I love to chase birds with a Trad bow in hand and got to go out for 3 days to do just that. Over the three days I called in around 20 Tom's and it was never a problem to get them to come in. It was just a big problem of getting a shot at one. I was hunting in my ghillie and it worked great at one point I had birds no more than 3 steps away and that happened several times. The problem was the Tom's would hang up or just circle me for hours and they would not come into the decoys. Even though there were birds everywhere shots were hard to get but it was always constant action. The more I hunt in the ghillie the more I like it after a while of use and figuring it out it has become a great tool. While hunting the last 3 days I had several encounters with Aoudad , whitetail , turkey , and sika deer and they just don't see you with that thing on. I was hunting on my friends ranch just outside of Kerrville Tx. ( not high fence all free range ). During my trip I missed a nice Tom and a hog and was wishing that the 3rd shot was going to be the charm.
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/18AE5001-3E62-4BB4-BDD4-4ACFF3249658_zpsouc2nuw9.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/18AE5001-3E62-4BB4-BDD4-4ACFF3249658_zpsouc2nuw9.jpg.html)
My first shot was at a big ol gobbler he was just on the other side of a three wire old fence and yes I hit the wire. We later found my arrow over 100yds from where I made the shot , I was sure I was going to clear the wire but I was bad wrong. Then one day at 11:30am I took the ghillie off and was headed for some lunch and up on the side of a big Hill out in the bright 80 degree sunshine was about 20 hogs so I put a stalk on em and and closed from a half mile down to 25yds and processed to shoot right under one. So I have missed twice in two days but I always play it out to the very very end. Like I said the birds were plentiful but are playing hard to get and I would do this and they would do that....
It's now the last few hours of the hunt and I have a nice gobbler circling me I would call soft every now and then and he would blow up. He wanted that hen heading his way and was just making big circles. After the second identical circling pass and as he dropped into a draw I hiked up my ghillie dress and went as fast as I could to the Hill top he always went back to. I bet my 200yd dash in that ghillie looked odd , could have been a Bigfoot sighting if anyone would have seen it. I make it up the hill and get against a big cedar tree and hit the call real soft and he busts out of that bottom and is running up the hill right for me. Surely I did not make the right move , but oh yes I did he came right up the hill and went into full strut at about 18yds. I was in shock but when he turned directly away he made for a nice target. I drew back and locked on the on the 12 ring ( I think everyone knows what a 12 ring is on a full strut Tom that is facing dead away ) anyway the big TreeShark hit about a half inch to the right of it and dumped him face down. He gained his feet and bailed off the hill , I could hear his wings beating the ground for a few seconds then all was quite.
Awesome ! Congrats on fooling that bird Sam
CHuckC
He only made it about 75yds down the hill an I found him stone dead in some cedars. I was shooting my Bear GreenStripe , it never gets old chasing Turkey's with a bow. I just made a trade here on Tradgang today for a new to me longbow so I hope to have a longbow turkey story for y'all in the near future
Where I found him...
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/01E37EA3-F18D-457D-8E8F-8C2DDC45CAD1_zpsxllujrek.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/01E37EA3-F18D-457D-8E8F-8C2DDC45CAD1_zpsxllujrek.jpg.html)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/202743F0-8D2C-46A8-8747-2B4DD81D335E_zpsmoftmso9.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/202743F0-8D2C-46A8-8747-2B4DD81D335E_zpsmoftmso9.jpg.html)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/33B45268-7F0B-46CA-A5FA-CBF2E3817E8D_zpskqlyga6d.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/33B45268-7F0B-46CA-A5FA-CBF2E3817E8D_zpskqlyga6d.jpg.html)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/21F397B5-43AC-484D-8A5B-F8C287B0F033_zps5ivfq6a8.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/21F397B5-43AC-484D-8A5B-F8C287B0F033_zps5ivfq6a8.jpg.html)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/EB253B0F-6525-48DB-A4A7-DA68369D4C60_zpsj8qd8hns.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/EB253B0F-6525-48DB-A4A7-DA68369D4C60_zpsj8qd8hns.jpg.html)
That's awesome!!!! Congratulations :thumbsup:
Congrats!!!!!!!!
Nice going Sam! Makes me all the more ready to get after them!
:archer:
Great bird! Congrats! I can't wait to be after some birds myself.
Congratulations! Nice bird.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Great story, good for you, awesome pics!! Congrats!!
Excellent, great job sticking with it. Truly addictive stuff. :clapper:
Right on Sam. Thanks for sharing the story with us!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
Sounds like a blast!!!!
Awesome story, great job!
Congrats!
Bisch
Congrats Sam nice bird!!
:bigsmyl: :clapper: :clapper:
Good job, man! You are a killer.
Great job Sam !!
I'm currently building a ghillie and hope to have some of the same experiences :thumbsup:
Good Stuff Sam. Congrats!!!!
Well done,... Nice bird.... :thumbsup:
Nice work Sam! Awesome... :clapper:
Great story, Sam! Way to keep after it.
Darren
Thank you for taking us along on a fun hunt
Nice bird bro! :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :archer:
You are the man Sam!
Congrats! Nice looking pictures, and good luck with your next one! :thumbsup:
Bernie
Awesome stuff Brother!
Don't get much better than that. Congrats.
Beautiful bird and pictures, well done!
-Jay
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Awesome hunting story to read, but it is even better to hear it in person. :bigsmyl:
Congratulations on the bird my friend and that green stripe is a workhorse of a bow.
BTW - My bride says it's OK to talk because you really had something to say!
Danny
Nice Bird Sam.
Great looking bird - love hearing and seeing your hunting adventures!
Love that grin, Sam. Congrats!
Very nice. I always want to use a ghillie, but can never get all the stuff out of the way for a clean shot. I know you can trim them, but pretty soon you don't have a ghillie. :-)
My hat is off to you. Congrats.
Ahh, the Ol' Texas Heart Shot! :eek:
Way to stick it to him, Sam... Congrats on another great hunt!
Dave if you need to, cut the whole arm off. The ghillie doesn't make you invisible, it makes you not look like a man... or much of anything really.
You are there,but no big deal.
ChuckC
Thanks Chuck. Seriously.
But it made me laugh too ala "it makes you not look like a man or much of anything". All those year of working out and this is what I strive for now...Friday humor I guess.
Nice! :thumbsup: