Well after a long tiring weekend, and having one last day to hunt...I just had to go out for at least a short morning hunt.
The turkey hunting has really slowed in the last week, and it's gotten real hot and buggy.
But hey...I wasn't about to give up. I always thought it would be awful sweet to kill a bird on the very last day of the season. I've come close over the years, but have never pulled it off.
Just as the sky was starting to gray up, I set my DB Darkhorse and two hen dekes up. I had decided on my drive, I would go with only 2 hens and no jake decoy. Good stratagy for late in the season...
My hopes were slightly dashed when not a single gobble was heard as it got lighter, and lighter....nothing!
I'd called only a couple times in the last hour just to see if I could get something interested. But then, a good hour after daylight I thought I heard a couple clucks about 100yds. away up the hill from me in the orchard. Then a few seconds later a short, chokey-sounding gobble...I immediately thought...Jake!
The last day of the season is no time to be picky, and besides I had Chris' VPA 1 1/4" Terminator that I used a couple weeks ago on my first bird cleaned up, sharpened, and on the string ready to go again....game on!
I clucked a few times on my slate call, and just when I didn't think anything was gonna answer....I heard the short,chokey-sounding gobble again....now it knew exactly where I was.
Ten minutes or so later, I called again, but got no response...hmmm...
Another 10 minutes pass...quiet...
Then when I was thinking that maybe this just wasn't meant to be came the same gobble....but only about 50 yds. away just around the corner of the woodline above me!
Seconds later I saw a head bobbing through the weeds. I knew in seconds he would see my dekes as they were right out in open in short grass.
As he came clear of the high weeds he stopped to look down and this is what he saw...
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I purred softly...and he started down the hill slowly....I grabbed my bow out of my bowholder...
Then 2 more jakes came into view and quickly caught up to the first bird. That made them all start to walk faster to see who could get to the sweet hens first.
The last bird cam in with attitude, kinda head-up, and half strutt...pretty cool posture!
I had one hen at about 12yds, and one at about 8yds....I was curious to see which they'd go for...or maybe split up and go for both....
All 3 went to my old delta hen deke, the further out deke, at 12yds...
The last bird, the one with attitude, ended up being the closest and came clear, quartering toward me...I picked a spot further up front on his body to compensate for the angle, drew back my Randy Morin Banshee longbow, and gave Chris' broadhead flight!
I remember seeing the arrow, the same arrow as two weeks ago with two orange feathers and one white, dissappear right where I was looking....
Then in a blurr, fly out the backside of the bird all red....perfect!
In an explosion of 3 birds they were off, but my bird was gimping out on one leg, with his wings out in an awkward, unnatural looking position....I knew he wasn't going very far....
He made it about 30yds....
His two buddies couldn't figure out what the heck had happened...
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View to a kill....
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after 5minutes they finally walked off and I got out of the blind...
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Topic: Last Day of The Season...."We", did it again... (Read 2032 times)
