Hey guys! I thought since thunder chickens are starting to gobble, it would be appropriate to do a neat little writeup of my recurve turkey hunt. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!!! Please let me know if theres any way I can make it better.
Good luck to everyone in this upcoming season!
PERSISTENCE PAYS
The grass was green. The birds were singing their good morning songs to the world. Turkeys were gobbling...
Turkeys...
The sound of a couple of toms waking up, shook me in my seat. I instinctively grip the handle of my bear takedown recurve a little bit tighter, patiently
waiting for the birds to fly down and play my game.
A little bit about myself. My name is Madison Vaughn. I have successfully hunted with a recurve nearly all my life. Up to this point, I have successfully harvested several deer and a ton of small game with the stick and string. My nemesis however has been a turkey with the recurve. This is currently my third year trying to seal the deal on a thunderbird. Missing a 15 yard shot the year before had not helped my feelings any.
More gobbles snapped me back to reality. The turkeys were on the ground! My excitement was quickly dampened, however, when the birds suddenly went silent. Ah! Stupid hens.
Feeling kind of dejected, I kick back, determined to enjoy the morning.
After a long sit, with no more than a few gobbles, I just accept defeat and stand up in the blind to stretch my legs.
A squirrel barking right outside my blind window peaked my curiosity. I nonchalantly peek out the mesh and almost have a heart attack! Two monster toms are strutting less than 20 yards from my blind!
My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I quickly, and I mean quickly, get in my chair and get my bow up. About 5 seconds later, two of the largest toms I have ever seen, strutted right up to my decoys, a mere 5 yards away!
I quickly pick out the larger of the two and draw my bow. The gobblers, being the high-strung easterns they are, quickly take off running at the movement of my draw.
This is where things get crazy. Unbeknownst me at the time, in their haste to get away, the toms switched sides. (I found this out when I watched the footage after the hunt.) In the two seconds I had to draw and shoot, I didn’t even realize I shot the wrong bird.
As the toms began their hasty departure, my instincts kicked into overdrive. My arrow was gone before I knew what happened.
The string from my string tracker began spooling out as the turkey took flight.
I was an emotional wreck. After so many failed attempts, I had just managed to arrow my biggest tom to date. Out of the 10 turkeys I had previously harvested, I had never came close to being this excited!
After giving the bird some time, I followed the string to my biggest tom, a beautiful Eastern thunderbird, sporting a hefty 11-inch beard.
I gave thanks to our Creator for the opportunity to hunt these spectacular birds. I may or may not have shed a few tears as well...
If the sun continues to rise, and the birds continue to sing. I’ll continue to chase the majestic thunderbirds of Arkansas with a stick and string.
https://youtu.be/_HsPThXHaGs
Good luck to everyone in this upcoming season!
PERSISTENCE PAYS
The grass was green. The birds were singing their good morning songs to the world. Turkeys were gobbling...
Turkeys...
The sound of a couple of toms waking up, shook me in my seat. I instinctively grip the handle of my bear takedown recurve a little bit tighter, patiently
waiting for the birds to fly down and play my game.
A little bit about myself. My name is Madison Vaughn. I have successfully hunted with a recurve nearly all my life. Up to this point, I have successfully harvested several deer and a ton of small game with the stick and string. My nemesis however has been a turkey with the recurve. This is currently my third year trying to seal the deal on a thunderbird. Missing a 15 yard shot the year before had not helped my feelings any.
More gobbles snapped me back to reality. The turkeys were on the ground! My excitement was quickly dampened, however, when the birds suddenly went silent. Ah! Stupid hens.
Feeling kind of dejected, I kick back, determined to enjoy the morning.
After a long sit, with no more than a few gobbles, I just accept defeat and stand up in the blind to stretch my legs.
A squirrel barking right outside my blind window peaked my curiosity. I nonchalantly peek out the mesh and almost have a heart attack! Two monster toms are strutting less than 20 yards from my blind!
My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I quickly, and I mean quickly, get in my chair and get my bow up. About 5 seconds later, two of the largest toms I have ever seen, strutted right up to my decoys, a mere 5 yards away!
I quickly pick out the larger of the two and draw my bow. The gobblers, being the high-strung easterns they are, quickly take off running at the movement of my draw.
This is where things get crazy. Unbeknownst me at the time, in their haste to get away, the toms switched sides. (I found this out when I watched the footage after the hunt.) In the two seconds I had to draw and shoot, I didn’t even realize I shot the wrong bird.
As the toms began their hasty departure, my instincts kicked into overdrive. My arrow was gone before I knew what happened.
The string from my string tracker began spooling out as the turkey took flight.
I was an emotional wreck. After so many failed attempts, I had just managed to arrow my biggest tom to date. Out of the 10 turkeys I had previously harvested, I had never came close to being this excited!
After giving the bird some time, I followed the string to my biggest tom, a beautiful Eastern thunderbird, sporting a hefty 11-inch beard.
I gave thanks to our Creator for the opportunity to hunt these spectacular birds. I may or may not have shed a few tears as well...
If the sun continues to rise, and the birds continue to sing. I’ll continue to chase the majestic thunderbirds of Arkansas with a stick and string.
https://youtu.be/_HsPThXHaGs
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