Friday I head back up to hunt turkeys for the weekend. If you have never spot and stalked turkeys with a Bow, you indeed are missing out on one of the toughest challenges I can think of. I frickin have found a new passion!!!
I am on private ground with 126 acres and 50,000 acres of BLM property. I have yet to see another person besides my buddy on this ground.
Saturday morning my buddy and I ride the quads about a half mile to the end of an old skidder. We haven't even got our bows off the quads and GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. We grab our bows and set up in some trees, Out walks a big Gobbler and 3 jakes!! Holy chit I am pumped. They go behind a big fallen tree and I draw my bow, the big tom steps out and I let one fly. Miss my literally an inch, Bout 30 yds! they kinda run off and I call and here they come again! We move positions and now my buddy is closer to them than I am so I just sit back and call a little. The big gobbler comes out at 35 yds and my buddy draws back and lets one fly. Between him and the gobbler was an old one strand barbed wire fence. You guessed it the arrow fletching caught the wire.. So it just nicked the big gobbler in his upper thigh!
I see this and immediately draw back and send another flying, 40 yds or so. Again I go right over the top. This time they run up a hill and are about 50 yds in the open. We agreed not to shoot over 40 yds, so they walk away. We regroup and chase them up and down mountains all day long. We ended up going back to camp for a bite and come back, my buddy gets on them again while I am in a diffrent draw, he comes back with two arrows missing from his quiver. So we call it a night and head back to camp.
Next morning we gain about a 1000 feet in elevation looking for the birds where we last seen them the previous day, hunt hard for four hours spot and stalk. But no turkeys found. We head back to camp and there they are on the old skidder trail. same exact birds. 3 jakes and now what we are calling LIMPY.
They run straight up the damn mountain we just got back from climbing. So here we go again, Rtspring is losing pounds by the minute. I ran about a 1/4 mile straight up and was trying to cut them off. I come up between to christmas trees and there they are. I was BUSTED!! I draw back and guess the range at 35 yds! Right smack through only the wing facing me! Off they go again, OL LIMPY is fine he just runs off straight up the hill. I run again after them, soon they cross in front of me and I take a shot with them walking slowly. Yep I missed and missed badly.
We gather up and go back to the quads, we get almost to them and there 100 yds away are the 3 jakes and Limpy. LIMPY HAS A LIMP, but that SOB can RUN AND FLY just fine!.
SO back up to the top we chase them, This his is going to cause me a heart attack. But I will not quit. Never got a shot off this time, By this time It is getting late and we head back to camp.
All in all we lost 6 arrows between us. I could have killed LIMPY easily 10 times with my shotty. But I am trying to get used to this whole bow hunting thing. I can tell you that it was a blast and will go after LIMPY next weekend again with the bow. HE will still be there. But they quit talking after we called them in twice,.
I am a newbie to turkey hunting and bow hunting, SO yep mistakes are made all over the place, BUT with each failure I learn a ton. My bow is shooting spot on out to 50. I will continue to chase these THunder CHickens. If you haven't hunted turkey with a bow, You are truly missing out on a great challenge. I don"t find sitting in a blind any fun, SO thats not my gig.....
RTSPRING
Also just to add, I found a track that looked just like a grizzly right in the middle of a cow patty, but it had no claw marks. I was huge and I plan on getting a pic of it next weekend. I have seen a ton of bear track and I am sure it was a bear, About 7-9 inches wide, it was huge. But the lack of claw marks has me dumbfounded!! any ideas? all the pads were a perfect match to a bear.
