This past Friday (5/1/09) I harvest my first turkey with a bow. I got to the property at 6 am with overcast skies and a faint wind. I started in a small food plot on the NW end of the property. I entered the food plot quietly and looking around to where I wanted to set up, I hear gobbling to the south of me, and its close. So I set up and I start to work him and I have the camera rolling. He wouldnt come in and I shut the camera off. As soon as I did that, he came up the trail and popped his head out, roughly 70yds out. He was a good looking bird, good length on his beard, guessing in the 9-10 inch range. So I got the camera back on which proved to be worthless because I didnt work the zoom feature and all you can see is my decoys. I wanted to be ready for any shot I may have. He got as close as 35 yds but would not come in closer. There was gobbling going on to the east of me and to the west as well. He was very skittish working back and forth. As he is, another tom comes in and struts behind him along with a hen and they move to the east. I feel good about the amount of action Im getting already. Finally he leaves and I use my push button call and bring him back up the hill, but now I have him and what I believe was the other tom and hen all within 45-50 yds from me. They just would not come any closer and they finally work their way back down the hill. For almost 90 min I had those birds in my sights just trying to get them to come closer. Even in the light rain I know they could see my decoys and I was hidden great in the blind that had some good trees behind me to break the blind up as well. I ate a sandwich and packed everything up and took the camera back to the truck since I ran out of film(didnt have much to start with). This is about another 30 mins before I pace off where the turkeys were and Im going to head down the same trail they went down and work my way south. I get started down the hill and right as I can see the bottom two turkeys take off doing their putts and I froze as they headed south. As well, I spooked two does within 10 yds of me just off the trail. So I stood there thought to myself what I could do to cut those birds off. So I went back the way I came and out to the west end of the property and followed the wood line down to the end of the field I was walking in. Right before I popped back into the woods, 3 more does took off running, within 25-30 yds of me. Hence the amount of activity I've seen and its only 9:20-9:25. I get into the woods and head south immediately and pause to find a good set up spot. Found a spot or two to put the blind but just didnt like my odds of where they might come from, if I saw them, they would be right on top of me. So I go back to where I started into the woods and took the other trail into the cedars and followed it all the way back until I came out onto the other side of them. I looked over the area and boom, another deer right there feeding within 15 yds and had no clue I was there. Finally spots me and leaves. Im loving the activity in the woods, animals on the move. I can see where the birds should come from out of the bottom that would be E-SE from me. So I set up and get my decoys out and get in the blind and close it up, as soon as I do, I hear a loud screeching gobbling sound, like two birds fighting I think. Thats what went thru my head. It only lasted a couple seconds. So I slightly open the side window to the west just in case one came from that direction. I nock an arrow and start to lay the calls on my pack for easy access yet out of my way. I look up to make sure Im not being spotted and BOOM!!!!! Here he comes on an upbeat pace directly from the south straight at me. My eyes got big and my heart started to race!!!! I didnt have my hat or mask on, no gloves not even my release. I've only been in the blind for about a minute. Literally a minute!!!!! Im quickly trying to get my mask and hat on and finally do once he gets behind a big tree. He walks down into a depression in the ground where we cant see each other once he got around that big tree so this offered me more time to get my release on and onto the string and draw. At this point he is now roughly 20yds out and still on a bee-line for the jake decoy. He hasnt stopped or slowed his pace. Im at full draw and position my body for a comfortable shot, he gets right up next to the decoy and slows down finally. His head is behind a small growing tree. He is looking like he's about to pounce on this jake decoy. He takes one step to his left, my right and exposes his head and I let him have it!!!! I watched the head come off and hit the ground and his body for a split second stood there and then fell over. He flopped for a second and I let out a semi-big " OH YESSSSSS!!!!!!" I remember the bow going off and the impact on the bird, I could hear both. It was a rush like I've never felt. I guess because it was a turkey with my bow. Im still a little disappointed that I took the camera back to the jeep cause I would have liked to get that on tape but carrying it was a chore and it may have caused me to set down in a different spot. So in the end it was a good decision. I did take my cousins oldest son to that spot for our second set up the following morning and we get set up and I start to yelp and BOOM, two jakes and a hen come in and one jake gobbled immediately. They came from where I thought they would, the E-SE. They came within 20 yds but he didnt shoot, he thought they were further away. We are all ribbing him for that one back at camp. lol. They circled around us to the west and then to the north and got to within 15 yds behind me and gobbled their heads off and I finally let them walk away. My bird had a 9 5/8 inch beard and weighed 17.2 lbs. His spurs were 3/4 inch and 1 inch. On his left foot he was missing the middle toe, odd seeing that. But thats my hunt in a nutshell.
First bow bird!!!!!!
