Late Season Longbeard - Pennsylvania
Jeremy with his Pennsylvania Turkey!
The Turkey, Jeremy and his Dad!
Hunter – Jeremy Lengle
Let me start off by saying, this has been the best year of turkey hunting I have ever experienced! My father introduced me to turkey hunting even before I could legally carry a firearm. It’s something I look forward to every spring. He’s been having health issues lately and I cherish every time we get to spend a morning in the turkey woods together.
My dad and I were set up in the same general area where Adam and Holly killed their birds a few weeks earlier. We had the blind overlooking a narrow strip of tilled field, which widens into a larger green field of winter wheat. On this particular day, the birds were roosted closer to the blind than they had been. One bird started gobbling just as the songbirds started to chirp. The woods began to wake up and come to life. It was the time of day every hunter waits for. I figured we would have an encounter with a jake, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. Just as the sun was about to peak over the horizon, my dad looked out of the blind and whispered to me that he saw a bird. I turned and to my amazement, I saw a huge fan glistening in the morning sunlight. As the birds crested the hill, it all started to come together. As it turned out, there were two hens, and a jake with the long beard and they were heading our way! The hens started on a run right for us with the gobblers not far behind. It all happened very fast! My dad turned on the camera and whispered for me to get ready. Now I was tucked near the back of the blind, just shaking with excitement and waiting for the gobbler to get into view. It didn’t take long for him to appear. He was strutting and drumming which was a show that I’ll never forget. “As soon as he clears the strap I’m going to take him”, I whispered to my dad. I got the OK and let the 12 gauge roar! We had another long beard down in Pennsylvania!
I gave my Dad a hug and thanked him for coming along to share the experience with me. We stepped out of the blind to get a look at our trophy and take it all in. “It doesn’t get any better than this”, he said. This hunt was a great capper to an even greater season and an experience to last a lifetime!
Happy Hunting,
Jeremy