Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

Back in the day, killing a tom with a bow was a big deal. Seriously. It took a massive amount of skill, time and effort. This is an animal with eagle vision, superhuman hearing, and some of the wiriest nerves on the planet. Not anyone can go out with a bow and arrow and shoot one. It just didn't happen. Only the best of the best could do it consistently.

Nowadays - anyone with a few dollars to spare can do it.

Why? The advent of the Ground Blind.

Whydoes the King believe thata portable ground blind "devalues" taking an archery tom? Simple. By eliminating his top two lines of defense: Sight and Sound.

In the past, a would-be turkey bowhunter would have to hide behind a rose bush or a treetrunk and try to come to fulldraw on a spooky tom without getting busted. Good luck with that.

There were no decoys to distract him. It was a fair fight. Mano-a-mano.

Not so "fair" anymore.

See, the game has changed, and it's now kosher to camp out inside a giant blacked-out groundblind - where the hunter lies in wait wearing a black sweatshirt, with his silhouette eliminated by closing all the windows (except for the shooting hole). His movements are shrouded in darkness. His sounds are muffled by the interior lining. As if that's not enough, we're using flocks of highly-detaileddecoys to divert their attention away from the big camouflage cube sitting at the edge of the woods.

Hell, it's gotten to the point where a first-timer 12-year-oldcan go out with a guide and shoot a turkey with his bow - while carrying on a conversation with the caller inside the blind.

The King says: this stinks.

I just feel like the whole accomplishment of killing a turkey from the ground with the bow is being diluted by these blind-hunting schmucks who obviously can't git-r-dun without using the blind as a crutch.

Gone are the days whentaking a spring tom with archery tacklewas a big deal.


So what say you? Is the King 2 jewels short of a karat, or is he preaching the gospel?

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

the king is a few jools short but that has nothing to do with this thread! LOL:D! I can't give much of an opinion as I have never killed a turkey with a bow. I will this year though and I will do it out of a pop-up blind. My plan is to kill one with the BP shotgun then one with the Marquis, and then one with the recurve. I personally will not devalue any of these kills.

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

a aint touchin this one with a 40 foot arrow...........







this aught get super interesting, super quick....alot of ways this can go....

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

I'll let you know how easy it was if/when it happens this year.

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

to each his own, if you like to use a blind then that is cool. i personally i love to use a ground blind, i don't always use one when bow hunting, but it is a great tool. i don't think it dilutes anything.

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

Fran, start diluting the vodka a bit more!:D

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

"Back in the day, killing adeer with a bow was a big deal. Seriously. It took a massive amount of skill, time and effort. This is an animal with eagle vision, superhuman hearing, can smell a fart in gale force winds and some of the wiriest nerves on the planet. Not anyone can go out with a bow and arrow and shoot one. It just didn't happen. Only the best of the best could do it consistently.

Nowadays - anyone with a few dollars to spare can do it.

Why? The advent of the 360fps compound bow"

Does using a hyperfast shooting compound bow devalue an archery deer? Probably no more than a ground blind devalues an archery Tom ;).


Each hunter chooses to make the hunt as easy, or as hard, as they want it to be. The value in a hunt can only be measured by each individual hunter. When we start letting others tell us whether our hunts are "good enough" then we start hunting for the wrong reasons.

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

I have been in the Archery only phase for deer and turkey since 2001. Six years now, and scored 4 Toms. I am yet to use a man made ground blind! Now I have cut some pine bows and stacked them. Is this your idea of a ground blind? Not to me. 2 years ago I shot one while standing in 3 ft high slough grass no cover other than that.

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

Let's put it this way: Does anyone believe that the level of difficulty DOESN'T increase when you take the Ground Blind out of the equation?



And Yes, Bruce. The King's hyperfast bow DOES indeed dilute his accomplishment when he shoots a deer. Animals stand no chance against such an awesome weapon. It's true.

RE: Diluting accomplishments: Archery Turkeys
 

Hunting and theequipment we use changes, deal with it. Or throw away your turkey calls and try and sneak up on a turkey and spear it.