It was Friday morning around 3:10 am and we just got out of bed to get ready to get the day started. After getting dressed and making sure I had what I needed for the day, my dad his friend Phil and I got into our vehicle and made our way to the main camp. We got to the main camp at 3:45 in the morning the three of us got something to drink and eat before we got our day started. I was set up with a mentor which I was thankful that I got to meet and had the chance to go out with. 

Around 4:10 am Chris (mentor) and I went to some of the spots he knew of. Where he had seen a turkey in previous years. We went to three spots before sunrise. We sent out calls at all three spots and got no calls back. We got to the fourth spot we walk approximately 50 feet and he instantly heard a gobble. We walk back to the truck to get my shotgun and calls, we sat down and started to call. There was a tom in the roast who was gobbling back at our calls. The sun came up and the tom came out of the roast and we heard it land on the ground. We sent some calls out but he didn’t answer we sent some additional calls out to see if we would get anything to respond. We weren’t getting anything back so we sat there for an hour waiting for something. We sent a call out before we were about to get up and go find a new spot. Then we got five calls back so we sat there waiting to see if we could get a turkey close enough for me to get a shot off at. My mentor seen two toms with six hens coming in from the top of the hill, then going back on the other side of the hill. We called for half an hour and they just kept going back and forth. Finally, he couldn’t see the toms anymore so we decided to creep up on the hill to see if they were still there we heard them gobble so we crawled up to the top of the hill. The turkeys were 70 yards away they were just walking back and forth. We called for 20 minutes but we couldn’t get them to come in any closer. My mentor walked back and started to call from where we were first at and then the toms moved in closer. They slowly started to move forward they got as close as 40 yards and they stopped. I was laying down so they couldn’t see me so I decided to line up my shot and I slowly squeezed the trigger. The next thing I see is just a big cloud of smoke I stand up to see if I hit the tom and the tom didn’t see me and just started to walk away. I thought I missed the shot, my mentor came over. We walked over to where the tom was at and we couldn’t see any sign of me hitting the tom. We look to the side of us and seen the tom flap its wings we rushed over to the tom to see what had happened to it. When we got to it we found out that I hit the tom and that it only had a few seconds to live after I hit it.

Chris and I got it back to his truck and put the turkey in the bed of the truck. We set off back to camp. We both were happy because this was the first turkey either of us has gotten with someone (my first turkey ever). The whole time I was thinking did this really happen did I really get a turkey. When we got back to camp, Chris and I checked in, we got the turkey weighed, the beard measured and I got the turkey cleaned.

Donna/Scott,
Can’t thank you enough for all you do for the young hunters of Arizona.   After 3 outings we finally got our bird! The mentors over the years had given us good coaching and advice. That, combined with some good hunters luck, helped us to bag our first bird. Such a great father/son moment. We were both so excited. A memory we will both cherish for a lifetime.

Thanks to the YOU, NWTF, and RMEF for continuing to sponsor these important events. Can’t say enough good things about the all men and women involved taking the time to mentor boys and girls in the field while teaching conservation, respect, and good Sportsmanship. Seems rare these days.

Much appreciated!
Respectfully,
Joe Wambach

The 2018 Juniors Turkey Camp was a success.  Our youth saw and heard turkeys.  11 of our youth hunters harvested turkeys.   We had a total of 283 people in the camp, including staff, mentors, and volunteers.  We had 105 new people in the camp.   We had 103 total hunters and 46 of them were brand new to hunting and to camp.  

Thursday and Friday were extremely windy days and cold.  Friday was cold with a snowstorm in the early evening, which disappeared by Saturday afternoon.  Sunday was a beautiful day.  

We would like to thank all of our mentors and volunteers.  We could not do this without you.  We would also like to thank our sponsors, Arizona Elk Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Navajo County Search and Rescue,  Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Arizona Game and Fish Department Region 1. 

Can you believe this is the 19th year this camp has been held?  Wow, amazing.  This year’s Junior Javelina, Small Game and Predator Camp was such a great success.  Kids hunted in Units 17B, 18B and 20C, and the camp was set up on the Date Creek Road.  Arizona Game and Fish personnel, along with other great mentors were there to help in camp and mentor our children in the outdoors.  22 children were there to hunt and 8 successfully harvested a javelina.  One lucky kid even won a Ruger American 7mm-08 youth rifle.  Check out the pictures below of this camp. 

If you want to participate in this camp next year or if you want to be a part of this great effort.  Fill out the form on our contact page and we will get back with you.  We can’t put on these camps without the help and support of volunteers, Arizona Game and Fish officers, mentors, our partners, and sponsors.  We appreciate each and every person who helps.