It started out with my son and I getting into the woods just before daylight. My son, Jason, hit his owl hoot and we heard gobbles right away just about 150 yards from us.We knew right where they were roosting. We headed to a spot, next to a pond, below where we heard them and got set up. There was at least 3 gobblers, still on the roost, gobbling to beat sixty. We just knew that once it got light they'd fly down practicaly in our lap. They didn't! Took them forever to fly down and when they did they flew the opsosite direction. Jason would call, they'd answer, and so it went for an hour and a half. They refused to come down off of that ridge. Finally, about 8 oclock, it was obvious we were getting nowhere. We got up and slowly made our way about 2/3 of the way up the hill towards the top. We set about 5 yards apart with Jason slightly behind me on my right. He hit the call and it sounded like thunder when at least 2 answered. Took about 30 minutes of coaxing but finally Jason whispered to get ready that he could see one. I spotted him and another one a few yards behind the first. They came in slow and leery but every few seconds they both would fan out and strut and sound off. Man what an awesome sight. They kept criss-crossing paths and I could hear my son saying, " Take the one on the right, no take the one on the left, no take the one in front,ect...ect."We let them get within 20 yards and on signal I took the one on the left. Nocked the tar out of him with a Federal Premium Mag-Shok 20ga. Guess what I heard on my right? Click!!!!! Jason forgot to jack in a shell! To his credit he pumped one in fast. When I shot, his turkey jumped straight up in the air and when it hit the ground Jason was fast enough to nail it. We stood up and Jason threw his arms around me and said, "I love you dad." At that moment I was as close to heavon as I may ever get. You all know of my heart and lung problems so I think you can understand just how much it all meant to me and Jason too. Besides, this is my first gobbler ever.
Jasons weighed 20 lbs, 1 1/4" spurs, 10 1/2 beard. His has been in one heck of a fight. It's legs were scarred up and one spur was almost tore off. Mine weighed 15 lbs, 1" spurs, and 12" beard. Not bad for my first turkey. I'll relive this morning over and over in my mind for the rest of my life. An awesome hunt, an awesome son, and two awesome gobblers. Man it just don't get better than that!
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Re: Opening Day Missouri, USA Turkey Season
