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October 30, 2011 After the worst hunt ever the morning of October 29th, my luck was about to change. The day before, I had a runin with a trespasser and found a treestand on property that I have exclusive rights to. As a result, I hung a new set near a break in a fenceline that would allow me to keep an eye out for any other trespassers since this was apparently an issue on posted property. I woke up extra early on October 30th and was in the stand an hour before shooting light. The morning started out quick, with two does running by me at 7:20am. While I was hunting a suburban area, I decided to try my luck at rattling figuring it wouldn't work well. Soon after I rattled, I spied a four pointer in the field behind me. I grunted a few times at him to see if I could turn him (just for fun) but he walked off. After trying to observe where he had went, I caught movement in the field. Still thinking it was the four point, I grunted three times and he turned and came right at me. Soon I realized that this was no 1.5 year old deer, and within a few minutes this 3.5 year old NY buck was raking a tree in front of me. I drew my Elite early and waited for him to step in my lane, when he did, I released the lumenok and watched it burry in the buck. At first, I thought it was good hit, in just a few steps I could see blood pouring out of the deer. However, after reviewing the footage my shooting lane apparently wasn't that great - I had hit a limb and hit the buck in the liver. After waiting seven hours, we tracked the buck a few hundred yards before finding him in his bed. What a way to end my miserable weekend - God bless! |
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October 29, 2011 Story to follow... |
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October 21, 2011 A plan comes together. All summer long Sean and I scouted several places
we hunt for stand location. Sean tagged out on a nice doe early with his
bow and now I have as well my muzzle loader, both on our first sit. As |
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October 21, 2011 The last morning of the Northern Zone early Muzzle Loader season presented itself with cool weather, calm winds and loads of deer movement. I headed north to hunt the last day with my dad and it proved to be a successful morning. At first light, we saw a number of deer making their way across the gas line, but with low light and shot distance being concern, we elected not to take any shots. Things slowed down quickly and about 8:30, we had a nice 1 1/2 year old 4 pt walk through at 30 yards. As soon as he disappeared, a big doe made her presence known on the Frigid Forage clover plot and worked her way into 65 yards very quickly. My dad focused the camera on her and I let the hammer drop. The big doe only made it to the edge of the food plot before expiring. The shot was perfectly placed through the heart and I had my first deer in the freezer for 2011. It was great morning in the woods with my dad on his new property and we're both really excited for the future this place has in store for it! |
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October 19, 2011 Story to follow...
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October 16, 2011 It was the second day of archery season and after a miserable opening day consisting of rain and wind, the second morning presented itself as a perfect morning! After seeing a small buck, followed by a mature buck at last light the night before, Clede and I made the decision to head to the same setup the following morning knowing that the weather was going to improve. The hope was to have an encounter with the mature buck we saw the night before, however we agreed that if a mature doe presented herself we would take her. After meeting up that morning at a local country store in Groveland, we glanced at the sky, checked the wind, and knew even at 6am that this was going to be a good morning for deer movement! We got settled into stand about 6:30 after a lengthy walk to our setup. With the recipe shaping up to be a beautiful morning, much to our surprise there was very little deer movement! It wasn't until about 8:30 when we saw 2 deer coming from behind us entering the gully where we were setup. Once the deer got to the bottom of the gully we lost site of them until they appeared again about 10-12 yards from us. It was at this time I decided that the one doe was mature and that I was going to take her. Was at this time I drew my Elite Hunter back and sent my arrow completely through the deer burying in the ground on the other side! After replaying the video we noticed that the shot deflected by a tree limb making the shot a little far back on the doe resulting in limited blood to track the deer. After combing the area, Clede found the doe in a hedge row about 150 yards from my stand resulting in my first kill of the young 2011 archery season in NY. |
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October 1, 2011 I had been watching a bean field for a few weeks and hunted it Thursday night (during the northern zone early bow) and saw three bucks, including two beauties! So, Josh and I planned it out that we would brush ourselves in a small corner of the bean field the bucks and does I had been watching moved towards. We were halfway to our spot on Saturday night and a doe and fawn popped of the woods into the field and moved our way at 3:30pm, she got within 60 yards but then moved back into the woods. We quickly set up and the rain just poured down on us directly in our face. At about 5:00pm, Josh kicked my boot and just as he did we both noticed 7 does and fawns come into the field about 80 yards away. They wasted no time in moving towards us and having awful weather I drew back and stuck an arrow in the closest doe at 20 yards. She bolted off into the woods where they came from. We had a plan and with the great setup and good wind direction we were able to get the first deer down for VO in 2011! |
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April 24, 2011 I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along with co-worker Brian Tucker and his son Zane for the PA, NY spring turkey youth season. I arrived at camp Friday night with high expectations for the following morning, but we awoke to the sound of driving rain and high winds. We let the weather run its course and were out in the timber by 8:30am. We scoured acres upon acres with not a gobble all morning long. We then made a game plan for Sunday morning but were quickly discouraged as it came upon 8am with out a gobble in our block of woods. Things quickly turned around and the woods came to life as Zane juiced this Jake as he made his final thunderous gobble. |
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Brian Plows: Illinois Bearded Hen It was the second day of IL third season. My father, Bill Walker, and I all hunted together the first day through rain and thunder storms. After hunting the first day we decided we would switch locations the next morning. My father was going to run the camera, and Bill and I were going to shoot. We got a late start that morning and by the time we got to our hunting spot the birds had already flew down. We glassed a field along the river bank that had recently been flooded. I saw two turkeys out there but they were two far to tell exactly what they were. Bill decided he would just set up behind us and watch. Dad and I snuck into the hedgerow and began to call every couple minutes. It didn’t seem to take long and they were marching across the field straight to us. As they got close I realized one was a bearded hen, fortunately like New York, Illinois allows you to shoot a bearded hen in the spring season. Seeing I had already ate one tag sandwich in IL I was not about to try another. The two hens saw Dad moving the camera as the were walking and began to become uneasy. I shot and dropped her where she stood. It was an amazing day with my first IL turkey, an uncommon bearded hen, something which my father nor Bill had ever experienced. It was a great experience for everyone and a memory I certainly wont forget. |
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May 1, 2011 We had scouted birds before season as much as we could and there was this certain group of birds that we wanted to get at early due to other hunting pressure throughout season. This group of birds ended up roosting on the other side of a dirt road and had no interest of coming back across in the morning. We picked up quick and headed to a nice isolated piece of property and we found a very responsive bird which was a long ways away. We had a very fun encounter with this bird but due to an unsafe shot we couldn't harvest him. While we were making our rounds in the morning we saw a pair of strutters with a few hens on the edge of a small piece of woods, we were thinking later in the morning they would be split up and the toms would be searching for more hens. At about 10:00 we drove back by and noticed they only had one hen with them. We took a long hike to get around the other side of this small piece of woods but it was worth it. I called a little bit and would get responses but they weren't closing the distance at all. We ended up sneaking up to the edge of the pasture and Austin caught a glimpse of a red head walking across the green field. We got setup very quickly. We noticed the hen had left them so i made a few calls and they turked hot quick. They started gobbling quite a bit and came down this old cow path just like we wanted them too. The second one stepped out at about 25 yards and I smashed him. It was a great, very eventful opening day which got us off to a great start to a great season! |
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May 1, 2011 About 30 minutes into video taping a Jake began walking up on my left hand side to the HS Strut Sneaky Pete decoy. The bird spotted me and broke about 5 yards away from my Jake decoy and ground blind. He had a decision to make, was I enough of a threat to where he could get a couple of hits in on the decoy and take off. He started in on my decoy again and I seized my opportunity. I pointed my grandfather's Ithaca model 37 shotgun at the bird. My grandmother had given me that gun when my gramps passed away and this was the first time that I was using it during a hunt since I had it refurbished. Two shots later we had a bird on the ground! This was my first turkey and it was great! Later back at the camp house I found out this was the first spring bird that anyone had ever harvested in almost 60 years or Spring Turkey hunting. In the afternoon, when I came home my two boys were just as ecstatic I was at my success. The moment and the memories are priceless! |
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May 3, 2011 It was May 3rd, 2011, a cool crisp morning. I hunted the first 2 days with Matt and Taryn and I was off hunting by myself this morning. I was given permission to hunt this piece of property with the understanding that I could not shoot a bird if it was out in the neighbor’s field. |
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May 4, 2011 Upon getting my new Elite Hunter bow the third week in April, Clede started to campaign for me to use my bow for turkeys. I had given no thought to it, but ended up bringing the bow after shooting a few times because I loved it. |
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May 5, 2011 On the way in to the area that we normally have birds roosting, I hit my crow call. 4 birds responded about 200 yards away. We approached the spot where we believed they were very cautiously since we would be on the edge of a ravine in a recently cleared area. As we looked for a place to sit, all 4 birds gobbled and we realized we were very close and unfortunately were slightly downhill of them. but at this point we had no choice but to sit as the morning light was brightening and another move could blow them off the roost. They gobbled at everything we through at them and after about an hr, 2 of them came in to about 35 yards but caught my cameraman, Brian Hemry, moving. They wandered off, putting as they zigzagged down a steep ravine and back up the other side. They moved off low on the hillside so when they were out of sight, we collected our stuff and headed uphill and crossed the ravine. As we walked a logging road to circle around them, we heard a gobble very close to us and knew we had to set up quick. As we looked for a suitable filming set up, I peaked down the logging road that we were standing in and saw the bird approximately 85 yards away. He kept going in and out of strut as he was running toward us. No time to move so Brian crouched behind the tip of a blown down ash tree to film and I just kneeled in the logging road, just low enough that the slight rise in the terrain provided some cover. It seemed to take only seconds and he was on us. He must have notice me, since I was a giant blob in the middle of the road and he stuck his head up high and was trying to figure me out. I did not let him have to close a look and took the shot. He was only about 10 yds when I shot and Brian had just got the camera focused on him when I rolled him. He weighed in at just under 20 pounds, had a 9 1/2" beard and 5/8" spurs. |
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May 6, 2011 I have made it tradition to take my good friend Jordon out turkey hunting atleast once a year. Last year he harvested his first long beard which was a nice 3 year old. We were ready to get back at it again on the second weekend of season. I had scouted this certain spot just once before season but knew it was going to be my "sure kill" spot. I decided to take Jordon there on the first saturday. We got in there very early because I knew we were going to be right on top of these birds. For sure we had hens and jakes roosted within 40 yards of us and the toms were about 60 yards down the ridge. It was a gloomy day and they did not seem to be talking too much. They flew down early and immediately started heading the other way. I got a little aggressive and did a fly down, which turned the jakes around and they walked into 15 yards. I told Jordon it was up to him if he wants to shoot or not. He immediately clicked the safety off and said "yeah i'm doin it" I was laughing inside, he loves this mmore than most people and just loves the experience of the hunt. He smothered one of the jakes! I love hunting with that kid and thuroughly taking him out every time. You will be seeing us in the field in further turkey seasons for sure! |
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May 11, 2011 My good friend and taxidermist Dan called me up Wednesday night and said he had just roosted a bird that was going nuts on the roost and wondered if I would join him for the morning hunt. I was all for it and met Dan early the next am only to hear the bird gobble twice on roost. After a jake and hen had made their way past the decoy it was time to pack it up and head to work. I had only taken 3 steps to leave when Dan halted me in my tracks stating that the longbeard had stepped into the field. I had only seconds to unveil the camera as the longbeard headed straight towards the decoy. Dan laid the bead and the hammer down on this longbeard at 17 paces. |
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May 20, 2011 Sean was able to put a few long beards to bed on Thursday night while I was driving North to hit the turkey woods with him for our last weekend out together this year. We started off the morning with me behind the camera and Sean bowhunting. We had 2 Elite bows and a 12 gauge in the blind with us that morning - we were on a mission. After a very vocal/active morning, things calmed down about 8:15 and with no close action; we decided it was time to make the move. I grabbed the 12 gauge, Sean picked up the camera and we made our way through the hardwoods. We got to the bottom of the hill and I hit the call and was cut-off by a group of Jakes, not 100 yards from us. We immediately sat down and began calling to them and within seconds, a hen emerged from the bottom looking for a fight. After battling it out with her for 15-20 minutes, a loud thunderous gobble rang out from above us. It wasn't 5 minutes and this big old gobbler came strutting down the hill towards us. I dropped the hammer and the bird folded up. It was a great morning in the turkey woods with Sean as he laid it all down on film. This was the first turkey I'd ever killed inside the woods and it was surely exciting! |
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May 22, 2011 It was getting towards the end of season and I had mainly been behind the camera in NY. On opening day I had filmed Corey smash the first bird of the season. He had later guided and filmed our good friend Jordon Price to his bird for the year. Knowing how good the set up was where Jordon had shot his bird, and that there was a couple toms still in this spot we decided to give it some time before we went back. I had less then a week before I left to Canada on my first bear hunt, so Corey and I teamed up and went back to whack one of the toms. We set up real early and as it began to get light out we realized a hen was roosted about 12 feet above us in the same tree. The birds had us surrounded. We decided it would be unwise to call until the birds flew down because we didn’t want to spoke them. After they had put on a real show for us they flew down a bank and worked their way out into the field. We elected to stay put and called. The tom hit it right away. He soon circled back around us and was strutting out in the field. After we had repositioned on the tree, had him gobbling consistently, and realized he had probably already left his hens we shut up for a bit hoping he would close the distance. I saw his tail fan coming through the woods, head him spiting, then he would drum. That’s when I realized it was the end of the road for him. Once he was in range Corey stopped him, but I had a tree in my way. I waited for him to step out, his head went into my sight I pulled the trigger to finish my NY turkey season. |
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May 22, 2011 It was turning out to be a long season. Only after getting two birds hitting the ground on film I was starting to begin to wonder if we were ever going to have it come together. Andy Boozel, fellow pro-staffer, had been seeing this particular bird for the past four days about 10:30am strutting by the barn. We made a game plan to hit it hard in the morning until he had to go to work, then I would hang out behind the barn in the swamp and see if the bird would make an appearance. He gobbled only half a dozen times or so and finally appeared directly in front of me after I had coaxed him with a series of calls. He stood about 30 yards when I dropped the hammer and let the ol' lead sled bark for the first time this season. |
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May 24, 2011 I had this bird within 100 yards 5 times before on killed him on the 6th hunt. On the second day hunting him, Dave Jacobs and I had him at 45 yds and again at about 25 yds without being able to coordinate the camera and the shooting to close the deal. I had him at 60 yds 2 mornings in a row while I was filming my younger brother. Then Matt Borelli and I had him gobble at our decoy and come some 150 yds across an open field, just to duck back into the woods about 85 yds from us. This bird was smart, so I finally decided i would have to pass on the best camera light and sneak into his bedroom. He was smart when he hit the ground but he was predictable since he would roost in the same location every night. I slowly and quietly made my way through the dark like a member of Seal Team 6 and set up at the base of a big tree. I figured I had to be close but as the dark turned to light, the only bird I heard was at least 500 yds away and gobbling like crazy. I was sure at that point that this very predictable bird was smart in the tree too and that he had avoided me again. I fiddled with the camera in the dark of the canopy of trees and did my best to be prepared to film and shoot since I was on my own that day. Boredom was setting in as the time of fly-down approached with nothing gobbling in my vicinity. I decided to get out the crow call and let 4 sharp caws out. Immediately he gobbled from a tree only 30 yds away. I looked and looked for him in that tree but never saw him. He finally flew down to my left and landed behind some blow downs about 20 yds from me. As he walked up hill and was blocked by trees, I attempted to move the camera on to him. He locked on me right away but gave me enough time to take my hand away from the camera controls and I quickly brought my gun to my shoulder and let him have it. Right in the eye like Bin Ladin. He weighed in at 18 lbs, 3/4 inch spurs and an 8 1/2" beard. |
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May 26, 2011 After a short wet morning in the woods with no action I decided to head to another farm and see if we could strike a gobble. Wow, were we surprised when we got on this longbeard, he went ballistic, gobbling over 100 times at everything that made a peep in the woods. We called once and listened as his gobbles get closer with each beller. He popped over the ridge with a thunderous gobble and I fell the monster in his tracks for our second team kill of the season. |
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