Saturday Evening

After a plate of juevos rancheros at The Country Store, we returned to the farm and decided to move the T5 I.C.E. Blind to The Point and set it up about 80 yards to the north of the other I.C.E. Blind.  Although we realized that we might be hunting the same bird, we decided it would allow us an additional position on the bird should he slip in from another position or if one person missed.  We set the second blind in view of the first so we could get a second, unique camera angle on any potential shot opportunity from either blind. (Click on photo below for video clip)

We spent the early part of the afternoon filling the two feeders that Casey and I had erected in January, and then spent some time shooting "long shots" with both our compounds and my 21st Century Longbow, and then opted for a short nap before heading out for the evening hunt.

We returned to "The Point" at 5 pm.  Casey set up in the "Predator Deception" blind and David and I sat together in the larger Brush Country model, with David the designated shooter and I as the camera man.  We weren't even fully set up inside the blind, less than 5 minutes after we entered, when I saw what appeared to be a bright-red ball in through the brush.  A bit perplexed, I stared at it for a moment trying to figure out what it could be.  When it moved, I realized the only possible thing it could be was the wattle of a turkey!  I radioed to Casey in the other blind that "there's a turkey directly in front of us," which alerted David at the same time!  I sounded a few short yelps on my diaphragm call and by the time I got the cameral rolling the long bearded trophy was within 15 yards walking through the brush at full strut! 

I whispered to David to take the shot when he was ready, as I had the bird centered in the viewfinder of my video camera.  He didn't have a clear shot other than through the window that I was filming through.  I moved slowly to film through the "Pro Staff" window of the I.C.E. Blind.  With the bird again in view and the camera rolling, David drew and shifted into position for a shot.  By now, the bird was eight feet (that's right, I said feet, not yards!) from the blind!  The combination of the Double Bull I.C.E. Blind and Brush Country Camouflage was performing to perfection, completely hiding us from the sharp-sighted turkey. 

I couldn't figure out why David hadn't shot.  Finally, I heard the shot and saw the frightened bird fly up and then run away.  I wondered briefly why the bird would fly up if he was hit so close, but realized that David had missed!  How could he miss?  The picture below is from Casey's vantage point.  (Click on photo below for video clip from two different camera angles!) (5.2 megs)

I quickly blew a few more yelps on the call and successfully stopped the bird, now at 20 yards.  David quickly nocked a second arrow, while I tried to reposition the camera in case of a second shot.  I tried to convince David not to take the shot to see if we could call him back in, but he was walking slowly away and I realized our chances were slim of getting him back in.  I told David to take the shot if he had it, and with that the second arrow was on it's way.  The arrow pierced the bird, which began flopping on the ground.  David tried to exit quickly to get on top of the disoriented bird, but by the time he got the cameraman out of the way and unzipped the blind, the bird was back on its feet and headed for the thick mesquite.

We searched the area for most of the rest of the afternoon.  I walked through the dense new growth mesquite until I reached the "Finger Creek" and then worked back across the south fence-line and along the neighboring property.  As I walked back to the east along the fence, I spotted a turkey coming out of the new growth mesquites in which the tom had scurried, and watched him cross under the fence and onto the neighboring property.  I checked the fence crossing for any sign of a wounded turkey, but unfortunately a turkey doesn't leave much of a trail.  I'm convinced that it was David's turkey that crossed the fence, but knew there was no hope of recovering the bird. 

Disappointed, we returned to the I.C.E. Blind to see if we could get a shot at a hog before it got dark.  After further investigation, we discovered that the cause of David's errant initial shot was a small yaupon limb that deflected his arrow harmlessly over the turkey.  We trimmed the limbs around the blind so as not to duplicate the scenario in the unlikely event that we were presented with another "gimme" shot. 

David and I switched roles, with him manning the camera and I picking up my Hoyt Striker to become the shooter.  There was little action until I saw something black at the edge of the brush along the creek on the other side of Casey's blind.  I was not able to identify it, but when I saw it move I determined that it must be a hog and alerted Casey to be ready for a possible shot.  The hog, or whatever it was, had disappeared behind the brush for several minutes.  I was certain that I had seen something, though doubt began to creep into my mind as we searched for any indication that it was indeed an animal.  Suddenly, we heard a gobble on the other side of the roost tree!  It wasn't a hog, it was a turkey!  We called again, but never could get an answer.  But the excitement was back, since we had been a little concerned that there may only be one gobbler on the entire property!  We now knew that there were at least two toms!  The bearded bird flew up into the tree, followed moments later by a lone hen.  We watched as the gobbler fanned his feathers and tail in the tree and waited until dark before slipping out of the blinds and back to the pickup.

David was disappointed and a little angry that we had been unable to recover his bird.   The Spitfire-tipped arrow appeared to have been well-placed, but the arrow passed completely through the bird; not a desired outcome when turkey hunting.  A turkey-stopper behind the broadhead may have made a difference, but we decided that the best shot to take while bowhunting turkeys was either a head shot or spine shot. 

We spent the evening chasing a group of hogs, unsuccessfully, before retiring to the hotel to get a little sleep before the final hunt of the weekend on Sunday morning.

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