I have never been a turkey hunter. Never seemed like it would be as fun as deer hunting and I just never really wanted to go. I needed to go to my deer lease and take care of some things this weekend, so I thought why not give turkey hunting a try. Honestly, the only reason I even thought about trying it out is that it was another chance to get my son in the woods. He is 5 and loves deer hunting, I asked him if he wanted to go turkey hunting and he was pretty emphatic with his answer in the affirmative.
I have an old box call I bought years ago when I thought I might get into turkey hunting, it has just sat on the book shelf collecting dust until Yesterday afternoon. I got it down and made some noises with it. Seemed like it kinda sounded like a turkey call. Good enough. Went to bass pro yesterday and bought a turkey choke for my remington 11-87. Bought some shells, got my son some camo. Bought a decoy from academy. We were all set.
Woke up early this morning to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Alva. My son slept most of the drive.
Pulled in the gate and parked the truck. Got all our gear and headed out to my ground blind.
Having no experience, I wasn't too optimistic about the day, I was just looking forward to spending time with just me and my son in the outdoors.
We got the decoy set up and ourselves set up in the blind, I hit the call every couple of minutes and listened for a thunder chicken to make his presence known. Never heard a peep. Not for my son's lack of trying. He had his super listening ears on this morning. Asking me "did you hear that?" And "what was that sound?" With every noise he heard. We sat there for probably a half hour and didn't hear or see anything so we decided to make a move to another spot. We stepped out of the blind, I stretched my back, then to the south of us we hear that sound we had been hoping for. Gobble gobble gobble.
So we rushed back in the blind and got settled back in. I hit the call, they gobbled. We waited. Couldn't see them anywhere. My adrenaline is starting to flow. I hit the call, they gobble again. This went on for 10-15 min. Still couldn't see them, but they were getting closer. Finally, I look up on the hill in front of us, about 100 yards away and at the very top I could see their silhouette, three of them. They just stood up there. I would hit the call and they would gobble. Seemed like they just hung up there forever, but it was probably more like 5 minutes. Finally, one of them decided to make their way down the hill. The other two were close behind. They made it to the bottom of the hill, and made a beeline for the decoy. They got within 5 foot of the decoy and about 30 yards from me. I picked the bird I wanted and squeezed the trigger. It looked like a bowling ball hit that bird. Rolled him over on his back and it was all over.
We rushed out of the blind, I really didn't think I would get that excited over a turkey, but I think I am hooked. And I know my son is hooked. It was pretty cool seeing those birds come in to my call. It's not a huge bird, but it is my first and it was a giant this morning. We had a great day. Here is a pic of my son with it.
I have an old box call I bought years ago when I thought I might get into turkey hunting, it has just sat on the book shelf collecting dust until Yesterday afternoon. I got it down and made some noises with it. Seemed like it kinda sounded like a turkey call. Good enough. Went to bass pro yesterday and bought a turkey choke for my remington 11-87. Bought some shells, got my son some camo. Bought a decoy from academy. We were all set.
Woke up early this morning to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Alva. My son slept most of the drive.
Pulled in the gate and parked the truck. Got all our gear and headed out to my ground blind.
Having no experience, I wasn't too optimistic about the day, I was just looking forward to spending time with just me and my son in the outdoors.
We got the decoy set up and ourselves set up in the blind, I hit the call every couple of minutes and listened for a thunder chicken to make his presence known. Never heard a peep. Not for my son's lack of trying. He had his super listening ears on this morning. Asking me "did you hear that?" And "what was that sound?" With every noise he heard. We sat there for probably a half hour and didn't hear or see anything so we decided to make a move to another spot. We stepped out of the blind, I stretched my back, then to the south of us we hear that sound we had been hoping for. Gobble gobble gobble.
So we rushed back in the blind and got settled back in. I hit the call, they gobbled. We waited. Couldn't see them anywhere. My adrenaline is starting to flow. I hit the call, they gobble again. This went on for 10-15 min. Still couldn't see them, but they were getting closer. Finally, I look up on the hill in front of us, about 100 yards away and at the very top I could see their silhouette, three of them. They just stood up there. I would hit the call and they would gobble. Seemed like they just hung up there forever, but it was probably more like 5 minutes. Finally, one of them decided to make their way down the hill. The other two were close behind. They made it to the bottom of the hill, and made a beeline for the decoy. They got within 5 foot of the decoy and about 30 yards from me. I picked the bird I wanted and squeezed the trigger. It looked like a bowling ball hit that bird. Rolled him over on his back and it was all over.
We rushed out of the blind, I really didn't think I would get that excited over a turkey, but I think I am hooked. And I know my son is hooked. It was pretty cool seeing those birds come in to my call. It's not a huge bird, but it is my first and it was a giant this morning. We had a great day. Here is a pic of my son with it.
Doesn't get any better!
