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A Morning I Will Never Forgot, First Turkey Ever

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
May 1, 2015.
A Morning I Will Never Forget
I have never hunted turkeys prior to this year, but watching videos of Grant Woods and Michael Waddell calling in a big ol’ long beard sparked my now growing fire for turkey hunting. Now, I do not have a lot of property to hunt at all but the spot that I do I try and do everything I can to make every square foot count. My parents own 5 acres in Geauga County Ohio, the house is about 300 feet back from the road, than about 1.5 acres are cleared out for the house, than behind that is my paradise, about 2.5 acres of woods for my hunting needs. There are huge oak trees that produces massive amounts of acorns, a stream about 4 foot wide that runs around my food plot than down to around the house, than my food plot at the very back that is about an acre of open space. I planted Mossy Oak Biologic Winter Bulbs and Sugar Beets, along with Biologic Hot Spot in the late summer of 2014. There are blackberry bushes surrounding the property creating great cover for the deer and turkeys along with 4 hand cut openings for easy access for deer and turkeys. A person once told me that it’s not about having large acreage of okay land, it’s about having good quality land wither it is small or large, so that is what I sought after to do. After a long and harsh winter oat, rye and clover started to emerge, little did I know I was not only creating a haven for deer to feast, but for turkeys to feed and strut in the plot, and also scratch in the wooded sections of oak trees. Around late March I had a trail camera on a mineral sight when one day three hens showed up on camera scratching in the leaves in front of the camera. I thought this was so cool. In the second week of April I was getting daily pictures of hens, jakes, and three long beards all either scratching, meandering around, or strutting. I knew once I saw that first picture of two Toms in full strut I had to give turkey hunting a whirl to see if I could manage to harvest such a beautiful creature.
When opening day came I knew I had to be in the woods, with my Hoyt Maxxis 35, Easton Injexion arrows, and NAP Spitfire Maxx broadheads I set out to my makeshift blind for my first hunt ever. I settled into my blind at around 6:00 am and just as I did the sun started to peek through the trees, turning the sky from dark blue, to a water painted sky of yellow, pink, purple, and light blues. The birds came to life, squirrels were up and about and then, I heard my first gobble ever. My heart was racing as I knew what path he was going to take, I grabbed my bow and hooked my TruFire Hardcore Max release onto my loop and sat as still as I could be. He gobbled some more and through the thick woods emerged a black silhouette of a Tom, full strut, glistening in the rays from the sun, and heading my way. He gobbled one more time, strutted up, and down he came right towards me. He slipped behind a tree, I went to draw and when I looked back up, he was on his was out in full sprint. My heart sank because I knew I just spooked him and now my opportunity to harvest him was blown. I let down in frustration, grabbed my stuff and headed back to the house. I had underestimated the eyesight of a turkey which was very stupid as they have one of the best eye sights. I said the heck with my pride I’m going shotgun; I ran up to Gander Mountain and purchased a box of Winchester Double X 12g 3inch number 5’s and was off to pattern my Winchester SXP. After getting amazing patterns with my gun at 20, 30, and 40 yards I knew next time I would be ready for ol’ Tommy boy. I went a week straight not seeing a single Tom, I heard them in the distance but they never ventured in when I was out there. I left for college and every morning I would look back and just sigh in disbelief when I would see two, three, or onetime four Toms strutting around in the food plot, just taunting me. That would soon change though.
May 1, 2015 I woke up like every other time I went out; woke up, checked my phone, make breakfast, grab my shotgun, get dressed and off I was. I got settled in at around 6 and not 30 minutes went by and off behind my right shoulder I heard a Tom gobble. My heart rate increases and my hands and legs start to shake as I get situated waiting for him to enter the food plot. He gobbled about 10 more times, everytime getting closer and louder. My heart was racing at a mile a minute, I was shaking like a dead leaf on a tree in Kansas in a tornado as he slowly made his way toward me. Then I hear a gobble, one that was the loudest, longest, and closest I have ever heard before come right over my right shoulder. I was surprised my heart didn’t scare him off, it sounded like one of those drums beating at a Indians game, getting louder, beating harder and faster every beat. Out of my peripheral vision in my right eye I see a black creature emerge from the woods, through the blackberry bush line, at about 10 feet away. I tried my hardest not to move my head as he entered the plot. He soon came to full vision, a large 2 year old Tom in full strut in search of a hen. I waited as he turned to his right, which allowed me to shoulder my shotgun and aim, waiting for him to turn back around. He soon turned, exposing his sky blue and scarlet red mixed head, I placed the bead on his head and squeezed the trigger. Now, let me tell you at about 15 yards those Double X number 5’s almost completely decapitated him. He flailed his wings and hit the ground like a ton of bricks. A tsunami of emotions hit me, feeling of happiness, excitement, disbelief, and gratefulness settled in. I gave him about 5 minutes to expire as I was still dealing with my emotions and when I went over to him and got my hands on him humbleness settled in. I realized that I have an opportunity that some people only dream of, to be able to walk right into your back yard and be able to hunt ample amounts of wildlife. I soon after thanked God for letting me be able to harvest such an intricate and beautiful creature that he put on this Earth for me to harvest. The first person I called was my girlfriend’s, Marissa’s, father. I told him the story and he congratulated me my first turkey ever. I picked up my trophy and off to the house I went to show my parents my accomplishment. My father was on the phone with his boss and I went up to the window and knocked on the window with the feet of the turkey and he about dropped his phone and I heard him through the glass say, “ Holy smokes, you’re never going to believe this but my son just got a turkey and he is showing me it through the window”. I smiled and just went to the front yard to set up to take pictures to honor this bird and the experience that he allowed me to have. My mom came outside and took pictures and we admired the intricate work this turkey had. The amazing color in the feathers of blues, greens, and oranges that shifted and changed with the sunlight, the 8 inch beard and ¾ inch spurs he had on him, and the brown fan with mixes of whites and blacks in the feathers. This was more than just killing an animal for the sake of killing it, it was about the time and effort to maximize the potential of the land I have to hunt, the experience to hear Tom’s gobble and strut just yards away from you, and to get outside and experience what the creator of our existence has put on this Earth for us. I will honor this bird for the rest of my life with a full body mount of him flying in my room where he will be shown off to family member and friends. He may not be the biggest or most impressive to some, but to me he is perfect and gave me an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. I encourage anyone who is debating about going out, or thinking about taking someone out to do so, let them experience the wonders of the outdoors so it can be passed on for generations to come.

 
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xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,633
234
Licking Co. Ohio
That is Awesome! And I sure enjoyed the write up as well. Reminds me of my first encounter with a Turkey. He came in at about 7 yards to my left. I moved my eyes to see how big he was (I had my crossbow anchored on the decoy) and he was GONE! Learned a lot about their eyesight that day!
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,745
274
North Carolina
Congrats on your turkey.... Great write-up and your beard really matches the fan!!!!! :smiley_coolpeace: