Little man nabs big gobbler

By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
March 26, 2004
The opening weekend of youth turkey season is a much-anticipated event for both youngsters and adults as well. So it was for little Nicholas Reid and his stepfather John Williams. This was to be the first turkey hunt for the youngster and he wasn't about to be disappointed, at least not if John Williams had anything to say about it.
And if you know anything about turkey hunting, then you know that the caller shoulders much of the responsibility for getting the turkey into shooting range. Success or failure usually rests in the hands of the turkey caller, which in this case was John Williams.
Although he is only five years old, young Reid has been putting in his share of target practice in preparation for his first turkey hunt. He regularly practiced shooting at a turkey target and became proficient with his weapon of choice, a .20 gauge shotgun.
Video lessons
In addition to spending time on the shooting range, young Nicholas also spent a lot of time in front of the television watching videos and shows about turkey hunting. He hadn't yet taken a turkey, but he knew full well what to expect while in the woods.
Their hunting area of choice was a long ridge that ran about a quarter mile long paralleling a pasture, which made for an excellent turkey territory. After setting up a couple of decoys and making a quick blind to sit behind, the hunters were ready. Williams cranked out a few yelps, clucks and seductive calls to any available gobbler.
Just a few minutes after calling, turkeys appeared down ridge. First one, then another and finally another turkey came straight their way. As it turned out, there were three hens in all. They fed past the hunters, unawares of any potential danger.
Curtain call
Once out of sight, Williams called again and the hens came back towards him. This time however, something was amiss. Looking closer Williams spotted a big red head following the hens. Instantly the duo got ready for battle. With the young gobbler hunter sitting in his lap and leaning back against Williams, the stage was set.
At 20 to 25 yards the veteran turkey hunter clucked and the unsuspecting gobbler ran his neck high up in the air to see what was awry. In an instant the youngster squeezed off the trigger and sent a load of number sixes home, right into the kill zone, rolling the gobbler end over end. In mere seconds the woods were quite and an exciting hunt had come to an end. Yes, the first time was truly the charm for the wise five-year-old.