It was a long wait. I had booked a hunt with a friend/operator of Heritage Outfitters Nebraska almost 10 months in advance. This would be the first ever turkey hunt for my two sons, Jacob (15) and Brandon (13).
We arrived in Curtis, Nebraska early on April 13, 2018. We met with our outfitter, Brady, and immediately started to make the hunt plan. We also knew that a late winter blizzard was fast approaching Curtis within the next 12 hours. Brady asked the boys who was ready to go after some turkeys. They both were standing and ready. We went to our nearby hotel to get dressed for the first hunt, which was the last evening of Youth Week.
A brotherly paper/rock/scissor competition was underway to determine the first shooter. Brandon won with the trusty rock. We then met with Brady and headed out to locate some turkeys. The wind was steadily on the rise, and the temperature was on the fall. A nice group of birds were located on a nearby farm. We were able to get set up, and Brandon took the largest tom of the weekend, weighing in at 21 lbs. with an almost 8” beard. Jacob was also able to tag his first turkey. We had started the first afternoon by filling two tags.
The blizzard came in as forecasted, and we woke to one inch of snowdrift against our motel door. We all opted to stay indoors until after lunch.
After a nice lunch at a local farm, we continued our hunt and were able to fill the boys' tags by the end of day two.
By day three, the snow was quickly melting and the turkeys were out in full force. John Badgley (my friend and a Huntin' Fool member) and I were able to close the deal and fill each of our tags as well.
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