I hunted twice this season with my bow and only came up with feathers on a clean miss...lesson learned don’t shoot at a bird in strut with a bow cause it’s tough to know for sure where the body is.....of coarse I held my draw for so long I may have been off mark.
Anyway....

I was supposed to go Sunday morning but I slept in. Then laid in bed deciding if I should go late anyways. I remember what an old Hopi Indian medicine man told me. “Sometimes with your hunting don’t try so hard” “just go and trust” so that got me up and out the door. It is really about being out there but I often get caught up in strategy and take the fun out of it.

So it’s ohh 11am and in my neck of the woods the hill country the birds roost low and head up hill all day so I head up to a plateau area with big shady oaks perfect for a mid day roost. I decided I wouldn’t try hard so for the first time in many years I left the bow at home and brought a shotgun. As I drove I pictured in my mind where the birds would be and where I needed to be. So I get there and trek right to a specific tree I had in mind. I did nothing fancy. No glassing no locator calls nothing. Just sat down with my shotgun. It was fairly windy so I sat waiting for it to die down so my soft calls might be heard. I did a short scenario of a feeding hen with purrs and then another hen nearby raspy and a little aggressive. Then I sat and listened to the wind. I pictured turkeys coming in to keep me from calling anymore. Nothing for a few minutes so out came my phone and I started playing chess. I put it on expert level so I could focus on the chess and not on calling.., I tend to call to much...I think?
Anyway for 20 minutes or so I’m lost in this game of chess. I stop and call one more time...look around...nothing happening so back to the chess. So deep in thought I’m actually doing well in the game on expert level. Computer swoops his queen in and takes my rook.. I corner her and capture his queen...holy smokes I still have my queen and rooks, this game is in the bag now...I look up and here comes a big lone gobbler...the sun is shining on him and he is just gorgeous walking through the wildflowers. I recognize him. I actually have called him in once before about a mile from where I’m hunting today. He spotted me drawing my bow that day. Today all I have to do is pull a trigger.
He is coming in on a string at 75y I super slowly get the gun up and on him...now he is 40 yards away...so I’m looking him over and over...ok I’ll take him...20 yards away now...Boom!!

Pictures coming...I’m having trouble getting them on

Oh and by the way....after cleaning my bird and getting the fan spread out and salted inthe hot sun. I sat on the porch and stomped the computer on expert level chess...yes sir..

Heck yeah!

Think I was playing candy crush or something when I got my biggest deer. I missed my ride looking at my phone so got back in the stand at 10:30 am waiting for them to come back. 10 minutes later boom.

Very nice, patience and more patience.

Congrats, nice mature gobbler