A Hat Trick By Rick Philippi
May 11, 2008 - 3:42:05 PM
I had already shot a nice Tom in the fall season out of my Gorilla tree stand. He had an 11 inch beard and was a big mature bird. It was our spring season here in Texas and I thought I would go for the Texas Rio Grand Slam. We are allowed 4 Gobblers; they can be taken in the fall or spring.
It was the opening week as I crawled into my Double Bull Matrix. To say I was excited was an understatement. I hit the Cody slate and immediately heard a gobble. I hit it again ... another gobble. Some time elapsed and the bird faded away. It was still early and I remained optimistic -- and used the slate again and made a series of purrs and cluck and then put the call down. I decided not to call for awhile. Actually, when you’re not calling you are calling.
Thirty minutes later I noticed movement off to my left.
Approaching very cautiously, were 3 young Toms. Once they made their way into my shooting lane I drew the Guardian BowTech to full draw. I sent a Carbon Express Arrow through the vitals of the largest bird. He went down right away and I had my second bird on my quest for the Rio Grand Slam.
Next week found me in the same Double Bull blind. I let the area settle down and then hit the slate. Immediately I had multiples responses. It was 3 or 4 Toms together. They hung up about 100 yard from me in a creek bottom and would not come any closer. I decided not to call for about 15 minutes. Then started to putt excitedly.
That did it, here they came on a dead run.
Stopping at my taxidermy decoys the toms went into full strut and gobbling their fool heads off. The largest bird was poised to pounce on my Jake decoy. These taxidermy mount decoys cost me over $400 apiece and the thought of one getting torn up did not excite me. I got the Guardian BowTech to full draw and sent the Carbon Express Arrow tipped with the Spitfire expandable broadhead through the largest of the 3 tom’s vitals. He to dropped immediately.
As of this writing there is only a week left in our season and because of a work related situation I will not be able to make my final hunt to complete my Rio Grand Slam but heck, it will give me something to shoot for next year.
Tips: Patience is a virtue. I am a firm believer of getting into an area where you have birds and sit and wait them out. Usually it is only a matter of time before their path will cross yours. Also, don’t over call. This is a mistake that many hunters make. I had alluded to earlier you are calling when you are not calling, think about it. What’s funny is you will talk to a lot of turkey hunters and get so many different opinions. My advice is, get out in the woods and learn from trial and error. When you make mistakes it will make you a better hunter.
Equipment used:
The Guardian by BowTech (quiet and fast, their bows and customer service is second to none) www.bowtecharchery.com
