This spring neither the granddaughter or grandson could hunt the youth day due to other commitments. We had working at the Q a young man (Ken) working with the wildlife department through VA Tech. VA Tech has a contract with the base that allows recent graduates to work with the wildlife department that are starting thier careers. They have 2 positions there for them. Most remain there for at least 1 year and the longest I seen was 5 years. Ken who never hunted before his whole life was really getting into hunting since he arrived last summer. So the State has the apprentice program that if they never hunted before in VA or any other non resident that has never held a VA license before no matter thier age can purchase an Apprentice Lic. Well Ken got one last year and the first day he went deer hunting ever another hunter on the Q took him out on the deer youth apprentice day and he shot a nice 8 poniter. So on apprentice day/youth since either of my grandkids could make it Ken jumped at the chance.
We arrived at the listening post and waited for light. I gave a single owl hoot and was expecting to hear 3 or 4 birds but only heard one. He was on a ridge about 250 yards from the woods road we were listening from. Being the woods was open we made it down the trail about 50 yards and got set up. I put out a standing hen and Jake decoy (DSD). I then had him sit in front of me and gave a tree call. The bird gobbled. Also sitting in front of me I could tell him the call I was making and why. I was explaining everything I was doing calling not calling and why. My next call was a fly down and he gobbled. The bird finally flew down and proceeded to gobble. I responded with a cluck and soft yelp. He did not answer. He then gobbled on his own when he did I cut him off with some cuts and yelps. He then started the old back and forth on the ridge gobbling now and then with me throwing in a couple soft clucks and yelps but he was not really responding right away to the calls. He kept this up for about 40 minutes when he gobbled further away. I broke out the magic box and got him turned back. Again he stayed on his ridge about 150 yards out. I told Ken I am going to fire him up and put some cuts and yelps on him and he double and trippled gobbled back. I told Ken he is going to come. Ken told me later he thought right, why hasn't he already come.
It was quite for the next 10 minutes and then he gobbled closer. I then gave a couple clucks and shut up. 10 minutes later I seen the white head coming up the slope to the right front towards the decoys on the road. I told Ken and he seen him. I told Ken to take the first good shot when he could. The bird appeared and started to strut. He moved towards the decoys about 20 yards out and told Ken to shot. Ken made one final adjustment to get a shot and pulled the trigger. The bird went down like a sack of potatoes. We got to the bird and just admired the whole event that unfolded. I ask Ken if he was excited or nervous, he said some but what he was most impressed with was the calling, the bird responding and how and why I was making the calls I was at the time. Now this was his first turkey hunt ever and he stated that to him the whole trill of the hunt was the calling, different types of calling and why and the bird responding. He said, he wants to learn the calling and since then he has gone full tilt into calling and in fact hunted a couple more times with others the rest of the season. He actually had 2 very close calls and should have had a shot but he said he learned a lot from that.
A nice 3 year old bird for his first. Another guy with a horseshoe.
Earl