"It's fun going hunting with them because they actually know what they're doing!"- Jesse (Alex's girlfriend)
"Well, at least we pretend to!"- Me
My grandfather taught my dad how to
hunt, he taught my older brother, and they both taught me. Over the past few
months I have had the honor of sharing what I know with my hunting buddies Andrew
and Nick. They both took the hunter's safety course and got their licenses
quite recently. Over the years my brother and I have hounded our good buddy
Alex to get his license. The other day, inspired by one of the rabbit hunting
posts where I mentioned Andrew's completion of the course, Alex got certified
as well. I was overjoyed when he sent me an image of his hunters safety certificate!
Two weeks ago, Alex and his
girlfriend Jesse had a few free days and made it out our way. Lucky for Alex,
their visit overlapped with a very productive wild turkey season! A few days
before, my brother Justin had called to let me know he had taken a sizable bird
and was once again hooked on turkey hunting (see our wild turkey and Eurasian dove
post). I invited him along for the weekend hunt as well and soon we were
stalking the brush, fields, and forest of our local gobbler spot. Jesse came
along for the first evening where we scouted the area finding ample turkey
scratches, fresh scat, feathers, and finally two birds that my brother spied
with the naked eye over 500 yards away! The next day became a hunt to
remember...and I could not tell the story better than our good friend, and
brother from another mother, Alex. So in his words, the turkey hunt went like this...
"Just about the only good
thing about waking up at four in the morning is knowing you are about to embark
on a great adventure. My good friends Kevin and Justin, two brothers who have
been hunting with their father since they were kids, took me on my first turkey
hunt a few weeks back. The night before, Justin made three wild turkey pot pies
from a turkey he shot a week before.
Kevin brewed his famous and much needed
coffee which provided us with the energy necessary to at least get us through
to the point of delirium. We piled all our gear into the van and drove to our
turkey spot. We geared up and sallied forth down the path where Justin spotted
a group of turkeys from 500 yards away the day before. We walked as quietly as
possible making sure each step didn't crush a leaf or snap a twig. About five
minutes in, a Tom reared its wild and distinct mating call from less than 100
yards away. We were all smiles as we stepped off the path. Justin set up a
blind for us, set up the decoy, and Kevin masterfully used a wooden turkey call
to “play hard to get” with the Tom.
After several calls, his gobble kept
getting more distant and we decided to set up somewhere else. This Tom was also
playing hard to get. The next spot was the same story, only this time we
started to eat our wild turkey pot pies which was a real life saver.
About five hours after we first
arrived, and at our third spot, without a blind but concealed in the edge of
the woods, Kevin's calls were starting to attract a Tom who was eager to
display his courting techniques. With each call, he came closer and called
louder. I had been laying on my stomach because I found this to be the most
comfortable position to stay motionless for such a long time, and eventually I
started to fall asleep. Then Kevin tapped my leg, and when I looked up about
twenty feet in front of me on top of a ten foot high berm, there was the turkey
checking out where the “Hen” was calling from. My view of him was between two brushy
little trees that were very close together. Still every time Kevin called out,
the turkey called back enthusiastically. After trying to decide when would be a
good time to shoot, I heard Justin whisper “shoot it Alex.” I shimmied over a
few inches to get the turkey halfway between the two trees, drew the bead up to
just below his head and pulled the trigger.
The bird stumbled off, leaving my
sight and before I knew if the shot was good, Justin sprinted up the berm...
“C'mon Alex, I got him here!” I ran up and saw Justin had tackled the bird down
and proceeded to dispatch it with his bare hands. After working as hard as we
did, being immaculately careful for as long as we were, the reward was much
better than I expected. I thank Kevin and Justin dearly for one of the best
adventures of my life." - Alex Izzarelli
You are most welcome buddy! Thanks
for sharing the good food!
Until next time,
Keep the old ways alive!
