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Jacob traveled all the way to Nebraska from his home in Pennsylvania to get his first turkey; the memories of which will surely last a lifetime.
Click to Download Photo Courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation |
NWTF Helps Give Youth A Shot At The Outdoors
Courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation
Jonathan Creed | Susan Missal | Audrey Sullivan | Jacob Wasser | Hunter Batten
Jacob Wasser, 10
Kintnersville, Pa.
In the Nebraska plains, Merriam’s wild turkeys hold a special place among hunters. Among them is 10-year-old Jacob Wasser of Kintnersville, Pa., who’s learned at an early age that quality family time can be enhanced by hunting outside of one’s home state.
Jacob hunted with Countree Outfitters and Hunts near Culbertson, Neb., with his dad, Larry Wasser. The avid wrestler had no trouble toting a Mossberg 500 youth model shotgun in 20-gauge with Realtree pattern and an NWTF medallion on it. Both the shotgun and the outfitted hunt were purchased at a Hunting Heritage banquet hosted by the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Spruce Run Chapter in Phillipsburg, N.J.
The fourth-grade honor roll student greeted the 44-degree morning adorned in camouflage bought through the catalog retail giant Cabela’s, a camouflage NWTF hat, green gloves and a Hot Shot leafy facemask. The trio crawled to the edge of a cornfield as two mature gobblers, one jake and three hen turkeys walked to and fro in front of them for nearly an hour outside of shotgun range. Their calling finally convinced the birds to come closer.
Just as Jacob prepared to shoot one of the long-bearded gobblers, the jake stepped into his line of shot. Both birds fell at the impact of the pellets, leaving jake with two of his season’s three tags filled in one shot. The bigger bird sported a beard of 9 1/2 inches and spurs of 1 1/4 inches, while the jake had just a 1/2-inch beard and spurs to match. Together, both birds weighed 38 pounds.
“Jacob couldn’t wait to get back to camp to tell everyone,” his mother, Diana, said. “He knows how lucky he is to be able to hunt and to have someone take him at his age. He loves to be out in the woods in his free time, and he’s always daydreaming of a trophy hunt. He likes to watch the hunting channels on television and to read his dad’s hunting magazines. He wants to be a hunting guide when he grows up.
“It is very important to Larry and me to be able to take our boys with us,” she continued. They also have a 12-year-old son, Adam. “It is such an awesome experience to have your family in the woods with you. The things that you see and hear are amazing — something you will never understand unless you experience it yourself.”
For more information on hunting safety data and the Youth Hunting Report, log on to www.familiesafield.org, or call NWTF Headquarters at 800-THE-NWTF.
