Opening day 2012

                                 First day of Archery 2012. 

 

Up at 4:50am. Hopped in the car and made the short drive up the road to the neighbor's farm. My trail cam has been out for the last month getting some pics of a nice 6 point, three or four doe and a flock of twenty turkeys. As I was getting dressed at my car I could see a flashlight going up in the bordering field. Never did find out who it was. Took my climbing stand but decided to go to my hang on stand I had placed two weeks ago. The deer were not using the trail as much in the last week. only one deer all week at 6:00am three days ago. But the turkeys have been coming through at 10:00 on the dot the last three days.The woods were quiet from the week of rain. The wind picked up and leaves started dropping. No chance of hearing a deer and now even harder to pick one out. I told my self I would give it until 10 and see if the turkeys would show and if not I was out of there. At 9:45 the turkeys made their showing. They were only 30 yards away when it dawned on me I was looking at turkeys. A few big hens with this year's young. One of the old hens picked me out and started working away putting and getting everyone's attention. I had three of the small ones at ten yards so it was a little one or no turkey. I have missed about 5 turkeys with a bow in the last eighteen years. Not going to let this one get away. I put my ten yard pin tight between her wings and let it rip. I switched to mechanical broadheads this year that have a 1 3/4 cutting diameter. It did a number on the bird. 

I climbed down out of my stand and retrieved the bird. Gathered my things and headed home and then to the check station.

The afternoon hunt.

Got to my new stand location on a 300 acre farm I hunted last year. Hunting some oak trees on the edge of mixed soft woods. I sat for about three hours and the wind got so bad I was getting motion sick and just felt a bit unsafe strapped to a tree 30 feet off the ground. I still hunted my way back to a large cornfield that had been chopped two weeks ago. No deer but the field was full of tracks. I decided to try my favorite spot. I killed both deer there last year. I got to my tree, took off my pack and stand and hear a whistle behind me. I turn around and look up and there is a guy three trees over. Now what. I am a firm believer in first come first serve so I say sorry and back out the way I came.  I hope he enjoyed the shooting lanes that took me an hour and a half to cut out. I decide on a small strip of woods that runs between the corn field and road. I sat until dark and nothing but a few song birds.