The Great Outdoors
More Than
A Hunt By Pete Lathrop
“C’mon Andrew you’ve got to get out of bed!”
I
t’s not 10 minutes before the bus arrives. It’s not even 12:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday. It is 5:30 in the morning of my 13-year-old son’s first successful turkey hunt. You would think that he would be mummy-walking in a sleepy stupor, as most teenage boys would at that time of the day, but one reminder was all he needed. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he was putting on his camo and getting his 20-gauge ready. His motivation was the news I gave to him the day before. I had been turkey hunting for a few days and after the morning sit, I would get up and slowly scout for a while. I’d seen toms regularly but at a distance. From what I could see, the toms were following a group of hens through a valley. So, when the turkeys were gone, I checked out the spot and found that it provided perfect cover for a surprise ambush. So, I headed home and told Andrew. “The chances are good”, I told him. “We’ll set up before dawn
30 – GATHER Veterans
