Homick's five-minute hunt
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Devin Homick’s turkey hunting enjoyment has gone up even as a decision to hunt exclusively with a compound bow means his overall success rate has gone down.
To be clear, Homick enjoys firing his shotgun as much as most, and respects those who choose to hunt that way.
“Anything to promote the sport,” he said. “A turkey is hard to kill with a gun – it’s not a given.”
Homick began hunting with a shotgun, and three years in, started taking out his bow after harvesting one bird with his 12 gauge. For the past four years, he has exclusively used his Elite Archery GT 500 compound bow, which with 70 pounds of draw, can also be used for deer and moose. He tips full-length arrows with 100-grain Magnus Bullhead broadheads, designed to target the head or neck of a turkey.
“You either have a clean kill, or a clean miss,” says Homick.
He prefers shots of 20 yards or less with the combination, but also has a mechanical broadhead (deploying on contact) in his quiver, which reaches out to 30 yards.
Every hunt doesn’t work out as planned. But Homick couldn’t have written a better script than opening day, 2013. (See the video, Five-minute hunt on The Tillsonburg News Website and Facebook page). Heading out with friends Mike DeVos and Nova Scotian Craig Pembroke (who Homick met during school at Sir Sanford Fleming), Homick was disappointed to hear a gobbler open up on the roost 100 yards behind his blind. Figuring he had been too close to the bird while setting up, Homick believed it had headed toward DeVos after pitching down, when it gobbled just 15 yards behind him.
“It kind of makes your hair stand up on edge when you can hear that, you know when they gobble, it’s kind of that throaty thunder sound.”
The tom passed within yards of the blind before trotting toward Homick’s jake decoy and putting the spurs to it twice. After the second flogging, the turkey held still long enough as Homick came to full draw and settled the aiming pin on its neck.
“Released the arrow and it flew true.”
Reviewing his phone records, Homick discovered how little time had passed between texts indicating the bird had pitched down, and was harvested.
“From the moment he hit the ground until the release of the arrow, it was five minutes,” he smiled. “It was quick, the quickest hunt I have ever had.”
Luck may play a part, but there is no question experience helps. Five-minute opening day hunts aside, Homick’s overall success rate has actually decreased since adopting his specialized form of bow hunting, but he continues to enjoy regularly working birds (estimating he has had had 10 within shotgun range since opening day this year) and has not supped on ‘tag soup’ since his rookie season. And in the end, even if he did, Homick sees his time spent in the woods pursuing his passion as its own greatest reward.
“Just to see them and interact with them, that’s what it’s all about,” Homick concluded. “Taking a turkey is a bonus, it’s climactic when it happens, but the whole, being outdoors, having it all around you, hearing them, seeing them and interacting with them is what it’s all about.”