Yesterday was the first day of spring turkey season here in Pennsylvania. Like the last several years I went hunting with the Western Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors in Eighty Four PA. Skip and I were in the DarkWoods ground blind by 6 am.
At 7 AM we had four gobblers working to my right but I was unable to turn my wheelchair for a shot. The birds were at 20 yards but all I could do was watch them and listen to them gobble.
At 8 AM this mature gobbler came from my left and circled my ground blind. He stayed to the right for 30 minutes at 20 yards gobbling at least 50 times. Skip finally convinced him with soft calls into my decoy set in the front of the ground blind.
The Funky chicken decoy and feeding hen were not moving at all. With no wind or decoy movement, this Tom decided to walk off. I took a chance and moved my wheelchair into position for a shot. At the last second I took the shot at his head at 30 yards while he was walking away. He dropped in his tracks and I had my first spring gobbler since my injury in 1999.
We quickly called Jeff, the President of the Wounded Warriors and he came up to celebrate with us. Harvesting this turkey was absolutely a group effort and I am so thankful for everyone who made this happen.
If you are a person with a disability and would like to try hunting or get back into the woods. Please do your research, find out what is available in your area and pursue your dreams. With the right assistance everyone can enjoy the great outdoors together.
