Sandy’s rainy day gobbler – Her first ever!

Entry #6

© By Othmar Vohringer

This is the story of a husband convincing his wife to join him on a turkey hunt and would you know it she harvests her first tom. Needless to say Sandy is hooked and her husband Arnold is happy to have a new hunting partner.

I am a great supporter of getting more women into hunting and what better example then this husband and wife spring turkey hunt story.

Story by Arnold Okonski

It was May the 8th a cloudy morning with rain showers in New York's spring turkey season just west of the Mass border.

The night before I had convinced my wife to go out turkey hunting with me, She has before but never any action so she gave it up for a few years. We set up on the edge of a field before daybreak. I started with some soft tree calls and right away had a gobbler answer.

I told the wife that this was a good sign and noticed her ready to shoot. I laughed and told her to relax that she will know and I will tell her when to be ready. After a short time it was time to start to call, and now at least 3 gobblers answered. I told her to be ready and went over the distance and shot placement with her. She was worried about missing she left her glasses home. The gobblers came to the edge of the field but into a depression so they never seen the decoys and they hung up on us. I continued to call and now we had a bird gobbling behinds us. I was excited so you can picture her excitement. Now it starts to rain after an hour of calling and the birds answering every call but will not come out of the depression.

The bird behind us now circled to our left and was in the field also. But we never had seen them. Now an hour and a half goes by and the goes “I have to move I can’t sit like this to much longer.” I also had to move so we shifted slowly and I told her to relax for a bit but to have her shotgun ready on her lap. We started to laugh on how many times the birds would gobble and never come close. They would even gobble when some heavy equipment was heard in the distance. After an hour and forty-five minuets went by I told the wife I was going to try an old trick. I will climb up the tree and if I can see the birds I will stay and continue to try to entice them to come in, but if I could not coax them closer I would go 40 to 50 yards behind her and then call again and it may bring the birds closer.

She said "OK as long as you are here when I shoot ". I laughed and said that would be hard to do from 50 yards away but be ready it may happen fast. I inched up the tree and could not see the birds so I slowly took off and went 40 yards behind my wife’s position. I sat down and called. As I had hoped one bird fell for it and came trotting up the edge of the field. Now I know she can see the turkey and I called again and the tom gobbled again.

A few seconds went by but it felt like forever and now I am thinking when is she going to shoot. I went to call again, figuring the bird was moving as I could not see him any more just then I heard a shot rang out. I got up to run over to my wife and seen her jumping up in the air saying; " I got it, I got it, I got it “. To see her face, the excitement and the thrill was priceless. I went over to the bird and seen it was a nice size 21 lbs, 9 1/2-inch beard and a whopping 1 1/2 inch spurs.

Right away she asked; “Is it bigger than your bird?” I said that it was and she got even happier. I asked what it looked like form where she was positioned, as I could not see the final seconds, and she told me. “I seen him come over the hill and I was going oh my God, oh my God. I hope I don't miss and he was moving. So when he went behind the tree I got ready and thought I will lead him and have him walk into the shot and he did .I shot and he went right down no flapping just plop.”

Looking into her face as she told her story was like a little kid telling of her adventure's wide eyed and a big grin. I told her she did everything right and to wait to get ready was a pro move. We still talk about it today and still smile each time and yes she will remind me that she is the new king of the turkey hunting household, but I don't mind I have a new hunting buddy and who better than my life long buddy.

Tags: Spring Turkey Contest, Rainy Day Gobbler, Husband and Wife Hunting Team