First Bird

[jblackburn]

I was rummaging through some old photos and found a picture of my first bird from 1998 in Missouri.  I was in the 8th grade and had taught myself how to run a mouth call. 

I remember it like it was yesterday.  This guy gobbled his fool head off on the roost, hit the ground and made a bee line to me.  He was about 75 yards away when all the cows came running in to see what was going on and ran him off. I chased them away and and started calling again.  He fired up and ran in!  I killed him around 30 yards with the same Mossberg 835 that I still use.

Post pics and/or stories of your first bird!

[turkey_slayer]

Nice! Nothing like your first. Everyone post up your first bird

[tomstopper]

Awesome. Memories that will last a lifetime......

[nate12285]

That's a cool story!

[Garrett Trentham]

Nice photo. I had some really memorable hunts with my father in Missouri back in the 90s. I remember one day in particular. We were hunting some family land in Bollinger County. There was this big longbeard that was hanging out in a big creek bottom field. The would roost on a bluff beside the field and fly down in the middle of the field and strut with hens all morning. We saw where he was roosted and got real tight to him the next morning. Dad put two hen decoys out at 20 and 30 yards. I was only about seven or eight years old at the time and was not too keen on sitting still all morning. Just as it was getting light, I heard a loud noise and looked up and there was a turkey landing in the decoys like a goose! I looked over at Dad and said, "LOOK THERE HE IS!" The bird landed just past the furthest decoy. Dad swung his big 10 gauge around and let him have it. As we were admiring the bird, the first I had ever seen killed, Dad commented that that was probably the only way he was going to kill one with me cause I would never shut up and never sit still.  I've got a picture of that bird somewhere. I need to dig it up and save it on my computer.


A few years later. We were hunting some public land in middle TN. Dad and I were hunting together and couldn't make things happen opening morning. After lunch, we went back and my uncle called one in and killed it. There was another gobbler with the one he shot, and he knew where those birds liked to roost, so we went back to that area and set up to catch them on their way back to bed. It was about 4pm and I kept hearing a bird gobble in the distance. Every time I heard him, I would lean over to Pat and tell him. Pat couldn't hear him. Finally I convinced him that the bird was hot, and we decided to go to him and see what we could do. The bird was in the same field as the bird Pat had shot earlier that afternoon. We got set up back in the woods and Pat went to work on him. He got that bird so fired up I though he was going to die of heart attack before he got close enough to shoot. It wasn't long before I heard him walking through the woods towards us. I saw him about 75 yards away. Pat got me situated to shoot at a clearing the bird was walking towards. He stepped out in the clearing at 30 yards and Pat gave me the green light. I put the bead on his neck, closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. I looked up and he was flopping around. My first turkey was dead!

I've killed a few birds since then, called them in for friends and kids, but nothing can replace the excitement and adrenaline rush of getting your first bird.

This is me, my father, and my uncle with the birds from that day.

[The Painter]

Great story John. Thanks for sharing.

[jblackburn]

One of my favorite parts of this picture is that it was taken at the country store/check in station.  I was puffed up like an old gobbler with all the "old" men coming out to see my bird and talk turkey hunting.

Man, I really miss check stations!

[guesswho]

Nice.  I like an old photo of a dead turkey bird.

[captin_hook]

Nice pic. I remember my first bird like it was yesterday.