Our Kentucky spring turkey opener brought temps in the 40s with 30 mph wind gusts this morning, nonetheless the birds were out and about . After watching multiple gobblers from my blind I managed to nail this 2 year old strutter through the base of the neck collapsing him on the spot. This is the first critter I've taken with the very special Tall Tines recurve Brian Wessel of Iowa recently made for me, the one with the antler carving inlay made from my Dad's last archery buck. The bow has a Brazilian Rosewood riser, Eastern Cedar limb veneers, and Myrtle accents. Looks like I'm "guiding" my 16 year old in the morning.
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Congratulations and nice pics.
Very nice ;)
Congrats Gary, that's a very special trophy!
very nice!
Congrats on a very special bird :clapper:
Congrats Beautiful Bird and Bow.
Congratulations!
Those photos are exceptional too. Lin
OUTSTANDING!!
Love the photos too.
Outstanding, that is one beautiful bow. Have to wait two more weeks in NY it's waring me out ... john
Awesome gobbler Gary... I'll bet your pops is smiling down on you too. :archer:
Congrats!!
Wow Gary, congrats, awesome bird, beutiful bow and "Great Pictures" thanks for sharing !!!
just fantastic
the pics of the bird and bow are a trophy on there own right
Gary, I knew this would happen :) Too much mojo, too good a hunter for it not ;) WAY TO GO fellow Murray grad!!!
I sit here in a blind in Christian Co KY with my 8 year old son with a HUGE grin on my face hoping that I can leave him such a momento someday. Just beautiful pal.
Great pictures and a nice way to start a LONG list of critters taken with a special bow.
Nice bird, nice bow, nice pics. Congrats :clapper:
Congrats on the bird and bow!
Awesome all around!
Todd
awsome congrats! how far shot did yoou have? was you in a blind?
Way to go! :thumbsup: Great pics!
Eric
Fantastic Pics,and great looking Bird,Way to go !
Yes, I was in one of my old (nearly worn out) Double Bull blinds this morning, which I really appreciated - kept me dry and out of the horrible wind! The short was pretty close, about 8 yards. For anyone interested I used a Terminator 250 head.
Mike, you're in the right KY county to see plenty of game! Sometimes I use US 68 when I drive home from LBL and always marvel at the quality habitat in Christian County.
Awesome..!!
Everytime I see that bow I believe it gets better looking..! I know how much it means to you , congrats again.
Pat
That is just a great story all the way around...memories from yesteryear and new ones for the future.
That wind does hold that fan up nicely!
Congrats...thanks for taking the time to share.
Very Nice - pics look like they should be in an advertisement :)
Outstanding!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Great photography,afine birdand bow.Much congrats!
Nice bird, awesome pictures!
Congratulations Gary on a fantastic looking turkey! My wife and I both agreed that you need to get the picture of you and the turkey enlarged for the wall! Fantastic photos! That is one nice looking Tall Tines bow. Having the arrowhead antler mounted on the bow is truly a tribute to your Dad. Amazing gesture!
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Those pics are excellent! Beautiful bird, awesome bow. Congrats Gary!
Gary,
Not much more can be said. Great bird, perfect pictures, and a very special bow :thumbsup:
Great bird and an awesome looking bow. Congrats
Beeyouteeful photos!Congrats on the bird and nice bow too. :thumbsup:
I love killin things with special bows! Good job!
Mike
Definitely a thousand words or more in those pictures. Here's two: Excellent.........congratulations!
Bravo! :thumbsup:
Awsome pics, congrats :thumbsup:
Nice bird, congrats Gary!
That's a nice gobbler and a beautiful bow!
That's great Gary, always nice to break a bow in with special meaning behind it.
Ewe shore no how to take a pitcher Gary! That splayed-out fan and wing; the white buttons of your arm guard centered perfectly in the photo (even though it's on the wrong arm); the splash of yellow fletch for color on the basic spring green theme; good composition, eye flow and balance; and even a smile on that handsome puss! Good job buddy. Congrats. UB p.s. Nice Butterball too.
Nice turky and bow.
Thanks,love pics of happy bowhunters
Congrats on the turk!! Outstanding bow!!! Joe
Great Bird!! You did an awesome job on the photos too--Nice setup
Wow, great bird and pictures, Congratulations!
-Jay
Beautiful bird and a special bow! Thanks for the sharing it with us.
Way to got
Fantastic!!!
Sorry hit the wrong key, way to go Gary AWESOME picture.
Just fantastic!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Awesome bird. I really love my bow that Brian made. It just that "it" factor.
Great follow up thread to your one on the bow. Way to go!
Thanks for the nice critique Uncle Barry . . . as far the bow is concerned, all I can say is that it shoots better (for me) than any bow I own, and I'm fortunate to have a several good ones made by friends who are excellent bowyers. Maybe it's the "Mojo" factor of the Tall Tines:^)
Beautiful Gary! Congratulations...I'm hoping my Tall Tines has some good mojo this Fall.
congratulations sir! :thumbsup:
I went back out this morning under much better weather condtions and came home skunked. Not a bird to be seen. Go figure.
Congrats on a very special hunt.
Great hunt and striking pictures!!!
At first I thought it was a tad unusual, taking pictures of a birds butt.......Grin
Fantastic !!!
Just got home from two days of "Skunked". My blind looked more like a kite for two days. Ground was so wet the winds pulled the stakes up numerous times. Great to see you had a good morning Gary. Fantastic bird.
Gary,
You memorialize some fantastic hunting adventures! The next time I have something to tag I'm going to take my time and think about the photos! In 40+ years of bowhunting I don't have a single picture as inspirational as the ones you've shared here!
Thanks!
I've had the same problem with shifting blind stakes Tom, which prompted a move today into a cluster of trees . . . needed something solid to lash it too!
Thanks Roy. Good images do take time and effort. They can even help the overall experience when the size of the trophies aren't that impressive:^) For example, some of my critters lack the "maturity" of the ones put on the ground by my buddies Gene and Barry, BUT my pictures are "purtier". Right UB? HA!
Outstanding event!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Awesome ! And great pictures too !
Congrats! Great pic of you and the bird, very well done. :thumbsup:
Beautiful bird, beautiful bow, beautiful pictures! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Gary,Congrates on the beautiful gobbler! :thumbsup:
Way to go Gary. :clapper:
Great looking bow,and very nice turkey!Congrads! :thumbsup:
Strong huntin, sir.
Just have fun Gary. You are doing good with the bow and the lens.
Very nice, both the bird and the photos.
Nice jog Gary! Great pictures as always, thanks!
Glad I scored on opening day . . . haven't seen another longbeard in 2 days. Zero gobbling this morning and no hen sightings.
Great pics :clapper:
Congrats! Great pics as well.
Congrats Gary,Beautiful Gobbler,Nice story,getting me psyched for May 1st,THANKS.
WOW! Nice bird and beautiful bow and great pics Gary! Congrats! :thumbsup:
VERY COOL!!! Bow and Bird.
Way to go Gary, go get em! I got some talking to me, but they are still henned up. I will get them in a few days, I hope!
Here's different photo of my KY opening day longbeard. Same stump with a more "traditional" arrangement of hunter and bird. I was aiming at the point where his beard protrudes and hit directly above it . . . got lucky and he went down quick.
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Want to avoid taking photos where your turkey looks like it was hit by a train?? Carry paper towels (or better yet an old cotton cloth)in your pack along with a bottle of water. I remove all of the blood possible and "FLUFF" the wet feathers back to life. You can see paper hanging out of my back pocket. Ooops. Then, carefully reposition the "rows" of feathers by nudging them back and forth until everything's back to normal. Cover up that bloody gash! You want him to look like he just "fainted":^) Avoid posing in the sun unless you took the bird at first light and the sun is low in the sky. If it's later in the day take the turkey into an area void of sun splash and/or spotty shadows. You want an EVEN light. It may surprise you, but your photos will show off much more detail and color if it's taken without direct sunlight, which tends to wash areas out and give your camera's light meter fits. Carry a tripod and learn how to use it since photos will often require slow shuttre speeds. There's a lot to doing this right but all it takes is practice. Considering the ease of using pocket digitals and the huge number of shots available per disk, well, there's no excuse for not shooting a lot of trial and error photos.
Gary you need a big ole hard to kill LBL bird for the next picture. Randy....
Congrats! A beautiful bird and the bow is even more stunning!
HA! Randy, I know what you mean about those public land birds. I cut my teeth on LBL turkeys the early years after they were introduced and seasons finally set. I rememeber driving the Trace from Golden Pond to Grand Rivers and seeing lots of birds, and deer for that matter. Unfortunately times have changed. Hunting in general and game sightings aren't like they were when I was a student at Murray State:^(((
Gary LBL is where I cut my teeth on turkeys too! Killed my first turkey there in 1981. also was at Murray State in 1977 and 78. In 1980 ran into a young Harold Knight on the same ridge at LBL told him to go ahead. He did and killed a nice bird this was on the TN side. Randy...
Way to go Gary :thumbsup:
congrats, Like the pic with the fan and the legs holding the bow
Yeah Randy, old Harold and David Hale were good-ole Trigg County boys. If memory serves Harold was a local barber who use to cut David's hair, at least that's what my friend Brenda Valentine told me. Brenda ran a beauty salon near Buchanan and Paris TN. When Hank Williams Jr, moved into her area she became his barber. BTW, I did Brenda's first website for her for Bass Pro. I already knew Hank before the Brenda connection though. I grew up with his lead guitar player, Wayne "Animal" Turner. Hank's a fanatic when it comes to chasing turkeys, but with a shotgun, not a bow, although he has a deceased friend who love to bowhunt. Like I said, small world.
sweet congrats to you
nice bird and a B E A Utiful bow
how sweet it is when it all comes together
Another intense cold front just blew though KY, and with a vengeance. I have travel plans the last 2 weeks of our season so basically can hunt through the weekend . . . this isn't looking good. I hope someone is seeing and hearing more birds than I have been the last few days.
Congrats Gary! Love the pics...nicely done!
Thanks "Bear Man":^