Crimson Arrows
Well-Known Member
Well, after giving it A DAY (ha ha 
), I decided to buy another tag and give it another go. I love this stuff too much to sit on the sidelines! I finished work and drove south to my sisters, finally getting to bed by 11:00 PM and woke up to what seemed to be a perfect morning. While Wednesday was almost a mirror image of what Sunday appeared to offer, I hoped the birds were more “active” than they had been Wednesday as I heard 1 gobble all morning despite beautiful conditions.
I finally got set-up at 5:30 AM, and with the full moon it made me feel that I was just a bit late. Still, all was quiet for about twenty minutes before 3 gobblers started bellowing through the cool spring air.
The only problem was..they were over 400 yards away
This particular set was one in which it was an all-or-none affair right out of the gates. Living two hours from where I hunt, roosting a bird is often, no, it is NEVER…. an option
Still, I enjoyed the show ands watched them pirouetteon top of a distant bean field until about 8:00 AM before packing up.
The next stop took me to a tiny little strip of woods that I took I nice Tom out of in 2009. I hit the crow call……………..dead silence
I drove to another spot and hit the crow call…………….this time…………..MORE SILENCE
So, it was now a bit before 8:30 AM, so I walked into a gas station, purchased a “fat” free GIANT cinnamon roll (that was a lie…the fat free part), and bought a paper to read up on the Hawkeye spring game.
I honestly was going to call it quits but thought, “I am off, it’s beautiful out, keep hunting old man.”:drink2:
So, off to one more spot, the one I hunted Wednesday and didn’t hear any gobbles. But, it looked like a great spot and the landowner’s son had taken a nice gobbler there during youth season. So, I knew it held promise.
I would have to resort to my old P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E game.
The landowner had left his blind there which WAS GREAT…NO BLIND HAUL! :drink2::drink2:
I set up and placed a DSD Jake and Hen out and began soft calling every twenty minutes, sometimes getting aggressive, sometimes muffling my calls. Then, about 30 minutes in a crow called and one hammered 200 yards deep in the hollow to the north. I got excited and cut back….no answer.
The 'Hollow' He was Hammering From
Hmmm. So, I waited and 30 minutes later he shock gobbled again at about 10:30. I yelped back but nothing. So, at about 11:00 I got out of the blind, stretched, and decided to walk over to the edge of the field and see if he was still around. Couldn’t hurt.
CAW CAW CAW I shouted through the hardwoods…..GOOOBBLLEEEEE!!!
Man…..he’s still there.:way:
Rule #1 I thought…NEVER leave a gobbling bird. :thrwrck:
The problem was, I felt that he would NEVER walk across the green field and into the corn field I had been waiting in 200 yards away. Plus, there was a fence, creek, and Lord knows what else down in that hollow.
I knew what I SHOULD do, but DIDN’T WANT to do it. But, I did. :grin:
I didn’t have permission, although I am sure he wouldn’t have cared, to move the blind as he had just placed it there. So, I left his alone, and walked ALL the way back to the truck, loaded my blind and walked back to the green field sweating and mumbling to myself ,
” This is waste of time, your just doing a cardio session here..blaah blah blah.” :thrwrck:
I had very little optimism, I was tired, it was warming up a bit, so I didn’t even stake the blind down.
I put the deeks out, put one foot in and then cut as hard as I could on my mouth call.
The "Second" Set-up
GOOOBBLLEEEEE!!!................STILL THERE :way:
So, I climbed in, sat down and 10 minutes later called again.
No ANSWER.
20 minutes later I called again…..NO ANSWER.
Must have been a shock gobble I thought.
So, at 11:40ish I stood up, placed my hand on the hub to break down, and thought, better cut ONE…MORE…TIME.
GOOOBBLLEEEEE!!!!!!!...50 yards away!!!
OH boy…he’s coming.
I quickly clicked on my release and began scanning and then I saw him…running….AWAY FROM ME!
What the heck? I knew then he was spooked a bit by the blind and literally thought, “Oh well, great game of cat-and-mouse but then he saw the DSD and ….TURNED ON A DIME and hit FULL STRUT!
Not to digress, but I wish people that never turkey hunted in their life, or don’t understand it, could have all just been there with me over the next 5 minutes. It literally made my season.
The midday sun was beating down on him, and ALL the colors their feathers can reflect were showcased! It was incredible. Spitting, Gobbling, Drumming, Spinning, the whole deal. :way:
If I never turkey hunted again that was alright as THIS right here was what it was supposed to be.
He was at 50 yards and I immediately knew I wouldn’t shoot. Could I hit him, absolutely, but we all know you have to do more than hit them. Your shot better me gold or your in for a long day or worse, a wounded bird.
Then, he came closer and I knew if he hit 35 and in, I felt ethical and confident in that shot IF HE TURNED around.
That posterior shot is deadly and has much higher margin of error-but I would not take a straight on or quartered-to shot.
I reached for my rangefinder and realized in my “Lazy-this isn’t going to happen” hunt prep….that I had zipped it DEEP in my vest. Dang IT!!!!! :thrwrck:
I switched the bow to my right hand and began trying to leverage my way to unzip the vest. Then, it began to unzip, and the slate came out…a glove…a mouth call….and then MY RANGEFINDER
(Insert Hallelujah music!) :grin::grin::grin:
Then the WIND PICKED UP and I had to place a foot on the base and PRAYED the blind wouldn't flip!!!
I ranged the INSIDE of the blind first, not ambidextrous and shaking a bit, and then finally found the giant blob in my sights.
34.8 yards and getting ready to leave.
I drew back, settled my pin.................. and placed a perfect shot.
It is that HIGH STRESS moment after the shot, when every turkey- archer’s worst fears play on his mind.
As they look to nock another arrow, fearing when they glance up, that wing beats will be heard or a giant-“Healthy looking” bird will be running away to far-away lands will greet them.
Yet, what I saw instead was a turkey lying with spread wings and head barely up.
Now, I have hunted these things a long time and they are as tough as they get. So, I am not ashamed to say I placed my 40 yard pin and made a good shot that most importantly ended it quickly, but also ensured I wouldn’t be playing lost and found all afternoon.
To all that read this I want you to know…This NEVER gets old.
I feel like a kid for just a few moments EVERY year I am blessed to have a day like this.
It is never a given and each year I always say, "I just don’t know if it will happen?”
I hope I never lose that.
Then, even more exciting news was WHY I had to leave early and get back to Iowa City. My wife and I had scheduled an Ultrasound after not knowing for the past 16 weeks what we were having….we know now.
Baby 'HUNTYAK'
I will be having a sonJ
God Bless and enjoy each day!
Thanks for reading…time for mushrooms and crappies! :way:
), I decided to buy another tag and give it another go. I love this stuff too much to sit on the sidelines! I finished work and drove south to my sisters, finally getting to bed by 11:00 PM and woke up to what seemed to be a perfect morning. While Wednesday was almost a mirror image of what Sunday appeared to offer, I hoped the birds were more “active” than they had been Wednesday as I heard 1 gobble all morning despite beautiful conditions.I finally got set-up at 5:30 AM, and with the full moon it made me feel that I was just a bit late. Still, all was quiet for about twenty minutes before 3 gobblers started bellowing through the cool spring air.
The only problem was..they were over 400 yards away
This particular set was one in which it was an all-or-none affair right out of the gates. Living two hours from where I hunt, roosting a bird is often, no, it is NEVER…. an option
Still, I enjoyed the show ands watched them pirouetteon top of a distant bean field until about 8:00 AM before packing up.
The next stop took me to a tiny little strip of woods that I took I nice Tom out of in 2009. I hit the crow call……………..dead silence
I drove to another spot and hit the crow call…………….this time…………..MORE SILENCE
So, it was now a bit before 8:30 AM, so I walked into a gas station, purchased a “fat” free GIANT cinnamon roll (that was a lie…the fat free part
), and bought a paper to read up on the Hawkeye spring game.I honestly was going to call it quits but thought, “I am off, it’s beautiful out, keep hunting old man.”:drink2:
So, off to one more spot, the one I hunted Wednesday and didn’t hear any gobbles. But, it looked like a great spot and the landowner’s son had taken a nice gobbler there during youth season. So, I knew it held promise.
I would have to resort to my old P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E game.
The landowner had left his blind there which WAS GREAT…NO BLIND HAUL! :drink2::drink2:
I set up and placed a DSD Jake and Hen out and began soft calling every twenty minutes, sometimes getting aggressive, sometimes muffling my calls. Then, about 30 minutes in a crow called and one hammered 200 yards deep in the hollow to the north. I got excited and cut back….no answer.
The 'Hollow' He was Hammering From
Hmmm. So, I waited and 30 minutes later he shock gobbled again at about 10:30. I yelped back but nothing. So, at about 11:00 I got out of the blind, stretched, and decided to walk over to the edge of the field and see if he was still around. Couldn’t hurt.
CAW CAW CAW I shouted through the hardwoods…..GOOOBBLLEEEEE!!!
Man…..he’s still there.:way:
Rule #1 I thought…NEVER leave a gobbling bird. :thrwrck:
The problem was, I felt that he would NEVER walk across the green field and into the corn field I had been waiting in 200 yards away. Plus, there was a fence, creek, and Lord knows what else down in that hollow.
I knew what I SHOULD do, but DIDN’T WANT to do it. But, I did. :grin:
I didn’t have permission, although I am sure he wouldn’t have cared, to move the blind as he had just placed it there. So, I left his alone, and walked ALL the way back to the truck, loaded my blind and walked back to the green field sweating and mumbling to myself ,
” This is waste of time, your just doing a cardio session here..blaah blah blah.” :thrwrck:
I had very little optimism, I was tired, it was warming up a bit, so I didn’t even stake the blind down.
I put the deeks out, put one foot in and then cut as hard as I could on my mouth call.
The "Second" Set-up
GOOOBBLLEEEEE!!!................STILL THERE :way:
So, I climbed in, sat down and 10 minutes later called again.
No ANSWER.
20 minutes later I called again…..NO ANSWER.
Must have been a shock gobble I thought.
So, at 11:40ish I stood up, placed my hand on the hub to break down, and thought, better cut ONE…MORE…TIME.
GOOOBBLLEEEEE!!!!!!!...50 yards away!!!
OH boy…he’s coming.
I quickly clicked on my release and began scanning and then I saw him…running….AWAY FROM ME!
What the heck? I knew then he was spooked a bit by the blind and literally thought, “Oh well, great game of cat-and-mouse but then he saw the DSD and ….TURNED ON A DIME and hit FULL STRUT!
Not to digress, but I wish people that never turkey hunted in their life, or don’t understand it, could have all just been there with me over the next 5 minutes. It literally made my season.
The midday sun was beating down on him, and ALL the colors their feathers can reflect were showcased! It was incredible. Spitting, Gobbling, Drumming, Spinning, the whole deal. :way:
If I never turkey hunted again that was alright as THIS right here was what it was supposed to be.
He was at 50 yards and I immediately knew I wouldn’t shoot. Could I hit him, absolutely, but we all know you have to do more than hit them. Your shot better me gold or your in for a long day or worse, a wounded bird.
Then, he came closer and I knew if he hit 35 and in, I felt ethical and confident in that shot IF HE TURNED around.
That posterior shot is deadly and has much higher margin of error-but I would not take a straight on or quartered-to shot.
I reached for my rangefinder and realized in my “Lazy-this isn’t going to happen” hunt prep….that I had zipped it DEEP in my vest. Dang IT!!!!! :thrwrck:
I switched the bow to my right hand and began trying to leverage my way to unzip the vest. Then, it began to unzip, and the slate came out…a glove…a mouth call….and then MY RANGEFINDER
(Insert Hallelujah music!) :grin::grin::grin:
Then the WIND PICKED UP and I had to place a foot on the base and PRAYED the blind wouldn't flip!!!
I ranged the INSIDE of the blind first, not ambidextrous and shaking a bit, and then finally found the giant blob in my sights.
34.8 yards and getting ready to leave.
I drew back, settled my pin.................. and placed a perfect shot.
It is that HIGH STRESS moment after the shot, when every turkey- archer’s worst fears play on his mind.
As they look to nock another arrow, fearing when they glance up, that wing beats will be heard or a giant-“Healthy looking” bird will be running away to far-away lands will greet them.
Yet, what I saw instead was a turkey lying with spread wings and head barely up.
Now, I have hunted these things a long time and they are as tough as they get. So, I am not ashamed to say I placed my 40 yard pin and made a good shot that most importantly ended it quickly, but also ensured I wouldn’t be playing lost and found all afternoon.
To all that read this I want you to know…This NEVER gets old.
I feel like a kid for just a few moments EVERY year I am blessed to have a day like this.
It is never a given and each year I always say, "I just don’t know if it will happen?”
I hope I never lose that.
Then, even more exciting news was WHY I had to leave early and get back to Iowa City. My wife and I had scheduled an Ultrasound after not knowing for the past 16 weeks what we were having….we know now.
Baby 'HUNTYAK'
I will be having a sonJ
God Bless and enjoy each day!
Thanks for reading…time for mushrooms and crappies! :way:
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