Well. that sucked....lol

[ilovesprig]

​

What a great week-end for the kids at the NWTF youth turkey hunt at the Santa Ysabel Preserve...5 birds were taken overall and lots of memories were made...Saturday was a total wash for my youth hunter...Cold, windy, and only heard a few gobbles at grey light...7 hours of sitting and we never heard or saw a turkey...

...What a trooper he was...
Sunday, I knew going in that things had to change for us to have any chance at a bird...That change would be Tyler Ennis who hunts the zone to the southwest of us...He needed to get a turkey or at least shoot at one...At 7:00 am, I hear the shot from his direction...I told Rylee, "We're in business"...At 8:00 am, we see our first bird...A hen...Then here comes the whole flock...I tell her to get her gun up and safety off (Mossy 500)...29 hens with 3 longbeards are in tow...They're at about 90-100 yds and I started calling to the lead hen...She makes a left turn and here they come...When the 3 toms got to about 70 yds, they see the jake and the laydown hen...The 1st big boy goes into a full sprint mode and his buddies follow...In seconds, they're piling on the DSD jake decoy...I tell her to take her time and wait till they separate...The biggest of the 3 does and she lets loose...A swing and a miss..

...All he does is jump in the air and lands in almost the same spot...Stunned, she forgets to pump the gun...I reach over and get a new shell in...By this time, he has seen us and walks off to 35 yds...Boom!...Another miss...

...At this, I feel really bad for her and I'm actually afraid to say anything...Finally, I look at her and says, "Well, that sucked"...

...I laugh and tell her there's still plenty of time and you never know...Within 30 minutes, I hear another gobble...We finally see him...He's across the road and up the hill...He works his way all the way down, but stops 60 yds short...I thought it was little too far for her, even with TSS...She agreed...Another hour and a half goes by and yep, another gobble...A couple of yelps and he gobbles right back...Minutes later, he shows himself...Her gun is up and he comes strolling in...Kapow!...Rylee has her 1st turkey...A fine jake...Too exciting for words...

Again, thank you to all the mentors, park rangers, and the County of San Diego for allowing this great opportunity for our future hunters.

.

 

[HortoTheSlayer]

​

What a great week-end for the kids at the NWTF youth turkey hunt at the Santa Ysabel Preserve...5 birds were taken overall and lots of memories were made...Saturday was a total wash for my youth hunter...Cold, windy, and only heard a few gobbles at grey light...7 hours of sitting and we never heard or saw a turkey...

...What a trooper he was...
Sunday, I knew going in that things had to change for us to have any chance at a bird...That change would be Tyler Ennis who hunts the zone to the southwest of us...He needed to get a turkey or at least shoot at one...At 7:00 am, I hear the shot from his direction...I told Rylee, "We're in business"...At 8:00 am, we see our first bird...A hen...Then here comes the whole flock...I tell her to get her gun up and safety off (Mossy 500)...29 hens with 3 longbeards are in tow...They're at about 90-100 yds and I started calling to the lead hen...She makes a left turn and here they come...When the 3 toms got to about 70 yds, they see the jake and the laydown hen...The 1st big boy goes into a full sprint mode and his buddies follow...In seconds, they're piling on the DSD jake decoy...I tell her to take her time and wait till they separate...The biggest of the 3 does and she lets loose...A swing and a miss..

...All he does is jump in the air and lands in almost the same spot...Stunned, she forgets to pump the gun...I reach over and get a new shell in...By this time, he has seen us and walks off to 35 yds...Boom!...Another miss...

...At this, I feel really bad for her and I'm actually afraid to say anything...Finally, I look at her and says, "Well, that sucked"...

...I laugh and tell her there's still plenty of time and you never know...Within 30 minutes, I hear another gobble...We finally see him...He's across the road and up the hill...He works his way all the way down, but stops 60 yds short...I thought it was little too far for her, even with TSS...She agreed...Another hour and a half goes by and yep, another gobble...A couple of yelps and he gobbles right back...Minutes later, he shows himself...Her gun is up and he comes strolling in...Kapow!...Rylee has her 1st turkey...A fine jake...Too exciting for words...

Again, thank you to all the mentors, park rangers, and the County of San Diego for allowing this great opportunity for our future hunters.

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Great play by play and man that was suspenseful! Sounds like the birds were willing to play. Awesome stuff

 

[sportyg]

Congrats to all the young hunters and their guides outstanding work and fun times bringing in new hunters.

 

[LeonardoLuis]

That’s awesome! And congrats!


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[HATCHET1]

Nice work stevo..Fun fact..#2,s name is Jake..LOL..way to finish!

 

[CazadorSuerte]

Solid work.

 

[msailor]

Sounds like an adventure those kids will never forget!

 

[Stikbrandon]

Great write up @ilovesprig! Love it