Doall Hunter
Eastern
NWTF 65 points
22.0 lbs
1.125" both spurs
10.25" beard
Wow - what a great kick-off to the 2009 season! We are both exausted after getting up at 4:00 am yesterday and 3:30 today - hunting all day too.
My son Peter (doall hunter - age 13) took a really nice 3 year old turkey this afternoon at 6:35 pm. Pics below. This is his second turkey.
Following yesterday's "mishap" I decided to go to another place this morning. This is a club I belong to - 2,400 acres of cutover river bottom next to the Mississippi River in NW Tennessee. From scouting and previous experience I know where the birds tend to roost next to a big field that borders the river. We set up with B-Mobile and 4 hens in the dark and at flydown ended up with 6-8 strutters and 24 hens out in the field. Despite my urgent pleadings the best I could do was three strutters at 50 yards - too far for the 20 gauge. Eventually they all bled off into the woods and we spend the rest of the morning trying, unsuccessfully, to find them.
Went back this afternoon and set up with four hen decs in the fieldnear the roost site in hopes of catching them coming back. Got there at 2:30 pm and, after 3.5 hours sitting the turkeys hadn't shown up. I was occasionally running a variety of mouth and custom pot calls, trying in vein to get a turkeys attention. At 6:20 pm, with our hopes dwindling,Peter pulled out his $20.00 Knight and Hale Glass Quenn and ran a yelp using one of my strikers and, Gobble-Gobble-Gobble, about 60 yards behind us and to our. We are set up on the field edge and I fcalculated the turkey would come out to our right. Peter first heard him spitting and drumming on our right and moments later I could see him in the edge of the field about 25-30 yards away in a strut.
I'll summarize by saying that crazy thing spent 5-6minutes about 25 yards away spinning around in a strut while drumming the entire time. I was scared that he would loose interest or smella rat so I finally made some soft yelps and got him to step out another 10 yards so the turkey would clear the weeds and Peter could get a shot. Peter drilled him with the Nitro 4X5X7 and 20 gauge Remmy 870 at 19 steps. Absolutely pole-axed him.
I was really proud of his composure, being able to remain still and quiet with a strutter so close drumming and spitting in plain view. That situation can unnerve an experienced turkey hunter. The bird was visiblethrough the weeds but he had to waitforit to makethose last few steps before presenting a clear shot. He even clucked with his natural voice to get the turkey out of the strut before the shot.
I think this boy may just turn out to be a turkey hunter afterall.
