By: Bears Butt

The second weekend of the UWC Youth Turkey Camp was a huge success just like last week was.  Was there any doubt?  Not one bit!

As camp hosts we have a lot of duties to take care of and even though it was Thursday night, we still had to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle were put together and made ready for our guests when they arrived on Friday.  It didn’t take us too long to get that done and then sit back and relax. The schedule showed the guests needed to be there around 8 a.m.  That meant we could stay up a little later than the rest of the weekend.  Tye and Kris provided us with some good old down home guitar playing music, which is always fun!

We had a great dinner cooked over the grill and who do you think showed up to spend the night and enjoy the fun?  None other than Brayden from last weekend!  I would have to say he and his dad, Mike, were sort of excited to be back at camp.  Even Mom showed up to have supper with them!

Mom told us that when Brayden was heading out to go to school that morning he said “I can hardly wait for school to get out so we can go back to the hunting camp!” (or something like that)  Come to think about it, I’d rather go camping myself…but for you youngsters reading this, don’t let camping keep you from getting your education!  You will have plenty of time for camping after graduating!

With plenty of sleep behind us we were quick to get the coffee and hot chocolate ready for when the guests arrived.  We were expecting a couple of old faces from last weekend to show and four new ones.  Another fun and exciting weekend was awaiting us.  Even Tonya Kieffer from the Utah DWR came up to take pictures of the camp and the hunting for the KSL Outdoors Show with Adam Eakle.

You can watch the video she took on that show and I think she said it would air on May 11 at 11 p.m.  Don’t hold me to that, just look it up on the KSL website page.  www.ksl.com

We had everything ready for action and guests started to arrive about 7:30 in the morning.  I love it when people arrive ahead of the time scheduled.  It gives more time to meet them and get to know them a bit before the activities begin.  They were all there when it was time for the DWR to give them a reminder about gun safety and safety while hunting turkeys.  Making sure they knew what was a legal bird to shoot and the consequences of making a wrong choice.

When that was done it was time to go pattern their shotguns.  Some, like Brayden and Kam, already knew where their guns patterned and so they went to get ready for the days hunting.

The young hunters were very good at safely handling their shotguns and made sure the barrels were all pointed safely down range or in the air at all times.  Darin thought it a wise thing to have the hunter/shooter assume a hunting position, one where they were most likely to be in when a gobbler comes a knockin!  He became “the tree” that the young hunter would lean against.

Each hunter did a fine job and made sure where they would have to aim in order to get their bird.

I’d have to say, this would have been a dead bird!  Way to go Aubrey!

Once the patterning was done, the hunters and their dads, or in one case grandfather, were paired up with a guide.  The guides instructed them on what to wear and to get ready to head on out!  It was nearly 10:30 and these kids were anxious to get out into the woods!

We camp folks cleaned up from the breakfast and made ready our exit to become spotters…Wapiti, Weasel, Conner and I chose “The Gallery” to watch.  We were not sure who the guides and hunters were that were down in there, but we wanted to find some birds if we could.  “The Gallery” is a ridge over looking a remarkable piece of land that holds lots of game.  During the weekend, we saw Elk, Moose, Deer and Turkey while we viewed from this spot.

Again, being camp folks, our time for spotting was limited and we could only stay out until about 2 p.m.  Supper needed to be ready for the hunters and guides by 4.  We learned last year that the supper meal had to be served and eaten before 5 p.m. so that the hunters could go back out and “roost” some birds at dark.  Eating after returning from a “roosting hunt” would mean they would be eating after dark and there would be NO time for a camp fire and story telling time.  Lights out is at 10!  The morning wake up  usually happens just about 4:30 a.m.

We didn’t see any turkeys on this spotting excursion of ours this day and were back to camp preparing supper by 2:15 (see boss, we did good!)

After our supper, we cleaned up the mess (it sounds like we are a bunch of slobs doesn’t it?  We actually are quite sane about preparing the meal and eating it)  and made ready for an evening of spotting.  A contingency of us decided we needed to go off in a direction that none of the guides had taken any of their hunters.  We needed to drive our ATV’s into an area that offers little to no advantage view points from which to spot.  We figured if we could work our way into this area, find a bird or two and take some GPS coordinates of the birds where-abouts that we could get guides into there the next day.  The ride was wonderful and we saw lots of game but only sign of turkeys.  There would still be a chance that a guide could call a big bird in.

As we were taking a short break from riding at this pond, we took a stroll around the bank and found quite a bit of turkey sign.  Scratched up grass and leaves, turkey poop and a general “grazing” of the grass.  A good place to set up and call.

Speaking of call, Jeremy got a text message from his wife back at camp…”Bird Down!”

BIRD DOWN!!!!  We were all excited to find out who the lucky hunter was and so we packed up the goods and headed off the mountain and back to camp!

As we rode into camp it was quite obvious as to who the young hunter was that bagged his big bird!  Brayden!

A very nice “double beared” Jake bird and a super story to go with it.  Braydens dad, Mike had called home and mom was soon at the camp to give her son a congratulations kiss!

High fives were had by everyone as Brayden was congratulated by everyone in camp

…even the little ones…

As it turned out, Tonya just happened to be with this party of hunters as Brayden took his bird.  What she got on film just might air on the show…so tune in to find out.

Another thing that happened occurred the at the fire the night before when Weasel made an offer to Brayden…He said, “Brayden, if you shoot a full grown Tom bird, I’ll give you $5, but if you decide to take a Jake bird, I’ll give you $20”.  His dad then said, “And Brayden, I’ll do just the opposite.  You shoot a Tom and I’ll give you $20, but if you shoot a Jake I’ll give you $5”.  Well Brayden was in a win win situation with the bird as the icing on the cake.

That was a nice way to end Friday evening!  Chock another successful hunt with guide Darin.  Congrats to you and to Brayden!  Is it the dream catchers that are making this luck come together?  Or is it the skill of the guides and the extremely good shooting of the young hunters?

We built a good fire and asked the young hunters to tell us their story of the day and each one of them did.  I just love it when the young ones come out and tell such great stories!  I am actually learning a thing or two about telling stories just listening to them.

Don’t look now, but that young lady in the picture is Breanne and they call her “Sasquatch”!

Then it was off to bed…we all had a busy day and the morning will come early…Camp folks!  I’ll see all of you at the camp kitchen at 4 a.m.!!!!

4 a.m. comes very quickly after a full day the day before, but we have the coffee and hot chocolate ready…some danishes, and lunches for the days hunt…the guides are the most anxious as can be seen in this picture.  Mostly guides and a couple of hunters…where are the rest?  We have turkeys to kill..oh ya, Brayden will be sleeping in today.

As time ticks away the rest of the hunters find their way out to the gathering place and to the smell of hot chocolate and coffee.  A wonderful day ahead.  Partly cloudy and breezy is what is called for by the prognosticators, not being a died in the wool turkey hunter I don’t know what the guides are saying to each other about strategies, but they have something up their sleeves for sure.

Again, just like yesterday, once the hunters are gone, the crew cleans up the camp and gets ready for spotting duties…we are going to the Gallery again today.  Others are going various places to try and put an eye on a bird from a long distance.

Up on the Gallery, the crowd slowly builds in size as the other spotters realize we have something going on up here that is a good thing and they want to be a part of it.

Hours and hours of peering through spotting scopes and binoculars tends to take its toll on the spotters.  Add to that the long day the day before and the short nights sleep and suddenly a nap seems more important than looking for birds.

The sun feels really nice laying on this steep hillside, but not everyone is sleeping.  We have a big tom bird spotted down the hill and we are trying to get the guide, Kelly and his young hunter Leo on the bird.  All morning long that bird just strutted its stuff down there and more than once the hunter was just about on top of the bird for the shot…but the bird slipped away.

Not once did the bird know just how close he was to the frying pan and that gave the hunter a good advantage, but still the bird walked on and on.  The story gets really good when the hunters are hunkered down under a cedar tree and a hen turkey comes to within 10 feet of their position without seeing them.  But they had to wait until she got out of sight before they could move closer to the Tom…hours slipped by as we spotters watched and watched.

Like I said the spotting crew grew larger with more and more people coming to watch the events unfold.  In the end we had 17 people on the hill above the Tom and his 3 hens and the hunters.

As for me, I was on the cell phone talking to Kelly quite a number of times, trying to direct him to where the Tom was and at one point Kelly decided the bird had gotten out of town and they needed to do something different.  However, we had heard a gobbling down in the brush below our position and as Kelly and the hunters walked in the opposite direction I called him..the conversation went something like this:  “Kelly, I know you have  a plan in mind, but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t tell you we have a gobbler sounding off at our feet.”  Kelly responded, “I’ll ask these two what they want to do.”

Pretty soon we see the three of them hoofing it back in our direction and toward the waiting Tom.  Suddenly we got a visual on the bird.  He was with his 3 hens and strutting like a crazy bird on the upper portion of a small opening in the oak brush.  I’m on the phone…ring, ring, ring…come on Kelly answer…ring, ring, ring…”The party you with to talk to blah, blah…”  I hung up.  Come on Kelly call me!  I’ll try him again…ring, ring, ring…”the party…”  I hung up.  After about 10 attempts, my phone rings…it’s Kelly…”Can you see us?”  I put the binoculars up and see them standing in a small clearing about 200 yards from the strutting Tom…”Yes.  But there is a deep cut in the draw between you and the bird.  He is up on the rise to your East…You will have to cross the deep cut to be on the same side as the bird.”  Kelly hangs up and they move in that direction, disappearing into the deep and steep cut.  Out of sight from us, all we can hope to see is the big Tom head in their direction and hear a shot from Leo’s shotgun.  We wait and wait.

My phone rings, it’s Kelly..”Still have a visual on the bird?”  He whispers…”Yes, but it is heading in your direction all fanned out.”  “Ok.” Came the response and then the phone hung up.  We figure Kelly can sense the bird is near and so wants to be really quiet…one of the only ways you can kill a smart Tom Turkey.  The bird goes out of sight from us in full strut and walking rather quickly toward where we last saw Kelly and the hunter.  We are all ears waiting for the report of a shotgun….nothing….nothing but the breeze blowing in our ears which are now as big as drums trying to pick up every sound of the forest at the same time.

Then the strutting Tom comes back into view, going up the edge of the brush line…I call Kelly…nothing…the phone goes to voice mail immediately…and then when I hang it up, it rings…it’s Kelly…”Hi Kelly, the bird is heading back toward the East along the edge of the brush, I think you will have to move toward the East and try to get ahead of it.”  The phone hangs up.

What do I know about turkey hunting?  I have only done it a few times over a 4 year period.  Why would Kelly want to listen to me, just because I can see the bird?  So we wait, not knowing what the guide and his hunters are doing and the big Tom slowly begins to disappear from our view.  17 spotters all trained on one spot, trying to see the bird which is now almost completely gone from our sight.

Suddenly the piece of a bird I am looking at explodes into a million feathers and the area turns into a dust bowl and the sound of the shotgun blasting comes upon our ears…17 people erupt into a loud chorus of yelling and screaming!  Some jump from their seated positions and are dancing around with arms flailing the air…someone should have been taking a video of the event…but you will just have to take my word for it.  Whatever it looks like in your mind is exactly what it was in mine and the guy next to me and the person next to them.  All of us were grinning and hooping it up!

And then someone says, I see the hunter…I call Kelly, Kellys says to  me…”Hey…he got it!” I say,  “Have him hold it up!”  And just then the bird is being held high by Leo as he walked toward our position and we could see him with the bird.  Again the crowd of us yell out our approval!  And we hear a similar sound from their direction!  What a great thing to experience!  Up on the hill far and high above the hunter, his dad and his guide we are high fiveing each other and in general just celebrating the success of a young hunter.

Now let’s side step this story for another.

Far down in the valley, possibly a mile from the young hunter and his downed bird is a guide with his young hunter.  He has had to answer the call of nature and has left the side of his hunter and her father.  He can see the 17 people high on the ridge above his distant position and turns his back from our view as he relieves himself.  He has always thought himself as more of a man than most men when it comes to certain body parts and as he finishes his duty, he hears a raucous yelling and hooping sound and turns to look over his shoulder at the dancing crowd at the top of the ridge…he thinks to himself…hmmm, I do have my back turned to them, but, well maybe they can see…..

As it turned out the guide did not hear the report of the shotgun and knew nothing about the kill shot.  Now back to the story….

This is the view through my camera on full zoom..the killing field.  The folks down there are taking pictures, tagging the bird and just enjoying the bonus success of this hunt.  They still have a long and steep walk out from where they are.

As we wait for them to hike up to our position we have a lot of time to talk about this event, the kids involved, the volunteers and plain old turkey talk.  How it feels to be near your son or daughter when they succeed in the course they are trying to get to.  All the emotions that are felt in an event like this.  How the young hunters feel that don’t get the chance to fill their tag like this young man did.  And I wonder to myself, should there be a part in the teaching of hunters education a section on enjoying the sport as a pursuit with the bagging of the game a bonus rather than the ultimate goal.

And for this young man, he couldn’t be happier right now!

And for this old man writing this, I can only speak for myself when I say, today was the icing on the cake for me this weekend.  To watch for several hours as the sneaky old Tom continued to outsmart the hunters without even knowing he was doing it.  For Guide Kelly and the hunter to be extremely sneaky themselves and put the bird on the ground.  What a rush that must have been for Leo and what a proud moment for his dad.

Once we were back to the camp it was time to get the supper ready and feed these hungry folks.  A great batch of fixins was made by Kris and the crew;

Sloppy Joes with salad, chips and home made lemonaide!  A perfect meal for a perfect day.

 

After the supper meal was eaten the guides headed back into the woods with their young hunters to try one last evening push to bag that bird.  Lots of birds had been seen today and the guides were more than anxious then ever to put their hunter on one.

And while some took to road hunting, others hiked even with sores on their feet.  All were determined to bag that bird!

Ouch!  Kami are you practicing to become a doctor?  You need better tools.

And while the hunters were out getting as close as they could to those big birds, the rest of the camp were either spotting for them, or kicking back at camp enjoying the wonderful weather and the day.

 

And with only one more morning to hunt, the guides encouraged their young hunters in getting a good nights sleep this night.  The nights campfire was still a very fun one and stories were told, but the crowd was much smaller than the past couple of nights.

I apologize for not taking any pictures on Sunday morning, the last day of this fun event.  I was asked to go along with Dan and Aubrey and their guide Bill to hunt a small pond on the West side of the camp.  This I gladly did and it was a very fun morning hunt.  We only saw one hen turkey and the Toms skirted around us.  If I have only learned one thing about hunting turkeys it is this:  Don’t Move!  Taking pictures requires movement.

And that is it for the United Wildlife Cooperative Organizations, 2013 Youth Turkey Camp!  I thank you folks for allowing me and my gang to play.  We had a really fun time in spite of all the hard work and lack of sleep.  I’ll do it again!  We met some really great people, had a ton of laughs, ate some exceptional food and enjoyed a wonderful camp and fun hunting experiences.  For those of you who volunteered and came forward to pitch the tents, take the tents down, cook the meals, get up at all hours of the mornings to get the coffee and hot chocolate going, clean up after the meals, take out the garbage, guide the young hunters and try to keep the UWC bosses in line….I THANK YOU!   It would not be right not to give a VERY BIG THANK YOU  to the Whitear family for letting us camp on their property and to the R and K Hunting Company for letting us hunt the leased lands they have available!  It was very nice of you to allow that.  And finally I’d like to personally thank the Utah DWR for their participation at this event as well and a special note to the Director, Greg Sheehan, Thank You for what appears from the outside looking in, as an extra effort at expanding your “Outreach Program”.  It’s what is needed right now in recruiting new hunters and fishermen in this state.

AND as my last note:  Someone has lost a slip over face mask and this person was at the “Gallery” on the first weekend…if it’s yours let me know…I’ll get it back to you.

Thanks again everyone!

Until next year!

Bears Butt

May 6, 2013

For a peak at some of the happenings at this years Youth Turkey Camp the following link is what was shown on the Adam Eakle show on KSL on Saturday May 11, 2013

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1112&sid=25163956

Bears Butt

May 14, 2013