1st Turkey Calling Contest for John, Joe, and Thomas

1st Turkey Calling Contest for John, Joe, and Thomas

We competed in a Turkey Calling Contest hosted by the North Carolina National Wild Turkey Federation. John and Joseph won Second Runner Up for the Jakes and Intermediate age groups, and Thomas was Champion for his age group, the Poults.

We have been hunting turkeys for the past few years, but this was our first calling contest. We live on about 10 acres and homeschooling allows us to practice turkey calling and observe the wildlife on our property throughout the day. We have multiple game cameras we use for different trapping and hunting seasons to learn about the feeding and movement of wildlife. We also maintain trails and food plots on our land to make observing wildlife easier and help increase our trapping and hunting harvests. Homeschooling allows us to be available for these activities.

Part of preparing for turkey season is practicing different types of calls that help to attract turkeys and guide their behavior to ensure a good harvest. We were already practicing for turkey season when we learned about the calling contest. It was a bit of a drive, so being able to adjust our school schedule helped quite a bit.

Homeschooling also helped when we arrived and began to visit with the other contestants. Homeschooling by nature puts us with kids and adults of various ages and backgrounds. We socialized easily with others and enjoyed meeting people who are also interested in turkeys, both calling and hunting.

We enjoy a shared interest in hunting, fishing, trapping, and being outdoors. We work together to maintain and improve our property with our Dad, building a garage and other smaller projects around the house. Homeschooling allows us to be available to help with these, gaining skills and experience that will benefit us now and in the future.

We all like history and some of us also like the sciences, especially as they apply to the outdoors.

John is interested in Wildlife Management and Joseph and Thomas are interested in the military, Joe as a priest Chaplain, and Thomas in the Navy.

The photo was taken at our home. L-R is Joseph, 12, 7th grade; Thomas, 9, 4th grade; and John, 16, 11th grade.