Atchman2
Well-Known Member
Greetings folks! I made it to KS okay. When I made my reservations on Frontier, I failed to promptly make my reservations on Boutique Air and was stranded in Denver. Thought I was going to have to rent a car costing me more than my entire trip, but Amtrak runs through Denver. It also stops in McCook, Nebraska, close to where my brother in law lives. It was a pleasant trip, a train ride for $9 to the station and then a $43 ticket to Nebraska. Not too bad!
The first morning I was excited yet, I was also tired from traveling all day. I told my brother in law, that I needed to put my crossbow together and zero it. It took a few shots but it was grouping superbly. We also zeroed the little Barnett recurve I keep there, and my brother in laws Barnett Crossbow as well. All three could stack arrows in the bullseye at 20 and 30 yards. We were ready to hunt.
My nephew Benjamin went with me, while his dad was across the creek from us. We were in a Gander Mountain ground blind with an Avian hen decoy. We both had crossbows, but since I was the experienced one I did the calling. To my right I heard a gobbler within 150 yards. I was using a ceramic pot call, not sure of the brand, but got it out of a clearance bin last year. I was so impressed with its raspy sound I brought it with me.
Sure enough I heard the gobbler continuing to move. I told my nephew Ben, that he was traveling along the fence and would come through the gate and down the ramp to our field near the creek. It was amazing that I called it and that it what happened. Despite the fact I was there to hunt turkeys, I handed Ben my crossbow with the Panasonic camera attached. I just continued to call.
In the meantime a dominant hen was sounding off. I had just finished an article about how to respond to them. Every time she sounded off, I cut her short. She came into the hen decoy PISSED! After she got there though, I started doing soft purrs and she calmed down and started to graze again. That was too much for the gobbler and he came down the ramp. I heard him go by the blind and then I noticed my nephew raising the crossbow. I called out to him "30 yard pin". It took a bit of adjusting but he hit the gobbler! A little far back so it took off at high speed. I've seen this movie before, and bolted from the blind in hot pursuit. Ben was confused. I told him where to go and went back and got another crossbow just in case we needed to shoot him again.
I handed Ben the bow, and went around the other side of the creek looking in the thickest, messiest garbage for the bird. Sure enough I spooked him and Ben saw him. "Shoot him again" I said! Shoot. Miss. hit but nothing vital. Miss. My brother in law comes along and hits in the head and then two misses. Well I'm up on the bank. They were out of arrows, and I wasn't about to grab a live turkey. I found their arrows and threw them across the creek. My nephew hits it in the leg, and I scared it and it fell down next to the creek. With one of the retrieved arrows, my brother in law Kyle "de -spined" it. Its flopping carried it into the stagnant creek. Kyle got it out, but it stunk like crazy and being wet it ruined our pictures.
He was a nice Rio! It had a 9" beard and 1.25 inch spurs. You could hang it up on a limb for sure. Anyway it was my nephew's first gobbler ever. I probably was more excited about it than he. It took me awhile to calm back down.
Here is the video of the hunt. Hope you enjoy it.
https://youtu.be/3p_21y-Wx9A
The first morning I was excited yet, I was also tired from traveling all day. I told my brother in law, that I needed to put my crossbow together and zero it. It took a few shots but it was grouping superbly. We also zeroed the little Barnett recurve I keep there, and my brother in laws Barnett Crossbow as well. All three could stack arrows in the bullseye at 20 and 30 yards. We were ready to hunt.
My nephew Benjamin went with me, while his dad was across the creek from us. We were in a Gander Mountain ground blind with an Avian hen decoy. We both had crossbows, but since I was the experienced one I did the calling. To my right I heard a gobbler within 150 yards. I was using a ceramic pot call, not sure of the brand, but got it out of a clearance bin last year. I was so impressed with its raspy sound I brought it with me.
Sure enough I heard the gobbler continuing to move. I told my nephew Ben, that he was traveling along the fence and would come through the gate and down the ramp to our field near the creek. It was amazing that I called it and that it what happened. Despite the fact I was there to hunt turkeys, I handed Ben my crossbow with the Panasonic camera attached. I just continued to call. In the meantime a dominant hen was sounding off. I had just finished an article about how to respond to them. Every time she sounded off, I cut her short. She came into the hen decoy PISSED! After she got there though, I started doing soft purrs and she calmed down and started to graze again. That was too much for the gobbler and he came down the ramp. I heard him go by the blind and then I noticed my nephew raising the crossbow. I called out to him "30 yard pin". It took a bit of adjusting but he hit the gobbler! A little far back so it took off at high speed. I've seen this movie before, and bolted from the blind in hot pursuit. Ben was confused. I told him where to go and went back and got another crossbow just in case we needed to shoot him again.
I handed Ben the bow, and went around the other side of the creek looking in the thickest, messiest garbage for the bird. Sure enough I spooked him and Ben saw him. "Shoot him again" I said! Shoot. Miss. hit but nothing vital. Miss. My brother in law comes along and hits in the head and then two misses. Well I'm up on the bank. They were out of arrows, and I wasn't about to grab a live turkey. I found their arrows and threw them across the creek. My nephew hits it in the leg, and I scared it and it fell down next to the creek. With one of the retrieved arrows, my brother in law Kyle "de -spined" it. Its flopping carried it into the stagnant creek. Kyle got it out, but it stunk like crazy and being wet it ruined our pictures.
He was a nice Rio! It had a 9" beard and 1.25 inch spurs. You could hang it up on a limb for sure. Anyway it was my nephew's first gobbler ever. I probably was more excited about it than he. It took me awhile to calm back down.
Here is the video of the hunt. Hope you enjoy it.
https://youtu.be/3p_21y-Wx9A
