NATURAL SETUP OR BUST contest & thread!
Turkey
Time to make the official NATURAL SETUP OR BUST contest thread. Submit entries to this thread.
As i mentioned before in the past few years joe and I have been inviting either bowsiters or roksliders to hunt with us for a weekend here in nor- cal. We enjoy helping others (especially the kids) get a bird and even more if its their first bird. So last year we took a rokslider's daughter on a 2 day hunt, so this year we'll offer this up to bowsiters. There will be 5 judges all bowsiters. The winner selected will be welcome to come out to our woods here in nor-cal in spring of 2015 to turkey hunt with us for 3 days general season, or 2 days jr weekend. Winner will have to get here on their own dime and buy license and required stamp. Cali has a 3 bird limit and i can say based by stats we get shots (mostly kills) every hunting day. Trust me it would be a good time and we dont ask or expect anything in return. Just another way to meet hunters and enjoy the outdoors. If the winner cant make it the judges will select a runner up winner to take the prize based on their submission.
Weve opened this up for both VIDEOD hunts and PHOTOGRAPHED hunts. Heres the competition and rules.
-bowhunter must 'bow'kill a spring 2014 bird using a natural setup or spotnstalk technique. --NO BLINDS, NO GUNS, NO CROSSBOWS
- for bowhunter who video the hunt, It can be either self filmed or filmed by second person. (self filmed hunts are obviously tougher so deff opp for higher scoring by judges if video is legit quality)
- only one videod hunt/kill submission for the challenge per bowsiter (so pick wisely)
-video must be max 5 min in length.
-somewhere in videod hunt you must show proof of the date during hunt/kill via phone or someother electronic device and say "NATURAL SETUP OR BUST!" in the video.
- video must be submitted to the thread as a link/attachment within 15 days after the latest state's season ending date if that makes sense.
Videos will be judged by following the rules, capturing the hunt and pulling the viewers in, footage of both bird(s) and hunter, complete hunt story, videography quality, challenge of the setup/hunt, etc..
For non video guys you can participate with photographs by these rules. Pics can be self taken or taken by another person (not the shooter)
- hunt entry must have 6 specific pics.
Pic 1-3 should be action pics of birds coming into and in the setup or during stalk. Bonus points awarded for action shots containing both birds and hunter in same frame. Even better if pic shows hunter at full draw with bird in pic or pic during shot with arrow sent or bird being hit.
Pic 4 will be a pic of hunter posing with dead bird in the setup or kill location.
Pic 5 will be a scenery type pic of your choice, of the area you hunted and killed at. just not another grip n grin style like pic 4.
Pic 6 needs to be a creative pic of hunter with a sign reading "NATURAL SETUP OR BUST" in any type of pre hunt, during the hunt, or post hunt pic of your choice.
Use your imagination. Pics will be judged by quality, originality, and following required rules.
If you cant participate please dont let that change your mind on hunting birds in a natural setup as we'd still love to hear the natural setup hunt stories and success on this thread.
And TBM sorry but no scoring system for bird beard and spur length. But obviously the closer the bird is the better the video or pics will be. Lets have a fun season and let the games begin!!!! Good luck to everyone this year in the turkey woods!
Thank you for opening up an option for non-video.
This outta be fun.
Define natural setup please... You know it will be asked. Thanks
If this natural setup or bust thread info contest is new to any others read the above link for info on it..... Should be fun!
Cool stuff.
Won't be a participant (none I'm taking are bowunters) but I'll sure enjoy watching this contest roll along.
Thanks for taking the many hours to get this set-up, and the amazing first-prize.
Roost-gobbling good in Kansas, and some tom flocks are splitting. :-)
Doesn't look like they'll be much green-up in the woods by April 1, though.
Same here writer but we are seeing mid day activity and birds doing the "death gobble!" i luv it!!! Just a couple more weeks.
Little scouting today. Covered lots of country saw over 30 longbeards :-)
Crooked turkey chronicles!
Sounds like fun. I've been thinking of doing a natural blind for about a year now. Sometimes it seems too easy to call them into a tent even with a bow.
Someone teach joe how to post pics plz haha!
Dang, guys, you are hunting some steep stuff out there in Cali!!!!
Those birds must be crossed with mountain goats!
Writer, more like steep turkey chronicles ha!
Trkyslr an I did some scouting today and I found a bird in some not so steep country. He's on the hit list :-)
ttt... just a reminder for the guys who maybe didnt read this closely is this is a PHOTOGRAPHY and VIDEO contest. see above rules if wanting to participate in the challenge of a natural setup on this springs turkeys. good luck!
Cool stuff guys...I'm counting the days!
me too David! me too.... birds are going nutz rt now
Scouted a few thousand acres yesterday, and dominant toms are starting to run the two-year-olds away from the ladies.
Ladies are still in some sizable flocks, though. Saw one that had 31 sweeties and another with 42.
Good roost gobbling, though not shock gobbling like they will in a few weeks.
But it's getting cloooooooooooser. :-)
Geez, we still have 2' of snow on the ground, and our season doesn't start until May. I can't wait, for the snow to melt, and for the season to start. Jay
this threads a few days away from getting some action.,, cant wait!
I would have gave it some action but sticking a southern eastern in just wouldnt have done it justice. Kind of like putting the Mona Lisa in with some box car graffiti.
cmon tbm get rid of that bowed up blind and make killin one of your birds a challenge why dont ya and with the difficulty of filming or photographing it,,,, challenge yourself ;-)
It has been a challenge so far...unreal challenging fir everyone. I have heard few gunshots. Nobody is killing them at the normal pace. I was going to tinker with the blindless hunt when I got down one to go but I might not get there. This is why we don't have many bowhunters here in the south...it's tough.
http://youtu.be/V-F_I5mddCA
Not natural set ups but might hold you boys over until Sat! (:
Trkyslr works his magic on a great double on the second hunt
Opening day came and went with lotta action. We began with me as shooter and joe camera dude. First setup we had some henned up birds that didnt want to play then we took off in search of some hot ones.. Checked a few spots and located a hot bird that basically ran joe and i over. Only problem was my choice of setup was a mistake as the bird didnt see the decoys and circled high. I coulda shot him at 25 but decided not too. Checked another spot and nada. I decided to change things up and told joe hes now shooter. The storm was fast approaching and wind was picking up. We checked another spot and i began calling dang near as loud as possible. Instantly 6-8 birds from 200 yards to 800 yards began going nuts. Within no time one longbeard flew a canyon and had us doing the mad dash for a setup. Then we had three jakes come in from behind and another longbeard come into 60 yards. The jakes saw the fast approaching longbeard and wouldnt you know it the freakin camera died...... Ill let joe finish the conclusion of todays hunt and add some pics.
With the longbeard rapidly approaching the 3 jakes weren't havin none of it and ran him off in a big circle. After a few minutes I see the longbeard headed my direction with the jakes chasing behind. I readied for the shot as the longbeard came into the deeks at full strut 18 yards away. I wasn't wasting any time already at full draw I let her rip. The vpa 3 blade was places perfectly cutting both wings in half and the bird made it 2 yards dead in less than 5 seconds. Just goes to show good shot placement is key no matter what head you shoot. The rain started and the cam was already dead so pix weren't the best but oh well. We turned a rough day into a decent ending considering.
Another pic I snapped from an earlier setup
Is that as hid as you have to get? That is so far from what I will have to do to get a shot here without a blind. This might be an eye opener for an insight as to how wary our birds are in comparison to others. Our birds would see you from at least 100 yards in a set like that. I would like to experience the beauty of the landscape I see in yalls pics and video. It is all trashy, thorny, briaors, thickets. Openings are few and far between here. That is what makes it extra challenging and rewarding...everybody ain't doing it with a bow here.
Nice bird, Joe. You guys are producing... like every year lol.
Tbm, you gotta trust in the deeks if you dont have a barrier to draw behind.. Birds on the dsd's are in such tunnel zone that a well timed draw while flauging works. I try and put deeks near a tree or bush to assist but sometimes a wide open setup is all i have.. Man i would love to hunt in jungle where drawing would be easy peasy!
You got a point...the cover assist with the draw but our birds are so quick to process danger signals. I have seen them spook when tension is put on the string. I hope more bowsiters could try our birds so the will see and understand me how tough it is to consistantly take our limit of 5. Flogging is not going to get it done. I think I will have to use a hen so they will be strutting and the fan will cover up the draw. Dekes will help. Last time I went blindless the dekes were not legal. I think I am the only hunter in the state to take turkeys without a blind and without dekes...it is that tough. Until yall hunt here yall want understand.
Tbm I like to let my success make the noise not my jibber jabber. Quit making excuses an make adjustments.
Disregard the video. Dono what button I pushed to get that there :-/
"I think I am the only hunter in the state to take turkeys without a blind and without dekes...it is that tough. Until yall hunt here yall want understand."
In your state, maybe.
I love that video... it says a lot. Congrats on your bird Joe. Ed F
I enjoy the vids too...it looks like a golf coarse everywhere. Joe I have complete confidense I can get it done anywhere and some places with ease. I have reason not to have confidense that others can get it done here. I don't think too many are equipped to make the adjustments.
TBM... When you say turkeys are so much smarter in Alabama... is it due to:
A) Increased pressure, that leads to more human/turkey interactions?
B) Genetic superiority and are born with keener senses?
C) Something else?
Merely curious...
Julius K
Lets keep this thread on topic... Thanks and good luck to all.
Clearly B) jk..on a natural setup I will have to take advantage of the position of the sun, the wind ot maybe rain and decoys to get drawn. Hopefully the turkeys will start coming to fields soon. That makes it easier as I have only call n killed one in the timber without a blind. I want to kill at least one more before taking this challenge.
Well the storm passed during the night and it was an awesome day with scattered small clouds. A day for birds to fire up and get some arrows via natural setup! I was behind the bow first with brent second, then joe third if the birds cooperated and we did out part. We went back to the spot we checked yesterday and had several birds gobbling in the distance. Within a half hour we had two longbeards racing up the hill to the decoys. As they passed behind the big oak i came to full draw. The birds came in and the first longbeard immediately mounted the submissive hen. I then placed a perfect arrow thru the bird and it went 8 yards to his grave.
Here is a pic of the video paused of trkyslr drawn down on his prey!!!
And another Bowsite mystery photo appears. Let's try this again
Once my bird went down the second bird beat up on my bird and brent pulled off the double with a killing shot! We were pumped to pull off a double natural setup within 15 yards. And joe was filming the whole hunt. Both were three year olds with great beards, brents a double beard.
Here is second bird beatin down the first bird
The end result of the dsd magic
After brent and i pulled of the double we went searching for a bird for joe. First spot we called in some jakes but let them live another day.
Take the jake?.?.?.?. Naaaaa
Then we checked a spot that had produced in the past and had a bird fired up at 2 pm. Joe was up to bat, i was filming and calling. After 10 minutes the bird got hot and came in quick. He put on a show and really tested joe's timing of his draw at 12 yards. Joegot to full draw unseen and as the bird nudged the decoy he put his second bird down. We killed 3 longbeards today all natural setups
All smiles. The video footage is bad arse!!!
It was a great day and we took a pic near my house of all of us with our birds. It was a great day with the homies! Gotta love turkey hunting and its challenges which tasted sweet with success today!
Prob best day of Turk huntin in my life just because of setups an havin my good homies with me.
Nice work guys, that's a real hunt! Can't wait to see the footage.
Excellent...now that's "fair chase" !
Best of Luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)
Great day...gorgeous friggin' country for hunting turkeys, run and gun.
Man, you got some cave back in those hills that's spews a fresh batch longbeards every morning, or something?
...so why did you invest all that money, and effort, into using those silly pop-up blinds? :-)
Great season so far, I'm sure it will hold.
Congrats fellas!!
Joe's tagged out and it's still early, poor guy :) Or do you get three tags?
THanks guys! Were deff off to a great start considering taking the more challenging route of a natural setup archery style. The key really is setting up with some forthought, camo'in up and the timing of your draw to not be detected. 4 lb's down in 2 days cant complain! Thursday brent and i are back at it.
Yayaaaa! Amazing day.... Biggest bird I have ever taken, thanks for the memories boys! Thurs can't come fast enough!
Congratulations guys... good stuff!!!
pic at home with my 3 year old Gia! soon Ill be taking her with me and it will be all about her birds. cant wait!
I love it. HAMMERTIME. HUNT
Ghost, Groe, Hollywood, Hunt.. Thanks!
Awesome. The slaying has begun. Poor turkeys don't Ben stand a chance against you guys.
Dang it you boys aren't messin' around!
Great stuff, and better to come.
A good friend took his 5 year-old daughter out this morning and he arrowed one with her in the blind. Great photos.
Had the 11 year-old out tonight and had a single tom and then a pair of two-year-olds hang-up at 40 yards from the Dakota jake and upright DSD hen. That's three sets in a row like that since I got the hen.
Strange....
Keep the pics coming, guys. Love your shots and video.
Thanks writer! It sounds like its prob not the decoys hanging up the birds if this is happening consistently.. Might be the blind, blind setup, and or location. From all my experiences 99% of the time when a bird comes within sight of my dsd's they commit all the way in unless something else gets their attention. Good luck!
Writer I agree with slr, myb junior is moving inside blind? Gotta be still inside there as usually they are checkin out the funny lookin tent too. Just a check point on next setup. Good luck buddy.
I just want to make absolutely sure, the use of a decoy setup doesn't disqualify one from this contest, correct? As long as a bow is used and a blind isn't, the gear qualifications are met?
TrkySlyr,
Why did you cover up your new paint job on the bow?
I thought it looked awesome.
Julius
mbmule,, yes decoys are all good. main objective is not using a blind. and yes archery only.
julius,, last year i wore vias camo pants when a buddy was the shooter and two birds easily picked me off and spooked. the vias is way to light for the dark greens and browns here and stands out. so on my (vias colored)bow I used a non stick cloth tape and colored it to better match the terrain. ya gotta blend when birds are close and not in a blind.
Perfect. I love hunting them without a blind but decoys are too much fun to leave behind. I've taken a Gould's with a bow, without a blind and my first turkey ever with a bow was without a blind, but adding a camera into the mix will toughen it up.
mbmule, take a buddy with you if you want.. makes taking pics or video easier. but if you can do a diy hunt with video or pics thats awesome,,, and tough!
My girlfriend will be hunting with me, but in my mind, in a perfect situation, we'll get a Natural Setup or Bust, self-filmed double. I want to win this thing!
nice,,, i like the attitude!
You mean two bobbin' blonde heads inside a blind, with a window opened on the other side I didn't now about, might have had something to do with it?
Boy's mom had never heard an up-close gobble, and when the twin two-year-olds gobbled close, she about ran her face out the window.
Thought they were back far enough from the windows, but they may have gotten silhouetted.
Back at it Friday afternoon and Saturday. Yesterday was the first youth/archery opener I've blanked...
Word on the street is trkyslr connected with his second bird of the season at 6 yards natrual setup all on video. Not even a full week into the season and them Cali boys both got 2 birds down apiece :-) pics to come soon
So today Brent and i got back into the woods for day 3. We arrived to the ranch about 10 minutes after fly down and heard some birds doing the death gobble down the hill from a spot ive had success before. Brent was up to bat as i was filming. We setup but should have maybe reconsidered the shooters position. Long story short we had longbeards come in but none left with us as they caught some movement. Lesson we learned or were reminder of for this was when doing an all natural setup be up against or in front of a tree or bush or rock and dont silhouette yourself. It makes it tougher to draw and not be seen. The birds soon went quiet and we then began speed checking other spot. Brent and i also switched up the order and i was up to bat. We checked 4 other properties and called a few jakes in but it was very windy and overcast so things were a little slower. At about 230 we arrived to another ranch and the sun was coming out and warming up. We found 2 big longbeards and a jake who were following a single hen. Brent and i got out in front of them about 300 yards and only really had once risky setup. It was wide open between the ridge the birds were on and us except for a few large oak trees. The trees were close to eachother so this meant a close decoy setup of 6 yards. After a few calls the longbeards and jake left the hen and were running our way. The birds closed the last 120 yards across the opening in about 10 seconds and i was able to get to full draw with the one big oak between us with brent telling me they were closing in. All of sudden the birds got back into my view at 10 yards and closed in ontothe decoys at 6. At 6 yards and looking our direction the birds saw one of us and put on the brakes, but it was to late as I arrowed my second cali gobbler. He went 15 yards and was drt in about 5 seconds. It was an intense setup bei g so close but made the encounter much more awesome! The footage is awesome as well!!! The bird was a big 3 year old that weighed a true 22-24 pounds and had a 10.5" thick beard. One of the biggest and prettiest birds ive killed in a while. This was a great bird!!! So day 3 has passed and i have tagged cali bird number 2 using a natural setup. The day ended great! The next couple days ill be watching buddies hunt from a nearby tree and it should be fun.
Nice bird. but, You are killing all the dumb ones. I see where this is going... Setting me up for a goat rope again. Thanks buddy!
SD plan ur fbt earlier in the season then homie!
Well done boys! How the heck is anybody gonna beat yall at your own game!? When do we get to see the video?
Cool stuff, and some of the prettiest turkey country on the planet.
Green grass, I'm trying to remember what that was like...hmmm.
Congrats Chris, can't wait to see these vids!
Best of Luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)
Once again Chris...nice job!
Footage at seasons end will be ready... Thanks guys! One more tag.....
Well today i played sherpa as i went along with some buddies. We had a tough day as the birds were just plain funny. Birds kept getting intercepted on their way by hens and weather was again windy. No turkeys volunteered to be a bowsite star... Maybe tmrw.
Thanks Don!
Today again i was the sherpa as my buddy brad from oregon was the shooter. Brad tried a few diff setups with the bow but couldnt get a natural setup to work so with time running out and having to head home tmrw he switched to boomstick.. Ya ya i know this is bowsite......... After some jake call ins , my buddy aaron called in a longbeard and jake that put on a show in the sunlight and pines. Brad then made a good shot and claimed his first cali bird of the year. Other then that it was again windy and birds were only responding when in close. Ill be back at next weekend with joe trying to tag out after a long week of work.
Good stuff! Great photos as well!
Thanks for the pics...great country, and a testament to how pretty and wild much of California can be.
Hopefully I cab get out and hunt some of that beatutiful country and teach yall boys some advance level turkey hunting. I could learn yall that you can kill em without an ontarage. Real turkey hunters hunt solo bayby!!! ( - :
Tbm lol,,, its cool to be part of the wolfpack! makes it fun and means were able to video/ photograph it all easier for everyone to enjoy. We also help at keeping the turk population from skyrocketing by taking others ;-)
Another natural setup archery kill in the books this morning... Standby to standby!
So for all the guys who are attempting the natural setup archery tactics this year hows it going so far? Your season open yet? Hoping to see some more natural setup hunts on here soon! Good luck everyone.
I have not tried yet. The greenup is starting so it ought to get very doable soon. I am pulled between trying to kill some of these elusive old toms or doing the natural setup.
Tbm I used to hunt 90% solo but find it more fun to share good times with my homies. I've killed plenty of game solo an lots w buddies. Since I'm not keeping score on how many I've killed I find I score bigger when I got memories an pics of good friends doing what we love together.....bowhunting! In the end that's what it's all about :-)
Ttt... Whos wanting to hunt nor-cal? Gotta be some successful naturalist out there...
Cali boys... Congratulations on some good times & birds.
I am interested in knowing more about your equipment, especially bow poundage, axle to axle length, and broadheads.
Itchin' to get back out! Learned some hard lessons last trip. Still lookin for Cali bird #2
Wondering when turkey season opens up for the rest of the states you boys are in? I know Oregon opens the 15th.
Ghost bird joe and i both shoot around 70# and 3 blade fixed heads vpas. His arrows are 400 mine 450. Joe 32 ata im 35 ata. Good luck!
I'll be out tomorrow, but don't expect to see me add to the natural setup contest. With all the photo/video requirements it will just be a little tough and more than I want to take on solo. Getting a bird here with this tactic will be tough enough. It is very wide open right now with no green at all. You guys are welcome to wish me luck though. Btw, great photos! It does look pretty, but I'm not sure how wild. ;^)
VERY impressive! Your annual thread (and now at a whole new level of challenge) has turned into one of the hallmark Bowsite threads!
Always look forward to it!
Mark
Thanks guys!!!! We enjoy doing this and are having a blast challenging ourselves. Went out today and worked a giant spurred bird in to 10 yards.. lets just say lesson of the day is hittm high watchm die hittm low watchm go...
So yesterday i called in some big spurred volenteers for roy (bwhntr) but a turkey anatomy showed their diff then a muley the hard way... So today i had daddy duties and roy went out with joe. word has it roy spot n stalked a big bird like a muley and adjusted successfully with a great shot. Im sure pics are being proccessed by joe as i type. Congrats roy!
My favorite picture for this time of the year.
I had an incredible natural setup hunt in the 50+ mph winds, snow, and lightning here in Central Nebraska this morning.
I took my first bow bird ever at 12 ft on the ground all self filmed. He has 4 beards and a nice blonde tail fan.
The experience was quite epic with the birds lighting up in the trees with the lightning and gobbling with the cracks of thunder.
I broke two cameras and nearly my D600 trying to capture the footage in the extreme conditions.
I hope to have the video ready to share in a couple weeks.
A huge thanks to trkyslr and joehunter for challenging me to up my game and tackle these public land turkeys with a natural setup!
Sounds like we have a winner. That's good. I will get back in my blind and go after some hooks!!!
Ridge wraith, thats awesome and sounds like a great memory for sure. Cant wait to see the footage!!! And pics?
Cmon tbm dont give up that easy, i know you got it in you ;-)
Today was a tuff day... Jake city usa everwhere we went. Longbeards in a lull with the occasional hot one. They should break out of this funk very soon
screen shot of some action from this past weekend.
Groe thats an awesome pic! Contest candidate hunt?
Groe love that pic. Well as Chris said we hunted with Roy all weekend and it was tough for the most part but we put down a total giant. Here are some pix from the weekend...
The muley slayer goes spot n stalk on a big bird..
Joe, you guys are definitely my turkey heroes. This, on top of your spot and stalk turkey kills from last year, definitely make you The Man when it comes to turkeys with a bow in my book. Man its tough out here in VA to get it done with a bow on turkeys. Tough even with a gun after opening day most years. I've killed a pile of them with shotgun, rifle, pistol, muzzleloader and xbow (all legal in fall here) but have yet to pull it off with a vertical bow. Haven't killed one in the 3 years since I said bow only or bust for all my non upland and waterfowl hunting. Got drawn on them several times in the last 2 years but never loosed an arrow....will be at it again this weekend though. Maybe my luck will change. They seem to be turning on a little late this year thanks to the never ending winter. I've actually considered tree stand hunting the toms looking for late hens. We get piles of pics of lone toms on the logging road in late in the spring season.
Rayzor, anybody hunting blindless for birds in the Virginias or deep south is going to have trouble taking them on a consistant basis. Even the larger hub style blinds can be tough to kill from. It's just not the same playing field for turkey when you consider the variables. In the Midwest, the wind, cedars, and large numbers of less wary birds is a great combo for success. Still, the conditions do get right for blindless kills from time to time. Tuesday it is suppose to be windy here with gust up to 30 so I might give it a go then but on calm days I would rather get them in close with a blind.
Thanks for posting the photo, Joe. Had a great time, as usual, with you and Chris. Hopefully I'll see you guys at the state broadhead.
As for the big ol' gobbler I arrowed......definitely all natural....spot-n-stalk.....and a heck of lot of luck for sure! I was amazed at those hooks when I walked up to him.
Love that part of the Golden State......thanks again, guys. You guys are the best turkey hunters I've ever seen.
Thanks guys and roy glad you got your 190" turkey ;-)
Seasons just starting so lets add some more to this thread... Good luck everyone!
Ray thanks for the kind words. Trkyslr is by far "the man" when it comes to calling and setups. He never fails to make me shake my head an say "dam that guy is good." But every once in a while the Indian in me comes out an I like to try sneakin. Have been fortunate a few time and lucky some others. I was talkin to Roy about that exact topic this weekend and he mentioned how he can judge a muleys actions on body language. I suppose I've spent enough time around Turks to be able to read them an I've come out on top a few times. Either way it's fun to hunt them.
Roy your welcome buddy it was a pleasure having you up again. Congrats again on the bird. I'd say he is about a 190ish book bird??? :-)
Nothing on Saturday here. Called in two separate birds on Sunday, but couldn't get them all the way in for the bow kill.
The first gobbler was the most fired up I've ever seen/heard a bird without him coming all the way in. I worked that one for 2 1/2 hours and finally couldn't take it any more. I got to the point where parts of my body were numb and I don't think I would have been able to shoot if the bird finally came within reach of an arrow.
Great thread, its nice to see you guys putting them on the ground the hard way instead of just talking about how great you are at putting them on the ground the hard way....
The whole process of going blindless is starting to gain some appeal to me and I am beginning to change mindsets. It is hard...after 30 years of setting up and calling them in, (the gentleman way) the thought of crawling on one is hard to accept. Crawling is considered unsporting, unethical, and just down right dirty way to take such a majestic bird. This mindset comes from shotgun hunters and sort of follows the don't shoot a quail on the ground pattern ...not illegal...just not sporting either. Fact is it is just too easy to crawl, raise and blast. But with a bow things are different. To put a sneak on a turkey armed with bow and arrow is honorable imo. Still, if I can get a call n kill blindless, that will be the best of both worlds. I've just got to recognize when a sneak is available that I need to take it...hesitation is a weakness.
Agreed tbm! Two diff ways or tactics involved is the ol' indian sneak maybe with calling to close in with the bird sounding off if you cant see him and calling one in close (6-12 yards) and using sneaky ninja movements to draw and be undetected. Either way imo takes more woodsmanship and execution then hunting from a blind due to not having the added concealment. I hope to see a natural kill in your future to add to this thread. Good luck!
You mentioned that self filming will add to the score. I am going to try to Bullhead one so that might add more...and the Alabama turkey should definantly add a tremondous amount to it. I guess out of a possible high score I ought to be near the top before I even kill one because of the sever degree of difficulty I face.( - : HDYLMK
You mentioned that self filming will add to the score. I am going to try to Bullhead one so that might add more...and the Alabama turkey should definantly add a tremondous amount to it. I guess out of a possible high score I ought to be near the top before I even kill one because of the sever degree of difficulty I face.( - : HDYLMK
"because of the sever degree of difficulty I face"
You looking in the mirror??? lol
Good luck on the hunt. I'm still working on getting a second bird with my bow.
It don't feel so hard compared to your homemede Osage bow and flint arrowheads. That is pretty much as hard as it gets.
Thanks, but I'm using training wheels this spring.
Took my good buddy Brando out today. Called in a bird that wouldn't commit to the deeks so as he moved outta sight I had Brando make a move on him. He snuck to 23 yards an shot low. Bird was fine only collecting a few feathers. Later this afternoon we found 2 gobblers fighting but they were on opposite sides of a fence. So they were jus poking their heads thru the fence and pecking each other. I told him just sneak up and killm they are occupied with each other. He got to 25 and let this guy have it. Natrual setup? Not really. No blind sneaky Indian??? You betcha!! Love killnm that way.
Ha joe thats a natural setup kill fa sho by my standards with no blind being used. Congrats to brando! And it sounds like the bird that didnt commit to deek didnt like blind setup. I say no more blinds at all for fellow hunters with us?! Think nate be up for that lol. ;-)
Today I had 2 failed stalk attempts. Birds wouldn't come into deeks so I tried to make it happen. Terrain didn't allow quiet sneakin an birds heard me in the leaves. Just goes to show if ur gonna go "sneaky Indian" on em things gotta be perfect. Happy Easter everyone.
Nice work -- that " - sneaking indian - " stuff looks fun
Nice photo taken yesterday as well jf
Lovin that Cali Sunshine
Shoot straight/sneak quietly, Nick
I'm fighting it boys.. I got more bust than a sow with 20 piglets!!!!
Tbm, i know its near for ya! Good luck!
Birds here about to go into hotmode then into death mode.. Noticing more hot solo birds throughout the day. Now that the family holliday festivity is over its time to go hardcore turkey mode next few weeks! Good luck to everyone.
I got 3 humongous fat juicy toms all over the dekes and I couldn't get drawn. The situation was ok if one lone tom had showed and I could have drawn as he came in but the three scattered out always had eyes on me so I waited for them to get distracted by the dekes but the still started off going away. I tried to draw but they already busted me even though Ihad a leafy ssuit and full war paint and all. These birds make it almost impossible to do this but I have done it before so I will keep trying.
Tbm, one thing you may try is placing the jake deek just past (1-2 yards) and to the other side (1 yards) of a wide tree, bush, or rock, from the direction the birds are coming from. This may force them to go behind that tree or object to get to the deek and give you time to draw. I also notice when birds get within a few yards of the jake deek they stutter step before they attack or strut and slow their approach down i think to make sure the deek doesnt throw a spur at them as kinda being cautious. Sometimes this will give you an extra second with them behind that object to draw on them. Just an idea if feasable in your woods.
SDHNTR doesnt let pouring rain continue his turkey jinx with me... Details to come! ;-)
During the storm front we didnt let the pouring rain keep us indoors as turkeys are still turkeys even in the rain. Nate and I made our way to a ridge with a canopy from the oaks and setup with deeks at 10 and us in a blind. Yes i know not a natural setup but wanted to share Nate's hunt as we were jinxed last year with bad luck on our hunt. With rain and wind blowing i sweet talked loudly for about 5 minutes and had 4 longbeards march rt in. Nate killed one that went about 4 yards before dieing. The other 3 longbeards put on a show as they pecked the dead bird and whooped on the dsd jake. Great start for the weekend as the weathers clearing up. Pic to be added soon. And this weekend holds some natural setup action. I can feel it yeaaaaya!
Never seen a dead yard bird look like a wet, untamed beaver, but mine does! Don't expect any nice pretty, sunny, greeny grassy pics on this one. It was cold and rainy, but awesome! Thanks Stone!
nate and his longbeard, 9" beard, 1 1/8" spurs,,, and wet!!!!!!
This is the one that broke my spirit. No natural kill for me this season.
Great pic tbm! Ive got some low quality phone pics of birds after nates kill ill try and post
Looks like nates bird is dying on the right an another lb is attacking the jake. Wish I coulda been there good job nater!!
My natural set up resulted in 2 bust and a blind resulted in a busted ego
Well just got back from my turkey hunt, was a great hunt and a nightmare. 2nd day called in a gobbler to 10 yards got busted drawing, later that day called in 2 jakes to 15 yards got busted drawing. No blind just ghillie jacket and a longbow.
I decided to take a blind and decoys the 3rd day, hunting public so I was not sure how they would respond to a blind and decoys, thats why I opted not to use them at first.
Very steep area for Missouri humped the blind and gear 1.6 miles back on a ridge, no gobbling they were all 2 ridges over. I break down, make the hump. Pop out on an old logging road, and a gobbler gobbles 75 yards away around the bend.
I threw the blind up stuck it in the tree line, put the decoys in the road, yelped twice he gobbled and came running to my decoys attacked the jake and knocked him off the stake. He freaked out was at 4 yards facing away I shot him in between the legs a bit low above the tail fan. It made a loud whack and hardly penetrated. I tried to put another on in him at 25 and missed.
He goes 50 yards and enter the tree line, walking pretty normal slow but not wobbling, then 5 jakes show up and I hear them fighting and purring right where I last saw him, I'm thinking he is down they are on him.
I wait half hour blood trail all the way to the tree line he went in, but no bird I looked for 3 hours under every log, brush pile nothing.
I sold my longbow this am, I'm done giving it up, switching back to wheels, It's the most ethical choice for me at this point, I don't even want to shot at an animal with a trad bow, I got target panic with it bad.
I was using Cherokee sports hen and jake, the hen got a hole in it and had duct taoe around it's neck to cover the hole, so if it's on it's on.
Keb, thanks for the hunt stories as it sounds like you had action and learned a lot about the natural setups that will help you become more successful in your future hunts. Getting drawn on close birds is deff a big challenge of it... Good luck in your future hunts!
Congrats Nate! Love the drowned rat pic!
Congrats to all who have succeeded thus far in the "challenge"...
I stuck this KS Tom back on the 10th...23.8# - 10" - 1 1/8"
No blind, self filmed from two angles...
Over the shoulder angle, filmed with a Canon HD but this clip is from my phone...
GoPro in the "Deke's"...it's in HD but this clip was again filmed with my phone...you should be able to hear the shot after he walks out of the spread.
Still more than a month left here for #2...good luck fellas!
Thanks Ike... it was now or never I suppose ;) The Jake decoy can pose a problem , in that they are less likely to strut and give you the opportunity to draw with their head blocked by the fan...but he didn't "booger" too badly and I was able to pull it off.
You can't really see the lighted nock in the first clip but its visible on the raw footage...
You would never get away with that on a southern eastern...that just ain't playing fair.
Don't tell me what I can't do...you don't know me...go hide in your tent.
Sito awesome job and great footage! I like the creative effort. Are you going to put it all together with recovery for us to see and a submission? Way to go natural setup! One little tip if possible might help not alert the bird is have the bow up as he comes in so when you draw its way less movement. But you got it done and made a great shot! Congrats!
2 birds down today here with our crew both natural and no blind. With the airplanes engines starting up nate couldnt wait for two hungup jakes to commit or not. So he went into sneak mode and topped over a ridge to make a 28 yard shot on one of the birds. Good shootin buddy!
Then theres joe.... Ill let him fill you in but i will say i tried to make it extra tough by calling in birds by him at 4 yards to test his camo ;-)
You might...just not setup like that. They would leave before you drew if they came in at all...they wouldny come in at all. You got to hide better than that for sure and have the sun at your back and wind blowing everything around...I don't have to know you...I know my turkeys..that's enough....no disrespect...just fact.
Tbm more then one way to skin a cat and he got it done.. How about be positive for a successful turkey bowhunter.. It wont kill ya trust me. And if you are gonna be negative or debate take it to a debatable thread as this is non debatable. Thnx!
Sito again congrats and kudos for doing it self filmed.
All good Trkyslr...he can't do what I just did, and it makes him mad...pure jealousy.
P.S. I've been hunting them this way for 6yrs and normally they come in and strut...that allows me to lift the bow and shoot no problem. The Jake decoy was the issue this day, and though they will often display with a Jake...they're much more apt to attack.
Agreed sito.... Good luck rest of the season.
Awesome job Sito! That's about the same setup I had been using for my solo filmed turkey bowhunting except I was using my trail cam on the opposite side looking back at me and with my Nikon DSLR over my shoulder. My go pro was supposed to be for another angle but it crapped out one sit before I broke my trail cam setting up for a bird...ugh.
As much as I hate to do it though, I have to agree with TBM in that this setup east of the Mississippi wouldn't even get that bird into gun range let alone get a shot off;)
That's why I cheat and hunt Nebraska (grin) Again, great job Sito!
I was in the blind with SDHNTR today and we had one gobbler come in behind but saw something he didn't like an never committed to our setup. We relocated and the jakes showed up. It was do or die an I convinced him to get outta the blind and make it happen. He was doubtful an told me "that usually never works" ..well homie lookie here :-) good job buddy
After we dropped off Nate, trkyslr an I headed out for a couple hours to try an make it happen. From the truck we heard a hot bird but by the time we got setup he went quiet an moved off. We relocated a couple hundred yards towards some other birds we heard sounding off an once again they went quiet. Debating what to do all the birds around us started goin nuts and headin our way. We scurried an setup with no time to strategize. 3 longbeards showed up in about 4 minutes from the time I hit the seat but they were behind me. They held up about 5 yards behind the tree I was up against for a few minutes gobbling only yards away from me. Talk about heart pumpin. Finally they broke for the deeks an passed by me at 5 yards unaware of the sneaky Indian posted up. I couldn't get to full draw until they started to move off an by the time they got back into my shooting lane they were 15 yards moving away slowly......I was positioned just outta view to the left side in the pic
Since all birds were equally sized I picked out the closest bird and let him have it. Shot was perfect and he made it about 15 yards. I was so pumped I chucked my hat an celebrated. All this was captured on video we will make sure it's all put together after the season for y'all to see. What a great way to end the season!! Thanks Nate an trkyslr for the memories this weekend buddies. Good stuff!
On joes hunt id say the biggest clutch move was when i heard the birds coming from behind as i was rt next to joe filming. i quickly ran 40 yards passed the deeks to call and hopefully bring the birds past joe and into the decoys. Well it worked well! I think if i didnt make that move they wouldve came in behind and looked for the hen talkin and not have seen what they were looking for and busted as it was thick. Turkey huntings always a fun chess match!
Sito just plain bad arse man. Good job
Congrats again, Kyle. You've paid your dues many times over.
Hey TBE...do you still have to wear camo when you're so green with envy that someone else can kill turkeys?
I know it is not the best footage or screen shot but this was my second archery bird here in Arkansas. The first was from a blind. I called in three different birds yesterday getting busted the two previous times.
If you look close, you can see the bird to the right of the dad jake and left of the tree. The head is all you really see.
ladd, very nice! Congrats on the natural kill! Signs great too!
Today was totally opposite from yesterdays hot gobbling birds. Birds were pretty quiet everywhere. Pass-thru, joehunter, and i hunted together and even got within 60 yards undetected on a couple longbeards and they didnt respond at all. With time running out on todays hunts we found 2 longbeards and 3 jakes traveling down an over grown old fire road. We were able to get around in front of them and brent went into spotn stalk sneak mode. He got set up behind some cover near the road and as they walked by he put an arrow into the biggest longbeard. The bird got to flight and within seconds fell to his doom as his injury took it toll. It was a great 3 year old with a nice 10" beard. Cool ending to a tough day and we got it done natural style. Congrats on #2 brent!
I took this pic to get a little view of the backdrop where the kill took place
After the hunt we saw this longbeard tending a hen in a nearby meadow. Thought this pic was thread worthy
Well it was a great weekend and we got 4 birds down! 1 call in blind hunt, 1 call in natural kill, and 2 natural sneaky indian kills. Couple more weeks so its about time for me to play shooter next week instead of sherpa-callin-camera dude. This seasons deff been fun so far with more challenge. Im sure we'll have more busts, more kills, and good times in the next few weeks.
I finally connected on one, albeit it was a jake. I had been working this one gobbler for 3-4 different hunts and could never get in the right spot to get him to come all the way in. One of those hunts, I bet I made him gobble 200 times within 75 yards, but could never get him to commit all the way in for the kill. With the late spring, these birds must know not to come in when they can't see the hen through all the openings in the timber.
Anyway, yesterday I decided to wait until they came off the roost to go out (I was dog-tired). So I pulled up to my spot right around 6 a.m. As I was getting all my gear ready (which isn't much) one starts gobbling not very far off. I am hunting public land, and during my previous hunts this year, it seemed they would gobble for just a little while after coming off their public ground roost, then head south through this big bottom field and over to some adjacent private timber. I decided to work my way up the first ridge that borders that field to try and cut the bird off. My tactic worked, but only partially.
As I neared the spot where I wanted to set up, he gobbled close, and I felt like I couldn't push any further without being seen. I backtracked a little and got setup, which basically entailed getting down on my knees in front of a tree, getting a call out, and nocking an arrow. I called very little knowing this bird was probably my nemesis that I had been working previously.
After about 15 minutes of gobbling within about 30-40 yards I finally caught a glimpse of him, but just his head due to some brush and the terrain. We had about another 15 minutes of standoff while he gobbled and moved back and forth in a small area about 30 yards away. Mostly I couldn't see him, but on occasion I could see his head, but he never offered a bow shot. After some time he moved off to the south in the field that I mentioned earlier. I could see he was a real nice bird then.
Meanwhile, there was another gobbler that had heard all the commotion and had gobbled a few times in the timber to the north. I decided that I would go to the exact spot where the first tom was and try to call this one in. I crept my way along the downslope just down from the ridge top opposite of where this second bird had been gobbling. Before I could get to the tree I wanted to set up on I could hear the bird(s) coming (walking in the leaves) just over the crest of the ridge. I knew I had little time, so I just crouched down and nocked an arrow. There was no good cover right in my vicinity, only small trees.
It wasn't 15 seconds and over the ridge popped a red head. I was able to draw. The bird kept coming, and as soon as he reached an open spot, I let one fly. The shot looked good live, but I wasn't sure of the outcome, as he flapped his wings a bit, and actually flew for a short way. There were several other birds with him. I decided not to spook them and held tight for a while. When I did begin the search, it didn't take long to find him, as he only made it about 60-70 yards down the ridge and just up the opposite side.
I sure wish he was the big gobbler. I could have got him with a shotgun, but I have no regrets. Sorry for the long story. I didn't initially plan for it to be so long, but the fingers just started typing away. I'll post a photo of some sort when I get a chance.
Con grats bowmad23! Cant wait to see the pic.
Bird #2!!! Thanks again to trkyslr and joehunter for the opportunity!
Sito.. Nice footage man! Congrats on a NSOB entry! Strong work.
We have three more weeks here in Cali, i'll start the film editing soon and post on here all our hunts as soon as we finish up
Lookin at all our footage I can't wait to get it all put together. Gonna be fun to watch!
Here is a photo of the little guy. I didn't have my camera with me in the field.
Nice and again congrats! I like that target stand too.
Thanks Chris. Man my pic of the bird is just sad. Hard to do when you have time constraints and are using the timer.
I have one more season, and I get a whopping 8 days (well the season is 8; I'll probably get 3) for this one! At least we'll have some foliage now to help conceal and keep the birds guessing if there is actually a hen out there. Lots of guys will have chased the birds by then though. Gobbler or bust.
9 inch beard. 20yd frontal shot in full strut in natural setup. Also called one in for my 86 y/o father who got his first turkey. That one required a blind and a shotgun.
Congrats bonecarpenter! Very pretty bird.... Which state?
Congrats BoneCarpenter.
Here is the video I put together of my natural set up gobbler. It's my first attempt at video editing so I apologize for the crudity of the video. I need to make some more cuts to get it under the 5 minute rule. I'm headed to China for a few weeks for work and won't have the opportunity to make any updates for a while.
If anyone knows how to embed the video, please feel free.
Congrats again to all the successful turkey hunters this season (blind or no-blind).
Ridge wraith thats what im talkin about.... Great video and hunt! Deff an entry and great work to staying in a natural setup through many setups! Congrats again!
Been a great thread and lots of good learning information. What type rest are you all using for these hunts. I find it pretty important for the rest to be quiet. I have a TT Pronghorn right now that I like but came make a noise hitting the self if I am not careful.
Nice job Ridge Wraith! Enjoyed the video.
Best of Luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)
tracker, i use a TT as well. just put some fuzzy felt tape on the inside of your riser. me personal preference is to have my bow in the up position before a bird even gets within hearing distance just to decrease my movement, so my arrow is in the arrow holder which also had felt tape on it.
Here ya go Ridge...
Good stuff, hard to hear some of the commentary, but well thought out and a great shot!
How weird is it that we're both named Kyle and both shoot Bowtech Commander's?(your's may be a Guardian...same difference)
As far as Tracker's question, I use a Whisker Biscuit cause I'm weak :)
Solid entry right there! Nice work!
Good work ridge wrath. Love the determination.
Tracker I use the TT smackdown. It comes with felt on the rest prongs and I use sticky sided felt ok my shelf to keep the arrow from clanging on it. And sitting with bow up like trkyslr said almost eliminates the possibility of it making a noise if properly setup and patiently waiting.
Thanks for the comments. It was a fun and challenging endeavor for sure. SitO, I shoot a Bowtech Admiral with a whisker biscuit too.
This morning took my buddy shaun on our first hunt together and NSOB kill on film was the result! Info and pics later...
Bring it, Chris...stop teasing.
This morning I met up with my buddy Shaun on our first hunt together. It was all natural setup or bust as thats what he prefered and so do I. wE WERE SET UP ON A KNIFE RIDGE WITH OPEN VIEW UNDER THE OAK CANOPY. BIRDS WERE GOBBLING GOOD ON THE ROOST AND SOON PITCHED OFF. WITH SOME AGGRESIVE CALLING i PULLED A LONE LONGBEARD INTO OUR SETUP. sHAUN DID HIS PART AND PUT AN ARROW THROUGH HIM AT 20 YARDS AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
shaun's bird was a big 4 year old with 1 1/4" spurs, 9" beard, and a true 22-23 pounds on the claw!
go in light come out heavy!
after shaun killed his bird we checked a few other spots to get me my 3rd bird and it was jake city! heres a pic of one of the jakes we called in. it soon got hot and birds shut down for the most part and I had some honey dues... great start to another weekend in the turkey woods
Cool stuff, thanks for posting. You guys kill some of the prettiest Rios on the planet, and know how to do them justice with a camera.
Now, Chris,...you know you'd have been better off with just two clucks, right? :-)
Get a few more beards and spurs to your credit and you'll figure out you never want to call aggressively. :-)
Thanks for enlightening some folks.
(When I did the traveling gig by the time the seasons were over I had a callus on my left thumb from cutting so much on a box call. )
Thanks writer! And yes only a cluck or two every 30 minutes ;-)
Oh, Lord, the stories we could share over a beverage.
I once hunted with (for an article) an ex-governor, guiding a current governor, and he would... I kid you not...let out three soft yelps every 45 to 60 minutes, and we knew we had one flock of five two-year-olds and another flock of six two-year-olds on the ranch.
After a day-and-a-half I finally got the thumbs up to light things up. Fifteen minutes later it was over.
"It's the gobble, not the gobbler that makes it special. I may call too much sometimes. But when I call a lot, they gobble a lot, and I still kill a lot." Rob Keck, then National Wild Turkey Federation CEO.
Now go kill #3...and make the sucker gobble so much he chokes to death before you can arrow him!
One more Wounded Warrior in Kansas and we're done. :-(
Will do writer... On sunday. Tmrw im taking some rookie boomstickers out.
WOWWW!!! what a great weekend for me. Got shaun his bird on friday, celebrated my birthday last night with friends at the Cali wild sheep foundation dinner and won a glock 10mm and gun safe.. And tagged out this morning on a super hot bird! More Details to come....
Even after a great night at the Cali WSF dinner with several other bowsiters and a few drinks, i was up and at'm this morning ready to fill my third and final Cali tag. The first spot joe and i went to we had birds come off the roost from 200 yards away and race by us gobbling in the dark of morning before we could even setup. Ive never seen birds fly out of roost so early and cover ground. Once those birds moved off we relocated and got a quick double gobble response a few hundred yards away. We quickly setup and my next call was cutoff by the bird which was only 30 yards below me. Within a few seconds a solo longbeard strutted into the decoys. I was 10 yards from the decoys in natural setup against a tree. As the bird went behind a small bush i got to full draw undetected. The longbeard strutted up to the jake decoy and as he was trying to intimidate the jake deek moving oh so slowly he gave me a frontal shot. I sent the arrow tipped with a VPA spur right through his chest and he went 15 yards before he expired. It was the shortest hunt of the season and i'll take it. Tagged out on 3 lb all natural setup call ins within 12 yards and cant be happier with our results. This bird was a 2 year old who read the script and is now a star as joe got the hunt on film over the shoulder. Deff one of the funnest and most rewarding seasons i can think of. Now a couple more weeks to help friends and family fill their tags hopefully.
The vpa spur worked like a charm. Clean passthru.
Congrats...didn't suck to be Chris this weekend, for sure. Great pics, too.
You buy a lottery ticket, by chance?
"The three greatest gifts God ever gave me are a wonderful woman, smooth sipping whiskey and two-year-old turkeys."
Old-time Mississippi hunter, circa 1988, at a turkey camp deep in Dixie.
Thanks writer! A great weekend and just topped it off with mommas homemade spicy sausage manicoti! :-)
Were the elk bugling too?
Screamin Nate. Really got the turkey rockin!!!
What a weekend! Congrats TRKYSLR!
Time to bring this to the top with another natural setup advanture! Well its now the extended archery season here in Cali and brent (Pass-thru) still had one tag to fill. Birds are getting tougher to call in and i had a feeling we would need to get in close on the birds and sweet talkm. Brent was set on killing his third bird in a natural setup like his first two. Joe and i met up with him and headed off to a stretch of very very thick forrest where i had seen a big bird yesterday while mountain biking the trails. We had several birds gobbling and spread out on the mountains in their perch. Soon birds were down but we had to move to get in their kitchen. We setup on a hot bird that got stolen by a hen, which took him away. With some occasional soft clucks and yelps every few minutes the bird was working back our way. Due to the thick forrest we had only a view of about 15 yards down the trail. We were satup at a y intersection and the bird gobbled at about 35 yards. After a minute i caught first movement and here came the theivery hen into our deeks at 8 yards. And right behind her was big'ol beard a swingin who quickly came at the decoy. As the tom went behind a small tree brent drew and the bird caught a little movement but paused as the henwas comfortable. As the big tom paused he took a couple steps and brent arrowed the bird in his tracks. Bird went straight down and dead in a turkey minute. The bird was a big heavy three year old with a thick 10" rope. The hunt was fast but we captured it on film. Man this is closing out to be maybe the greatet season ever for our group. Love this turkey hunting!
Gorgeous bird, Brent.....congratulations! That spot looks familiar. :) Great job Joe and Chris.......you guys are the true turkey masters!
".you guys are the true turkey masters!". Roy . Why you bust me down...after all we cousins. Lets tell you what. I spend a week in Cali next year and let some fornians down a week in LA..rekun how that will turn out cuz. My answer would be the same as Denzel's when he was on the running for an Oscar with Clint.
Thanks roy! We truely enjoy doin what we do and helping others along the way. Deff 2014 a year full of great memories in the nor-cal woods with new and old friends!!!
Another pic thread worthy. Makin memories!!
Haha funny pic joe! Our seasons Coming to a close next weekend and with our tags filled im gonna try and get my uncle out if the stars aline. This season joe and i called in and were apart of 17 kills, which 13 were natural setup bow kills. Pretty amazing season for us. Deff more challenging without the camo tents and the success tasted sweeter doing it that way. Still without a doubt the best hunt in my mind was helping 10 year old jasmine first kill which was a bowkill on a big longbeard. Like joe said many great memories this season as there id every season here! Looking forward to seeing a few more natural setup kills by fellow bowsiters on here! Close out strong ladies and gents!
Wow! What a day it was Saturday! HUGE thanks to Chris and Joe for hooking me up and helping me accomplish my goal of 3 archery long beards with a bow w/o a blind. Diving in into this footage soon, stay tuned!
Yes rbo... I consider like mentioned in first post natural is NO BLIND. you should try it as it will challenge you more and good luck!
being the last state's to have a season open close on May 31st, I'll make it June 14 as the last day to enter any natural setup pic entries and video entries. Our seasons wrapped up and were putting our seasons footage together for everyone to see. Hoping to see some more natural hunt stories soon as I know its primetime in the northern states right about now. good luck everyone!
I went all natural, got the shot, but missed, it was a great hunt....still another hunt planned for Maine. Turkey hunting in Maine is just getting fired up really good, as Hen's are just starting to sit on nests. Spring has been late arriving.
Turkeyhunter, good luck to ya and shoot straight! Maine season end may 31?
I'm still chasing my second bird, have spent the majority of this season "guiding" others. Got out last night for a short sit and had a neat "Jake" encounter...here's a short clip from the GoPro:
These birds stuck around for almost 30 minutes, just kept coming back. I drew on them twice just to see if I could get away with it...could have easily taken a shot but that doesn't mean I'd have "stuck" anything ;)
Lots of great pics and stories on here guys, glad you had such a memorable season in Cali!
Good stuff sito and thanks for the kind words!
Hey Kyle...a word of advice about getting that second turkey.
QUIT FISHING DURING TURKEY SEASON! :-)
Gotta love a bunch of horny, throw caution to the wind, stupid jakes...hey, they remind me of me!
Ttt. Approx one week left for the remainder seasons.... Hope guys are puttin them down. Grass here is turnin brown and while driving around im seeing a few birds still hot during the first hour then shuttin down. Even after season i still monitor birds as i learn a lot about them as any season can be diff from the last and be in a diff phase depending on the weather. Our footage is coming along nicely and should be done in a couple weeks.
ALRIGHT BOWSITERS,,,, SEASONS ARE DONE I BELEIVE SO ANYMORE ENTRIES? sitO'S AND A COUPLE OTHERS SITTIN PRETTY RT NOW. ANYMORE NATURAL KILLS YOU CAN POST HERE?
Good thread. Hopefully you can get at least a couple more entries. Whoever goes to Cali is gonna have a great time for sure.
Hey Chris, how about a couple of "Natural Misses"?
I did finally stick my second bird here in KS, and I have it self filmed "over the shoulder", but the GoPro locked up on me for some reason on that hunt. I will at some point edit all of that "over the shoulder" footage.
Here's another that I shot just a "feather" high on earlier in May. You should be able to see my head in the center background...
And here's some more GoPro footage, including one more that I shot over the morning I took my second bird. I couldn't get drawn on the first Tom, and at the end there's some audio of the two Toms fighting with the group of Jakes right behind the GoPro...
I didn't follow all of the "rules" obviously...I have no "sign", but these were all "Natural Set's" and all self filmed as well.
I'm really liking this little camera, can't wait for Elk, Pronghorn, and Deer seasons to see what else I can do with it!
Congrats again to all of the hunters!
Sito great footage... Man that first vid shot must have skimmed his back. I would have thought that wouldve spined him. Good stuff!
Thanks Chris, I chased him later that day but he wasn't having anything to do with me after that encounter. However, the next weekend, he was with the same two Jakes and was coming into my set in full strut...but the bird I shot beat him to the deke's ;)
Nice footage boys! Our vid should be up for viewing by Friday AM. Fingers crossed it uploads fast. 9 killls with some great scenery and best of all you all get to see exactly what you read about all season.
Here is a less than 5 minute edition of the video of my self-filmed, natural setup, turkey bowhunt I posted earlier. I think this makes the video follow all the rules ;)
Great turkey season everyone and good luck in the upcoming big game season! Also thanks to trkyslr for raising the bar for us turkey hunters to put some challenge back into the hunt.
Cheers!
Awesomenridgewrath!!! Tmrw we'll pick whos coming out to norcal!
Cool video. Mini-van was the icing on the cake, Ridge Wraith! Well done.
2014 spring was a great season for us and we got most of it on film. Nor-cal has some great spring scenery and spring turkey hunting. If you didnt see our video on the other thread here it is. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jONU_KjdgYA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Congrats to kyle (ridgewrath) as his video was selected as the winner of NSOB! Sito and the others thanks for effort and submitting your puics and vids to the thread. Kyle pm me about coming out.
Thanks to everyone else for your input and following along to this thread as well. Im sure next year like every year we'll keep the turkey bowhunters tuned in with another thread or contest!
Sweet!! Going without a blind with a bow definitely added plenty of challenge to the hunt. I'm looking forward to chasing Cali Rio gobblers next spring with you. Especially since I just got my WY drawing results to cap off a full year without a single western big game tag drawn.
Congrats again to everyone on a great season and accepting the natural setup challenge.
I'll send a pm to discuss the details.
Congrats Kyle! Nice work all the way around by everyone
You picked the right "Kyle" and congrats Ridge! I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it out next Spring anyway(hands full during Turkey season). I do wish I had more time to edit all of my footage together, we had a heck of a season here as well...someday I'll get it done. Hopefully this will get more folks to hunt outside the "box"...it's a lot of fun!
Have fun out there, and again good luck on the BT's boys!
