My 2 best NY gobblers in two days

[Meleagris1]

I don't know where to start. If not for this past weekend, I would have to say that this turkey season has been the hardest I have ever hunted for gobblers, without actually shooting a gobbler myself. I've been turkey hunting for 18 years and if you turkey hunt for this long, you are bound to have one of those seasons . . . the kind of season where no matter what you do, you draw a blank. Well, that all changed this past weekend.

This is a 3 part story.

Saturday, May 24th:

As I walked back to my truck after a day chasing gobblers, I was crossing a freshly planted cornfield along one of the major creeks that cuts through my hunting area in NY. I stopped for a second, and let a few quick cuts rip with my boat paddle. Nothing. I dropped the box call back into my pocket, and as I dis I notice something laying on the ground at my feet. I knew immediately what it was. I reached down and picked up an Indian arrow head that was in MINT condition. When the farmers tilled the field this year, it brought it right to the top. What luck! This is the neatest thing I have found in all of my years of hunting this area, which has a long history of use by Mohican and Mohawk Indians.

Here is a pic:

[Meleagris1]

Part II



Sunday, May 25th:

I decided to hunt an area that I haven't hunted in the last 4 years. Its quite a hike to get to but I've never seen another hunter in this area. At first light I heard a gobbler sound off, great! I make my way to towards him, getting about 150 yards away, on the edge of a small hidden field and the timbered ravine where the birds are roosted. I'm kneeling behind a large oak tree, looking for a place to setup my blind, when I hear branches breaking above me and see a large shadow fly over my head. It was a hen. She never saw me, and she flew down into the field DIRECTLY behind me. I was shocked because it was still very dark out. Needless to say, setting up the blind was no longer an option. I slowly slipped my wild thing pack and matrix blind off my back, laid it on the ground, grabbed my bow, nocked and arrow and got ready to make the best out of a bad situation.

As luck would have it, the hen walked away from me. She gives a muted yelp as she does, and not one but four birds gobble instantly in the trees ahead of me. The woods slowly start to brighten and I see each of the 4 gobblers pitch down to a open grassy spot in the hardwoods. After an hour of strutting and me staying motionless, I give a series of soft clucks and purrs, which draws the bigger tom towards me. Without use of my rangefinder, I guessed the distance at 40 yards, drew back, leaned out around the tree, settled the pin on the bird, and pulled. The arrow hit with a solid thwack, which sent the big gobbler to the ground hard. The other birds gobbled at the sound of the impact, and then went to work beating the snot out of their poor buddy. Life isn't easy being a turkey.

This was my biggest bow gobbler ever, and very nearly the best bird I have ever shot, regardless of weapon.

20lbs 8 oz
9.75" beard
1 3/8" and 1/7/16" spurs

[Meleagris1]

Part III

Monday, May 26th:

I decided that since there were several other nice gobblers, in this group, I would make the climb back up the mountain in the morning and try for another one of them. The other gobblers never saw me the day before, and had just walked off in the direction of the other hen after they got tired of beating on the dead gobbler.

As I listened at first light, again the birds start gobbling in the ravine. This time, I decided it was wiser to stay back abit from the ravine and setup my blind on the edge of the small hidden field, where I had a close shot if the birds came into the field, and a slightly further shot if they hung up at the edge of the woods.

The birds were gobbling hard again, and I sat patiently as I heard all of them fly down. I was in my Matrix and had two hen decoys directly in front of me. Same approach this time, soft clucks and purrs to try and coax them closer. This time however they didn't want to leave the strutting area in the hardwoods. After an hour of gobbling and strutting, I hear them walking away in the opposite direction. Soon the gobbles are a couple hundred yards away. I didn't want to get aggressive, but having no other option, I gave a series of quick cuts between my mouth call and boat paddle. The gobblers triple gobbled. I waited for a few minutes and then clucked and purred. As soon as I did that I heard that sound that gets every turkey hunter's heart racing, a spit and drum, coming from inside the timber.

All I can see are fans moving though the woods as the gobblers scope the field. The birds however wouldn't come to the edge of the woodline. I clucked and purred, but they wouldn't budge. They gobbled hard at my dekes, and then started to walk away again. I quickly double gobbled with my mouth diaphragm, and that turned them right back around.

I couldn't study the birds well through the brush, so I decided that I would take the first long beard that gave me a shot. The gobblers had walked right by a large maple tree on the way through ( I passed the shot, hoping they would come closer) and I ranged that tree at 47 yards. I was hoping they would take the same route on their way back through. Knowing at this point that it was either going to happen, or it wasn't, I set my pin to 46 yards and waited to see if they would walk back the same way they came in.

After a few mintues, one of the gobblers steps out in front of that big maple and looks into the field in my direction. I instantly came to full draw and planted my pin on his chest. I took my time and aimed while pressure slowly built up on my Carter Atension spike release. The next thing that registered with me was the solid thwack of my arrow into that big gobbler. He made it about 50 yards, leaving a heavy blood trail the entire way. Those Rocket Slammerheads really did a number on him.

Well, when I walked up to this bird, I simply couldn't believe what I was seeing. This bird was EVEN BIGGER than the one I shot yesterday! I knew his spurs had to be around the 1.5 inch mark. This can't be happening! My biggest bow gobbler yesterday, and now my best bird ever on Monday. Unbelieveable.


Here are the stats:

19lbs 3oz
10.25" beard
1 9/16" and 1/11/16" spurs

[Meleagris1]

To put this in perspective, the bigger bird is the 2nd biggest typical gobbler shot with the bow in NY, and 39th in the US for all bow killed Easterns.

The smaller of the two is the 4th largest killed in NY with the bow.

So the question is, was all this luck the result of finding the Indian arrowhead? I not much of a believer in fate or superstition, but you can bet that I will be making a necklace out of that arrow head and taking it with me elk hunting this year.

I took these guys with my 06 Elite Energy btw. I love that bow, just recently bought another one as a backup.

[Slugger]

congrats, nice hooks for sure

[eliteshooter]

nice birds great hooks looks like someone had some fun. congrats!!!!!

[L-train]

Cool Story! Impressive! Congrats.

[Meleagris1]

Thanks guys. I still can't believe it.

[bbahunter]

Great job on the birds! I also found an arrowhead when i was a kid, in a corn field.My father had it encased in glass for me.