Post by bsutravis on Apr 18, 2010 17:23:32 GMT -5
WOW....... what an amazing weekend again as my son Kyle went on his first turkey hunt ever with the assistance of the Freedom Hunt. I cannot thank Steve Griffey (hunter7x) enough for the amazing time that he and all the volunteers provide these kids. I believe 13 or 14 kids, all of who are dealing with a multitude of health issues & situations that children should just not have to deal with were given a wonderful weekend of fun and hunting. Everyone should get to experience the things that the Freedom Hunt provides..... it's as rewarding for the parents and volunteers as it is for the kids.
From the top... my son could barely contain his enthusiasm on Friday night as his guide Aaron described the next morning's setup. Aaron wound my son up as tight as possible and Kyle went to bed with all the dreams that we turkey hunters dream of as we try to sleep before opening morning. The next morning, after very little sleep the alarm went off at 4am and all the hunters grabbed some snacks and headed afield. We had a 30 minute drive followed by a 15 minute walk to our set up location. The morning twilight summoned a chorus of gobblers in all directions. We had at least 6 different gobblers within 300-400 yards. We all were in heaven just listening to the singing. As what seems is par for the course, the birds went stealth when they hit the ground, and the only "action" we had was a hen that came into the dekes and gave my son some heart tremors before she faded away into the corn stubble. After a 5 hour sit in the blind we retreated to the camp for lunch....hoping the evening would bring better luck.
Our guide had watched a longbeard at the spot we were sitting in the evening prior...so we arrived at the same location as the morning at about 3pm. It was almost a carbon copy of the morning, with a hen visiting briefly, but she wandered away. The sun had sunk below the trees and we were planning our strategy for the next morning. I was mid-sentence saying, "How lucky would we have to be right now for one to just wander by on his way to the roost........" when my son perked up and said there was a turkey to our left. All of us in the blind, myself, Kyle,guide Aaron, and cameraman Brent turned in the direction Kyle was looking and sure enough....75 yards away was a turkey in the stubble! Aaron glassed the bird and our hearts began their rise to high gear as it was declared that it was a tom, and it was a longbeard!!!
I got the gun on the shooting sticks that the Freedom Hunt gave each hunter as a gift.... We had practiced with my 12 gauge Mossberg turkey gun and Kyle had connected consistently out to 50 yards.... but never with a live turkey! The gobbler came closer to the decoys, but seemed like he didn't feel like beating up the strutting jake deke that was accompanying the hen decoy. He stayed out and was drifting left to right, occasionally looking a the decoys....and now he was at our 12 o'clock position and moving towards 1 o'clock. We decided the gobbler wasn't getting any closer so we gave Kyle the go ahead for the shot... Kyle spun himself when the bird pecked the ground and got into a comfy position....and aimed through the mesh window.
I don't even remember the gun's blast, but all the sudden we erupted as the bird tumbled in his tracks! I grabbed the gun from Kyle and ejected both shells as I simultaneously hugged him. His voice was choked up as he nearly cried with emotion. We all were going bananas as Aaron grabbed the front of the blind and just threw it backwards. The bird still had some flapping in him so I tossed a shell back into the gun and gave it back to Kyle as we made our stalk. A knee to the chest of of the downed bird finished him off and now the real celebration began. I paced the shot off at 50 yards, and the 3" shell dumped plenty of #5's into his head, neck and chest. I was tickled that Kyle's nerves held and he made that shot in real life!
What absolute joy it is to see a kid do something that we all love so much. There are few moments in life that you remember forever, and like my first turkey I know Kyle will always remember every moment of yesterday's hunt. The gobbler weighed in at 24.5lbs, had 17mm spurs, and an 8 inch rope. I can't tell you all enough how amazing the Freedom Hunt is.... after last years success at the Freedom Hunt Deer Camp, I have seen some awesome things! Kyle and myself cannot thank Steve and everyone who gave so much for these kids so they can have the same experiences that we all take for granted every time we walk into the woods. Bravo Freedom Hunt!!!!!!!!
From the top... my son could barely contain his enthusiasm on Friday night as his guide Aaron described the next morning's setup. Aaron wound my son up as tight as possible and Kyle went to bed with all the dreams that we turkey hunters dream of as we try to sleep before opening morning. The next morning, after very little sleep the alarm went off at 4am and all the hunters grabbed some snacks and headed afield. We had a 30 minute drive followed by a 15 minute walk to our set up location. The morning twilight summoned a chorus of gobblers in all directions. We had at least 6 different gobblers within 300-400 yards. We all were in heaven just listening to the singing. As what seems is par for the course, the birds went stealth when they hit the ground, and the only "action" we had was a hen that came into the dekes and gave my son some heart tremors before she faded away into the corn stubble. After a 5 hour sit in the blind we retreated to the camp for lunch....hoping the evening would bring better luck.
Our guide had watched a longbeard at the spot we were sitting in the evening prior...so we arrived at the same location as the morning at about 3pm. It was almost a carbon copy of the morning, with a hen visiting briefly, but she wandered away. The sun had sunk below the trees and we were planning our strategy for the next morning. I was mid-sentence saying, "How lucky would we have to be right now for one to just wander by on his way to the roost........" when my son perked up and said there was a turkey to our left. All of us in the blind, myself, Kyle,guide Aaron, and cameraman Brent turned in the direction Kyle was looking and sure enough....75 yards away was a turkey in the stubble! Aaron glassed the bird and our hearts began their rise to high gear as it was declared that it was a tom, and it was a longbeard!!!
I got the gun on the shooting sticks that the Freedom Hunt gave each hunter as a gift.... We had practiced with my 12 gauge Mossberg turkey gun and Kyle had connected consistently out to 50 yards.... but never with a live turkey! The gobbler came closer to the decoys, but seemed like he didn't feel like beating up the strutting jake deke that was accompanying the hen decoy. He stayed out and was drifting left to right, occasionally looking a the decoys....and now he was at our 12 o'clock position and moving towards 1 o'clock. We decided the gobbler wasn't getting any closer so we gave Kyle the go ahead for the shot... Kyle spun himself when the bird pecked the ground and got into a comfy position....and aimed through the mesh window.
I don't even remember the gun's blast, but all the sudden we erupted as the bird tumbled in his tracks! I grabbed the gun from Kyle and ejected both shells as I simultaneously hugged him. His voice was choked up as he nearly cried with emotion. We all were going bananas as Aaron grabbed the front of the blind and just threw it backwards. The bird still had some flapping in him so I tossed a shell back into the gun and gave it back to Kyle as we made our stalk. A knee to the chest of of the downed bird finished him off and now the real celebration began. I paced the shot off at 50 yards, and the 3" shell dumped plenty of #5's into his head, neck and chest. I was tickled that Kyle's nerves held and he made that shot in real life!
What absolute joy it is to see a kid do something that we all love so much. There are few moments in life that you remember forever, and like my first turkey I know Kyle will always remember every moment of yesterday's hunt. The gobbler weighed in at 24.5lbs, had 17mm spurs, and an 8 inch rope. I can't tell you all enough how amazing the Freedom Hunt is.... after last years success at the Freedom Hunt Deer Camp, I have seen some awesome things! Kyle and myself cannot thank Steve and everyone who gave so much for these kids so they can have the same experiences that we all take for granted every time we walk into the woods. Bravo Freedom Hunt!!!!!!!!
