For Darrin Rhodes and his son Kevin, the Missouri turkey opener last week was one of those special moments hunters don't forget.

There they were, sitting in full camouflage, hidden at the edge of the woods on a friend's farm in Platte County on April 21, and suddenly they found themselves in the middle of every turkey hunter's dream.

After calling for several minutes, they looked up to see three big gobblers, strutting side-by-side, puffed out and putting on a show.

The line of birds slowly advanced toward the hunters' calls, and father and son got ready. Kevin took the first shot and downed one of the gobblers. Then dad fired and hit another.

Moments later, they were walking out of the woods with two turkeys in the 22- to 23-pound range — and with memories of the perfect hunt.

"We've had some good opening days before, where one of us has taken a big gobbler," said Kevin, 23, who lives in Platte City. "But I can't remember a time when we both took a bird.

"And we've never had three big gobblers come in like that. That was exciting.

"That looked like something out of one of those TV shows on hunting. Usually, it doesn't happen to you. But it did today."

His dad, Darrin, nodded and added, "This has to be the best opener we've ever had."
 
But in many ways, the Rhodeses weren't all that surprised. They had done plenty of scouting on their friend's farm just outside of Platte City and they knew what to expect.

"That place has a lot of turkeys," said Darrin, 43, who lives outside Platte City. "And we had them pegged.
"We knew which areas they were using. We knew where to set up and which direction they probably would be coming from."

Of course, wild turkeys have a way of fouling the best-laid plans. Many a hunter scouts and sets up near a roost tree, fully confident of taking a turkey on opening morning, only to watch the birds fly down in the opposite direction.

But this time, the game plan worked perfectly.
"We were surprised that these three big gobblers were out on their own, away from the hens," Darrin said. "We thought that they would still be with the hens; that all the cool weather we've had would delay the nesting.

"But it must be further along than we thought. To see three big gobblers come in like that on opening day, that's what you dream of."

To many, such experiences are a reflection of how good Missouri turkey hunting has become.
Old-timers can remember when Platte County was foreign country for wild turkeys. "My dad had to travel to north-central or south when he wanted to hunt turkeys," Darrin said.

But a restoration project by the Missouri Department of Conservation reintroduced turkeys to the county, and the birds did the rest. Today, turkeys are thriving in places where birds were never seen before. The mix of rolling hills, cropland and timber has proved to be ideal habitat.

Oh, Platte County will never be mistaken for one of the top turkey-hunting spots in the state. But officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation are seeing rapid progress.

"When I first got here 20 years ago, we thought it was a big deal when our spring harvest broke 30," said Doug Yeager, a conservation agent in the county. "Last year our hunters took almost 250 birds, and I think it's been even higher than that in recent years.

"They've just spread like wildfire in this county. They really blossomed from 1998 to 2003.
"Now it's gotten to the point where it's common to see turkeys here in the county."

But it's not just Platte. Other urban or suburban counties also have become turkey country. Hunters took 271 birds in Jackson County last spring, 268 in Clay and 386 in Cass. Hunting is not allowed within city limits, but the rural parts of those counties have become surprisingly good spots to hunt.

Yeager saw plenty of evidence of that revitalization while he patrolled Monday during Missouri's turkey opener. He sat on a hilltop and used his binoculars and spotting scope to watch two gobblers strutting at the edge of a patch of timber.

"Those turkeys don't even know it's opening day of the season," he said with a laugh. "There are a lot of hunters out there who would love to see something like this today."

Moments later, as he was driving through the Platte Falls Conservation Area near Platte City, Yeager watched as a turkey flew out of the woods and sailed right over his truck.

A minute later, two hunters emerged from the timber, hot, sweaty and tired after a long walk.
"Didn't see a thing," one of the hunters said. "Where are all the turkeys?"

Yeager smiled and answered, "Well, one of them just flew right over my truck. You must have pushed him out."