Team member BIO

[savduck]

We have a ton of new members and a few of us left that actually started this team. Look forward to the fun of this contest with you guys.

Quick Bio on me. Im 39 this spring and killed my first gobbler with my dad at 15 in 1990. I went with him for several years before that but he wouldn't let me shoot. In GA a lot of guys did not hunt much back then. Man how times have changed. I still to this day LOVE to kill them, I have not yet lost the taste for killing as some say they have. I have however acquired the taste for helping kids take turkeys. I was taught the old school way with some new school thrown in. I want to try and teach kids the old school ethic.....like if someone's truck is in a spot, drive way down the road or you can kill them without decoys, etc. If you ask how many turkeys Ive killed, I cant tell you. I didn't start keeping records until 2004. You wont see me bragging about it because honestly I don't care how many, its never enough.

Anyway this was my 2015 season. I hunted all but two weekends and couple of weekday afternoons. I was able to guide 4 different young men and hopefully set the framework for them to be turkey killers one day.

Opening weekend brought no gobbling and rain on Sunday. I found a bunch of sign and saw some birds on Saturday so I decided to sit on the sign Sunday in the rain. A group of hens came through early and then later a jake walked up. I let my 9 year blast him, then we had to get out fast because a big storm came in. My BNL was with me and wanted to snap a picture of me and the boys. I was toting the jake for him. This was the only hunt that Decoys were used all season. I knew J would be nervous and the decoy would hold a turkey long enough if one came in.




A few days later, I had secured permission to hunt property at work. I went at lunch and had hens cutting and yelping so I decided at 5 it was on. I walked 75 yards from the truck and hit the trumpet and he gobbled 100 yards off. I backed off into a good spot and started calling. Two hens started cutting and yelping. About 10 minutes he came in to see what was up. 35 yards with my 20 ga an fed 7s. #1 for me. He only gobbled 3 times. Drummed a bunch.









One of the pissed off hens minutes before I shot the gobbler. I switch from my trumpet to a combo cut at this point. I stopped the video and the hen was standing at 5 yards.

https://youtu.be/yYJpuiUMycU


Next time I got in the woods was on my favorite public land. Birds had lock jaw and the hogs had the woods torn up. No kill but don't get to hunt many swamps like this anymore. Awesome to be in the woods.








The next weekend My first ODF hunt was happening. I met my kid Mr. Cody Day on Friday evening and we saw two gobblers strutting right where our area was that evening. Next morning I was high and tight on them. Bird gobbled literally right on top of us. Couple hens flew down but gobbler was a no show. Cody was swatting at every bug there was real and imaginary. I knew the turkeys would be in there like they were afternoon before so I talked him into staying and hunting that afternoon. I borrowed a blind to hide him moving. No decoys. I used trumpet and combo cut mouth calls. Gobbler stepped out and stayed out of range for two hours. Finally he broke and came. I had set up the blind so the turkey had to funnel into the woods between me and a fence. Worked like a charm. Cody put a LONG shot on the bird with my weatherby 20 ga. Folded him up. Ill say this, that kid put a hell of a shot on that bird considering he had to watch him for two hours and have the ups and downs of thinking the bird was gonna leave a couple times.






I had to skip a weekend due to my wifes birthday. Yeah, Im pretty well neutered, married with three kids. She insist that I don't hunt her entire birthday weekend, so I dont. So the following Friday I call my hunting buddy and he had a young fella named Roger. They used to be neighbors. Roger nutted up that morning on a gobbler standing at 20 yards full strut. I talked them into going that afternoon. We said up in some planted pines on a small piece of property we had and were loosing after the season. 4 jakes came in and when the shootings started they just stood there. We told Roger to keep shooting. The dust settled and he had his three bird GA limit flopping. Its legal here to kill all three at one time.




Next morning I was hunting for myself. I set up on a creek branch off a cotton field. Had hens roosted right over me. Three gobblers gobbling to right, two to left, and one dead center. I called hens into field and I knew one of the gobblers would be there. Couple minutes later he came from the right. Dead run gobbling and half strutting. Smoked him in the rain. #2





I got home and cleaned the bird and the sun came out. My 9 year old was mad because I didn't wake him up. I told him we could go that afternoon. We went to try a bird that had put the  on me a couple times in the morning over the last two seasons. First time I had afternoon hunted him. Sat over a spot my buddy had tilled in his hay field after the hogs tore it up. He had just leveled it back out. Soft calling on the trumpet. I had looked down at my son sitting there and looked back up and he had appeared. 50 yards with the weatherby and fed 7s. Dead in his tracks. #3. It was the bird I had been after. Had a crooked toe.










Up after that was some more hunting with the kids. Had a close call two times but the gobbler stayed out of range. Fun just to get the boys out teaching them how to set up and hold still. No decoys or blinds. I had one standing at 30 yards in front of me but the boy couldn't see to shoot. He was on a tree to my right and bird came in from left.
















Just some gobbling from a bird that got by with the skin of his teeth. Hit his strutt zone and didn't budge all day. Pines are off limits so we couldn't chase him.
https://youtu.be/AsmVO5EtJcc

I ended up putting 11 gobblers in gun range this year. Hunting weekends and a few weekday afternoons. I don't get to travel or hunt all day like I used to but killing the stud birds I did and taking all the kids is pretty damn fulfilling. I had quality hunts and at the half way mark in the season had some good gobbling. I heard a lot of guys struggled killing and had quiet woods. So Ill take what I got and call it a wrap.
 
  Spurs on all three of mine weren't too shabby.

[Will_price]

Good to be on board with you guys. Here's a short bio on me. I'm 28 years old and started chasing birds after I killed my first one in 2005. I've come a long way since those days of cackling every bird out of the tree as loud as I could, to now being quiet and scratching. I live in Gibson, GA,west of Augusta and am a Shift Supervisor at Georgia Pacific Particleboard. As Tom Kelly said, "I don't hunt Turkey's because I want to, I hunt them because I have to". I look forward to sharing this season with you fella's.

[savduck]

Will you got some turkey infested WMA not to far from ya. Its been a few years but I used to get on them on up your way years back.

[mwr]

New here!!  I'm from Oklahoma,62 yrs old, I think eat and sleep TURKEY!!  I'm retired so I get to hunt as much as I want, but its never enough! I will have to start taking more pics, Del!!!  Mike

[savduck]

Ive seen teams miss out winning due to not having proper pictures. They are really super important. Good luck this season. Hope to see a limit of Rios from ya this season.

[Turkeyman]

I've seen this contest in the past and thought it would be fun...just have to make sure the camera, ruler and scale are handy!

Some info on me: 70 years old, retired, reside upstate NY, started turkey hunting spring 1976 in PA and NY, was immediately hooked upon hearing first gobble in PA, have never been taught nor mentored...very little available info back then, have hunted several states PA, NY, FL, WV, SD, NM, OK, KS & MO, have worked with the DEC in a youth mentoring program focusing on turkey hunting, previously taught turkey hunting and calling in a continuing education program for eight years or so.

I've had a Heglar trumpet for several years but have always been reluctant to use it, partially because I've had pretty good success with other calls. It, along with a Bott, will be my primary calls this spring in KS, MO, NY and perhaps PA...thus my increased interest in this team.

Good luck to all and have safe, productive hunts. I'm looking forward to the team reports.

[kyturkeyhunter4]

New here for this year! I'm 39 yrs old, I'm from southeast Kentucky. I love turkey hunting, and bow hunting for whitetail deer. I'm out ever chance I get. I started turkey hunting around 1990, and killed my first gobbler that year, and have been hooked ever since. I love it! Can't get enough of it. It's good to be on board with you guys this year. I look forward to sharing this season with you guys.

[maustypsu]

Hi, again.  I was on the Charter Trumpet Thumper Team.  But only for a year or two and then wasn't so active here, moved, kids... yada, yada...

My first bird was a 3 year old PA public land, big woods, mountain bird...  it took me some years to kill that one.  But I knew I earned it and learned so much leading up that to point.  Anyway, that is several seasons of tagging out, not getting to hunt, calling in birds for others...

I started to really appreciate the workmanship put into the calls on this site so I "invested" (haha) in a few of Pappy's pot calls, then other pot calls, box calls and locator calls...  finally, I just fell in love with the look of the custom yelpers and other such calls.  So I bought a few and forced myself to learn them.

Weird way to end up here... but that's my story and I'm hoping to improve!!!

[savduck]

New here for this year! I'm 39 yrs old, I'm from southeast Kentucky. I love turkey hunting, and bow hunting for whitetail deer. I'm out ever chance I get. I started turkey hunting around 1990, and killed my first gobbler that year, and have been hooked ever since. I love it! Can't get enough of it. It's good to be on board with you guys this year. I look forward to sharing this season with you guys.

How close are you to Ashland?

[kyturkeyhunter4]

About 2 hours

[savduck]

Ive hunted all over Yatesville lake

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Never hunted there but heard alot about it. I'm on down south of it I'm in Knox Co. Ky Im about 20 miles south from Corbin ky

[alloutdoors]

Guess I better check in for the year, and say hi to the new folks. I'm usually on this board year round but haven't checked in much since the end of last season, it was just one of those years. Had to say goodbye to my best hunting buddy, my fourteen year old beagle, in September, and didn't feel like doing much hunting related through the fall. I was also busy getting ready to welcome a new baby girl (and future turkey killer) into the family, happy to say she arrived with no complications in early January and is doing well. Anyway, a little about me, I'm 35 and live in upstate NY, married, with a 4 1/2 year old son and almost two month old little girl. I work for our state conservation agency, used to work in wildlife but for the last two years I've been behind a desk reviewing contracts (but they pay me a lot more which makes out of state turkey trips a lot easier).

I taught myself to turkey hunt and killed my first bird when I was 15 on opening day of my 3rd season. I've killed a bunch more since and have plans for many more in the future. About 4 years ago I started fooling around with trumpets and that's about the time I joined the team. I also enjoy making wingbone calls when I can find the time. Last year I had a great hunt in FL and killed a public land Osceola, then I went to GA for a few days to hunt with Del but I'm not sure we even could have found a turkey in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store the way that went. After that I tagged out in NY on the first two days of our season so it's been a long wait and I'm more than ready to get back out there this year!

Turkey-Man, what part of upstate are you from? I'm in Schoharie County but do most of my turkey hunting in Otsego County. We may have to try and get together at some point if you aren't too far away, if nothing else I'd love to check out that Hegler.

Here's a few photos from last spring, hope we all have a chance to post many more this year!

[savduck]

Ryan, we gonna have you a nice new Brazilian and ivory trumpet to chase them with this year. Putting up some $$$$ to try to come see ya.

[alloutdoors]

I hope you finally make it up this year, this has been the easiest winter I can remember and there should be plenty of birds running around. I tried calling you earlier this evening, you guys were probably busy in the shop though. Want to start figuring plans for this spring. You guys still making that trip out west this year too?