2012 Ohio Youth Turkey Hunt

I just got back to work and spent this past weekend in Ohio guiding for a great bunch of kids during the two day Ohio Youth Turkey hunt. Talk about a tough two days of turkey hunting, high winds up to 40 mph, driving rains, and very cold temperatures in the low 30's made for terrible turkey hunting conditions, especially the high winds just shut the birds down. We had 5 kids and their parents in camp for the youth hunt and just a great bunch of new friends to hang out with and enjoy a fun hunt with. Saturday morning first day of the youth hunt found me, my buddy Rich and his 15 year old daughter Vicki in a blind overlooking a 1 acre food plot that the property owner had several trail cam pictures of some nice toms. We got in just before first light, I set up a Avian X hen decoy and in a driving rain we got in the turkey blind for the days hunt. I told Rich and Vicki that if the rain would die down I felt we had a great chance to get a shot at a nice tom turkey. Two hours into the morning hunt and finally the rains started to slow down enough that I felt any nearby toms would respond to my calling. I got out the old trusty box call let out some very loud yelps and immediately got a response from three gobblers and they were very close (within 200 yards) of our blind. I quieted down for about 10 minutes and then did some soft yelping with my slate call and again three thunder gobbles well within 50 yards of the blind. I told my buddy Rich to get his video camera up (he records his daughters hunts) and got Vicki ready to make a shot as I knew these toms were hot for some love and coming in fast. 5 minutes after the last gobbles I look to my left and here come three long beards walking into the food plot and staring down my sweet Peggy Sue (my decoys nickname) hen decoy. Well the first tom is definitely the boss tom of the group so I tell Vicki (who is shaking out of her boots) to get on him and get ready to shoot. I give a few soft purrs on the slate call and that is all it took for the boss tom to move away from his buddies and get closer to Peggy Sue. I am talking to Vicki the entire time telling her to relax, just put the front bead at the base of his neck and when she is ready to take him squeeze that trigger slow. She tells me I got him so I tell her to take the shot and BOOM!!! she rips a perfect shot at 30 yards and absolutely puts the SMACK DOWN!!! on the boss tom. I tell Vicki to put her gun on safe and then we go nuts in the blind celebrating and jump out out running to get her bird. What a great tom he is, 19 pounds, 12 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. Just an incredible hunt, with a amazing young lady that loves to hunt and the entire hunt is captured on film. This truly is one of my most memorable hunts and what a pleasure it was for me to help Vicki harvest her first tom turkey but definitely not her last.