.280 Remington
Handloader
- Jan 17, 2012
- 646
- 0
Jackson decided he wanted to go hunting for the first time so his "Papa" arranged for us to head up to his hunting ground. Same place where I killed my Tom last year in less than 45 minutes..... 
It was an early morning for the little Man. 0345 wake up call. We get to Papas and switch trucks and head off to the "hills".
We got set up in the blind before light and we waited. At first light you could hear some clucking and some gobbles way in the distance. We called on and off but never really got a response. Saw a couple hens feeding out across a meadow but nothing ever came to the blind.
After a while we ventured out of the blind to scope it out. Climbed up a ridge to take a look across the canyon and there was a tom strutting for his ladies and called a few times with no response. So we decided to pack up and move to another area. We gathered all of our gear and headed back to the truck.
On the way out we see a small flock of birds feeding across the flats below us. My FIL had never seen them down so low before. We thought there might be a tom in the bunch, so out I go. Using yucca plants for cover and snuck down as close as I could get and not get busted. I clucked and purred a couple times but to no avail. They kept moving away and dropped down in a canyon, and I put the sneak on. Walked up over the top and they were 20-25 yards away. All I could see were hens. With the shotgun at the ready I kept walking and there he was below me. It was not that far, but steep enough I didn’t take into account the angle. It wouldn’t matter in the end. There was no holes in the neck at all, but from the beak up was pretty messed up. He flopped for a bit, and I grabbed him and headed back toward the truck.
Over the hill I see Jackson and his grandpa walking my way, as they had heard me shoot. Jackson saw me carrying the bird and went nuts running at me!
It is one of, if not the biggest bird I have killed. VERY sharp spurs and a pretty darn good beard as well. But no matter what, it’s probably the best hunt I’ve ever been on because I got to share it with my son. He was a very happy camper and can’t wait to do it himself!
And this was this was the aftermath of getting up so early. Didn’t even want to drink his A&W!
It was a great time and one I will not soon forget. Thanks for looking.
It was an early morning for the little Man. 0345 wake up call. We get to Papas and switch trucks and head off to the "hills".
We got set up in the blind before light and we waited. At first light you could hear some clucking and some gobbles way in the distance. We called on and off but never really got a response. Saw a couple hens feeding out across a meadow but nothing ever came to the blind.
After a while we ventured out of the blind to scope it out. Climbed up a ridge to take a look across the canyon and there was a tom strutting for his ladies and called a few times with no response. So we decided to pack up and move to another area. We gathered all of our gear and headed back to the truck.
On the way out we see a small flock of birds feeding across the flats below us. My FIL had never seen them down so low before. We thought there might be a tom in the bunch, so out I go. Using yucca plants for cover and snuck down as close as I could get and not get busted. I clucked and purred a couple times but to no avail. They kept moving away and dropped down in a canyon, and I put the sneak on. Walked up over the top and they were 20-25 yards away. All I could see were hens. With the shotgun at the ready I kept walking and there he was below me. It was not that far, but steep enough I didn’t take into account the angle. It wouldn’t matter in the end. There was no holes in the neck at all, but from the beak up was pretty messed up. He flopped for a bit, and I grabbed him and headed back toward the truck.
Over the hill I see Jackson and his grandpa walking my way, as they had heard me shoot. Jackson saw me carrying the bird and went nuts running at me!
It is one of, if not the biggest bird I have killed. VERY sharp spurs and a pretty darn good beard as well. But no matter what, it’s probably the best hunt I’ve ever been on because I got to share it with my son. He was a very happy camper and can’t wait to do it himself!
And this was this was the aftermath of getting up so early. Didn’t even want to drink his A&W!
It was a great time and one I will not soon forget. Thanks for looking.
