Submitted PhotoBilly Van Veckhoven poses with his first turkey, a jake, that he shot in April of 2012. I was along with him on that hunt, and I have watched him take several gobblers since then. However, this year, he is truly coming into his own as a turkey hunter, having to deal with the ups and downs of chasing wise old longbeards. I have no doubt that after paying a few more “turkey tolls” along the way, he will successfully outsmart the boss bird he has named “Romeo.”

 

Occasionally, there are perfect mornings in the turkey woods, the type of mornings when everything goes as planned. Over the years, I have come to refer to these times as “reward mornings” because they come as the payoff after what has often been a frustrating endeavor morning after morning, sometimes for weeks on end, and sometimes for season after season.

Attaining success as a turkey hunter takes patience and, moreover, time. Col. Tom Kelly aptly described this reality in his book “Tenth Legion.” In Kelly’s words, “You have to pay for every bird you kill and the coin you use to pay for them is time.”

I have paid this toll countless times over the years, and I hope to be able to pony up for many more. I have also watched, with great pride, those that I have mentored into the sport ante up their payments to the great turkey toll collector, and I have commiserated and celebrated with them along the way.

Last week I found myself doing both and I loved every minute of it. My nephew, Billy Van Veckhoven, has officially become a turkey hunter this season. He has killed turkeys before. In fact, I called up the first wild turkey that he had the opportunity to kill, but this season is different.

How do I know? Well, if you turkey hunt in the days of modern technology, you probably have a list of close friends that you call or text quite often this time of year in the wee hours of the morning. These friends don’t mind that at all. In fact, they often initiate it.

Billy has joined my list this year. We’ve spent a great deal of time checking in with “good luck” texts, updates and strategy discussions throughout the course of the day. He’s now a bonafide turkey hunter, and right now, he finds himself in the midst of “token time.”

He’s chasing a gobbler that has given him fits, one that now has a name (as all the good ones do). “Romeo” hangs with the same three hens day after day, and he has collected a lot of time “coins” from this young turkey hunter thus far. What’s the old saying? “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?

Fortunately, along with the commiseration, I have also enjoyed celebration with two of my favorite turkey-hunting friends, Greg and Anniston Monsour. I called in Greg’s first turkey in 2013, and a year later, I called in the first for his son, Hays. The turkey bug bit Anniston next, and I had the privilege of joining her the first time she got up close and personal with a gobbler.

Since then, Anniston and her dad have spent several “turkey tokens” while trying to get her first longbeard. This season, those investments finally paid out a dividend, and when I got the call, I was overjoyed as I imagined the smile on her face.

Greg had scouted their family farm leading up to the youth turkey opener and had determined that a gobbler was hanging out in and around the field that they call the “Garden Site.”

He and Anniston arrived early to set up their blind, and after placing their decoys in the field, they settled in to wait for the turkey to sound off. Greg said he made a series of calls around 6 a.m. and thought that he heard a faint gobble about ten minutes later.

At 6:15, the boss bird had closed the distance and began gobbling around the bend as he made his way toward the field. The gobbler continued up the road, stopping directly behind their blind.

The two hunters swapped chairs twice while trying to guess which way the thunderously gobbling avian would enter, and as he made his approach, Anniston whispered, “He’s touching the blind.” Greg said as the bird came strutting past the blind, he was so close that Annie jumped in her chair, causing the gobbler to hop as well.

The gobbler walked into the decoys at 12 yards, but the young hunter could not get a clear shot. As is often the case, he began to suspect that something wasn’t quite right and began walking away. Finally, Anniston was able to line up a clear shot at 40 yards and dropped the bird in his tracks at 6:44.

The two raced out to her trophy. Greg explained, “She ran out there, and we were jumping and hugging, and I said ‘Hey, what about your hurt knee?’” Anniston, who had injured her knee last season playing soccer, replied, “I forgot that I had a hurt knee!”

The father/daughter duo celebrated Anniston’s first bird and the first turkey that Greg had called in for another hunter. His words explained it perfectly: “It was a magical moment.”

Here’s to the magical moments that happen in the turkey woods after all the “coins” of time have been paid, and here’s to seeing you out there in our great outdoors.

Email outdoors columnist Brad Dye at braddye@comcast.net.