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Post by isthereice on May 4, 2014 10:37:02 GMT -5
Hi All,
I managed to put a bolt through my first turkey this morning with my old PSE Reaper crossbow. He's just a Jake, but he's my first and I did the hunt entirely on my own on public land so I'm very happy with him. It was my second day ever of turkey hunting, and it all came together rather suddenly as two Jakes bobbed their heads over a nearby ridge and angled over towards my decoys. I had a rubber hen and a "Funky Chicken" decoy deployed 25 yards from my concealed position, and they came right to the dekes just as the advertising for the Funky Chicken says. If you haven't seen one of these it's an interesting design, it purposely looks like an old, withered, skinny Tom who would be easy meat for any strong young turkey, so they aren't intimidated by a big gobbler decoy and stay away. It works! I also had a new slate pot call I got from Basspro only yesterday, and I think it really made the difference. On my first hunt I was using a mouth call and I wasn't very good with it, I think I actually kept the turkeys away because I could hear them all around me but none came to my poor calling. Today in the same spot at the same time the pot call had them coming in, it's so easy to use and sounds so good it did the trick on my first day with it, I only practiced a bit the night before.
The shot was 27 yards as measured by my Bushnell 450 Yardage Pro, and the old Reaper blew a 2 blade Stinger Broadhead right through him with such force that I couldn't find it in the forest anywhere, it's probably buried in the soft ground. That old thing is accurate and powerful, if a bit large and weighty. I picked it up used for a very cheap price and love it.
Surprisingly the second Jake didn't run away at all after his buddy went down, he just started stomping the crap out of him! After watching this odd behaviour for a minute or two I thought that he must now be doing real damage to my bird so I clapped my hands to drive him away, but he didn't care at all lol. I then stood up and took off my camo mask, thinking that would send him running, but no, he just kept ripping at his old buddy. I didn't want to educate him on what hunters look like, but I had to stop him tearing my bird apart so I walked over to him and got within about 8 yards before he finally took off. I couldn't believe the attitude on this turkey haha. I could have nocked a bolt and shot him too, he was so intent on my bird, but you're only allowed one a day so I just shoo-ed him away. He plucked about half the feathers off my Jakes' back for me.
I'm not too great with computers so I'm not sure how to post pictures of my Jake, but I'll see if I can figure it out. I think you have to post them to some other site and then cross link somehow...we'll see how that goes
link Ok I played with it for a while but still don't know how to get actual photos to pop up in this thread, but as a second best option you can click on the blue "link" to the left to see the photos on photobucket.
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Post by peter on May 4, 2014 10:43:59 GMT -5
You mean this ? great report...
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Post by peter on May 4, 2014 10:46:37 GMT -5
Is this what you used to call them in ?
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Post by peter on May 4, 2014 10:48:26 GMT -5
Looks pretty neat your Bushnell 450 Yardage Pro .
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Post by isthereice on May 4, 2014 10:49:03 GMT -5
Yes on both counts Peter
and yes that's the range finder too, it works great.
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Post by peter on May 4, 2014 10:50:00 GMT -5
Did you get the kit ?
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Post by peter on May 4, 2014 10:51:46 GMT -5
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Post by isthereice on May 4, 2014 11:18:23 GMT -5
haha yes I got the full PSE Reaper kit with soft case, scope, quiver, bolts, and rope thingyer. I found it used at Ellwood Epps hunting store for less than half the price of new. It's a few model years old now but it still works great. Epps Hunting often has a good supply of used crossbows that are in good shape at good prices, they're out on Highway 11 near the North end of Lake Simcoe.
I'll try photobucket and see if I can get pictures posted this afternoon.
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Post by isthereice on May 4, 2014 11:32:15 GMT -5
oops my mistake, Ellwood Epps is actually closer to the top of Couchiching.
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Post by skip on May 5, 2014 19:51:34 GMT -5
Nice work!!!! I use the same jake decoy too!
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Post by isthereice on May 7, 2014 9:40:34 GMT -5
I still can't transfer the pictures ( I know, I suck lol ), but here's a direct link to three shots on photobucket: Jake pictures
here's my sad attempt at image transfer:
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Post by isthereice on May 18, 2014 21:04:37 GMT -5
I went back to my little turkey honey-hole and found some new intruders there messing things up royally: a pack of coyotes.
The birds stayed quiet and in the trees all day, too afraid to come down, and I can't blame them one bit. I saw turkey feathers scattered on the ground and turkey eggs broken open all over the place. In the early morning I started calling and guess who came in? A furry tan coloured dog that's who, not a big tasty bird. He came in at a trot and zipped right past me in my camo suit, but when he got his first good look at the decoys he immediately bolted at full speed. He knew exactly what they were and was gone in a flash.
My question to more experienced hunters here is this: will the dogs move on and leave my favourite hunting area in peace, or will they stay and kill all the turkeys, or will the turkeys move on? I've never encountered this and am not sure what to do, advice from those in the know would be appreciated.
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Post by skip on May 19, 2014 20:53:33 GMT -5
Hunt the coyotes, that's what I would do!
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Post by isthereice on May 19, 2014 23:49:24 GMT -5
Yep Skip, I considered that and a quick scan of the regs tells me my small game license is all I need and it's open season year-round on those furry varmints. Unfortunately I'm using a crossbow, not the best weapon for quick moving coyotes....maybe this is the push I need to finally get my gun license and buy a 12 gauge. It would be good for turkeys and for keeping the flock free of four legged predators. It's late in the spring turkey season for that now but I could get it done in time for the fall....hmmmm....decisions, decisions
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Post by skip on May 20, 2014 9:38:12 GMT -5
If you are considering having ur gun license for fall then I would recommend you take the course ASAP as the turn around time can be quite extensive. What licenses do you have now!? Your crossbow would still get the job done on a yote just puts a little more of a challenge too it lol
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Post by isthereice on May 20, 2014 15:57:37 GMT -5
Oh yeah, the crossbow would definitely shoot an arrow right through a coyote, if only the bugger would stand still for a few seconds I've only ever seen them trotting through and getting them in the scope and trying to range and lead them a bit as they bounce along is pretty tough. I think the open sights (or no sights) and easy swing of a shotgun would be much better, much like shooting ducks.
I've fired other people's guns of various types before but have never bothered with the red tape, courses, requirements, lag times , and fees of a gun license since the crossbow works great for deer and turkeys, and doesn't require any permission to buy or use as long as you have a small game license and the appropriate tags. I much prefer to be unregulated.
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Post by peter on May 21, 2014 4:45:52 GMT -5
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Post by peter on May 21, 2014 4:46:39 GMT -5
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Post by peter on May 21, 2014 4:47:43 GMT -5
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Post by skip on May 21, 2014 19:22:57 GMT -5
Oh yeah, the crossbow would definitely shoot an arrow right through a coyote, if only the bugger would stand still for a few seconds I've only ever seen them trotting through and getting them in the scope and trying to range and lead them a bit as they bounce along is pretty tough. I think the open sights (or no sights) and easy swing of a shotgun would be much better, much like shooting ducks.
I've fired other people's guns of various types before but have never bothered with the red tape, courses, requirements, lag times , and fees of a gun license since the crossbow works great for deer and turkeys, and doesn't require any permission to buy or use as long as you have a small game license and the appropriate tags. I much prefer to be unregulated. When you get the dog in range make a light whistling sound or suck of the lips to sound like a mouse he should stop and perk up giving you 2 seconds at least to get your shot off lol!!!
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