The First Turkey
I had been turkey hunting for several years and had been some what successful. My cousin had just started turkey hunting and asked if I would go with him. We met at our property at daybreak. I had been monitoring a roosting area near the swamp edge.
As we arrived in the woods, I let out a few soft yelps to see if a turkey was near by. There was a very loud response just across the swamp. The swamp was full of water and deep. From previous experience hunting on this section of our property, most of the time the turkeys would circle around the swamp instead of flying over it.
We decided to be quiet and circle around the swamp in a shallow location. Upon making our way across, I again let out a few soft yelps with a diaphragm call followed by a slate call. The explosive gobble response let us know we were on the right path. The gobbler was heading towards us and fast. I told my cousin to move ahead about forty yards while I stayed back.
I continued to soft yelp while my cousin put a decoy out and found a tree to lean against. Actually I didn’t think we needed the decoy since the gobbler was only about 100 yards out. As I watched nervously, I hoped my cousin would get situated before it was too late. I stopped yelping and began only purring on the slate call. With each purr, the gobbler would respond with a loud gobble.
As I watched my cousin, my heart started pounding as I knew the gobbler was just out of sight. My cousin raised his gun to his knee. I purred again and another explosive gobble answered. I saw the barrel of my cousins shotgun began to move as his knees began to shake. One more purr, one more gobble, bang!
My cousin jumped up and ran out of sight. He started yelling “I got him”. As I walked over to him I could see he was still shaking. He had a big smile on his face. He shook my hand and thanked me. We both knew that he was a turkey hunter for life now. As we left the woods he couldn’t stop talking about the morning hunt. It was truly a successful turkey hunting experience for both of us. 18 pounds, 10 inch beard, 1 inch spurs.
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