So as I sit here tonight one day after Spring Gobbler has closed in WV I reflect on what a blessed season it truly has been, and I begin to get a tad bit depressed. Depressed that I will not be getting up tomorrow to chase the sounds of spring that I absolutely live for, but I am looking forward to gaining back some sleep that I have been deprived of for the last 2 months basically of turkey chasing. I first have to just thank God! Thank Him for my health to walk and chase the birds I love so dearly. For the vision to see and the hearing to hear all of His incredibly perfect creation. Thankful for a loving and understanding wife that allows me to pursue these animals so much and puts up with me when I am totally consumed by them, I couldn't do anything without her! Thank Him for the properties I have to hunt, and the amazing number of birds He has placed on those properties. Thankful for every sunrise I was able to experience, every gobble I was able to hear, every beautiful flower I was able to see along the way, and every bird that was able to be harvested. I just cant thank Him enough, for He has abundantly blessed me!
So onto the review of the season starting from the top. God had placed it on my heart early on in the year to start preparing to film a movie this spring. A movie like non other that had ever been done in the outdoor industry and something that was going to change peoples lives for ever, while using His amazing creation as a platform to share about His amazing love for us. So I surrendered to it, and I was totally all in on filming all spring for this film we were going to produce. I knew that it would not be easy, but that God would always provide for His vision and we were going to trust Him and follow His direction.
I was again blessed this year to be able to start my season earlier and travel some to hunt another state. Once again I was able to go and hunt with one of my best buddies in the world Derek Smith in VA and make some more great memories chasing longbeards in some amazingly beautiful timber and mountains. As we arrived at out hotel for the weekend we were kindly greeted, everyone that we came in contact with wanted to know what we were doing and why we were carrying big cameras around so we got to tell them about the film and about Jesus, and by the end of our trip everyone in the town knew that some guys were there making a movie. Shoot, the motel put on their sign in the lobby that they were hosting GGG Outdoors, pretty humbling experience.
This year was a tad different from years past though, weather was calling for very high winds of 30+mph and snow on opening day, are you kidding me?!?! But, we had to do what we had to do and we went out after them anyways. No birds on day one, but we sure had a fun time, lots of laughs and memories made of hunting gobblers in the snow is something we will never forget, and something we really dont care to do again. lol. Got lots of filming done on day one, and did manage to get some beautiful footage of a big gobbler strutting in a field with some hens that evening before watching them go to roost. Day one in the books.
Day 2 was much much better weather! Clear skies, no wind, if we were going to kill a turkey on this trip it was going to be today! After reaching our listening spot for the morning the woods came to life and birds were gobbling everywhere, lots of birds, only problem was that no birds were anywhere really close to us that we could get on before they hit the ground. So we headed towards the closest one, by the time we made it there all birds had flown down, got with hens and totally shut up. We hunted our tails off all morning, could not get a bird to even give us a courtesy gobble. They were henned up and happy and we were out of luck! We headed over to one of our favorite spots to sit high on a ridge and glass a huge reclaimed strip job that the turkeys absolutely love to strut in. You can see for miles literally and its fun to get up there and glass em like elk hunting. As soon as we started glassing we spotted 3 huge stutters with 6 hens in a new road about 3 miles away and were able to get some gorgeous footage of them, but unfortunately they were just way to far for us to get to by the cut off time. We went back to the hotel and packed our stuff to head home empty handed, but full of great memories! Before we left we were able to pray with the worker at the motel, his name was Michael, and just speak life over him and his family and pray for healing for his grandpa. This is what its all about, this is why we do this, and this is why God has chosen us! We serve a faithful Father, we just have to be obedient and listen to His voice when He wants to use us. Thank you Lord!
So now we are back home for the WV season to begin in a week. Full on scouting mode and prep is in full force and its time to really locate and pin down birds for the weeks to follow. My little girl and I began to go out and check trail cameras in strut zones, listen for birds on different farms every morning and evening, and just drive around looking for strutting birds. Turns out birds were pretty much every where this year on all the properties that I had to hunt and we were very excited. She unfortunately cant hunt with me yet, but she loves to tag along and help me prepare and listen to the birds yelp and gobble, couldnt have done it without her.
Youth day arrives and we have some very eager youth hunters lined up to take out and call and film for. We were able to put a big gobbler to bed the night before and to say that the boys were excited was a total understatement. We got out very early the next morning and God blessed us with an absolutely beautiful day! The bird we had roosted was gobbling his brains out and we were feeling pretty good about out chances. He pitches down in the field about 120 yards out away from us, and a hen pitches down with him. UGH! We continue to pour the calling on them to entice them to come join our flock. They closed the distance to about 80 yards putting on an incredible show for the cameras the whole way, but the hen then turned around and took off running away as fast as she could for no reason at all. The gobbler had no idea what was going on, but of course he turned and followed her away from us and out of our lives. Gotta love henned up birds, never could find another one wanting to play that day.
So now it was opening morning and time to really get out after em. I was able to go to a great farm that morning before work and have probably my best gobbling morning of the season as far as numbers of birds and numbers of gobbles heard. Birds gobbling all morning long, heard 8 total gobbling pretty much non stop the whole time I was there. Not going to go back into detail about this hunt since I have already posted a whole thread about it, but never heard a bird on my side of the road until I was about to head across at 7:00 to chase another bird and he sounded off not 70 yards from me. Sit down, turn camera on, total of 3 minutes later I had a dead bird. Awesome hunt before work that I was able to capture all on film by myself (no easy task) and I just give God praise for it! Birds were still gobbling when I left that morning, just a blessed day! As I arrived at work I received a text that one of my buddies and members of GGG had capitalized on a great bird on film as well! Double whammy for God that day, we give him Praise!
Day two I decided to sleep in, didnt want to tag out that early and be done and didnt have anyone to take out. But my other buddy that is a part of this film, Craig Webb, was able to go out that morning and have an amazing hunt that he captured all on film, self filming, and put down a beautiful bird. Thank you Jesus!
Day three I took a buddy of mine back to the farm I hunted on the first day to try and get on the hot bird I had heard across the road on Monday. We go up there on that side and it begins to break daylight and wouldnt you know it, he had flown across the road and was over where I had killed the bird on monday. So after giving it some time and listening to him tear the woods down we took off across to him. By the time we made it to him he had already come around the bowl and was on the end of the point with his hens. We managed to call him up into sight several times, but not in shotgun range. After awhile of this his hens had had enough and they flew across the road, and he followed of course. Gotta love em.
Day 4 was my absolute favorite hunt of the season and was tremendously blessed. Again not going into detail since there is a whole thread about this hunt. But we got out of the truck early and the bird was already gobbling his waddles off! Made our way around and set up on him with the avian X decoy out in what I knew had to be his strutting area. He flew down and continued to gobble like a fool with his 4 hens. I was able to with the help of my rut n strut mouth call and aluminum pot call coax him in dragging his hens in tow. He came in and put on the show of all shows on camera and my buddy dropped the hammer on his first bird ever. Just couldnt ask for any better hunt!! WOW!! Thank you Jesus!!
Took Friday off to rest and recoup for the turkey marathon ahead. Headed to my very best farm on the first saturday for the first time in. Very high expectations with the amount of birds I knew were there. Drizzly rain and fog welcomed us as we made our way high on the ridge, but birds didnt mind and were rocking the timber. But wouldnt your know it, 6 gobblers were gobbling hard on the neighbor ridge behind us, and only one on our side and he had a hen! Of Course! So we set up on him, of course hen leads him away so we leave him be for awhile and go to a section I know well to just sit and wait him out. We sat there for about an hour with him gobbling every now and then on his own. We got up and headed out the ridge to try and locate another bird to get on since ol boy was still over there with his hen and happy. As we get to the ridge field and call, ol boy decides to answer us, and he has cut some distance. He answers again even closer. I looked at craig and said, "we gotta go, he is going right where we were just sitting!". So off we went to try and beat him there. As we get there to the rise in the road I check him and he cuts me off just on the other side of the rise, SCRAMBLE MODE!! We get situated and he is coming fast, every call he gobbles. Any second now we are going to see him, this is a done deal! So we are expecting him to come strait out the road we are one, and instead he comes around the point and to our left and pops out about 30 yards looking for us. When he came around the curve and didnt see a hen there he immediately got nervous! I told craig to go ahead and shoot him there, he was 25 yard but to craigs extreme left. As craig pulled the trigger the shot all went behind the bird, he jumped in the air and over the bank. I hit him with a cut and he gobbled a few more times but walked off really not knowing what happened. I hate that craig missed this giant gobbler, but hey, it happens.
After the great weather week one, we entered the rainforest for the rest of the season making things a little more difficult. We managed to stay on birds but it was making things tougher for sure. Week 2 was pretty uneventful. That saturday I was able to take a hunter out on my farm (same farm craig missed) to try and get him his first bird. This guy bought a hunt I donated to an auction, and had really never turkey hunted, but wanted to try with his bow. Oh Boy! lol. So we went running and gunning with his bow that day. Ended up calling in 2 different gobblers to two different sets, but with a bow and no blind, it just didnt work out for us, but man we had a great time and I was able to plant a seed of love and of Jesus into his life. Before we parted ways I was able to pray with him that day and speak life over him and the situation he was in, speak the love of Jesus over him, and show him what it really meant to love like our Father does. He was in tears as I said Amen and he hugged and thanked me for that. Thank you Jesus for using me once again through turkey hunting!
Week 3 was again kind of tough just picking times to hunt between rain but I was again on a mission with another hunter to get him his first bird. We went to his property where he had been trying with no success. My first time on the place so going in blind, just with his leading on where birds were and everything. It had been raining so ground was saturated and birds were again not wanting to gobble on the limb due to dampness and some fog. We went to an area he had been hearing a bird every day, owl hoot, nothing, yelp, nothing. So we walk on down into the saddle to setup. Standing there about to sit down and the gobbler flushes from the tree 20 yards from us. CRAP!! So off we go to another area he had been hearing some birds at later in the mornings.
As we are walking over through there he tells me there is a big right of way out there, and I immediately said, "that is where we gotta be, thats where birds will be on a day like today." We make it to the right of way and I begin to call. After about 3 sequences we had two gobblers cut me off only about 120 yards out the pipeline. We cut the distance and call again and they are on their way, not 80 yards from us. We hurry to get the decoy out and get setup. They were gobbling good and getting closer fast! Just a minute later here they came, two longbeards bobbing up the pipeline to us, this is about to be over with! I am on them rolling with the camera and they decide to stop and let out a couple gobbles to enhance the show a little bit. They see the decoy and they are coming. Well at about 55 yards they locked it up for some reason. I saw both of their wings tuck and I told my buddy, you have to shoot, they are leaving. He got on the left one and fired, both turkeys flew straight up in the air and out of our lives. Unbelievable! I was so frustrated that didnt work out, but thats how it goes sometimes turkey hunting. After walking out to the spot the birds were in I believe they picked out my buddy and it made them nervous, you could see slow mowing the footage some of his pattern hit the bird in the chest, but not enough to kill the bird or injure it. I immediately converted him from the ammo he was using to the longbeard XR killing machines. This pic is all we have to show for this hunt.
So finally the fourth week of season was upon us, weather was predicted to be awful and time was running out. I wasnt going to kill another bird unless I could do it on film. So monday with the weather predicted I slept in. Craig on the other hand decided to try it and it paid off big for him! He got on a smoking hot gobbler early that pitched out into a big field in front of him about 80 yards. The bird stood right in the middle of the field strutting and gobbling not moving a muscle! After awhile and time running out for craig before he had to leave for work, he decided to get wet and do a little mohican belly crawl on this bird. He crawled up the fence line to try and get a little closer to coax him in for a shot. The gobbler must have seen the grass move or heard craig because it peaked his interest and he came running right at him. On his belly, craig managed to get his bead on the bird on the run at 30 yards and give him the ol Longbeard XR backflip treatment. Awesome bird, 22 pounds, 11 inch beard, 1 1/4 spurs. Thank you Lord for coming through again for us!
So after Craigs kill that definitely motivated me to get out of bed and try and fill my last tag. I hunted hard the next couple of days in the rain, with nothing but some very soggy boots and cloths to show for it, never heard a gobble. Thursday I was going to sleep in but rolled over at about 5:15 to check the weather on my phone and it showed clear all morning, I couldnt waste the last good day. So up I came and off I went to try my brother in laws farm one last time. I arrived a little late, but right at gobbling time, and expected birds to be rocking it. Not a peep! You have to be kidding me! So off I went up the hill to the ridge that I killed my bird on opening morning. I knew they were there, the ridge was tore up with sign, so I was just going to sit in there and wait on one to gobble or mill through there feeding. I walked out the point about 7:00 and cut on my aluminum pot, a hen immediately answered me down over the hill about 70 yards. I thought I would just sit down and try and call her in in hopes that she had a gobbler with her. So I began to call, she answered everything and was closing the distance. A few minutes later there she was, walked right up on the flat to about 15 yards from me and stopped just looking for the hen she heard. I keep looking behind her, nothing. Oh man!
So about that time here comes 5 hens busting up the point to my left aggressive purring going to fight the other lone hen. They all come up and jump a log and Im checking each one for a beard, all hens. They run at the hen and run her back over the hill where she came from. I then look back where they came from and there stands a monster gobbler at 40 yards behind a deadfall in full strut big as can be! I flipped my safety off and got on his head and neck, it was obstructed by the deadfall. I thought he was going to jump it, but he decided to go down and around it. I thought for sure I was about to blast him when he stepped out, but he turned and went down the hill where the hens were and out of my life. He never made a peep and just like that he was gone!! Had I seen him a second earlier he would have been dead. But thats how it goes.
As the season winded down on me, I was able to squeeze in a decent hunt on the last day with a buddy of mine in Putnam county and we had a bird start gobbling on us at 5:30 and didnt let up until 9:30, but was unfortunately on the neighbors property and he only moved about 100 yards all morning long. Then of course the rain started, and he was finished, and my season was over.
Like I said at the start of this long reflection, I was blessed this year and I am so thankful! It was one of my best years ever as far as getting to hunt. I was able to get in alot of good hunts before work and get on alot of birds. Roughly I was about to hunt about 24 days this year which is the most I have ever got to hunt I think, called in 30 birds, 10 were longbeards and 20 hens some of which we got the better of and some got the better of us, but hey, thats what keeps us coming back right? Was able to make some lasting memories with great friends, make new friends, capture some gorgeous footage, fill several tags, get some people on their very first birds, and most of all share the love of Jesus with so many people along the way through His creation. I am a turkey hunter, and I am blessed to be one! Hate to see this season end, but cant wait for next season. Hoping to make it to PA before its over for one last chance before hanging the vest up. WV was a weird year for sure especially with the weather messing with birds some but I enjoyed every second of it and wouldnt trade it for anything! Love all of you guys, be safe, happy hunting, and God bless you!
