The Bowhunter’s Dream: Bill and Shauna Epeards Take Turkey in Oklahoma
John E. Phillips 09.24.12
Author’s note: Bill Epeards of Goshen, Ohio, has traveled the world and taken some legendary animals on some unbelievable hunts. A member of the PSE and Mossy Oak Pro Staffs, he works with Jimmy Houston Outdoors and is a member of a world champion archery target team. “I shot competition archery for a lot of years, but I got away from it,” Epeards reports. “Then I got with some other older fellows, and today we shoot the senior class of the Bowhunter Division of the IBO. We won the national championship for two consecutive years – 2008 and 2009 – came in second in 2010 and won 2011 and 2012.” Epeards also guides and hunts in the United States. This week Epeards shares with us some of his most-memorable bow hunts.
Question: Bill, who were you hunting with in Oklahoma?
Epeards: We were hunting out of Buffalo Creek Lodge that has property of over 6,000 acres in Oklahoma and Texas. On the first day of the hunt, I had my wife Shauna with me, and I was calling turkeys for her with a Quaker Boy Old Boss Hen and World Champ, which are diaphragm turkey calls. I was also filming the hunt. She killed her Rio Grande gobbler and finished her Grand Slam of turkeys with the bow. We were hunting from a tent-style blind, and the turkey came within 27 yards. Shauna shoots the PSE X-Force Axe 6, which has a short draw length and a lot of speed. It has great accuracy, and she really likes shooting this bow. She shoots about 43 pounds of draw weight and a Trophy Ridge Rocket broadhead. When the bird came within 27 yards, she drew, aimed and hit the bird right by his wing, once she released the arrow. The shot broke the bird down immediately. This Rio gobbler weighed 20 pounds and had 1-1/2-inch spurs.
The following day, I went out to take my turkey, and we put a Dave Smith turkey decoy out in front of my hub-style blind. These decoys are phenomenal and look almost like stuffed birds. We got footage of gobblers coming-in and mounting this decoy. On this particular hunt, a jake came-in and mounted the decoy, and a longbeard came in to the decoy and ran-off the jake. After he’d run-off the jake, he went into a full strut and presented the shot. I shot my PSE X-Force Axe 6 with a Trophy Ridge Rocket broadhead and released the arrow when the gobbler was at 26 yards. Once the tom took the arrow, he only ran about 30 yards and then fell-over dead. I really enjoy hunting turkeys with a bow, and if you’ve got a really good decoy, a little calling expertise and a tent-type blind, bagging that longbeard isn’t nearly as difficult as you may think it will be.
Learn bowhunting strategies in the new Kindle eBooks, “Jim Crumley’s Secrets of Bowhunting Deer” and “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” by John E. Phillips. Go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the books, and download it to your Kindle, and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
Click here to check out John Phillips’ article archives, including more stories from Bill Epeards coming later this week.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
