We have a pretty insane eastern population back home on the East End of Long Island. They were hunted to eradication like 100 years ago, and had no way of reflourishing because of geographics. Then, back in the 90’s the DEC captured like 75 of them in upstate NY and released them out in the Hamptons. Low predator numbers and no open season on them allowed the population to explode. Finally, about 3 years ago, they opened a spring season for us. I was down in SC Turkey hunting right before our first NY opener. I got in my truck, drove like 18 hours straight, back home to Montauk. Pulled in my driveway at like midnight, unpacked all my shit, laid down in bed for about a hour. Got up, jumped back in my truck, drove about a half hour to meet my buddy at one of our deer spots that we knew held birds. Showed up late, the sun was already on its way up. Me and my buddy were at my truck scrambling to get our shit together. We fire off a crow call, and a bird fires off a heavy gobble like a hundred yards away. We grab our shit and literally run full sprint in the direction and set up the decoys out in a small clearing. We set up next to each other agains a couple pines and let out a couple mouth calls. Within five minutes I hear one drum behind us. He comes in hot on our flank, straddles up to our Avian posturing jake decoy, and proceeds to beat the fuck out of it. I draw my bow back, go into full target panic mode, I had my 20 yard pin aimed at the ground by his feet. I couldn’t raise the pin, I know I know, sounds retarded, but target panic is real. In my head I knew I was fucked, but released the arrow anyways. It goes right into the ground in-between the long bears feet. He stops for a second, looks around, fans back up and then proceeds to jump back on the decoy. I knock another arrow, and this time send it straight through his chest. He ran like ten yards and died…. And that is the story of my first bird at home on Long Island…. We ended up driving over to another spot nearby, and its was pornographic. We had hooked up long beards all over us. I filmed my buddy shooting one with his bow with two cameras from two different angles. It was a pretty sick day.
