Now and Then

[strum]

This post really brings in some good memories.
My first season and maybe second day  I called a gobbler with a boxcutter I had picked up at walmart the day before.
He came off the limb headed straight for me. I just kept whackin on that call as he was comming.
  he decided that wasnt right and went the other way. I was hooked.
  That season I made every mistake in the book. Missed 3 birds. I dont even know how I missed but I did.
On the very last day of that season I had a Ben Lee Super Hen. My mentor had taght me to be very conservative calling so  I would call a couple of yelps and maybe a cluck or two and wait 15 mins.
Around 9 am I heard a gobbler way off. I never wrapped my head around he was answering me. He seemed so far that I'd just wait 15mins and do the call sequence never thinking he was coming.
By about 10:30 i was ready to pack it in and gave the sequence one more go. Bam!! he answered at 80 yards. I about had a heart attack.  Then I saw him .  I had been taught at that point to put the call down .
So thats what I did and got my gun ready. He took his own sweet time which began to feel like eternity to me. Finally he got within gun range and i clicked the safety off.  He heard it and stopped. Crap I done blew it again I was thinking but after a very long pause he advanced just enough. I didnt miss that time.
That was the most excited Ive ever been on a hunt. So like you guys almost 20 years later and who knows how much money on calls and gear here I am waiting on opening day like a kid waiting on Christmas.
I told my wife I have all I need so I wont be spending any money on gear this year.  Weeeeelll  I done bought 2 new tube calls .. Yall now how it is. 

[eggshell]

I appreciate the primer of memories. I will reflect most fondly on My very first hunt that had plenty of drama and no kill. It was in 1971 and Ohio had a three day season, tags were free if you applied and was drawn. It was so new that I don't think they even issued all of the 500 tag limit. I remeber only 48 birds were bagged statewide. You could name a buddy to hunt along with you. My grouse hunting buddy and I were the team. I had no clue how to hunt them and there certainly wasn't any videos. It was hard to even find a magazine article. This is pre NWTF. I finally found an old Virginia mountain hunter who really only killed them while fall hunting in the Va. mountains. He shared with me what he new of spring hunting and gave me a Rodes box call (like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/157249180618 ) and it had instructions in it. Opening day came and we ventured out on the family farm where I had heard a gobble. No camouflage just our grouse hunting gear and grouse guns. To our surprise a bird gobbled and I stroked the box like the instructions said, and it reminded me of the squawking of a chicken when you grabbed it. I just kept squawking and the gobbles got closer. Then it got quiet and we thought he had left. Then my buddy turns and says, "I see one". I asked, "is it a gobbler", and he replied "how do you tell if it's not gobbling". You should know I am 16 years old at this time. I replied, "It's supposed to have a red head (that info came on our license) and he replied "it's got a blue head" and I said "then it's a hen don't shoot it". Then it walked away and gobbled over the hill, it had been 20 yards when he saw it. We both felt like clowns. However, that put a resolve in my soul that initiated 54 years of turkey hunting. It took me a couple more years to shoot my first one, but it wasn't as exciting as that first hunt ever. Within just 4-5 years turkey hunting took off and I became the local expert by default, man I had a whole circus of clowns around me, but was like any other circus, "FUN AS HECK". Nine states, a grand slam, dozens of new friends and thousand upon thousands of dollars and yeah a lot of dead turkeys I have loved every minute of it. I nominate my wife of 45 years for a special award "The Nobel Turkey wife award" for putting up with all those years of near lunacy.