Saturday, April 6, 2013

Illinois' Youth Turkey Season Success

We took Skyler out turkey hunting this morning for opening morning of the Illinois Youth Turkey Season.  It was a beautiful morning -- starting out at 41 degrees when we left the house at 4:45 a.m.  We set up our blind last weekend but since Paul has been keeping an eye on these turkeys throughout the week, we moved the blind in the dark this morning to a spot the turkeys had started to use more regularly in these past few days.  Paul did all the mad turkey love calling and it worked again like a charm.  We had several toms in the field gobbling at us - but it was this particular tom who decided he needed to come in for a closer look.  Skyler made a great shot with her 12 gauge shotgun.  We are so proud of Skyler -- as always it was such a fun hunt as a family!  Skyler's turkey weighed in at 24.2 pounds, has a 10.25 inch beard and 1-1/2 inch spurs.  We already dressed this turkey out -- and I have the meat soaking in a saltwater brine.  Tomorrow I will package up the meat for the freezer and since I already soaked it in the brine -- it will be tender and ready to use in the future!