Six Year Quest

[H20fwler]

The southern and eastern part of Ohio is more known for turkeys and has some pretty good hunting. We don't really have a lot of them in our area, they were reintroduced about fifteen years or so ago and have spread out decent enough to see some and have our county open for hunting. I have shot a few here seems like every two or three years it works out. The youngest son started turkey hunting six years ago and has gotten really interested in it the last couple years but had never connected.

This past Thursday it all lined up for him. I had hunted the area the morning before and had a big Tom hang up on me after crossing four hundred yards of corn stubble. He hit a wheat field and just would not cross, strutting, gobbling and hissing two hundred yards from me for five minutes...then a single shot half mile to the north west spooked him off. I heard three different gobbles early that morning and had a hen come into the decoys.
Next morning my son was set up about a hundred yards from where I had been. He had a couple hens start talking to him from the roost fifty yards behind, heard the fly down and heard a couple of them cross the river towards him. Within a minute a hen and gobbler where at the decoys and he shot once...over at 6:45 tagged out with his first turkey ever! He was so stoked about the whole thing and so was I. He is hooked now forever.
We had diced turkey wings&heart sautéed in garlic butter with fresh morels for breakfast an hour later.

And the whole thing was Darcy approved...she was pretty happy about all the excitement too.

 

[scott44]

Congrats to your son!

 

[Native Hunter]

That is awesome. The smile on that face says it all!

 

[Mortenson]

Great job! More good eats and memories!

 

[yoderjac]

Great harvest!

 

[Troubles Trees]

That's awesome man!
It always puts a smile on my face to read stuff like this! Congrats to you and your son H20

 

[MRBB]

congrats to you

 

[Rit]

That’s very cool. I really like the way full Turkey mounts look. Any plans for that one?

 

[H20fwler]

That’s very cool. I really like the way full Turkey mounts look. Any plans for that one?

I think he is just going to borax the tail with saddle strip for a wall mount.

 

[Bszweda]

Congrats!

 

[SWIFFY]

Congrats! That looks like a big bird too! Hopefully they come around more often now!

 

[ACCMan]

Nice bird, congrats!

 

[Turkish]

I remember my dad taking me turkey hunting one year when I was about 12-13. For the first time in my hunting life, there was a good bit of turkey sign at our lease. We went and sat in a little blind in the timber that dad had prepared. At first light, sure enough, a bird gobbled about 200 yds away. Dad called a little off and on and the bird shut up. I asked him “what now?” He looked at me and said, “son, I’ve taught you everything I know about turkey hunting.” And that was that.

I hunted more on my own, at that lease, and on highly pressured hunting land. When I finally killed my first bird a couple hundred yards from where that blind was, it was the most special thing I’d experienced in the hunting world. And I say that as a deer hunter, first and foremost.

Since then, I’ve killed birds on public land in MS, and I still say those turkeys at that lease are the hardest to kill in the world. I’ve even had the pleasure to call up a couple for my dad there.

I know how happy your son must be!