My name is Jessica Bailey. I live in West Plains, Missouri. I like many sports including: basketball, softball, track, cross-country, volleyball, hunting, fishing, gymnastics and more. I love writing stories and poems. I grew up around sports and hunting all my life. My aunt used to participate in almost all the sports I participate in. I grew up around my grandpa and he does a lot of hunting and fishing. He works for Quaker Boy and he also does taxidermy. He has his own shop right in his backyard. My grandma also went hunting, she has killed turkeys all over the country. I grew up seeing animals brought home and put in the freezer. Now I am old enough and it is my turn.
I started shooting a bow when I was probably five. It was not a compound bow like I have now, it was a learning bow. It was made of plastic and a cord type string. I would shoot it when my aunt shot hers. Then for my 9th birthday, my aunt got me a compound bow that was real little. It had sights and a rest on it. Soon after that I started going to 3-d competitions with my aunt. I always had problems because my bow was so little the arrows would not stick in the targets very well. But it was fun so I kept trying. About 2 years ago I got a new compound bow that will make the arrows stick in the target. I can even hunt with it. It is a kids bow that is just my size. It goes from 25 to 40 pounds. My newest bow has not let me down yet. I want to kill a turkey and a deer with my bow, but first I need one with my gun. I have gone turkey hunting twice and each time made me want to kill one even more.
My first turkey hunt was last season. I had been deer hunting with my aunt but this was the first time I got to take a gun. My Aunt and I sat down in a blind early in the morning. We called in three birds to about 100 yards away. They were gobbling their heads off. I was ready I knew I was going to get a turkey. But about five minutes later I heard a big shot. Somebody got between me calling and the turkeys. I was so upset but I didnt give up. We waited a while and called again. They started coming back. This time we called them in to about 50 yards. Then all of a sudden another shot was fired. This time I was even more upset but I didnt give up I stayed there. We tried one more time. A little later we called and a bird started to come in. Just then somebody shot in another field and it ran away again but this time nothing would come back and it was getting late so we went home.
Now my second turkey hunt was a little better. It was during this years Missouri youth hunting season. My aunt and I sat down at a tree about 6:00 am and started calling. We heard three birds gobbling on the roost. It wasnt long before they flew down and started getting closer and closer. They got so close we could hear them walking in the leaves, but I wasnt nervous I was ready to take a turkey home. They came in it was three jakes. I was ready to shoot and they were close enough but I was facing the wrong direction. The birds came in almost behind me. I couldnt turn to where I could get a good shot at them. They stood back there and gobbled and strutted. After seeing no hen they walked back into the woods and I never saw them again. This hunt was better than the last one even though I didnt get a turkey. At least I got to see some this time.
Even though this time I didnt get a turkey on either hunt I wont give up. I will go back next time and I will bring home a turkey. My Grandma was the first women to kill a grand slam with a gun and she always tells me you wont get a turkey if you dont have confidence.
