Well after reading all these Turkey posts, May is finally upon us with Turkey Season in New England :pray: I have been practicing with my calls, ghillie suit, and Martha Stewart Bow!
For those of you that missed the PBS Banquet and more specifically Joey Buchanan's Turkey Seminar, It was quite a show. Extremely entertaining but also some of the best ideas for traditional bowhunting I've ever seen. The Martha Stewart Bow has an artificial wreath on the bow to hide hand and head movement. So Martha & I will be chasing some birds in May :goldtooth:
Pronghorn longbow (soon to be painted) 56" 51#@28. I went for the green ivy but you could add flowers! You just shoot right thru the middle of the wreath...Doc
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/MarthaStewartTurkeyBow.jpg)
You could use Mistletoe and it would be called the kiss of death lol.
Or you can wear the wreath on your head to complete the Ghillie suit. LOL
That is either the funniest thing I have seen in a long time, or the best idea. Actually hard to say at the moment. All I can say is I want pictures of the complete outfit. We will also expect a performance report.
BTW- Does Mr. Meland know what you are doing to this bow?
Brent, That's why I got to paint it so Herb doesn't see this :eek: Just remember, Newton got the same laughs from the apples hitting him on the head!
OK joebuck, You better hop in here as I need some help with these skeptics...Doc
(http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z117/katswal/Wreath.jpg)
You forgot the front door, but I admire the tree trunk ghillie suit you have.
TonyW,
Actually, I'm not sure that the use of a peep sight is all that traditional.
Brent, This could be some very good camo for one of your Sheepeaters. I'd be willing to do some testing and research for ya' @ No Charge :bigsmyl: Doc
I'll let you try it on mine next month Doc. lol
That's cool Jeff...
neat
How did you attach it to the bow Jeff?
I'll be waiting for the field test!
SaWEEETTT Doc. I like the concept :thumbsup: :notworthy:
As funny as that is I bet it will work like a charm. Back when I shot a compound I rigged up something like that using two sections of arrow and some leafy netting. It looked goofy but it sure made sense.
Whip, How else would I attach it...Vet Wrap! It's a stick to itself tape that leaves no residue on the bow. It comes in colors...lime green is the closest I could get to Martha's wreath :D
Actually it's not Martha's wreath. I just went to a craft store and bought a chain of silk leaves and 12" wire wreath frame for under $8. Just wired it onto the frame.
Think how happy your wife will be when she shows off her new table center piece at your next dinner party...of course it will be roasted Wild Turkey :bigsmyl: Doc
Next you'll be on Martha's TV show. :D
Tippet, a little brown paint here, black paint there, beige speckle here.....It's there!.....I know your tempted to add a small brown wren in a nest but.......
:biglaugh: ..you guys are cracking me up. Will be waitng for the results.
Joey, You're holding out on me...where the heck do you get the little brown wren. I got a bunch of parakeets at the clinic but I think they are too bright...Doc
Michaels and Hobby Lobby have those little fake birds, doc...they look real! This time of year though, if you sit still long enough, you will probably get a nuthatch or a carolina wren to start building a nest in that thing!!!
OK Skeptics...Bow painted
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/MarthaStewartTurkeyBow001.jpg)
Sitting on rock...remember snow hasn't been gone that long and greenery is just coming in!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/MarthaStewartTurkeyBow007.jpg)
Now this is the cool picture...the wreath completely hides your motion in pulling the bow back :goldtooth: Doc
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/MarthaStewartTurkeyBow009.jpg)
How well does it shoot through Doc?
The arrow goes right thru the middle of the wreath. It shoots great. I had to do some trimming but good to 20 Yards. It's also good for your form..cause you don't completely see the arrow hit and if you peek everything falls apart! So you must keep your follow through...although I do that anyway :rolleyes: Doc
m```
:saywhat: Long winter,huh Doc?Would that be considered Ivy League or Bush League? :confused: I suppose you could modify it to match geographics & species,ie:replace ivy & wren with mesquite & grasshoppers for Texas Rio's & such? ;) keep us posted,ya might be on to sump'n.
Hmmm.... Looking forward to seeing how this'n turns out :rolleyes: ;)
You know... If you're not scared of taking a load of #4's in the face, you could always lose the wreath, and mount a turkey fan on your bow. It'd even be about the same color as a "whisker-biskit"!
:scared: :scared:
I'm joking... kinda... :biglaugh:
Cool!I've got some birds you can try it out on if you'd like.
Curtis Haden, That's a pretty serious answer. so a serious reply...
The whole purpose of the extra bow cover is to try and be able to conceal your movement when drawing on a turkey. Joey Buchanan's turkey Seminar was real special in that it was Very Entertaining...but more informative in ways to hunt turkeys with traditional bows.
The other cool thing he came up with was to actually hide behind several tree...not sitting in front of them and never put your decoys in front of you. This is mainly so the turkey walks past you and you can draw on him when his head is behind a tree...like you would do with a deer. The unforeseen beauty of that set up is if you are calling in a gun hunter and they blast at your decoys...you are Not behind them.
I've had fun with this post and really appreciate the thought and effort joebuck taught everyone at his talk.
Short answer is:
I am trying to hide my movement and be safe...Doc
Should I dig a pit blind and sandbag it for your visit Doc? lol
We can pick up some surplus helmets and leaf them up!
Actually, Doc, I was not serious... Hence the emoticons and last line.
When I posted, I was thinking (albeit to myself) about a friend of mine who actually bought an artificial, fold-up turkey fan. It's made for decoying and sneaking on turkeys, kind of like the 2-D antelope "shields" that are getting popular out west.
I told my friend that it had been nice knowing him, and wished him luck.
I hope you have a safe and successful season.
Curtis
Curtis, I wasn't sure. But you certainly brought up a serious situation calling in a gun hunter. It's one we all need to think about. I do thank you for bringing it up though...Doc
Looks interesting. Maybe you could add a couple hangy-down trailers?????
On your safety theory about putting the decoys behind you though there is one major flaw. That is, you don't know which direction the theoretical hunter will be coming from. Just as easy to have him come from behind, see the decoys and take a shot and you have your back to him and don't even have a chance to see him to give warning. Now, if you have your back to a tree, that's a best case scenario of a bad situation but to me bowhunting and sitting against a tree don't go together very well.
Dave, I may have described Joey's set up wrong in that the decoys wouldn't be behind me as more off to the side hoping to have the turkey walk by. The set up is more in a group of trees with some cover trees infront. Not sure if I'm describing it right again..Doc
Jeff,
Seeing the two pics with you in it I have no doubt that will work here in New England.......I'm convinced you could sit right out in the open with that set up and kill a bird......
David
Good luck Jeff...no doubts it should hide the movement. The only thing that catches my eye is how well the circle stands out.
Below is a diagram out of my book. This situation is for the hunter who likes to walk and call and not use a tent blind. This may shock some of you here on this forum but there is 10 fold more strategy to bowhunting turkeys than popping up a tent blind in a green field and drinking coffee :) Strategy here is for a right handed bowhunter when locating a gobbler, Not to just place the decoy in front of him and sit down in front of a tree .If so he will be in line of sight of gobbler as he approaches straight. But instead place decoy off to your right as shown and have at least 1-2-3 good "draw trees" the gobbler may walk behind in route to his foam girlfriend. Bowhunter should position himself at 3'o'clock position ( in relation to approaching gobbler/tree) of the tree thus giving him almost 270 degrees of shooting from left side. Good luck Doc! thanks for the kind words. Look forward to your kill picture.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c114/swamprooter/Gobblersetup.jpg)
Chris H..in addressing your question about safety. Could you elaborate how this bowhunter above could get a load 4's in his face?
Joey, Are you holding out on me again...you actually have a book out? I got a visa...were do I get it! Doc
jeff...can't wait to get out there on thursday!...(first day I can get out) I went a different route and bought a spur-blind. a screen or panel of camo cloth that has a post at each end and one in the middle. hoping that I can find a bird. set out the dekes, set up the bind with some cover to a side, duck behind it wait....maybe I could incorporate both techniques though (without the martha wreath for now :) )....food for thought.
I did practiced drawing behind the screen and raising up for the shot and seemed to work well..will see if it work on the (the other) turkeys in the woods :)
Great thread so far Doc, looking forward to seeing the end results.
Joey, I'm with Tippit...where's the book?
Joey,
I was wondering why I was not getting that information you "promised" me before PBS...I'll buy the book! I need it BAD; there is going to be a slightly used Matrix going up for sale soon.
"book"?.... figuratively not literally! :) I pulled this note page slide off a powerpoint for PBS.
Steve O. ...this powerpoint is so big i can't email it...Plus you know all this old stuff.
If he doesn't go behind your draw tree or sneaks in,let him strut till he spins with his fan covering his vision,then you can do just bout anything you want. Its hard to wait,but it works. Good luck Doc!!
Biggest dang Whisker Biscut I ever did see!...
QuotePlus you know all this old stuff
I know 2 things...
1. I am smart enough to learn from those who know a WHOLE LOT more than me.
2. The older I get, the smarter my parents are!
I sent you a pm :pray:
Doc,
Just get yourself some lexan and mount wreath on lexan and then mount it. Cut out hole big enough for arra/fletch and you have a bullet proof Martha special. :goldtooth:
A truly innovative idea...........anything you can do to blend in will help with all animals.
Should work for stalking as well.
Doc, I hope you got a patent on this, I bet Will Primos has got the patent form's on his desk this morning.
Tippit shot the Martha bow here today getting tuned up for our morning turkey hunt. He was stacking arrows real well. Sitting on the ground at 14 yards he kept most everything in a 6" circles. The system works so far.
Go gettum Doc!
Vermonster 13...remind Doc to put the Brown Nuthatch in 3'o'clock position. They are coming through Vermont now...another tip Doc..outline yourself with the tree such as i have in the below pic..remember don't lean against the tree!..It will obstruct your draw.....go get'em Doc..your my best student!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c114/swamprooter/Bowblind.jpg)
Hmmm, if memory serves, a commercially made "mini-blind" was made that you attached via the riser insert. It wasn't as nice as Doc's though.
beyondmyken....your memory is thinking about the BowSniper ( mid 90's). It was a square umbrella style blind that screwed into the stabilizer hole. Also there is another out that is round like an umbrella. i can't think of it's name. Another new type is the one below next to my wreath blind. It's called Hinden draw..I use it some also with my wreath...
For my wreath blind I simply wrap Walmart vines around my takedown knobs.. Get the vines with wire...if you are crazy and like to screw with your hunting partners..add a bird!! This is the slide from my PBS presentation that pumped up Tippet!!!!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c114/swamprooter/Bowblind-1.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by Iron Bull:
SaWEEETTT Doc. I like the concept :thumbsup: :notworthy:
Classic!!!!!!!!! :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
Doc, how did it go? I am real interested in this no blind turkey hunting!
Joey,
Is that decoy behind you and over your left shoulder?
Martha didn't make any turkey sandwiches on Friday! She & I didn't see any birds so not a true test ;)
That picture was Joey! This is me in Vermont yesterday. I had a hen and jake out but no takers! Doc
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/VermontTurkeyHunt.jpg)
Vermonster can attest to how well I was shooting thru Martha's wreath. It actually makes you focus more by blotting out peripheral vision...Doc
I can and did above. It shoots much better than one would expect.