THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
I am a day behind on this, sorry. And, as usual… this won’t be short. 
For quite a few years my dad and I have made attempts to get together at least once a year in pursuit of a hunting or fishing endeavor. Call it bad luck or whatever, but we were snake-bitten every time and were just not able to get an animal in the dirt of fish in the boat. Whatever the factor was, it was beginning to get frustrating and I wanted to repay the man who bought me my first bow. We all have similar stories about those who got us started, but when dad said he would be available for only two days of Iowa’s 1st season, I got excited.
I know the primary purpose of our pursuits is for the time we get to spend with our loved ones in the outdoors, BUT success would be a welcomed aspect of any outing. We were due! For a multitude of reasons, my dad has not hunted much over the last few years, and I knew if I could get a big gobbler in front of him it would make all the unfilled tags and empty livewells obsolete.
I began daily morning scouting runs a few days before I went to Kansas and wasn’t finding as many birds as I had hoped. Kansas came and went and I spend every morning and numerous afternoons/evenings running the milk route of my scouting runs and finally located several spots that should produce one bearded bird for my dad. We weren’t going to be picky, any beard was gonna take a load; three inches or twelve.
During my scouting runs, I had been seeing birds regularly during mid to late morning on a favored hillside that we affectionately call “Gobby Knob”. During good conditions you can find birds on this hill almost anytime of the day. I had high hopes, but still with me and dad’s history of not being able to get it done looming over my head. I was determined.
We started the morning out at 3 AM with an annual turkey breakfast with my good friend, George. Greasy bacon and eggs is not a recommended way to start turkey season, especially with my digestive track, but I couldn’t say no. At about 4:15, we ran for home to “inspect the plumbing” and head for Gobby Knob. We got set up with no trouble and were ready to go with about 15 minutes to go before Nautical Twilight… :grin: :moon:
I had hoped a bird would have roosted close so Dad could fully experience the springtime daily serenade. This was his very first time in the turkey woods, mind you. The birds took a while to fire up, but when they did we determined about four to five were roosted 300-500 yards back on the ridge. I wasn’t worried as we were set up where typically ended up. I had the DSDs out on one side of the Knob, and Pretty Boy-On-A-String and Pretty Girl on the other side. A ridgetop and brushy fence line separated the two decoy spreads so approaching birds from either direction could have some visual appeal.
We had a coyote attack one of the DSDs, and several hens moved through, but the gobbles still stayed a ways out. Finally, a gobbler fired off one hundred yards behind us and began responding to my calls. He closed the distance in short order and we suddenly began hearing spitting and drumming behind us. I peeked through the back side of the blind and saw the big boy strutting back and forth along the fence looking for a place to start. Of course, I was concerned he wouldn’t figure it out and leave. Fortunately, he tucked up for just enough time to squeeze through the opening and headed straight for the DSDs. Dad put the hammer down at 10 yards and finally got the monkey off our backs! I was fired up!!! I could have eaten my tag at this point and considered my entire season a complete success. I managed to capture his hunt on film, which only made it that much more special!
The Set-Up
I was about to run out and grab his bird for him when another bird gobbled a few hundred yards behind us. I called once and two of them cut me off… Bird number two was on his way. They closed the distance to about 60 yards gobbling their beaks off, but kinda hung up behind us. I got real aggressive for a few seconds and shut up. Sure enough, it was more than they could take and they gobbled one more time just a few yards from the blind, but once they saw the Pretty Boy-On-A-String they committed. We got the camera turned on and I poked the 10 gauge out the window…
I should have milked the footage a bit, but I just couldn't take it. I decied to put him down as soon as he was through the fence. The big gun barked and put my 1st season bird in the dirt! I was elated…. Once you see the video, you’ll understand what I mean.
This picture turned out pretty cool, it was an accident and the camera kinda freaked out. Still neat!
Both of our birds are pretty standard two-year olds. Dad’s had 7/8” spurs, 9” beard and weighed 23 ½ lbs. Mine weighed 24 ¾ , 1” spurs, and a 9.5” beard.
This hunt means as much to me as any hunt I have ever been a part of. I can’t thank my dad enough for getting me started, even though I know he never expected it to turn into what it did for me. It was a pure honor having the chance to call in your first gobbler, Dad. I hope that’s the first of many!
I couldn’t have asked for a better hunt; absolutely textbook. Gobby Knob treated us good, again!
(I'll try to get the footage edited up and posted asap.)
For quite a few years my dad and I have made attempts to get together at least once a year in pursuit of a hunting or fishing endeavor. Call it bad luck or whatever, but we were snake-bitten every time and were just not able to get an animal in the dirt of fish in the boat. Whatever the factor was, it was beginning to get frustrating and I wanted to repay the man who bought me my first bow. We all have similar stories about those who got us started, but when dad said he would be available for only two days of Iowa’s 1st season, I got excited.
I know the primary purpose of our pursuits is for the time we get to spend with our loved ones in the outdoors, BUT success would be a welcomed aspect of any outing. We were due! For a multitude of reasons, my dad has not hunted much over the last few years, and I knew if I could get a big gobbler in front of him it would make all the unfilled tags and empty livewells obsolete.
I began daily morning scouting runs a few days before I went to Kansas and wasn’t finding as many birds as I had hoped. Kansas came and went and I spend every morning and numerous afternoons/evenings running the milk route of my scouting runs and finally located several spots that should produce one bearded bird for my dad. We weren’t going to be picky, any beard was gonna take a load; three inches or twelve.
During my scouting runs, I had been seeing birds regularly during mid to late morning on a favored hillside that we affectionately call “Gobby Knob”. During good conditions you can find birds on this hill almost anytime of the day. I had high hopes, but still with me and dad’s history of not being able to get it done looming over my head. I was determined.
We started the morning out at 3 AM with an annual turkey breakfast with my good friend, George. Greasy bacon and eggs is not a recommended way to start turkey season, especially with my digestive track, but I couldn’t say no. At about 4:15, we ran for home to “inspect the plumbing” and head for Gobby Knob. We got set up with no trouble and were ready to go with about 15 minutes to go before Nautical Twilight… :grin: :moon:
I had hoped a bird would have roosted close so Dad could fully experience the springtime daily serenade. This was his very first time in the turkey woods, mind you. The birds took a while to fire up, but when they did we determined about four to five were roosted 300-500 yards back on the ridge. I wasn’t worried as we were set up where typically ended up. I had the DSDs out on one side of the Knob, and Pretty Boy-On-A-String and Pretty Girl on the other side. A ridgetop and brushy fence line separated the two decoy spreads so approaching birds from either direction could have some visual appeal.
We had a coyote attack one of the DSDs, and several hens moved through, but the gobbles still stayed a ways out. Finally, a gobbler fired off one hundred yards behind us and began responding to my calls. He closed the distance in short order and we suddenly began hearing spitting and drumming behind us. I peeked through the back side of the blind and saw the big boy strutting back and forth along the fence looking for a place to start. Of course, I was concerned he wouldn’t figure it out and leave. Fortunately, he tucked up for just enough time to squeeze through the opening and headed straight for the DSDs. Dad put the hammer down at 10 yards and finally got the monkey off our backs! I was fired up!!! I could have eaten my tag at this point and considered my entire season a complete success. I managed to capture his hunt on film, which only made it that much more special!
The Set-Up
I was about to run out and grab his bird for him when another bird gobbled a few hundred yards behind us. I called once and two of them cut me off… Bird number two was on his way. They closed the distance to about 60 yards gobbling their beaks off, but kinda hung up behind us. I got real aggressive for a few seconds and shut up. Sure enough, it was more than they could take and they gobbled one more time just a few yards from the blind, but once they saw the Pretty Boy-On-A-String they committed. We got the camera turned on and I poked the 10 gauge out the window…
I should have milked the footage a bit, but I just couldn't take it. I decied to put him down as soon as he was through the fence. The big gun barked and put my 1st season bird in the dirt! I was elated…. Once you see the video, you’ll understand what I mean.
This picture turned out pretty cool, it was an accident and the camera kinda freaked out. Still neat!
Both of our birds are pretty standard two-year olds. Dad’s had 7/8” spurs, 9” beard and weighed 23 ½ lbs. Mine weighed 24 ¾ , 1” spurs, and a 9.5” beard.
This hunt means as much to me as any hunt I have ever been a part of. I can’t thank my dad enough for getting me started, even though I know he never expected it to turn into what it did for me. It was a pure honor having the chance to call in your first gobbler, Dad. I hope that’s the first of many!
I couldn’t have asked for a better hunt; absolutely textbook. Gobby Knob treated us good, again!
(I'll try to get the footage edited up and posted asap.)
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