At Governor's invitation

Four area kids have extra special turkey hunt

The four St. Louis-area kids already liked to hunt. So what would make the invitation to hunt near Jefferson City so special?

That's because they got a personal invitation from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.

That's what happened to Charlie and Jack Boschert and Chris Payeur, all of Florissant, and Morgan Robb of Warrenton.

They were among just 10 kids invited by Governor Nixon to take part in a youth-only turkey hunt celebration in and around Jefferson City on April 3-5.

Jack and Charlie Boschert

None of the kids was able to bag a turkey. But, this hunt experience included a lot more than looking for turkeys.

For one thing, Governor Nixon hosted a dinner for the kids and their parents in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Jeff City.

After that, they got a tour of the capitol building, which included a chance to walk around the outside of the building's dome.

Morgan Robb

Twelve-year-old Morgan Robb said the youth-only hunt was her best hunting experience so far. She was in a group that had their whole experience video-taped from start to finish.

She also was one of the kids who almost bagged a turkey.

"I could see the head of the turkey that was walking in a ditch. But, we could never get the turkey to show anything but its head. We'd been taught, for safety reasons, never to shoot at a turkey until you could shoot at the body," she said.

"My guide complimented me at not trying unless I could get a body shot," she said.

Morgan and her new found friend & the only one of the 10 youth to get a turkey, Tori McAfee

Morgan did get to have her picture taken with 11-year-old Tori McAfee of Winona, MO. She was the only one of the Missouri kids who did bag a bird.

Morgan has gone hunting with her parents since she was four years old. She's also taken part in her third youth turkey hunt; the first was when she was nine.

But, that one didn't include a special invitation from the governor.

She and the other governor's invitees were picked because their parents have been active in the Missouri chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).

Dave Boschert, the father of Charlie and Jack, said, "We just started a NWTF chapter in north St. Louis County." Gary Payeur, the father of Chris, also is a member of that new chapter.

Chris Payeur

Chris said he saw a female turkey during the hunt and Charlie Boschert said he saw three tom turkeys. But, they weren't able to call the birds in close enough to get a shot.

Charlie and Jack both said the invitation from the governor made this event their most outstanding hunting experience so far.

But, Chris said his best experience was the first time he went deer hunting with his dad. Although Chris didn't bag a deer, he said his dad did.

The governor's hunt experience started on Friday, April 3, with a special seminar where the kids got to meet their guides for the coming hunt. There was instructions on gun safety and a discussion of hunting regulations.

The Saturday hunt day started early, with kids getting up at 4 a.m. That's because they wanted to be at their hunting stations before the turkeys started to move.

Jack Boschert said, "I wasn't ready to get up that early. But, with the governor's invitation and all, I felt I'd better."

The kids hunted on about 1,200 acres of land owned by a Turkey Federation official.

The Saturday weather had comfortable temperatures. But, the high winds cut down on the gobbling that would have helped hunters locate the birds.

Some of the kids went back on Sunday for more hunting, although the weather had turned colder.

Bob Ziehmer, who is the assistant director of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), said the goal of the youth hunt "was to kindle the turkey-hunting spark in young hunters."

The MDC has a variety of youth-only hunting seasons. (For information, check with one of the local MDC locations in the St. Louis area.)

The St. Louis area kids agreed the governor's hunt was a success for them.

Morgan Robb said being outdoors in nice weather is one of her favorite things to do.

The 7th grader at Black Hawk Middle School in Warrenton said she enjoyed her first skiing trip to Colorado where she stayed in a tent.

Chris Payeur has a different take on "ideal weather." The 6th grader at Sacred Heart School in Florissant said, "I like to go outside when it's wet and I can get really muddy."

The 6th grader at Sacred Heart Catholic School said he's looking forward to going pheasant and dove hunting.

Charlie Boschert likes the outdoors when he can go riding on the family's "four-wheeler" and his dirt bike.

The 6th grader at Sacred Heart said he's looking forward to duck hunting while his brother, Jack, said he wants to go squirrel and rabbit hunting. Jack is a 5th grader at Sacred Heart.