My First solo Double!!

Finally have some to catch up on yesterday's hunt.
It rained most of Sunday and most of the early morning of Monday. Which was fine because I had to get the kids on the bus. With the weather looking like the sun was going to come out mid-morning I knew those toms were going to be active.
I have a habit of not liking to do things easy so of course I'm bowhunting my private pieces without a blind and hunt with a single shot when hunting public. When successful, the reward is such an awesome feeling.
I'm Hunting an area where birds frequent a field on the neighboring property. The goal is to sit and do some light calling with a jake decoy in front of me at 12 yards and great cover around me. Hopefully some love-struck Tom gets curious and checks us out.
I arrive at around 830 and its still wet and muggy. I get setup and then do some calling on a highpoint and wait until the weather changes. I do some work on my phone for about a half an hour, and I can feel the mugginess dispersing and the sun wanting to show itself. Knowing from experience if their toms in the area they are going to reveal their selves
I get to the high point and do some cutting on my glass pot call and get cut off by what sounds like a gang of jakes that are to my right 5 o'clock about 700 plus yards. I cut back at them and they short gobble again. Then I hear a deep gobble to my left 2 o'clock about the same distance. Wait about a minute and call again, the gang gobbles and the lone tom cuts them off with a long double gobble. Being that theirs is a gang of jakes in the area I knew if the Tom was going to show up, he would come in quiet not wanting to mess with the jakes.
For the next 10-15 minutes I mess with the birds with the jakes/Toms responding to everything but are not budging. I haven't heard the lone tom and I'm trying to figure out where he going to show up at (if he shows up) while munching on a bagel. Two bites into my bagel and I catch movement to my left. Here come this big ole bird strutting in right towards the jake at 12 yards. I freeze and the tom starts beating the crap out of my jake. I slowly turn the camera on and grab my bow. At this point the tom has knocked my decoy over and is dry humping it. I pull back and put my 15-yard pin on the Tom's dark patch above the wing and let one fly. The arrow fly's true and the Tom does a back flip and is out cold.
With a mouth full of bagel and an adrenaline rush in full swing I just sit there and take it in. By far one of the coolest experiences that I've been a part of (but wait there is more).
While this is happening, the other birds are gobbling, and they are getting closer. I go pick up the heavy bird and start messing with the other birds just to see what would happen. I started getting Sassy with both a mouth call and my glass call and they were loving it. These birds had to cross a road about 500 yards away and they didn't want to. I messed with them for about 15 minutes and then just gave them the silent treatment.
With no care in the world, I just sat there checking out the bird I shot. The next thing you know it the birds have crossed the road and are in the field gobbling their heads off. I get a glimpse of them in the binos and it turns that they are three long beards, and they are heading my way. I get another arrow knocked and give them a couple " hey baby I'm over here" calls and here they come.
The Toms head into the woods with the lead Tom heading right towards the jake decoy while the other two were nervous and skirted around. They all gobbled in front of me under 20 yards, but they were nervous. The closest Tom didn't know what to do and started to walk the way he came in. With his head behind a tree, I pull back and aim for the dark patch with the Tom quartering away at about 13 yard and let one fly. Arrow fly's true and again the bird is out cold. The two other birds come into check out the Tom and he start flopping like crazy. Its scares the two toms and they take off.
The good Lord blessed me with two awesome hunts in one day. My first ever double by myself and with a bow and no blind to boot. By far one of the craziest hunts, I have ever been a part of. As much as I'd like another hunt like that, I'm pretty sure It will never happen, and I am blessed that it did happen. Glad I have it all on video to watch again with friends and family.
The first bird was definitely the boss weighing at 23.5 pounds and the second a little under 18 pounds. both had 10" birds with inch and a quarter spurs.

On a side note, I'm using a heavy arrow with 150 grain 2" bladed Swackers. These arrows and broadheads did a number on both birds. first bird had a 5" entrance hole and the exit looked like it was shot with a slug and 12 yards. I decapitated the other birds head after it passed through the birds’ body. Crazy damage

With two days left of the season are you shooting or passing this buck?

With two days left of the season are you shooting or passing this buck?

I passed this buck; I shot two maybe a bit bigger than him and with a full freezer why not save him for next year. Maybe he will turn into a giant? It also didn’t help that the state that I live in only allows you to hunt until sunset…

That being said I passed up 4 3-year-olds last season hoping for them to sprout into giants only to never see them again. When hunting small parcels, it sometimes hard to pass up those mature deer with potential knowing that most of your neighbors will shoot these bucks. In the past I’d say 60 to 70% of the 3-year-olds make it. 4 years of age and older are 80 to 100 percent. last season what definitely a crappy gamble but I’m still sticking with the odds.

What are your thoughts?

Finally, things came together

This will be my second season, chasing Whitetails up in Connecticut and still trying to  figure these bucks out.  The area near my home that I’m hunting There are only seven does, a family of three, and a family of four.  with maybe a handful of local bucks.

With there not being that many does these bucks venture a good bit to the point that you might see a mature buck that you’re after maybe a handful of times on camera, most of the time just a couple pictures cruising through.

  I only had one picture of this buck and that was December 1st at five in the morning.  I gave up on the cameras and basically just hunted… My goal was just to bait a spot to get as much does scent in the area and have the bucks cruise through and check the location. It was working with a different buck cruising through the area one or twice a week.

Finally last night things came together with this very tight beam buck coming in at 4:15 basically scent-checking the pile and when he left luckily he gave me a 28-yard shot severing the Bucks ticker and he crashed 20 yards from the shot.

very thankful for this cool-looking deer

Blessed in June

Day two in Maine was a special one! My buddy Mark was able to get off early today so I didn’t hunt hard this morning in hopes I could kill one with him in the afternoon. We met up at 2 and hit the road looking for one that wanted to play. Mind you it was 95 degrees out today in Maine on the first day of June! Well we Found a big bird strutting with some hens and jakes but unfortunately couldn’t find a way in to hunt him. About an hour later around 430 we struck one on a piece of public Mark knew there was a good bird around. He was far off and had to make a big move and he would only respond every few minutes. Found a logging road that was headed right to where the bird was and last. He gobbled and it sounded a easy 200 yards away.

Well things got a little crazy when we were coming up the hill and I could hear loud scratching only 20 yards above or closer. We dropped to our knees in the road and I started soft calling with no response. I could hear drumming and that confirmed he was right over the rise. After about 5 minutes he wouldn’t show himself so I slowly stood up gun ready and creeped over the hill there he was 15 yards strutting he saw me and started running got the bead on him and gave a few soft yelps enough to get him to hesitate at 35 yards and that’s all she wrote tagged out in Maine!

With a great buddy of mine there to experience it all with me and in one of the most gorgeous spots I have ever shot a bird. Not to mention the first turkey I’ve ever shot in the month of June! This spring has truly been something I could have only dreamed on and one I will never forget. What a way to end my spring…. Blessed is an understatement!

Sean Kirk Russel


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