# My first turkey (public land bird)



## switchback (Oct 12, 2008)

Well, I had been wanting to get in the woods early and of course I was running late this morning. It was light enough to go in without a flashlight. As me and my buddy are walking in I say ...you know when things aren't going right that's usually when you shoot something. Well, I get in my stand and wait til 9:00 when deer were moving the weekend before and nothing...I'm thinking we aren't going to see anything. At 10:00 straight up I see something and look again. A turkey...wow... I Draw My bow and the first one gets to some corn I hand threw on the ground 20 yards away. I release the stinger 4 blade and the luminok lights up and passes thru the bird. It goes about 10 yards towards me and expires that quick. As soon as it stopped a hawk came from out of nowhere and landed next to it's head. I freak and start stomping on the bottom platform of my stand and the hawk fly's off. meanwhile, 31 more birds have come in and are all within 20 to 30 yards away while I'm stomping the stand and never spook. I even nocked another arrow. I could have shot another right after that first one but was hoping they would go on over to Country Boys stand. They started leaving the way they came from a few at a time so when the last one was about to leave I took a shot at it and missed. 

The thing that makes this really special for me is that I was just telling my buddy the other day that I have always wanted to take a turkey with a bow and from a climber and it happened today! I started out gun hunting and bought a bow to get in the woods earlier. I have shot bucks and a doe with muzzleloader and rifle but I can now say that my first buck, first doe, first hog and first turkey have all been on public land, from a climber and with a bow :mrgreen: 

Here's the pick (forgot to put my bow in pic)


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## Jim (Oct 12, 2008)

good job man! Nice shot! =D>


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## dedawg1149 (Oct 12, 2008)

good job nice turkey =D>


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## switchback (Oct 12, 2008)

Thanks guys. I had an awesome fishing season and this is starting out to be an awesome hunting season to.


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## Quackrstackr (Oct 12, 2008)

Nice bird. I'm going to try and whack one with the ol' shotgun in a couple of weeks.

You TX guys can bait everything. The CO's would crucify us here in KY if we shot a turkey over the golden nuggets. It's not even legal to be hunting them anywhere near the proximity of bait. We can pile the deer up over it but they are protective of the turkeys.


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## switchback (Oct 12, 2008)

Yeah, I don't throw but a half gallon baggie of corn out once a week cause I only hunt once a week for the most part and because I came from TN. and we couldn't bait there for anything. I still hunt like back home...On public land and find the signs and trails and hunt them. Don't really care if I didn't use corn. The birds was really unexpected since I've only seen one flock of domestic/wild breed birds 7 years ago (right after moving here). Most of the hunters here hunt on leases with feeders 15 to 20 yards away with pics of deer for years til they grow to 6 yrs old then shoot them. To each his own but I like the challenge and the not knowing what might step in front of you.Just what I prefer. I'm not sayin I wouldn't hunt that way, just think it would get a lil boring for me.


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## FishinsMyLife (Oct 12, 2008)

No baiting for turkeys in SC either. There isn't a fall season either, just spring. 

Good lookin gobbler!


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## Loggerhead Mike (Oct 17, 2008)

nice. i was tellin my buddy how i wanted to bow hunt the spring turkey season the other day, since neither of us had bows last year. thats gotta be awsome!


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## Fish Monger (Oct 20, 2008)

Congrats! I will miss this fall turkey hunt, but I'll be back in the spring!


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## switchback (Oct 21, 2008)

Back home we didn't have a fall turkey season either. I have never been turkey hunting til year before last 1 time and one time last year (because I'm on the lake) so having a fall season works great for me since I'm in the woods.



Loggerhead Mike said:


> nice. i was tellin my buddy how i wanted to bow hunt the spring turkey season the other day, since neither of us had bows last year. thats gotta be awsome!



Thats pretty much what I said the week before and it happened. So you never know.


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## bassboy1 (Oct 30, 2008)

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I have missed/am missing deer season here in Ga. I am really hoping to get another bow setup in the next few months, and make turkey season in March......

Congrats on the bird. Bowhunting is the only way to go. Guns are fun to shoot, but I much rather have a bow when in the woods.


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## hardwatergrampa (Nov 2, 2008)

congrads on the bird good shooting


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## switchback (Nov 2, 2008)

I love bow hunting. up close and exciting.


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