Two-year pursuit ends in first bow-killed longbeard
Clark Henderson of Beaufort, S.C. has had plenty of hunting success, but had been trying to seal the deal on a longbeard with his bow for a couple of years with no luck. That changed for him on March 22 when he let fly an arrow at 15 yards in Williamsburg County, downing a big gobbler in what he called one of the most exciting hunts he’s ever been on.
“I came down a few days prior to shoot and get back in the groove to try and shoot my first gobbler with a bow. I’ve been trying to attain this milestone over the past two seasons. I have had the opportunity to shoot a few jakes and a couple of close encounters with longbeards, but had not been able to seal the deal,” said Henderson.
The morning hunt didn’t go his way
“On opening morning, I saw my bird and another decent longbeard that was teamed up with him come in behind my setup at 30 yards. I had to sit there and watch them. With a shotgun it would have been a piece of cake. But I decided to hold off,” he said.
A good dose of patience and determination paid off later that day.
“That afternoon I got back in the blind and had my decoy spread in close. After about two hours they popped up on the wood line about 150 yards away and started making their way to me. After they saw my half-strut jake decoy in the spread of hens, they both went into half strut and came running in.
“I ranged the jake decoy at 15 yards and clipped my release to my D-loop and drew back. My bird was in full strut and I sent it. He went about 10 yards and started flopping! One of the most exciting turkey hunts and harvests I’ve ever had,” he said.
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Clark Henderson’s hunt and story puts him in our Tag-A-Turkey contest. Click here to see the gallery and enter your turkey.
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