Fishbonker
Life Member
Saturday’s turkey hunt reflects my “romantic” relationships; after hours of working to make “it” happen it only takes 30 seconds to get the shot off. It usually leaves one of the involved unhappy, but it ain’t ever me.
The morning started out with me shutting off my alarm at 0500 to get a few more minutes of sleep. The birds up at the Stabbin Cabin are as slow to get around as the guy that owns the place so getting in the blind by 0530 wasn’t imperative; the birds would still be on the roost long after sun up.
I got to my blind around 0615ish, probably closer to 0630ish. I had the whole area to myself, TR had tagged out and had a machinery auction to go to, his brother wasn’t going to make it and his son was busy making wedding plans. I could hear some gobbles in the distance. I’m sure they were on someone else’s ground if they were off the roost this early. I put the Pretty Boy and Pretty Hen about 20 feet in front of the blind. I had thick cedars behind and to my left, a couple of thickets and cedar trees about 30 yards in front of me and to my right about 30 yards were thickets and trees. I was there because last year the toms were all strutting in this little area and I was up on a ridge.
I settled in. I made a few mouth calls and used the box a few times. I didn’t get any response. Probably because I sound like a bobcat hacking up a fur ball. A couple of deer showed up and busted me. It was about 0800 and the woods were quiet. Nothing but a few cardinals and chickadees flitting around. I tried a few more calls with no response. Probably because I sounded like an owl hacking up a pellet.
The wind started coming up. It was blowing through my left window and making me quite chilly so I totally closed up that side of the blind. I could only see straight and to my right. The sun finally made it high enough to shine on the blind and warm it up some. The only positive about the wind was that it caused the Pretty Boy to “windmill” giving it some action.
Around 1020 TR called from the machinery auction. As I was driving by the auction yard on my way to the Stabbin Cabin the night before I saw them unloading a sickle mower. He was going to check it out for me and bid on it. He said it looked like a usable unit I told him not to go over 500. As we were talking I heard some gobbles up on the ridge where I sat last year. We hung up. I waggled the gobbler call and hit the box a couple of times. My phone buzzed again at 1028. It was TR’s brother texting me to see how it was going. I texted back at 1030 that I hadn’t seen anything.
I had put my phone away and was turning my attention to my half eaten pack of peanut butter crackers when I heard something from the left side of the blind. I looked up in time to see a black blur racing in from my left. It jumped on top of the Pretty Hen. The black blur turned into a tom. As I was reaching for my crossbow I realized he was trying to defile my decoy and the funny noise that I heard were his claws trying to gain traction on her plastic back. I tried to sight but he kept falling off the decoy. He finally fell off to one side and turned to get back on. That was when I pulled the trigger. He flopped about ten feet and died.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I picked up my phone and texted TR’s brother “Dead bird”. It was 1032. I believe the amount of elapsed time from the blur to the dead bird was 30 seconds but I had been in the blind for about 4 hours. And I was totally satisfied, the turkey, not so much.
After I had taken some cell phone pics and was putting stuff away I noticed I had a cord hanging off the top of the blind. I thought that was odd. I looked closer. I had shot through the cord. I looked closer. I had shot through the blind, twice. The material had folded over on itself. I went back to look at the entrance wound and I couldn’t tell if the expandable was open when it hit but it would explain why I didn’t get a pass though at 20 feet. Well, that plus the fact one of the blades had sliced though the far wing bone as clean as a surgeon’s knife.
Tale of the tape, beard 11 inches weight 22 pounds 6 ounces, spurs 1 1/16 left and right.
I may try this decoy 4th season:
The morning started out with me shutting off my alarm at 0500 to get a few more minutes of sleep. The birds up at the Stabbin Cabin are as slow to get around as the guy that owns the place so getting in the blind by 0530 wasn’t imperative; the birds would still be on the roost long after sun up.
I got to my blind around 0615ish, probably closer to 0630ish. I had the whole area to myself, TR had tagged out and had a machinery auction to go to, his brother wasn’t going to make it and his son was busy making wedding plans. I could hear some gobbles in the distance. I’m sure they were on someone else’s ground if they were off the roost this early. I put the Pretty Boy and Pretty Hen about 20 feet in front of the blind. I had thick cedars behind and to my left, a couple of thickets and cedar trees about 30 yards in front of me and to my right about 30 yards were thickets and trees. I was there because last year the toms were all strutting in this little area and I was up on a ridge.
I settled in. I made a few mouth calls and used the box a few times. I didn’t get any response. Probably because I sound like a bobcat hacking up a fur ball. A couple of deer showed up and busted me. It was about 0800 and the woods were quiet. Nothing but a few cardinals and chickadees flitting around. I tried a few more calls with no response. Probably because I sounded like an owl hacking up a pellet.
The wind started coming up. It was blowing through my left window and making me quite chilly so I totally closed up that side of the blind. I could only see straight and to my right. The sun finally made it high enough to shine on the blind and warm it up some. The only positive about the wind was that it caused the Pretty Boy to “windmill” giving it some action.
Around 1020 TR called from the machinery auction. As I was driving by the auction yard on my way to the Stabbin Cabin the night before I saw them unloading a sickle mower. He was going to check it out for me and bid on it. He said it looked like a usable unit I told him not to go over 500. As we were talking I heard some gobbles up on the ridge where I sat last year. We hung up. I waggled the gobbler call and hit the box a couple of times. My phone buzzed again at 1028. It was TR’s brother texting me to see how it was going. I texted back at 1030 that I hadn’t seen anything.
I had put my phone away and was turning my attention to my half eaten pack of peanut butter crackers when I heard something from the left side of the blind. I looked up in time to see a black blur racing in from my left. It jumped on top of the Pretty Hen. The black blur turned into a tom. As I was reaching for my crossbow I realized he was trying to defile my decoy and the funny noise that I heard were his claws trying to gain traction on her plastic back. I tried to sight but he kept falling off the decoy. He finally fell off to one side and turned to get back on. That was when I pulled the trigger. He flopped about ten feet and died.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I picked up my phone and texted TR’s brother “Dead bird”. It was 1032. I believe the amount of elapsed time from the blur to the dead bird was 30 seconds but I had been in the blind for about 4 hours. And I was totally satisfied, the turkey, not so much.
After I had taken some cell phone pics and was putting stuff away I noticed I had a cord hanging off the top of the blind. I thought that was odd. I looked closer. I had shot through the cord. I looked closer. I had shot through the blind, twice. The material had folded over on itself. I went back to look at the entrance wound and I couldn’t tell if the expandable was open when it hit but it would explain why I didn’t get a pass though at 20 feet. Well, that plus the fact one of the blades had sliced though the far wing bone as clean as a surgeon’s knife.
Tale of the tape, beard 11 inches weight 22 pounds 6 ounces, spurs 1 1/16 left and right.
I may try this decoy 4th season:
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Congrats on the bird!
