cactusjack Report post Posted February 7, 2017 I have to post this to compliment and thank The NWTF Longbeard Chapter, Rich Williams, The Az Elk Society, Arizona Wings Taxidermy, Cabelas and all the other volunteers and donors that put these camps on. Last year my youngest daughter went for her first hunt and we had a blast. Our mentor was our cousin, Joe DiVito and we went out and got on birds the first morning. We set up on the edge of a small cut and started calling. We called a tom in but he never presented himself for the kids. He got behind us and we thought we might get a shot. We heard a hen calling down below from about the same area we first heard him and apparently so did he. He flew right over the top of us and down to the hen. Our mentor told us to stay where we were and he would try to call him back up. We sat there and he called for about 15 minutes and we heard a hen call about 50 yards away but out of sight. I told my daughter to get ready. We first saw the hens head pop up on the ridge then she kept coming. The tom followed behind her about 5 yards and when we had a good clear shot, at about 35 yards, Julia, my daughter, let loose with my SuperBlack Eagle 12ga with a 3in #5 turkey load. That bird rolled and flapped and stayed down. Julia was all eyes. I asked her how it felt to have killed not only her first turkey but her first big game animal. She was all smiles and excited. I asked her how the recoil was from the shotgun, and she said "It pushed me a little more then the 20ga we had used to practice". We of course took pictures and decided to get back to camp and see the other kids birds. We got back and to our surprise we had the first bird from the camp. And Arizona Wings Taxidermy donated a free tail and wing mount to the first bird killed. Double excitement. We went back out with the other kids, but were not able to seal the deal for my older daughter or their cousin. Hopefully this year they connect. We picked up the mount yesterday and she made me hang it right away, in her room! Again a big thank you to all that put these camps on and I cant wait to go back this year, From a happy young lady and her proud father. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake J Report post Posted February 7, 2017 Congrats on a great hunt. It's amazing what a 25# or so bird can do to your blood pressure! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted February 7, 2017 Great stuff right there! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Browns Report post Posted February 8, 2017 That's really cool! Congrats to everyone involved..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted February 8, 2017 That's what its all about. Those smiles right there are why I keep mentoring every year! Congrats again! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
