Join us as Fred Lutger, David Mills and Robert Hoague go for the Grand Slam this Spring. Our plan is to begin in Florida in mid March and move on to Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee. Look for the daily updates, lots of on the spot pictures, and plenty of video for BowTube.com as the hunt progresses.
George Gets Er Done By Fred Lutger
Jun 18, 2008 - 7:43:37 AM
Our other hunter this week is George Scharikow. George is from Chicago, IL and this is his 4th hunt with me. George hunted hard this week and connected on his forth morning.
And what a bird he got. George's bird weighed 25 lb 2 oz and sported a 9 1/2" beard. The right spur is 1" but the left spur was broken and measured 1/2".
Bob, George and I went out last night to the Adams county farm he was hunting. We heard 3 birds gobble on the far west end of the farm. Bob said get in the truck. We headed down to the creek bottom and headed west through several bottom fields. When Bob came to a stop we got out and listened. A bird gobbled just across the creek bed not 150 yards away. A second gobble sounded a little further away, a third to our left front. Our first thoughts were to cross the creek and set up in the field adjacent to the ridge holding the birds.
I have messed up more birds trying to move in too close and suggested we set up right in the field where we stopped the truck. George and Bob got the blind, chairs and decoys out of the truck, set them up as quiet as possible and we made a quick retreat.
At 4 am I smelled the coffee Bob was brewing. I got out of bed and put out the oatmeal and waffles we ate for breakfast. Bob and George headed out and I headed for the pillow. At 8:15 the door of the lodge flew open and Bob walked in with thumbs up.
Here's the story from George:
When we parked and got out of the truck it was still dark. We heard gobbles right away. We went straight to the blind and put out the decoys. We called and got an immediate response. We heard gobbles from about 4 birds for an hour. The got quiet for the next 45 minutes. About 7 am a hen entered our field followed by a second hen. We heard 2 distant gobbles and did a couple yelps with an immediate response. The gobbles got closer as we called. The gobbler entered the field at full strut 150 yards to our right. A second tom gobbled in the creek bottom. Both birds were coming our way.
The strutting tom headed for our decoys spittin' and drummin'. What a show. The bird was 5 yards away between the decoys and the blind. I drew back my bow and shot him broadside. The bird headed for the creek bottom in front of us. I flipped the blind over my head and ran for the bird. It stopped under a gooseberry bush. I reached for him and he jumped and ended up in the creek. I stepped in and grabbed the bird.
