Post by mindrambler on Feb 15, 2005 18:29:39 GMT -5
Stats: 19-3/4 lb
9.5" beard
7/8'spurs
It was opening morning of turkey season 2003 .A clear crisp morning. I had found three different birds earlier in the week and did not know which one to hunt. Since he was just 11 i opted for the closest and easiest place to get to. We were set up before daylight and just waiting for the magic moment to use the old owl call when nature took over and helped us out. The owl hooted and there were three different turkeys gobbled.There was one over on the side of the mountain and i knew he would not come to us because of the creek and cutover. There was one off to our right but there was another cutover between us. Then there was this one to our left with an old roadbed and hardwoods between us and him. I waited until just the break of day and did a fly down cackle with the wing beats. I did this three times and had birds thundering all around us. I knew this was the day my son would get a shot at his first turkey. I waited about 15 minutes and gave a few yelps and a couple of sweet purs on the little deuce call. The turkey that was to the left had closed in to about 150 yards and started gobbling his head off. I positioned my son to where he could see the bird as he stepped of the road bed into the woods. His heart was thumping like a drummer. I talked to him to calm him down and told him what to expext when he seen the bird. 15 minutes later i saw the bird at 45 yards coming our way ,he looked nice. I was still getting an occasional gobble from the bird on the side of the mountain ,but he was still in the same area.I had heard nothing of the bird to our right . 5 minutes later the bird stepped off the roadbed into the little patch of hardwoods we were hunting and went into full strut. As the bird turned around i whispered to my son when he turned to face him i would cluck and he would raise his head up and for him to pull the trigger. As the bird turned , i clucked ,he stuck his head up and i heard the roar of the Mossberg 20 ga. and the bird hit the ground. " I thought my sons heart was going to jump out of his chest" He started to run but i caught his coat and told him to never run over and snatch up a bird until he was sure he was dead. We walked over and the high fives began . He said dad ,when that bird
looked at me i had to keep telling myself, pull the trigger, pull the trigger. Memories were made that day , a young man crossed over to a young hunter and the tradition of turkey hunting was passed on.
Total time of hunt = 45 minutes from the truck back to the truck. That was what i call a text book hunt . Whatever that is. ;D Hope you enjoy. Larry T
