Part 2 of 2 - Identical - Nebraska
Matt's first archery bird!
Hunter – Matt Snyder
Cameraman – Ken Snyder
The alarm went off at 4am only for us to awake to the sound of rain beating against the roof of the old cabin we called camp in southeastern Nebraska. You have to love hunting if you’re willing to wake up at 4am everyday to attempt to kill a turkey. No matter who you are, some mornings it feels good to hear that rain on the roof. It felt good to back to bed and get some extra sleep.
For me it was lunch and a few practice shots into the target before heading out to the blind for the evening hunt. For dad on the other hand, it was time for a crash course camera school. He had never filmed a hunt before. Part of the reason he hunted first was so that he could watch the footage from his hunt to get a visual example of what we were looking for in quality footage. I had faith in him!
After a bit of debate, it was decided that we would set up the Ameristep Choice Blind in the same place where dad killed his bird the night before. There were turkeys all over that alfalfa field the night before so why not give it a try again tonight. We were in the blind and set up by 3pm, only this time there were turkeys in the field minutes after we got set up. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation, a hen fed across the field and walked right by us which was a perfect opportunity for dad to get some practice with the camera on a live animal. We were still paying attention to the hen when 70 yards behind us a bird lit up totally catching us off guard. If you’ve hunted turkeys much you know how your spine tingles when a gobbler sneaks up and lets out a gobble right behind you!
The bird was on a mission to get to the hen that was now slowly feeding away from us. The only problem for him was that he had to walk right past the blind we were in to get to her. He closed the distance to the hen, walking past the right side of the blind at ten feet leaving me with a 15 yard shot quartering away out in front. “Are you on him?” Yes. Lights out! It all happened so fast. Now it was time to sit back and soak in the fact that I had just taken my first archery bird, my dad just filmed his first kill, and we were in the exact same spot where he killed his bird the night before. AWESOME!!! Our birds ended up being identical in size which made it cool. 10 inch beards, 5/8 in spurs.
All in all it was a phenomenal trip for both my dad and me. It’s not often that a plan like that comes together so perfectly. I invited my dad on this trip as kind of a thank you for teaching me to appreciate the outdoors when I was young. I’m sure when the two of us were sitting in a tree stand hunting together when I was twelve he never would have guessed I would someday have a career in the outdoor industry. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Thanks Dad!