My middle son, who just finished a tour in the Army last summer, told me last week he would like to go turkey hunting today, which happens to be his birthday. Of course I happily agreed as he hasn't turkey hunted ever and has never before expressed much interest in it before (maybe it was hearing about his nephew bagging a great one during youth season). We worked out the timing last night and I decided to go back where I killed the bird yesterday and try to get the one that was doing the most gobbling initially. We arrived at the spot well before dayligh in a light rain and set up a blind, and I set my hen decoys in a string so that it looked like they were working their way across the field we set up on. Heard no gobbling at daybreak but did hear some hen noises in the bottom to our left a few minutes after. I thought they might have a gobbler with them so I started some light cuts and yelps to try to start a friendly conversation. Almost immediately we hear a gobble in the bottom to our right, and I start calling more plaintively. He continues to gobble back all the while moving around behind us to our left, then he stops moving. I told my son that I was gonna go silent and try to play on his curiosity. After 10 minutes he gobbled about 75 yards below and to our left and I told my son to get ready because he was coming in. Looking through an opening in the blind I see him step into view about 40 yards away. He stops at edge of the field and looks the scene over, then starts toward my decoys and begins to go into strut. I tell my son to lean towards me so he can see the bird and to shoot when he can get the reticle on his head. He cuts loose when the tom gets to about 30 yards from us and bowls him over on his back. As I rush out of blind to look at the bird I hear my son ask if I have any tissue. I thought, well maybe he got excited by the whole thing and, well you know. Looking back at him I can see blood on his face where the optics bit him as he scrunched down and leaned to get the shot. It wasn't very serious and I apologized for not warning him about getting too close earlier. When all was said and done he had a nice 2 year old bird and we both have memories of a great experience together. I told him later to not think it always comes this easy or this quickly, because that is the exception and not the rule. What a week I've been blessed with, both my son and grandson took their first birds with me sitting beside them and I was fortunate enough to take 2 of my own. Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming.
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