Almost a comedy (of errors!):
Yesterday morning was the fourth time I?ve been out spring turkey hunting. Iowa allows you to hunt all seasons when you hunt archery, while shotgun hunters have to pick between four short segments. I was all set up shortly after 5 am, although the spot I picked had the blind slanted on a side hill. I wanted to be close to a fence line so that I could watch the neighbors hay field. I figured I might be able to call the turkeys over to my side, seeing as how the fence is almost nonexistent. The blind is actually touching the "fence" on the up hill side. Between the lean and the soft dirt, I almost tipped the chair over many times.
I was rather surprised when a hen started calling and it was still pretty dark. I figured I had company in the form of another hunter on the other side of the fence. Lots of hen talk and gobbling going on, then fly down. I heard some turkeys work by me to the east, but I couldn?t see through the brush that direction. I called sporadically and had a gobble back just before 7 am. It sounded like he was on the other side of the creek to my west and I hoped that he just might cross. I had a jake cross the creek behind me on Friday afternoon. I started peaking out a side window of the blind as it was set up to view the decoys due north. It wasn?t 5 minutes and I saw him coming up from the creek bottom. I could see his beard swinging, so I figured I?d better drop the side window and pick up the bow. I got the window open no problem, but he was closing the distance FAST. As I?m grabbing my bow, the arrow falls off the string and hits the ground on the inside of the blind. The tom goes into strut at 10 yards and is closing in on the decoys. I get the arrow back on the string, draw back and the arrow falls off the drop away rest. The tom is now bumping the hen decoy which isn?t 15 feet from the blind. At full draw, I?m able to get the arrow back up on the rest with my left hand, just as the tom goes around the decoys and goes behind a tree. It looks like he is going to re-emerge on the left side of the tree, no, make that the right, no, looks like he?s going left??.finally he circles the tree on the right side. He can?t be more than 15 feet away, I put the pin at the base of his neck as he is face on and hit the release. I hear the arrow hit him, but didn?t see where. He turns north and slowly starts walking away. By the time I get another arrow nocked, he?s too far and in brush. I lose sight of him in front of a brush pile and figure now it is the waiting game, let him stiffen up for an hour or so and then go look. I texted a friend about what just happened. While sending more texts, I hear a commotion and look up to see wings flapping by the brush pile, the old death dance in action. I got out of the blind and walked over and he was expired. The arrow was sticking out along side of his "vent" with about a foot of intestine trailing him, almost a pass through from stem to stern. 9 inch beard, right spur 1 inch, left spur ? inch, weighed 20 pounds (on a 300 lb game scale, not real accurate). I?m tickled with him!
Yesterday morning was the fourth time I?ve been out spring turkey hunting. Iowa allows you to hunt all seasons when you hunt archery, while shotgun hunters have to pick between four short segments. I was all set up shortly after 5 am, although the spot I picked had the blind slanted on a side hill. I wanted to be close to a fence line so that I could watch the neighbors hay field. I figured I might be able to call the turkeys over to my side, seeing as how the fence is almost nonexistent. The blind is actually touching the "fence" on the up hill side. Between the lean and the soft dirt, I almost tipped the chair over many times.
I was rather surprised when a hen started calling and it was still pretty dark. I figured I had company in the form of another hunter on the other side of the fence. Lots of hen talk and gobbling going on, then fly down. I heard some turkeys work by me to the east, but I couldn?t see through the brush that direction. I called sporadically and had a gobble back just before 7 am. It sounded like he was on the other side of the creek to my west and I hoped that he just might cross. I had a jake cross the creek behind me on Friday afternoon. I started peaking out a side window of the blind as it was set up to view the decoys due north. It wasn?t 5 minutes and I saw him coming up from the creek bottom. I could see his beard swinging, so I figured I?d better drop the side window and pick up the bow. I got the window open no problem, but he was closing the distance FAST. As I?m grabbing my bow, the arrow falls off the string and hits the ground on the inside of the blind. The tom goes into strut at 10 yards and is closing in on the decoys. I get the arrow back on the string, draw back and the arrow falls off the drop away rest. The tom is now bumping the hen decoy which isn?t 15 feet from the blind. At full draw, I?m able to get the arrow back up on the rest with my left hand, just as the tom goes around the decoys and goes behind a tree. It looks like he is going to re-emerge on the left side of the tree, no, make that the right, no, looks like he?s going left??.finally he circles the tree on the right side. He can?t be more than 15 feet away, I put the pin at the base of his neck as he is face on and hit the release. I hear the arrow hit him, but didn?t see where. He turns north and slowly starts walking away. By the time I get another arrow nocked, he?s too far and in brush. I lose sight of him in front of a brush pile and figure now it is the waiting game, let him stiffen up for an hour or so and then go look. I texted a friend about what just happened. While sending more texts, I hear a commotion and look up to see wings flapping by the brush pile, the old death dance in action. I got out of the blind and walked over and he was expired. The arrow was sticking out along side of his "vent" with about a foot of intestine trailing him, almost a pass through from stem to stern. 9 inch beard, right spur 1 inch, left spur ? inch, weighed 20 pounds (on a 300 lb game scale, not real accurate). I?m tickled with him!
