I remember that guy

[Gooserbat]

I don't remember his name or if I even ask.  It was the first outdoor show I ever worked and I was selling my calls.  Just my mouth calls and a few pots back when I was a dealer for Magnolia Game Calls.  Anyway it was an outdoor event under a circus sized tent.  I looked down the row of tables and in the crowd there was this guy ambling along the isle about 60-70 feet away. The thing that caught my attention was his hat.  It was out of place, as in it was from a different time.  It was an old 5 panel trucker cap from the 1980s and it was in green frogskin WWII camo.  Remember this was in about 2010 and retro wasn't cool.  He was thin and lanky like  5'11" and a buck 40.  His clothes were not fashionable but just functional.  He was a guy who was more at home in the woods than where he was and at a glance you knew he didn't belong in Oklahoma City.  But...but he had a spring to his step, a gated somehow slow yet bouncy step. 

I watched him look at the tables of goods and then it hit me and I yelped on the mouth call I had been playing all day.  I don't think it was loud but it was heard over the hum and voices of the show.  This guy's head shot up and he looked right at me like a boss tom when you know he's heard what he likes.  His slow ambling bounce became a quick purposeful step as he maneuvered through the crowd and just like that he was standing in front of my table. 

Immediately you saw a man whom I believe held the experience of living more valuable than the acquisition of gold.  He had a bright sparkle in his eyes and his face was weathered in that way that woodsmen weather.  You didn't know if he was 40 something or going on 70.  He had salt and pepper in his hair and a warm expression that told you if you wanted to learn to catch fish or pick morels he was the guy to show you ... Howbeit probably in his brother-in-laws secret spots.  He had a gleam of genuine something that's not found in today's society but lent itself back to a time and place that is lost to everyone except those that slow down and look for the two lane roads.

Then he said "I heard you.  I heard that turkey call and I just had to come and see".  We visited for a little while and he told me why he was in town but I don't remember the reason.  He said he was from Southeast Oklahoma,  "down in the mountains" and it made sense.  He bought a couple of diaphragm calls and we wished each other luck, said thanks and you're welcome, and I watched the first one I called in slip away.

I would love to see that guy again.

[Tail Feathers]

I met a turkey hunter very much like you described one time.  Mike Miller, Exexutioner on here from some years back.  Truly a class guy.  When he talks to you, he is focused on you in a way that you know he cares about meeting you and listening.

[blake_08]

Very well written, I enjoyed reading that. I'm from Southeast Oklahoma "down in the mountains" and reading that post made me think of a man i know, but there's a slim to no chance it was him. Good luck this season!

[Yoder409]

Worked a TON of outdoor shows back in the 1990's and 2000's

There were ALWAYS one or two of "those guys" that you'd run into at each show.  You could tell just by talking to them that they had more turkey hunting knowledge in them than the rest of the room combined.  But they didn't wear it on their sleeve or flash it around.

THOSE guys.......... THAT guy.......  My kinda people!!!

[GobbleNut]

Good piece, Sam.  Well written! 

Those of us that have been around a while have probably met one or more of those types in our pasts.  They possessed a great deal of wisdom...for their time.   However, the ones I met that fit that description would most likely have a difficult time hunting under the circumstances that exist today...at least on public land.  It ain't the same ballgame that it was a few decades ago... unfortunately. 

[Jim Spencer]

Gooserbat, just keep on making those good turkey calls and PLEASE don't get into the freelance writing game. That was way too well written, and I don't need the competition! BTW, I used to hunt "down in the mountains of southeast Oklahoma along about then. I met several of "those guys" walking those ridges. Competent, quiet, hard, lean men, with that look in their eyes. When you meet one of 'em, you just know.

[3bailey3]

Good stuff sam!

[Gooserbat]

Gooserbat, just keep on making those good turkey calls and PLEASE don't get into the freelance writing game. That was way too well written, and I don't need the competition! BTW, I used to hunt "down in the mountains of southeast Oklahoma along about then. I met several of "those guys" walking those ridges. Competent, quiet, hard, lean men, with that look in their eyes. When you meet one of 'em, you just know.

Jim I actually used to write a few freelance articles.  Had a couple published.  I got sidetracked and let it slip away. Maybe I should put some more of my thoughts on paper.

[eggshell]

Like Gobblenut said, you hunt long enough and you will run into those guys. Actually it's a matter of perspective. You will meet people who have way less experience then you and they will tell others about the guy they met (meaning you). This is part of the brotherhood, passing on a little good will. I have a saying about them, "There goes some gobbler's worst nightmare".

[YoungGobbler]

I think we all know some of those guys... When you're lucky enough you can stick around them a bit, visit them, call them, see them during hunting season... And you'll learn a few good things from them... Always hoping they don't 'get out of sight' too fast...

[eggshell]

I think there's a few of "Those guys " right here on this forum.

[Number17]

That read like one of those "missed connection" ads in the personal section LOL

I penned an article about guys like that and it was published several years ago in a small time Pennsylvania paper. The gist was that every small town has that "one guy" that will talk to you honestly about turkey hunting without being a blowhard. Find him and you struck gold.

I wrote a little blurb about not being afraid to try new things, and that my new thing might be one of those wingbone calls some day. 15 years later and a man named Ezolt sent me a message and said "Hey, I got something I want you to try. Give me a call."
That phone call opened a whole new chapter in my turkey hunting book. Thanks, Tony!

[Happy]

It wasn't me Sam, other than extremely good looks and a knack with the ladies, i ain't got much going on for me.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[reflexl]

Great read. I have known a few of those guys. The general consensus around here is that the late Mr. Virgil was the best turkey hunter in TN or Alabama. He traveled the country and killed birds everywhere. I talked to his son about him a few times. He said he never owned a "turkey gun" and never bought a "turkey shell". He would buy high brass #6 shells and used a rusty model 12. Never used anything other than old military camo. He just knew turkeys. One of his nephews told me about hunting with him once. They heard birds and his nephew said aren't you going to call them? He was getting impatient. Mr. Virgil told him to be quiet, they would call when the time was right. Mr. Virgil called the birds in and they both killed birds. Robert said he never figured out why his uncle waited so long. They say he fished the same way. Those guys are treasures.