Easterns with a Bow

by Ben Cole April 24, 2018

Turkey hunting in Alabama is one of the most difficult hunts I’ve every done. These birds are very smart and will flee at a moments notice. One of the main reasons that hunting here is so challenging is due to high hunting pressure. Over the years I have learned that everyone around loves to hunt these birds. 

Recently Jared Force and I found ourselves driving to south AL in hopes of acquiring stellar video footage of a turkey hunt. As usual, because I kept forgetting something, we left later than expected. We arrived at around 12:00 am Saturday to quickly unpack as well as grab some shut eye before the hunt. Unfortunately I, as usual, couldn’t sleep because I was playing out the hunt in my head. Thinking about different situations and what I would do if the birds acted a certain way. 

Morning came too quickly leaving us heavy eyed for a little while until we arrived at the hunt location. Before we hit the woods both of us covered our shiny faces with Hardy Facepaint to blend in to our surroundings, which proved to be a crucial key to our success. 
As we made our way down an old logging road through thick Bama pines we hear that ole gobbler fire off on the adjacent ridge. We waited for another gobble to pinpoint his location and slowly headed his way. Once we sat down he gobbled and gobbled, just before he flew down I yelled softly on a slate call to let him know we were there. Just as his feet hit the ground a group of hens began yelping close by, which was more intriguing than our call. After we tried our best to cut him off we decided to head back to the power line. 
Along the way we spotted two turkeys walking in the road towards us. We squatted down quickly behind a strutter decoy in hopes of hiding from their sharp eyes. I quickly realized that these birds were coming and coming fast. I quickly knocked an arrow and drew back. Jared, who was watching me out of the corner of his eye, leaned to the left so I would have a clear shot. As he began to lean I also leaned out to place my pin in the wing. With a steady release I watched the arrow fly, striking the target with precise accuracy. Instantly I jumped up, full of excitement, whooping and hollering like a child in hot pursuit of this bird. 

I quickly realized that a turkey is a whole lot faster than a big ole country boy. After searching the woods for some time Jared yelled out “I found your bird!” I was so excited I started hollering again! There isn’t much that can be more exciting than taking a turkey with a bow. 

As the hunt drew to a close Jared and I had walked a total of 11 miles for one bird. We tried for hours locating a bird for him but couldn’t make it happen. I have to say that he loves hunting just as much as I do and is an outstanding friend. I’m very thankful that he took me to his family hunting club to complete a goal I had wanted for so long. This story will not soon be forgotten and will be passed to generations to come.

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