Another great youth opener...

[WNY Bowhunter]

Thought I'd give a little recap of yesterday's hunt...

Ethan and I got got to our ambush spot around 5:10 after a nightmarish half mile walk through a soggy plowed cornfield. I popped a groundblind up and we waited to hear our first gobble. From the trailcam pics and several years of hunting this spot (we've killed 3 opening morning youth birds here by 6:30 three years running), I knew the two longbeards that we were after should be roosting close. I was just hoping that they would be talkative in the crappy weather. About 5:45 I hit the crowcall and nothing. A few minutes later I scratched out a few soft yelps and...GOBBBLEEEE...GOBBBLEEEE...there they were only 75 yds above us!!! Over the next 35-40 minutes they gobbled ridiculously at everything. We sat there impatiently waiting for flydown...finally around 6:25 they hit the ground. I thought it would be another done deal in a minute or two. WRONG!!! They stayed strutting and gobbling about 80 yds above us around a bend in the logging road for the next half hour but won't come down to meet us. After not hearing a gobble for 20 minutes or so, I snuck out of the blind and walked up the trail calling, but was greeted with silence. I had a feeling they had hens the entire time. The back of the farm is always good too so we left our blind/dekes and went to doing a little running and gunning. Finally, we got to where I thought we should get into some action and BINGO...a gobble rips on the hillside below us only 75-80 yds away. We quickly set up and I went to work on the Halloran slate and one gobbler turned into three!!! A few minutes into my calling, a hen starts yelping below...I call to her and her she comes up the hill looking for the new hen. She went past us calling the whole time and I thought the boys would be right behind her. Wrong again...she went on up the woods and they stayed put. I tried everything that I could thing off to get them to advance...soft calling, loud calling, fighting purrs and even gobbled at them. They would answer everything but weren't budging. With a squirmy 13 year old sitting next to me, I knew that playing the silent game and trying to wait them out was not an option. I decided to back up the train a ways and descend down the hill to their level and try a new set up. Once we were got down to the bottom I called and they responded from the same spot. We quickly closed the distance and setup again. The next gobble was closer and I knew they were coming. Soon, we heard something walking just over the hill and a longbeard pops up at 45 yds and just stands there surveying the area. I was worried that we would be busted. Soon, another longbeard showed up behind him and they both proceeded to work around below us. As they went behind some trees I got Ethan moved around and situated to shoot. The original bird slowly closed the distance to 35 yds and then started to turn around. It was pushing the range of his Mossy 500 20 gauge but it now or never....I gave him the go ahead. He shoots and the gobbler soaks up a load of 3" Mag Blends but doesn't go down...after a follow up shot the young hunter had his first ever turkey: a nice 20 lb two year old with a 9.5" beard. To say he was excited was an understatement. What a great start to the season!!!

His pants right after shooting his bird...

After a LONG walk back to the truck...(I forgot to stock my vest with ziploc gallon bags...lol)

Come on sunday!!!

[Deerthug]

Great story! Congrats to you and Ethan!

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[Shadd Rapp]

Congratulations!

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[DirtTime]

Great story and congrats to the youngster on his first bird.

[maytom]

Congrats!!! That bottom picture is why I carry my bird out in a HS Strut Blaze orange carry bag. Not wanting to get my clothes full of blood and then jump into the truck!!!

[ants]

Outstanding!!!! Congrats to you both.!!!!! Nice big bird too!!

[WNY Bowhunter]

Congrats!!! That bottom picture is why I carry my bird out in a HS Strut Blaze orange carry bag. Not wanting to get my clothes full of blood and then jump into the truck!!!

I've got one of those bags...had it since I started turkey hunting when I was 13 back in '95. Hardly ever used it. I just wish that we had the turkey numbers we did back then.

[reeltime]

congrats on a great hunt

 

[Grizz1219]

Congrats!!!!!