by JOSH GUNN
Conservation Officer
Webster County
April 5th marked the first, hopefully annual, Webster County Youth Turkey Hunt. We had four children participate and two of them harvesting big ol’ toms. Blake Hanor, guided by Billy Jo Parker, killed a turkey with a 5 inch beard. Hayden Whitsell, guided by Chester Davis, killed a bird with a 9 inch beard. Gavin Vanover and Coy Burns didn’t get a bird this time and were guided by Jordan Davis and Charlie Blue, respectively.
I cannot express the gratitude that I have for Chester Davis and Randy Nally in regards to this event. I mentioned wanting to put a hunt on for children and they completely ran with the idea.
Chester helped find children to take hunting and Randy provided the use of Rooster Run Lodge and all of his property. Chester then made sure there were guides to take the children, the land was scouted, and blinds were put up to hunt from for the day. On top of all of that, Randy also went out and got some clay pigeons and shotgun shells so that the children could shoot when they got back from the morning hunt.
In addition to hunting, Chester and Randy also made sure that the children were fed for the day.
Chester picked up donuts for breakfast and Randy provided hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch. Randy even played chef and cooked for us!!
Although they were the main organizers behind the event, Chester and Randy did have some help along the way. Ricky Price and Greg Puckett helped scout the property and erect the blinds. Pat McClure in Marion worked with Chester to get the kids some great turkey calls.
Dotiki Coal came out and presented the children with a full fishing tackle box and a really nice Zebco fishing rod and reel. The Kentucky Conservation Officer’s Association also donated a grab bag for the kids that contained a few goodies that they can use while in the woods. To all of these mentioned, I offer a big thank you for helping to prepare a great day for the children.
All and all, it was a very successful day. I would have liked to see each child kill a turkey but the smiles on all of their faces proved that you don’t have to kill something to have a successful hunt.
The purpose of the hunt is to provide an opportunity to hunt for children that might not normally get to go during the season. If you know of a child that will be under the age of 15 during the 2015 Spring Turkey season that would fit this description and would like to be a part of this event, please shoot me an email at jgunn217@gmail.com explaining why the child would be a good candidate.
To wrap things up you may be interested to know that the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife has twitter now. Follow our own northwest fisheries district on twitter @kyfisheriesnw. They’ll give frequent updates from around our area that relate to fishing, hunting and the Department.
As always, you can contact me at 270-635-5235.