The first time I looked at Sal "that way" is clear as day.. It was my senior year and I was lifting weights after school while the varsity volleyball team was practicing next door in the gym.. I do not know what about this brunette sophmore caught my eye, but I have to believe it was the spandex volleyball shorts, yup pretty sure it was the shorts.. What followed in the next week was a display of strutting and courting not unlike a spring gobbler in a field with hens.. Sal and I went out on a few dates and much to my suprise, she was an avid bowhunter..
I too was an avid bowhunter at the time and thus this bond made the awkward times not so awkward.. After a few dates I asked her if she would like to apply for a spring turkey permit.. This was somewhat of an empty invite because at that time, the length between January and April was a long term relationship and I had more of "get in and get out" strategy.. Despite my devilish ways we somehow had made it to April..
Sal had never shot an animal with a firearm only a bow, so instead of her shooting my scoped 870 with bull kicking Activ 3 inch, I purchased an H&R full choked camo 20 gauge.. We spent considerable time shooting and patterning and soon realized we had a 30 yard gun tops..
So the night before her season, She, I and one of my partners in crime Matt piled into the truck to check the local haunts for the following morning.. We saw a considerable amount of turkeys that evening including 2 lone what appeared to be 2 year olds heading back to a roost area where I had watched a number of turkeys die in the past.. Things were looking good for the morning until we checked one last farm... We rolled down the rarely used gravel road and watched 15 turkeys cross from the farm field to the pines across the road.. There were 14 hens and one gobbler strutting behind whoms beard dragged on the gravel as he walked across the road.. Matt and I agreed the two lone gobblers would be our best shot for the morning, until a voice from the back seat remarked "I want that one". Despite pleading from me of our other opportunity Sal won out, a trend that continues today..
We watched the flock roost in a small draw not 50 yards off the road.. The plan was simple yet had a high degree of failure due to the hens.. I told sal to be at my house at 3:30 and she arrived on time.. We crept through the large red pines in the pitch black towards the small draw.. I than motioned for Sal to crawl to the edge of the redpines and face the draw.. At daylight the normal talk proceeded from the birds with hens yelping and the gobbler gobbling.. I remained silent and all at once hens started pitching down.. The hens wasted no time in the small draw and hurriedly scooted across the road.. The gobbler pitched but was 40-50 yards away.. I pleaded and pleaded on a mouth call and a Primos Trough style slate, I could only stop him but not bring him the necessary steps closer.. The gobbler continued this stop and go and gobbling as he watched his hens cross the road to the cornfield on the other side.. Sal suprised me when she made move to shift her body towards the road and get her gun in position like a veteran.. I than yacked something right as he made the necessary distance up as Sal surpised me and touched the trigger.. The little less than stellar 20 with Rem 3 inch 6s had done its job as the bird flopped mere feet from the gravel road.. Sal was elated as she overturned to reveal his later measured 12 3/4 inch beard and 1 1/4 spurs.. The years that followed it took convincing from me for her to shoot turkeys with 9 and 10 inch beards as she was convinced she could trump the beard on her first..
So on some "date" this spring that I always get wrong. The number 1 and 2 on the list are the same.. But it makes it so much better when you have 1 and 2 at the same time..
I'm happy my lady thinks Jakes are much better tasting than Toms, and has no trouble putting one down.
