridge top, gobbled once and then came off the ridge into a field. The image below shows the bird at about 150 yards and working into the soft clucks from my Ridge Runner Pro slate. At one point the bird acted like he was going to hang up about 80 yards out.. I started some cutting with my Trash Talker mouth call and the bird lowered his head and come trotting in to his death. A 2 ¼ ounce load of #5 Mag Shoks finished the hunt.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/alabama_gobbler_1.jpg
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/06bama_bird_1.jpg
19lbs. 9 3/4” beard, 1” spurs
Day 2 was cool and windy. If there is one thing I hate, it is hunting high winds. If the birds gobbled, I sure could not hear them. After hunting until around 10pm, disgusted I went back to the truck and figured I’d get in some fishing and go back in the evening in attempt to catch a bird rounding up hens before roost. Fishing was pretty good. Almost made me forget about turkey hunting. The evening hunt only turned up a few faint wing beats. Nonetheless, I’d start there in the a.m. only this time with my bow in hand.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/14lb_hybrid_1.jpg
The morning on day 3 was slow. I had moved into the area where I heard wings the night before, but the wind had not let up. I did not hear a sound. I spent the next couple of hours making boot tracks and blind calling to no avail. I made a decision to relocate to another property and it paid off. I put on the vest and made haste to a far ridge. I threw up my blind with plans to stay put unless a bird sounded off somewhere in the far distance. Not long after getting set up I heard some hen chatter and I joined in. Not long afterward, I had a hen slip in a few yards away voicing her displeasure. A live hen being the greatest thing a turkey hunter could ask for, I kept her close for nearly 15 minutes my Double Trouble mouth call. During this time a lone gobbler came slippin’ along the ridge. I first noticed his head, then body. He disappeared for a few minutes, then again he showed himself. The bird was being very cautious for some reason.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/alabama_gobbler_2.jpg
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/alabama_gobbler_2_3.jpg
I didn’t feel he was going to close the distance any further than what he had. I slowly drew on the tom and settled my pin square of his body and then rolled it forward a bit and touched the trigger. The tom hurdled into the air, wings spanned and came down running. I wasn’t sure if I had made a hit. The bird slowed and appeared drunk, falling forward and running his self into and around the ground. My shot had been true and covered the 27 yards. In preparation for my Merriam’s hunt in May, I had changed to a wider cutting head than I normally hunt with. The move to the 2” cut did not prove to be a mistake.
I'm proud of this dude.....
21lbs 11 1/8” beard, 1 ¼” spurs
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/06bama_bow_1.jpg
It didn’t take me long to agree with the non-gobbling report. Over 3 days I heard 3 gobbles. Not 3 birds, but 3 gobbles. Fortunately, one of those gobbles came on my first morning hunt and just after the tom hit the ground . I was hunting familiar ground this morning. I could not bank on the birds being roosted there, but knew it would be a place to start. This 2 year old hit the ground on a ridge top, gobbled once and then came off the ridge into a field. The image below shows the bird at about 150 yards and working into the soft clucks from my Ridge Runner Pro slate. At one point the bird acted like he was going to hang up about 80 yards out.. I started some cutting with my Trash Talker mouth call and the bird lowered his head and come trotting in to his death. A 2 ¼ ounce load of #5 Mag Shoks finished the hunt.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/alabama_gobbler_1.jpg
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/06bama_bird_1.jpg
19lbs. 9 3/4” beard, 1” spurs
Day 2 was cool and windy. If there is one thing I hate, it is hunting high winds. If the birds gobbled, I sure could not hear them. After hunting until around 10pm, disgusted I went back to the truck and figured I’d get in some fishing and go back in the evening in attempt to catch a bird rounding up hens before roost. Fishing was pretty good. Almost made me forget about turkey hunting. The evening hunt only turned up a few faint wing beats. Nonetheless, I’d start there in the a.m. only this time with my bow in hand.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/14lb_hybrid_1.jpg
The morning on day 3 was slow. I had moved into the area where I heard wings the night before, but the wind had not let up. I did not hear a sound. I spent the next couple of hours making boot tracks and blind calling to no avail. I made a decision to relocate to another property and it paid off. I put on the vest and made haste to a far ridge. I threw up my blind with plans to stay put unless a bird sounded off somewhere in the far distance. Not long after getting set up I heard some hen chatter and I joined in. Not long afterward, I had a hen slip in a few yards away voicing her displeasure. A live hen being the greatest thing a turkey hunter could ask for, I kept her close for nearly 15 minutes my Double Trouble mouth call. During this time a lone gobbler came slippin’ along the ridge. I first noticed his head, then body. He disappeared for a few minutes, then again he showed himself. The bird was being very cautious for some reason.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/alabama_gobbler_2.jpg
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/alabama_gobbler_2_3.jpg
I didn’t feel he was going to close the distance any further than what he had. I slowly drew on the tom and settled my pin square of his body and then rolled it forward a bit and touched the trigger. The tom hurdled into the air, wings spanned and came down running. I wasn’t sure if I had made a hit. The bird slowed and appeared drunk, falling forward and running his self into and around the ground. My shot had been true and covered the 27 yards. In preparation for my Merriam’s hunt in May, I had changed to a wider cutting head than I normally hunt with. The move to the 2” cut did not prove to be a mistake.
I'm proud of this dude.....
21lbs 11 1/8” beard, 1 ¼” spurs
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/06bama_bow_1.jpg
what kind of bowtech do you have? and do you like the carrying strap and what kind is it?
. super job getting the bow kill too . about 20 more days here , can't wait.