Youth Hunts.....It never Gets Old.

[ilovesprig]

After not getting a bird yesterday and being so close....I started out this morning with high expectations for my youth hunter (Victor)...We weren't disappointed....The flydown was about the same as yesterday, but what was different was the lack of traffic & humans near by.....Very quiet and at about an hour, I got a tom gobbling back....I hit him one more time on the box call and once on the diaphragm....The gobbles were closer and now it was up to them....10 minutes go by and I told Vic not to move because they could come in silent....I had no sooner said that when I saw the top of a big fan coming out of the river bottom....And what was even better was when the 2nd fan was spotted.....The 2 big boys couldn't get to the jake decoy fast enough.....Vic's gun was still down low, but I told him we had plenty of time as they started circling and hitting the poor DSD jake and hen decoys.....He then raised his gun and I told him, when they separate take the bigger of the two....Well as the smaller of the two came out of strut he fired.....He dropped him and no problem....Beautiful gobbler, 19 1/2 lbs, 8 1/2" beard, and and 3/4" spurs....Like I said, it never gets old.....I think I was shaking as bad as Vic........

ps.....Thought I was videoing this, but apparently not.....Here's a few "stills".......

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[Bonejour]

That's great! Congrats Steve, and thanks for all you do for these kids.

 

[Chadwick]

Awesome job! You are exactly what these kids need!

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

Awesome!

 

[ilovesprig]

Thanks guys.......It's better than pulling the trigger yourself........

And it's not really always about just killing one either......My Saturday child had never been turkey hunting either.....We had a big old boy get within 52.5 yds and it just wasn't an ethical shot. He totally understood and that teaches them much about the life we live.

I can tell you this......He was ready......

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[NBK]

Very cool... 8)

 

[baboltin]

that's awesome, congrats to him on his turkey !

 

[SpiritOTM]

Congrats to Victor Steve. He couldn't of had a better Mentor.

 

[Vermonster]

Nice birds! Congrats to both of them, even the unsuccessful one........ And I almost had a heart attack with my son's hunt Saturday Steve, I can't imagine what it would be like to experience that multiple times a season year after year. You're great for doing this!

 

[Matagi]

Awesome hunt Steve! Glad you guys were able to pull some birds out of there. Yusuke is definitely going to sign up next year.

 

[ilovesprig]

Thanks Gen,

Talked with Ed Z......Sorry to hear about your encounter on "pubic" land......

 

[Matagi]

Haha yeah it was not a good experience for the kids. I'm amazed at the attitude of some "adults". No concept of sportsmanship or hunter ethics. The great thing was, we had a big mature Tom within 50 yards of Yusuke on public land and heard good gobbling both days. It turned out to be a great learning experience.

 

[Lungpopper]

Congrats to your hunter.

 

[Bonejour]

You are setting a great
example for your boy Gen. That guy's a fool.