yoderjac
5 year old buck +
It was one of those afternoons that weathermen would call perfect but us bowhunters would consider a little too warm for good deer movement. Most of the foliage was still green and lush on this early October afternoon. I climbed into my treestand overlooking a small quarter acre field we call Pleasant Valley Overlook about 4:00. Because I was so swamped this year with our fall plant and getting stands and blinds ready for youth day, I simply didn’t have time to practice properly with my compound bow before the season. Although I was shooting well at 20 yards the day before the season, it is one thing to perform on the range and another to perform in the field. So, it was my crossbow that I pulled up with my haul line.
I had settled into my stand, shielded from the late afternoon sun by the foliage of the surrounding hardwoods. I had forgotten to spray my head-cover so my only protection from my blood-sucking tormentors with the occasional slight breeze that dispersed my breath interrupting their ability to detect me. I expected solitude to be my only companion for the next couple hours as I waited for the cool of the evening to set in. So I was surprised when I heard a turkey softly yelp nearby.
The bird was only about 50 yards away in the young pines which surrounded the south and east sides of Pleasant Valley Overlook. I figured the bird would eventually come to the field to eat bugs before flying up to roost for the night. So, I just sat quietly and watched the field. After a few minutes, the bird shut up. When 20 minutes had passed and there was no sign of activity in the field, I relaxed and enjoyed the solitude once again.
It wasn’t long before I heard another bird or the same one. This time it was coming from the hardwoods about 70 yards to the east. In both cases, it was clearly a young bird. The bird eventually worked its way north. It was about 70 yards away from me and calling pretty regularly. I then started hearing other birds responding. They ranged out to about 200 yards away, all to the north but separated. I reached for my turkey call and then realized I didn’t have it. I had left it in a blind I was using earlier in the week.
Since the birds were now all passed the field, I decided to try something unconventional. I tried yelping with my natural voice. I was shocked when the closest bird responded immediately. It started coming my way continuing to call. It got quiet and so did I. The bird was within 50 yards but I still could not see him. I wouldn’t normally risk calling at a bird that close, even with a turkey call, and I sure wasn’t going to chance it with my voice. The other birds were still calling and after a while, he responded but was further from me. When he was about 80 yards or so away, I started yelping with my voice again. The same bird responded immediately so I just got quiet and so did all the birds.
A few minutes later I heard something walking through the leaves just to the north of the field. Then I started seeing turkey. They had all linked up and were coming into the field. They all were juvenile birds with no hen around. When one of the birds got within 30 yards, it took all I could to resist the natural temptation to slowly raise the cross-bow into final shooting position. That works great with deer, but not with turkey. Turkeys will catch any movement especially when you are elevated. So, I waited until I had one bird at 20 yards. Mature birds will often spook when they pick-up movement and run immediately. However, young birds will often hesitate longer to try to identify the danger. That is exactly what happened. I raised my cross-bow into final shooting position and the closest hen immediately popped up her head, turned around and started walking away from me with her head bobbing. I put my 20 yard reticle on her wing-butt. She stopped and hesitated for just a second and I touched off the trigger. The arrow impacted the bird in exactly the right spot. It broke the wind and passed directly through the vitals. She tried to run back north out of the field and that scared me. Once a turkey is hit with an arrow, if it leaves your sight without expiring, chances of recovery are slim. There is no blood trail to follow due to feather absorption and these birds have a way of getting up under things and covering themselves with leaves before they expire. You can run after the bird to keep it in sight if you are hunting from the ground, but I was in a treestand. I was fortunate and the bird expired just before leaving the field.
The other birds weren’t sure what just happened. They all started darting back and forth and two of them flogged the downed bird. It was a couple minutes after 6:00 PM and I new I had to reload my cross-bow since deer would be entering the field soon. So, even with the young birds in the field, I stood up and cocked the bow. The confused birds left the field but not all together. A few minutes after I sat back down, I saw movement to my north in the hardwoods. It was one of the young birds at about 50 yards. Then another one of the birds to the north of the field started yelping again. It was only 10 yards or so off the field. The bird was watch headed right toward it.
The birds got quiet once they regrouped and I didn’t see any deer that evening. It didn’t really matter to me since this was a double first for me. It was the first time I ever killed a turkey with a cross-bow and the first time I every called in a turkey with my natural voice. That is one thing I love about hunting and being part of the cycle of life. No matter how old I get, I continue to have new and unique experiences.
I had settled into my stand, shielded from the late afternoon sun by the foliage of the surrounding hardwoods. I had forgotten to spray my head-cover so my only protection from my blood-sucking tormentors with the occasional slight breeze that dispersed my breath interrupting their ability to detect me. I expected solitude to be my only companion for the next couple hours as I waited for the cool of the evening to set in. So I was surprised when I heard a turkey softly yelp nearby.
The bird was only about 50 yards away in the young pines which surrounded the south and east sides of Pleasant Valley Overlook. I figured the bird would eventually come to the field to eat bugs before flying up to roost for the night. So, I just sat quietly and watched the field. After a few minutes, the bird shut up. When 20 minutes had passed and there was no sign of activity in the field, I relaxed and enjoyed the solitude once again.
It wasn’t long before I heard another bird or the same one. This time it was coming from the hardwoods about 70 yards to the east. In both cases, it was clearly a young bird. The bird eventually worked its way north. It was about 70 yards away from me and calling pretty regularly. I then started hearing other birds responding. They ranged out to about 200 yards away, all to the north but separated. I reached for my turkey call and then realized I didn’t have it. I had left it in a blind I was using earlier in the week.
Since the birds were now all passed the field, I decided to try something unconventional. I tried yelping with my natural voice. I was shocked when the closest bird responded immediately. It started coming my way continuing to call. It got quiet and so did I. The bird was within 50 yards but I still could not see him. I wouldn’t normally risk calling at a bird that close, even with a turkey call, and I sure wasn’t going to chance it with my voice. The other birds were still calling and after a while, he responded but was further from me. When he was about 80 yards or so away, I started yelping with my voice again. The same bird responded immediately so I just got quiet and so did all the birds.
A few minutes later I heard something walking through the leaves just to the north of the field. Then I started seeing turkey. They had all linked up and were coming into the field. They all were juvenile birds with no hen around. When one of the birds got within 30 yards, it took all I could to resist the natural temptation to slowly raise the cross-bow into final shooting position. That works great with deer, but not with turkey. Turkeys will catch any movement especially when you are elevated. So, I waited until I had one bird at 20 yards. Mature birds will often spook when they pick-up movement and run immediately. However, young birds will often hesitate longer to try to identify the danger. That is exactly what happened. I raised my cross-bow into final shooting position and the closest hen immediately popped up her head, turned around and started walking away from me with her head bobbing. I put my 20 yard reticle on her wing-butt. She stopped and hesitated for just a second and I touched off the trigger. The arrow impacted the bird in exactly the right spot. It broke the wind and passed directly through the vitals. She tried to run back north out of the field and that scared me. Once a turkey is hit with an arrow, if it leaves your sight without expiring, chances of recovery are slim. There is no blood trail to follow due to feather absorption and these birds have a way of getting up under things and covering themselves with leaves before they expire. You can run after the bird to keep it in sight if you are hunting from the ground, but I was in a treestand. I was fortunate and the bird expired just before leaving the field.
The other birds weren’t sure what just happened. They all started darting back and forth and two of them flogged the downed bird. It was a couple minutes after 6:00 PM and I new I had to reload my cross-bow since deer would be entering the field soon. So, even with the young birds in the field, I stood up and cocked the bow. The confused birds left the field but not all together. A few minutes after I sat back down, I saw movement to my north in the hardwoods. It was one of the young birds at about 50 yards. Then another one of the birds to the north of the field started yelping again. It was only 10 yards or so off the field. The bird was watch headed right toward it.
The birds got quiet once they regrouped and I didn’t see any deer that evening. It didn’t really matter to me since this was a double first for me. It was the first time I ever killed a turkey with a cross-bow and the first time I every called in a turkey with my natural voice. That is one thing I love about hunting and being part of the cycle of life. No matter how old I get, I continue to have new and unique experiences.
