I was finally able to get Faith out for a turkey hunt. Following is my entry into the Faith journal for the day.
4/7/09
What a great day of turkey hunting! I just wish I could say the same for my shooting. Went out this morning and got set-up in an old bean field along a wooded creek bottom. Birds have traditionally roosted along the creek and come to the field to feed and strut. As the sun came up, I heard several gobbles along the creek and 4-5 were less than hundred yards away. Game on! I gave a few soft yelps and then waited for fly down. After hearing the birds fly down I started ramping up the calling. A quick peek out the back of the blind revealed two toms working their way towards my set-up. The first tom was double bearded and the second approached in full strut. They were both headed for my decoys and I readied Faith for the shot that was sure to come. The birds approached quickly and in no time were 20 yards out. I thought for sure they would head straight to my jake decoy just 10 yards in front of the blind. But instead they popped their heads up and were suddenly on full alert. They didn't like something and turned to walk away. I figured it was now or never so I drew Faith and let her fly. The arrow just skimmed the side of the double bearded bird, not even pulling a feather. A clean miss. The birds stuck around a few minutes out in the middle of the bean field before wandering off to the north.
Before they exited the field two more turkeys stepped into the field about 200 yards further down the creek bottom. Both of these birds were adult toms but they didn't seen interested in my decoys or calls at all. They eventually left the field following the same path as the first two birds. Shortly after they left, I noticed two turkeys at the far end of the field about 400 yards away. A quick check with the binoculars confirmed that they were both adult toms as well. I started calling and they slowly made their way across the bean field. They would strut and gobble every now and then but were in no hurry to get to the other side of the field. Once they got about 75 yards outside my decoys one of the birds finally made a break for it and starting running toward the decoys. The other bird would have none of that and joined the chase. The race was on! They were both running side-by-side and bumping into each other trying to cut the other one off. They reminded me of two Nascar drivers trading paint down the back stretch of a big race. I readied for the shot that was sure to come very soon. The problem was theses two birds did the same thing as the first two. As soon as they got to within about 20 yards they stopped and got very nervous. They knew something was not right and started walking away. I took a shot as they walked off but shot right over their back. Another clean miss.
That was it for the day. I never heard or saw another turkey but the first hour and a half was some of the fastest turkey action I have ever experienced. A day I will remember for a long time.
I enjoyed my time with Faith and really appreciate the opportunity to take a small part in this great Tradgang tradition. Thanks to Terry, Brent, Dick, and everyone else who makes this happen. Great job guys!
Good luck to those remaining on the Faith list. Hopefully I got all the misses out of her.
Good Hunting,
Bill
Here are a few pictures from my day in the field with Faith.
Her small stature makes for a perfect blind bow.
The set-up. How many bows do you think are in that hedge row? The osage in Faith is beautiful.
Faith outside the blind.
All packed up and ready for the walk out. Faith's light weight make her a joy to carry.
Well that's it. I'm going to pack Faith up this weekend and send her to the beautiful Missouri Ozarks. Good luck Scott! Keep us posted.
Topic: The Adventures of Hope & Faith of Black Mountain (Read 19774 times)
