‘Casey’ gets into zone to claim first turkey

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On Monday morning, Kenneth Casey Dubay-Baker – just “Casey” to his friends – awoke at an obscene hour, rode through the dark to a Waldo County field, and found out that, sometimes, hunting isn’t very glamorous.

The weather: Rainy. Cold. Gloomy.

And the turkeys he sought: thoroughly uncooperative.

“There was nothing,” Dubay-Baker said. “We moved. There was nothing. We moved again and there were a couple of gobbles … but nothing.”

Many of us have become accustomed to less-than-perfect hunting conditions and less-than-satisfying results.

Dubay-Baker hasn’t. But he is accustomed to challenges, and to facing them head-on.

The 18-year-old’s spina bifida dictates that he spend his waking hours in a wheelchair. The hunt – his first – was the result of a cooperative effort by many businesses and several individuals, including guide Deane Smith of Dixmont and Jay Munson, who filmed the hunt.

Despite an unproductive opening day, Dubay-Baker got a bit of sleep, rose early again … and ended up with a tale to tell.

After trying a couple more spots in Thorndike, the hunting party loaded up their truck and headed for another location.

That’s when they spotted the birds they’d been looking for.

“We saw two jakes run across a road into a pasture,” Dubay-Baker said. “We all looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s go to that pasture, just in case.'”

Smith already had obtained permission to hunt on that land, so all that was left was to sit … call … and wait.

After about 30 minutes, their efforts paid off as four jakes walked into view.

“They all came in side-by-side,” Dubay-Baker said. “They were making this weird clucking noise. They didn’t gobble at all.”

And as they came in, Smith, the owner of Cemetery Ridge Guide Service, advised his young hunter to shoot the bird farthest to the right.

“I was like, ‘I’m not ready,'” Dubay-Baker said. “I wasn’t comfortable with the angle. It was to the far right and my comfort zone to shoot is to the far left.”

Dubay-Baker didn’t shoot, opting to wait and see what would happen next.

Eventually, the bird on the far left, in his “comfort zone,” came back into view, and into shotgun range.

Smith said he realized that the chance might be Dubay-Baker’s last opportunity at that group of birds.

“I just said in his ear, ‘It’s now or never,'” Smith said. “Casey made an outstanding shot, and the bird went down immediately.”

Then the celebration began.

“I might have said a couple of choice words,” Dubay-Baker admitted. “It was crazy. I was shaking like a leaf. Literally. It was insane.”

The bird was a 15-pounder, according to Smith, with a 3-inch beard.

“He was just so excited,” Smith said. “The first time he held the bird he couldn’t believe how heavy it was.”

While Maine’s youth turkey hunters will begin hunting on Saturday, and half of the state’s adults begin two days later, Casey and other hunters with certain disabilities are granted a special week of their own.

That means Dubay-Baker not only shot his first bird, but he may have shot the state’s first bird this season.

And it didn’t take him and his family long to enjoy the meal that Casey had provided for them.

Everyone ate well on Tuesday night, Dubay-Baker reported.

“It was good. There’s still some left,” he said. “It’s not like regular turkey. The dark meat tastes like roast beef, and the white meat tastes kind of like turkey, but more earthy. It’s really good, though.”

According to Smith, John Dykstra of Northland Taxidermy has donated his services and will prepare a fan mount, with feet and beard, for Casey.

And Smith and Dubay-Baker are already beginning to plan their next trip afield.

“The fall. Deer,” Dubay-Baker said. “We’re gonna try to set up a deer hunt. I really want a buck. Badly.”

With a good guide at his side and with a dogged determination to continue his outdoor pursuits, Dubay-Baker will likely succeed.

And having discovered how difficult it is to get Dubay-Baker into proper hunting position, Smith is already thinking of ways to take Casey farther into the woods.

“Those wheelchairs aren’t designed for the field,” Smith said. “The thing I’m going to look at now is to find a way to put him on something so we can get him into the field without using a wheelchair. Something like an old rickshaw.”

One thing, it seems, is certain: If Smith builds it, Dubay-Baker will be willing to give the invention a try.

And sometimes, that kind of attitude makes all the difference in the world.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.