My 12 year old son took his first turkey this morning. I was kind of down about the weather and thought we might not get to go, but at 5am it looked ok. I had roosted some turkeys last night but never got a gobble only heard them fly up. This morning we set up about 100 to 150 yards from there, along a creek bottom on the edge the woods where I had called a gobbler for Gary last youth season, only to have him shoot the head off the decoy HAHA.
We got in our spot and set up the decoys before light. I was hoping to hear some gobbling from the roost but heard nothing as the rain started falling!!!. As it got lighter I tried a few tree yelps and some soft calling and nothing! So I tried the silent approach for a while until it got good and light nothing! I did not hear them fly down because rain was so loud. Then tried some louder more aggressive calling and nothing! Then I was getting ready to move when heard a hen yelping but she turned and went the other way.
So we went back to the truck to drive down and check another field and set up on the other end of the farm in direction I was thinking the turkeys were going. Only to spot them on the field just up the hill from where we had been sitting there was five turkeys and a gobbler strutting. So I parked back in the same spot and we headed back only this time we stayed on the edge of the upper field not the lower.
After a brisk 300yd walk through the wood and belly crawling out of the woods 10yds out into the field to set up the decoys, knowing the birds were just 100yds or so away just over the hill we were finally got set up. It was raining pretty good now I was trying to get some good loud yelps out of my slate and or crystal call but they were fading fast. I"™ve had a bad sore throat so did have any mouth calls with me and I was now reduced to my little push button call. This not being loud enough to hear very far in these conditions was giving me some doubt. Just then I leaned up and could see the hens along the edge of the field about hundred yards away and then the gobbler. He seen the decoys and started heading our way and once he heard a few yelps and a purr from the now failing push button box call he ran in stopped and gobbled his last gobble 15yds in front of Gary who did everything he was suppose to perfectly this year and got his bird.
He was also using his great grandfathers Remington 1100 shotgun and that made it even more special for me because I remeber following my grand dad when he was turkey hunting with that very gun. If you look close you can see the turkey granddad carved into the stock. So after all we had a great time even with all of the equipment was failing.
The beard is 10 inch and the spurs are 1" 1/8 Thanks Chris and Gary
B.B.D. Baby!! (Big Bird Down) on youth day in VA sons first
I bet it made it even more rewarding this year!!!
