WON readers find success 20 minutes into youth turkey hunt
BY LOGAN SEBELA
My 15-year-old son, Deacon, and I got out for the youth turkey opener out in foothills of Sequoia National Forest. We got a bit of a late start on Saturday, so we were really just hoping to get some good scouting in and roost some birds.
We arrived at the gate at noon, got our gear on and made a few calls before heading into the field. At 12:25 p.m. we left the truck, and after about 100 yards we both turned and pointed, the international sign of turkey hunters everywhere. We were confident that we heard gobbles pretty close, so we scrambled to find a good setup before doing any more calling.
My son and I put out our strutting tom and a hen decoy. This setup makes me a little nervous, as I feel like it can intimidate less-dominant birds. However, we decided to roll the dice with it being so early in the season. After about 10 minutes of sitting, I saw a red head pop over the hill and start cautiously working towards us. I quietly verbalized his presence to Deacon as we watched three other toms and couple hens walk our way. Except for the first two gobbles, this group was staying quiet the whole time.
At about 80 yards, they decided to divert to a small game trail and headed down towards the creek bottom. My heart sunk, as I had seen this play out numerous times before. When they disappeared from view, I let out a few more yelps in hopes of turning them around. Not too long after that, a red head crested the rise about 50 yards in front of us. Instead of the slow cautious strut, it was a full tilt sprint. His speed would of rivaled the top 40-yard dash times at the NFL Combine.
Usually, I have time to grab my phone and shoot some footage as the drama unfolds, but not this time. It was a blur or feathers as he streaked towards our decoys. My son didn’t even let him reach his intended target before letting the lethal TSS do its job. “What just happened?!” Deacon exclaimed.
We were both kind of stunned and laughing. It was 12:45 p.m. on the dot. The hunt lasted 20 minute from the truck door closing till the turkey dropping. “What do we do now?” my son asked. I just chuckled as we stood there admiring his harvest, enjoying the moment.
And a couple more photos that were sent in by readers:
