May 10 - Zach Playle

Hunter: Zach Playle
Animal: Turkey
Location: Missouri
Weapon: 12 Gauge Shotgun

2009 turkey season was one of the worst I have seen. The turkeys were with the hens during youth season. The first week of regular turkey season was about the same. I hit one the first Saturday, but not good enough and it got away. The second week they would gobble to calls, but they wouldn’t come in. That put us in the last week of the season with a “plan”. The “plan” was to go to the green fields.

The last Saturday with our “plan”, we sat in our center field where we had roosted a gobbler the night before. Grandpa and I went to the blind that we had an encounter with a gobbler earlier in the season. Right at daylight I spotted a gobbler in the trees with the Nikon binoculars. The one we had roosted gobbled a little and later he and the others came in and milled around a little in the green fields. Then they saw the Flambeau Shady Lady Hen and Jake decoys and were coming in, got into range, but then some jakes came in and turned them around. After that they just left the field. In about ten minutes, they came back and were coming again. Two were out there a ways, but one got into range and I shot and killed him. We thought everything was good, but when we went back and watched the footage, Grandpa had DOUBLE PUNCHED!!!!!

So the next day we had to go out to get one on film and again we had one roosted. This time we were in the blind where I shot Thriller. He didn’t gobble on the roost, but gobbled once right before he hit the ground. Next thing we knew, a hen was in the field and he was right behind her. He was just milling around and then he saw the same Flambeau Shady Lady Hen & Jake decoys we had out yesterday and he came in on a string. I shot him at about 25 yards with my new favorite turkey gun (Grandpa’s old 3” 12 gauge) and I flipped him. This time Grandpa made sure the camera was on and I had just completed my 2009 Missouri Turkey Season in two days. What a year!!!

Good luck! -Zach


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