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| Curiosity may have killed the cat but a Swhacker killed this jake. |
This past spring I was anxious for the end of April to arrive. This meant three things to me. First it was the end of tax season, you see I’m a certified public accountant and the preparation of tax returns pays for my hunts. Secondly, turkey season was underway. And lastly, I could check out some new products I acquired over the winter. I traveled to Nebraska for my hunt. My wife and I see so many turkeys there during deer season I couldn’t help but return there in the spring to hunt them.
Since my practice is limited during tax season, I try to keep my muscle tone by using the Bow Trainer. This is a unique exercise device in that you can select the tension you want by using one of four different rubber bands. You can use more than one band and increase the resistance up to 130 pounds. They also sell a bow arm resistance trainer which allows you to add resistance similar to holding the weight of your bow. It’s something you might want to check out. I like it and find it comfortable to use.
Some of the new goodies I wanted to try were the Swhacker broadheads, BowTech Destroyer 350 bow, Tight Spot quiver, Bug Hats, Woodland Whisper amplification hearing aids by Altus Brands and a B-Stinger hunting stabilizer.
I previously reviewed the Destroyer 350 so I won’t repeat my comments except to say it’s an awesome bow.
I had never tried the Swhacker broadhead by C’Mere Deer but was anxious to see how they would do on turkeys. I don’t normally use expandable broadheads because I shoot low poundage, about 50-52 lbs. Since turkeys are notoriously hard to kill with a bow, I wanted something that would do some serious damage on contact. The 100 grain head opens to 1 ¾”. The blades are .032 thick and sharp. The Swackers flew well and were very comparable to my field points. I shot two turkeys with this head, one went five yards and the other went maybe eight yards, so they kill pretty quickly. I couldn’t complain about the results.
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| If one decoy is good – more must be better, no? |
The Tight Spot quiver was new to me. I had read about it and I had to have one. Once I opened the package, I was impressed by its construction, durable aluminum and more of it than most quivers. It can be moved in and out from your bow and up and down for balancing the balance and feel you prefer. A simple flick of a lever and it comes off the bow if you don’t like shooting with the quiver attached. The hood is deep enough to handle any broadhead and is solidly built. Two carbon rods hold the hood to the arrow shaft grip and the grip can be adjusted for different size shafts. The quiver is quiet and absorbs shock from each shot. Having the quiver close to the bow gives a nice feel if you shoot with it attached. It might be expensive but I think you’ll consider it a worthwhile investment. I’ll be using this one for a long time.
Altus Brands has some great products including Pro Ears, BenchMaster, CrossFire Slings and more. One of their newest lines and the one I used on this hunt was the Woodland Whisper (found on the Cass Creek Call site) amplification unit . It also helps protect your hearing but for me it was perfect to increase my hearing ability. It is a compact hearing aid which comes with different size ear plugs so you can find the one which feels comfortable in your ear. They are inexpensive and you might be apprehensive about their quality but I can vouch that they work. I used them for three days on my hunt and heard turkeys I would have missed without them.
Altus Brand also makes a boonie style Bug Hat that was a nice piece of apparel to ward off pesky mosquitoes and gnats. The hat was really comfortable but the main feature was hidden in the top. Unzip the top and there was a see through netting that you could pull down over your face, neck and shoulders. The netting allowed me to see clearly and avoid numerous bites from the flying critters.
I was also using a stabilizer that was new to me, the B-Stinger. The looks of this simplistic looking device makes you wonder how it could help improve your accuracy. Their website explains the mechanics of how it works better than I can, but basically if the weight of the stabilizer is moved away from the bow and you have a shock absorbing rigid carbon fiber rod connecting the weight to the bow, you get less torque on your shots. Less torque translates into better accuracy. I was a non-believer until I saw professionals using it and tried it for myself. It tightened my groups quite a bit. I honestly believe you’ll be impressed with this product. I used the ProHunter 10.25″ with an 11 ounce weight. Check it out; you’ll be glad you did.
Well you might ask, how did the hunt go?  Great in a word. The first morning I decided to try something different. If one decoy is good, then more should be better or so I hoped. I set out three hens covered with turkey skins (Cabela’s has them) and a tom with a real turkey tail. I hadn’t hunted long until a jake decided he had to have a closer look – a fatal mistake.
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| This Tom was a bit leery but macho got him in the end. |
Later than day I was in the same blind with the same setup only I removed the tom decoy. A tom gobbled in the distance and I answered him. He eventually moved to within 30 yards behind the blind but wouldn’t come closer. After he left I put the tom decoy back into the setup. Half an hour later a tom gobbled close by. I believe it was the same one that had visited previously. Seeing the tom decoy he had to show his masculinity and strutted toward the decoys. I shot him at 15 yards and he collapsed after an eight yard sprint. He had a 9 ½” beard and nice spurs. What a day, two turkeys in one day!  The next two days were not good. The weather changed, the wind blew hard and the hunting went down hill. Unfortunately I had to leave after that but I couldn’t complain; it had been a remarkable hunt and I got to try out some new products.
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