Texas Turkey 2010
By Darrin Brown, owner Hips Archery Targets

For twelve years, Jim Miller, the host of “Great Southwest Outdoors” television show, and I have talked about hunting Rio Grande turkeys in Texas. We were finally able to get our schedules together in 2010. We met up with our good friend, Terry Hartcraft, and headed to Junction, Texas for a spring turkey hunt. Terry Hartcraft runs a very successful outfitting service, meat processing and taxidermy business. He is also the owner of a new broadhead company called Hartcraft XChange (http://hartcraftxchange.com). This new broadhead system combines three interchangeable blade designs in one broadhead. It is a single ferrule that accepts three different style blades that gives you three different broadheads in one unit. You simply choose which style blades will meet your specific hunting needs. The options are: a fixed blade model, used for everything that traditional fixed blade heads are used for, and two models for turkey hunting. The “Thumper” is designed for body shooting turkeys, and the “Lopper” is designed for headshots. Let me tell you, this broadhead works. I simply changed out the blades and did not have to make any adjustments to my bow or sight.  All three blade configurations flew perfect..

After several mornings and evenings of hunting, Terry was the first to bring in a gobbler. His shot was a little to the right, but one of the blades caught just enough of the bird’s neck to do the job. Go to our website at www.hipstargets.com to watch this video and you will be amazed at how well this arrow flew, even after it was shot through a mesh screen. 

I was next in line to drop a bird, but it was not exactly like we had hoped. The wind kicked up and the birds would just not cooperate.


So, Jim and I took the camera and set up at a feeder. Now, I am not going to debate hunting over feeders with anyone. It is a legal method of hunting in many states, and with a bow and arrow it is a challenging adventure. To make a long story short, we got into the blind and got our equipment ready. Jim chalked his box call and set it on his pack. “It’s 3:30” Jim announced, and we started whispering back and forth. Suddenly, we both looked at the feeder and there stood three gobblers! No sound, no warning, no nothing. The birds just walked in on us. I scrambled for my bow and nocked an arrow, as Jim shot some footage. Now, a fourth gobbler entered the scene. Jim told me “that is the bird you want, take him”. Seconds later, the Hartcraft Xchange “Thumper” was on its way, with deadly results. Two flops and he was done. As the other birds did the Texas two-step on their fallen buddy, Jim tried to get off a shot, but could not get his arrow out of the quiver. The “three amigos” then turned and walked away. Jim and I stared at each other in amazement, “it is 3:40” Jim announced, “Can you believe what just happened”? Still in awe, we gathered our thoughts, finished the episode and called it a day.

The next morning, Jim and I went back to the same blind to see if we could repeat our success. The wind howled and the turkeys gobbled until about 8:00 am and then went silent. At 10:30, I radioed our guide to come and pick us up. “You guys stay in there a little longer, there are three birds heading your way” cracked the reply over the radio. As we watched and waited for their arrival, I turned to the feeder to catch movement to our left. A lone gobbler was making his way to the feeder. I picked up my binoculars and said,” Jim, that’s a big bird get ready”. As the mature gobbler cautiously worked his way in, Jim wasted no time sending the “Thumper” broadhead through the mesh netting. Unfortunately, the bottom limb of his bow hit the camera tripod and his shot was a little low. I watched the bird make two jumps and take flight over the top of a cedar tree. I listened as he flew out of sight. We waited a few minutes before we went to retrieve the arrow. Once there, we found a good blood trail. I started walking in the direction of the bird’s flight and we were both amazed at the blood trail we found. That bird flew about 200 yards, leaving a trail of blood Ray Charles could have followed.

Jim told me “this is the 74th turkey I have shot with a bow and I have never trailed one like this one”. The gobbler was easily retrieved from a cedar bush, and we again recapped the experience on film and headed for the house.

You can see the photos and video shorts of this hunt on our website, www.hipstargets.com.  The entire episode will air this Fall on Great Southwest Outdoors. We would like to thank Mathew’s Bows, Carbon Express Arrows, Rip Cord Arrow Rests, Spot-Hogg sights, Hartcraft XChange Broadheads and Hips Archery Targets. Remember that practicing with your equipment builds confidence in your ability to shoot and successfully harvest your prey. Shoot often, shoot well and shoot Hips Archery Targets.

 

Check out Hips targets in the Bowhunt America Summer Buyer's Guide!

http://hipstargets.com/images/Targets%20Aug%2009.pdf