Excalibur Micro takes its first turkey...

[Cali74]

Thanks everybody.

I know I bought this xbow for my wife but it is sooo much fun to shoot.
I find myself giggling like a little kid every time I shoot it.
Even find myself referring to it as my xbow ha ha.
In all honesty I purchased the bow with the air brakes as well as the TT trigger already installed.
All I did was fill it with open cell foam, modded the stirrup and adjust the string brace height. The bow seems very quiet, to me but I have never been able to compare to a stock bow.
All I know is that the second jake that was a foot away from the test subject, had no idea what happened after the shot, and it took him about 5 minutes to figure out he was all alone in his pursuit of my decoy.

We get three bearded birds here in CA for our Spring Turkey season so this tasty fellow was a nice way to start the fun.
If you think wild turkey is off-putting I would suggest trying the below recipe.
It is my favorite with all wild turkey breasts. A bit of a process and I use my own brine recipe, but will turn any non believer into a turkey lover.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunn ... ecipe.html

[Pa.hunter]

Congrats!!!! Very impressive. Saved all the good stuff. I hope I get my chance when our season opens.

Charlie

[Spike Country]

Congrats, very cool! Lopping a gobblers head off is on my hunting bucket list. I wish we got more than one spring tag in MI.

[DaveShooter]

Congrats on the first drawn blood !!!!

[nyexhunter]

Congrats and great shot!
I'll take a look at the recipe as well. Used to cook the whole bird, now just breast them out. Much faster and you get the best, most tender part. The legs on a bird that spends just about every waking minute moving around, are tough as shoe leather.

[DaveShooter]

Thanks everybody.

I know I bought this xbow for my wife but it is sooo much fun to shoot.
I find myself giggling like a little kid every time I shoot it.
Even find myself referring to it as my xbow ha ha.
In all honesty I purchased the bow with the air brakes as well as the TT trigger already installed.
All I did was fill it with open cell foam, modded the stirrup and adjust the string brace height. The bow seems very quiet, to me but I have never been able to compare to a stock bow.
All I know is that the second jake that was a foot away from the test subject, had no idea what happened after the shot, and it took him about 5 minutes to figure out he was all alone in his pursuit of my decoy.

We get three bearded birds here in CA for our Spring Turkey season so this tasty fellow was a nice way to start the fun.
If you think wild turkey is off-putting I would suggest trying the below recipe.
It is my favorite with all wild turkey breasts. A bit of a process and I use my own brine recipe, but will turn any non believer into a turkey lover.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunn ... ecipe.html

Just tell your wife -Honey ya just lost your new bow as it has such a special place in my heart after taking that there bird-LOL- She may smile than agin she may just shoot ya in the butt-lol

[grouse]

Killing a jake is just as good as killing an old gobbler in my humble opinion, especially with a crossbow. I've killed 25-30 turkeys and haven't passed on a jake yet. Once I had two jakes walking around in front of me and an older gobbler gobbling right behind me. I was happy to fill a tag with one of the jakes.

Do any of you remove the breast from a turkey and throw the rest away? I've talked to a lot of hunters who do this and it bothers me a little. You can cut a lot of meat off of the back and you can stew the legs and thighs for about three hours to make them tender (add a few chicken bullion cubes, some basil and red or black pepper). Pick the meat off of the bones then add some home made or good store bought noodles to make delicious wild turkey and noodles. You can also cut some canned biscuits up and add them to the broth to make dumplings. It's a little work but you won't mind while you are enjoying a bowl of what you produced.

[Cali74]

Grouse,
we usually use the whole bird and yes, a Jake is much more tender than an older Tom. I'm not picky but always try for the largest bird when possible.
I like to cook the breast and leg/rump separately for different recipes.
The leg/rump meat gets the brine treatment as well and seems to soften the meat of an older bird. I usually slow smoke them then will use them in a crock pot to keep everything juicy and again slow cooking to soften up everything.
The meat is picked off and used for chilly, taco's, etc.
Slow cooking the legs is the only way to go no matter what your method.
When I take the head off of a bird we usually deep fry it.
Brining the bird first seems to help cook it faster than normal but needs an extra day to sit and leak out any hidden moisture.
That is a bit of work as well and can yield an awesome tasting feast.
I love to pursue good tasting animals, fish, fungi, etc. if its legal to harvest and tasty, its on my radar.
The goal is table fair first and foremost and I do my best to use the entire animal/fish when I can.
Still learning so if you have a special way to use more of the turkey I would love to hear it.

[grouse]

I have never brined anything but I am going to have to learn how. I see references to brining, and instructions on how to do it, around Thanksgiving every year. Everything I have read says it makes the best, most juicy turkey. I intend to give it a try.

I know that nobody on this forum does this, but throwing the legs and thighs of a turkey away is akin (but nowhere near as wasteful) to keeping the backstraps on a deer and discarding the rest. Like most of you, I like to use as much of the game I kill as is reasonably possible.

[Patriot*]

Nice job! Congrats!!

[hockeyfodder]

Wow, great story. I just wish you'd have had a video of the action to post. That would have been great to see!!!!

[DaverV]

Congrats on a great bird! When I bought my matrix 380, I thought I had bought my last crossbow. That "nightmare" is making me think... sweet looking rig!!

[Fletch2]

Good shot your wifes turn

[Carnivorous]

You have convinced me to give those heads a try. Killing turkeys with the shotgun is boring!! LOL

I am going to try some 17.5" arrows with Magnus bullheds to see how they group. If I am confident I can hit a bird in the head @ 15 yards I will take the Micro on opening day...

Jeff

[Cali74]

Jeff,
Here is a little inspiration for you...
Pulled my game cam card yesterday and saw this guy posing for some pictures.
I hope he comes by again tomorrow as I am looking for my second test subject...