The Three Amigos

There are days afield when you just have a feeling that it will be the type of hunt you’ll remember for many years to come. That feeling was almost overwhelming as I sat in the pre-dawn darkness listening to gobbles echo in all directions from the nearby ridges. I was hunting with a good friend of mine, Chuck Weaver, and his son Jacob. Jacob is ten years old and we thought it would be a good day to take advantage of PA’s mentored youth program. And judging from the number of birds sounding off that morning, it seemed to be the perfect setting for Jacob to harvest his first turkey.

Rays of sunlight shine through the morning clouds

AJ tries to coax a gobbler into range with his glass call.

Also accompanying us that morning were AJ Johnson and Kirk Byerley. Five hunters might seem like a few too many for most turkey set ups, but our crew operated like a finely tuned machine. Each person had their own task during the hunt: AJ was the caller, Chuck would help Jacob when the turkeys got close, Kirk would shoot back-up in case a wary longbeard tried to sneak in behind us, I would run the video camera, and Jacob, of course, would try to fill a gobbler’s head with copper-plated pellets.

The trio of gobblers cautiously approached our position along the field edge.

As the sun began to peek above the treetops, several turkeys appeared in the field below us. They were a couple of hundred yards away, but the uneven fans let us know that the flock was mostly comprised of jakes. AJ called to them with a series of soft yelps, and a hen fed slowly toward us. At first, the jakes seemed content to show off for each other and held their position. But as the hen disappeared in the timber, a series of excited cuts on AJ‘s mouth call brought them running.

The three gobblers jockeyed for lead position as they crested the ridge near our decoys. As they closed the distance to 30 yards, they fell into perfect formation, matching each other stride for stride. I heard Chuck tell Jacob to take his time as he excitedly cradled the 20-gauge. I heard the soft click of the safety and prepared for feathers to fly.

Jacob proudly displays his first spring gobbler.

As the shotgun roared, the left bird crumpled to the ground, quickly followed by excited shouts of joy from the crew. AJ and Kirk sprung from their hiding places among the oaks to collect the flopping bird.

Jacob and Chuck with the morning’s harvest

Jacob displays the young bird’s spurs.

The young gobbler was a fine bird, sporting a 6-inch beard and spurs just shy of half an inch. We all offered Jacob our congratulations with a round of high-fives and hand shakes. Everyone told their version of how the hunt unfolded, and Jacob admitted he was pretty nervous as the three birds worked their way toward us.

Jacob needed two hands to hoist the hefty jake; Kirk and Jacob celebrate with a high-five.

No hunt is complete without a group photo!

I’ve been fortunate to experience many successful hunts over the years, but it’s nice when I can share the day’s events with my hunting partners. It’s even better when I’m able to witness someone’s first harvest or see a new hunter introduced to our great sport. I know I won’t soon forget the events of that morning, and I’ve got a feeling that after our hunt, Jacob is hooked on turkey hunting. I’m also fairly certain that Jacob will be joining us on many more hunts in the future. Just call it one of those feelings.

Our hunting heritage depends on the next generation.