Voice Calling Turkeys

Wrestling has been a passion in my life right alongside traditional archery. The NCAA Wrestling Championships were in St. Louis last weekend. I haven't missed one in 14 years, Danny and I make the annual trip to watch the tournament no matter where it is.

This year we drove out there with a friend and his two sons (two of the best youth wrestlers in the country). Like us, this family lives and breaths two things - wrestling and hunting. Of course driving through Kansas and Missouri brought up a lot of turkey stories.

Wyatt is ten years old. He is an extremely accomplished wrestler for a young man of his age, and he is also a hunting fanatic. He has called in and killed turkeys with his voice, and it is no surprise! Check this out!

Early Turkey Season Bow Hunting

Written By Chad Graham

Here in western Nebraska the Cardinals have begun to sing. Every year the arrival of cardinals gets my blood pumping as they remind me that turkey season is near. Since I am lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time watching and hunting turkeys I thought I would submit a blog about the pros and cons of early turkey season. This blog may be beneficial for first time turkey hunters and for the customers of the shop planning to hunt early season in Western Nebraska or Kansas.

The first thing to realize is that the turkeys will most likely still be in large wintering flocks for the first week or two of bow season. This varies from year to year and is dependent upon the weather. Last year the turkeys did not leave their primary wintering area until the second week of the season where I hunt. There was not a turkey to be seen in one of my prime "opening weekend" spots. Two years ago Tommy and I had 5 shots opening morning at the same place. Some scouting a day or two in advance will greatly enhance your chances.

Opening weekend success for Chad and Tommy 

Expect to find very large groups of hens with a couple toms mixed in. The majority of jakes and toms will be in separate flocks away from the hens. Usually around the end of March some toms will begin to intermingle with the hens, but many will remain in bachelor groups. I have often seen large groups of jakes together for the first three weeks of the season. Though they are in separate groups in during the day, most of the time the hens, jakes and toms will all roost in the same general area.

The turkeys will be just beginning to search out new food sources, further from their wintering grounds, which have most likely been depleted. If you know where the turkeys winter you will have a good idea where to start looking, they will not be far from where you saw them during late deer season. 

Early season I look for corn and bean fields which still have some feed available. The edges of feedlots and winter wheat fields are also good places to look for feeding turkeys early in the morning. Later in the season turkey food sources really expand and the feeding areas are more difficult to pattern. During the early season the turkeys follow a more set pattern and are very easy to ambush. 

I generally don’t like to set up right on the roost, especially in the evening, if I plan to hunt the same turkeys for more than one day. The turkeys tend to fly down from the roost, go to feed, and then they find a secluded loafing area to spend most of the day. I have seen turkeys travel 1/4 to 1/2 mile or more to their loafing area after they feed. On wide wooded river bottoms with cover they tend to loaf in thick heavily wooded areas. In areas along creek bottoms with sparse cover the turkeys loaf on open hills, away from roads and often a good distance from the creek bottom. Transition areas between the food sources and loafing areas are a great place to ambush the turkeys. By not hunting the roost and not disturbing the primary feeding area you will ensure at least a couple days hunting the same flock in the same pattern. If you only have one day, set up right on the food source before daylight and just outside of sight of the roost if possible. 

See those fans mixed in with all the hens? These toms were not callable, though the flock did 

walk past our blind this day, which was placed in between the turkeys feeding area (the corn field) 

and their loafing area (the wide open hills).

Generally there will be a small number of toms within a large group of hens. Expect those toms to be difficult to call in. If you don’t ambush them there is little chance of getting those birds. The smaller groups of rouge jakes and toms are a great early season target. They are not fired up yet  but be patient. Many times it has taken several hours to call in a group. Keep after them, they almost always come, maybe just out of curiosity. It will not be as easy to locate these smaller groups of birds as they seem to be less predictable, but it is worth the effort. 

On an exceptionally good opening day we were able to call in group after group of toms. After being within earshot of the main group of turkeys, the toms finally came to investigate our calling. It took them three hours to finally come in. This morning seemed to be a bust at first, but turned out to be one of the best days of hunting I've ever experienced. You never know what you might get, especially with good weather.

Hens can be extremely vocal this time of the year. I have often had success by making A LOT of noise, which has brought in the hens, who in turn bring in the toms. Be careful doing this though, and let the situation dictate the amount of your calling. That much calling can just as easily move the turkeys the other way. If hens are responsive then calling to them can sometimes be a good idea.

This small group of hens came charging in to our calls and two toms followed them, away from the main group. Tom Sr killed the bigger of the two this day.

Groups of jakes tend to travel around during the day, more so than the hens. Gobbling is mostly limited to early morning and dusk, so don’t plan to locate many birds gobbling during the mid day. Cover will be limited as the grasses and weeds have yet to come out of hibernation and the trees have not budded. This is to the hunter's advantage as turkeys stick out like a sore thumb, especially in the roost. Later in the season the turkeys will be much harder to find as they will be in small flocks and will be easily hidden by tall grasses, weeds and tree leaves. Even in early season your best weapon is a good pair of binoculars. Be sure to check the weather, cold rain really seems to limit turkey movements. I have seen turkeys sit in one place for 6-7 hours during cold rainy days. Extreme wind will play havoc on your blind, decoys and mutes out your calling. If you can only get away for one weekend I think it is best to wait for good weather, later in the season when the turkeys are more active.

Early Season Pros –

1. No ticks or mosquitoes.

2. If you find birds you get to see lots of them. Big groups of turkeys are fun to just sit and watch.

3. The large flocks are easily located, there is minimal cover to hide birds.

4. There are large groups of jakes and young toms.

5. The birds are not quite as wary as they are later in the season.

Early Season Cons –

1. Snow, rain and wind can ruin a hunt. Access can also be difficult.

2. The turkeys could still be in the wintering area and may not be in an area where you can hunt them yet.

3. Minimal gobbling – turkeys are not fired up.

4. It can be difficult to draw a gobbler away from the large groups of hens.

5. Once you bust the flock, you may be done for the day (or several days if it is at a roosting area).

Bow Selling Statistics

I have been keeping tract of the bows we sell in our store for a while now. My sample is quite large but only representative of my store, not the market as a whole.

I am including these statistics in my blog for a few reasons.

• Primarily because it is just interesting to see for your own reference. 
• If you are a bow maker it is handy information.
• Since most of our customers are hunters, it is interesting to note that they chose a length of 61.10". A nice compromise between shootability and maneuverability. 
• Not long ago quite a few people shot bows of 60# and up (only 8% of my customers today!). It took a while for people to realize that elk sized animals can be consistently and reliably killed with lighter bows. That old school mentality still exists among certain people, and can hurt a bowhunter's confidence in buying a light bow (when I say light I mean relative to what used to be normal, so in this case, 50# is "light"). I want a customer with a 50# bow to feel confident, knowing that he is not alone in his choice of bow weight.
• If you are looking at selling your bow in the winter months, and are discouraged that nobody seems interested, it might be worth noting that their isn't as much demand in those months.

These stats do not include kid's bows, or "beginner" bows like the Samick.

The vast majority of all bows sold in this study were sold to hunters as opposed to target shooters (my observation). Only 3% of the bows we have sold have been under Colorado's legal hunting weight limit of 35#.


Average weight = 50.25# @ 28"
Average length = 61.10" AMO
Average price = $450.64
55% are recurves
45% are longbows
62% are 1 piece
37% are 3 piece takedowns
91% are right handed
64% are used

Here are the most popular makers in order. These include both new and used sales (these stats are skewed specifically towards my store and do not represent the market as a whole in any way, these numbers are more influenced by availability and price point rather than popularity) :
Spirit - 16%
Rampart - 13%
Bear - 12%
Wapiti - 6%
Mohawk - 6%
Hawk - 4%
Martin - 3%
Ben Pearson - 2%
Damon Howatt - 2%
Robertson - 2%
Bighorn - 2%
The other 32% is a mix between other production and custom bows.

Note the spikes in the graph in 5# increments at 40#, 45#, 50#, 55#, and 60#. Except for those points the graph is a pretty nice bell curve. The below percentages might be more relevant. By far the most common weights are from 46-55#. 51% of all bows we sell are within that range. Guys who shoot bows over 60# are only 8% of our market.

35# and under	5.3%
36-40#	7.0%
41-45#	14.2%
46-50#	22.0%
51-55#	28.7%
56-60#	14.2%
61-65#	5.6%
66-70#	2.2%
71# and up	0.3%

The first year I kept stats I did not include Jan. and Feb. (though they are still the slowest months). This graph is not a fair representation for that reason. Recently Jan. and Feb. look close to Nov. and Dec. April has sold more bows every single year except 2011, where it was a close second to March.

January	6.1%
February	6.1%
March	9.7%
April	11.2%
May	8.2%
June	9.3%
July	9.7%
August	8.5%
September	7.2%
October	8.9%
November	7.5%
December	7.6%

In my observation, tax returns often get spent on luxury items, like bows. I believe that is why April sees such a big spike in sales which then drops off quickly in May. Throughout the summer, when people are shooting more, they buy more bows. Peaking in July and tapering off as hunting season approaches. Sales regain speed when the hunting season ends. Here in Colorado, September is the most popular bowhunting month. I would assume that the monthly graph would look quite a bit different in "whitetail" states where October and November are the most popular bowhunting months. It is cold in Jan. and Feb. and not many people are outdoors shooting. I think customers buy fewer bows in those months because they aren't shooting as often, and bows aren't on their minds. Once spring rolls around, turkeys start gobbling, and people take to the outdoors to shoot, they start buying more bows.

A few things to keep in mind: 

• Buyers are heavily influenced by local forces. Colorado buyers like to support Colorado bowyers. I have sold many bows made by local bowyers simply for that reason. Also, there are forces within specific regions of the state that also effect bow sales. For example, in different parts of this state different bows are more or less popular. You can imagine how different separate parts of the country would look!
• We sell more Spirit bows than anything else. Bryan Holley, the bowyer, builds mostly 1 piece longbows at 62". His bows are built very well and priced extremely fair. He also makes them readily available. These reasons combined equate to us selling a lot more of his bows. That skews the average length to be closer to 62" and increases the percentage of both longbows and 1 piece bows. I think (again, only my observation) that the market as a whole shoots more recurves than our stats represent, and more takedowns. Then again, Bryan does these things because he has a keen understanding of what the market desires...Are Spirit bows an anomaly based on availability and price point? Or is this what the market really desires? I suspect it is a combination of both.
• Most of our customers are primarily elk hunters. Bow weight seems to be of more concern. In a state where whitetail deer are the primary target I think that the average weight would be at least 2-3 lbs lighter (my observation).

Statistics I would like to see for my own curiosity but that I have either not documented, or don't have the means to document:

• Percentage of custom vs production
• Primary use (hunting vs target)
• Variance of preference regarding state (weight, length, month, etc)
• Average price per bow of the market as whole
• How many bows the average customer buys per year
• How many bows the average customer currently owns
• Bow length compared to the desired form of hunting (example: short bows for ground blinds)

Please read these statistics for what they are. One sample of the market based on the business I do here in Denver, CO. I do not wish for these statistics to be read as a popularity contest between bowyers or bow designs. These numbers don't lie, BUT they only tell a very small part of the story. There are only two things I feel are slightly indicative of the market in whole. 1) Bow weight. Even that is skewed by local demand for local purposes. And, 2) Average cost per bow. But that must be also be weighed against local incomes and local demands. I do sell quite a few bows out of state, which is why I think cost might be kind of relevant to the market as a whole. 

We here at the shop all do our very best to remain as objective and neutral as possible with our customers. I do not believe that I am doing a customer justice by recommending a certain bow to him. We are very conscious of allowing the customer to shoot as many bows as he can, and to then make up his own mind based on his own criteria. Now obviously we have the most experience with the local bowyers that we represent, so when concerns over warranty or stability arise, we can answer with certainty about the bowyers we have dealt the most with. I know that impacts sales, leading to more sales for local bowyers, and less for bowyers in other parts of the state. Of the out-of-state bowyers that I deal with, the longer we carry their bows the more we sell for these same reasons. 

So, while I realize that our personal opinions do persuade buyers, it is of minimal amount. We let the bows do their own talking. Any discussion of our own personal opinions are tempered by our encouragement to the customer to decide themselves by shooting various types.

I don't sell a significant amount of other styles of bows to even make a blip on my statistics. Horse bows and self bows are the two other most popular styles that I sell. I perused my list and could not find enough of both combined to account for even .02%.

In sum, I feel that this can be an interesting read if you like this stuff, with some useful information to bowyers. How it pertains to the entire country or other shops may or may not have relevance. 

Point Blank Buck

A good friend of ours, Ivan, demonstrated some fine hunting skills this year in Wyoming. We asked him to write a story for our blog which he was kind enough to do. Congrats Ivan, great story, great adventure, and even greater hunting!

Ivan used a Wapiti "Rick Duggan 28 Special" and a STOS broadhead on his hunt.

I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did.

~Tommy

by Ivan James

A couple of years ago a friend had invited me to hunt mule deer on his Wyoming ranch. We would be just a hop, skip and three jumps from Riverton. It only took two years to draw the tag. I headed to Wyoming in early September, sandwiching the mule deer hunt between my own Colorado elk hunting and helping out with a friend's Colorado moose hunt.

The first evening John gave me a tour of the ranch which consisted of irrigated alfalfa fields, creosote bush, sagebrush, winter pasture, and rough sandstone hills. 

The first several days I focused on some irrigated alfalfa fields being utilized by quite a few does. I was able to glass does and bucks every morning and evening, though often on neighboring ranches. Stalking conditions were difficult in the open fields. Glassing the winter pasture proved unrewarding due to the height of the cover. 

After spending quite a bit of time glassing, while perched in the sandstone bluffs, I finally decided to concentrate on the alfalfa fields. I slowly moved westward through the morning, giving a thorough glassing from each promontory.  By noon I had reached the western boundary of the ranch. Having not brought my lunch and nearly exhausting my water supply, I turned to work back towards my embarking point. Almost immediately I saw two small bucks feeding a half mile to the east. Having no appreciable cover for the first several hundred yards, I remained motionless glassing the bucks.  A half hour later they bedded in a stalkable location, my hunt began!

A cliff to their right prevented me from approaching their downwind side.  Therefore I had to pass low, about 150 yards to the north, and in front of them. That would enable me to circle far enough upwind so as not to be detected. Then I would have to circle again to their south in order to approach from downwind.

By the time I had this figured out and placed myself in front of them they had resumed feeding. I was able to stay low enough to take advantage of the undulating sandstone rocks. Their racks were in view but they could not see me. By now they were standing in the shade of a rock with a concave north face. I had to lose sight of them as I circled far upwind and around to their southeast. I started to approach what I thought was the rock providing them shade.  The last 30 yards of the stalk included 20 yards of crunchy gravel and then a 10 yard climb up the rock which shaded them. 

Having not seen the bucks for some time, I slowly climbed the rock, glancing in a 180 degree swath to pick them up should they have moved.  ­Nearing the crest of the rock, I saw their antlers, but 20 yards to the west underneath a different rock. From this position they would see me before I had a clear shot on their vitals.  I had to backtrack the 30 yards, shift over 20 yards, and again cross the crunchy gravel and climb up the correct rock.

As I came up to the top of the correct rock, the toes of my boots were directly over the shoulder of the larger of the buck, his antlers just inches below the rock I was standing on.  The smaller buck was about four yards to my left. I did not want to shoot straight down, unless I made a spine shot I would probably only get one lung. I was not willing to take that chance. 

I waited motionless for something to happen. Though it seemed like a long time, it was probably only seconds before the smaller buck started to spook. This alarmed the larger buck. The half tension in my bow string easily translated to full draw as the bucks spooked. I swung up in one fluid motion, the arrow was released at three yards on the running buck. This is a shot that I could confidently take with my recurve, but would have passed if shooting a compound.  The arrow entered high on the buck’s left side taking out both lungs at it traversed down and forward.  At 70 yards the buck’s rear legs began to buckle, 10 yards more and he was down, it all happened in mere seconds. 

It was a small 3X4, not a buck that some would get excited about. But the memory of my first stalk, let alone to point-blank range, will last me a lifetime.

Thanks to my friend John for inviting me to hunt his ranch and for putting me up in their beautiful ranch house that he built himself, and to his son for helping me carry the deer off of the sandstone bluffs.  

More Deer Hunting Pics

Well Tom and Dan got back from Wisconsin/Nebraska last week. They had a great time but didn't shoot any bucks. 

It seems Danny's luck has run out this year, at least for killing big animals. Four different times while hunting in Wisconsin somebody saw a big buck under the stand that he was NOT sitting in. I don't think anybody can say he deserves any different, but I would have loved to see him cap off his terrific season with a big whitetail. There is always the late season...

The action was pretty good in Nebraska. The deer were running pretty good and there was several big buck sightings.

One afternoon Danny and Blake spotted a buck and a doe bed down in the tall red grass atop one of the canyons. Blake took point on this stalk and closed the distance to less than 20 yards. When the buck stood up Blake made a lethal shot with his Robertson recurve.

Just before expiring

Well the season is winding down but there will be at least one or two more deer hunts coming up. Keep checking back!

Nebraska Deer Hunting

I did not think I was going to get a chance to get to whitetail hunt this year before the gun hunters go in and get everything wound up. With a one year old son at home it is tough to get out that much, and I used up a lot of favors and kitchen points elk and moose hunting. I luckily found a day and a half to hunt though. I went to Nebraska with my cousin, Chad.

I love Nebraska, the open country is great for seeing a lot of deer. I love the canyons, the red grass, the bottoms, and the massive crop fields. In one and a half days I saw mule deer, whitetail deer, a badger, a coyote, an opossum, raccoons, and all sorts of birds.

Here is a field edge where I had a stand set up. I could have shot at a small buck here but I did not want to end my hunt so soon. I enjoying just watching the deer as much as anything. I spent this evening watching lots of deer and enjoying the sunset.

Looking out from my stand.

One evening Chad and I decided to hang a stand and sit next to each other. I don't know the farmer too well and he gave me permission to hunt as long as I only shot a doe. I am okay with that. I figured it would be a nice chance to sit and b.s. with Chad, and maybe watch him shoot a nice buck. The chances of shooting a doe here are very high. I knew it would be an enjoyable evening.

A doe right beneath Chad's feet.

Early in the evening a doe came out of a cornfield and started to feed away from us. No biggie, there are lots of deer here and we knew there would be more. A few minutes after leaving our sight she came bounding back towards us. She ran past us and never stopped long enough, or close enough for a shot. It wasn't long before we saw what spooked her - a beautiful coyote came trotting past us. Those dang things are everywhere...

That doe never really left, she just stood behind us looking at that coyote until he trotted off. Once he did she started making her way back towards us. I am sure she got a little whiff of the two hunters sitting 20 feet above her. She circled us twice, stomping her feet, and even blew a few times before she came close enough for a shot.

She was walking in to my shooting opening when I pulled my bow back. I never really noticed that I let go, nor did I notice that she was walking when I did. My anchor was solid and I felt zoned in on my aiming point. My first reaction after letting go of the string was good, I knew I had picked a spot and I had a good release. The initial arrow flight looked great. The arrow never slowed down when it hit her. One second it was there, the next it was gone. For a split second my stomach sank. That shot was too high. She ran off and I told Chad that the shot was too high. However, as you can see in the video, the doe died exactly 14 seconds after the arrow passed through her.

Upon examining the exit hole, the arrow came out below the center line of her body and closer to her front leg. The video is a bit misleading, the entrance looks further back than it was.

This was the first time I used the VPA Penetrator broadhead. I used the 200gr model. I was obviously very please with the results.

I shot this doe with a Rampart longbow, 62@28, and a Carbon Express Heritage 250 arrow. I shoot 200gr up front and my total arrow weight is about 550gr.

Dad and Danny leave for Wisconsin at the end of the week. We should have a lot more deer hunting stories and, if they're lucky, some success photos as well. Check back soon!

Ontario Moose Hunt

We just got back from an Ontario moose hunt. We had an absolutely great time, caught lots of fish, and Danny continued his amazing season with a 53" bull moose. I'm going to cut his bowstring!

We have been to this place twice before. Wine Lake Camp near Parrault Falls. A few years ago Herb, owner of Wine Lake, was in our store to buy some archery supplies. Herb is a traditional archer who lives in Nederland, CO during the winters. Herb overheard Tom talking about moose hunting and told him about his camp.

Wine Lake is mostly a fishing camp, but Herb gets a few bear and moose tags a year. At the time he was sold out on bull moose tags, but we have been able to go on two cow hunts in the past four years. We are on the list for bull tags in 2013.

This year we got lucky, Herb called because he had a cancellation from one of his bull hunters. He asked if we would like the tag, which we jumped on! Herb offers the fairest price moose hunts that I have ever heard of. Party hunting is legal in Ontario, so Danny and I bought calf tags and Dad had the bull tag. We were all hunting for a bull though, we could kill one, and it was going to be a team effort. None of us care who gets the shot.

In Ontario, a non-resident moose hunter must be accommodated, he cannot go moose hunting on his own. A guide does not have to accompany the hunter in the field, but the hunter must purchase the license through a camp and sleep there.  We were able to hunt on our own which we like. Herb gave us excellent advice on moose hunting strategy and also where he sees the most moose action.

Wine Lake Camp is a two hour boat drive from the nearest road. There are no roads for about ten miles in any direction from this camp. This makes for some excellent undisturbed fishing and hunting.  Here we are boating in.

On the way in Herb showed us some rocks with some old Native paintings on them.

The water in Wine Lake is crystal clear

The first night out provided some excellent sights, but we heard no moose.

There was a lot of moose activity around one of the rivers connecting a few lakes. We spent the majority of our time listening from the boat. We heard a cow or two bawling almost every time we went out. We would locate ourselves on shore according to the wind and either call close to the water, or try to make our way through the dense forest to get in better calling position.

Sometime in the late 80's a massive tornado came through and wiped out all of the trees on this hillside, except one. This lone monarch stood out well above the rest. It was quite a sight.

Fishing in Canada cannot be beat. A limit of walleye after a few hours of fishing. We would hunt in the morning and evening, and fish all afternoon. What can beat that!?

We also caught a pile of smallmouth.

Lake trout are not easy to catch this time of the year, but Danny managed to catch a few.

I'm not a trophy hunter, but I am a trophy fisherman. While Danny and Dad were snapping up the walleye left and right my mission on this trip was to catch a 40"+ pike. This was the biggest I caught, 38.5".

The small hunting boat that we spent the majority of our time hunting from.

The moose action was pretty good. Like I said, we heard cows bawling on almost every outing. I called in a bull to Dad and Danny on the third day of the hunt. He was only 25 yards away from those two, with me another 20yds behind them. I don't like admitting the mistake I made, but it's too stupid not to share. I did not know the bull was only a few steps away from providing one of those two a shot. Between grunts a small black fly flew in to my mouth and hit the hangy ball thing. I tried to muffle my cough but it wasn't enough. When I coughed the bull turned on a dime and went back from where he came. Unreal. I'm sure they were a little annoyed with me, but they never said it.

The last evening of our hunt we slipped in to a bay where Herb heard a bull grunting that morning. We only had an hour of light left. I gave off two soft grunts and got an immediate reply. We drew straws to determine who the shooter would be every day. Danny was up. Dad and I sent him down the shore line 75 yards while we stayed back and called. When the bull wasn't grunting it sounded like he was tearing down the forest. He was hot! 

I would give a few grunts and the bull would immediately respond every single time. When he was working towards us I stayed quiet. When he would stop I would grunt or Dad would rake a tree. It did not take long before we figured the bull was right on top of Danny. We could see him but we could not see the bull.

We watched as Danny came to full draw. Oh the thoughts that run through your head at those times! "It's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. What's going on? Why isn't he shooting? Is it too far? Should I grunt or would that screw him up? What's he doing? He's going to have to let down soon..." Danny sat there at full draw for no less than 15 seconds! We didn't know what to do, we just stood there watching through our binos for an eternity. 

We did not know it, but the bull was only SIX YARDS from Danny. Danny had to draw his bow at the time he did because once the bull emerged from behind some trees there would be no other time for him to draw. Of course the bull stopped with his vitals covered and his head sticking out. The bull just stood there making soft grunts and smacking his big lips together.

Danny said he never even felt the weight of his bow. He didn't know if, or when the bull was going to walk out from those trees. Danny leaned out, just a little bit, so that he could get an arrow past the brush and in to the bulls vitals. Danny is a fine shot, but I think anybody can hit a moose at six yards. He shot.

From my perspective I could see Danny shoot but I still had no idea how far the shot was. In an instant the bull came crashing out of the brush, his head down. It looked to me like he ran right over the top of Danny (he missed him by four steps!). The bull ran out in to the middle of the lake. I'm looking at the bull now, I don't see an arrow and I don't see any blood. I bring up my binoculars to look and then I remember Danny. Oh crap, it had to have run him over. I look back to Danny and see him moving around. Okay good, he's alright. I look back to the bull, and as my eyes move from Danny to the bull a white streak practically follows their same path.

I heard the arrow in flight as much as I saw it. Zzzzzzzzzzzp, WHACK! "Nice!" I thought. If he missed him the first time that one was perfect. The second shot was about 50 yards, and Danny hit him as good as could be.

The bull's back legs buckled almost immediately as the second arrow hit him. Then I knew that the first shot was also right on the money. The sight that unfolded in the next 45 seconds was both the saddest, and most utterly spectacular thing I have ever seen. The bull died in the water but not without demonstrating a ferocious will to survive. The power of this moose, his head flying up, his legs kicking, the water and blood flying absolutely everywhere...I will have a crisp and clear memory of that sight for the rest of my life. I've never seen so much blood. It was not fun watching that moose die. After the water stopped flying and the moose lay motionless nobody moved, nobody looked at each other, nobody said anything - we all just stood there with our jaws open.

Then the emotion of what just happened flooded over us. Dad and I ran 75 yards over to Danny and Danny lifted me up in the air. We couldn't believe what just happened. Danny was trembling, "Did you see that thing?! Tell me you saw that! He was RIGHT HERE!" Danny said, pointing basically to his feet.

We recapped what had just happened and what we were thinking from our various view points. We all looked out in to the lake. What the heck are we going to do now!?

The second arrow - 50 yards is a far shot with a recurve. It couldn't have been better.

We went back to get Herb, he would know what to do. And he did. Herb grabbed some come-a-longs and some rope. We tied a rope around the bulls head and back legs and dragged him on shore as far as we could. Then we used the come-a-longs to inch him up the rest of the way.

What a year so far!

Danny used a Hawk recurve on this hunt. His first shot was with a Grizzly broadhead. He hit the moose directly above the leg and centered a big rib. The broadhead split the rib into three pieces and the arrow lodged in the far shoulder. The second arrow was tipped with a VPA Terminator broadhead. This arrow slipped between the ribs and also parked in the far shoulder. Neither arrow produced an exit hole but they both penetrated the entire cavity. Since the bull ran right in to a lake there was no blood trail. But I watched the blood coming out of the moose's sides and mouth, if we did have to trail this moose it would have been a bloodtrail to match all bloodtrails.

We go back to Wine Lake in 2013 with two bull tags in our pockets. I cannot wait. It is one of the most pristine and beautiful places I have ever been.

Up next - WHITETAILS!!!

stay tuned...