Year in and year out I preach that one thing more than any other kills turkeys ... PATIENCE. This year my patience was tested to an extreme. Then when it came time to drop the string on a tom I had a little bit of luck in my corner that saved me from a terrible shot. The first 10 days of the season for me consisted of birds working from extreme distances and stopping at ranges from 20 yards to 50 yards. I hunted mornings and evenings most days on three different farms. I think that I tried every conceivable decoy combination and placement possible. I could have killed a long beard on every hunt if I had been shot gun hunting. Some of the most exciting yet frustrating hunts that I have ever experienced. Then on last Friday it came together ... sort of. I had two toms (one of which I ended up killing) come to 41 yards early on. Then two other toms close to about 60 yards. Just when I was ready to shut the hunt down at around 10:00 and go to my office, I saw a red head and a second bird's tips of his fan tail over a rise in front of me. Like every other time, the birds were coming slow and cautious. It took them around 20 minutes to cover about 50 yards. With a very nervous hen sitting just 5 yards in front of me and the two toms at 25 yards and ready to leave, I decided that this was the best opportunity in 10 days. I settled my 20 yard pin on the very top of his head and let a Magnus Bullhead fly. I've made the shot hundreds of times in practice, but never attempted that long of a bow shot on a live bird and as happens in a live animal situation ... a lot can go wrong. I let out an "uhg" of anguish as I watched the head/neck shot broadhead smack him in the wing butt joint and felt like throwing up as he walked off. But as he walked off I could see blood pouring out of the wound. I watched him go into a small pothole swamp 150 yards or so in front of me. His buddy went in also and then came back out alone, so I had a pretty good feeling that somehow I had gotten lucky. After an almost 2 hour wait I found him about 15 yards inside the swamp stone cold dead. A totally horrible shot on my part that I will never take again. I got lucky. Not a giant bird. I had to put my elbow on the scale help get him to 20#. 10 1/2" beard and 1" spurs.
Nice bird, if I had to wait for them to get closer than 20 yards I'd never kill one haha. Very rarely do they get to around 35 yards without spooking no matter how still I am, how little or often I call, or how my decoys are set. Stubborn mountain birds around here.
Awesome Derek... can't wait to 'Bullhead' one this month! First I gotta' get one to come in to the decoys though
