I have been fortunate to tag several turkeys using a shotgun, but until last spring, I had never been able to harvest one with a bow.  It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried.  I’d had at least three different birds within bow range, but they all had spotted the movement during my draw and flushed before I could get a shot.  This hunt would be different as I had learned from my past mistakes.

Before dawn, I was positioned between the edge of a field and a hardwood ridge where several gobblers had been roosting.  I had positioned my decoys in the field so that I would have a clear shot at approaching birds.  Several gobbles came from the ridge as the sun came up.  I gave my best impression of a lonely hen, but was unable to coax the toms within sight.  However, I was pleased to see that a hen was making her way across the field toward my decoys.  I hoped that the gobblers would eventually follow.  As the hen came closer, I did a double take when I saw a beard swinging from her chest.  And although I had been originally hoping for a gobbler, I wasn’t about to pass up a shot at a legal bird with my bow.  The hen approached within 5 yards of my decoys and offered me a perfect shot.  I sent the arrow on its way and she only traveled about 30 yards after the shot.  Her beard was just shy of six inches and I was thrilled to have my first turkey with a bow!

By Kyle Schwabenbauer
Knox, PA

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