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Triple Double Grand Slam Bowhunt
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BOWHUNT
FOR THE FLORIDA OSCEOLA
Greg Ballard
 Greg
was one of the original Bowhunting.net chat regulars back in '96 - '99.
His chat name was "abowhuner" and he was a big part of our bowhunting chat
community on the internet. He made a lot of friends there and is still
in contact with many of them.
Greg arrived at the hunt
Sunday evening and saw turkeys in bow range every time he hunted. Doug
Crabtree Sr. was his guide. Tuesday morning they set up in a field next
to a hammock. At 8:30 Greg looked out of the blind window and saw two gobblers,
one jake, one longbeard. They went to a pond 150 yards away. Doug Sr. called
and the two birds gobbled. Then 5 more toms began gobbling in all different
directions.
Doug Sr. has his own decoy
set and he whispered to Greg that when the hen sees it she will start coming
to his special gobbler and the other gobblers aren't going to like that
at all and they will be coming fast. That was what happened, two of them
dropped strut and ran across the field. They stooped in front of Doug Sr.'s
special gobbler decoy and went into full strut. Doug Sr; told Greg to draw
and as soon as they come out from behind his gobbler decoy be ready to
shoot. They stepped clear.
Greg was at full draw and
was moving his pin toward the turkey ... and put a little too much back
tension on the release and it launched the arrow ... the arrow was low.
Greg was really disappointed.
He had put so much time and effort and practice into this hunt and then
Doug Sr. worked so hard to get the gobblers exactly where they needed to
be for a close shot. And Greg felt he flubbed the shot.
They returned to camp and
Greg went back out that afternoon and called in two hens and called in
a monster gobbler but it hung up out of bow range.
Wednesday David Mills took
Greg and they had a hen answer from the roost. A gobbler on the ground
sounded off. Then David got a gobble response and put a gobbler on the
move,coming hard. A bird pitched down and gobbled. The approaching gobbler
saw the new gobbler and changed directions and left. Then they shut up.
Today is Greg's last day
to hunt (Thursday) and Greg went with Doug Sr. in the morning. The wind
was blowing hard and it was raining. Because of the rain they waited until
there was a little daylight. Walking in the rain stopped and they heard
two different gobbles from two different areas. They went 300 yards and
set up in a field 50 yards from the edge of a oak hammock.
By now three toms were gobbling.
Doug Sr. set up his special decoys while Greg popped up the blind. Doug
Sr. called and all the birds answered. He called one more time and when
they answered again he set down his Woodhaven aluminum call. He told Greg,
"that they knew that he are here and they are going to come here."
The closest gobbler was 200
yards away in the trees to the left of the blind. A hen entered the field
and crossed it like she knows where she is going. Another hen followed
her. Doug Sr; told Greg, "This is a game of patience. It may happen in
20 minutes and it may take two hours but that gobbler knows we are here
and he will come take a look at us. Then we will get him."
They waited an hour.
Greg saw a hen. And another
hen. Then 11 more hens appeared and they congregated in the field. A longbeard
was in tow, strutting. Doug Sr. said, "When he sees my decoy he is going
to come to us." Greg said he had his doubts because the gobbler had a dozen
hens with him. Sr' said, "Be patient, watch, he will be here," and he called
to get the longberd's attention.
The longbeard turned to look
and saw the decoy set ... and displayed for it.
Doug Sr; smiled, "He's done.
He's on his way."
Eighty yards later, leaving
a dozen hens, full strut all the way, the longbeard walked into the decoy
set, spitting and drumming. He approached the special gobbler and was 8
steps from Greg.
The wind gusted and the gobbler
decoy made a jerky movement -- the longberd broke strut and turned
like he was going to leave.
Sr. immediately gave a diaphragm
call and the gobbler went back into full strut and turned towards one of
the hen decoys. Greg put his pin where he wanted it to be and made the
shot. The arrow his exactly where the pin was and the gobblers footing
gave way and he slammed to the ground.
Greg told me, "I was very
tickled. Today's was a picture perfect hunt from start to finish."
Greg Ballard is from Greenwood,
Arkansas and is a computer software programmer for automated stock market
trading.
Greg came with Grim Reaper
broadheads and he said, "The demise ot the turkey was instantaneous. Grim
Reaper's truly do fly exactly like my field points. You hear companies
say that all the time but you still have to make adjustments, no adjustments
were required with the Grim Reaper. The entrance hole was huge so the mechanical
head had fully opened on impact. I cut spine and all and completely annihilated
him. I couldn't be happier with the Grim Reaper's performance on a turkey."
Greg has taken several Eastern
gobblers and with this Osceola he is going to try for a Grand Slam for
2007.
Greg Ballard (aka "aBowhunr")
with his first Osceola Gobbler.
 |
In Florida we are
hunting with David Mills of Zolfo Springs, Florida in Central Florida's
Osceola wild turkey country. David is an easy going, likable guy with a
good sense of humor.
David has thousands of acres
available to hunt Florida Osceolas. He understands this unique species
of wild turkey and knows their habitat.
David is now part of the
Woodhaven Sting Team and is hosting Mike Pentecost and several members
of the team on this hunt. To contact David about Osceola hunts, bow
or shotgun, phone 1-863-990-9087. David also guides Alligator hunts. |
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