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I am setting the bar higher on this turkey hunt. My first two toms were killed using a blind and compound bow. Killed both birds at 5-6 yards with only two days of hunting each.

Traveling 350 miles west to the Montrose Co area to truck camp and to hunt turkeys in elk country. It has been raining over there but there might be a three day window of fair weather after tomorrow. Hope the roads are not mudded up too bad.

Just taking the recurve bow, my gillie suit and two decoys, and will "gun and run" them. Shots will be within my effective range of 15 yards, so up close and personal for sure.

Story to follow when I return next week, successful or not.

My best, Paul

"gun and run"? I think you have to run then gun or else you're chasin a wounded bird.

It's "go and bow'/......or is that "bow and go"?

Look forward to the stories.

The other challenge in the mountain, the birds are really spread out but, cool country never the less.

My best, paul

My best, Paul

Good luck

Or, maybe just one, where everything comes together!

Best of luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)

Those mountains can be tough on a 65-year-old guy! :-)

--Jim

Rain is good but I know that the back roads would mud-up very quickly, making the dirt road almost impassible..

There seemed to be a 2-3 days period of "fair" weather with just a chance of rain, so I scheduled my trip on Wed, May 6th.

I would leave Ft Collins early to beat the Denver traffic and also to arrive at Montrose Co, 350 miles away, around noon so I could scout/hunt in the afternoon. I still had 30 miles to travel outside of Montrose.

I assume congratulations are in order.

By the way, is that an aluminum arrow? No wonder you never kill anything!

You got to trust the "weather man" once in a while.

Thirty miles south of Montrose, I entered the National Forest and just a few sprinkles followed.

Now to see if there are any turkeys around. The time was 1 pm on Wed.

And the rain had let up, and no one else was around as was evident by my tire tracks being the only one on the muddy road.

I was glad and thankful to be there and not stuck in a mud hole 30 miles from town.

This is the same area two years ago that I drove over from Ft Collins, arrived here at 3 pm, had the blind set up at 3:30 and killed a tom at 6:15. Then I drove back home the same day, yea, a 22 hour round trip. Picture of that hunt attached.

Craze for sure!

A 1/4 mile in I checked a stock pond and found turkey tracks, somewhat old, washed out by the recent rain but a good sign. One has to remember that these Merriam turkeys can travel a long way from the valleys 3-5 miles away and then head for the higher country following the snow melt off. This migration can be slowed down with a late spring and higher snowfalls.

I yelped on the box call and received a hen yelp in reply; another good sign. Farther on another hen replied and then a far off gobble. Hard to detect the direction in the tall pines. I cackled again. There, farther to the west. I moved that way while looking for a place to set up if needed.

Lots of oak brush and thick pines. Not too many openings. There, he is closer now. Just up on that ridge 150 yards away.

I quickly set up Bud the jake decoy with one hen and positioned myself 15 yards way behind a large pine tree. I called and waited. He gobbled back. I called again. Another gobble but farther away. I waited and then waited some more. I barely heard the next gobble as he move off even farther.

No use chasing him so I move farther off to the west to find more sign. I did not want to spook him as he might be the only tom in the area. This is big country and unlike Eastern turkeys that might hang out in the same woodlot all of their lives, these mountain birds scatter far and wide.

It was now 5:30. Because of the threat of rain, I did bring along my Dark Horse blind and because of the lack of good hiding spots for my gillie suit blind, I decided to hike back down the hill the set up the blind near the pond.

I left the recurve bow and my camera at the truck which turned out later, to be a BIG mistake.

I promise you when I'm as "mature" as you, I'll be thrilled just to be in such places, not matter if I'm hunting with a blind, or with a shotgun, or just sittingin camp while my kids and grandkids are covering the kind of miles you can still cover. :-)

I hope the weather didn't get bad for you again like it did here at home. Big snow coming tomorrow. Possibly 20 more inches between you and here.

Oh, just remembered. Grand Junction Co had a record rain fall for one day, on the day I arrived in the area, ie, .64 inch. May not seem like a lot but to an arid high country plateau, that is substantial.

Sorry about the gillie suit being exchanged for the blind but decisions are made for the best outcome sometimes. I sort of regret the decision as I wanted to make this hunt harder with a different technique. It surely would have been easier with a longer range compound bow but I knew my recurve bow's effective range would be under 15 yards and that wound not allow for much margin of error.

I arrived at the pond clearing and set up next to two large pine trees to the right. Actually the same place I was successful, as two years ago.

THIS IS WHEN THE TOM GOBBLED BEHIND ME AND WAS COMING DOWN THE SAME TRAIL I HAD HIKED DOWN FROM THE TRUCK. He entered the clearing at the top.

No bow or camera so I just made a few hen yelps. He gobbled back with gusto again and again as he came my way. He stopped at the pond 40 yards away, looked around for the hen, and then continued on his way over the hill where he gobbled and strutted some more out of sight.

Keeping low, I headed out of the blind and made a circle back to camp. I ran into a cow and yearling calf elk on the way.

Maybe I would be lucky in the morning.

At the blind, I was placing the two decoys at the 10 yard stake WHEN THE TOM GOBBLED just 100 yards away. At first I had thought he had seen me come across the clearing but then he gobbled again, I actually crawled back to the blind.

I heard another distant tom and this tom gobbled back with his response. They exchanged gobbles for the next 10-15 minutes.

WAIT, do I actually hear two toms nearby? I hen called, and yes, two toms.

Now I could also hear a few hens farther down the hill away from the tom's roost. I hen called more aggressively trying to lure the toms my way.

The new morning light was brighter but the sun was still under the horizon. No wind. It was so quite except for the turkeys calling back and forth.

AND THEN ALL WAS QUITE, NO TURKEY SOUNDS.

FLY DOWN TIME FOR SURE.

I gripped the bow and searched for movement at the wood's edge.

More movement behind her. TWO LONG BEARDS trailing.

The hen sees the decoys but stops short to investigate the Jake/hen. She knows she has two aggressive toms behind her so she continues on but she did her part and brought the two toms to within the DEATH CIRCLE.

Here where it gets dicey. For those of you that have both camera and bow in hand, which one do you hold and which one do you put down and get ready for the shot?

While I have wanted to take pictures of a tom attacking my decoys, I guess I am just programed to take up the bow which I did.

Both toms are within inches of Bud, the jake decoy, and both toms are within inches of each other; and only 10 yards away!

I would only hope my aim was true, my release smooth and the aluminum arrow tipped with 125 gr Woodsman BH would do the job.

At the other end THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION OF FEATHERS!

Mark

I called Tricia when I returned to the truck and told her I was coming home.

She stated, "raining too hard and where did you spend last night?"

I said, "in the truck and I tagged out this morning at 6:30 am.

She said, " you got to be kidding!".

I said," NO, I am not and I will be home for dinner".

Really want to get me a Merriam's.

Fun to remember the hunt with both words and pictures.

Great to bring you all along on the hunt.

It turned out to be a very good season with less that a day and 1/2 for each of the three successful hunts. Surely makes up for two weeks of hunting two states last year and never had a tom within good range of the decoys.

My best, Paul

PS. Keep the passion growing and going.

Best of Luck, Jeff

I too hope to get a Merriam's one day.

--Jim

Good luck on your hunts this year. Paul

I hope I did not use up my luck on the turkeys, as I have a pronghorn, elk and deer tag for Colorado.

My best, Paul

Thanks for "taking us along"!

62 inch, 55 pounds. Yew wood facing.

Actually I won the bow at a CBA jamboree 6-7 years ago during a membership drive drawing. Lucky guy.

While I shoot a compound most of the time as my "meat bow" I surely do like to shoot my "fun bow" also.

I have killed two other turkeys and two WTs with it, one be a 126 PY. Actually my first PY deer 4 yr ago, after many years of hunting WTs.

My best, Paul

Matt