Since we had the most embarassing hunt lets do the most memorable hunt! I know we all have plenty but theres always one that sticks out the most! The one for me is when Shane(son) killed his first bird! It wasnt the biggest but man was i a happy Dad! We were setup in a flat and been working these birds for awhile then 3 jakes finally broke loose and headed our way. I had Shane in between my legs and was hoping that today was going to be the day! They worked there way to about 15 yds away and Shanes gun barrell was doing alot of moving! Finally one stepped out from behind a big red oak and Shane pulled the trigger and down he went. I jumped up and took off toward the bird and my foot got caught up in a downed limb and looked like i was sliding into home base We gave each other high 5'slike he had killed the biggest bird in Va! I have told this to alot of people but when your kid starts hunting with you theres no doubt that is the best hunting period in your life!! Heres a pic of that monster bird!!

Doug

This past fall I got my first bow kill not the biggest deer she was right around 115 lb's but the most memorable thing about that day is that I found out that morning a few minutes after I shot the deer that I am going to be a dad

Has to be Abby's first gobbler... But I can think of a bunch of VERY memorable hunts.

Maybe I will sit down and do a top 10!

I have a few .. the one with my Dad and Cousin was one of the most memorable and beautiful hunts I can remember..

But it has to be just last year .. my son Luke's First Turkey .. and he showed me up by killing it with Archery Equipment something I have never done..and I got it on Video ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PI9hDqAZb8

Man, thats a hard one. Way to many. But I guess the times with my grandfather on cold moutains turkey hunting in the fall/winter and him opening his haversack up and starting a fire and making lunch. Just him and me talking like we were just best friends.


Earl

I would say every hunt with my son. I know all of you hunting with your children know exactly what I mean; its like starting all over again but this time through your child, which makes it even more special. WVBOY, that video was awesome!

Having said that I have two hunts in particular that stand out above the rest with Ryan. The first was Ryan's first season (when he was 8 yrs old - 2007). What a blast we had; I called in 8 different gobblers for Ryan (6 longbeards, 2 jakes) before he killed #9 the last week of the season. It was a learning experience for both of us; youth day I called in 2 longbeards and Ryan's gun wouldn't go off because the release button for the action on his 870 hit his shooting stick and disengaged the action. Then I called in multiple longbeards on multiple days all of which came well within range but Ryan couldn't see them, or didn't have a clear shot, or it came in on the wrong side, etc. Then Ryan missed a jake because I got too excited and misjudged the distance (my bad) and told him to shoot too soon. Finally it all came together and he smashed a beauty the last Wednesday of our season. 21 lbs, 10 1/4" beard, and 7/8" spurs.



The second was a hunt with Ryan in VA when he was 9 yrs old. We came down the second week of season and we were hunting public land in the GWNF. We heard a bird first thing on the roost and we worked that bird from daylight until quitting time; that's a long morning for a 9 yr old but he hung in there. We moved on the bird 3 or 4 different times and he gobbled all morning. I finally called him in but he hung up at about 45 yards, which is just a little too far for Ryan's 20 ga. so he couldn't shoot. The last hour we had the bird within 60 yards in plain view and like I said, he never got closer than 45 yards. He had 2 hens and they were feeding all over between 50-70 yards and he was torn between them and our calling and kept spinning for both of us but finally the girls won out and 45 was as close as he'd get. When noon came I told Ryan quitting time was here and we managed to slide his gun down without spooking the birds and just there another hour watching the bird with his girlfriends before he finally walked off about 1pm. The entire way back to the truck Ryan never stopped talking about the morning; maybe because he had to be quiet for 7 hrs prior to that and it was all bottled up inside? LOL Anyway, what I remember most was getting back to the truck and Ryan looking at me and saying, "wow, that was fun!' It just doesn't get any better than that. Ryan is 13 now and still talks about that one morning all the time; its the "one that got away" and its one of his favorite hunts. Priceless.

Great post Doug! Thanks for letting me share.

-Eric

I'd say the gobbler I killed in 07... Came struttin in from about 100 yards threw the hard woods...