Bama youth hunt Saturday

[Beretta686]

I was like a kid at christmas waiting for the 2011 turkey season to begin. Clays father and I have been driving to Birmingham every Wednesday night for the past 3 months to visit a friend in the hospital. After deer season on one of the rides he asked if I needed a youth for the youth turkey hunt, all I could say was yeah. So a plan was hatched and we had to figure out where to go. Me no question, the river. His dad kept saying a a piece of property we hunt tgether. I won the debate and then broke the news we had a 2 hour drive.

Yesterday evening I called and explained that they needed to set an old time alarm and not move their clocks forward until after we hunt. Standard operating procedure for hunting season time change. Clocks get moved when you are finished hunting. Call it 686 Zulu time. Anyway with all the explaining I got to their house at 2:50am and it was dark. I have the time to the gate down to within 5 min from leaving Wetumpka. Well we were leaving 20 min late when I finally got them up. No time to stop for a Mt Dew I didn't know what to do. Clay has shot guns befre and killed a couple of deer but he had not shot my youth .20g turkey gun. I explained that it was semi autmatic just like his .22. He could only load 2 shells and if he did shoot a turkey I was going to be up and going to the bird, don't shoot me in the butt.

We got the gate 20 min late and the only saving grace was the fog was thick. When I got out of the truck the cool crisp air filled my nostrils and I heard a gobble to the south. I just grinned and thought I love turkey hunting. We headed down the road and I got one gobbler fired up, as we got ready to set up two more began gobbling. My mistake, got to close with 3 folks and they shut up. We sat there and I could hear drumming and a hen yelping back. Well they moved off the property and another bird gobbled back twords the truck. Hmm head back to the truck or the mile down the road to the cabin. To the cabin we would go. I figured if we struck out that bird would still be in the creek bottom by the truck. We were cutting and running when I stopped and was telling them during deer season I would always see 30 plus turkeys from the stand we were standing next to. I cut one time and loud rasy yelp answered me back, close, danger close. I said sit down now. Clay and I sat together and his dad was behind us. The hen and I were having a nice cnversation when we were interupted by a loud gobble. We were set up on the top of a T with the leg of the T being a long narrow green field and the top being the road. I set Clay with his gun pointing down the field. About 5 min later we had not heard him gobble again, but birds were gobbling in the distance. I purred and clucked and when he gobbled he was close, inside the kill zone. I could hear him drummong but could not see him. Then Clay said I see him. The gun was pointed at 12 and the turkey was at 10 in the woods. I told Clay, don't move, when he went behind a tree I said move your gun. Like he had done it 100 time before the barrell shifted and I knew we were in business. He strutted behind another tree and I said when he comes out, kill him. When he stepped out I whispered wait, wait it was a little thick and he was moving to another clear shooting lane. He strutted into the next shooting lane and I said Kill Him. The gun went off and I was up and moving. It was a 30 yard shot and he stoned him. He was DRT (dead right there). To say we were pumped was an understatement. When I picked up the bird, he and his dad were half way to me and both grinning like a pair of cheshier cats and so was I.

Well after pictures, i had a little work to do on the roads and drop some dead trees before they fell across the road.

I noticed that the bird was shot in the feathers below the neck I know his neck was stretched when he shot. I asked Clay, Did you put the bead where the feathers met the skin. He was honest and said no sir I put it on the big part. I just laughed.

Not bad for a ten year olds first turkey hunt.

[Basser69]

Congrats   

[bowhunter84]

 

[hobbes]

Congrats!

[kansas hooks]

Congrats!!!

[jshively]

My ten year old daughter wanted me to tell you that she is going turkey hunting for Virginia's Youth hunt and hopes to do just as good as you.  Congrats - great story and a great bird!!  At a Boy!

[alloutdoors]

Awesome, seeing a kid get their first bird is something that never gets old. 

[Rio Fan]

Congrats, I bet that kid will remember that hunt for the rest of his life! 

[hookedspur]

Awesome, seeing a kid get their first bird is something that never gets old. 

Great job he is the man 

[Gold Spur]

 

[M,Yingling]

Congrats ,, Nice bird 

[turkeybow]

congrats!!  love seeing when the younger ones bust some heads 

[ncturkey]

Awesome

[joshua]

Congrats.