BOWHUNT FOR THE RIO GRANDE
Day 1 | Day 1 Afternoon | Day 2 |

Day 1 - Morning

Rio Grande Opening Day

April 1 - Before Daylight: This morning Fred Lutger is hunting the Gate area. The Duck is with him and is running the video camera. And I'll be on the Rock Ledge in minutes.

After The Morning Hunt: No gobbles were within hearing distance at daylight where Fred Lutger and Don Beckwith waited in the Gate area. The blind was set up 5 yards from an east to west fence. At 8:00 they heard shotgun shots in the direction of the river. So turkeys were on the move.

Looking through the blind's window at the decoys and the coastal field. A close up of the Hazel Creek Hen Decoy.

Soon a gobble sounded in the woods and a Tom came from the West and crossed the 300 yard coastal field. An hour later the wind picked up strong and a decoy blew over. The Duck got out of the blind and set it back up. Meanwhile Fred called and got a response to the West and Don ducked in the blind quickly. Fred called again and the responding gobbler was closer. When Fred called again the gobbler came into view down the fence by the Gate. Fred continued to call and the gobbler walked down the fence past the blind, looking at the decoys. 

He came back toward the blind and tried to get under the fence in three different places. But he couldn't get under it.

The Gobbler stopped 5 yards behind the blind, looking at the decoys. The blind was closed up on that side and he was too close to risk opening a shooting window. After a few minutes the gobbler walked away.

Half an hour Fred called and got a response across the fence. He waited two minutes and called again. More than one gobbler answered -- they sounded 50 yards away in the cedar trees. Rapidly, Don opened up the blind on the fence side and closed up the side towards the field while Fred shifted position so he could shoot. If the gobblers stayed on the opposite side of the fence Fred was definitely going to get a shot this time.

They turkeys came out of a low spot on the same side of the fence as the blind. Fred and Don set the blind's windows  back the way they were originally. The next time Fred called three gobblers walked out 100 yards away. It was 11:15.

A truck drove up. Unfortunately that would be me picking them up.

We went to eat lunch at the Red Barn Restaurant. We met Greg Weber. who Fred and I hunted with several years ago, and we all had a nice visit. Yesterday at the Red Barn Hulon cooked his locally famous BBQ brisket and that's what we all ordered. It was real good. There are a bunch of big city BBQ restaurants who would hang their heads in shame if they tasted Red Barn brisket BBQ sauce.

Afternoon Hunt
After lunch Fred moved his blind close to the Gate. He left to hunt at 2:34. Donald Duck will video. And I'm going down by the river.  To THe Afternoon Hunt...

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Billy Don Van Cleave

Billy Don Van Cleave's Wild Horse Prairie Ranch Rio Grande Wild Turkey hunts. Home of the Bowhunting.net Annual Bowhunt in October. Bowhunts for trophy bucks, does and wild hogs. Exotics: black buck, red stag, rams, aoudad and more. Billy Don, P.O. Box 199, Satin, TX 76685 Call: 254-749-6119 Fax: 254-546-2709 Email: bdvanc@aol.com Web: Wild Horse Prairie Ranch

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