Sorry, sorry,sorry fellas!!!!!!!!!
After I put that on yesterday I crashed! Woke up in time to eat, spend a few minutes with the kids, and I was back off to work all night...on a pavement breaker(jackhammer to most) of all things!!!!!
Came home and crashed again....but I'll get on with it now....
So like I said, I got home a bit earlier than usual yesterday morning. Not early enough to grab the climber and hunt... but I knew a spot in a local orchard that the wind was perfect for, and I could set up my Double Bull among some apple bins that are strewn around.
I had tried this set-up last Sunday evening hoping the deer couldn't count or think twice about the blind, thinking it was just another apple bin. I'd even stacked a couple a week or so ago to give it a higher/bigger profile....more like the blind. That Sunday night the deer showed up, and hardly glanced at the blind....but it was about dark and too late to shoot......so I figured with the wind out of the north, and a good entrance to sneak in.....I'd give it a shot in hopes of catching the deer heading back into the woodlot.
When I got home I grabbed my string tracker and put it in my pack, and put piece of velcro on 2 arrows(how I attach the string)...ya know....just in case I got into some turks...
Quick shower, drive(1/4 mile down the road I realized I'd forgotten my bow.....drive back home....get bow), park, get dressed, grab pack, sling blind over shoulder, set-up and organize just as the sky was beginning to lighten-up...
A bit later the sun was showing...
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Half hour into my sit I felt the 5 Hour Energy wearing off!
I made it till 8:30 or somehow without falling off my stool...no deer. So I took out my mouth calls and called a couple time over a 5 minute period...nothing.....
I had my blind, and calls, and tracker...so I figured I'd walk the orchard to try to find some birds.
Walk....call.....walk.....call......
Hmmm....some nice deer sign....there were several of these around the perimeter of the orchard...
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Walk a little more...peek into a little clearing...deer!!!!
Drop pack, blind, and put on facemask....I'm gonna "sneak'um"....about impossible....make it to about 50 of them and white flags.....mmmmmmm!
Don the pack, blind and I'm walking again...make it just about back to where I'd started...call...
Then a barely audible...yelp-yelp-yelp among the breeze....turks!!!!!!!!
I wait a minute to make sure I wasn't hearing things....call again, kind of a lost call, a series of about 10-12 yelps.....not 5s econds later.....
Yelp-yelp-yelp.....nd they were closer already!!
Time to scramble!!
Drop everything, set up right in the 2 track Im in and where I can also see left/right down the rows. Blind up, everything inside....open stool...bowholder in ground....black jacket on....facemask on...dig string tracker out of pack....tie loop in the string and attach to arrow(a special arrow)....put bow back in holder...glance up......Turkeys!!!!!
About 80 yds away they come out into the roadway....
"dang it, get your black gloves on!"
Out they come into the 2 track....1...2....3....4....5....6................with a few seconds there are an even dozen birds out in front of me about 70-80yds away.....
They started looking hard and really didn't seem like they were gonna come my way...so I called....they looked.....and started to come....
Slow, but steady they walked,looked, and pecked at the ground....then they came to a puddle in the 2 track...and some started to drink....they are all within 20yds. now.....
But I kept telling myself...."as long as they are coming, just let them all gets close"...they started toward me again.....
30seconds or so more and I have all 12 if them anywhere from 5-15yds away....one is closing and looks like it gonna walk right up to the blind and look inside!
It finally puts its head down to peck and I pick a bird out that about 7-8yds out and broadside.
I kinda feel that when I move, some of them will see me....my fletch is too bright for serious blind hunting, the sun is lighting me up too much and is causing glare I can see on my arrow, and my bow isn't "blacked out". So feel that when I raise it to shoot, things will get serious.
I wasn't wrong!
As soon as I raised my bow, I heard putts!!
The bird I'd picked started walking away as I started my draw....I got to about 3/4 draw and the string hit my leg!
In my haste setting up, I never did get situated quite right for the shot possibility.....dang it!
Quick adjustment....turk about 10yds now, quartering hard away....draw......arrow disappears right where I was looking....I mean never even slowed down!
Turk knocked off it's feet, but is quickly up and off....pulling string!!
It runs, turns into a row, and a couple steps more seems to falter, then is out of site....string stops....
Mass confusion among the other birds....
I grab my camera and snap a bunch of pix....here's a couple....
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The bird was out of sight so quick, I was confident it didn't go far, but wasn't 100% sure it was dead. The turks that hung around kept looking back to where I thought I saw the bird falter, which is usually a great sign that the shot bird is right there....but I couldn't see it in the high grass...
I studied the arrow with my bino's and could see my chartreuse feathers were now "reddish"....another good sign!
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