I went to my taxidermist this afternoon to pick up the breasts from my girlfriends turkey and was pleasantly surprised by this guy when i walked in the door! This is my buck from November of last year. He's my first buck with trad gear. I used a longbow i built in August of last year which was also the first bow I've ever built. That bow has treated me well so far I managed to fill all four of my deer tags with it and just took my first trad turkey with it a couple weeks ago.
I was slowly stalking around a small woods and crp field after work when i caught movement off in the distance. I sent a couple grunts his way and they turned him on a dime. He gave me a 10 yard shot as he walked past. The hit looked good but a little back. I gave him some time and called a couple buddies. Once on the blood trail it was pretty easy tracking. After a few high fives and smiles I noticed this was the buck my girlfriend had her heart set on. I didn't know it was the buck with the drop tine because he had broke it off, and I honestly didn't check his rack out before I shot. I saw horns and really didn't care how big he was I just wanted to get my first trade buck under my belt.
So after much debate i decided to have the taxidermist fix the broken drop and supplied him with the most recent trail cam picture of him to aid him in accurately duplicating it. We talked about how I wanted it mounted and I was happy with a shoulder mount but the taxidermist made me a deal i couldn't pass up. He said if i could make him a longbow he could make this mount a little better then just another shoulder mount. So now all I have have left to do is spray some Thunderbird on his bow.
And the bow for the taxidermist.... 62" 49@28 longbow with walnut and ash riser with curly hickory veneers.
Thanks for looking