I have hunted on her property for a few years now. Today, was Jess' first hunting experience, ever.
We got off to a late start due to an alarm clock mishap (oooops!), so we were walking out to the bush right at legal time. The birds were gobbling their heads off right where I knew they'd be roosting, but with it now being light out, I opted for a different setup than I had planned.
We sat down and I started calling. The birds were really hot and gobbling now. A short while later, I heard rustling in the bush and out popped two does. They walked right by us at 20 yards, stared right at us and continued on their way across the field.
A hen started yelping shortly after and I answered her back. She had still been up in a tree close by and flew down. About a minute later, she appeared in front of us...and...beard!
It was at this point that I gave Jess the option to take the bearded hen, or wait out the gobblers, advising that the hen probably had a nest by now. Jess opted to pass, a little reluctantly, but proved to me that she's a hunter, not just a shooter. She was rewarded a short while later.
I spotted five jakes out in the field behind us running around and fighting. I called to them very softly and two broke off from the group and started to make their way toward us. I told Jess not to move until I told her to and the birds cut through right where I expected them to. When they got behind a large tree, I told Jess to shoulder the gun and take her shot the second she had one. I kept my gun down and focused on reeling a bird in for Jess.
The lead jake cleared the tree and I told Jess to take him. One shot and he was flopping on the ground while a very jubilant young lady was jumping up and down.
What a great morning. The only thing better than bagging your own bird is calling in someone's first.
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