Archery Gobbler

[Red]

It was a great spring in the turkey woods. My dad and I each connected which we have never done before in the same year. There were still birds around so we got a friend out and he arrowed a jake to boot.
My bird came on my second sit. We dad had been watching a group of three toms that recently moved in and were giving the flock of jakes a hard time. Knowing that I thought a jake decoy with a hen would get them worked up. In the pre-morning darkness I walked out to the blind only to see turkeys skylines in the trees not more than 30 yards from the blind. I was sure I was busted and the hunt was over but I eased the final bit and got the decoys set.
To my surprise as the sun came up a hen that somehow didn’t see me pitched down 15 yards behind my blind. In no time she had the group of three toms strutting and circling. After ten minutes she wondered away and I called softly. The toms perked up and started around the blind to see who was over there. Once they saw the jake decoy they raced over for a fight. A quick 12 yard shot and a very exciting season wrapped up for me.
Good luck to everyone still out there chasing those gobblers.

 

[scott44]

Congrats!

 

[weekender21]

Congrats! I ran an arrow through one last week in NC. Archery hunting turkeys is too much fun!

 

[yoderjac]

Quite the accomplishment! One I've never achieved. I've killed a hen with a compound, but never a gobbler. CONGRATS!

I have a fried that would regularly kill them with a recurve and no blind when he was younger. Perhaps that is your next challenge!

 

[weekender21]

Quite the accomplishment! One I've never achieved. I've killed a hen with a compound, but never a gobbler. CONGRATS!

I have a fried that would regularly kill them with a recurve and no blind when he was younger. Perhaps that is your next challenge!

No blind archery turkey hunts are fun but it can be challenging to get an ethical shot opportunity. I killed most of my first dozen or so that way at distances from 20-55 yards. Now I much prefer a 10 yard shot from a ground blind, one that all but guarantees an easy shot at an unwitting bird. Not trying to deter the OP, just sharing my thoughts from experience.

 

[yoderjac]

No blind archery turkey hunts are fun but it can be challenging to get an ethical shot opportunity. I killed most of my first dozen or so that way at distances from 20-55 yards. Now I much prefer a 10 yard shot from a ground blind, one that all but guarantees an easy shot at an unwitting bird. Not trying to deter the OP, just sharing my thoughts from experience.

Often a gobbler will stop and lift his head before putting and running off when possible danger is detected. This actually gave my buddy with a recurve an advantage. He only took close shots but he had the ability to call birds close. I don't think he shot beyond 20 yards. Since shooting a recurve instinctively is one smooth motion, he took advantage of that pause when a bird pulls out of strut.

I think just about the only way to kill a bird with a compound without a blind is to wait until he is in strut and facing away so your draw is masked by his fan. My limit for a compound is only about 20 yards or so for deer. The kill zone on a turkey is a much smaller target.

I have another friend who hunts run-n-gun style a lot with a crossbow and no blind. He actually shot one this morning. There is no drawing issue with a crossbow. He says there are several major challenges to getting an ethical shot. First, the range is limited to 25-30 yards and you need accurate ranging information compared to his 10 gauge which is good beyond 50 yards (actually closing in on 60 with TSS). This means a lot of patience getting a bird into range. A lot of shotgun kills occur when the bird makes a tangential pass on the fringe of the kill zone. Older birds that do this are not going to be harvests with a crossbow and no blind. The second challenge that reduces the number of ethical shots is the target. With a shotgun, the target is the head an neck. With a crossbow, the target is much lower to the ground. An arrow can easily be deflected. As spring wears on and things green-up, finding a setup with clear shooting lanes is a real challenge. While not in the same difficulty ballpark as a compound or recurve where drawing in the presence of a gobbler is the biggest challenge, crossbow hunting is a big step up in challenge from a shotgun. This is especially true if you don't relax your ethical standards in terms of the percentage of shots that end with a recovered bird.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[weekender21]

I personally don’t feel limited with a bow compared to a shotgun. If I can get drawn undetected that is. I’d rather shoot them at 10 yards but a calm bird in full strut is in trouble much further than that.

I’ve never killed one with a gun but I can see what you mean about head/neck shots on the fringe of gun range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Red]

I know what you are saying about hunting out of a blind. It just seems to take a little something out of the hunt. That being said, it makes drawing back on a bird WAY easier!
I’m sure I’ll give alfresco a try when I get a bit more time and opportunities at birds.

 

[yoderjac]

I know what you are saying about hunting out of a blind. It just seems to take a little something out of the hunt. That being said, it makes drawing back on a bird WAY easier!
I’m sure I’ll give alfresco a try when I get a bit more time and opportunities at birds.

Actually I find a blind to both takes something away and adds something to a hunt. I feel less connected in terms of sound in a blind. I lose the real-time chess game we play when moving on a bird multiple times. On the other hand, the pre-hunt engagement can be greater. It takes more scouting and woodsmanship to know where birds want to be several hours after fly-down time to pick a blind location. Since you can't quickly and quietly move on a bird, you need to do that work before the hunt.

Another way I think a blind adds to my hunts is visual. I'm limited as to how long I can sit motionless since I've aged. Because I can sit undetected for a very long time in a blind by comparison, I've been able to observe animal behavior I had never seed turkey hunting before. I've been able to observe gobblers, gobblers with hens, gobblers with hens and jakes, literally for hours from a blind before taking a shot. I've watched mating. I've seen how birds react to different calling techniques.

On whole, I'd say blind hunting doesn't take any more away from a hunting experience than it adds. It is just different.

Thanks,

Jack