Azlyn Shed, 10, hunted hard during this past deer season in search of a mounting size buck. She hunted quite a bit with her grandfather Randy Smith, but she never saw one that was big enough for her to mount, or so she thought. As a result, she told her grandfather that she wanted to kill a gobbler this season and set her sights on doing just that. Randy Smith is an avid turkey hunter, and he was game to try, so he set about getting her a shotgun that she could handle that would be adequate for a clean kill.
“I found her a Mossberg 500 .410 shotgun from the Rock House, and we practiced with her shooting a target a few times before we went,” Smith said.
Smith, of Collinsville, had family land up in Kemper County so he made plans to take Azlyn hunting the opening week of youth season.
“She actually shot the gun a few times on Friday, so we planned to go Saturday morning,” Smith said. “I went to our natural blind and got things ready that night and also put a jake and hen decoy up near the stand. However, when I got up the next morning the wind and cold was so bad, I decided to take her later when it warmed up.”
Smith picked up his granddaughter and they went to the woods and got set up in their natural blind.
“When we got there the jake decoy was mashed on the ground and torn up by a gobbler,” Smith said. “I called a few times and we settled into our blind and started watching for turkeys.”
Making some calls
After watching the field with no action Smith decided to stir the pot some.
“I clucked a few times and two hens and a jake came out and stopped about 80 to 90 yards away,” Smith said. “We were sitting side by side and I clucked with my Primos mouth call and purred with a Woodhaven slate call and suddenly a gobbler came charging out towards the Jake.”
When he got to the jake and hens, Smith purred and clucked. Again, the gobbler made a beeline to the decoys and started fighting the jake. Things got so intense that Azlyn couldn’t get a clear shot at first.
“That gobbler was wearing out that decoy and he finally got clear of it for a minute, and I told Azlyn to shoot,” he said.
Boom! The shotgun roared and Azlyn’s first gobbler was history! Needless to say the proud grandfather and granddaughter were thrilled that she got her first gobbler, something that is very hard to do.
Azlyn’s gobbler was a mature bird with an 8 ¾-inch beard and 1-inch spurs and only took about 20 minutes for the whole hunt. Sometimes it’s good to get a quick clean kill, especially when you are 10 years old and hunting with your grandfather.
She is the daughter of Chad and Danielle Shed and granddaughter of Randy and Debbie Smith.
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