The First Act:

Bohuntr peruses the TradGang classifieds looking for the next bow that he cannot live without. Suddenly, he spots an add from Takedown (aka Harry Leidy) offering a gorgeous 1969 Shakespeare one piece recurve for sale. Pictures are sent and it is love at first sight. Graceful lines, accentuated by the contrast of the Shedua riser and the green glass of the limbs. Funds are sent and the bow is shipped from its former home in Kentucky to its new residence in South Dakota. The bow (as of yet unnamed by its new owner) arrives and is inspected. It is even better looking in person and it shoots a heavy arrow whisper quiet and with authority. A plan is hatched. Bohuntr has two SD turkey tags ... this new bow will be the implement for those hunts. The 1st thing bohuntr does is get the new gal aquainted with the hunt area including her temporary residence for the hunt. Although the hunt area is only 10 minutes away from bohuntrs home the base of operations will be bohuntrs small cabin located on his dream acreage of 230 acres.
This is a picture of the cabin, storage building and 3-D range.
 

  This is the bow rack located inside the cabin ... the Ocala is the bottom bow. Also in the picture a Stemmler and a 57 Kodiak.
 

 The 1st act continues with practice with the Ocala and scouting for turkeys. The 1st act ends the night befor the SD opener with turkeys put to bed on the roost. Bohuntr sleeps fitfully waiting for the alarm to tell him that it is time to start the hunt.

  To be continued...

OH YEAH!

Turkey hunting stories are by far the best!!

Act II

 The alarm goes off, the coffee gets drank and out the door I go. I arrive at the hayfield before first light with (almost) all my gear. The blind has been preset the night before so as not to disturb the roosting birds. As I walk towards the blind the sky is starting to lighten in the East and then the I hear it ... the thunderous gobbles of several tom's from the roost area. The turkeys fly down and I try to coax them my direction with yelps and clucks to no avail ... those tom's have real live hens to pursue and are not interested in what may or may not be on the other side of the hayfield.   The day progresses with nothing much going on, it is windy and the birds seem to be staying down in the draws. I periodically call with little response. Just as I am getting ready to give up the blind and go chase them down in the draws I get an answer from behind me. I call again and again an immediate response closing in fast from behind me and to my left. I shift on my stool so I can look out the left window of the blind just in time to see a jake arrive. The jake spots my decoys and starts to fan and strut approximately 20 yds away. The Shakespeare comes up, the axis arrow with 185 gr. snuffer is on the way and the bird is hit hard. The bird goes about 10 to 15 yards flops a few times and is dead. So ends Act II.    Remember when I said I brought (almost) all my gear ... well I forgot my digital camera so I did not get any pictures of the jake. So here are a couple pictures of the 2 jakes I killed last year in the exact same place.
 
 

   Waiting for act III...

Act III

The next time I got a chance to bowhunt was this past weekend and Saturday dawned to the expected torrential downpour that had been forecasted all week. Time for plan B. Head to Cabelas with my hunting buddy and acquire the final secret weapon to be used against the turkeys in Act III ... a jake mobile decoy. After taking my lovely bride out for a Sunday breakfast I set out to try and fill my remaining turkey tag. I go to a spot by some plum thickets that is about 75 yds south of our food plot field edge. I have seen turkeys in this area quite a few times. On the way in I bust a group of 8 hens and 2 nice toms, crap! I set up two hen decoys and the jake mobile in a nice little love triangle and hunker down in my blind and wait. It is a windy day which is giving lifelike motion to old jake mobile and his girlfriends. Nothing happens for the 1st two hours. I am sitting quietly rereading a book by Don Thomas when I look up to see a tom standing on the field edge 100 yds to the North. From his position he cannot see my decoy spread so I get on the box call. He immediately answers and starts coming my direction. I get my binoculars up and can see he is a nice mature tom. He stops and hangs up 40 yds out and I call again this time with my voice. He gobbles again and starts to move toward the decoys. He gets to about 20 yds and puffs up. I probably could and should have waited for him to get closer but the sight of him puffed up and broadside at 20 yds was just to much.  I don't know whether I rushed the shot or if I dropped my bow arm but either way it resulted in a low shot. The arrow went right underneath the puffed up tom. The tom jumped up, ran a few steps the opposite direction and started looking around suspiciously. I voice called again and he moved back cautiously. The tom was on full alert but did not know what had happened. Before he had a chance to exercise any problem solving skills I shot the second time. The second arrow tipped with a 170 gr. zwickey dead centered the tom and passed through. He flopped his way out of sight and I hurriedly exited the blind to try and keep an eye on him. My set up was close to the top of a ridge and the tom had bailed over the top. Peering over the edge I could see that the toms death flop had carried him to the bottom of the ridge but no farther. I retrieved my prize and got some pictures since this time I had remembered my camera. This is my decoy setup as seen from the blind.


This is a picture looking back at the blind.


A closeup of the tom and the Shakespeare which I have now named T.K. (short for turkey killer of course).

Me, T.K. and the tom.
 

While I do not have any interest in the theatre I have to say I have a new found respect and fondness for Shakspeare ... the bow company that is!  TTT for the final edited version.

What food those morsels be.

Great stuff, bohntr!  Thanks for sharing the story.  Yeah, those Shakespeares are very good bows; Ernie Root designs and well made.  My first real bow was a Necedah which I still have.  I'd like to find the right Ocala or Kaibab.

Great story and pix Dan!  I am still trying to arrange a meeting between a Wensel Woodsman and a tom, but so far no shots.  Thanks for the story.

congrats bud  

"What food those morsels be...."    :rolleyes:  

Spoken like a true Thespian    :D  

 

Cool twist on a great story Dan!  And a beautiful old bow comes through for you - I love it!  What are the specs?

Et tu, bohuntr?

Sweet poetry!!      

Way to go Dan.  

that's awesome

Thanks guys!
Whip the Shakespeare is 62" and marked 50+ @ 28". I have not personally put it on a scale but the previous owner told me it was 53lbs@ 28".

Perfect hunt. Great story, bow, & shots.

Dan,
   great story of a great hunt! Thanks for sharinf it with us...

:(    Thanks a lot Dan!  Now I'm really homesick!


Great story & you've got over half a section in God's country you lucky dog!!!

Tim