In spring 2024, I took my then-six-year-old son, Carson, on his first turkey hunt. Here in Missouri, we’re fortunate to have a special two-day season reserved just for youth hunters, a perfect opportunity to introduce kids to turkey hunting.
On the first day, I took a family friend’s son out, but unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, and we didn’t have any luck. The next morning, I took Carson out bright and early. We set up close to a roosted tom, hoping for a chance after he flew down. As daylight broke, a hen flew down from the roost directly over our heads and wandered up to inspect our decoy, just a few yards in front of us. Moments later, the tom quietly slipped behind us and entered a field about 200 yards to our right. Carson watched in awe as the bird strutted in full display for several minutes. Sadly, we couldn’t lure him away from the live hen he was following closely.
That evening, we set up again in an elevated ground blind, hoping to catch turkeys returning to the roost. With our decoys out, two curious hens came within inches, but once again, no toms followed. Though we didn’t fill a tag that weekend, the experience was priceless. Carson and I shared some amazing close encounters and valuable time in the field, creating memories and building a strong foundation for future hunts.
Fast forward another year, and we found ourselves in the same scenario. On the Saturday of the youth weekend season, I took the same young boy from the previous year. We called in five jakes and four longbeards within the first few minutes of the day. The jakes approached to twelve yards, while the toms stayed slightly out of shooting range. A few minutes later, the jakes passed, and the toms came to forty-two yards before locking onto a real hen. The boy decided to take the shot, but sadly, due to the angle of his shot, his pattern grazed the top of the tall grass before reaching the tom, resulting in a miss. We hunted for the rest of the day but could not make it happen.
On Sunday, my family and I attended church early, so my son and I did not leave until late afternoon. Again, we returned to the same blind as the previous year. To capture some memories, I recorded my son and myself setting up an Avian X LCD Half Strut Jake decoy and an LCD Laydown Hen decoy. Upon later review, the video was recorded at 3:07 p.m. After getting set up in the blind, I coached my son on how to align the bead of his .410 shotgun with the head of the jake decoy, serving as both an example and refresher from when we patterned the gun earlier. Looking at a photo on my phone’s camera roll, at 3:12 p.m., he was enjoying one of many snacks he had brought along for the hunt. At 3:21 p.m., I looked out the front window of the blind to see two long-bearded toms casually making their way out of the timber at 250 yards. Filled with disbelief and excitement, I told my son to hurry and get his gun set up and ready. I quickly helped him position his shotgun out of the blind window and got him into position. Once he was ready, I yelped on a diaphragm call three times. Both toms stopped, looked at our decoys, and quickly committed to coming closer. Within 45 seconds, the two toms ran to the decoys. Now, at 14 steps, my son aimed at the lead tom who had just gone into half strut and bumped into the jake decoy. After the tom stepped back two steps to observe the decoy better, Carson made a successful shot on his first turkey.
At 7 years old, my son had taken a gobbler at 14 steps. When he first looked up, he had tears in his eyes and a small bloody scratch under his left nostril. When his hand returned from the recoil, he smacked himself in the nose. Yet, it is funny how a turkey flopping at 15 steps can make the pain from smacking yourself in the nose quickly disappear. He dried up his tears and began celebrating. What a special moment. As a father, I have dreamed of that day since my wife surprised me with the news that she was pregnant. My wife and I were so proud of him and thankful for his answered prayers of being able to harvest his first turkey. Compared to the average turkey hunt, it went so smoothly and seemingly effortlessly.
After the shot, my wife drove the twenty minutes from our home to the property where we were hunting, helping to celebrate this special moment and capture these memories with photos. We spent the rest of the evening calling grandparents, uncles, aunts, and friends.
For nearly three decades, I’ve been passionate about the future of hunting, especially when it comes to sharing the outdoors with the next generation. With almost thirty years of turkey hunting under my belt, I’ve had the privilege of taking many kids into the woods for their very first hunts. In 2001, during my senior year of high school, I took my young cousin out during Missouri’s first youth-only turkey season, my first time mentoring a youth hunter. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to witness several young hunters tag their first turkeys while hunting alongside me.
One of the greatest honors of my hunting journey was participating in an NWTF Disabled Youth Hunt for four consecutive years. During that time, I helped a young man with autism harvest his first turkey, and the following year, I guided a blind boy to his first successful hunt. Each moment has left a lasting impression on me and deepened my appreciation for what hunting can mean to others.
Being able to introduce a child to the outdoors is something I thank God for every day, just as I’m grateful for being introduced to hunting at a young age. Every hunt I’ve been part of has held its own unique meaning and memory, but nothing compares to the day I took my son Carson hunting and watched him harvest his first turkey. That moment will forever be the most special of all.
