Grandson, First Turkey, Bradley Co, April 17th

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hookset

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
461
Location
Cleveland
First of all, I never have been so proud and happy for the way my grandson Robert kept such a calmness during an exciting situation. I felt like the student instead of the teacher on this day. He acted like a true vetern woodsman on this hunt.
My cousin-in law had given me permission to turkey hunt this past weekend on his property with my grandson. I scouted the area on the previous Thursday and had two different birds hammering away pretty good so I left them alone and figured they would still be in the general area come Saturday. Well, it was even better Saturday than expected. As it was beaking day a bird flew off the roost from the tree beside us. I thought we were busted by the bird I had heard a few days ago. We sat there and I called till 8:15am or so and never got a response from any bird so we decided to move. As we were walking down an old road I pulled my box call out and hit a couple of times. From where we had just left a bird gobbled. We cut a trail back to intercept. The bird must have been just over the hill and gobbling away from us for we kinda ran into each other. My grandson saw him first and when the bird turned and ran he made the comment that they sure can run fast. Game over for that bird.
We had returned back to the logging road and was slipping along. I noticed movement ahead and it was two hens feeding along. I hit the call a couple of times in hopes a gobbler might be with them lagging behind and we had their attention until grandson moved. After the two birds moved off we eased down the road a bit further. I pulled the ole box call out again and clucked, yelped, purred then yelped again. There was a double gobble. I told robert it was either an old bird double gobbling or more than one bird. We set up our decoys as quick as we could then I put him at a big oak tree and I got just to the side of him. I hit the call again and the woods thundered! I hit the call again and I got "elbowed" and "Shooooshed" by the ten year old. That is when I saw movement. One bird then another and another. Three gobblers stepped into the road. One bird went the opposite direction and the other two came down the road towards the decoys. They stopped about 15 yards from them but they were right in front of us. Robert whispered, "You want me to shoot one?" I told him bust one. The 20 gauge blasted and a bird was on the ground. It was a 14 pound jake with a 4 inch blond beard.
I had chose not to carry a gun and to let it be all about my grandson on this hunt. I thought in hindsight how cool if we had of both harvested birds but it could not have been more exciting to me than it was. Robert's excitment didn't kick in till we got to the bird then he started shaking and we were high fiving.
I'll try to post pictures soon. My grandson will be the short one behind all the teeth.
 
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