A Rollercoaster Ride - Turkey Hunting - Turkey Hunting

I have to say it, turkey hunting is a love-hate sport, especially with a bow. This year by far has been the toughest year i have experienced hunting due to the weather and a decrease in the bird population. However, i was lucky enough to spend season D with my dad, and witness him shoot his first turkey with his shotgun. I told myself that i didn’t need to harvest a bird this year to feel satisfied because i was able to get my dad on a bird for himself. However, I soon forgot that hunting is my passion and becomes borderline obsessive for me This season, I spent countless hours in the blind, scouting, and gallons of gas traveling from roost to roost trying to get birds to gobble. With no success to show for it, i was becoming very discouraged and thought about hanging up the bow for the year. With only a few days left in the season however, i decided to hunt Tuesday 3/24 and Thursday 3/26 as long as i could. Hoping to seal the deal.
On Monday 3/23, i got off work at 5:30 and decided that i would have time to go to the gym before trying to roost some birds. I was running short on time when i got to the first roost around 9 pm. I forgot my Owl and crow call so i tried to improvise by using my mouth …nothing. I then honked the horn…..nothing. I quickly drove to two more spots and heard no gobbles. The discouragement continued…..
My plan was to hunt the first spot that i tried to get the birds to gobble. The corn had just been picked several days prior, and no one had hunted it for weeks. In this spot, the birds tend to roost less than 100 yards away on the bluffs and travel to one of the two fields in the morning i was closely occupying. I kept having a good feeling about this spot throughout the entire season and the morning prior to the hunt.
I got to the blind about 4:30 am, giving myself enough time to walk quietly, set Pretty Girl out, and remain undetected. As i was settling in, BAM a gobble at 4:42 This bird was less than 80 yards from me right where he was supposed to be Why he didn’t gobble the night before I have no idea Up until 6:00 am, this bird gobbled about every 15-30 seconds There was another Tom with him that gobbled about 6 times.
I began calling at this bird with some soft yelps, clucks, and the occasional purr. Every so often i was getting cut off by his gobbling, but i couldn’t tell if it was accidental or not. After reading Joel’s recent turkey hunting report, i knew this was a 2 year old bird, and i had a good chance at him! Finally, he flies down around 6:15. I progressively decreased my calling in hopes that he would become frustrated and come to me. However, his next gobble revealed that he was working away from me now
“what do i do now?” I remember reading an article on my lunch break at work and one of Joel’s articles about finding what the bird wants. Here, i began to imitate two different hens…i get cut off by his gobble I started to yelp a little more aggressively and get cut off again only this time he’s closing the gap This bird has now begun to walk parallel to the woods he roosted in. The only thing separating me and him is a windrow and a tractor road that runs between both fields. If i had my decoy facing this road, i would have had about a 30-40 yard shot at him. However, this bird would have to use the tractor road to get to the cut corn that Pretty Girl is in if he wanted her that bad.
As he continues to gobble, i can hear him spitting indicating that he is less than 40 yards from me I refused to turn my body and look at this bird because i didn’t want to risk blowing my opportunity at him. Instead, i waited with the release hooked and in my drawing position. This Tom is still behind and to the left of me trying to get the hen to go to him, but like a typical bird, he refuses to cross even the slightest obstacle. I now begin to softly purr and cluck and hear him gobble. This time 25-30 yards away A few seconds go by and i see him in my peripherals at less than 10 yards half strut and walking to Pretty Girl Once his fan went up, i drew back and waited for the right opportunity…….
This Tom circles and circles the decoy at half strut and i thought for a second that i wasn’t going to get him to stop with the noises i was making with my mouth Finally…he pauses and offers me a perfect 20 yard frontal shot and i take it! The Meat Seeker 2 blade entered his chest and passed right through his backside. He made no noise at the impact indicating that he had absolutely no idea what just happened He stumbled 15 yards and tipped over!!!! And just like that, i had killed my first Tom with a bow
I will take a 2 year old bird any day of the week if he puts a show on like this one did for me He went 20#, 9 1/4″ beard, and 5/8″ spurs. A perfect ending to a frustrating year

Awesome story! Man is that cool. Turkey hunting with a bow is a lesson in frustration. Those that stick with it are often rewarded, but not without lots of trials and tribulations. In speaking with Billy Yargus earlier this spring, and several other turkey hunters from all over, lots of these top guys won’t do it. Too gut-wrenchingly frustrating. My hat’s off to guys on here like Dennis Dalan, Steve Huettl, Brad Juaire, etc. who hunt these birds almost exclusively with a bow.

There’s lots of nights when they won’t gobble on roost, but they turn it up come morning time. Turning him around like that is not an easy task, and you definitely struck a nerve with your calling strategy. Aggressive calling doesn’t have to be a bad thing when you’re acting just like a lonesome live hen would. Hearing him gobble that close to you, then keeping cool enough to do everything right is a feat in and of itself. Many congrats to you, loved the story and am glad it all worked out in the end!!!

Joel