And that is not face paint if you can see the chocolate donut smears on her face. In the truck on the short ride she is trying to take a pic of herself because I told her she still had chocolate on her face.
Well it was a pretty short hunt, we pulled out with her turkey in the truck at 9:22 am. I wanted to set up right where I set up when I got my nephew Zach his last bird a couple years ago. But as we got to the top of the hill I saw birds down there already. So I set up next to an autumn olive near the top of the hill with her new ground blind. I made this with a piece of fabric ( True Timber MC2) clipped to a corrugated plastic sheet with three sides so it stands up. Notched a spot for the gun to rest and got her a seat.
Well, turns out this group of 6 jakes doesn't like my calling, soft purrs from an aluminum friction call, and a few soft yelps with my new diaphram. How could this be, they are heading away from my master calling
So I cut loose on the slate trying to sound like an excited hen, it turned them for a bit then away they went. I asked Ellie if when they got around the bend in a little thicket, if she wanted to run down and try to cut them off. She agreed, and we literally went for a run, of course I unloaded the gun and carried it for her.The plan unfolded fast, there they were. I got Ellie settled in and I think they saw us move, as we were about 5 yds into the thicket and they were about 30 or so yds out in the field. They were kinda caught too in the open, the big mud area kept them from going north, and they went to our left and at us as they tried to get to cover, I clucked twice and a bird stopped right in Ellie's shooting lane. BOOM roared the little 16 gauge and down it went. As I ran out there it started doing a dirt angel on its breast/belly in the mud what a mess. It was so muddy and messy and a bunch of feathers came off, it took me a while to find the beard. But I found that little spanker a whole 3-inches.
Ellie tagging her bird.
She was hot and wanted to take off the brown hoodie, then I had to get a pic of her shirt under her hoodie (Women Hunter Magazine logo wear and good friends of ours). See the chocolate now in the corner of her mouth.
Then it was my turn to try to take a pic of us, she said she had trouble in the truck, it took me 4 tries, here are two of them.
Now a few pics of the original set up this is how it was supposed to happen. We were set up, I call, turkey(s) come in, Ellie shoots. See Ellie in her blind next to the autumn olive?
The birds were about 40 or so yds beyond where Ellie is here down in the low spot.
When they disappeared they went around that thicket to the north and west (were facing north) that jets into the field. We ran down to it and snuck near the edge when Ellie dropped the hammer - BOOM (I must have said that a hundred times on the way home).
