We started out saturday with no gobbles and only 1 sighting--a hen. It was boring but she stuck with it. Sunday started out the same but at ten o'clock two jakes came in silent and we were not ready at all. After some extreme slow moving on my part to get the gun in position she just couldn't get a shot. She was upset and I was thinking a mile a minute. I told her we will circle around them and try calling them in. We set a jake decoy up and got ready to go. I tried some tom yelps mixed with hen yelps. What answered was two gobbles from the wrong direction and the shakin and quakin started, they were close and getting closer fast. To my horror they came right in text book style-- BEHIND US! They swung around us on our left side just in view, right at the point of breaking your neck tring to look at them within 15 feet Struting and gobbling. Olivia just about shook out of my lap. I thought for sure that they would move in front of us to beat up my jake decoy, but they paid it no mind at all. So, I let them move away and Olivia was even more upset at two missed chances. I told her we will try circling again, and she was starting to take charge of the situation. She grabbed the decoy and I followed her to the next set up. We got ready and I called again and they gobbled cutting me off. Thought this was perfect, however, they were hung up not coming closer and not moving away either. I kept up the yelps and cuts, cackles. She was just about to give up when another gobble came from the logging road we were just off of. And it was within 20 yards and it actually scared the both of us. I shifted the gun and was tring to calm her down while she aimed. When I told her to wait until he came past a rock and when he did I said O.K. when--BANG--ever your ready. Go get your bird I told her and the squeelin and hollarin began. The excitement was intoxicating. Her first bird was a jake with a 3 in beard. Sorry to all who may hunt in Portage County the birds here are all now deaf. That girl has got some pipes.
She really suprised me this year by telling me she wanted to hunt 3 days before the youth hunt.
I don't have a youth sized gun so she had to use my 20 ga.. Which is to heavy for her to hold up, so she sits between my legs and I hold the front of the gun and she works the safty and trigger. She holds my wrist/forearm and points the gun where she needs it. All I can say is her remote sighting system worked out pretty well and I can ensure it is tight to her shoulder to boot.
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