Dave Vedder downs first turkey

Dave Vedder, a friend and book author, now lives in Wenatchee. He is a seasoned angler, specializing in salmon and steelhead, although he will go after anything swimming in the world’s waters.

He also enjoys hunting birds, upland birds mainly, but he doesn’t discount anything flying. Recently Dave asked me about turkey hunting, indicating he has never shot a turkey.

We headed north, to my turkey hunting area near Davenport, on a recent Thursday. Each of us held four turkey tags.

Heading out on a day’s hunting in this situation involved three people. Dave Vedder, from Wenatchee, Bill Green, from Ephrata, and me, from Moses Lake.

Coming from three cities involved a meeting at some place along the way. There is no reason for Bill to travel to my house in Moses Lake, when he can drive due east and meet me in Stratford. We need to pass through this small town anyway, so why not meet there.

The same goes for Dave. The easiest way for him to travel is to head east on Highway 2. The meeting point is Hartline. There we pile into the Death Ram and head east to Wilbur and then Creston.

We turned north and east on the Miles-Creston Road, stopping at one house after another along the way. These are landowners who allowed me to hunt last year, but I wanted to check with them again this year. They all said yes.

We spotted a flock of turkeys a hundred yards past our second stop. I instructed Dave to get out of the Ram, load his shotgun, step off the road and shoot four birds.

All went well and three shells were expended. One turkey was down, it was Dave’s first turkey kill.

Driving the roads on our authorized hunt area revealed several other flocks, some numbering five birds and others with 20 birds.

Bill Green was now driving, this allowed me a chance to exit the Ram and set up to shoot. Our plan progressed on a side road.

Bill slowed the Ram and pointed to his left. Down a steep bank, there was a flock of birds. Dave stepped out, loaded his shotgun and stepped off the road.

Three shot later, his last three turkey tags were filled. My shots downed two birds. We had filled six of our eight tags in two hours.

Remember, our efforts should be considered turkey killing, as a way of thinning the turkey population on a cattle rancher’s land.