What was your favorite kill story from last season?

[WNCTracker]

I had my best ever year last year and got a few really nice birds, and some good stories to tell.  One of my favorites has to be my crossbow kill.  I was sneaking in a little late one morning when more than one bird gobbled less than 75 yards away in some thick pine trees.  I wasn't prepared and had to quickly plop my decoy on the field edge and duck into the woods which were unfortunately full of briars.  I got hung up and so tangled that I had to abandon my backpack and coat and just quickly find a tree to cover my profile.  I yelped a few times and they all immediately gobbled over each other.  Within 5 minutes I saw them fly down and immediately look my way.  I yelped softly and then just basically watched them come my way.  4 Mature gobblers all came right to my decoy within about 15 minutes of me walking in and they were about 25 yards away strutting and gobbling. This was too good to be true.   I had great cover and was east of them in the morning shadows, I raised the crossbow took aim at what I thought was 25 yards and shot and the bolt went right through the top of the feathers and never hit the body of the bird.  I heard it go through the feathers, ffffffffttttttt.  Turned out to be closer than I thought it was and I shot high.  Plus I think I misjudged the shot placement shooting up hill.   None of the birds even flinched and were all 4 still there.  I reached for my rope cocker to try to get another shot and I'd left it in my backpack that was in the briars.  So there I was sitting on my butt watching these birds strut.  I decided to just go for it anyway and hand cock it.  At 175 lb draw it wasn't easy and took about 20 tries since I was sitting and basically leaning back like I was rowing a boat trying to get past the trigger mechanism to get the bow cocked, it would have been hilarious to see but the shocker was how the birds were not spooked.  These illusive, wary, skiddish creatures that bolt at the blink of an eye were still there.  I finally got the bow cocked, but didn't have a clear shot and eventually watched them walk away and crest the hill.  I knew the lay of the land and decided to drop down and run in a horseshoe and setup on the other side of the field and it ended up going my way the second time.  I would pay to see a video of me trying to quietly and slowly cock that crossbow while basically laying down.  It was a great hunt and a great bird.

[wmn2]

Having never shot a turkey...my favorite story would be my first bird to come in last year on opening day. I set up on an open field real early just so I could beat the crowd in public land. I set up a jake with a feeding and an upright hen and made sure I was out of line with them just in case. I had two guys come by and notice my decoys so I flashed my light at them and they not so quietly asked if they could go by me to the bottom of the hill and I said yes, but thought the hunt was over. Daylight broke and I did a few yelps and a fly down just to let a gobbler know I was there. They were gobbling everywhere, but nothing too close. Over the next hour I'd do a few yelps and shut up. I never got one that I truly thought he was responding to me. Then out of nowhere there was a gobble real close. I looked to my right and he was strutting at the opening to the field. I moved into position and got ready. Well, mr longbeard came running and I freaked out. I now know that he was most likely running to challenge the jake, but I thought he was gone and I took the shot and missed. He took flight and I short stroked the slide on the gun and couldn't get a second shot off in time. I was shaking like a leaf and heart pounding. I was hooked. Still a little mad at myself for freaking out but like I said last year, it was the adrenaline like shooting my first deer. That's the kind of high people should chase because there is nothing like it.


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[Swampchickin234]

Took a church kid on the youth hunt and watched him hyperventilate with the old boy spitting and drumming. He never killed that bird, but it was a blast.


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[Big perm2]

Well I had a miss!!

Been listening in the mornings for about 2 weeks. The day before opener I went and listened that morning,he was close to where he had been the previous 2 weeks.. opening morning found me in those hardwoods an hour and half before sunrise ( reason is there was no leaves on the trees) it had rained the day before and I was super quiet getting in there and had an old logging road to creep down. So it getting close to gobble time and for 20 mins before it even thought about getting light I could hear something that sounded like someone was making a pst pst pst noise and it would happen about every 2 or 3 min,and it was close!!! I just blew it off. I was thinking the old tom was gonna be about 80-100 yards out in front of me on the other end of the ridge.. he had been sounding off about 5:45am  . So it's about 5:40 and and when he gobbles he is 20 yards in front of me in a big pine tree. I'm in the middle of the logging road all I can do is sit down.  He sits in the tree and gobbles his head off for 30 minutes. In the mean time he is strutting on the limb and when he is not gobbling he is spitting and drumming. That when it hits me!! The pst pst pst I was hearing in the dark was him strutting on the limb, he starts getting Anncy on the limb,he jumps around to the front of the pine tree. Gobbles a few more times. Then he pitches right off the limb right in my direction!! I'm shooting a BPS 10 rhino choke tube and nitro company shells!! When he lands its 3 feet in front of me!! All I can do is click the safety off and squeeze the trigger!! And he jumps straight up and lands and just stands there!! I pump the gun and by this time he like the road runner straight down the hill.. I squeeze again and another miss,this time at 15yards.. he gets behind a big oak, and gets airborne and he is gone with the wind!!


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[Hunter1979]

My last 6 Toms from 2010 forward (shot a bearded hen one year).  Have 4/6 on video, but my laptop crashed and I lost years 12 and 13.  Would love too add another one to it this year!