Post by snoodslapper on Apr 21, 2009 19:49:19 GMT -5
(Embedded pointers only if you want them, they are just my opinion 
)
I've been out about 4 times since the 1st of April. My schedule hasn't cooperated much this year, so they've all been afternoon and evening hunts. Each time I've went this year, I've broken my rule of the last 3 years and used dekes. I've had far more success not using them in the past, but I bought some new ones that I really wanted to try. All I've called in until today have been hens and jakes, but to be fair, they've been pretty flocked up in my neck of the woods so far. Kee Kee runs were still bringing them in, so their fall/winter behavior was still what they were working on.
I had a day off today, so I thought I'd try a morning hunt. I never get too excited about going out early anymore. Trying to get the birds as they come off the roost, I seem to bump them more often than not. I'd rather go in when I can see.
Plus I find that to be one of the most competitive times of the day to pull the birds away from the hens that are calling, too. If I can get a lone hen of the roost that I can identify as the "hen in charge", calling and challenging her by cutting her off every time she calls, I can have luck with her getting mad and trying to find me while dragging the tom behind her. But, that doesn't always work.
So, I slept in a little and got out around an hour and a half after sunrise. My strategy was to find the boy that didn't get asked to dance and it paid off. I carefully, and quietly, walked in, checking ahead of me every so often with binoculars, and made my way to some good areas I felt I could use as cover since I don't use a blind anymore. I don't use a shock gobble/locator call much at all anymore either. I've learned the hard way not to use a hen call to locate until I am where I can move to a good shooting location in a hurry.
I was beaten to my calling as a gobble came ringing out about 200 yards to the west. I was already in a good spot. No time to put out dekes, but I prefer that anyway. I positioned myself between a blow-down of trees and brush and the direction I thought the bird would come from on a field edge. I quickly range a clump of mullein and suspicious dirt clod to get an idea of shot distances and file that bit of info in the front drawer...and leave it open.
I called once with a diaphragm and he hammered back. I called again, he hammered back. I know now he knows exactly where I am at. I called one more time with the intention of cutting him off, which I succeeded in doing. Now, I've got him thinking that I (a crusty, yet hot old hen) don't care about his gobbling, and I shut up: "If you want some of me, you're going to have to work for it". No more calling.
Within 5 minutes he is within 50 yards of me spitting, gobbling and drumming. No deke for him to see. Nothing for him to find...so he has no choice but to keep searching, and spitting, and drumming. He never goes into full strut. He is too busy moving fast to stop for that; he wants "it".
Before he comes from behind the blow-down I've already drawn. When I draw, I make sure that I do it slowly, with no movement of the bow itself (up or down or side to side), with my bow facing him, while keeping my elbows tucked. This minimizes perceived movement, as well as movement that does not appear natural.
He comes into range. I remember the thread we had not long ago on here about the "leg shot". So I says to myself, "Self, it is as good a time as any to try it". I let her fly at what I think is 25 yards. I hear "schmack", he flips and flaps...and starts to run with the arrow still in him. Obviously I missed the leg(s).
As I reach for another arrow to nock, he limps along and takes flight with my arrow in him. Now I'm thinking some choice words and try to quickly think of what to do next. I quickly jump to my feet and just watch...really, it is all I can do. The arrow falls out of the bird and lands in the field. Uh, oh... 
He's at 70 yards now, 20 feet of altitude. He starts sputtering like a helicopter that has lost it's rotor. At 100 yards he goes down at the west edge of the field and I see a pile of feathers fly up like someone had dropped a down pillow from the top of a building. Ok, deep breath, and 
.
I carefully collect all my equipment and go out to retrieve the arrow first. The Innerloc EXP is fully deployed, all the blades look good, but one blade bent enough that it won't close. I know I've hit bone; the sound of the hit pretty much told me that, but I thought it was leg bone...before he ran and flew away that is. Odd as well, there is what appears to be about a foot of penetration and lots of blood.
Time to look.
I go to where I saw the bird go down. There he is. Dead. Lots of blood, lots of feathers. 2 year old with about 1 inch spurs and 9 inch beard. Whew. A few words of thanks to the Big Guy upstairs, tagged, and off to home. All within an hour. A good day already.
A little bit of autopsy showed the top of the femur joint gone on the onside and the tailbone (?) obliterated. Yet, this tough creature was still able to run and fly. Amazing. I can only assume that a major vessel or artery was what saved me, but there is so much clotted blood and damage by the EXP that I really don't know what I'm looking at. The extremely large hole it furrowed out allowed the arrow to fall back out as the bird angled up in flight.
A good broadhead really aided me here, I think. Sorry for the quality of the photo, but I only had my camera in my phone today.
So, leg shot good or bad? I don't know, but I got my bird, I guess that says something. Will I use it again? Probably not intentionally.
Not the biggest bird, but a mature bird. Any gobbler I can get with my bow and without a blind or dekes makes me feel like a million bucks anyway.
)I've been out about 4 times since the 1st of April. My schedule hasn't cooperated much this year, so they've all been afternoon and evening hunts. Each time I've went this year, I've broken my rule of the last 3 years and used dekes. I've had far more success not using them in the past, but I bought some new ones that I really wanted to try. All I've called in until today have been hens and jakes, but to be fair, they've been pretty flocked up in my neck of the woods so far. Kee Kee runs were still bringing them in, so their fall/winter behavior was still what they were working on.
I had a day off today, so I thought I'd try a morning hunt. I never get too excited about going out early anymore. Trying to get the birds as they come off the roost, I seem to bump them more often than not. I'd rather go in when I can see.
Plus I find that to be one of the most competitive times of the day to pull the birds away from the hens that are calling, too. If I can get a lone hen of the roost that I can identify as the "hen in charge", calling and challenging her by cutting her off every time she calls, I can have luck with her getting mad and trying to find me while dragging the tom behind her. But, that doesn't always work.So, I slept in a little and got out around an hour and a half after sunrise. My strategy was to find the boy that didn't get asked to dance and it paid off. I carefully, and quietly, walked in, checking ahead of me every so often with binoculars, and made my way to some good areas I felt I could use as cover since I don't use a blind anymore. I don't use a shock gobble/locator call much at all anymore either. I've learned the hard way not to use a hen call to locate until I am where I can move to a good shooting location in a hurry.
I was beaten to my calling as a gobble came ringing out about 200 yards to the west. I was already in a good spot. No time to put out dekes, but I prefer that anyway. I positioned myself between a blow-down of trees and brush and the direction I thought the bird would come from on a field edge. I quickly range a clump of mullein and suspicious dirt clod to get an idea of shot distances and file that bit of info in the front drawer...and leave it open.
I called once with a diaphragm and he hammered back. I called again, he hammered back. I know now he knows exactly where I am at. I called one more time with the intention of cutting him off, which I succeeded in doing. Now, I've got him thinking that I (a crusty, yet hot old hen) don't care about his gobbling, and I shut up: "If you want some of me, you're going to have to work for it". No more calling.
Within 5 minutes he is within 50 yards of me spitting, gobbling and drumming. No deke for him to see. Nothing for him to find...so he has no choice but to keep searching, and spitting, and drumming. He never goes into full strut. He is too busy moving fast to stop for that; he wants "it".
Before he comes from behind the blow-down I've already drawn. When I draw, I make sure that I do it slowly, with no movement of the bow itself (up or down or side to side), with my bow facing him, while keeping my elbows tucked. This minimizes perceived movement, as well as movement that does not appear natural.
He comes into range. I remember the thread we had not long ago on here about the "leg shot". So I says to myself, "Self, it is as good a time as any to try it". I let her fly at what I think is 25 yards. I hear "schmack", he flips and flaps...and starts to run with the arrow still in him. Obviously I missed the leg(s).
As I reach for another arrow to nock, he limps along and takes flight with my arrow in him. Now I'm thinking some choice words and try to quickly think of what to do next. I quickly jump to my feet and just watch...really, it is all I can do. The arrow falls out of the bird and lands in the field. Uh, oh... 
He's at 70 yards now, 20 feet of altitude. He starts sputtering like a helicopter that has lost it's rotor. At 100 yards he goes down at the west edge of the field and I see a pile of feathers fly up like someone had dropped a down pillow from the top of a building. Ok, deep breath, and 
. I carefully collect all my equipment and go out to retrieve the arrow first. The Innerloc EXP is fully deployed, all the blades look good, but one blade bent enough that it won't close. I know I've hit bone; the sound of the hit pretty much told me that, but I thought it was leg bone...before he ran and flew away that is. Odd as well, there is what appears to be about a foot of penetration and lots of blood.
Time to look.
I go to where I saw the bird go down. There he is. Dead. Lots of blood, lots of feathers. 2 year old with about 1 inch spurs and 9 inch beard. Whew. A few words of thanks to the Big Guy upstairs, tagged, and off to home. All within an hour. A good day already.
A little bit of autopsy showed the top of the femur joint gone on the onside and the tailbone (?) obliterated. Yet, this tough creature was still able to run and fly. Amazing. I can only assume that a major vessel or artery was what saved me, but there is so much clotted blood and damage by the EXP that I really don't know what I'm looking at. The extremely large hole it furrowed out allowed the arrow to fall back out as the bird angled up in flight.
A good broadhead really aided me here, I think. Sorry for the quality of the photo, but I only had my camera in my phone today.
So, leg shot good or bad? I don't know, but I got my bird, I guess that says something. Will I use it again? Probably not intentionally.
Not the biggest bird, but a mature bird. Any gobbler I can get with my bow and without a blind or dekes makes me feel like a million bucks anyway.
I am counting the days 
