Young and afield: Special Minnesota turkey hunt

MORTON, MINN. -- Seventeen-year-old Sami Kelly hunkered in her blind, eyeing the young male turkey strolling past her decoys just 20 yards away.

The bird, angling across a plowed corn field, offered Sami a clear shot with her bow.

"I don't see a beard ... do you?" I whispered. "No," she replied.

That meant the turkey wasn't legal to shoot. It soon disappeared, and with it Sami's opportunity to bag her first wild turkey ever. An hour later, a big-bearded tom came gobbling through the tangled woods just 30 yards behind us, but refused to step into the open.

It, too, eventually disappeared into the woods.

Sami, of Comfrey, Minn., went home empty-handed -- as do two-thirds of all Minnesota turkey hunters. She was among 237 youths partaking in Minnesota's fifth annual youth turkey hunt last weekend. Ninety-four bagged a bird.

"It was fun," Sami said later. "I probably will do it again."

The goal of the special hunt is to encourage kids to get outdoors and try turkey hunting. First-time turkey hunters and a parent are paired with a mentor-guide from the National Wild Turkey Federation. Only the kids are armed. It's one of several youth hunts offered by the Department of Natural Resources to promote hunting at a time when hunter numbers are declining nationally.

"The goal is to ensure the future of hunting and conservation in the state," DNR hunter recruitment and retention supervisor Jay Johnson said. "We're developing that next generation of conservation advocates."

I joined nine other guides with the Redwood River Boss Toms chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation to hunt in Renville and Redwood counties in southwestern Minnesota. Sami Kelly and her mom, Kelly, 36, were the only females in group. Kelly Kelly works for the Archery Trade Association.

"I didn't grow up in a big hunting family," she said.

She began deer hunting with a bow in 2001. She tried turkey hunting with a bow in 2004 and watched five toms fly down from the trees. She missed four shots that first day, but arrowed a bird on her third day.

Sami, who has hunted deer once, went out in the turkey blind with her mom once. "I thought it was cool," she said. So she signed up for this year's youth hunt. The goal was to arrow a bird, but she brought a shotgun along just in case.

We heard more than a half-dozen gobblers Saturday morning. But none came our way.

"I thought hearing all those birds that we'd see more," she said.

Sami, like the other young hunters, learned turkey hunting can be tough. Last year, just 35 percent of youth hunters bagged a bird, slightly better than the 33 percent success rate for regular turkey hunters.

Minnesota's youth turkey hunting program started in 2004, with just two hunts and 29 participants. This year, there were 30 hunts and 237 youngsters. The hunt, sponsored by the DNR and the National Wild Turkey Federation, is dependent on volunteers.

"If we had more mentors, we could have taken more kids," he said.

Experienced turkey hunters interested in mentoring should contact their local Turkey Federation chapter. (For a list of state chapters and contact numbers, see www.startribune.com/a4295.)

The youth turkey hunts all are done on private lands to reduce any conflict with regular turkey hunters.

The youths hunt until noon Saturday and Sunday. After Saturday's hunt, our 10 hunters, their mentors and parents gathered at scenic Birch Coulee County Park for hot dogs, chips and pop and to recount their morning.

Tradition is for each kid to stand up and tell the group about his or her first turkey hunt.

Everyone saw or heard birds. Five of the 10 kids fired at a gobbler. Four missed. But not Griffin Schaub, 12, of nearby Danube, Minn.

"There were four bunched together, and this one came in front, and I shot him," Griffin said, to a round of applause.

His guide, Mike Anderson of Danube, and dad, Randy, said it was a great experience.

"He was real patient," Anderson said. "There were four birds together, and I told him to wait to be sure he only got one."

Said his dad: "I don't know how you could have a better experience. It's marvelous they get these kids exposed to this."

Sunday, the others headed out in the dark again. And again, most saw birds. But Griffin was the only one to bag a bird. Still, most called it a success.

Organizers say the hunt succeeds because the guides are willing to spend a weekend sharing their passion. But by Sunday, it was hard to tell who had enjoyed themselves more, the guides or the kids.

"This was great fun," said first-time guide Tom Ellig of Redwood Falls. "I'll be back next year."

So will a new batch of young turkey hunters.