So Happy and Proud!

[Spiider]

Each of my 3 boys and I were able to take turkeys this Spring!

Chandler, 6, took this Tom at 20 yards while walking. 10" beard, 1.25" spurs and weighed 26 lbs!


Brody, 7, took this Tom at 15 yards. 10.5" beard, 1" and 7/8" spurs, 20 lbs.


Tyler, 9, took this Tom at 15 yards. Then he quickly handed me the gun and I shot the jake for our very first double :) His weighed 19 lbs, 9.5" beard and 3/4" spurs :) I blew most all of the beard off of mine, LOL.

 

[sandbur]

Way to go!

 

[Freeborn]

Great set of Photos and nice job on the Birds. It doesn't get any better than that.

 

[Deer Kar]

The gun is bigger than the kid in the first pic. Way to go!!!! Starte'm young.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Three good looking boys and some nice birds! Congrats. Great pics as well.

You sure that's a jake? I've never seen a jake that had a full fan.

 

[Spiider]

Thanks everyone :)

Yes, it's a big gun for the youngest, but I put a lot of time, research and testing into finding the best fitting and lightest felt recoil setup for them and it really has very little kick (and noise), even for him at age 6.

I only assume it was a jake because it had no spurs and "had" maybe a 5-6" beard before most of it was shot off. I expected a few longer tail feathers too, but it is much smaller in overall size (about 14 lbs) than the toms as well.

 

[Riggsgwp->]

Awesome experience for those impressionable kids.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Nice work, that's an impressive number of birds.

Was the bird you shot gobbling or strutting at all? With a full fan, smaller beard and no spurs I would say it's likely a bearded hen unless you saw it strutting or gobbling. I've never killed a tom that was missing spurs on both feet and I've never killed a jake in the spring that didn't have longer feathers in the middle. Regardless of what kind of bird it was, nice work and those are some good pins.

 

[Spiider]

Wow, I think you are right. No, it didn't strut of gobble at all. When I first saw it, I told my boy to relax, it was just a hen coming in. It had a mostly bluish tinted head with short "peach fuzz" all over it. Here's a better pic showing the head and if you can zoom in on where the beard would have been you can see 2 longer strands, which is all that was left and visible until you get down to the very start of the beard. Big bummer that I shot most of it off :(

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I just re-read my initial post and I meant to say nice pics, not nice pins.

That's a nice double regardless of what your bird was. I've only seen a couple bearded hens, but they always had thin beards that appeared to be longer than jake beards, but shorter than tom beards. I think it's pretty likely that's what you bagged based on the pictures you posted above and your description of how the bird acted when it was alive. There's nothing wrong with that though, bearded hens are still legal birds. Nice work, those are some good birds.

 

[scott44]

Congrats to you all, great memories and experiences for the boys! I was always more excited for my kids than for me.

 

[bryant]

Just awesome getting those boys started off right. Congrats!!!!

 

[Native Hunter]

That is beyond awesome. You have much reason to be proud!

 

[Natty Bumppo]

When I saw your 1st pic of both birds I thought it was a hen but I didn't want to say anything. No long tail feathers, no spurs, and what looks like some feathers on top of its grayish head. That 2nd pic shows what looks for sure to be a hen. I called in a bearded hen last year..had about a 7 inch beard. Five years ago I called in what I thought was a long beard…until she got to within 20 yards and I could see that it was a hen with a 9 or 10 inch beard. They are legal to shoot, and getting a double with your boy is a just awesome! Memories that will last a lifetime! Congrats again on a great season.

 

[Scenttrails]

Very cool! Hunting with your kids is as good as it gets. Congratulations to all four of you.

 

[Terrific_tom]

Congrats to you and your boys. Great job on getting them out hunting.

 

[Spiider]

Thanks everyone! :) My middle boy thought for sure someone would have seen his photobomb, can you find him?

 

[bueller]

Thanks everyone! :) My middle boy thought for sure someone would have seen his photobomb, can you find him?

4th photo, totally didn't see him until you mentioned it