99-year-old kills Chester County gobbler

99-year-old’s gobbler had 10+ inch beard

Gary Roberts of Rock Hill, SC had a day to remember on April 1, 2023 in Chester County. He took his granddad hunting and experienced one of his most memorable hunts, calling in a gobbler for Gary Roberts, Sr., who introduced him and many others to the outdoors in the past 9 decades.

“What a blessing. On April 1, my Grandfather, Gary Roberts, Sr. was able to hunt with me. And I found out he still ‘has it!’ At 99-years-young, he woke up with me today, as we have on many opening mornings of turkey season. In the not-so-distant past, he was taking me turkey hunting on opening morning. He shared the outdoors with many of us, and has instilled his passion for the pursuit in me and many others in his journey as an outdoorsman,” said Roberts.

Getting into the woods early, things went according to plan for the two hunters.

“He woke up at 5:30 a.m., got dressed, had a light breakfast with coffee, then headed to the turkey woods with me before daylight. At first light, we setup about 100 yards from a roosted bird. Several light calls, and he was gobbling. Granddad told me he could hear him,” he said.

And then the fun started.

“We worked the bird for about 20 minutes, and then he popped into the field. Several minutes later, the bird was in shooting range, and Paw unleashed the power of his 16-gauge Browning Auto 5 like many times in the past. And just like many times in the past, the bird was his. And just like that, the hunt was over, and bragging rights began again,” he said.

The gobbler weighed 18 pounds, had a 10 1/4-inch beard, and sported 1-inch spurs.

Roberts can’t stress how much the hunt meant to him.

“We are extremely blessed, and we just want to share his amazing story. This is why we hunt and share this great sport. This is what is right in this crazy world. What a day, and what a hunt that we will never forget,” he said.

___________

Tag-A-Turkey

Congratulations to Roberts, who is now entered in our 2023 Tag-A-Turkey Contest.

This makes him eligible for our grand prize, which includes a 3-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a Thermacell prize package, a Convergent Hunting Solutions Bullet HP Bluetooth predator call, and numerous other prizes.

If you’d like to enter your gobbler in our contest, click here.