Kade's First Kill

Branden VanDyken checks in from the spring turkey woods...

2013 is going to be a fun one!  It is my nephew, Kade's, first year of hunting here in Montana.  He just turned 12 and my brother, Kyle, has decided to try and get him started right.  Filling his turkey tag was first on the list.  To do this, he was taken on our annual turkey hunt.  Not having any turkey hunting around our area, except for draw tags, we headed east.  We put in just 3 days for this annual turkey hunt, so this would be his only chance at filling the turkey tag. We got out of town late after work on Friday so there was no chance of roosting any birds.  After a long night of hanging with our aunt and uncle, we were up early to locate some birds.  After one close call, we moved on to locate other birds...and it didn't take long. We hiked up a hill trying to get above where we had spotted some birds.  We let out a few calls and had multiple birds gobbling back. We worked in a bit closer and then set up Kade.  I was next to Kade with the camera and Kyle dropped back to call behind us. It took less than a minute for the birds to be in sight.  They came fast and loud, gobbling on every call Kyle made. The timber was thick, more like something we'd elk hunt in.  After numerous times of asking if he could shoot, I finally gave Kade the go ahead. With one bark from my Dad's old 12-gauge, Kade took his very first game animal. I have been able to take many new hunters to the field over the years, including my wife.  This hunt ranks right up there with it. I still have 6 years until my son gets to join us and on this hunt I got a small sample of what it will feel like. None of the rest of us took a bird on this trip, but that didn't matter. It was one of the most successful trips in a long time!
Now, on to Kade's spring bear.....