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For The Eastern
Day #2: A Nice
Day For A Grand Slam
  
Doug had a plan for today
and we worked it to the letter. An hour before daylight we cut through
the woods to the bottom of the field and walked 500 yards to the top. Doug
set his Double Bull blind in half a dozen scraggly saplings that were alone
in the field. We were 31 yards from the woods.
According to Doug's scouting
the gobbler normally arrived at the field around 10:00. He called at fly
down time, nothing answered and we entered the waiting mode.
At 10:05 Doug said he heard
a hen. I listened but couldn't hear anything. Doug called and a hen came
uphill to us. Pics
of the hen.
The hen hung out around
us and then went back downhill.
Gobble!
Our Hillside longbeard announced
his arrival. Doug changed to a slate and called to the hen, he wanted it
back with us, not wandering around somewhere else. The hen talked back
to Doug and came right back up.
Downhill, ol' Hillside Tom
came into view. He didn't waste any time, he brought it on and Doug took
its pictures.
When he was 15 yards from
us I drew, he was at the decoys before I could get a pin on him. The decoys
buggared him and he darted uphill. I Found him in the furthest corner of
the blind's shooting window and leaned to the left, balancing on on leg
of my Double Bull 3-legged chair.
He turned toward the decoys.
A moving target, at 8 yards, I was solid in the "go" zone, my top pin locked
on his vitals and I cut it loose.
The arrow rocked the longbeard
hard, he half flew, half jumped downhill past the decoys and when he hit
the ground my arrow slung into the air. Then the gobbler did the bad thing
... he flew.
From Doug's angle he could
see the bird make a crash landing in the woods downhill.
"Where did you hit it?"
Doug asked, "Your arrow came out, you didn't you get any penetration!"
"The arrow went in all the
way, just the nock or the fletching was still in it. The turkey is dead."
I said.
Doug beamed. "I saw where
it flew to. It landed in a wreck."
"Let's wait half an hour,"
I said.
Just for grins I
took his picture and then he
took mine. We were pretty pleased right then, this is our 2nd grand
slam together.
Doug was the first one in
the woods, right away he said, "Here it is."
This is my Grand Slam
Eastern longbeard, the Hillside gobbler. A 10 1/2" beard, 1 1/4" spurs
and 20 pounds.
I
want to thank the sponsors of our 4x4 Grand Slammer. Through their help
and support this online event is possible.
BowTech
bows, Double Bull
blinds,
Knight & Hale
turkey calls,
Barrie Archery
Rocky Mountain broadheads, Timberline
Archery bowsights, MyTopo.com
maps,
Carter Enterprises
releases,
Pro-Ears hearing
enhancement & protection, Fine-Line
Archery peep sights & bowquivers, Montana
Decoys turkey decoys, EASTON
Archery arrows, Freddie
Bear Sports assorted bowhunting gear & Sticks
N' Limbs camouflage, Wulff
Cedar Creek Ranch Rio Grandes hunts, Florida
Wildlife Unlimited Florida Osceola hunts, Double
K Guide Service Merriam's hunts, Fred
Lutger's Wilderness Hunts Illinois hunts, Wells
Creek Outfitters Easterns, Limb Walker Guide Service Ohio
hunts.
This is the 2nd Grand
Slam, Fred Lutger and Tony Dukes are still hunting.
Day #1: A Little
Rain ... and a little rain!
  
Doug Crabtree and I drove
to several spots and called with no response. Doug had scouted a bird he
called the Hillside gobbler and we drove to its area. The gobbler was high
up on the hill, the time was 8:19, the bird was 2 hours early today.
We parked at the property
owner's, cut through the woods, and set up against the fence on the edge
of the woods -- on an adjoining hill. It was pouring rain. We were 400
yards from the gobbler
and a hen.
Doug called. The longbeard
gobbled back instantly.
Without hesitation the gobbler
walked to the bottom
of his hill and through a narrow strip of trees separating the hills.
We lost sight of him in the tall grass on our hill.
Doug clucked a couple of
times and did a fighting gobbler purr with his diaphragm call. The Tom's
head appeared -- periscope like -- in the grass below us.
He kept coming and took
shape in the grass. He stopped 30 some yards from us and surveyed the
area.
Doug did a quiet ki ki and
the longbeard gobbled
and started toward the fence.
Obligingly, he stopped 20
yards from us. I drew and put the bright green top pin of my Timberline
bowsight on the longbeards chest and held it rock steady.
My arrow went 3 feet to
the left of the bird and he walked back downhill.
Doug wanted to check my
bow and drew it. To our dismay we saw my arrow pop out of the cradle on
the rest.
We waited half and hour
and snuck back to the truck. Later I adjusted the rest.
Actually, the miss was so
wide that we felt sure that the gobbler did not know what happened. We
made plans to dance with him again tomorrow.
Sponsors
For The 2004 4x4 Grand Slammer
Our 4x4 Grand Slammer
with the bow created excitement with several manufacturers and they stepped
up to the plate to sponsor the event.
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