Got an invitation from RC to come hunt turkeys at his place this morning. Since we work different shifts, Monday is the only day that we're both off work. I knew I'd be awful tired after working all weekend, but you don't turn down an invitation like that. I managed to drag myself out of bed, and leave the house in time to make the 45 minute drive before daylight.
I forgot about a bridge being out for construction, and after making a detour around, I ended up arriving a few minutes late. RC was right ready to go when I got there, and we hurried up and headed to the woods.
We got to the blind during gray-light, and got settled in. Now this blind hunting is totally new to me. I've never even been in a blind but once, and that was down at Big Jim's shoot a couple years ago. We got our chairs situated, and I made a couple draws to make sure my bow limbs weren't going to hit anything.
Before long, the woods started to come to life. We actually had a squirrel on a tree about 3 feet from the window of the blind. Pretty neat. Before long, we heard a few yelps on down the branch. We figured we'd hear a gobbler fire off any minute, but never did. No response to any of our calling either.
At around 7:30, RC whispered that he could see one approaching from our left, and told me to get ready. By the time I could get my bow up, the bird was probably 20 yards out. It eventually worked it's way, from my left to right, in to about 5 or 6 yards. RC had been schooling me about where to shoot these turkeys, and I had been paying attention. Straight over the leg, in the crease formed by the edge of the wing and the rounded part of the top of the drumstick. I slowly drew my bow, and hit a good solid anchor. I stared at the spot I wanted to hit so hard, I believe I burned a hole through the shoot-through screen in the window of the blind.
I dropped the string and, in a blur, the arrow was there, exactly where I had been looking. There was a loud crack as the broadhead broke a bunch of stuff on the way through. The bird half leaped at the shot, ran about 5 feet, and collapsed. Graveyard dead. The big Simmons Tree Shark did the job.
A jake, but a turkey nonetheless. Any bird you kill with a friend is special.