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3rd Time is a charm

Gundog

PMA Member
This year my boy wanted to try to kill one with his bow so I told him he had to put in the practice time. He did and was drilling the bullseye out to 20 yards from all positions (chair, knees, standing). I told him he could use his bow if he wanted but that it would be tough cause we didn’t have a blind to sit in and turkeys see everything but nonetheless he wanted to try.

We had two of the best hunts ever without a harvest that I have been on and learned a lot along the way.

Thursday night we put a Tom and 7 hens to bed and were in early Friday morning. He was set up next to 3 big trees on his left that give him cover to draw as the Tom was roosted to our left and would have to come through there. There was a small gap between those trees to the tree I was sitting against. He started gobbling early and me and the hens got him more fired up. He flew down first to about 60 yards to our left and began strutting. One hen flew down to him and he would not leave her for anything.

After about 15 minutes of him showing off for her I went to the fan in that little gap between the trees he was behind and I was leaning against. Once he saw that, he was heading right up the path to confront the intruder. I told the boy to draw when he went out of sight behind the trees to draw expecting him to come right out in front and square off to us.

The boy did that perfectly and was waiting at full draw, only the Tom left the path and came straight to the gap in the tree where I was holding the fan. I was watching out front where the boy was aimed and all of a sudden heard a hiss and saw the Tom at about 3 feet on the other side of the fan. I’m not sure who was more surprised when he realized it wasn’t another Tom. He ran off about 15 yards but the boy wasn’t able to get back on him before he went behind some brush.

He went back to the hen and started strutting again. We let them all get together and go off to the west unbothered.

Friday night we put them to bed about 200 yards west of where we were that morning. He again roosted all by himself and I felt good about the next morning.

We were back in early the next morning with a hen and a Jake decoy out in front at 12 yards only this time we didn’t have a good place to hide so I slid back into a bush as far as I could with him just in front and some camo netting in front of him.

The Tom opened up early again and I got him going just before shooting time. He flew down our direction and within 5 minutes was in a half strut straight for the Jake decoy. He came in with full attention on the decoy knocking it off the stake and standing on it. Landon did great coming to draw nice and slow and the Tom didn’t know he was there. The shot flew just over the Tom as he didn’t compensate for him being 10 yards closer than what he had been practicing at (Dad’s fault for not talking him through that).

Dejected but excited by what had just happened we watched the bird go off again not knowing what had just happened.

We decided to hunt him again that afternoon and sure enough they were out in a mowed food plot working towards some CRP and I had a hunch on where they were headed. I told him he better take the shotgun with the bow this time because I didn’t know if we would be able to get him into bow range as there wasn’t going to be much cover.

He did and after about 45 minutes we could see them coming our way. I called to the hens and they answered feeding and still coming towards us. They got to about 30 yards with him at the back but no intentions of coming closer to the one piece of brush in the CRP that was making noise.

I told him it was his call on if he wanted to use the gun or try to get on him the next morning because they weren’t going to come closer. He didn’t think twice and slowly put his bow down and raised the shotgun. At 37 yards the Tom didn’t stand a chance.

24 lbs, 1” spurs and a 10 1/4” beard. He made me proud on all three hunts. After he killed him and we went celebrated with high fives and hugs, he said I still have 4th season to shoot one with my bow.

Sorry for the long read. A couple picks of Landon and his well earned bird. IMG_1459.jpg
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