Doug Crabtree - Thanksgiving Day Special 

Early Thanksgiving morning of 2003 I found myself on the road to meet a friend, Don Nye (AKA Coon Dog) for a Thanksgiving fall wild turkey hunt. In the past I've been real lucky with spring turkey’s, but a fall turkey had been avoiding my Ohio tag since I started hunting them with a bow six years ago.

I met Coon dog at the Fina in Ashland, Ohio and we drove south to a spot where Coon Dog had been hearing lots of birds every morning while in his deer stand.

Daybreak found us on top of a ridge near a small stand of pine adjoining a clear-cut. We positioned our Double Bull blind along an old log road, which split the pines and the clear-cut.

As light begun to take over the morning we heard turkeys in the pines, they were tree yelping softly. Ten minutes later the action picked up as several old hens began assembly yelping, attempting to gather their flock. There was also a distinct sound of old gobblers yelping, course and deep -- sounding as if they were yelping through a trumpet.

After the majority of turkeys flew down I joined in with some old gobbler yelps, as well as switching calls and old hen assembly yelping and kee kee run’s. 

It wasn’t long for the first turkeys to show up, two hens and a Jake but they had come in behind us and no shot was available. As they moved on out the ridge an old gobbler opened up with yelps, he was moving in our direction. There was also a lot of kee keeing coming from the same direction. I began gobbler yelping which drew a quick response. 

The ridge exploded with gobbles. Within seconds I could see turkeys moving towards us. 

There were gobblers yelping, gobblers gobbling, hens yelping, young turkeys kee keeing, all moving quickly in our direction. 

"Here they come," I said to Coon Dog, "right down the log road". 

The first one in was a nice longbeard -- headed right toward the decoys. As he cleared a small tree and walked into the opening I drew my Matthew’s bow and released the arrow. It hit its mark as the turkey ran about twenty yards and expired. 

Several long beards were now standing around him and on top of him. Then I saw another turkey coming from our left, they had not committed to the decoys but were walking at us.

It was Coon Dog's turn to shoot. As he readied for the shot the turkeys went behind us. I told Coon Dog that I was going to drop a window on the backside so he could get a shot.

The window fell Coon dog drew his Matthew’s and released the arrow, which also found its mark. A nice Jake had found Coon Dogs tag. Since Coon dog had missed four times the previous day he was extremely happy. His first turkey with a bow and my first fall turkey with a bow -- a Thanksgiving I will never forget.

Coon dog’s Jake weighed 13 lbs. with a 2-inch beard a great turkey for your first one with a bow. My gobbler weighed 19 lbs. had a 9-inch beard and 1 1/8" spurs. A great first fall turkey for me. 

Most of all it was a Thanksgiving that I thank god for letting me be a part of. As a friend once told me (Robert Hoague), "Just be part of it and good things usually happen!"