Post by BillCartwright on May 9, 2006 14:42:34 GMT -5
I will echo what I said last year. WOW! It is unbelievable the amount of bird this place in Nebraska has and the number of birds they kill each year. I had 3 hunters hunt there last week and all tagged birds on the first day. The pair of hunters I went out with also tagged birds. The first 45 minutes into their 3 day hunt and the other scored on day 3 after chasing his first turkey ever with a bow the first 2 days.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/Turkey/bigwayne_merriams.jpg
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/Turkey/Victor_merriams.jpg
For myself, I had a good hunt as well. An hour into the first morning I had already called 3 long beards within gun range. The birds seemed a bit decoy shy so I pulled the stake on Henrietta. The 4th bird that committed to my calls came in and threw an anchor about 23 yards out in some broom grass. The grass was fairly thick, but felt I could make a head shot. The gobbler broke out of strut and with head held high I fired off a shot. The arrow flew right for a miss. Dang it. I settled the bird down which immediately went back into strut, but offered no other shot. I went on to call 5 other birds into gun range in the afternoon. My setup was just a bit off but due to the number of birds around I could never adjust my setup.
On day 2 I found myself in a stand of pines that was a high traffic area. Not long after setup I called 8 jakes to within 7 yards. Had some fun with them, but still looking for a long beard. A little later I had 2 long beards slip in before I had a chance to get my bow up and a shot off. Dang It. About an hour later around 1pm, a bird fired off in the distance. I called to him and immediately got a response. Within 20 minutes I spied the bird slipping in at 75 yards from behind. I got myself ready. As the bird hit 15 yards he went into full strut, spitting and drumming. I drew as the bird cleared a closed window. The big Merriams filled the next window as I settled my sight pin. As the bird came out of strutt I needed to lower my aim a bit. I told myself money and released. The bird went into the air and sailed across a creek. As I watched the bird walk off I was in disbelief. What the heck happened I asked myself. I then seen what happened, I had shot into the blind material about an inch or so below where the fold was in the window flap. Two days and two misses.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/FieldPhotos/blind_shot_1.jpg
That afternoon I went back to the property I hunted the first day and adjusted my afternoon setup. It quickly paid off as I had birds work into my setup much closer. I had an opportunity at a bearded hen with about an 8" beard and a jake early. Around 5pm gobbling picked up and birds were moving everywhere. By 7pm I had 5 long beards and 11 jakes and 14 hens within 100 yards of my location. The toms were pretty locked on the hens so I started some aggressive purring. It didn't take long for a lone hen to come in and start yapping at me. This caught the attention of one of the subordinate gobblers and 6 jakes. Within 5 minutes the birds worked up the road to my position and started fighting. One jake flew up, followed by another. The gobbler went into strut as the jakes acted nervous. By this time the hens had went to the boss tom. The only shot I had was through a barb wire fence. When the bird turned to likely head back to the flock, I drew and settled my pin just above and to the inside of his leg. The bird ran about 30 yards down the road piled up. The jakes and remaining gobblers immediately attacked the downed gobbler. The boss gobbler actually climbed on top and began strutting. I was pumped from the shot, hopped the fence and walked to within 25 yards of the birds before any of them paid attention. Not the biggest Merriam bagged but a bow kill none the less. Tad over 18lbs, 7/8" spurs and 9" beard.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/Turkey/merriams06_3.jpg
I think I will be putting together two WKO trips together in 07, one will be a Rio hunt to either Texas or Kansas and we'll again visit north central Nebraska for those that might be interested in joining us.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/Turkey/bigwayne_merriams.jpg
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/Turkey/Victor_merriams.jpg
For myself, I had a good hunt as well. An hour into the first morning I had already called 3 long beards within gun range. The birds seemed a bit decoy shy so I pulled the stake on Henrietta. The 4th bird that committed to my calls came in and threw an anchor about 23 yards out in some broom grass. The grass was fairly thick, but felt I could make a head shot. The gobbler broke out of strut and with head held high I fired off a shot. The arrow flew right for a miss. Dang it. I settled the bird down which immediately went back into strut, but offered no other shot. I went on to call 5 other birds into gun range in the afternoon. My setup was just a bit off but due to the number of birds around I could never adjust my setup.
On day 2 I found myself in a stand of pines that was a high traffic area. Not long after setup I called 8 jakes to within 7 yards. Had some fun with them, but still looking for a long beard. A little later I had 2 long beards slip in before I had a chance to get my bow up and a shot off. Dang It. About an hour later around 1pm, a bird fired off in the distance. I called to him and immediately got a response. Within 20 minutes I spied the bird slipping in at 75 yards from behind. I got myself ready. As the bird hit 15 yards he went into full strut, spitting and drumming. I drew as the bird cleared a closed window. The big Merriams filled the next window as I settled my sight pin. As the bird came out of strutt I needed to lower my aim a bit. I told myself money and released. The bird went into the air and sailed across a creek. As I watched the bird walk off I was in disbelief. What the heck happened I asked myself. I then seen what happened, I had shot into the blind material about an inch or so below where the fold was in the window flap. Two days and two misses.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/FieldPhotos/blind_shot_1.jpg
That afternoon I went back to the property I hunted the first day and adjusted my afternoon setup. It quickly paid off as I had birds work into my setup much closer. I had an opportunity at a bearded hen with about an 8" beard and a jake early. Around 5pm gobbling picked up and birds were moving everywhere. By 7pm I had 5 long beards and 11 jakes and 14 hens within 100 yards of my location. The toms were pretty locked on the hens so I started some aggressive purring. It didn't take long for a lone hen to come in and start yapping at me. This caught the attention of one of the subordinate gobblers and 6 jakes. Within 5 minutes the birds worked up the road to my position and started fighting. One jake flew up, followed by another. The gobbler went into strut as the jakes acted nervous. By this time the hens had went to the boss tom. The only shot I had was through a barb wire fence. When the bird turned to likely head back to the flock, I drew and settled my pin just above and to the inside of his leg. The bird ran about 30 yards down the road piled up. The jakes and remaining gobblers immediately attacked the downed gobbler. The boss gobbler actually climbed on top and began strutting. I was pumped from the shot, hopped the fence and walked to within 25 yards of the birds before any of them paid attention. Not the biggest Merriam bagged but a bow kill none the less. Tad over 18lbs, 7/8" spurs and 9" beard.
www.westernkentuckyoutdoors.com/images/Turkey/merriams06_3.jpg
I think I will be putting together two WKO trips together in 07, one will be a Rio hunt to either Texas or Kansas and we'll again visit north central Nebraska for those that might be interested in joining us.
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