4th bird by bow

[strut-n-rut]

Smacked my 4th bird with my bow yesterday.
second one this season and I tagged out for the spring 2004 season with both kills by bow.
20 1/4 pounds
1 1/4 spurs
robbed on the beard due to frostbite 6 1/2 inches
12 yard shot
it was an awesome hunt. that part is its own trophy. took me 3 and a half weeks to get him in bow range, but did it.
first one this year was just a 14 pound jake with 1/2 spurs and 3 1/2 inch beard.
but it was a 20 yard shot with a bow.
both birds by bow.
bow rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beentown]

Are you going to start going for the head shot? Since I did well last year that is what I am doing this year. If you miss no wounding. Just a thought. Plus it is fun to practice and it saves the breast. Mmm Mmm the breast is good.

Beentown

[george tinkham]

boy tuh hit a bobbin head requires some luck or a snaro

[strut-n-rut]

I may possibly attempt that next on a small bird that I wouldnt mind risking its loss.
I'm n ot confident enough yet to risk losing a trophy to a bobbing head, but then again. who knows............
I may try slingshot! :D heh heh

[Beentown]

While there strutting there head doesn't bob that much. It is "tucked in". At 15 yard I am confident that most of the people on here that practice regulary could hit a 2" group. Remember the neck and head are tucked in while strutting. That gives you an even bigger target.

I do it mostly because these are "my" birds and want to be sure to get a clean kill/miss. Plus it is an extra challenge.

Beentown

SNR - Practice it a little and let me know what you think.

[strut-n-rut]

actually, I will try it with my next bird.
Im tired of two arrow kills myself so I know what you mean about the clean kill.
This is my land that I hunt on as well so Im selective in my actions. The birds up here arent strutting any more which is fine with me since I would wait for the outstretched neck when he pops it up to scope out something that caught his attention.
at 10 - 15 yards im hitting quarters but you never know what will happen when you throw the adrenaline factor in there or like my last bird I held full draw for about 2 minutes before I could let loose the arrow. needless to say, I was a tad shakey on the release.
I have had birds less than 4 yards from me this spring so closeness shouldnt be any problem either.
I plan to use "normal" broadheads though and not those "cheater" broadheads I have heard about.

[george tinkham]

now have you used a blind on all birds an decoys.

[Ohio Bill]

grats! Head shot would be hard! would be fun tryin

[Arrow 1]

Strut, I don't use expandables on deer, or cheaters as you call them. And, I sure ain't good enough to hunt turkeys with a bow, so I don't use them on turkeys either.

But, I have heard that those really large expandables like the Rockets, really cut down on lost birds. I don't know if you know who Doug Crabtree Sr. is. He is pretty well known around Ohio in the bowhunting circle for his calling and turkey hunting abilities with a bow. He uses them now and swears by them.

I think I heard a rumor this year that Doug just killed his third grand slam of turkeys with a bow this year!

[strut-n-rut]

Nope, never heard of him. Obviously a great hunter to get 3 grand slams by bow though.
Probably due to me still being a newcomer to bow. been less than a year.
cheaters I refer to are those 2 inch bladed arrowheads. I dont use expandables at all, I stick to 3 bladed 100 grain thunderheads or wasps.
Im pretty confident that if my shot is a tad off it would be a clean miss with that small of a diameter of a blade. If he gets away, theres always tomorrow, besides, I'm pretty sure a missed shot wouldnt affect him much, I dunno, I never missed to find out but I have taken a bird out of packs of them and the others were clueless to what happened and continued what they were doing.
George, I have used a blind on 3 of the four I have taken so far. I took my first ever by bow using the trees to my advantage to smack a hen at 23 yards. I still believe fall turkey is the most difficult hunting in all of Ohio.
I am going to try that head shot thing next just for giggles but I am planning also on breaking out my 45# draw Stemmler recurve and giving that a wirl.
I have yet to take a deer by bow though, I have been too picky and passed on several shots waiting for better so have yet to fill a deer tag by bow. I think the wait is worth it though. Its the hunt, not the meat.
I sat out in one of my blinds today with a video camera, doing a little calling to see what pops up.
had a 5 inch bearded hen, another small hen, and some gobbling behind me at 1130am.
I tagged out already but I cant give up the hunt, LOL even if it is by camera ;)
I couldnt find anyone for me to take to my land and hunt it for me so I went with camera.
Yes, the storms sucked and its real wet. I waded through 3 feet of water to get to my blind. Its a good thing I have another pair of boots to wear for tomorrow. :D lol