Bucket List experience: Squeezing my dad, my son and I into a blind to be a part of the start of the Nebraska spring. Gobbling, strutting, turkeys several feet outside the blind, snow, mud, calves, tractor ride for my son -- all the pieces to spectacular memories. Both my dad and I getting our first turkeys with a bow was icing on the cake. The Nebraska people and land proved to be quite generous.
Jacob turned 9 yr old in March. After successfully using the shotgun the last 2 seasons, his goal was to take one this year w/ his bow. After 2 ½ hours in the blind, everything came together on opening day of the KS youth season. He put a perfect shot on this Tom and we(mom too) watched him go down 15 yards from the blind. Thanks to all the bowsiters submitting pictures to the threads on best shot placement. I printed a few off and we studied them so He and I would know exactly where to aim.
Osceola in the afternoon, first with a bow, he was posturing at my strutter decoy, tore me up, could barely draw my bow, after a hundred or more with a gun and watching a hundred others die guiding it was refreshing to get so excited about it.
Put me in the trying category. Camped in southeast corner of NE opening weekend in total washout. Cold blowing rain, hunted anyway like a dummy. Hunted opening day last weekend in WY. Some nice longbeards but no shots. Headed back to NE this weekend. Come on warm weather! Some nice ones posted, keeping me motivated.
Late last summer, my friend, Tom, contacted me about an old Ben Pearson recurve he had owned for many years. He wanted to know if I wanted to buy it from him. I don't think he ever used it much and it had been in a closet for a LONG time. The bow had a badly twisted bottom limb, but Tom sold me the bow for practically nothing. I put quite a bit of time into straightening out the limb. I got most of the twist out, but not all of it. The bow shot well anyway, so I made a goal this spring to arrow a turkey with Tom's old bow.
I have hunted several times this season and have seen quite a few turkeys, but the birds have just not cooperated as the toms haven't wanted to leave the hens. A few evenings ago while set up for turkeys, I connected on my first shot on a live animal with the old bow--a mouse at about 9 yards. :-)
The same "henned up" toms scenario was unfolding this morning as the turkeys were eventually heading the other direction after flydown. I picked up my decoys and hustled through heavy brush for a quarter mile to circle around and get ahead of them. I didn't really make it in time, but I decided to crawl up to the fence and put out my strutter decoy and rotate it a couple of times while I was laying on the ground behind it.
I had planned to set up my GoPro to get some video in case the turkeys meandered my way, but then I noticed the two toms in the group were breaking away and hurrying my direction. They were coming to kick the intruder's butt! I only had time to crawl back a few feet, grab the bow, crouch down in the grass the best I could, and nock an arrow. I didn't like my chances for getting a shot without getting busted. I didn't like them at all. In this photo, you can see my pack and the recurve just a few feet behind the decoy. That was my location as the toms were coming.
This next photo shows my view of the situation. I shot the tom when he was just to the left of the decoy and out about another 8 feet from it. I still can't believe I didn't get busted.
The shot was a good one and when I walked up on the bird, I noticed he had two beards. That was a first for me.
The tom weighed 23 pounds. The main beard was 9 1/4" while the second beard was 4 1/2." The spurs were only 5/8 of an inch each, so it was actually a pretty young bird and should be some good eating!
Paul@Fort you are turkey killing ma Chinese. Greg Kush nice gobbler and love those old bows.you guys take great photos too. Still camped in NE got morning left. Been in the birds heavy. Pulled defeat out of the jaws of victory twice lol. Don't even want to talk about it.
6:35 opening morning in Colorado. States that allow more than one bird, should limit it to only one per day. As the second photo shows, for a bowhunter, a second bird after you drop one in the decoys is kinda cheating. ;-)
My sons opening morning turkey in Colorado. It was spot and stalk using the Ultimate Predator Decoy. The decoy worked great, several hens saw my son and did not spook allowing my son to make a good shot.
Longbeard # 2 for the year. This one shot in last 19 minutes of a three day hunt. Touring Nebraska on my turkey hunts, this one about 75 miles from my first kill. Gobbled non-stop from 200 yards away for almost an hour before finally coming in with another strutter and a few hens.
My second and final SD bird for the year. Ki's visiting her cousins for Easter. She is not mad, I shot this one in the only spot she would let me go without her:)
Here are the four others , my wife shot one too. All just as the sun was coming up. Heading out to the spot I saw 17 toms last year with my son...It should be a good Easter morning for a hunt.
Awesome kid hunts & photo's, bow & gun, way to guys!! There some great looking birds being taken. My son got his first kill & turkey also, but with the scatter gun. post photo as soon as I can figure out how to minimize it. Congrats youngsters!!
Really enjoyed viewing the pics yall took time to post. Especially the kids! Those bullheads are devastating from what I've seen in some pics. My hunting got derailed by easter but I still got NE and WY tag burning hole in my pocket. Good job guys.
I am surprised there was only one cow. The whole herd just stampeded through 2 minutes before I killed this bird. I was surprised he didn't spook. After I shot, I hear the farmer putting down the road on his ATV. He was pushing them to the barn. The coolest part was he was chewing on an unlit stogie about as big around as a banana when he putted by.
Greg Awesome footage! How are you setting up the GoPro? Mounted on a stake? let it run all morning, or remote? Ive got one and never used it, but I see a cool way to get some use out of it now!
I took an old broken arrow and cut it down to about 18 or 20 inches. I glued another insert so there was one at one end for a field point and one at the other for a screw to mount one of the GoPro brackets. Just stick it in the ground. :-)
I keep the camera powered off to save battery and then turn it on and hit record with the remote that came with the camera when game is in the area.
The biggest mistake I see people make when using their GoPro is leaving it on the 1080 W (wide angle) setting. (I think the default setting is in that mode.) That gives the fisheye effect and makes things look so much farther away. I set mine in 1080 N (narrow mode) and things look so much better and not so far away. My GoPro is about three years old now, so the newer ones probably work even better if you use the proper settings.
Last fall, I tried to get a similar video of a shot on a deer, but I had such a slow fall that I wasn't able to get a shot on camera. Anyway, on September 2nd I did get this video of two hens and their poults. I think it is actually pretty cute. (I thought for sure I'd get a shot at a doe on that field edge in the early season as I had done so in previous seasons. I was in a deerstand in the trees to the left at the time.)
South Central Nebraska turkey.....more than likely a hybrid but looks like a RIO
South Central Nebraska turkey.....more than likely a hybrid but looks like a RIO
This bird was shot in the same field 100 yards away from my previous pic. Notice the coloration difference. Nebraska is great turkey hunting but the area I hunt definitely has hybrids.
This bird was shot in the same field 100 yards away from my previous pic. Notice the coloration difference. Nebraska is great turkey hunting but the area I hunt definitely has hybrids.
Great 2017 turkey season spent in Nebraska and Iowa. I harvested my biggest bird to date in Iowa on April 27th- 10 6/8 beard, 1 3/8 in spurs. I was tagged out in Nebraska on April 16th. I can't wait until next year.
There are so many great pics of birds here I thought we need a little contrast and show what they look like when things don't go as planned... This one dove into a creek and died. First pic is just after I pulled it out. It is the best drowned rat I have ever seen. Second is a while later but not yet fully dried out. Third is at home after it finally dried. Mmmm...smoked turkey!
Managed to kill this Opening Day bird this morning in Northern New York State. Some aggressive calling pulled him in with 2 live hens. Great day to be alive in the spring woods.
I am on the board. Wednesday morning I shot a Tom with an 8.5 inch beard. However I wasn't able to recover him until Wednesday evening. Long story. Public land.
Was unable to get a photo of my bird. I got him Monday at 855 in the morning. Took about 15 minutes to call him in. Shot at 20 yards with my bow. The bird is a jake with a 3.5 inch beard. I am going to Ohio in the morning. They are calling for SNOW.
