| THE KANSAS CITY STAR T H E O U T D O O R S YOUNG GUNS Special hunt gives kids first shot at Kansas turkeys by BRENT FRAZEE / The Kansas City Star Sunday, April 6 , 2 0 0 3 YATES CENTER, Kan. – Jon Nee Jr. enjoyed privileged status Friday. When dawn arrived, the 15-year-old was sitting where many adults could only dream of being in the turkey woods. The adults have to wait until Wednesday to open the Kansas spring turkey hunting season. Not Nee. He was getting a head start on his older counterparts, participating in the statewide youth turkey hunt a special event designed to give youngsters accompanied by adults a chance to try the sport in a non-intimidating setting. And it quickly became apparent that going first had its advantages.
Sitting next to his dad, Jon Nee Sr., at the edge of a patch of timber in southeast Kansas, he watched a dream hunt unfold Friday. First, the turkeys he and his dad had scouted the afternoon before flew down from the roost right in front of them. Then he watched the three biggest gobblers in the flock peel off and head straight toward the two hen decoys they had put out. As Jon Sr. used a slate call to sweet-talk the birds, the gobblers cautiously approached. When they got within shotgun range, the teen-ager fired a shot at one of the birds and watched it fall. Moments later, he was carrying a 23-pound bird out of the woods and was celebrating another memorable father-son hunting trip. "It definitely helps being the first ones in here to hunt," Jon Sr. said. "These turkeys haven’t seen a lot of humans. The farmer comes in to feed the cattle, but that’s about it. "This field and the timber are back off the beaten track. The birds just don’t get disturbed that much." Until spring hunting season, that is. When April arrives, the Nees and many others like them dream of getting involved in the turkeys’ love interest. During the birds’ mating season, lovesick gobblers abandon part of their wary ways, roaming the woods in search of hens. Hunters try to imitate the calls of those hens so well that they can trick the gobblers into strutting toward them. The male birds put on a show, puffing up and dancing, fanning their tail feathers, spitting and drumming. That’s what gives a turkey hunter spring fever. Take it from the Nees, who live in Overland Park. Jon Sr. runs the Mid-America Hunting Association, a business based in Grandview that leases land throughout Kansas, Missouri and Iowa and sells hunting rights on that land to hundreds of hunters. He also is a turkey-hunting fanatic. It’s obvious that he has passed down that love of the sport to his son. Jon Jr. already has shot five turkeys in his young life, including one trophy that had five beards and weighed 23 pounds. And like many more-experienced hunters, he can tell you the story behind each one. "I remember one of the first times I went with Dad," he said. "I had to work just to keep up, and I fell asleep once we stopped. "I woke up to my dad’s shotgun going off. I looked out and saw that he had just shot a big turkey." Today, Jon Jr. is somewhat of a veteran at this game. He doesn’t blink when his dad tells him he will have to wake up at 3 a.m. to make sure they allow plenty of time to get set up in the woods. And he doesn’t hesitate when it comes time to scramble up and down rugged hillsides and creek beds. When there are turkeys involved, he knows it’s worth the work. "I love hunting turkeys," he said. "It’s fun just watching them. "(Thursday) night we sat and watched them for almost three hours. We counted 22 of them out in the field. "We stayed out until they flew up to the roost. So we had a good idea of where we were going to set up (Friday) morning." Jon Sr. credits that scouting with playing a big part in the success of the hunt. He and his son set up some 75 yards away from the trees where the turkeys went to roost. They hoped the birds would stroll their direction after they hit the field. Fortunately, the three biggest birds in the flock were attracted to the decoys. "They came in like they were competing for those hens," Jon Sr. said. "That doesn’t always happen. "Sometimes they’ll fly down and just go the other way. When they get out in a flock in a field, it’s hard to get them to break away and come in. "Everything worked out today." For the Nees, it was the perfect way to start the turkey season. Soon, they will be hunting the statewide season. And later in April, they will hunt Missouri. John Sr. hopes to bring his other son, 10-year-old T.J., hunting sometime this spring. And Jon Jr. hopes to get out again, too. But they’ll have a hard time topping what happened Friday. "These youth hunts are great," Jon Sr. said. "They give the kids a chance to get out when they don’t get pushed and shoved by the adult hunters. "Everything’s in their favor during these hunts. They (and the adults who accompany them) are the first ones out in the woods, so the turkeys are a little more vulnerable. "And if they find success, they’re going to be back. And that’s what we need. "We need the young hunters to get interested and keep the sport going." S P O R T S DA I LY S P O T L I G H T Hunter’s tip: Take patient approach by BRENT FRAZEE / The Kansas City Star
Jon Nee Sr. isn’t a ridge-runner. Some turkey hunters, especially those in the Ozarks, aren’t happy until they’re standing on a ridge on opening day, trying to get a gobbler to sound off, then taking off running in the direction of that faint call. That’s not for Nee. He would much rather take a more relaxed approach. He would rather have a good idea of where the birds are going to be before he even enters the woods in the morning. "Everyone has their own way of hunting turkeys," said Nee, who runs the Mid-America Hunting Association, a Kansas City-area business that leases hunting land. "For me, scouting is what pays off. "I like to know as much as I can about the birds I will be hunting. I want to put them to bed the night before and know where they are roosting and where I will be setting up. "It doesn’t always work. But I’ve had a lot of quick hunts that way." Nee goes so far as performing a dress rehearsal before some of his hunts. He will go through the paces of where he will park, where he will enter the woods and where he will set up. The turkeys, of course, can be unpredictable. But Nee at least has a game plan. He also relies on other tactics to fool the spring turkeys. EARLY BIRD: Nee believes in setting the alarm clock for early when he’s going turkey hunting. He likes to head to his hunting spot in the dark, long before shooting hours. That way, the woods will settle down as daybreak approaches and the turkeys will have a false sense of security, he said. DON’T CROWD ‘EM: Even when Nee knows where the turkeys are roosting, he is careful not to set up too close to them. He usually chooses a spot about 75 yards away from the trees where the birds spend the night. And he looks for a spot where the decoys will be immediately visible to the birds that fly down. TRUE CALLING: Nee will call softly and is careful not to overdo it. He believes some hunters scare turkeys away by calling too loudly or too often. PATIENCE PAYS: When Nee watches turkeys leave the area he is hunting, he often resists the urge to pick up and head to another spot. "A lot of times they’ll be back if you’re just patient," he said.
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