My First Turkey!                                                                                                                                     April 29, 2011

After about seven or eight years of unsuccessful turkey hunting, success finally happened on the second to last day of the 2011 spring turkey season. The previous week, I was out early and in my blind, calling birds with some great response. I would call and have gobblers respond. From far away, you could hear them answer. I'd call, they'd gobble. Getting closer with every call. Then, the response would end. The birds finally came to inspect what they heard coming from my blind. Finally, a jake came in to inspect the decoys. Having decided to take my bow, I waited for the bird to come into range.

Anyone that has ever hunted or studied wild turkeys knows they have incredible eyesight. Anxious, I nocked an arrow and drew....and held. The jake, having seen the motion started the other way. Feeling I could get a shot from behind, I released the arrow. Flying a good foot to the right of the moving bird it was complete miss!                 At least it was a clean miss.

The following weekend, I took to the blind with my shotgun. If the opportunity were to once again present itself, I was not taking any chances. Getting to the blind at about 7:30 AM, I was clearly late! I set up and waited a few minutes before I started to call. Finally I started to call and received an instant response. The gobbles got closer until again they stopped. Taking a quick peek out of the flap behind me, I saw four red heads peering at the blind, looking for any foreign movement. They flanked my left side and proceeded towards my decoys. At first look, I thought they were a group of jakes and a young Tom. That was just before the biggest bird leaned forward to peck at the ground and his thick, black beard fell forward. I raised my old 870, and let go a round that I had been packing and unpacking for the past decade. The shot rocked the bird and flipped it upside down. The other three just stood there until I flipped the blind over to retrieve my trophy. They took off looking like a football team on a kickoff.

The excitement and emotion was overwhelming! I dropped to one knee to give thanks for the opportunity to take such a beautiful bird. A thick beard but only one spur. Not uncommon to be sure, but ask me if I really cared.

After the walk back to my friend's house, I took the bird home to dress and then off to my other friend, taxidermist Mark Esch to have a fan mount done.

Ten minutes after dropping the bird off to Mark, he called to inform me that the bird had multiple beards! Something I clearly overlooked at the time I was cleaning it. All told, the bird had three scorable beards and one spur, measuring a total of 15 3/16". Not huge, but enough to get into the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan record books.

Later that day, I took my daughter out to the blind for her last chance at her first bird. We only saw one hen, but time in the outdoors with my daughter was just as important as that first bird. A memory we will have forever.

Special Thanks: Bully's game calls. Dennis Moore who allowed me to hunt his property. Mark Esch, for the great mount on the fan. CBM, for preserving the records of hunters all over Michigan. My dad, who always had time to take me hunting. And most importantly, to GOD. For giving me a beautiful daughter to take hunting and a beautiful state called Michigan that is full of land to hunt and call home.