I was fortunate enough to have a great start of the season and I sure hope it can continue!
I flew down to Orlando on Thursday and quickly drove the couple hours south to meet up with good friends Ben and Charley of Swamp Gobbler Outfitters. These guys are a class act and some of the best turkey hunters I've ever had the pleasure to be around so I knew we'd be on birds in no time.
With a short night behind us we headed out to get in position in the dark and it wasn't long until that magical sound filled the air. Ben sweet talked a big old tom into our position just like it was laid out on a map, however I never felt comfortable with the shot and we watched as the bird slowly slipped away. We changed our set up and gave it a little longer before picking up and doing a little running and gunning. After a while we struck up some loud mouth hens buried in the thick stuff so we eased up to the edge of a field on the other side of the thick stuff. We set up next to some short palmettos with the hopes of calling in the vocal hens and having them drag along a gobbler. Shortly after getting in position a gobbler sounded off and it was definitely separate from the hens. Next thing I know there is a big swamp gobbler headed straight at us. One quick shot from the 20 and it was all hugs and high fives.
I didn't have a return flight for the next few days so I was fortunate enough to tag along with the guys when they called in three long beards the next morning, one of which the other hunter was able to take. We then did some predator control, some fishing, some scouting, some filming, some hog hunting, and just about everything you could think of. A total and complete blast, truly an epic hunt!
I'm stoked with my black wing turkey, he ended up with 11" beard, 1" & 1 5/16" hooks, and weighed 18.2 pounds. I can't thank Ben and Charley enough but hoping I can get them out west someday to try and return the favor some.
