May 12, 2008
Mya Gallo, smiling big after the hunt of a lifetime
Chuck Gallo of Giles County sent me some great pictures of his daughter Mya after an exciting turkey hunt early last week.
This was my favorite shot. You can't really see the turkey that well, but that's not important. What you can see is that incredible smile on Mya's face. You can't fake that kind of joy.
Chuck wrote up the story of the hunt and I didn't see any reason to boil it down. So here it is:
"Of all the hunts and all the success, nothing tops this one.
I went out this morning with Mya and Cologero. The plan was that Mya would take the first shot at any turkeys and Cologero would take the first shot at any coyotes. She was shooting a 20 gauge Remington 1100 youth model, and Cologero was toting a .22 rifle. With these two shooters I didn't see any need to take a gun myself.
We set up a blind in the 5-acre field on Sunday afternoon and planned to hunt Monday morning but the rain and winds convinced us to wait for a better day.
Although tomorrow would have been even better there was no delaying it any longer. We woke the kids up at 4:30 a.m., fed them, packed plenty of snacks, drove out to Doe Mountain and loaded our gear onto the 4 wheeler.
Both kids did an incredible job of staying quiet as we parked the 4 wheeler at the bottom of the field and walked up to the top of the field where the blind had been staked down.
We set out our decoys, put our gear in the blind, got everyone situated, and waited for the first gobble.
We waited as long as we could wait with my two anxious hunters before starting our calls. On the first call we got an answer from high on the Finger Ridge. After a short while we called again and got a response from much closer than the previous gobble. It sounded like a Jake and it sounded like more than one.
Just a minute or two later and heads could be seen coming up the side of the ridge and into the field. It was six jakes in all with one obvious stand-out. The largest Jake strutted and gobbled right there at the blind as all six got ready to flog the Jake decoy we set out.
Unfortunately I don't have this on video as I was focused on Mya and getting her in position.
She was extremely excited and stated that "she had the fever again" which was a reference to the "buck fever" she got in the fall while deer hunting.
I whispered to her to pick one and shoot. Seconds later the gun roared, and turkeys flew......... all except for one. Mya made an outstanding shot on the large Jake and he crumbled to the ground.
Cologero, who was such a huge help all morning, did a great job of helping with everything and he didn't make a sound when the turkeys were upon us. He congratulated his sister and we headed to the check station where they were both a huge hit.
Mya carried her turkey in over her shoulder and walked through the store aisles and back to the scales -- 13 pounds 6 ounces with a 2-3/4 inch beard.
As the song goes, "I saw God today" - which, by the way, was playing on the radio on the way out. It was truly an experience of a lifetime for all of us."
Comments
[May 12, 2008 9:18 PM]
Moe3 Words- Awsum Awsum Awsum: Congradulation !!! That is a Awsum story. I know how you feel Dad, Been there done that with my daughter. Except with my daughters first buck. There isnt no better feeling. And the song!!!!! Man that gives me goose bumps. Way to Go Guys/Gal...............Moe
[May 12, 2008 11:08 PM]
BacklashGreat shooting Mya!! Now that is what you call a natural..