by Chris Forsythe
posted March 24, 2008
) Photo by Chris Forsythe Houston Forsythe with his first turkey. Click photo to enlarge. |
Tim Pharr, Postmaster at the Springville, Tenn. post office, was their guide. Dr. Scott Summers donated the hunt, and a new gun for the winning youngster.
Chris shares the following great story of Houston's first turkey.
Tim and Doc (Summers) roosted 4 toms Friday evening, adjacent to a cutover corn field and next to a farm pond, on a 140 acre farm located about 5 miles South of Paris. We were calling back and forth on cell phones, while Houston was at baseball practice, with updates. All birds seen were mature birds, with a 26 lbs bird being killed off the farm the prior year. I was more nervous than he was, and didn't sleep a wink.
We hit the floor at 4:00 and met Tim at the local Sporting Goods Store at 5:00. We made our way to the farm, but the full moon was a tough customer. We had to ease around field edges to get in place because the moon was so bright it was like someone had turned the lights on. We set up with 75 yards of the roost site. We set up in the edge of a woods line next to a big red oak. We used a flock set of decoys with a full strut tom, a submissive hen, and two feeding hens. To our left about 40 yards was a cutover corn field, in front about 30 yards was the edge of the farm pond, and to our right was a wheat field.
Behind us was flooded timber from all the rains. Through the early evening the night before, the birds had actually limb hopped, and unknown to us, were roosted only 30 yards away instead of 75. Getting in early saved us. I honestly think we disturbed them some because first gobble came at about 6:30, well after break of light.
When the first one boomed from his roost, Houston jumped off his stool about 6 inches, and I froze and said "don't move they are right on us".
Tim had set up 30 yards back behind at the edge of the field to call, and as light broke, he could see 7 toms, and several hens within 40 yards of us. After the first gobble the trees come to life. There were Jake's up on the far left trying to gobble, and some were still in the yelping stage. The old "yawp, yawp" was a dead give away. Houston had spotted a hen on a limb about 15 yards away that I couldn't see. I was describing the birds by the sounds we heard, and he was able to understand what was what. But, the thunder gobble was all he cared about.
We both had our legs go to sleep because we couldn't move, for fear of them seeing us. We whispered back and forth, but I told him we couldn't move till the pitched down off the roost.
Finally at about 6:35 they pitched, and we were able to move. We could see 5 big toms, several Jake's and about 10-12 hens. The strutting, gobbling and pecking order dance was a sight. They pitched to our left in the flat of the corn stubble, and began to feed away to our left, and up the hill.
Then it was like somebody pulled them tom's chain. All 5 stopped and put their heads up high. They had spotted our set up, especially our full strut decoy, and they didn't like it at all. I told Houston get ready here they come, and come they did - at a dead run in single file!!!
He had a gap between two small oaks, to the left of the decoys, and we decided I would cluck, as they passed, to stop them for a shot. Bad idea, they were running so hard they passed our gap, and went straight to the decoys. Houston had to actually turn and move with them, they moved so fast.
Then we witnessed something we had only seen on video. 4 of the 5 toms began a pulverizing assault on our full strut decoy! They flogged, they spurred, they pecked, and absolutely beat it in the ground. Houston and I was both in amazement! They moved and jumped so fast that Houston couldn't get a shot. He'd pick one out then it would dive or dart, or jump and flog. This was the one time I wished I had a video camera. Poor Tim sat back, and had his view obstructed of the fight, but could hear the beating his decoy was taking. He was unaware we couldn't pin one down, and was whispering shoot, shoot, and he said
he hoped it was soon cause he wasn't going to have a decoy left.
Finally Houston pinned one and the head shot of #5 from his 20 Ga
dropped him in his tracks! Yet the fight still continued, now his bird was center of attention as well. I finally yelled and moved, and off they went. I was so proud that you could have heard me yell from miles away! Little did we realize how big his bird was till we got to him.
23 lbs. 4 oz, 11 1/4" beard and 1" spurs. And oh yes, the decoy has
spur marks, scrapes, paint missing, and his fan has seen it's better
day.
All this and back to the truck by 7:00. It was a hunt that was unbelievable.
Chris said, "I could feel his heart pounding and him shaking when he was getting ready to shoot. It was priceless to know that was how I felt when I killed my first, and he was now feeling the same thing! He had just turned 11 on March 12th, and I told him I killed my first bird at age 16. They were out on Spring Break last week, and he was off to school this morning with a big smile, so he could tell all his buddies, and brag."
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