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Roosted = Roasted | 2018 Muddy Turkey Camp

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2018 Muddy Turkey Camp Hunt

By: Chris Dunkin 

Our annual Team Muddy Turkey Camp took place in Southern Iowa over the past week and it was nothing short of a great time! Not only were we fortunate to wrap our tags around 24 big longbeards during the first 4 days of Iowa’s season, but we were able to spend time with our good friends who are now like family! 

The first hunt that we are airing is actually the last hunt from our camp.  Muddy team member Spencer Watts hunted hard for the first 3 days of the season but came up short.  On the Wednesday evening before the last day, Cody Bonner and I hit the gravel roads in search of birds we could set up on the next morning with Spencer. I can’t stress enough how valuable roosting birds the previous evening can be for a turkey hunter. Knowing where they are roosted and where they want to be is really the majority of the battle when it comes to filling tags.

Ground Blinds

During the course of the last hour of light, we found three different groups of birds that we had the opportunity to hunt the next morning. I gave Spencer a call and let him know that we had found some birds to hunt if he was willing to make the 2.5-hour drive back to Southern Iowa.  It didn’t take much convincing and Spencer was on his way. After Spencer arrived at my house we analyzed our options from our scouting trip and decided to head to a farm that we had just gained permission on a few days before. This particular farm seemed like a good option as we knew where the birds had roosted, and we knew that they liked to head to this particular hay field first thing in the morning.   

Our alarms went off at 4 am and a short while later we were southbound. Temps were cold, but there was no wind. After arriving at the farm we set up our Muddy VS360 ground blind and swivel-ease ground chairs in the middle of the hay field and waited for the sun to come up.  A short time later the birds were hammering and we knew we were in store for an exciting hunt.

We gave a few soft yelps and putts while the birds were still in the tree.  Shortly after fly down a big tom entered the field and was heading our direction.  When we hunt turkeys out of our Muddy ground blinds we like to put our decoys close to the blind for a few reasons. First off, if a tom hangs up there is a better chance that he’ll still be within range. The other big reason is that we really like the rush of having a fired up tom in our laps, and with the ultra-dark interior that the ground blinds provide, we know that we can get away with it.   

The big tom rushed to the setup and it wasn’t long before he was attacking our jake decoy.  I cut hard on the call to try to get him to gobble but he had fighting on his mind. Hearing gobbles at 6 steps is a rush. Spencer had finally seen enough and let his 12-gauge bark.  

The final day of the 1st season, and Spencer was tagged out on the 24th bird of our Muddy turkey camp.

We can’t thank all of the landowners enough who allow us to hunt. We know we couldn’t do this without them!  Over the course of the next several weeks, I want to encourage you to follow along on all of our Muddy outlets as we bring you short videos from our recent turkey hunts!   

Keys To Our Hunt  

  1. Roosting the birds the evening before:  If the birds aren’t there, you can’t kill them.   
  2. Setting up our MuddyVS360 ground blind in a location that we knew the birds wanted to be from prior scouting. Once we knew they roosted on the farm, we knew exactly where to place our ground blind for the morning hunt.   
  3. Persistence- Spencer hunted hard and finally on the 4th day found success.   

Check out more content and our product line at www.gomuddy.com. 

Tips for bow hunting turkeys out of ground binds | Muddy Outdoors

Ground Blinds | Tips for Turkey Hunting With a Bow

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Bow Hunting Turkeys from a Ground Blind

Bow hunting any game is making a commitment to a challenge in itself. Whether its deer, other big game, or turkeys, taking a bow to the field can be a humbling experience and with time can become the only hunting you take part in. Bow hunting turkeys is one of these challenges. Why some may have mastered turkey hunting, one thing is undeniable, drawing on a turkey is the biggest challenge. Multiple toms, or vigilant hens become major problems for turkey hunters. The most dreaded part is just trying to draw with all of those eyes around, but there are some tips such as using ground blinds that can help you be successful. Here are some tips to make hunting turkeys with a bow a little easier with ground blinds.

Bow Hunting Turkeys With Ground Blinds | Early Season Toms
(Video) Trophy Pursuit staff has some luck with early season gobblers. Several turkeys killed with bows out of Muddy ground blinds.

Ground Blind Selection

Ground blinds make turkey hunting easier. This is an extraordinary advantage when it comes to bow hunting. The biggest problem turkey hunters will run into when hunting out of a ground blind is selecting and hunting out of the wrong type. Face it, some blinds were just not made for bow hunters, they are small, with few windows, and everything seems to be in the way. Some of these blinds also don’t take into consideration what a bow hunter truly needs out of a ground blind for turkeys. What is needed, everything focused on the most important part…the draw.

  • Space- the biggest thing that bow hunters run into is enough space to draw. A ground blind needs to have enough room to bring up the bow, draw, hold, and swivel on for moving targets and an accurate shot. If your back arm is brushing against the blind, or limbs are touching the roof, or broadhead is catching just beneath the window there is a significant problem. A big blind, enough for multiple people, bow hunters, and even some extra gear like camera equipment would look something like The Bale Blind or VS360 Ground Blind by Muddy. These blinds are wide, tall, and perfect for bow hunting turkeys.

  • Invisible Draw- A blind that has enough windows to kill a bird out of it, but at the same time can provide a dark, flat black interior to make anything inside disappear, is desirable. Wearing dark clothing and either a black facemask, or black face paint, even a black bow all helps being inside a blind. Drawing inside the blind under the low light makes it near impossible for the keen eyes of a turkey to spot.

Tips for bow hunting turkeys out of ground binds | Muddy Outdoors

  • Comfort- If you have hunted out of a ground blinds before, especially one not made with requirements for bow hunting, you have been in some uncomfortable situations. With turkey or deer hunting out of ground blinds, finding a seat that is the perfect height to stay hidden but also be able to see out of the blind and draw out of is hard to find. Pair these restraints with the additional requirement for a seat that is completely silent, and you might as well just kneel on the ground. A big comfortable ground blind, with the addition of Muddy’s Swivel-Ease Ground Blind Seat or Folding Tripod Ground Seat
Bow Hunting Turkeys | Turkey Raw Double Muddy
(Video) Raw video footage of bow hunting turkeys. A double with multiple camera angles is caught on film by the trophy pursuit team out of a Muddy ground blind.

Bow Hunting Tips

Getting the right ground blind solves a lot of the problems and challenges of bow hunting turkeys. It conceals your draw, it gives you time to make a great shot, and it allows you to concentrate on every aspect of the hunt. Other than this, take the tips that you just witnessed from the Trophy Pursuit team. Use a quality broadhead, draw when the birds fan is blocking his view, and be sure to take your time with the shot. Bow hunting turkeys can be tough, but the right ground blind can make this challenge not only successful but twice as enjoyable.