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WNY Bowhunter

By WNY Bowhunter,
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WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

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So...

We arrived in KY around 3:00 (central time) on friday afternoon, meet with the property owner (Jeff), got settled into our camp, aka "the clubhouse" and discussed the opening morning game plan. At last light we attempted to roost a prospect for the morning hunt with no luck.

Opening morning:

Jeff arrived bright and early to show us around the property before sending us out on our own. We heard 6 different birds and decided to try to go after the nearest one in the bottoms below. As we were closing the distance, two birds gobbled just up the logging road causing us to hastily set up. They must have heard us scrambling around and went silent. The original bird went away gobbling and I believed he already had hens with him. We walked around a bit to see the property and headed back to camp. Around 11:00, my wife, my father and I headed back to the bottoms where we were early. We had only made it a short distance across the cornfield when I spotted two longbeards picking in the corner of the field right where we were headed to. I watched them for a couple of minutes until they headed down the trail where we were earlier. It was warming up quickly so we cut the distance in half and I tried some calling but got no response. We started down the trail, I hit the Halloran Metal Mouth and they thundered back below us only 40-50 yds away!!! To make a long story short...we went back and forth for two hours and after two different set ups we were at a standstill. Several times they were within 30 yds of my dad just gobbling and spitting-drumming away but just down over the ridge where we couldn't see them. After literally baking in the sun the entire time we were getting restless...it was time to make an aggressive move...I belly crawled down the roadway while dad kept them gobbling. Finally, I eased up to a small cedar and slowly raised up. I could make out a tail fan about 40 yds below in the shaded timber. As I was getting into position to shoot he went behind some trees for several minutes before reemerging. The Browning barked and bird #1 was down!!!

He tipped the scales at a healthy 25 lbs (my new personal best), 10 3/8" beard and 1" spurs...

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First victim with the Metal Mouth...

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That afternoon we went back out but only saw a couple of hens.

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WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

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Day Two:

It rained the entire day. Our morning hunt was a total washout. Later in the morning the rain cleared up for a little bit, we set up my Rhino blind in a beanfield that the birds had been frequenting around 11:30 and the three of us crammed into the blind knowing that the birds like to hit the fields during the raining weather. It wasn't long when a hen emerged right in front of us and started picked around. A few minutes later a fan appeared on the horizon about 120 yds out. I tried calling to him but he already had a girlfriend and payed no attention to us. We watched him out there for about and hour and a half before I decided it was time to take action. My dad stayed in the blind while Erin and I crawled out the back of the blind to attempt to get around him and get set up on the trail where I figured they would exit the field at (where I shot mine the previous day). After navigating through three hundred yards of the thickest clearcut, thorn infested jungle that I've ever been through, we managed to get where we needed to be. He was still in the same spot and as it turned out...had three hens. We watched him put on a show and breed one of the hens several times over the next hour and a half. Finally, the rain/thunder started to return and the breeding party made the way out of the field passing just out of range of dad in the blind. Things got suspenseful when they disappeared over a knoll in the field. A few minutes passed and finally the gobbler reappeared to our left heading down the trail. In the heat of the moment, Erin was able to make one heck of a shot just as he was about to step out of sight. The 20 gauge and Fed Heavyweight 7's leveled him. It was one of the best hunts I've ever been part of!!!

This old boss gobbler was worth the wait: 24.5 lbs, 11" beard and 1 1/4, 1 3/8" hooks...

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Erin's first official limbhanger!!!

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WNY Bowhunter

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Day Three:

 

The morning hunt was a washout again and the afternoon was super windy...

 

Day Four:

 

The day dawned cool and clear...finally. Dad and I headed out to a nice looking area that we found the previous afternoon. The first gobble erupted in the flooded woods below us. We quickly set up on him and a hen started tree calling so we ditched that spot and headed up after another mouthy gobbler on the ridge above.  We got set up on the ridge, I got him fired up with the crystal and he was on his way. Instead of coming down the ridge to dad he ended up coming up the gulley bank...saw dad's silhouette and vacated the scene without offering a shot.  He was putting the whole way but I fired him up again, we moved on him but after a 45 minute battle a real hen showed up and took him away. Darn, so close!!!

 

That afternoon the other group of guys hunting the farm left and Jeff invited us to stay at their camp to hunt the other side of the farm.  That night I sat on the powerline with the binos in hopes of roosting some birds.

 

The view:

 

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I ended up locating a gobbler with three hens in a greenfield about half a mile away... 

 

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A trio of jakes arrived on the scene and ran of the longbeard. I watched where they went in and made plans for a last ditch effort in the morning...

 

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Day Five:

 

We found that a flooded stream stood between us and the greenfield. After a little looking around we found a place shallow enough to cross and set up. The three jakes came out first, then the three hens pitched right out into the field. The jakes went to them a put on a show.  The longbeard was MIA. After a half hour or so I called and a gobbler sounds off in the next field over. He came down to the other birds and the jakes started pushing him off the field. He circled around to our corner...saw the decoy...and started to cautiously strut in.  He made it to 45-50 yds when the trio of bullies put an end to it and starting mobbing the decoy only 20 yds from dad. The longbeard stayed in the background...dad wanted him to be a little closer...after several minutes the jakes ran him the other way and it was over. It was a dishearting end to the hunt.

 

After a 12 hour drive home, we we greeted with snow here in NY. Hopefully, it will not hinder things for saturday's youth hunt...

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WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

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Great birds and great accountarrow-10x10.png of your hunt.

 

Congrats to you and the lovely young lady !!

 

Did I TELL you those Kentucky birds are SLOBS !!

 

You weren't kidding. These are the only two 24+ pounders that I've ever had my hands on!!!  Erin's bird is the overall biggest gobbler that I can remember seeing and the only true 11" beard...

 

 

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