Double trouble — Two toms with a bow

North Richland Hills hunter Tom Franklin had a pretty good Easter Sunday, and it had little to do with finding a basket full of chocolate eggs.

Franklin was hunting on private property near Meridian, when he found himself within earshot of multiple gobbling toms, including two within 100 yards.

“I was in a Double Bull blind,” he said, “and every time I would call, a pair of toms would answer. They were on another property and there was a fence in between. They would gobble, but they wouldn’t cross the fence.”

After several hours, Franklin was tired of waiting and decided to put his bow down, pick up his shotgun and attempt to stalk the two birds.

“I snuck out of the blind and got pretty close,” he said, “but they just wouldn’t come out from behind some brush. I decided to head back to the blind, calling as I went.”

The hunter had just gotten back in the blind when a hen emerged and charged his own hen decoy.

“She was squaking and spitting and drumming and was actually in full strut,” he said. “I’ve never seen a hen in full strut, but she was.”

The live hen was enough to convince both toms to head over the fence and check out the action.

“I heard a gobble about 25 yards away,” he said. “She saw those two toms and immediately came out of strut and began to walk away. But both those toms came right to the decoy. I guess they thought she could just walk on off and they would go to the one who stayed put.”

Franklin released an arrow at the first tom, hitting him well.

“The first one took off and the second one jumped straight up in the air, then came right back down and went right back into full strut,” Franklin said. “I quickly nocked another arrow and took him, as well.”

Both toms had 5-inch beards, indicating a pair of 2-year-old birds. Franklin offered a tip to turkey hunting with a bow.

“Set up the decoys at 10 yards,” he said. “A lot of people put them at 20, but if the tom hangs up on the other side, you might have a 40-yard shot. The blind does not spook them.”

Franklin said he was using a Matthews bow and Muzzy broadheads.