Mary’s Essay Wins Turkey Hunt with Guide

I competed in an essay contest and won a turkey hunt with a guide on private land. My mom recommended it, and my brother John had won a hunt, and he had a good time. I thought it sounded like fun.

We got up early and waited. While we waited, we heard lots of gobbles! Then a turkey with a hen came in sight, and I had a shot! The turkey I got won the biggest spurs! The spurs really were huge!

What organization recognized the achievement?

The Wildlife Foundation of Virginia recognized my achievement.

How did homeschooling help you achieve your goal?

Homeschooling helped me have time to practice shooting and prepared me with good writing skills.

What are your interests?

Currently, my interests are: reading, hunting, fishing, and knitting. I am also a Tenderheart in American Heritage Girls.

What are you inspired to do with your life?

The main things I like to do are read fiction books and be in the outdoors. So, one day, I would like to be in charge of a library garden.

What are your favorite subjects and why?

My favorite subject is reading because I enjoy reading, and the Seton stories are good.

The photo was taken at a farm near the Pamunkey River in Virginia. My brother John (Seton  Class of 2023) and I are standing in the field where I shot the turkey. Unfortunately, when I shot the turkey, he was only injured.

Since I was the youth shooter, John could not take a shot to put the turkey down. He jumped up, threw off his turkey vest, hat, mask, and gloves, and began running after the turkey! When he grabbed the turkey, the tail fan came off! This is called shock molt.

Luckily, the second time John grabbed the turkey, he got the turkey’s neck and twisted it. We were able to gather the tail fan feathers and reconstruct them into a wall display.