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Author Topic: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us  (Read 2704 times)

Online ron w

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #20 on: February 05, 2014, 01:20:00 PM »
Last year........first time I ever set up with my Ghilie Shaggy suit. First time out I had a doe at 5 yards and could not even raise my bow to shoot. She kept feeding and looking at me, then feeding again. Lasted about 5 minutes. I said to myself next time I'll setup so I can see her earlier, so I did that. Don't a buck with 8" spikes come in from the other direction and do the same thing...LOL! He was even closer and I couldn't do anything. Even though no shots came about it was still a great experience.   :wavey:
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's there are few...So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind...This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.  Shunryu Suzuki

Offline Sockrsblur

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #21 on: February 05, 2014, 01:26:00 PM »
Great stories guys! I love them all!
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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #22 on: February 05, 2014, 02:18:00 PM »
When my son was 15 we went pheasant hunting. I suggested we take a couple of shotguns, he wanted to take bows, just in case we saw deer. He grabbed his 50 pound Big 5, so I took my 89 pound Big 5. We used some slapped together shoot away arrows with various points, mostly blunted three blade Hi-Precisions that I got free. We were working a weedy hill top corn field very slowly, (no death marches when hunting pheasants with longbows).  A longtailed cock busted between us and headed straight away. We shot at the same time, My arrow came out of my with a bang and split in flight, my son's arrow tossed off a feather and did a long spiral around the pheasant. Then Cody, pointing with high authority at the fleeing pheasant and yelled out, "and the Lord said NO".

Offline joe skipp

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #23 on: February 05, 2014, 04:15:00 PM »
This took place 3 yrs ago...in Jersey with the other 2 members of Tri-State Terrors...Bamboo and Southpawshooter. Bucks were starting to get active and this was a perfect day for rattling and calling, cold, drizzling and overcast.

We setup at the base of a mtn. Mike and Scott were 20 yds in front of me and to the right. I was hidden behind a large tree where I would rattle and grunt and beat the ground.

Mike would bleat, I'd rattle....grunt some and Scott did his thing...snap some limbs. It was roughly 30 minutes and I figured enough..lets move on when Mikey turns and starts pointing. 50 yds out here comes this wide 4 pt. He was slowly walking in looking to see what all the commotion was.

We had placed  some JV out 40 and 20 yds because the wind was blowing east to west and we figured anything coming in....would come from the west. The buck slowly made his way in surveying downhill. At this point...Mikey who was closer, was looking at a 40 yd shot with no clear lanes.

The buck started to circle and I realized....I'm going to get this shot. Slowly grabbed my Groves and waited. The buck was uphill, 35 yds...he turned his head to clear some brush but I had the opening. When I released, the arrow hit hard...and Mikey saw the arrow slam into him.

The buck then turns and bolts in the direction he just came. Mikey then lets out a few loud doe bleats AND THE BUCK STOPS....TURNS AND STARTS TO TROT BACK IN!!! He covered maybe 25 yds then fell over in mid stride. After field dressing, I buried the deer in leaves because we still had a whole day of hunting.

Thank God Scott had his GPS(Garmin Etrex) because he took the waypoint of my buck. By the time we headed off the Mtn, it was getting real foggy and "everything started to look the same". Another long drag back to the truck but it was another great hunt to remember.
"Neal...is this heaven?" "No Piute but we are dam close". Top of the Mtn in Medicine Bow Nat Forest.

Offline Izzy

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2014, 04:19:00 PM »
Here we go. I was with my bow hunting partner, cousin Ray in South Cacka hunting what else? Hogs! Second day of the hunt had me gazing over a sounder of pork from the road while they gorged themselves on chestnut oaks.

      After watching them a while and getting antsy as they were pretty open and moving away, I hear a noise coming in from my back right. I look back and here comes Cuz, stalking the same hogs.

      We get together and formulate a plan of battle. He was to stay put and I was gonna loop around un front of the hogs and try to push them his way. As Im looping around on a dirt trail I start seeing chert in the dirt, reddish chert. I stop to check it and I see its been worked. A little digging and I start finding broken artifacts. I guess I lost track of time cause Ray started stalking in on the hogs before I could try and push them to him.

       I hear a ruckus of snorting and squealing in the palmettos just off of the trail. I pocket my artifacts and start hunting again and dive into the swamp and palmettos. I looked for Cuz but couldn't locate him. I climbed up on a log to get a vantage point over the thick stuff and a hog runs past me. No shot so I take up after it and it is joined by another sow and a bunch of footballs.

       I followed them along a slough of standing water and started getting closer to them when all of a sudden one of the sows runs left to right in front of me into the swamp. At first I can hear what sounds like a fight but could not see her. In a minute or so she regrouped with her companions and hustled off. I start creeping to see what she was fighting with and see a big boar feeding up to his ears in the mud on a small island.

       After a waist deep stalk through standing swamp I got 10 yards from him. When I saw him dig his snout into the mud again I drew and hit him in his rear rib quartering hard away from me. He ran another 10 yards and stopped to look back. I shot him again in his shoulder and he ran about 5 more yards and stopped. I watched him hang his head and fall into the muddy swamp. I could hear him breathing bubbles under the water and he couldn't get his head up. I moved in to give him another arrow but he was done before I got to him.

       145 lbs of delicious meat and a lifetime of memories. Ill be there in another 2 months again, can't wait.  

Offline huntnmuleys

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2014, 04:54:00 PM »
I was antelope hunting in a new area to me, with my brother and a buddy.  we spotted this HUGE lone buck, and it was my turn to make a sneak.

I remember it was over 100 degrees, and in order to get the topography right I had to make a LONG stalk out of this. I was sweating my rear off by the time I got to within 100 yards.

the buck had since bedded, and I got low and moved in. took me a while, but I finally got to a point where I wasn't quite as close as I wanted, but wasn't going to get any closer.  honestly, it was probably 5-10 yards further than I should have been shooting, but I talked myself into it that I could make this shot.

I was at that time shooting wood arrows out of my bighorn recurve, and I picked a spot at the bedded monster and let it fly. what happened then was kind of a blur, as the arrow appeared to go right where I wanted, but the buck got up and took off. I glassed and glassed him and could tell I had missed, but was stumped as to how. walking over to his bed, I found my arrow stuck in the dirt just past it, the shaft passing through his bed about 4 inches above the ground. ive heard of string jumping where they duck the arrow, this one jumped UP before it got there.  

I never got another shot at that antelope, nor did I fill my tag at all, but what a hunt.
is it September yet??

Offline Joeabowhunter

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #26 on: February 05, 2014, 07:30:00 PM »
One of my most vivid hunting memories will always be of my first trad deer kill.  Like many of us here I had hunted with many types of weapons on my journey to the traditional bow.  I knew that it was a serious commitment to hunt with a trad bow and I was finally ready in the summer of 2011.  The 2011 deer season passed quickly and I had passed on shots well under 20 yards.  I was pleased with myself for not taking the shots.  I felt I had matured as a hunter.  By the 2012 season my shooting was improved and so was my confidence.  I had a couple close calls but it wasn't until the end of November that it happened.  I was able to watch two does heading my way and as the larger one stepped into one of my shooting lanes I took the shot.  It was an afternoon hunt and I thought the shot was a bit "back".  I snuck out and returned with my Dad in the morning.  We walked up to her together, right where I had last seen her jump a low fence.  The emotion of the moment was overwhelming.  It was hugs and high fives.  My Dad knew how much this meant to me and I'm glad he was there to share it.  I was thankful to God and proud of myself.  I had achieved a personal goal that I set 15 month's earlier.
 

Offline Knawbone

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #27 on: February 05, 2014, 10:02:00 PM »
It was bow season in NY and without much time to hunt this particular day, I decided to check out an area I hadn't hunted in a few years.Scouting the area was the reason i walked out the back door of my house, but of coarse you always want to take a bow with you just in case. The area was an old road bed that some years would see use by deer. I got to the road and found that indeed a buck was working the roadway with scraps and rubs dotting the road bed as I traveled it's length. Upon reaching what appeared to be the last scrap, two does took off ahead of me some 25 to thirty yrds. The does came from the left side of the road and crossed it heading south. The air was quite still this day and it would be dark in an hour or so. With the presents of fresh buck activity and the scent of does crossing his rub and scrap line, the decision was instant.......hunt this spot NOW!
       Now I had no stand or blind here. so the best option after surveying the situation was to take a stand in front of a large pine tree just off the north side of the road. There was little cover here and I needed the large diameter tree to hide my frame. As I stood in front of the tree with little hope for a sighting, not ten or fifteen minutes had gone by when suddenly there he was. From the very scrap line I had just walked down came a young buck. He was walking and sniffing his scraps as he went, unstopped by my trail in, and continued exactly where I had walked to within 10 yrds of me. He stopped and looked right at me and I remember thinking this is it, he's going to make me out and that will be that. No, he starts walking again right toward me and past my tree at no more than 5 ft. in front of me- I could have hit him over the head with my bow. I thought,how cool is this, he's going to hit that doe trail and follow those does. Without a shot yet, I watched as he suddenly put his nose to the ground and started following the does I had watched cross the old road bed. As he reached the other side of the road, he paused just long enough for me to raise my long bow and send an arrow to the quartering away buck only seven yrds away. I couldn't believe what had just happened as the buck headed south in the direction of the does. It was the second time in three years I had managed to tag a deer from the ground, with no blind or gillie suit. The seven point was no monster, but the hunt was huge, and so was my sense of a true trophy....... again     Unbelievable! What a hunt!
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Offline IndianaBowman

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #28 on: February 06, 2014, 12:32:00 PM »
Following are a few short stories I rolled into one title of "Gifts”. Pretty long, but I hope you enjoy.

Prickly Messenger - “Terry, wake up, there’s something outside the tent” Tina whispered. “So! Go back to sleep.” This wasn’t exactly what my wife wanted to hear. “It’s still out there” she continued. Being the hero type, I immediately turned on the flashlight and shined it through the tent wall while yelling “hah, go on, get out of here!” Satisfied that I had rescued Tina from a grizzly mauling or moose trampling, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Two minutes later Tina nudges me and says, “it’s still out there.” “Ok! Ok!” Armed with questionable courage, a flashlight, and a shotgun with slugs, I started to unzip the tent and head out to face the danger. I glanced back and told Tina I would be right back. Again, this wasn’t something Tina was excited to hear. She wasn’t going to stay in the tent while I was out battling the unknown. At least I knew my backside was safe because Tina was plastered to it! Upon exiting the tent, and shining my flashlight in the direction of the twig snapping, I saw two beady little eyes glaring back at me. Fortunately, they turned out to belong to a very large porcupine. After poking him with the gun barrel and shooing him away, Tina and I looked up and witnessed the most awe-inspiring vision we have ever seen. Tina and I were on a drop hunt for moose in the deep Alaskan bush near the Artic Circle, and what we were seeing was a glorious Aurora Borealis.

It took a while to put two and two together, but we finally realized that the porcupine was a “gift” from Heaven. We would never have emerged from the comfort of our warm dry tent at 2:00 AM to venture out in hopes of seeing the Aurora. Thanks to the porcupine, Tina and I will have a memory that will last forever. A 2nd gift was bestowed on me during this very same hunt in the form of a 66” wide 219 6/8” bull moose.

Often times we overlook these gifts and take them as dumb luck, coincidence, or self-preparation. I have been on the receiving end of many gifts and a few of them are described below.

Snowflakes on My Tongue - Another gift was given to me during a very wet September 2002 Alaskan moose hunt.
Out of the 11 days I spent in the bush, it rained nine and snowed one. This was my partner’s first trip to Alaska and by day 6 he was beginning to get a little downcast. I, on the other hand, had experienced Alaska and all she could throw at me on a previous caribou hunt. This hunt was a cakewalk compared to my 1997 caribou hunt when I was tent bound by 70 mph winds and horizontal rain for three straight days. Another party was also camped nearby and experienced some true discomfort. One of their tent poles snapped and they spent over 36 hours holding the tent off of themselves while sitting in six inches of water. We invited them into our tent, but they gracefully refused indicating they were afraid to move because the puddle they were laying in was at least warm. So compared to my 1997 caribou hunt, I was loving life. Sure we were experiencing some inconvenience, but at least we could get out and move around.

For whatever reason (late rut, nasty weather) we were not seeing many legal bulls, in fact, we had only see one for sure shooter in 6 days. No matter, I was still very confident that I would get a bull. My partner, on the contrary, was less than enthusiastic about the deluge of rain and lack of bulls. I kept trying to reassure him, that if we just kept patient and optimistic, that the odds were good that we would get our chance. It was probably a bit easier for me to remain positive due to the fact that I had hunted the exact same location one year earlier and had harvested the bull mentioned above.

I always try to look at the bright side of situations and quickly realized that no matter how bad the weather was, I was still in a far better place than my office back in Indiana. The 7th day of the hunt dawned as one to remember. It was about 28oF, overcast, and the grass was frosted heavily creating a spectacular sunrise scene. The weather deteriorated to heavy snow, that I found to be simply exhilarating. I took several pictures and was simply giddy inside. I even reverted back to my childhood and began catching the half dollar sized snowflakes on my tongue. I’m certain I was quite the spectacle. A 40-year-old man, in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, catching snowflakes on his tongue.

After the glorious morning hunt my partner and I were back in camp preparing lunch when I mentioned what an awesome morning it had been. Perspective is everything! His comments were more in line with “What was so great about it? The weather stunk and we didn’t see any bulls.” I tried to explain my enthusiasm and even told him about catching the snowflakes on my tongue. I’m pretty certain he thought I was nuts! Well, I thanked God for his splendor, and remained positive that I would get a bull. Low and behold, a few minutes later I was drawing my recurve bow on a terrific 61” bull at the awe inspiring distance of 6 paces. The shot was slightly quartering too, but at 6 paces I felt confident in placing the Rothhaar Snuffer tipped arrow tight behind the shoulder. The shot took both lungs and the liver. After the shot, the bull lunged forward and I had to jump back off the trail to avoid being trampled. The bull turned out to be an awesome animal with an unofficial green score of 201 6/8” P&Y.                                          
I fully believe I was given the bull as a “gift” for maintaining a positive attitude and for reveling in God’s creation!

To Shoot or Not Too Shoot? That is the Question! - October 5, 2002 dawned as a simply spectacular morning. The temperature was mild, the wind was light and from the right direction for my stand, and the sky was clear and bright. I made a virtually silent stand approach and my scent trail was only about 10 yards long due to walking over 200 yards in the middle of a water filled drainage ditch. The set-up was nearly perfect and all that was necessary was for the deer to move. And move they did! At approximately 8:00 AM a borderline Pope & Young buck was standing almost broadside at 5 yards and had no clue that I was around. Sounds like a perfect situation for the vast majority of hunters. However, I was having a terrible time deciding on if I should shoot or not. It was the 1st weekend of the season and I’d already seen a much larger buck, a slightly larger buck, a small 6 pt, 3 does, and the buck I was looking at was accompanied by one of equal stature. The dilemma I was facing was because of the new one-buck rule effective for Indiana’s deer season. If I shot, I would be done buck hunting for the season and would have no opportunities for a larger buck.

What Would You Have Done? I only had a split second to contemplate my decision and time was running out. The buck mentioned above was running with another buck of like size. The other buck was also a P&Y contender but did not carry the mass of the buck trailing him. The lead buck was right under my stand and had just crossed my scent trail and was starting to get nervous. I knew he could blow the situation wide open any second. The 2nd buck was about 5 yards behind the first and was pawing the ground and chewing on a branch. He was completely relaxed and unaware of any impending danger. The shot would be at most 5 yards, slightly quartering too, and at a fairly steep angle since I was pretty high in the tree. It was now or never! The thing that made me shoot was a saying I heard many years ago, "if it's big enough to shoot on the last day, it's big enough to shoot on the first". I would have shot him on the last day! I was extremely fortunate and the shot went exactly where I aimed. My 75# custom TimberHawk 3-piece recurve pushed the Snuffer tipped POC arrow up to the fletching and punched a hole on the lower half of the opposite side. After retrieving my two sons, my long time hunting buddy and his 13 year-old son, we took to the trail and found the 120” buck. The concerning part was that I wasn’t jumping up and down dancing in the leaves. I was almost apologetic to my hunting cronies when I told them about the buck I killed. This bothered me a lot so I asked around to find out what others would have done. The answer that helped me overcome my upsetting feelings was answered on an internet forum as follows: “Last year, while scouting I saw a big 8 pt running does. I set a treestand and hunted the area with the intention of only shooting at the big boy. On the last day of the hunt a doe came by but was out of range. 20 minutes later a spike came by on the same trail. The spike was not "bird dogging" the doe, just walking down the same trail. He stopped just out of range and started feeding. He fed to about 30 yards and offered a broadside shot. I debated whether to shoot or wait for the big boy. For no particular reason the spike walked to within 15 yards of my stand and again offered a broadside shot. At that moment something inside me said; "Take what the Lord gives you". I truly believe that God chooses which deer to give to me. So, not one to argue with God I went in "auto mode", made a good shot with my recurve and the spike was down within 75 yards. At first I felt a little disappointment in myself for not having the patience to wait for the trophy. Then I realized that any deer killed with a bow is a trophy and that this deer was a gift from God.”

Did I Make The Right Decision? - For me, yes! After some extensive soul searching, I realized I was not giving due credit to the situation I was placed in. The decision really didn’t have much to do with being limited to one buck. Hunting is so much more than killing! There were a multitude of things that were right with this hunt and I now kick myself for even hesitating about celebration. I should have been celebrating a truly magnificent animal (regardless of antler size), a day afield with my children, time with a good hunting buddy (real handy come drag time), and an absolutely magnificent morning. As I now realize, my sadness was not about ending my buck season, but about ending what was a truly blessed day. I am extremely happy with my one buck and wish all of you the opportunity to receive such a “gift”.

Turkey Cramps - The pain in my lower leg was almost unbearable and there was no relief in sight. The three turkeys within 40 yards of me were the reason for my leg cramp and immobility. I was suffering from severe “turkey cramps”! Those of you who have bowhunted turkeys without a blind know what I’m talking about. We’ve all been picked off for the slightest movement and watched helplessly as the sharp-eyed bird beat a hasty retreat. I had been virtually motionless for almost 2 ½ hours and for the last 30 minutes I had three sets of razor sharp eyes scanning the area. I knew if I so much as twitched the two gobblers and hen would be gone, as would be my chance to harvest one of the mature toms. The hen was 40 yards off to the right and two long beards were directly in front of me at 15 yards. I really wanted to arrow the larger bird but he would not strut to shield his eyes and allow me to shoot. For me to have any chance at harvesting a tom, all of the bird’s eyes would have to be obscured. Finally, the setup was perfect – the hen had her head down, the smaller tom was strutting with his rear toward me and his fan was blocking the vision of the big tom. I had less than a second to pull, aim, and shoot. This was the culmination of a really long and frustrating morning.

It all began on the afternoon of Tuesday April 22, 2003. It was the eve of the hunting opener for Meleagris gallopavo silvestris - the Eastern Wild Turkey. I had traveled 3 hours from my Northeast Indianapolis home to a new farm I had just gained access to. I made a previous scouting foray and was extremely happy with my turkey sightings. I counted over 120 turkeys in one field and saw over 150 birds on the 5 farms I had access to. To say I was optimistic for a successful opener would be an understatement. The pre-opener afternoon scouting was reassuring as well. I spotted three swinging beards in the exact corner of the field I was planning to hunt. I moved to the corner of the woods adjacent to where it opened into the field and spotted the three gobblers feeding in a cut bean field. While glassing them with my 8X42 Redfields I moved to peer around a tree for a better view. One of the birds picked up my motion from over 150 yards away and through the trees. I was dumbfounded! How in the world could an animal be so wary? I immediately backed out of the area to prevent alarming them too much. I then checked out the other farms I had access to. They all held a few birds, but I was stoked for a hunt in the cut bean field with hopes of sticking one of the beard draggers. I drove back to the original farm and set up camp for a fitful nights rest. I knew the anticipation would keep me up most of the night. What I didn’t expect was the pack of growling dogs circling my tent for over an hour. After an unsuccessful attempt at hollering and shining my light through the tent to run them off, I succumbed to the premise that one of them was going to die if they didn’t leave soon. Fortunately, when I stepped out of the tent with bow in one hand and a flashlight in the other, they pulled a Snagglepuss and exited stage right!

Having not hunted this particular farm before and knowing that the owner was not enforcing his “No Trespassing” signs, I fully expected company in the morning. To assure myself of my desired setup, I headed for the field at 4:00 AM. My blind and decoys were arranged by 4:30 AM and then I set back and enjoyed the wakening of the day. It would have been a bit more enjoyable if it weren’t so darn cold! I awoke Wednesday morning to a thermometer reading of 32oF. Fortunately, no other hunters invaded my desired hunting locale. There were certainly plenty of vehicle lights heading to the big woodlot behind the cut bean field. I didn’t have permission to hunt the big woods and was limited to about 50 yards of depth from the field edge.

The first bird roost gobbled at 5:25 AM setting off a virtual gobbling chorus. I know I heard 5 distinct birds and there were probably more. I was really getting worked up and started some soft yelping to let them know I was ready to be courted. After each soft keouk, keouk, keouk with my Cherokee Slim or Harvest Calls IBA Special Edition box call one of the toms would double or even triple gobble a response. I heard several birds fly down and just knew they would be strutting in front of my blind any second. At 6:00 AM I yelped a few more times and heard the gobbles getting closer. BANG! Scared me so bad it almost knocked me off my bucket!  Evidently, the ridge adjacent to the field held a pretty good concentration of hunters. I heard 3 different toms respond to my calls and sound as if they were closing in before the BANG! This was very frustrating and I was losing my confidence and resolve pretty quickly. The cold weather caused the emergent weed growth in the bean field to frost over pretty heavily. I can’t say for certain, but I am guessing turkeys don’t like walking in a frosty field if they can avoid it. So, I think they stayed in the woods and didn’t make it to the field. By 9:00 AM I had heard enough and packed up my decoy and blind and headed for the truck. I drove back to camp, packed it up, and then drove to option number two for some cruise calling. At 9:30 AM a bird responded from what sounded to be 500 yards away across a big open cut bean field. The field had a little rise in the middle that sloped down to the woods edge on each side. I set up my hen decoy on the down side of the rise so the gobblers would have to come over the hill to see who was sweet talking them. I then nuzzled into a honeysuckle thicket and started my serenading. I rotated between four calls and kept the tom’s interest. It sounded like he was getting closer but after an hour of talking back and forth I still hadn’t seen the bird. After a particularly seductive series of yelps I heard a gobble quite a ways off to my left. I thought he was moving off so I took a chance and peeked up over the field rise. I immediately saw the source of the last gobble on the opposite side of the field approximately 200 yards distant. I then scanned back to the corner of the field where most of the original gobbling had occurred and was surprised to see another fantail and a hen. I was really lucky I didn't get pegged and immediately ducked back down into my honeysuckle sanctuary. Having two mature toms vying for the affection of a live hen meant I had my work cut out for me. I tried some more sexy yelping with no results. After another half an hour I decided I needed a new strategy. I pulled out my raspy hen diaphragm call and aggressively called to the hen. I surmised that if I could get her to make a visit then the lovelorn boys would follow. I mixed up the calls from cackles, purrs, cuts, and kee kee runs. The kee kee run call is what brought her in. She peeked over the rise and saw my hen decoy rotate in the wind and all was fine in the world. She came within 10 yards of the decoy and visited for a while before wandering off to the right. About 10 minutes later two red and blue heads appeared on the horizon. They started to move toward the live hussy hen but a few sleazy yelps from Cherokee Slim brought them over for a late morning interlude. This brings us back to the beginning of the story.

The 75# TimberHawk bow pulled back effortlessly and quietly. I quickly aimed for the vent of the fanning bird and released. I was ecstatic to see my Snuffer tipped Black Rose Archery POC arrow impact a mere inch to the right of my point of aim. The tom jumped and flew about 5 yards and then settled back down. After about a minute he then simply fell. The other tom and hen stood around until I moved and then PUTT, whirl, whiz, gone!  It took a good minute to get up off of my knees and revive my legs enough to walk over to my prize. And what a prize he was. The tom was later weighed in at 25 pounds with a 9 ½” beard and 25 mm spurs. The check-in biologist aged him at 3 years old.

The above stories are only the tip of the iceberg of gifts that I have received. I could wax on until the wee hours describing an amazing bowhunt with my two young sons, a Wyoming antelope hunt, a goose hunt in the snow, a spring turkey hunt, a foggy morning deer hunt, and many more.

As you can see from the above stories, gifts come in all shapes and sizes. They could be in the form of an exceptional animal, a beautiful view, a memorable experience with a child, perfect weather, or the answer to a prayer. It is our responsibility to recognize the gift and to give thanks to Heaven for sending them. So, next time you have a particularly memorable experience, sit back and think about what it took for things to happen. If I were a betting man, I would wager that you would quickly realize that you have received a gift from Heaven.

Offline joe skipp

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #29 on: February 06, 2014, 12:41:00 PM »
This is what I'm talking about...good stories that are etched in our minds...keep 'em coming.
"Neal...is this heaven?" "No Piute but we are dam close". Top of the Mtn in Medicine Bow Nat Forest.

Offline steadman

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" Just concentrate and don't freak out next time" my son Tyler(age 7) giving advise after watching me miss a big mulie.

Offline J. Holden

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #31 on: February 07, 2014, 07:19:00 AM »
My son and I were turkey hunting out west in the North Platte area of Nebraska.  It was the last day of our three day hunt.  Our friend who had already shot one was driving us around looking at old family history stuff, homesteads, farm land, etc.

I had pretty much given up on getting one as it seemed to be too hot in the afternoons.  The birds just seemed to shut down.

Well, my son got tired of the history lessons and from the back seat says "Dad, I want to try and get a turkey".

I asked my friend to turn around and take us back to the property, about a 1/2 hour away.  He agrees and drops us off.  As we were exiting the truck we see a group of hens, jakes and a few toms down in a field.  The field was surrounded by canyons on two sides and hills on the other two sides.

I thought it was a long shot but thought maybe we could drop down the side of the canyon and stalk around the field to get to the turkeys.

Well, this down into the canyon, up into the field, down into the canyon, up into the field went on for about an hour.  We would pop up near the field edge and they would be past us or we would pass them.

I was hot, tired, thirsty and full of cactus needles.  I looked at my son and said I just don't this is gonna work.  He looked at me with big round eyes, moist with tears and begged to keep trying.  What was I to do?  We kept at it for about another hour.

Eventually we low crawled about 50 yards through some tall grass, cactus, cow pies and yucca plants up to the fence line.

The hens fed past us and the toms were in line.  My son said he was uncomfortable making the shot going from a prone position to knees.  I said their coming, you better decide.  He passed and asked me to shoot.

As the tom came into view it was one of those automatic moments we have and the next thing I know there's a ball of feathers in the field and about a dozen turkeys running the other way.

My 10 y.o. son (at the time) pushed me farther than I thought I or he could go.  We still talk about that hunt to this day.

-Jeremy  :coffee:
Pslam 46:10

"A real man rejects passivity and takes responsibility to lead, provide, protect, and teach expecting to receive the greater reward." Dr. Robert Lewis

Offline Birdbow

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #32 on: February 07, 2014, 03:15:00 PM »
Here's a bear tale....
 Sitting at a bait in September on my land, I hear, then see a bear approaching. From it's gait I recognize the 3 legged sow we had come to know over about 8 years of hunts. She moved around my tree and started down a steep rocky step. She stopped momentarily and checked her back trail. She moved downhill and I could see her turn into a thick patch of raspberry bushes. She wasn't eating.. seemed to be waiting for something.
  I then heard something else coming along her approach path. It was a big Coyote. It was moving along with it's nose to the ground, pausing occasionally to look ahead. It was clear now that the bear knew she was being tracked. Maybe her limp had encouraged the dog to investigate a possible easy/easier meal. The coyote continued to follow, the bear waited...
  I watched in fascination as the sow, with a 'woof', bolted in ambush from the brush nearly catching the yote. She chased  him out of earshot! Never seen a 3 legged bear move so fast! Probably the most incredible thing I ever witnessed in the wild.
Unadulterated truth is not pablum.

A simplification of means and an elevation of ends is the goal. Antoine de St.-Exupery

Offline Mamba

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #33 on: February 07, 2014, 04:57:00 PM »
Great stories Terry.  That's publishing material!
peter Osimanti

Offline LoneWolf73

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #34 on: February 07, 2014, 05:06:00 PM »
2 years ago.....................

I got 37 stitches and 9 staples from a bobcat attack yesterday. I was coyote hunting about an hour before dark. I was sitting against a tree fully camoflaged using a distressed rabbit call when I heard something walking behind me. I thought it was a coyote so I just got real still. Well I guess he thought I was a rabbit, too. I couldn't see around the tree and neither could he. I made a little squeak and the next thing I knew I felt his claws tear into my shoulder and forearm. I guess he thought he had an easy meal. When he realized what I was he tried to run off. I shot him in the hind-end at about 35 yards. That must have pissed him off because he charged me again. When he got to me, he clamped down on my leg. I couldn't shake him loose and he was too close to shoot. He just kept shaking his head and pulling and pulling on my leg...just like I'm doing yours right now. LOL

A little humor between "GREAT" stories......
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways-BOW in one hand-ARROWS in the other-Body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming-WOO HOO! WHAT A RIDE!

Offline Dick Langer

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #35 on: February 07, 2014, 05:08:00 PM »
I have many memorable hunts which boils down to all of them. No I'm not going to tell you all of them,but this one comes to mind . It took place about 40 years ago, I took my oldest son with me on a back yard bow hunt for deer Bill was about 3 maybe 4 yrs old,we climed a tree I wasn't using tree stands yet. After sitting for a short while a red fox came by, my son did not move until the fox had moved on but the best was yet to come. Shortly there after a small doe ( what we would call a skipper) presented me with a broad side shot at about ten yards I let her pass,all the while Bill remained motionless. When she was long gone Bill turned to me and asked me why I didn't shoot it? I said that it was too small ,he looked at me with bulging eyes and said,NO DADDY IT WAS BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Sean B

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #36 on: February 07, 2014, 05:22:00 PM »
These are great!!!  I'm still catching up!!  

Hey Dick, looks like that was the start of something!!  They're ALL big when your that small!!!!  Good Stuff!!!
Sean
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Offline centaur

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #37 on: February 08, 2014, 08:14:00 AM »
This got me to thinking about the time I was bowfishing in some backwaters of Pathfinder Reservoir in Wyoming. I was about thigh deep when who swims up but a prairie rattler. I don't think he was 'charging', but he was swimming right for me, to the point that I kept backing up. Maybe he thought I was an island, I don't know, but anyhow, after I had pushed him off with the tip of my bow a time or two, I figured enough was enough, and took him out with my fish arrow. I'm just glad it was one buzzworm, not a whole herd.
If you don't like cops, next time you need help, call Al Sharpton

Offline Larrydawg

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #38 on: February 08, 2014, 02:06:00 PM »
I lived on Kaw lake in Northern Oklahoma, was up one chilly morning turkey hunting, I roosted a long beard with 11 in beard the night before, I backed into cedar tree that I had trimmed the year before, my osage self bow takes lots of room!, the sun was just coming up and I had heard the Turkeys starting to leave the roost while this lil black capped chickadee was investigating me, he would just hop from branch to branch and look at me finally landing on my cedar arrow!!! he would turn and look at me with one eye, then the other, then bounce down arrow dink!dink! dink! then go through the whole ritual again one eye then the other!! I got so caught up in watching him that I didn't see the Ol Longbeard doing the same thing from 7 yds!!
I try and turn and shoot at Tom and of course he busted me, he had 15 hens and jakes with him and they exploded Like a covey of Quail!! heart pounding experience for me.
LarryDawg
Bear Kodiak Magnum 50th anniversary 50#@28in.
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several osage Bows, and every recurve bow ive owned since I started archery at age 6 (45 yrs)

Offline Cyclic-Rivers

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Re: Unforgettable Moments.....If you have one....share it with us
« Reply #39 on: February 08, 2014, 02:37:00 PM »
Many years ago I invited a buddy to hunt the Family farm.  I had met Casey in College.   A tall lanky young man who was quite shy and the nicest guy one could ever meet.

Casey Grew up working his fathers dairy farm and never hunted.  I think we were about 22 or so at the time,  he took his hunter safety course and this was his first hunt.

Casey was terrible with directions so the first morning I invited him to hunt in a ground blind with me instead of him getting lost trying to find a stand.

It was pitch black and all the stars seemed to be as bright as they could be.  I mentioned to him I would like to fill my fall bird tag so if one came in, he should let me know, I would let him shoot at deer if they came in.

Just as it was getting just light a GIANT great horned owl landed a mere feet from us on a low branch.

In Casey's excitement he yelled, "CHARLIEEEE A TURKEYYY SHOOOOT ITT!!" He was so loud, everything in a mile could have heard us.

I laughed and told him it was an owl.  It gave out a few soul felt hoots and flew off.  We agreed it was an awesome encounter.

Later that morning we put a shot gun in his hands and he killed his first critter.  A beautiful Fox squirrel.

It was definitely one of many memorable tales!
Relax,

You'll live longer!

Charlie Janssen

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Wisconsin Traditional Archers


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