Well Nebraska was good to us once again. I still can't emphasize the quality of great people over there. Wednesday morning we all jumped in the Chicken wagon and headed west. Before I left my house to pick up Weasel and Snacky I sent a text message to Weasel stating that he would need to bring an extra turkey fan for the second pretty boy. Well hammer down. About 35 miles into the trip I was going over what was in the back of the wagon. I kept going back to the turkey fans which I didn't remember loading from Weasels pile. "Hey, did you throw those turkey fans in here?" Silence. "No." I'm thinking ya right Mr. Funny guy, it may be early in the morning but don't try to start the games already. So, I keep truckin. Weasel looks at me and says "You gonna turn around or what?" Ha, Ha funny. So 60 miles into the trup he finally has me convinced he really has forgotten to bring them.

After that minor setback we finally got to our destination after old Snacky Smith wanted to stop at every place to eat on the way. We pulled in the parking lot of where we were going to hunt threw on the black sweatshirts and boots and headed to our spot. It was around 3 pm. Weather was crap, more suited for fall turkey hunting. Nothing really going on so we decide to head back to camp. Three of us balled up in a blind and putting things away and I look up and see hens coming around a brush pile. I tug on Weasel's sleeve, nothing. Tug on it harder and he looks at me like, one more time and you are getting the flipper to the throat. Finally, he looks up and realizes that there are birds everywhere. Bringing up the rear were two nice longbeards and after a few tense moments we have one doing the bicycle in the decoys. NICE, always nice to get one down the first afternoon.

 

Next day the weather did not cooperate once again. We had very little gobbling but the birds were around. Had 14 hens early and then it was off to sleep. I am doing my best impression of a 18 inch Sthil and here the ssssspit uummmmmm. Open one eye and there are seven long beards on a march to the decoys two of them running. It was Snacky's turn to shoot and he is a sleep, I do my best to quietly yell his name and I swear I yelled it 9 times and finally he came out of his nap (but he can't sleep in blinds). Well by this time the birds had enough and were walking away but still in range. No shots fired. NICE.

 


We decided to stick it out until 5:30 to see if anything would come out again and sure enough about 5:20 Weasel looks out and says, longbeard 20 yards right here. My turn to shoot good at least we will get a bird today. I draw back try to anchor and realize I still have my hood up. No biggie right? It's 20 yards... Arrow malfunction right over the back. Let the laughing commence.

 

After getting back and watching the forecast there was new found optimism. Don't get me wrong I love being out there anytime but when you are shivering and the birds aren't talking it can get a little mind numbing. Friday morning was suppose to be perfect and it was, bright clear morning in one of our favorite spots where Snacky and I could redeem what self pride we had left... The morning began with walking under six toms who promptly left after ringing our ears in the early morning sunlight.

 

We still had two birds firing behind us but across a big barrier. Chances are good they saw us setting up as did the other six. Well, they decided to stay on the roost a while and gobble their fool heads off and finally dropped down to the ground. In during this time Weasel looked out and saw a longbeard strutting all the way across a huge bean field but was also on the wrong side of the river. He finally made it to the bank and disappeared. Figuring he was on his way over we sat and waited while we listened to Snacky devour two or three frozen rice crispy bars. Then the cluck behind the blind put us at full alert and soon this bird was around both blinds and doing the mean walk out in front of the blinds. Feathers but no bird.

 

By this time the two clowns across the river thought someone was gettin some lovin and thought they would come to check it out... Big mistake... I finally put the arrow in the right spot and Snacky cleaned up the mess. Double down. 7:30 am.

 

 

 

Fun, fun, fun... It can all happen so fast. Another awesome trip. Thanks again to Southfork here on the site. The guy is golden. There is rough video for you to enjoy at the bottom.

 

 

Tags: 08 Nebraska Longbeard Journey

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I have a spot that I save for later in the season and can just about count on getting a longbeard close. Have killed several in this spot and have had as many close calls. The beauty of this spot is that I have to wait until about 10 30 or 11 to walk in there. But, there is a great way to get in undetected and the birds are generally very responsive. So yesterday morning there was little pressure and I wanted to try a spot that I hadn't hunted all year and had produced in the past including the death of the cotton wood king a couple years ago.

Thinking it was going to be cloudy I set up facing east and next to the finger of timber that the birds roost in and placing the decoys close enough to the blind that they can't see them from the roost. Walking in plenty early I walked passed three birds roosted where I wanted to set up so I had to walk another 50 yards to make sure my set would be out of sight to them. Gobbling started and wasn't real close but close enough I was in the game. I still found it odd that there wasn't a gobbler sounding off in this finger. I sat there taking in the morning and drinking my coffee with the camera set up and ready. Thirty five yards behind me one lights up. About blew the top off of the blind. I didn't get real excited even though he couldn't see the decoys I knew he probably saw or heard me jacking around in the blind and why he was silent up until now. Once, he started however, it was none stop, one after the other, like he was making up for lost time to make his morning gobble quota.

I kept an eye on him out the back of the blind and he started to waver on the branch getting ready to fly down and I clucked a couple of times and he surprisingly flew right at the blind. He pitched down and landed thirty yards out and really wasn't impressed by uncle rico and ugly betty so he walked away and proceeded to gobble his fool head off. As a couple of hens and a couple of jakes joined him. I figured that was going to be it for a while so I enjoyed the show while it was in town and waited until they disappeared over the ridge. Gobbling subsided and the sun was now beating right in the blind and reflecting off of the camera lens. What now?

I did something I had only done one other time. I packed up all my 35 pounds of stuff I need and put the camera away and put my back pack on and proceeded to pick the blind up and carry it up to the decoys and take them down inside the blind, packed them up and off to the other side of the clover patch I went. I was laughing so damn hard by the time I got to the other side I barley made it. I unpacked the decoys put them up in the blind, picked it up over them, moved another 5 yards, unpacked all my 35 pounds of stuff I need and sat in disbelief as to what I just did. I got everything situated to my liking and felt better about the spot and was content to sit there until about 10 or so when I would move to my honey hole. I caught movement and there was a bird strutting about 300 yards away in a bean field and that made me feel better since I didn't spook everything on the farm.

I decided I would sit for an hour before I called unless something was spotted before that time. About a half hour into the wait I noticed the bird that was roosted behind me was now making his way back up the hill and chasing a jake everywhere. I wasn't real confident he would respond after already seeing my decoys once. I let out a series of raspy yelps and he cut me off. I was feeling a little better but my fate rested in the hands of a jake that was trying not to get the snot kicked out of him. The jake turned and headed my direction also to investigate the yelping and the tom went into strut and was slowly working in my direction. I was running short on tape in the camera so I figured if he got close enough I would turn it on and let it run out and hopefully I would capture everything on film. He proceeded to make his way over to me and got to where he could see my decoys. I figured this would be the deal breaker. To my surprise he folded and started running full speed towards me. I was trying to get the camera record button pushed and not make any noise at the same time, I finally got the camera turned on and recording and he had already come to 5 yards and must have seen me jacking around and was walking away. I drew back and my arrow fell off of the rest, I put it back on with my finger and settled the pin on his back and let "black death eat". He went about 5 yards and it was over at 7:30. I love breakfast pizza and beer...

24.5 lbs.
11.5 inches
1 inch
1 inch

Tags: 08 Iowa Archery Bird 2

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Picking a spot to set up was a coin toss for me yesterday morning. I couldn't decide where I wanted to go. Well hitting the alarm snooze button determined I wouldn't be going far.

Begin first hunt:
On the way I thought about a spot and where the birds may be. Not being 100 percent positive where they would be roosted I decided to play it safe and put the decoys real close and hopefully out of view of anything that could be roosted close. Morning broke and a lone gobbler sounded off in an area that I had walked right under. He kept mouthing off and I threw him some soft tree yelps and he hammered right back. I set the call down and waited for him to fly down. I heard him drop and picked the call up and cackled, another immediate answer and I decided to give him the silent treatment since, I had heard no other hens. He was on his way, I could see him strutting right towards my setup. All of a sudden the landowner drives by, stops, gets out of his vehicle and was doing something ( I have no idea what ) and in the mean time I am getting nervous and so is my dinner.

The tom runs directly behind my blind, the landowner leaves and the bird is back to drumming three steps behind my blind. I have the camera set up on a tripod pointing directly at the pretty boy which is placed a mere three steps from my blind so I could capture all the action. Well that plan changed and I was trying to shut the front of the blind and take the camera down and I was just going to punish him out of the back. Well as soon as I reached for the window, he decided to see what was in the front of the blind. He walked around and saw Uncle Rico and was not happy with what was going on with one of his hens. I am trying to figure out how I was going to get the front of the blind back open when this clown is standing 3 steps away. He turned slowly and I opened it back up enough for a shot. I decided to just shoot and not get video. I had to wait until he got from behind the Pretty boy and when he did I let er go. I knew the shot wasn't the greatest so I got another arrow knocked and let er eat. That one also hit but still didn't bring him down.

Begin second hunt:
Crap, what now. I knew he was hurt bad and wouldn't make it so, I waited an hour and headed to the other side of the property to try to get another one while I was waiting to take up the trail of this one. I decided I would leave him until noon and then take up the trail. After talking to some henned up toms I decided to go and look for him. I had bumped him when I walked out but due to a steep embankment I couldn't see what direction he went.

Begin third hunt:
So begins my journey. This property may as well be the foothills of the black hills. Very hilly and a lot of places for a turkey to hide. After looking all of the open areas I decided there was no way he could cross a woven wire fence so I started to walk the fence in the direction he went. After some walking and starting to get real upset with myself I looked down the steepest ledge on the place and there he was in a little crack doing his best to look like a rock and he was very much still alive. I hurried to get my arrow knocked but no dice, he was having none of that. He managed to get in the air again and I start to run straight down then straight back up and I am gassed and really mad now. He headed for a autumn olive thicket that you have to get down on your hands and knees to get through it. So, in I went getting poked prodded scratched and sweatin like a stuck hog. Just about to hang er up I looked down and saw a feather, looked a little further and there he was laying down again. This time I acted like I didn't see him. Turned around and knocked another arrow and let er rip. This time he was anchored to the ground and wasn't going anywhere. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to put my hands on this bird. I haven't lost a bird in a long time and was going to be sick if I lost this one because I knew I just rushed the shot. So here's to you Mr. knock em down with an arrow and kill em with a big stick.

Tags: 08 Iowa Longbeard 1

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