My first day turkey hunting, my first bird!

My first day turkey hunting, my first bird!

After trying deer and duck hunting in the fall, Kyle Lairmore from the Missouri Department of Conservation and my mentor for deer hunt, suggested I try turkey hunting this spring to get a full range of everything that our state has to offer.  Kyle told me once I tried turkey hunting, it would be my favorite…he was right.

In our video below, I’ll take you through my hunt and Kyle will share his expertise on what characteristics to look for to make sure you harvest a legal bird.  We’ll talk about when is the right opportunity to take an attempt and the responsible steps to take once you are successful.

What I really hope you take away from this is that through our hunting, Kyle and I have built a friendship.  I’ve enjoyed listening and watching someone who has an absolute love for what they do.  Not to speak for Kyle, but his excitement is genuine when he sees me harvest a turkey for the first time.  As you’ll see, we already have great stories to share and plenty of laughs.

That’s what I’ve learned the most through this experience.  The memories and stories are just as good, if not better, than the hunts itself.

Not in any particular order, but there are several reasons why I enjoyed my turkey hunt over the others.  For starters, it’s spring time, colors are starting to bloom, the landscape is beautiful and the weather is starting to warm up.  When turkey hunting, while there is that moment when you must remain stationary, and keep quiet and still, you can walk the field, call out to the turkeys, try to get a response and follow their calls.  I found the spring time to be more favorable to my liking.

Over the three week spring season, I had the opportunity to go out twice with Kyle in Gasconade County.  My first hunt on the first day of the season was from a blind and that was intentional, because we had a film crew following us.  To have four people out in the open going on a “walk and call” type of hunt would not be successful.  Turkeys are a smart animals with great vision.  One sign of a crowd and they would stay in their roost or run away before we even knew they were there.

On my second hunt, which took place during the final week of the season, it was just me, Kyle and his dad.  No cameras, no distractions.  We just took to the woods, and with the help of his father Jerry, who helped with our calls.  We positioned ourselves between our gobbler and a hen, but couldn’t get him to come out way up the trail.  While I was unsuccessful on the second day, I was fortunate to harvest a bird my first time out.

For more information, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website and follow this link to watch our entire series.