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2005
Grand Slam 6-Pack
 Grand
Slam 6-Pack HOME PAGE
FLORIDA SOUTHERN ZONE
Day 1 | Day
2 | Day 3
 |
Doug Crabtree is bowhunting on a private
ranch, the Hawkins Ranch, owned by Arlin Hawkins. The ranch manager is
Jackie Bishop.
David Mills is hunting as well and they
are also joined by red fishing Charter Captain Sly Dixon. The ranch is
3,500 acres and for the Opening Morning hunt they all (4) went to pasture
31. |
First Day
Jackie and David lead Sly
and Doug through a big palmetto thicket to a field bordered by an oak and
pine hammock. Doug wanted to set his Double Bull Matrix blind up in the
field. David was reluctant. He felt it would spook the birds.
DavidMills
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Jackie Bishop
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Sly Dixon
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Doug assured him it would
be ok and David agreed to give it a "test." They popped the blind up 70
yards from the field's edge. Doug set up a Montana strutting gobbler and
two Carry Lite hen decoys.
All four hunters squeezed
into the Double Bull Matrix blind and waited 20 minutes until daylight
began to break. An owl hooted in the hammock and several gobblers sounded
off in some pine trees 100 yards behind the blind.
Ten minutes later Doug made
a few soft tree yelps. Gobblers came from all sides. "We were surrounded,"
Doug told me., "like the indians surrounded the wagons of the cowboys."
Doug did not call again.
Daylight came and birds started flying down from all directions. Seven
jakes went straight to the blind area. Doug cut and the jakes mixed in
with the decoys. Sly decided not to shoot and Doug took a few pictures
until the turkeys left.
Doug called every half hour.
At nine a hen replied. Doug yelped and clucked and 7 hens walked to the
decoys. They stayed a short while.
At 10:30 Doug saw turkeys
100 yards away in the field. He called but the turkeys did not answer and
went into the palmettos.
At noon it was time for
lunch.
They returned to the same
spot at 3:30. Doug made the first call at 4:30 on a Woodhaven aluminum
friction call. A hen responded by cutting excitedly as she came into view.
She had 12 hens with her.
 They
saw a gobbler 80 yards away, feeding. Doug focused his calls on the hens
and to bring them in close to the decoys. He did aggressive purring on
the aluminum call.
The Tom answered with a Gobble
and walked toward the hens, which were 8 yards from the blind. Sly decided
he wanted the gobbler. Woops, it stopped.
Then the hens walked behind
the blind towards the palmettos. The gobbler circled behind the blind and
stopped at 30 yards. Shy dropped him.
They took pictures and Jackie
checked out the aluminum call. A bunch of turkeys came into the field (600
yards away). The binoculars revealed them to be all jakes. When the jakes
were out of sight the hunters decided to return to camp.
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Our Grand Slam 6-Pack
with the bow created excitement with several manufacturers and they stepped
up to the plate to sponsor the event.
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