Good luck has been following Michael Huynh of late. First, he watched the raffle bin at the Beretta Gallery spin his way to win a turkey hunt sponsored at the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation’s Wild Game Night. Next, he met up with premier turkey guide and caller Erik Waller.
Huynh, 39, is an avid outdoorsman and hunter, but he never had hunted for turkey. His pals told him to get ready to do a lot of walking and calling and quiet sitting, and not to expect much in the way of success early or otherwise.
After being outfitted with gators to protect from rattlers and a full facemask, Huynh began a march with Waller, a National Guard first sergeant, just 72 hours back from a 10-month deployment on the Sinai Peninsula bordering Egypt and Israel.
In a family tradition set by Waller’s father, his son, Hayden, a sophomore–to-be and tight end at Brock High School, joined the stalk.
The tall grass was a lush green as they stepped out with both fervor and caution. Along the way, every 15 minutes or so, Waller warmed up his mouth call with a half yelp.
No more than 30 minutes since leaving the truck, there was a cacophony of gobbles. The trio acted quickly.
“We had to hurry and barely had time to set up a jake decoy,” Waller said. “We found a tree and just had to sit down and be quiet. The whole time, big turkeys and jakes were gobbling and coming toward us.”
Waller glanced over to Huynh, whose “eyes were just getting huge.” He had his back to the tree breaking up his silhouette but was in a sitting position and holding an unfamiliar 12-gauge.
“This big turkey just attacked the decoy,” Waller said. “It all happened so quickly, and there was so much movement. At the same time that the gobbler was actually spurring the decoy, Michael took a shot. He missed.”
Huynh, who works as a manager and sommelier at the popular Times Ten Cellars in Dallas’ Lakewood neighborhood, was crestfallen and wondering to himself if he would ever get such a chance again.
“No question I was disappointed that I had missed such an opportunity,” he said.
They regrouped for water at the truck where Waller offered encouragement. With a positive attitude, they began another mission. After a quiet hour or so, they decided to set up at the exact same spot.
Again, Waller yelped and purred and cackled. Again, came close gobbles.
“Except this time they were behind me,” Huynh said. “If I wanted a shot, I had to pivot at a weird angle. It was now or never.”
The advancing turkeys noticed the movement and, with the familiar “putt-putt,” quickly departed. Huynh took the difficult shot and downed what Waller described as “a very large jake. As big as you will see.”
With his turkey breasted and prepped for a tail fan display, the next day, Huynh went fishing and, of course, caught one right away. When asked if he thought his good fortune might continue, he said, “Well, I am buying a lottery ticket tonight.”
