BOWHUNT FOR THE RIO GRANDE
by Robert Hoague

Day 4 - Turkey Hunting With Billy Don
| Hunt 1 | Hunt 2 | Fred Gets His Rio |

Morning
Skyler and I went to an un-scouted areas and called to see if gobbler would respond. We didn't have any luck and then drove into Burnett and ate breakfast at a mexican food restaurant. We came back to the lodge before going out to call again and Fred Lutger and Billy Don were there with Fred's gobbler.

At 10:00 we picked up Donald Duck. He had worked three gobblers and almost got a shot, but didn't.

Afternoon
Billy Don and I hunted the "super secret" site. The afternoon was in the 80's so we put the blind inside the edge of the woods to take advantage of the shade. I called every 15 minutes on the hour. 

Fifteen minutes after 5:00 a gobbler answered, it was probably 300 yards from us. I waited two minutes and yelped loudly. The answering gobble was closer. He came at us from the woods side stopped 50 yards away. I called a couple more times and shut up.

When I called again in ten minutes he had a gobbling partner. Then a third gobbler joined them. If they came in right they would get in one of my shooting lanes. If they didn't they would be in the trees. They gobbled up a storm and got in range but they never got in a clear spot.

They left and I went waited 15 minutes and called again. As time passed we had gobbles and gobblers on the hill and in the woods behind us. We also had constant competition in the form of several very talkative hens coming through our area. The gobblers always left us for the real hens.

Shortly after the sun dipped below the tree tops we heard turkeys fly up in the woods in front of us. More wind flaps followed. At last minute roost time I got a thundering gobble in the woods to our front. I saw a big turkey's figure about to walk into the narrow opening that would put it 18 yards from us. I went into BowTech mode and drew to be ready. 

My bright green top pin settled on the big turkey as it stopped to look in our direction. No beard! And more than that it was a big hen. I've got the BowTech set at 60 pounds so I can hold it back a while if I need to and now was one of those times. The hen continued into the woods and the longbeard following her made an all too brief appearance 10 yards further away.

We heard them fly up. Then we waited until it was dark and slipped out of the area. 

Meanwhile the Duck (Don Beckwith) got into heavy duty wild turkey traffic and saw over 40. He worked several Toms but wasn't able to get a shot. And Fred saw 4 hens and 2 longbeards but they didn't come in close enough for a shot.

Our short hunt was over. We packed our gear and arrived at my house at midnight. At 5:30 the next morning Fred and I began our long drive to Nebraska.

Fred Lutger Talks About Billy Don
This is the picture book Texas ranch with ideal habitat for wild game. I was greeted with Texas hospitality from the time I got there until I left. I appreciate the fact that Billy Don had guides pre scout for areas where there were gobblers. I hunted four different areas and saw gobblers at every one. Billy Don is a real cowboy and a real family man, I enjoyed spending time with him.

If you want to experience a good quality hunt and see a lot of game, at an affordable price, I highly recommend they hunt at Billy Don's Wild Horse Prairie Ranch. I can't wait to get back there.

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Billy Don Van Cleave

Billy Don Van Cleave's Wild Horse Prairie Ranch We are bowhunting Rio Grande Wild Turkey with Billy Don. His ranch is the home of the Bowhunting.net Annual Bowhunt in October. He has bowhunts for trophy bucks, does and wild hogs. Plus 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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