So it is that time. The wandering antics of a few turkey nuts, old and new. 4 guys with trad bows, one great family hosting, and a couple hundred of our favorite avian species. Here ya go, this be them:
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-4.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-4.jpg.html)
*These guys were part torturer part comic relief
So this is the beginning. We have stories to tell. Be patient with us as we are traveling home to wives and kids that have not seen us for a few. Plus I came home and read some awesome threads about turkeys...this is a great time of year! By the way, some turkey legs made the dinner table. Stay tuned compadres!
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg3-2.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg3-2.jpg.html)
I will be waiting patiently but looks to be a good thread mike!
:bigsmyl: I love turkey hunting!!! I am anxiously awaiting awaiting the tale.
Jake
Turkey hunting Paradise, that's what this thread's about. It just doesn't get any better, and I'll be hanging on every word.
:campfire:
This should be worth the wait and make me regret not having enough vacation days left to go even more.
You are a turkey killing machine, Mike! Can't wait for the rest of the adventure to unfold!
Bisch
Safe travels all. Like everyone else I will be waiting for the stories.
Bill
This hunt was more about renewing old friendships and making new ones than turkeys. Although we did a lot of hunting, like many good camps, we did a fair amount of sitting, talking about life and eating! I volunteered as camp cook and enjoyed the the heck out of preparing our evening meals. We used wild game in all of our dishes and it was cool to hang with some great hunters and eat real food!
We also got quite a treat all the way from South Carolina! Seems Duckbutt and Ms Delaney were busy with a poundcake to be delivered to Tippit, and it was awesome! Duckbutt is a veteran of this hunt and couldn't make it this year. We missed you man! Luckily for us Tippit is the sharing kind of fella.
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg5-1.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg5-1.jpg.html)
*Our man Tippit and and gift from SC
So when we arrived and met Nick, it was like old times again. Tippit had his son Zach along, and this was to be his first crack at turkeys. Zach is a budding traditional bowhunter and a helluva great guy. You see Tippit when you see Zach, his humor, his focus when telling a story. He lives all of our dreams: Ski Patrol, Search and Rescue at Crested Butte by day, blacksmith and knife maker by night. Impressive young man. So we had 4 trad guys: me, Dirtnap Dave (Sheltoncreeker), Tippit and Zach, and one "other" weapon fella, Critter, who was a hoot, but for the sake of our story here on TG, will remain a silent character. He is anything but!
So with a full belly of elk chili we schemed our morning plans. Nick Klintworth runs an unguided camp for our week. He knows his ranch, and he knows what his birds are doing. Until he smiles and shakes your hand you get a glimpse of a steely-eyed rancher, a toughness that is conveyed with no words. You then see him work nonstop on that ranch and know that he is a man content with his place in life. You know he loves what he is doing, and you know that he enjoys having hunters who love these birds as much as him on the Klintworth. Together with his family, they make a living doing what they love.
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-6.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-6.jpg.html)
*Nick and Tippt
So plans hatched we racked it. The am came early, 4:30 always does. The anticipation of the hunt for me always maxes out the adrenalin as we leave. I was first to be dropped off as I had something in mind...seems our buddy Joe Lasch (Whip) was absent this trip, as was the founding court jester and my turkey hunting hero Joe Buck. Looks like I had the canyon to myself. Whips or Joey's? Whips or Joey's...coin flip. Whips wins. Now say what you want, honey-hole thief, horning in on a spot...I don't care. Call it the sincerest form of flattery :)
So, I placed Sparky, my often mistreated love-god jake wannabe directly over my bedded hen, Jewel. I placed my other Avian X Annie nearby, and settled into "Whips Spot". Don't think those dekes don't do the job. All of my birds the last two years have come off of these. Here is a Klintworth hen with Annie. Is it live or is it memorex?
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-7.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-7.jpg.html)
*Which is witch?
At daylight the cascade of calls began, hens softly then loud then cackles and finally a crescendo of sound resonating through the holler of a BUNCH of toms letting her rip! Just before light I catch a glimpse of a deer, a whitey, then a trio of mulies come across the valley. Soon there after I see them. Black dots marching in the distance directly to me...
Got back to Aiken last night at 1:30. It was one wild ride from North Platte, NE to Denver. Zach & I hit an intense weather cell with high winds, 2 inches of hail on the road with at least 10 cars spun off and one tipped over. Did I mention tornado warnings in North Platte! Almost missed my connection in Atlanta due to flight delays out of Denver. Talked to Nick this morning. They had extreme high winds, 2 inches of rain, and finally 2 inches of snow yesterday afternoon. They say timing is everything...all week we were hunting in short sleeves.
Bill Dunn...I got pictures you will like to see :)
A trip dreams are made of.
I always look forward to this hunt recap. That's a beautiful part of the country. :coffee:
Bernie
Dang it! This thread just cost me $79.99, plus shipping!
AvianX Annie is one amazing looking decoy... hope mine gets here by the weekend. :bigsmyl:
Ok, where was I...I better tell my part so the other guys can chime in. Mine and Sheltoncreekers are short ones :)
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg3-3.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg3-3.jpg.html)
*Black birds on the move
So there I was, in Whips hide, and I see a giant gobbler easing up the hill. He left his hens to come see Ol' Sparky and his lady friends. He strutted all the way to 5 yards with nothing but a small spruce between he and I. Gobble after gobble and drum after drum I sat there with tension on the string. He need to clear the bush for me to kill him. He finally had enough and eased towards his hens and I had no shot. 5 stinkin yards. Too close really. I would have been busted with anything but a snap shot. I watched him escort his gals out of the coulee. It was intense and magical to have a boss tom that close!
A few minutes later, more black dots on the horizon. This time a whole wad. I mean a pile! Hens leading the way and sprinting at me. Just when I thought they were going to end up in my lap they veered off. Behind them a trio of toms strutting and gobbling their fool heads off.
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-8.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-8.jpg.html)
*Strutters
I thought it was over until I see read heads running behind the pile. For some reason they didn't follow the strutters. They had their eye on Sparky and his girls after I told them I loved them from my diaphragm call. Like a bullet they ran through my ambush into sparky. Imagine Braveheart...a driving force of warriors intent on harm.
Harm they did! Before I knew it they had Sparky down, deflated and defeated. Just like that I knew I wanted the boss jake. I raised my bow, picked my spot and mmmmmisssed! The bottom limb hit the ground with the awkward uphill angle. The three amigos dashed the heck out of there. Except they heard me call, gobbled in unison, and roared back to continue the beating.
This time I was ready. Better angle, better, anchor better shot. The arrow caught the lead perpetrator in the base of the neck angling into the goods, right where I wanted it as he mounted Sparky for a gut-stomping. Two flips and some wing beats and it was over.
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-9.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-9.jpg.html)
*In situ
So that was the first 2 hours of our Klintworth fantasy. Not bad. Except I was one of five, and somewhere on the ranch another single-stringer was doing some damage...but that is his tale to tell :)
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg2-5.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg2-5.jpg.html)
*Ghilli, green stripe, Rio
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg5-2.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg5-2.jpg.html)
*Not a bad start
Way to go Mike! Looks like a really fun time, for sure!
Can't wait to hear the rest from the others!
Bisch
Awesome
Nice Bird!
Awesome! Congrats!
Awesome Brother, congrats!
Congrats Mike, I cant wait for the rest to chime in!
This was a Very Special hunt for me as my son Zach was on his first turkey hunt in fact this is really his first year hunting! He shot a hog on the Bacon Strip with me two years ago and this fall spent a lot of time chasing elk around Crested Butte...but this was his first hunting camp! Hopefully he'll fill in on his experience.
Before I go much further I'd like to thank Bill Dunn for sending me some of his new three blade 190 Grizzly broadheads. These were seconds but in fact they looked like first quality to me. Being a bladesmith, it's pretty easy for me to get a sharp edge on my knife grinder set up...but what I was interested in was...
1) How well they flew & penetrated with a lower poundage bow. Being an old man, I shoot 40 to 45 pound bows.
2) Just as important, how easy is it to re-sharpen them in the field...even if you happen to missss!
A little tease for when a few stories unfold...tippit
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv4%3B54%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A765594723%3Bot1lsi)
Well done Mike, looks like you're getting pretty attached to that Bear T/D. Can't wait for the rest of the tales!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Jeff, can't wait for you and Zach to tell us your turkey tales. Are the two of you going to be in La Tuque this June?
Mike,
We won't be able to make the trip to Canada. Zach has just landed a large blacksmithing project doing all the railings on a five floor apartment complex. I seemed to have torn something in my right knee at the PBS gathering. I'll probably be needing some surgery when we head back to Boston.
Great story so far, as always. Congrats on the decoy killer Mike! Tippit sorry to hear about the knee, good luck. I am looking forward to the rest of your turkey story.
Some day, when I grow up. I would like to go on this hunt. :D
Bill I have one of your heads that Tippit loaned me. Seeing that I Ummm mmmmissssed each time I had it on my bow, I am going to test it on my next Illinois bird :) Cant wait to try it out! Tippit did some work with them ;)
Actually Bill the Ummm Mmmisses were just as important as the ones that connected. I'm a fanatic on how sharp a knife or broadhead is. I have a bad habit of picking up any knife that's lying around camp, feeling the edge, and if dull sharpening it. It was easy to get the Grizzly three blade sharp on my knife grinder...but they were so easy to sharpen with just a file laid flat on two edges. With a couple of strokes and rotate to the next, it took about two rotations to get them razor sharp again. They were easier to field sharpen then my usual two blade heads.
The misses from all of us proved how sturdy these broadheads really are. One slammed into a fence post and others caught ground sand. There were no bent tips even though I kept the end as a needle point.
As to arrow flight, I use 200 gr field points and these heads flew exactly the same for me.
My final criteria was penetration for a lower poundage bow. Both Mike & Zach shoot heavier bows so that wasn't an issue, but for me that is paramount. For the past 5 years I would only shoot 2 blades...now I'm switching to these 190 gr three blade Grizzlys for everything. JMHO...tippit
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv586%3Enu%3D32%3A4%3E%3B87%3E672%3EWSNRCG%3D39%3B679%3C3%3C732%3Cnu0mrj)
Man Mike, might as well stick a knife in my gut and twist it! Those pictures brought back vivid images in my mind! It was hard to miss this hunt and I woke up every morning wondering how it was going.
But I am glad to see that little honey hole pay off again. It's such a cool set up to be able to watch the birds work their way hundreds of yards across the bottom and ends up right in your lap!
Great stuff so far, but I know this one had barely begun. Carry on!
Congrats guys, gotta love Turkey hunting, very exciting,
A great challenge and at a great time of year. Well done
Gentlemen.
Roy
Just like Whip....been thinking about you guys every day you were there and not at all surprised at the success or fun you had. Bet Ryan is bigger than me this year. Keep it rolling. I know you got more. :thumbsup:
Great turkey tales so far!I'm really enjoying this.
Thanks for the recap on the broadheads performance, Jeff! I truely appreciate you guys putting this head to the test for me.
Mike, I'm sure those Illinois birds will pay for your Nebraska miss.
Sheltoncreeker aka Dirtnap Dave is off riding a train. 12 hours in the car with me then he gets home to get on a train for 2 days to work. Here he is in happier times:
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg4-3.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg4-3.jpg.html)
*Brothers
I also had an idea on the way out. I am a Snickers candy bar freak. I take one in my pack in deer season and play mind games with myself. I won't let myself have my snickers until 10 am on stand, then proceed to make slowly eating a candy bar an art form. By the time I am done it is 11 and I have burned another hour in my tree. So I bought 8 candy bars...one for the birds I thought we'd kill. Course I changed my mind and got hungry and ate one on the drive :) So, you kill a bird, you get a Snickers. Let's just say I underestimated my camp mates! Here's the first morning prior to our hunt:
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-5.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-5.jpg.html)
*Underachieved
So while we are waiting on Dave to pull off his Casey Jones act, here's a little foreshadowing and some random pics:
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg3-5.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg3-5.jpg.html)
*Second again
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg5-3.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg5-3.jpg.html)
*Where eagles dare
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg2-6.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg2-6.jpg.html)
*Les Hombres
High praise for those broadheads. I think I like!
Congrats thanks for sharing it!
First morning with my knee bummed up, I choose to hunt blinds that Nick had set up around the house/barn area that I could be driven to. I had planned all year to try run & gun with my ghillie & decoys...not to be this year :( Then again not so bad as I had 19 birds in roost 150 yards from me...
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv%3A836%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A768%3B%3B%3A623%3Bot1lsi)
All morning, I had Hens & Jakes all over me as close as 5 yards plus 4 strutting Toms that wouldn't come close enough. I had decided I wanted a Tom or a Merriam so I just enjoyed the show.
I have a bunch of short videos on an SD card...but I have no idea of how to post :knothead: Any help would be appreciated.
This is great. Thanks for sharing guys.
I can't wait to see the final tally of how many of those candy bars got ate!
Bisch
:campfire: Awesome hunt guys...Congrats to you All!!!
Looks like Mike was in a hurry to get at his snickers bar! :D
Put me in coach I'm ready to play. Okay sorry for the delay in my chiming in. First I want to tell Mike, Jeff and Zach how much fun I had hunting with each of you. It never ceases to amaze me how much I end up learning from the guys in camp. As I said before I would share a camp with any of you any where any time. I also want to thank the Nick and his family. What a great bunch of folks. Salt of the earth comes to mind. On with the hunt.
Mike and I departed my place early Wed morning. You know you have a good travel companion when you have a 12-14 hour drive and it seems to go by in no time. We arrived and met one of our campmates Critter. Shortly there after Jeff and Zach arrived. After we all got settled in Nick discussed the morning plans. He asked if minded sitting in the same blind I killed my bird out of last year. Its close to the bunk house. Mind I did not. Mikes alarm hits me between the eyes like a rock at 430. Knowing I didn't have to catch a ride to an out lying point I didn't spring out of bed.
So I get out of bed and wish all my camp mates well as Nick starts taking guys to each of there desired locations. Nick comes back around 530 AM and tells me no need to rush if I am in by 6 AM that id be in good shape. Nick and I chew the fat for a half hour about nothing in particular. I have to admit my one on one conversations with Nick Klintworth have always been extremely enjoyable. I have an appreciation for what this man does for a living and who he is a person. I stroll down the hill behind the bunk house and settle in. Got my Waldrop all folded out in reclining position. Arrow nocked and bow at the ready. This spot is a little non traditional as it is a travel corridor and not a spot on the ranch you decoy and call. I lay in wait as the darkness gives way to another day on the the prairie. The cows are very vocal letting Mr. Klintworth know it is time to fire up the John Deere and deliver their daily rations. The turkeys have started their morning songs. Hens are yelping and the Gobblers.... yeah gobbling. More that you can imagine. One, Two, Three gobbles Four, Five, Six. This goes on and on as if gobbling is contagious. This is the same location I hunted last year so I'm ready. I mean the 35 min I hunted last year out of this blind pretty much make me a veteran this year right...?
So the daily parade of turkeys begins shortly after fly down. I see some hens skirt my location go east thru the front part of the pasture. Then a strutting Tom passes just out of range. I contemplated the shot. But if there is anything hunting this ranch has taught me it is be patient shot opportunities seem to be around the corner. And then there was. I had been in my blind around 45 to 50 min. When a beautiful 2 year old Rio strutted past my first window at less than 10 yards. No time for nerves or contemplations. Just time for drawing anchoring and picking a spot. Full strutt 8 yards. Release.
The Results
(http://i.imgur.com/xkuw4Vl.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/bRNA9pn.jpg)
My arrow broke the facing wing and passed thru both lungs. Tough animals as the arrow didn't pass thru the opposite side but a few inchs. I was elated as this was the first animal I had drew my bow on since a devistating shot in Manitoba at Stickflingers. I felt all the self doubt and tensions of a shot gone wrong lift. The perverbial monkey was no longer on my back or whispering in my ear. My world as a bowhunter was right once again. Hours of shooting from different positions in my yard and the spoils lay just a few yards away. Nick was hauling hay and as bad as I wanted I sit tight till I heard a voice say "Looks like someboday gets a snickers!" Nick had come up behind me. I couldn't wait to get out of the blind and put my hands on this wonderful gift from Nautre.
Happy Hunter!
(http://i.imgur.com/iM5lLKa.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/b7ewd3n.jpg)
More to come as I enjoyed 2 Snickers!
Way to go!!!!! Man do I love turkey hunting and hearing all the stories hear.
All good!
Wow is this an awesome thread ..opening day can't come soon enough on Saturday
So after success that early in the hunt I knew I had to get to Nicks computer so that I could buy another tag. I did so and spent the next 2 and a half days trying to bag a bird without the concealment of a blind. I got a shot at a Jake that was giving my Jake decoy a beating and I got into my ghillie suit and missed low. I had several extremely close encounters with both Jakes and mature toms in my ghillie. There is something that satisfies me to be so close to a wild bird and know that his best defense has been defeated. Unfortunately just having a bird close doesn't mean they will let you draw and hit anchor. I also had a close encounter with my nemises species. Canis latrans- the american coyote. I lipped squicked a young dog into spitting distance and got caught drawing. The Klintworth has adventure over every horizon and around every bend. I saw Mulies and Whities and even a beautiful Cock Pheasant.
A view over a small part of the cattle operation.
(http://i.imgur.com/LsfsXsI.jpg)
So after two days of getting schooled by Nebraska birds I was starting to feel like I was chasing Easterns back home. So the last evening I decided I would try sitting in a blind again. I sat in what had started being referred to as the "hay bale blind". Nick had a double bull tucked into a row of hay bales close to the roost trees and in a main traveling corridor for the birds.
Not 15 min after getting in the blind I had a nice mature tom pop out from around the end of one of the bales in front of me. He spotted me move in the blind and abruptly headed the other direction. It was warm. So I was in short sleeves. I'm sure with the sun setting in the western sky and my blind facing that way I wasn't as concealed as I would have liked. I decided I would stretch out in my Waldrop pac seat and just rest my eyes for a moment. No need not to live up to my name "dirtnap". So instead of resting my eyes in the warm glow of the sun. I fell asleep. I come to with a mature tom. picking thru the hay less than 8 yards away. I slowly get my bow and get ready. Instead of walking back past the blind like every other bird. This toms hops on top of the hay bale and goes the other way. By time he shows himself again he is still in range but alert to my presence. I drew and sent and arrow down range but it landed under his feet.
I wasn't too disapointed turkeys are hard to hit and I was confident another shot opportunity would be along.
It wasnt long when a wad of Jakes attack my position. They came in relaxed and gave plenty of time to pick a spot draw anchor and release.
The jake went down immediately. It wasn't long Nick came over and got me. My hunt was complete. Two birds. I was very happy and very thankful.
(http://i.imgur.com/6ni3ODu.jpg)
Blood on the Klintworth.
(http://i.imgur.com/Cdy6aDS.jpg)
That's awesome Dirt! Congrats on both birds!
Naw, naw, naw...you didn't get your nickname by napping or not taking a bath. You got that nickname 'cause everything in range takes a Dirtnap :)
I was there and it was still cool reading brutha. Congrats again!
Got a little more...
I went blindless except for one evening sit, an hour one morning, and a nooner. One sit I passed jakes (dumb), missed an alert gobbler I had no business shooting at (dumber), and got caught with my back to the blind picking up my stuff on said nooner (dumbest).
I had encounters with BIG gobblers twice in my Ghilli sets. Once I had a puffed up bird strutting by himself to my dekes and I prematurely drew. Always, always, always let the gobbler come to the dekes and start a fight. Kill him while he's busy...but I didn't do that. He caught me redhanded!
The next one was tougher. I called hens to my set with a giant Merrihams in tow. They got to my dekes and flared at the last second taking the prettiest bird I have ever seen in my life right outa range. The set looked good but my deflated beat-down high dollar decoy gave them away.
I had Nick take a pic. I think my set was good:
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg1-11.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg1-11.jpg.html)
My hunt ended with one bird, but I went out with a smile on my face. The last night I got dropped off a mile from the barn. I called 5 different hens to my set and even had one bed down 10 feet away. I had a morning sit left but knew when the sun went down that night I was a happy hunter myself and a happy campmate for my friends on this hunt.
:clapper: Nicely done!
Thanks for sharing fellas.
Congrats David and Mike!
What about the Tippets?
Bisch
Jeff and Zach must be busy at their forges!
:campfire:
This is great congrats guys. Looks like a great time!!
The first morning I was in the hay bale blind with hens & jakes all over me but the toms strutted way out of range. In the afternoon, I had seven jakes come into the blind @ 5-10 yards. They had a lot of white on their tails & back so I assumed they were Merriams. Last year I shot a nice Rio Gobbler the first day and got a double bearded jake the last morning. After seeing these jakes I called Mike back at the bunk house to try to verify if they were indeed Merriams. My goal for this year was to try for a Merriam or another nice gobbler. After getting Mike's opinion, I decided I'd try for one of the jakes if they came back. Sure enough within an hour they all reappeared. I had my Snickers :) ...but unfortunately the jake was a Rio/Merriam cross.
I was shooting a 13" metal ILF Morrison Gen 3 riser with black Dryad Epic recurve limbs for a 56" 45# bow along with a 3 blade Grizzly head.
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv3%3C%3B%3Enu%3D32%3A4%3E%3B87%3E672%3EWSNRCG%3D39%3B677%3C%3A%3B932%3Cnu0mrj)
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv5%3B2%3B%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A768%3B%3B%3A%3B23%3Bot1lsi)
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv%3A455%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A76%3A79%3A%3B23%3Bot1lsi)
I got back to the bunk house early. From the window you can see the barn yard blind that Dave shot his gobbler in the morning. Zach was currently hunting it. So I got to enjoy seeing what was coming and watching his shot on a bird. He hasn't been hunting but a few times so for Dad to be able to watch was very special! Hopefully he'll get on to tell all his stories. Being able to double up on birds the same day was an experience I'll never forget. But this was only the first day with Everyone in camp eating Snickers :)
More stories to come but probably after the TN Classic this weekend as I gotta re-pack...tippit
Zach's first a nice Rio jake taken with a 55# Morrison Shawnee recurve.
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv883%3C%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A76%3A79%3A823%3Bot1lsi)
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv3%3C%3A8%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A76%3A79%3A%3A23%3Bot1lsi)
The Springer boys & Nick...
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv5468%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A76%3A%3B4%3B323%3Bot1lsi)
Great photos Jeff! What a guy misses while he is away planning a meal :) Seeing you guys together with your birds is special. I would love to repeat it myself in a few years.
Hope the knee is getting better. Have fun at the Classic! We have a week of season here and I have 2 tags left :)
Ya'll leave any for seed???
Congrats to ALL!!!
I need to finish up my hunt...the afternoon of the second day I was in the barn yard blind. I saw two gobblers walking a fence line that would bring them in front of me at 20 yards. As luck would have it this time everything fell into place. I picked the gobbler closest. He ran off with the arrow in solid but I lost sight of him in the cedars. He turned out to be a 3 year old bird with real nice spurs & mostly Merriam!
I've been lucky to take a lot a great game animals and hunt with a lot of fine friends...but this hunt tops them all being with old & new friends especially my son Zach.
As a side note...
This is the first time I've ever harvested an animal with a recurve as I'm almost exclusively a longbow shooter. Plus I have these two gobblers on video from the previous day...tippit
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv39%3B4%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A76%3A%3B4%3B423%3Bot1lsi)
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv4%3B54%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A765594723%3Bot1lsi)
(http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv5%3A7%3C%3Dot%3E2395%3D%3C78%3D763%3DXROQDF%3E2%3A%3A76%3A%3B4%3B%3A23%3Bot1lsi)
Congrats Jeff and Zach. Nothing like a father son double up!
That makes 5 of the snickers gone! Any more?
Congrats, Tippit and Zach!
Bisch
Actually Bisch...the final total was nine Snickers and a Duckbutt/Delany pound cake :)
This is awesome. Beautiful birds
I have to say hunting with Jeff is a hoot. While cleaning my gobbler I decided I would take out the heart and fry it for lunch. I knew I had made a good lung hit on the bird because when I picked him up lots of thick lung matter came from his mouth. I was showing everyone the hit and we were talking about whether it was a heart shot or not. I removed the heart and was holding it in my hand completely in working order. When Jeff looks over my shoulder and says " huh, you missed!" :biglaugh: Funny guy that Tippet!
Yes Terry seemed to he plenty for seed. As Mike and I left the valley I had hunted for 2 days had a huge gobbler strutting in the exact spot I had been setting up.
Thanks for sharing this hunt with us!!I sure have enjoyed it!
That looks like a blast of a hunt and a great camp! Thanks for posting the hunt for us. I enjoyed it.
When Tippit opened the poundcake from Ms Delaney he said it was only for those who had two snickers...Zach and I were in the short line :)
I can't wait to next year. One week left here in Il and a couple of tags burning a hole in my pocket!!!
From those pound cakes came the saying "a little slice of heaven"
That's a big bird Jeff
9 snickers and a pound cake! AWESOME!
Hey Jeff, did you ever get that antler lamp fixed up? I felt horrible when I learned that it had gotten messed up in shipping (after what happened at the UPS store here, I almost think they jacked it up on purpose!). I hope you got it fixed up good.
Bisch
Awesome thread fellas!!! A hunt I'd luv to do sometime for sure!!
Bisch,
Gluing the antler lamp back together was easier than handling out knife. I had a great conversation with the fellow that made the lamp and thanked him for his contribution.
Mike,
I think I amended my comment on the pound cake...that I'd let the guys with only one bird have a piece on credit :)
That pic of the Springer Boys with Nick is the stuff! Soooooooo wish I could have been there to take THAT pic. :thumbsup:
Haha that is right tippit! I appreciate the good credit...wonder if I could trade in a KY or IL bird as collateral :saywhat:
Julian, we got some plans to make brudda. You're right that pick of Zach, Jeff and Nick is what dreams are made of :campfire:
NNNIIICCCEEE!!
Ok so we know the tally...almost everyone has chimed in. I imagine Zach is killing it on the forge and welder right now as he has a massive project.
I got to play chef for the week. Jeff and Zach were kind enough to pick up all my stuff via a shopping list...couple of guys who self admittingly hate to shop. I supplied the protein and had the menu planned. I love to cook and enjoyed putting together our dinners. If I am in camp, hunger is not an issue. Appreciate the fellas putting up with my late evening dinners and were gentlemen when it came to waiting on my meals. So after 5 snickers were gone (first day) we had a little etouffee. I channeled my inner Kip Manual...even though it will never be as good as his :) I also made some turkey legs, braised. See above pic.
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/imagejpg4-4.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/imagejpg4-4.jpg.html)
*Shrimp, sausage
The rest of the week was wood hog meatballs and spaghetti, and a wild turkey sauce picante on the final night.
Food in a camp like this harkens me back to what deer camps were like as a kid. Seeing the guys gathered around eating my food and telling stories of the days hunt will forever be burned into the pictures of this hunt long after. Congrats to all the guys on their birds...and for the two of us with one Snickers (me, Zach) wait until next year :campfire:
Kip can do Ettoufee, I think he would be proud of the outcome!!!
Looks pretty dang good Wapiti for someone north of Alexandria.......Alexandria, LA that is! :thumbsup:
Truly a hunt and camp dreams are made of.
Thank you for bringing it to us.
Thanks to you brother Mike for all the dinners. I did little more than sit down and eat most meals. It was a true treat. Looking forward to next year indeed.
I would like to be channelded like Mike Davenport when it comes to hunting. Congrats Mike , David and Jeff and Zach on a great hunt. Mike your turkey season has to be a record for you and that etouffee looks great. Looks like the meal is almost to tall for the pot (reason for tall cast iron pot).Congrats to the whole group looks like a great place. :wavey: :thumbsup: :campfire:
Kip, the big black pot you gave me was in action! It had the turkey legs being braised in the oven. I use that pot weekly and I think of the gentleman from Ville Platte when I do :)
Nothing like a big well seasoned black pot for those low and slow camp cookings.
I had to go back and read this again...getting fired up! Decided that instead of trying to get my meals like Kip's, I'll bring Kip himself :)
We are inside of a month...Lawd I am ready for some Klintworth turkey time :campfire:
Lineup: Tippit, Zach, Kip, JoeBuck, Me...and a mystery guest. We are going to miss all of our past guys. We will try to carry on :)
I probably bringing crawfish to show yAll Yankees how to eat them. Well wxcept Kip. He is a card carrying coonarse?
Hold up, my people are from South Mississippi...I got held hostage when my momma dropped me in Tennessee. Then I met a girl in college with long legs and a bunch of farm ground in Illinois...now she's the mother of my children and I am forced to live where we got big deer. I know crawfish, and like gumbo even though my roux is a little lighter than Kips. We can't all be born with webbed feet :) Bring them mudbugs! I love 'em!
Can't wait amigos! I am dreaming of white-butted strutters strolling into an ambush of nerves and sharp sticks :campfire:
Now hang on Mikey, what peoples are you referring to that were in the blessed South Mississippi?
You sure you ain't no imposter?
Haha promise :) Grandparents migrated to the great state of Tennessee just as I arrived or I would have been Southern Miss fan instead of being able to sing Rocky Top!
I introduced my Yankee wife in college to greens with ham-hocks, sausage and chicken gumbo, and Memphis style barbQ. I even slip in a ya'll every now in then up here :)
Great thread, guys! Congrats to all. Mike, I want to come to camp just to eat your cooking!
Watching this from the sidelines again is going to hurt. But you can bet I'll be watching every day!
Question? How many pounds to figure for Nick? I bet he won't even peel them but pop them in like a chiclet and spit shells out
Looks like this trip was going just for the food. Congrts on the birds.
Joey, that man is so tough he'd just chew em and spit em to kill rattlesnakes :)
Tracker, it is some about the food and a lot about killing birds :) No one goes hungry though! This year we are having a low country boil, gumbo, sauce picante, and chili made with elk. We are gonna come back heavy :)
O.K. guys Really looking forward to this trip.
I am a turkey virgin wait thats not right. Maybe a virgin turkey no no no.A plain old virgin, still not right.An almost 65 year old hunter that never killed a turkey gun or bow. When Mike offered me a spot I jumped at the chance just to be with a bunch of great guys and a few days from working. :thumbsup: :campfire:
Go get 'em boys!
Not sure what I am going to miss more - the turkeys or the meals! Either way, you know I'll be waiting on all the details.
Just printed our boarding passes for flight to Denver tomorrow morning. Zach & I should be in camp by late afternoon. Joey will be in then too. I sure hope there will be enough turkeys left for Mike & Kip as they get in later on Thursday :notworthy: tippit
Can't wait to see you fellas! Save me a skinny Jake Tippit. I got plans for a turkey deep fry :)
Plus we gotta get Kip on a bird and break this virgin curse thing up...before the Old Charter kicks in :)