Trophy turkey is hunter’s first kill
The outdoors was always where Amanda Brock Coutch would rather be. Working in the yard to deer hunting or fishing with her granddad were her favorite things to do.
She deer hunted as a child with her dad and became quite accomplished at it. However, she had never turkey hunted.
Until this year, when she nailed a bird with four beards.“I was videoing my husband on the opening weekend as he harvested a bird with his bow,” Coutch said. “Being that close to an animal and being able to hear them and see their every move was a beautiful sight.”
The couple continued scouting for turkeys following that hunt, and Phillip Coutch saw four birds — including a huge gobbler — while removing trail cameras from the woods.
“He came home telling me there was one left,” Amanda Coutch said. “Finally, I get to hold the gun.”
They headed out after church on the final Sunday of the season.
“Shortly after daybreak, we listened to an owl and a jake talk back and forth,” she said. “After a while, we heard the big gobbler. We looked at each other, knowing this was the one, and he was moving to our food plot set up.”
The gobbler came on in, but hung up for some time.
“ The gobbler was behind a tree for a while, and I could not get a line on him,” Amanda Coutch said. “Phillip called one last time. All of a sudden all I could see was this massive bird headed towards me.
“I picked up my gun, tried to calm my nerves and control my breathing.”
The bird was impressive, she said.
“His beard looked so thick, it was just swaying back and forth,” Amanda Coutch said.
So she didn’t hesitate when the gobbler moved into the open.
“When he moved out from behind our jake decoy, I took the shot,” she said. “He dropped right there. I finally caught my breath.”
However, she was blown away when she collected the trophy.
“We could not believe the gobbler had four beards,” Amanda Coutch said. “That hunt will go down as one of the most memorable moments of my life.”
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