Tomorrows the Indiana <-turkey--<<- opener and I am more excited this year than I have been in a long time! I have spent most of the day repacking the vest and flinging arrows and Can't wait for day light tomorrow! Hopefully I will have a good story for you all soon!
Good luck to all of you that will be hunting the opener tomorrow!
have to wait 5 more days for the ontario opener.
but good luck
good luck man!!!!!!!! enjoy the time in the field!
Adeeden, I'm ready for the morning also. My son Coltin killed a bird on opening day of the youth season. Though I've killed many of turkey's , I've never hunted turkey's with a bow. Hanging around Trad.gang has me ready to give it a try. Vooddoo stick, tipped with 200 grains up front, laminated birch arrows, I purchased from Maxwell are in the truck waiting for the morning.
Al
I too will be heading out in the morning for our states opener. I will be using my 56" Shrew Classic Hunter 55@29" shooting snuffers on the end of AD Hammerheads.
Just finished up my last minute preps.
taking my new Striker Slapstik 56" 50# @ 28 610 grain arra with a few bullheads and a few tuskers up front.
Plan on sitting all day til I whack one.
Good luck gang and hope to see some pics and have some myself.
Al Natural, you and I are in the same club my friend. I was real tempted to take the smoke pole but I got the bow tuned in good so Gladly I talked myelf out of the smoke pole.
Kris
Good Luck to everyone & be safe...I won't be able to get out until Friday so save one for me!
It can be a jake- I'm not picky
I'm going to be out on the 26th, 27th, and 28th. If you're out on those days, send one my way!
Well, I got skunked this morning!
I had three toms,a pair of jakes and seven hens fly down about 100 yards from me this morning. As soon as they hit the ground they stopped gobbling and went into strut mode for 30 minutes or so. They seemed content to stay with the hens they all ready had and worked there way across the bottoms behind me and crossed the river which is pretty normal for this area.
I will be back in the morning with a slight adjustment to my set up to try them again!
We worked 2 toms this morning into about 40 yards but couldn't get them any closer. We will give them another try tomorrow.
Had four in at 35 yards or so and no go.
Went back out in the middle of the day and guess what.
GOT MY FIRST TRAD BIRD !!!
it was awsome for sure. story to come in different post. Got to get pics in computer.
Ok, I'll post the first picture to this thread. Went out this evening after work. Spent a couple hours in the blind and this jake and his buddy came slinking past. Never one to look a gift horse (or in this case, a gift land buzzard) in the mouth - and I'm not much into trophy turkey hunting anyhow ;) - I let him have it. Shot him through the top of the drumsticks at 7 yards, then when I went over to get him he started wallowing around so I finished him with an arrow through the head at 20 feet. 58 lb MAII, 2216 and big Snuffer. 2010 turkey season over in 2 hours.
Good luck guys - I left the big ones for you!
Ryan
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/2010INturkey.jpg)
Congrats Ryan!
Way to go Ryan! Going over to Booneville area next week to see if those Indiana birds can give me a break...the Kentucky and Illinois birds are whoopin' my butt :help:
I made it out opening morning. when I got to the area I had planned to set up I had left my blind material back at the truck. One of those half blinds about three feet tall that stick in the ground. Oh well! So I set the jake and hen decoys out in the field and sit my swivel stool up against the tree. At daylight a bird begins to gobble on roost about 125 yards to my west. With a little light tree yelps I have him fired up. He flies down and begins to work my way. I can hear him strutting but I couldn't see him. After about 15 min. of this stand still I hear a second bird gobble Northeast of my set up. As I continue to work the first bird I hear movement in the leaves behind me. Slowly I look over my shoulder and there are two jakes about ten yards away heading to the decoys. The two jakes work straight to the decoys out in the field south of me. Now comes the problem, I'm still set up to shoot at the bird to the west. So the bird from the west now decides it time to come in and he begins to commit. The birds out in the field are now directly south of me about six yards away. I decide if the two jakes give me a chance I'll try and get drawn on one of them. The two jakes in half strut turn and face away from me. Now is my chance I swivel on my seat and begin to get in position to draw on one of the two jakes. The first bird sees my movement and lets out a putt. The two jakes now alerted come out of half strut and begin walking directly away from me. I draw and let loose the wood shaft at the jake on the left. The arrow looks good in flight headed toward the jake, straight over his back into the field. I have to admit I got excited and in to big of a hurry. should have let all three birds come. Hurried the shot, shot at the bird not at the spot. Oh well, a first for me. Turkey hunt traditional style. Better luck next time.
Good luck everyone.
Al
Sounds like a good morning Al.
Well, I was close this morning but no cigar!
I set up my blind this morning along the edge of a field thats tight along a strutting area. This was my first erperience hunting turkeys from a commercial blind, and I learned a few things!
I had a Tom and a hen fly down and land only forty yards from my set up. They only stuck around for a minute or two before heading off into the horse weed patch that covers about half the field. The Tom did come back around 9:30 or so but stayed out at about 60 yards, he seemed a little nervous and I think it may have been the blind. It was set up in the field maybe 10 feet from the edge of the woods and I just had a lone hen decoy out.
Not alot of Gobbling today as it was raining I only heard one bird gobbling from the roost about 150 yards north of me. The Tom that flew down by me never gobbled a single time.
I moved the blind about 5 yards into the woods and will be trying the same set up tomorrow morning.
Her'es what I learned from my first day hunting in a commercial blind.
#1 They sure make rainy days much more enjoyable!
#2 A good seat (lawn chair) is much more comfortable than the little pad on the ground I normaly use!
#3 The blind muffles some sound (I had a rough time hearing the only bird that was gobbling).
#4 I only had one window down with the shoot through mesh in place and a second cracked about 3 inches. It was hard to see as much ground as I am used to but not terrible over all.
#5 maybe it was just me but it seemed alot warmer inside the blind then it was outside. This could have been from being dry inside and raining outside but it didn't take me long to get out off my jackett once I was situated.
The Blinds are nice for bowhunting but I will have to agree with you on every thing you pointed out.
I like to see all around me and that's really the only fall back about blinds I find, have to depend on hearing what's going on around me.
I always nestle mine into a whole in the brush.
Hope you get him tomarrow.
For turkeys the mesh is an option I can do without. They don't seem to mind the black hole effect and with only one port open they more than likely won't see you moving, especially if you have black on. Good luck everyone and nice bird Ryan!
Congrats Ryan.
2010, Indiana spring turkey season is over for me. After a miss at twelve yards on opening morning I arrowed a jake at nine yards last night.
I worked two really nice birds yesterday morning but couldn't get them any closer than 35 yards. Made a slight change in my set up and went back out around 4:30 pm. At 6:00 pm I called in four jakes. I first saw the birds at a distance of around 100 yards. The birds were feeding my way when a coyote showed up. The jakes began to putt and get nervous but never took off. They continued to work my way with a little coaxing on my part.
The coyote continued to follow the jakes staying about 10 to 20 yards behind them. The jakes knew he was there but really didn't seem to bother them much.
When the jakes got around 40 yards away they finally saw the decoys and came running. I made a good shot and the jake only went 35 yards before going down.
The funny thing was the coyote was only 10 or twelve yards away and the jake I shot ran straight for him after the shot. The coyote must have thought the turkey was after him because he got the heck out of there.
A big thanks to all on Trad.gang. I never have tried to take a turkey with a bow. After hanging around all of you here I decided this was the year to give it a try.
A Voodoo Stik I bought from Kenneth off of the classifieds and laminated birch arrows purchased from Maxwell were the ticket.
Good luck to all. I'm off to the Black Hills of South Dakota turkey hunting this week.
Al