03/02/2023
Well, I've been attempting to do something hunting with a bow in my hand, that not many try to do. I'm trying to take 50 wild turkey's using bow and arrow. It didn't start out that way back in 1990 when I first stepped into the turkey hunting woods. How can killing a turkey be fun, or be a challenge? and what's so hard about this, you make a sound like a turkey, you pick up your bow and you shoot one! Seriously, what can be so hard about that?
32 years later, as i head into year number 33 chasing those stupid (not sure which is more stupid, the turkey or me) birds, I have a mental list of things about the evil bird that makes it such a challenge. I think of softball covered completely with 10" of feathers. Then move the softball in small erratic steps as it turns! Add an average of 20 yards between the softball and you, consider the eyes sight of the turkey is second to none in the wildlife kingdom so you can't move much.
So drawing the bow becomes tough, picking out a spot on the bird to aim at is hard since the feathers make it look the same all over, the only things that bird has in mind is to make a fool of the one hunting it!!!! Most of the time they win. Rain, snow, hot, windy dry every thing you can imagine making a bow hunt hard happens. All of it making the game harder. So why do it?
A common comment among turkey hunters, you either like hunting them and it becomes a passion, or you hate them and only do it once. If you get hooked on them like i have, the challenge to harvest them becomes the end in itself. Some of may be old enough to remember the old potato chip commercial, "I bet you can't eat just one!". Well, in turkey hunting you can't harvest just one, once you put in the work and you have called in a jake or tom, and you successfully harvest one, ohhhhhhh when do I go again?
I make the only all wood yelper/striker/push pen turkey call that can be used in any position. I'm not positive but I think im the only one making them by hand now individually. Dry wood, cut the blanks, cut the pieces, assemble, tune and use. I have made this call for 7 years now because I could not find a hand held call that would work in any position including at the end of a long "firewire" cord, set up among decoys. Over the years it has morphed into just a small box with a striker pad in it that when you move the plunger rod, scratched other wood and makes a sound like a hen turkey (go to YouTube and type in SQMIII) and you will see a video of the call.
The small box below is the SQMIII and is the only one of its kind that i know of handcrafted and built, usable in any position, and made out of wood and here in the USA.
Now, back to the beginning and why 50 birds. I don't know, way back when i started this quest a few bird hunters in Nebraska were all pumped up because they were going to shoot 50 each. That grew into a huge goal, someone would spend the time and energy to try and get that many. With the advent of the Slam's in hunting (grand slam (5) super slam (6)) sub species of the turkey, getting 1 of each sub species. Somewhere along the line 50 just has become a super goal.
2023 will be my second year attempting number 50. 2022 found Nebraska, out west, dry miserable windy and really difficult for birds. Colorado is hard to get a bird to hunt without private land, so my desire for number 50 got pushed to 2023. I'll pack up a couple of this years model of SQMIII, my custom made box calls, my old and well used decoys, a rebuilt (4 times) pop up blind, my handy bow, a dozen arrows, and off I'll go and hopefully this time, Ill come back and post here a pic of 'ole number 50!
PS - look up trinitywoodandgame.com and check out the yelper and box calls, look on YouTube for the videos and wish me luck vs the evil bird
