I was blessed enough to help mentor a father/son this past weekend for one of our local NWTF youth-mentored hunts. Unfortunately, the weather did not play nice but we were able to hunt Saturday. Dad did a good job getting his son prepped for the hunts taking him to the range multiple times and getting a red dot on his 410. Well, we get to the spot about 30 minutes before light and just listen. Nothing, not a sound in the woods except a few chirp birds waking up. I proceed to call sporadically. Another 30 minutes goes by without anything. I was starting to get a little nervous, I wanted the kid to just hear or see a turkey.
Then, I hear some hen yelps off in the distance and immediately start talking back to her. She came in on a string to our decoys and just hung out there happy to find other "birds."
At this point, we had not heard a gobble. However, I was happy. We got to see a bird and talk back and forth to her. So, I keep calling and we wait. Another 30mins goes by........... GOBBLE! 500 yards off. I immediately talk back to him and he responds. GAME ON!!! After a short period, I could tell he was closing the distance. The only problem is it sounded like he was circling behind us at one point but luckily the thick brush kept him from doing so. He gobbles again, really close this time. I tell them to get in position. As soon as the jake sees out decoys he comes in for the kill and starts attacking our jake decoy.
Unfortunately, he missed it. I immediately dropped the phone and started calling, doing what I could to keep the bird close. Luckily he stayed on the jake and continued to fight.
There you have it. Hammer time! It was the day before his 8th birthday and his first animal ever. What a great experience!
Then, I hear some hen yelps off in the distance and immediately start talking back to her. She came in on a string to our decoys and just hung out there happy to find other "birds."
At this point, we had not heard a gobble. However, I was happy. We got to see a bird and talk back and forth to her. So, I keep calling and we wait. Another 30mins goes by........... GOBBLE! 500 yards off. I immediately talk back to him and he responds. GAME ON!!! After a short period, I could tell he was closing the distance. The only problem is it sounded like he was circling behind us at one point but luckily the thick brush kept him from doing so. He gobbles again, really close this time. I tell them to get in position. As soon as the jake sees out decoys he comes in for the kill and starts attacking our jake decoy.
Unfortunately, he missed it. I immediately dropped the phone and started calling, doing what I could to keep the bird close. Luckily he stayed on the jake and continued to fight.
There you have it. Hammer time! It was the day before his 8th birthday and his first animal ever. What a great experience!
