Youth Turkey Hunt Details/Results 2014

Youth Turkey Hunt and Education Details 2014

Saturday March 8th - Hands-On Education Day

This is an educational event with a field trip to the woods and the opportunity to hear turkeys and see some of the turkey sign we look for when scouting for turkeys prior to the opening day of season. We will leave early in the morning, before daylight and be in the woods as daylight breaks. You will get to hear the woods wake up with bird sounds, crows, owls and maybe we will be lucky enough to hear an Ol' Longbeard announce his presence with a loud gobble. After that we will look for turkey sign and explain some of the important aspects of early season scouting. We will head back to town for more instruction and a light breakfast.

Field trip meeting place: The new parking lot at Cass Birch with the entry coming in from the Houghston Clinic.
Time: 5:30 AM
Return to Cass Birch: 8:30 AM We will have a light breakfast provided.

Wear comfortable camo clothing if you have it or something dark in color. Comfortable boots are best and so be dressed for current weather conditions.
If we have rain, depending on how severe, we may call off the field trip. We will contact you if that happens.

Hands-on Classroom: 9:00 AM On the second floor at Cass Birch in the education / training facility.

Subjects covered include the "Mysteries of the Wild Turkey Revealed", turkey biology, hunting strategies, turkey calling and calls (bring your favorite calls if you have some), and how we want you to have a great experience and a safe hunt!

Dismiss Classroom: 12:00 Noon

Shotgun Pattern Time: 1:00 PM
Location: The field behind Pipkin Motors

If you have a shotgun you plan on using on the March 15th turkey hunt, please bring it and we will help you check the pattern. It is best to have a full choke tube installed for this testing event. You don't have to have your turkey loads unless you want to check the density before your hunt. We will have 12 and 20 gauge field loads to check the accuracy of your gun. If you will be shooting the guides gun, you may want to come experience firing in a seated position. We will have several experienced hunters there to help and make the experience a safe and learning event.

Friday March 14th - Pairing Event

This is the day for our Pairing Event. We will meet to pair the volunteer guides with the youth hunters going on tomorrows hunt. There will be Bar-b-Q sandwiches served and activities include a Youth Turkey Calling Contest, and a drawing for a guided turkey hunt with Ronnie Reagin, the Georgia NWTF Chapter President and local videographer David Neck. Hunters will make plans with their guides on where to meet and times for tomorrows hunt.

Place: Christ Fellowship Church, 417 Connell Road, Valdosta
Time: 5:30 PM
Attire: Casual

Prizes available, Calls for contest; 1 Yelp, 2 Cluck & Purr, 3 Cackle, 4 Favorite

Saturday March 15th - Youth Turkey Hunt

All hunters will have made plans on where and when to meet their guides at the pairing event. You will go on your hunt and meet back at the weigh-in for accounts of the hunt and photos. Good luck and remember to be safe and make the day a great experience for the young hunter.

Weigh-In Location: Johnson Distributors on North Valdosta Road across from Prince Chevrolet.
Time: 10:00 - 11:00 AM

Come to the weigh-In and hear the hunting stories and see if any turkey gobblers are harvested by the young hunters. Pictures will be made and posted later on our website. Also, we would like to get the story of your hunt. If you would like to write a short story of your hunting experience, we would like to hear from you. Just write your story in your own words and email it to [email protected] and we will post the best story on our website. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 stories. Please have your entry in by March 22nd so that we can get it up for all to read. Thank you!

Results and Photographs

We couldn't ask for a more perfect day to start the first every early season youth turkey hunt in Georgia. Nineteen kids and many volunteers were on hand to make this a great experience for these newcomers to the Great Outdoors. Almost every hunter experienced hearing wild turkeys and some even saw birds. One lucky hunter harvested the only turkey and his name is Logan McQuaig. Seen here in this photograph are left to right David Neck, Jimmy Whatley, Ronnie Reagan, Logan McQuaig and Patrick Dupree. Patrick was Logan's guide, Ronnie is the President of the State Chapter of the NWTF, and Jimmy and David are local turkey hunting celebrities. Listening to Logan and Patrick describe there hunt, we all agreed that they experienced one of the rarest days when you get to hear the woods light up with every turkey sound imaginable. From gobbling to fly down cackles, they got an earful of turkey talk! Congratulations to Logan and all the kids that took part in this first ever early season turkey hunt in Georgia.