On Sat my 6yr old son , Adam , wanted to go turkey hunting with me but he is afraid of the 410. He asked if he could hunt turkeys with his bow i said YES. Now his bow only pulls about 15 lbs if that and his arrows have field points, i was certain we would not get one close enough for a shot. I would have been happy just to get one gobbling for him. Little did i know!! About 7 am one gobbled in the neighbors field . I let Adam use a push button call and the gobbler hammered back. We set up with Adam on my lap. I yelped again and he ran into 30yds and gobbled about 10 times. Adam never moved a muscle. I was very proud of him. The turkey got nervous not seeing a hen and walked off gobbling the enire way up the opposite hill. We spent the next 45 min catching tadpoles and looking for mushrooms. He never quit gobbling. We decided to go get the boat ready to catch some crappies later in the day, so we headed back. In my back yard now, we could still hear the bird sounding off. I asked Adam if he wanted to try one more time for the turkey, he said yes , with a big smile. We set up under a pine tree and behind two old round bales at the edge of my back yard. I called once and he hammered back. A min later i called and he was almost on us. I told Adam not to move and point the arrow towards the left. Seconds later he strutted into my yard and Adam drew, uncoached. He was at full draw for a couple second when the turkey alarm putted. I whispered" better shoot Adam". He let it fly and the arrow hit a limb and the turkey flew off. I know the arrow would have bounced off a turkey but he didn't know that. Serious business to a 6yr old. We may have found the dumbest turkey in PA but I'll take it any day of the week. Im very proud of my son and we made some memories neither one of us will forget. And to cap the day off, we caught about 25 crappies that afternoon.

That's so much fun

I had a nice picture of my boy practicing with his longbow that i wanted to add to the post but i keep getting an internal error message on my phone. Not sure how to do it.

That's a great story. I bet your son will remember that for the rest of his life. Great job getting him involved in the outdoors.

Great stuff!

Dry good story! Thanks for sharing what will be a wonderful memory!

Simply put; a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing. Lance

Buddy, good story but in Pa the requirements for archery are at least 35lbs. You gotta explain even to a child there are limits to what’s legal. It’s important to our sport and our game

He will always remember that!

Sounds like a wonderful father and son Saturday.

Lots of memories for a both of you will never forget. He'll never forget using that call and that gobbler.

I agree with Bowguy. Obey the game laws. Paul

Good grief guys!!!!!! His son is 6!!!!!! Who cares what pound bow the kid had, great story and awesome that he got to see and call in a bird.... probably most of y'all critics haven't done that at his age!!!!!

John I’m gonna respond only cause you act like it’s ok. It’s not. The laws are there for everyone. 6 years old or not. This is also a public forum, the op just admitted to breaking the law a couple times. Broadheads must be used as well. A better story would have had him aiming his toy gun at it or harvesting it w a real gun legally. Not sure on this but if crossguns are legal in Pa for turkey that coulda been used. A great example of obeying the game laws would have been to say no, it’s not legal. It’s also not ethical to shoot at game w such a light bow, it’s also illegal to use field points so this year we can’t. I’m sorry buddy. That’s what I woulda said. Now felt recoil on a gun is determined by many factors. Stock drop, stance, weight of gun, payload, action type and the thing that’s prob scaring him the most, noise. To the op, I mentor lots of little kids. One thing that helps is going to two hearing protectors. Foam ones inside, muffs outside. If it sounds less, to many it feels less. I start little kids w .22. Than you can try real light loads w the gun. Pattern it without him. Let him shoot turkey loads for the first time at a turkey. You know the gun is ready, don’t beat him up. If I can help let me know. Breaking a game law isn’t a great thing, doing so legally is.

I am going to respond back and ask.... have you ever broken a law?? Speeding? Shooting a bird with a BB gun? Run a stop sign.... remeber it says stop not slow down and creep through.

There is a time to teach game laws, who on here has never broken a single one???? Please tell me you have never broken a game law!!!!!

I guess I am just a southern redneck and still think he did a good deed for his son by letting him call in a bird and loose an arrow that had no chance of hurting said bird......

Well said bowguy. I agree 100%.

Wow.Treasure these times.Believe me John Cooper and I know.

Yes we do brother.

Well i reconsidered my actions from this weekend. I called the Game Warden and explained the situation. They are setting up a road block in the morning to get him off his kindergarten school bus. They said after the interrogation he will be sent home to gather his weapons of choice. They will be confiscated . I hope he is strong enough to not tell the law about his slingshot he used to shoot at the groundhog that was living under the shed without his orange hat on. When he gets home from school from now on it's video games and television. That should keep him out of trouble.

Let me see. For starters we need to follow the game laws period. Our parents shouldn’t allow us or persuade us to break the law. The answer is no my parents never did. Imagine if you’re stop sign analogy was accurate. You’re driving kinda early, say 14 cause you’re dad thinks it’s ok, you’re anout to stop for the stop sign and he says it’s ok just creep through. Kinda silly to even talk this way. Our parents gotta show us right from wrong. Now a bigger part of this is the ethics. And perception by the non hunting public. Few years ago a few towns away we had a button buck w an arrow in his jaw. Some tree hugger took a picture. It went world wide viral, the fish and game tranquilized it and removed it but not before the turmoil. A year later it happened again. An arrow in a deers back I think it was. Picture went viral. Back to the turkey, so the boy shot the Turk and it didn’t bounce out imagine. It’s running around w a very superficial wound dragging an arrow. Some old lady takes a picture and there goes lots of money in the anti hunters coffers as she posts a pic. The first deer I spoke of was shot w a 5” helical twist arrow. Trad, there isn’t too many around here. Maybe it was a kid shooting a bow just for fun? Who knows. Point is it could be anyone but why not play it safe and practice w legal equipment, capable of a quick humane kill and use that. If we aren’t strong enough yet there’s always next year or other ways. Bet if a game warden saw the shot or if it was hit and dragged around an arrow it’d not be a great story.

You made your point Bowguy give it a break for Pete's sake.

I bow down in your presence oh mighty bowguy...... you must be the perfect human and hunter!!!!!

Carry on ......

Another thread gone all to hell cuz of bickering between a couple guys. Sometimes I wonder if we think before we type. John

Mr Cooper. I did not proclaim perfection nor insinuate anyone should. Sounds like you have some insecurities you need to work on.

Brad, keep him in the woods and shooting. Little dude called his first turkey in at 6 years old. The boy is a natural! !!!

Brad, sounds like you and Adam had a awesome day together!! And that is great to hear and thanks for sharing. If my Dad hadn't let me break a few rules 50+ some years ago I doubt I would be hunting today. Enjoy your time spent together, it will go fast!

Bluesman you’re the one being silly. I’d bet a game warden certainly would care if someone was shooting at game w inappropriate/illegal gear 6 or not. Kind has me shaking my head too that you feel you can mold a kid legally later in life. People/kids set their way of thinking/doing things at a very young age. Kid won’t be doing just whatever than one talk and he’s doing things right when he can “really hunt”. Guess the deer w the arrow in its face, Turkey maybe dragging around an arrow and public perception doesn’t bother you. Some guys actually care about the sport and about kids’ futures more than the post above seems to

B Arthur, good for you and your son I say. I would’ve done the same thing.

I'm a stickler about game laws and hold myself to a strict set of ethics, but there is nothing I love more than spending time outdoors with my daughter. Cheers

I was duck hunting with a game warden friend. We were sitting in a grass patch with decoys along the edge. BAM a shotgun blast over our right shoulder from 30 yds away. Bought had a heart attack. I look and here's a kid with eyes open like grapefruits.

I wade out and shake the decoy he shot while my buddy is digging in his waders to get his badge out.

He asks the kid to paddle in so he could see his license. The kids 13. My buddy asks "where's your dad?". He's floating down the other side of the island. My buddy keeps his license and shotgun and tells him to bring his dad back. He was very kind to the kid as he was pretty shook up.

After awhile they come paddling in to us. The dad got a fine. In Pa at that age you must be in site of your kid.

Who was wrong here? The warden or the father? What did the kid learn from his dad?

I'm sure his dad wouldn't teach him to shop lift. Why is breaking game laws ok?

Let me say bluesman. I personally know a whole bunch of COs who would certainly not look the other way at any type of poaching so you see bluesman you’re either misinformed, or lying about who you spoke to. I’m gonna say you’re misinformed. Try it in front of a game warden, see what the outcome is. I bet he doesn’t put you on America’s funniest videos., Do what you want, do it near me we’d have problems that’s all. No one is saying the kid is terrible. He’s being a kid. It’s the parent that’s actually wrong for not correcting him. It’s all the encouragement that has me embarrassed to admit I’m a hunter. Guess the animal rights people are right in some instances. Me, all the guys I know are law abiding sportsman. Shame we all aren’t. This whole thread is embarrassing. Now EVERY kid I’ve met who’s grandfather, father, etc did something similar with them spends much of their life outside the law in this area. Hope he’s different.

B Arthur- great story and thanks for sharing. You did such a great job detailing it, I felt like I was there. I have two boys that grew up just like that and are making fine young men. Keep'em in the woods and they want be like the two young men I arrested the other night. One was shot when he was 14 and one had a dad that had been in prison for 16 of his 19 years. I wonder what they could have been if there dad would have memories like you described. God Bless.

Your boy is a natural...

Isn't harassing wildlife illegal and unethical? Just wondering.

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