A Big Fall Turkey Season

Few things are more fulfilling than hunting with your kids and this year I was going to get to hunt with 2 out of the 3. Mabel (9) has harvested a couple spring birds already but this was going to be June’s (6) first time up. Was just a couple weeks from turning 7 but she was hoping to get one before then so she could say she was younger than Mabel. Her interest level, size, and maturity seemed like it would be worthwhile to give it a shot.

But not without some practice first. June has shot the BB gun and 22 some, but the 20 gauge would be a new beast. All this couldn’t be accomplished without the BOG Death Grip Tripod either. Both to steady up the shot and absorb some of the recoil. This was a serious trip to get things dialed in and I was excited to find out if she was ready. The .22 and the red dot is so easy for them, I could probably make it easy and put a red dot on the shotgun too. However, I think there is something to be said about learning to shoot down the barrel with the bead. I hope that turns them into better and more instinctual shooters on down the road. First pop of the 20 gauge and it definitely startled her. But she locked in and stayed focused on making good shots and not the recoil. It took a moment to get used to getting down far enough on the barrel. But we got it accomplished on shot number 5 and that was good enough. The trick for her was to lower herself down enough that the bead disappeared behind the receiver and then raise back up to just where it was visible. That was the end of shooting high and we just needed to get some turkey scouting in.

We found some birds and hung a camera on their likely travel route. We backed out and were hoping to set up an evening hunt in the next few days. I think there are a few ways to target fall birds but for us it is like deer hunting. The birds on our farms hang out in huge groups and have feeding/roosting areas. I’ve hunted these farms for a couple years now so I’ve got their paths figured out pretty well and you just hope you set up on the right path back to the roost. These are super active blueberry farms though so there is always the potential that farming may bump them around, making them less predictable.

We chose a beautiful night to head out for her first hunt. She was so excited that she never stopped speaking the entire 15 minute ride there. We found the birds in the feeding area and setup along the travel route. We used a pop up blind for this hunt and it is always tricky on where to set it up for kids. I want to be well hidden but also have some warning the birds are coming, especially with a new shooter. This particular set up would give us warning and allow June to move around and get ready. By the time the birds popped out next they would be 20 yards out and in the danger zone. With the birds in the right spot this hunt had an extremely high likelihood of an opportunity, we just had to wait.

On sunny nights it seems like the shadows have to hit the field for it to trigger their migration back to the roost. The shadows hit, the time got right, and I spotted the first birds making their way through the berries. We weren’t there to discriminate between hens and toms on this fall hunt. But it has been all toms so far this season, usually a little later on big groups of hens use the property too. The big group of toms was making their way to us and they were moving pretty quickly. They got behind the island of brush and June was ready. You could absolutely get picky and wait for the birds with magnum beards but when the first one popped out all by itself, I knew it was the one. A lot less confusion with one bird in view and total focus. I stopped the bird with one little cluck and June took care of the rest. She made some sort of noise of excitement, put the gun on safety, and then it was time to celebrate. If I thought the excited talking on the way to the hunt was a lot. I hadn’t seen anything yet. I had to turn around to get our celebratory Wesco slushies because I was too caught up in the excitement and her talking that I drove right by it. It was a perfect night and we took our time getting some photos, putting another trail cam up, and just enjoying the moment. One of the first things she asked was when can we go again and she was not thrilled with we have to wait until spring. That’s the only bad part about being successful on the first try is your season is over. But she was excited that she could at least go on some more hunts as a spectator. It was a big night for both of us and I couldn’t be more proud!

The best part is I had another kid ready to go and we were going to get out there a week later, hoping for the same results. We tried for Mabel last fall too but for whatever reason the birds would never be where they were supposed to be or choose a different trail back to the roost. The first hunt this year would be no different, the birds were no where to be found and while we hoped they were just hidden somewhere we never saw them. Weather was garbage for out next trip. Rain, lots of rain, however fall turkeys love rain and it is a good feeding opportunity for them. These birds are packing on the feed big time and I think the moist conditions helps them get these little “roots” out of the soil easier. They are jam packed with them, some clover/grass, and a few acorns. A turkeys crop makes it really easy to determine what they’ve been feeding on and is something I always check, because “the more you know”. This time the rain was too much and our plan was only to hunt if we could see them in the feeding area. A quick look turned up nothing but they must have been deep in the berries somewhere because they did show up on camera. All good, who wants to clean a wet turkey anyway.

Things would be more challenging on our next try. Amanda was out of town for a girls getaway with her mom and sister. But we weren’t going to let that slow us down. If the 4 of us could get a deer last year, we could get a turkey too. This time 2 of the 3 girls were pro status it was just that 4 year that we had to control. Spirits were high when we found the birds feeding but we knew it would be a bit of a wait with the bright skies. Every minute a 4 year old has to sit still is another minute filled with challenges. Fortunately Millie did pretty good except when we got birds around us. June spotted the birds first and they were coming from a little different angle than hers were. They were heading right to the hot zone though if we could just keep the pitter patter of feat from spooking them. The first 3 birds that went through were moving quick and were just magnums. Mabel wasn’t prepared for the moving shot and they got through. With all the Millie stuff going on I hadn’t had a chance to stop them. Mabel was locked in and ready for the next one that came through. This wasn’t on the same level as the others but was a very nice bird. One big boom and we had another turkey down, and 4 excited people in the blind. Including one that was visibily shaking and very excited for her 3rd turkey. Someday she will realize it was pretty special to kill that bird with her sisters in the blind but it will take a while for that to set in.  We got some pictures, Millie declared it “the best night ever”, and we got our celebratory Wesco slushies. It was a pretty epic night if you ask me!

The only bummer about successful hunts is that hunting is over with. I hoped I would get a chance to take my nephews out or put another dad/youth combo on these birds. None of that ever materialized and the later in the year it gets the more unpredictable the birds get. I did go round up a nice bird for myself eventually but the hunt went a lot different than the girls did. Sitting in the blind doesn’t work as well and it is more about finding the birds and anticipating their next unpredictable move. We’ve got some freedom to experiment with turkey recipes this fall and it is going to be fun. Turkey leg/thigh/wing chili verde is up for tonight.