Dang,Thats good turkey!

[zipper bowss]

The best part of a successful turkey hunt!
 

[JJB]

I just finished supper but think I could make room for some more, that looks great!

[overbo]

Kinda looks like pancakes.LOL

[zipper bowss]

 OH Steven!I can not repeat what Tracy just said.I'm surprised your ears are not burning.
Bill

oh sure! rubb it inn!  :rolleyes:

[Over&Under]

At least someone is connecting on them dang thunder chickens...  :rolleyes:    :D  

Bring on the story Bill!!!    

I shoot a Zipper...wheres my turkey  :confused:

[zipper bowss]

Yesterday was the opening morning of Ohio spring turkey season. Of course the hunt really started a couple of week s ago, with scouting and videoing turkeys for the upcoming hunt. I have had permission to hunt this property for about 5 years. Needless to say I am pretty familiar with the spring time activity there. The birds were pretty much doing the same thing they do every spring on this place.
Half of the farm is old growth timber, and the other half is pastures that have been let go for the past  20 years or so. Several of the old trees on the main ridge are to large for 2 guys to reach around.This is where the birds prefer to roost.

[ti-guy]

Mmmmmmm!

[wv lungbuster]

Looks good    

[Claym]

Looks delicious!    

[4runr]

MMMMM!!
Got any Morels to go with it?

[zipper bowss]

Not long after leaving the roost the turkeys almost always feed toward the grown up mess that is the other half of the farm. Once they make it there I have had no luck getting one shot with my bow. My plan was to set up close to where they roost. Closer then I prefer to, but this has been the only way I have a chance at getting a Tom before the hens lead them to the thicker cover. The farm is only about 40 minutes from my house. I knew I needed to get there and set up way early, so I left the house at 4:30. Once there it is not to  far of a walk to the ridge where I needed to be set up. By 5:45 I was ready for action. Sitting there in the darkness I was already planning my next move ,if this set did not work. When the sun started up I knew I was at least at the spot I needed to be in. Through the back window of my blind I could see a big Tom gobbeling on the roost. He was not more then 70 yards away. Through the lens of my video camera I could see he had a long beard and really good spurs.There was another turkey gobbeling about 50 yards from me on my other side, and hens in the trees around me. This is exactly why I wanted to be set up so early.

[rastaman]

[LongStick64]

Mmmm Mmmm Good looks good there Bill !!!

Nice to see a Zipper do some good work, not that I had a doubt.

[zipper bowss]

After gobbeling on the roost for a good 20 minutes. The big tom behind me pitched down. Not more then a minute earlier I had given out a couple of real soft tree yelps. The big bird obviously heard me, because when he pitched out he flew right to me. So close in fact, that he nearly flew into the side of my blind. I could not see him at that point, but he was doing some fancy wing flapping trying to get turned. When he  finally got turned and hit the ground he ran to the other end of the ridge. It was very apparent that he was spooked from his near collision. Once a “safe” distance away he turned and looked back at the blind and decoys.
Within a few minutes the other tom and all the hens were on the ground and had joined the big boy that was roosted behind me. The big boy did not appreciate the subordinate bird crowding  his girls. He would never let the other tom closer then 30 yards of the hens. I gave a couple of soft purrs and scratched in the leaves and the hens started my way. Great I’m in the game! I had set my blind about 25 yards from a tree that had fallen on the edge of the ridge. With my back to the other steep edge of the ridge I had a funnel set up for my ambush. I have watched these turkeys feed past this downed tree on several mornings. Since the birds were headed my way, I put my calls down and just rolled the video

[zipper bowss]

All the birds must have wanted to be movie stars. They were really putting on a show. Between the toms chasing around and the hens feeding and grooming there was plenty  of entertainment . After a good 35 minutes of the turkeys just being turkeys. The  hens were starting to get within shooting range of my decoys. I set out one hen and a jake decoy. I put the hen down on the ground with the jake up on top of her. I figured it would be more than the big boys could take.This time I was right.

[Whip]

So let's see the video!      

[Benjy]

It looks like Bill should start writing books to go along with his videoing!! Congrats Bill!!!!!

[zipper bowss]

All the hens worked in real close to the decoys, but they dropped over the edge of the ridge just at the downed tree not past it. This presented a bit of a problem. The strutter was still a little spooked of my  blind and did not want to get closer than about 25 yards. That is farther than I wanted to take a shot at him. Meanwhile the other tom had never been aloud to get up on the  top of the ridge where he could see my decoys. As the biggest tom strutted over the ridge and out of sight I knew I had to do something to bring them back. All this time I had hardly called at all, and if I did it was real soft and quiet. No need to call when the birds are doing what you want them to do. Since they were now all out of sight, I called louder and more, like  a lost hen. It worked! Before I even got through my call, the second tom came up on top of the ridge where he could see my decoys. That was all it took. He came on a dead run.

[zipper bowss]

Now I had a different problem, a self inflicted problem, but a problem none the less. I had a mature tom at 40 yards and coming on a dead run to my decoys. Did I have a bow in my hand? No! It is leaning against the side of my blind. Instead I had a video camera and tripod between me and the side of the blind I needed to shoot out of, a striker in one hand and a pot call in the other (I will never learn). As quick as I could I dropped the call and moved the camera! By the time I got my bow in my hands, the bird was already at the decoy . Luckily for me he stopped just short of the decoy and blew up into full strut. This gave me just enough time to pick my spot, and deliver a very unforgiving shot. The broadhead took the bird through both main wingbones .It must have gone just under his spine, because he still managed to flop about  5 yards from the decoy before coming to rest.
Hearing all of the commotion the entire flock came back to see what all the fuss was about. With my bird down, and unable to defend himself, the boss bird took one last opportunity to assault his fallen enemy. After flogging the downed bird the bigger tom strutted off to his hens. Apparently he still was not satisfied because he came back and worked over the dead bird again.