I have had several close encounters. Both while turkey hunting and while not turkey hunting.

I've had a couple of tweety birds fly into my ground blind while deer hunting... that is always entertaining.

My closest encounter (as far as most heart stopping) was on my first turkey bow hunt in the spring of 2007. It was the last week, and I had spent my entire season trying to put my girlfriend at the time on her first turkey. It just didn't work out. The day before, we had our last hunt that spring together, and this particular morning was my final hunt as well. I decided to carry my bow, and put up the ground blind in a place I knew turkeys were using often. I didn't hear any gobbling from the roost that morning at all. I was reading a book and drinking a glass of tea while blind calling about every fifteen minutes.

Around 745 or so if I recall, I looked up and saw a gobbler standing in the tall winter wheat about 35-40 yards out in front. I managed to close my book (without losing my page) and set my glass down without making a mess. I purred softly to the bird (who hadn't seen my decoys) and he sounded off for the first time.

I was set up in an island of woods about a quarter of a mile in circumference. Winter wheat fields ran all around me. I was in the far right hand corner of this oval shaped island. The bird walked off to my right, gobbling his head off. Since I am right handed and was shooting a bow out of a rather tight space, I had no opportunity, the bird was outside my 25 yard comfort zone.

This turkey kept gobbling. He walked around the back side of the block and headed straight through the thick stuff behind me.... right to me. I could hear him walking behind the blind. I had the mesh window up to my right and he came even with me at about 6 yards. It was similar to the T-Rex looking down in the Explorer in Jurrasic Park... or at least I felt that way.

I was certain this bird was going to see the decoys and go charging out to them... and I'd have a going away shot inside 15 yards. But as it happened, he turned and went back through the thick stuff to the other side of the block. For 45 minutes, this bird worked the circumference of this wooded island... gobbling his fool head off.

As luck would have it... that bird made it around without finding a hen, and stepped out in the road 150 yards to my left and saw the decoys and came at a run. He died at 26 yards.