Young hunters made their mark in the 10th edition of the Old Dominion One Shot Turkey Hunt, an event that brings people together to promote hunting heritage through increased access and youth programming and raises funds and awareness for both the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia (WFV) and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
An event that started in 2014, the One Shot has been a way to engage youth as well as veterans and first responders in a first-class turkey hunting experience. In addition to the actual hunt, each year there is a youth essay contest where youth can submit essays to gain a chance to hunt.
This year’s hunt, which took place on April 18, saw 39 hunters take to the field with guides providing their services for 10 veterans and first responders who were hunting, 15 youth hunters, and 14 sponsored hunters. They hunted on different private properties provided by generous landowners, and nine gobblers were harvested. Many of the hunters harvesting a bird were in the youth category.
The winning bird belonged to youth hunter Ryder Hammock. His turkey weighed 20 pounds, 12 ounces, and had a 14 7/8″ beard and spurs of 2.8 cm.
Nearly 300 hunters, guides, landowners, sponsors, and their families attended the celebration dinner at Bass Pro Shop, which included a raffle with items donated from in-kind sponsors and retail partners.
A total of around $30,000 was raised for the WFV thanks to sponsors—including Vortex, Bass Pro Shops, Gentry Locke Attorneys, Davey Mitigation, and Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.—and donors. Members of the planning committee included Bass Pro Shops, Green Top Sporting Goods, Dance’s Sporting Goods, DWR, WFV, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
This content is sourced from
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
