IA Born

Friday was horrible with crazy high winds, followed by snow. Only one youth shot a bird and that was after sitting water for 10 hours straight. Saturday and Sunday, the woods were on fire with gobbles. I had my son in birds both mornings, but a hen ruined everything Saturday and we accidentally bumped a couple of hot toms Sunday. The good news is that he's now hooked on turkey hunting and he's getting great with a pot call and starting to work a box call well. We had one family show up Thursday night and realize they had a modified choke in their kids' shotgun. Rather than driving to Phoenix to get the right choke, they were able to meet my wife in Flagstaff and use the extra choke I had that didn't work good enough in my son's shotgun. Saturday morning, their daughter killed a jake with it! I told her I didn't want the choke back. All told, I think we had five birds taken in the camp, a few missed shots, and lots of young, first-time turkey hunters who can't wait for next season!

I loved getting that text from Ron Saturday! Congrats again to all!

Teenagers, right??

After what you and that knuckle head friend of ours pulled, I want to say something mean, but I actually like you too much to do that (and it was darn funny!)! Good luck to you and Draysen! I'll be heading down to help set up the youth camp at Happy Jack tomorrow morning, hauling butt back to Flag to get my son from school and then taking him back down there for his first turkey hunt! Good luck gents!

We have a big update on our deck of cards for the Governor's Turkey Tag Raffle. Alps Outdoors has donated one of their Grand Slam vest in MO Obsession camo to our chapter to use to help with our efforts. Anyone who buys a card (or cards) from our NWTF chapter will be entered into a chance to win this vest ($180 value). You'll be entered for every card you buy. Cards are $20 each and our chapter will ship the vest to you unless it works out that hand delivery is possible. I will be at the Happy Jack youth camp from tomorrow through Sunday or Monday if you want to buy from me there, or we can work out sending a check/cash to me through PMs, like we've done in the past. This is the vest:

If its not too late, consider signing him up for the youth turkey hunting camp sponsored by NWTF and others. It caters to kid with tags in 6A, 5B, and 5A and has mentors that know the areas well. Registration info is on the AGFD website.

That is very thoughtful of you offering Brian. We have it covered but much appreciated. Congrats again on Jacob's pig hunt. TJ Sounds good and no problem. Thanks for the words on Jacob's hunt. He's still so excited!

I'm heading through Tucson tomorrow and will be in Tucson Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning if you can meet me somewhere easy off I-10 in the Phx area. I'm willing to deliver the goods and money if you're interested. If you'd rather not, you won't hurt my feelings. I may not be back on here today, so you can PM me to get my attention if you want my help.

I'll be waiting for my calls I pm'd you my address. Whatchu' talkin' 'bout, Willis? you're the one that stated "she's amazing with her favorite box call and slate. Of course, it helps that she now has two custom box calls and three custom slates, none of which she's had to do anything but smile to receive!" I smiled I'm waiting on my custom slate and box calls. Send me one of your Albert Paul calls and I'll send it back in a week or two after you've forgotten about it! It'll be the same thing! you would have to send it back so I could show you had to use it. I'll just have Syd show me. Then I'll probably forget where I was supposed to send it!

Still available?

Yep, every kid is different. I got my daughter her 20 gauge when she was 9 and she wasn't strong enough to hold a Remington 870 or 1100 youth/compact. The best thing for her at 9 was a Mossberg 500 youth. It certainly rocked her back every time she shot it, but now she loves it and, at almost 14, can almost fit into a full size 1100 that I started with. I had my son shoot that 20 gauge when he was 7. He did it, but didn't like it much. I've never known the recoil to be different between a single-shot or a pump since there is no gas operation to absorb the recoil. I had him shoot my single shot .410 (first gun I ever hunted with) that same day and he was crazy in love with shooting that thing. He has his own Weatherby semiauto youth 20 now and loves it, but still loves to shoot the .410. Both of my kids learned quickly that shooting for practice and shooting at game are totally different when it comes to recoil. That will also make a difference in your son's reaction. Practice with the lightest loads you can get and then slip the good hunting loads in when its go-time. He'll never know the difference.

I've been waiting for this video since the end of January and it was definitely worth the wait! A friend of ours from The Mountain Project offered to help us on Jacob's first big game hunt, a youth javelina hunt. I posted the original story and pics back in January. During planning, Brittany asked me if she could film it as part of The Mountain Project's hunting season shows. Jacob's hunt is episode 32 of 45 and the previous 31 shows were great, too. Last night, as we watched this for the first time as a family, I was flooded with great memories and pride in my son. I was also full of thankfulness for having a great wife and great friends in The Mountain Project. Jacob was beaming and grinning from ear to ear last night. I watched the video three times last night because I couldn't get enough. In three long weeks, I get to take Jacob on his first turkey hunt and we're super excited for that! And, yes, I got extremely excited at his success. Sorry if I sounded like a dork, but not sorry for being an excited dad! If you like this video, go to YouTube and subscribe to The Mountain Project (the hunting channel, not the weed channel) and watch more. I know several of you are already following them. They're giving away t-shirts, other gear, and will be giving away a custom rifle at the end of the season!

I'll be waiting for my calls I pm'd you my address. Whatchu' talkin' 'bout, Willis? you're the one that stated "she's amazing with her favorite box call and slate. Of course, it helps that she now has two custom box calls and three custom slates, none of which she's had to do anything but smile to receive!" I smiled I'm waiting on my custom slate and box calls. Send me one of your Albert Paul calls and I'll send it back in a week or two after you've forgotten about it! It'll be the same thing!

I'll be waiting for my calls I pm'd you my address. Whatchu' talkin' 'bout, Willis? I think he's gone full senile now. Sounds to me like he thought he was messaging Amman Fuller???

I'll be waiting for my calls I pm'd you my address. Whatchu' talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Thanks! There were so many things about this hunt that impressed me with him. I went over to help him clear and secure his rifle, but he'd already removed the magazine with an empty chamber and closed the bolt on the empty chamber before reinserting his magazine. I didn't catch that until we were at lunch after the hunt and Brittany showed me the footage. I also never really worked with him on quick follow-up shots like that. Those two things were all him! He shoots a Savage 11 Trophy Hunter compact in 7mm-08. We put a Vais brake on it, handload Barnes 140gr TTSX, and he loves that thing. He has been helping me load for about a year now, and actually did most of those hunting loads himself, with me sitting next to him supervising.

I started out on a push button call when I was around 10 or 12 and its all I used for many seasons. They are great to start learning with and still come in handy even after you decide to "upgrade". I went from push button to slates and diaphragms and now it shows whenever I try to use a box call. I started teaching my daughter on a slate and she decided to go straight to box calls. She's about to turn 14 and she's amazing with her favorite box call and slate. Of course, it helps that she now has two custom box calls and three custom slates, none of which she's had to do anything but smile to receive!

Great shotgun. I still have the one my dad bought ($20?) when he was in high school in the early 60s. And, yes, I have all of the chokes! One of these days, I'll take it out quail hunting!

By "a couple", do you mean three or four?

I bought a Cabela's Hevi-Shot Hevi-13 turkey choke for my son't Weatherby 20 ga. I don't like the way it patterns the Hevi-Shot Magnum blend that he'll be hunting with, so I figured I'd offer it up here for someone that could use it. Its already been replaced, so I won't be trying different ammo. This will work in a Mossberg, Weatherby, or Winchester. I've verified the interchangability with my daughter's Mossberg. I paid $50 +tax/shipping when I ordered it from Cabela's. This brand works great in my Rem 1187 12, but doesn't work with the hunt load for my son's 20. Its only had 5 rounds through it to test patterns and sight in the shotgun. $40 obo shipped to you.

Still have plenty of cards for chances at tags!

Let me know if you need help, Mark!

I can put you in touch with the HE staff down in Phoenix. You can take the online class and show up for a field day, or you can get into a Bonus-Point only class when one is offered. That option was put in a few years ago for people like yourself. Its for hunters who have been hunting for 3+ years. Not much instruction; you show up, its self-guided and then you can earn a point from AZ. I have to run, but PM me if you want more info.

Registration is open for the Northern Arizona Chapter (Flagstaff) Hunting Heritage Banquet. This will be our 30th Anniversary Banquet and we are planning for our best banquet ever. There will be all kinds of great prizes in the raffles, games, and auctions. I know of at least two ARs that will be available as well as about 10 other great firearms. As always, there is a special table that is for the ladies who hunt or come to support their significant other. Last year, a 13-year old girl won the ladies' pistol at the Ladies Table. We are switching over to online registration this year and I've included the link below. Invitations were also sent out right after Christmas. Those invitations have the link or you can mail them back in with your payment. If you know someone who wants to go, but doesn't have a computer, we can mail them an invitation to be sent back in. We hope to see many of you there! Registration: https://events.nwtf.org/30020-2018

Now you've got me interested! But then I've learned to trust your judgement!