"Where there's a will ..."

The call came in last April from DNR officer Creig Grey, he wanted to book a turkey hunt for his twin brother Greig of Ann Arbor. He asked me if I were up for a challenge. I thought by the question that he must of went after an educated gobbler with a PHD in human evasive maneuvers and wanted my 'help. My answer was, "I'm always up for a challenge". After all this is why I hunt turkey, and guide. I love the challenge that turkey hunting provides, there's nothing like it. Creig quickly pointed out that this hunt would be more challenging than usual. He told me that his brother Greig was quadriplegic. He had limited movement in his arms, no movement in his fingers or legs. He was in a wheelchair, and would not be mobile for the hunt. Creig told me that his brother was a very active and avid hunter before a car accident left him for the most part paralyzed from the neck down. I thought to myself for a minute and had nothing but admiration for this fellow hunter who with the loving support of his family had the courage and will to overcome his disabilities, and hunt once again. I told Creig that I had never taken out a disabled turkey hunter before, but that I was up for the challenge.

The date was set for May 11th Michigan's 3rd turkey season in area "Ell, my home turf. We obviously wouldn't be very mobile, so Creig suggested going to their land where Greig had his own shanty blind for deer hunting, so this - is what we done. I set a decoy out about 6 feet from the blind in the direction we thought the gobblers might come from. I set up a portable Lucky's tent blind about 20 yards from Greig's blind to do the calling from. We were now ready for the hunt. You by now have probably wondered how would Greig shoot his gun if a gobbler came into range. Well you see, Creig designed a shotgun that straps to Greig's arms which have some movement, and a straw like devise that Greig blows into that activates an electric car door lock mechanism that in turn pulls the trigger, brilliant!

As daylight came I let out a few tree yelps and quickly got a response from a couple of gobblers in the opposite direction from our set up. After another 10 minutes I called again and the gobbler responded from about 75 yards away, he was - already on the way in. I could now see the long bearded gobbler strutting in, flanked by 2 other jakes. The problem was they were coming in from the rear of the set up. They wouldn't even be able to see the sexy Flambeau hen decoy unless I could get them to walk past me. As they closed the distance to 40 yards, I called very softly, using only a feeding purr on my A-Way push button yelper, then going silent all together hoping to get them curious enough to investigate. It worked, the gobblers walked right in between me and the shanty a mere 10 yards away. Then they spotted the decoy and made a B-line for it. As I waited for the shot, the gobblers now passed between the decoy and the shanty, remember I -told you that I set the decoy 6 feet from the shanty? When no shot was fired and the gobblers left, I went over there to see what happened. It turns out that,, the

gobblers were so close that Greig could only see their heads, and wasn't able to see if they had beards. Smart move, in Michigan the spring turkey must have a beard to be a legal target. And being that his brother the DNR officer was sitting right next' to him, it was probably a good idea that he didn't shoot.

After turning Greig to face the opposite window, I called out every so often hoping to catch a roaming gobbler. At about 9:00 1 saw 3 jakes coming in. They spotted the Flambeau decoy and started working their way in. There was now no need to call as the birds were committed. As they reached the 25 yard mark, I heard the blast of the gun and saw 3 scared gobblers running down the trail. Greig must have made the common mistake of looking over the bead and shooting over the bird.

It was now 11 :30 and prospects were not as good as they were earlier. I called out again every 10 minutes or so and tried to stay focused and sharp. Finally 2 jakes appeared 100 yards away. The good lord had answered my prayer (new turkey tactic when all earthly means fail). I called out to them using my diaphragm call) and my push button at the same time. I wanted to let these boys know that there were 2 lost and lonely hens wanting some company. The jakes gobbled and
strutted their way in. As they reached the 40 yard mark, I quit calling and let the decoy -take over. As they cut the distance in half to the 20 yard mark, the gun once again rang out, only this time 1 gobbler left the scene instead of 2. Greig had taken his first gobbler and was so happy and
thankful, but it was I who was thankful to him for giving me the opportunity . to be part of such A great moment and memory that will be with me forever. IV

This only goes to prove that where there's a will, there's a way!