Gobbles and Giggles with the Girls
By Kevin Bonnar
We started off the month of May in Minnesota turkey hunting with the girls. Brother Darren hooked us up with his amazing neighbors Bob and Jan who opened up their cabin and beautiful property so that we could help these young hunters chase their dreams of getting a big ole spring turkey!
We rolled in on Friday night and after getting settled into the cabin we had the girls out shooting shotguns and getting ready for the morning hunt. For a few of the girls this was their first time shooting shotguns, but it didn’t phase them, they were right on target and ready to go!
Saturday we got up early and headed out to the blinds. We had 5 ladies out hunting that morning Jayla, RaeLynn, Ginny, Catherine and Vickie. For Jayla, RaeLynn, Ginny and Vickie this was their first time out hunting turkeys and for Vickie this was her first hunt ever. And wouldn’t you know it, Vickie on her first hunt ever, got a bird! Vickie was guided by mentor Chad and also Kaylie who has recently graduated from mentee to mentor in the Kicking Bear family. Vickie is a member of our beloved Mobley family. You may remember her brothers Gary and Jonny were successful on the boys hunt in April. Now the big question was, would her sister Catherine complete the sweep for the family?
The rest of the morning there were birds gobbling all around our blinds which were filled with lots of giggles. Young Jayla in a blind with mentors Dave and Chrissy did get a chance at one big ole tom but just missed. As a rainstorm rolled in we all headed back to the cabin for some lunch and rest. We got to hear the story of how Vickie got her turkey and the excitement of Jayla’s shots too. Very thankful after that first sit!
Saturday night brought a lot of wind across the ridge top and despite hearing lots of birds we just couldn’t get them in our sites, so we headed back to rest up for one more shot Sunday morning.
Sunday was a special day for us all as we celebrated brother Ray’s birthday!! We all thought a great way to celebrate would be with about 4 turkeys! I was secretly pulling for Catherine to get one, if all 4 Mobley kiddos got a turkey this year, what a story!! We worked hard to get the birds out, but again they just wouldn’t cooperate. It was a beautiful morning sit though with the sun shining and the cottonwood pollen falling. A few hens strutted by but for the most part the birds stayed in the woods on us. We waited it out till lunchtime and then broke down our blinds and cleaned up camp. What an awesome way to start the month of May, we were all very thankful for Bob, Jan and Darren setting us up so well for the weekend and especially thankful for our time together. Huge thanks to our awesome guides and for the families who trust us to take their kiddos out hunting. God blessed us with good weather, great friends and memories that will last a lifetime.
