We headed back to the car to do some more scouting and found another group on the back side of a huge orchard. I couldn’t help but try and fathom the hard work that must have been done by the settlers who had cleared their land and placed them there. The spot we were sitting was against one of the endless rock walls that are infamous throughout the New England states. It was very exciting to have them start to respond to the calling nonetheless! They were gobbling back, but just as it sounded like they were locked in on us someone close by fired and that was the last we heard from those turkeys. He started off with some soft clucks, then what he called purrs. We set up in the edge of the adjacent property and started calling. It was what we thought to be, fool proof! My Dad and I could not get over the size of some of the toms we spotted there they were gorgeous! Jim came up with a strategy to enter into a neighboring field and attempt to call them in. It was incredible how their heads would change from a bright red to almost blue or white. We did some scouting and found a big group of turkeys with a couple of nice toms. At that point, Jim suspected the toms had hens with them, which made them tough to call in. Later that morning we decided to change spots because the turkeys weren’t responding well to the call. Jim also showed me the spot he would like me to take the shot if given the chance.Īs the sun came up we heard less and less from the turkeys and following their “fly down cackle” Jim figured these birds had simply walked off. Jim explained to me the process of the fly down and where he expected the bird to approach us. They were still on the roost and Jim was hoping to coax them to us with a few soft clucks using his box call. After a few locator calls from his crow call, we could hear turkeys gobbling in behind us. We pulled into one of Jim’s honey holes around six-thirty. If you ever get to meet him, you will be able to tell he’s got a true passion for these birds. Jim is not only a guide in central Maine, he is also instrumental in the rehabilitation of the turkey population. My Dad and I went to meet our guide, Jim Westcott, and then we were off. The whole house was awake by four-thirty and anticipation was through the roof. We were given our guides for the hunt and then all we had to do was wait for the morning to finally get started. The day before the youth hunt, we had a workshop where we learned all about hunting wild turkeys and luring them in with different types of calls and decoys. The first night there, everybody headed down to Buck’s Naked Barbecue for supper, where we got the chance to talk to the other hunters and meet the guides. We had an awesome view of one of Maine’s largest inland freshwater lakes. We all stayed at Point Sebago Lodge in a beautiful log chalet overlooking Sebago Lake. Several other teams from Maine and Atlantic Canada would be there as well. On April 24th, 2014, my Dad and I made the six-hour trek down to Casco, Maine. The Hoot and Shoot is a co-sponsored event by CWTF and NWTF to create an opportunity for youth hunters to learn and participate in the hunting of wild turkeys.Īfter what felt like an eternity of waiting, the day arrived where I would get the chance to bag my first wild turkey. Last year I was invited by the Canadian Wild Turkey Federation to participate in an annual event called the Hoot and Shoot my first ever wild turkey hunt. Jim turned towards me and with a high five, he said we’d be back in the morning to tackle that old bird. He had no sooner finished his call when we heard an old tom answer back with a resounding gobble. There was still a spring coolness in the evening air as our guide Jim Westcott let out an owl caterwaul to try and get a response from a roosting tom.
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