Turkey Season 2011
Longbeards in gun range: 27
Turkeys harvested to date: 13
Hunters get their 1st Turkey: 5
Our 2011 turkey season started in Alabama on March 12th with a youth turkey hunt. Our young hunter, Austin has never killed a turkey and we tried hard to change that with a beautiful spring morning hunt. We roosted the birds the day before and were in a pasture waiting early the next morning. We could see the gobbler in the tree before he flew down to the opposite pasture. We moved and got in front of the flock, but weren't able to close the deal. The gobblers were with hens and not responsive to our calls. Austin will have a chance to get on these birds another day. Thanks for a great morning!
March 15th we opened the regular Alabama turkey season hunting with our good friends Bobby Keene, his son
Nathan and friend Kyle. The woods were beautiful and we found some turkey sign to hunt. Again, the birds weren't responsive to the calls and it looked like they weren't really into the mating routine yet. We did have one hunt where Kyle got close to getting a shot at his first bird, but the 2 gobblers didn't get in close for a clean shot. We enjoyed our 3 mornings there fishing the pond, chasing turkeys, eating good food (with some good gravy) and having some fun fellowship. Thanks Bobby for being such a great host!
March 26th we opened the Georgia turkey hunting season hunting with good friend John Mark Eager. We had several people on the hunt and split up into 2 groups. The turkeys gobbled early and we all got to heard some great turkey talk. But the only turkey killed was by 10 year old Luke. It was his 1st wild turkey and may be the biggest we get this season. The bird weighed 19 1/2 pounds, had 11 14" beard and 1 1/4" spurs. Not bad for the 1st bird of the 2011 season! Congratulations Luke!
March 27th we had Mike Allen and his son, Krew. Mike shot his 1st bird a few years ago and you may remember seeing little Krew carry that bird out. Well, Krew is now 10 years old and ready to shoot his 1st bird. We had a good chance to get him a shot, but the gobbler we hunted had more hens than he needed and wasn't interested in our offers. Maybe next time Krew!
March 29th we hunted with our good friend Joe Parker and his friend Tim Manning. I believe Joe was the first person to get Jimmy interested in turkey hunting. I'm not sure if Jimmy learned much, but he sure likes to go a bit now, me too! We had a great plan to get the ol' bird we huntewd with Mike a few days before, but again the ol' gobbler wasn't receptive. So, we went to plan B and made a prospecting run with great results. We were hoping to get Tim the shot, but this ol' tom came in on Joe's side and he dropped the hammer on his head. Good shot Joe!
March 30th our good friend Tony Franks approached us with a plan for Tim to get his 1st
turkey and we all agreed that it was something we needed to try. The weather looked bad and we were hoping for an hour or 2 window to put our plan into action. Well within 30 minutes of daylight, Tim had his 1st wild turkey, a nice jake. But the hunt wasn't over and it looked promising to get him a longbeard. We made several rounds of calls and when it looked like the weather was about to send us packing, Tony said don't move! There is a longbeard coming in right behind us. The beautiful ol' tom came in slowly and put on a show with our hen decoy. We caught it all on video and Tim got his 1st longbeard on the same day. It was a very special hunt and we really appreciate Tony sharing his time and energy to help us make this happen. Congratulations Tim! watch video!
March 31st was the last day for Joe and Tim to hunt with us and we weren't sure if the weather would pass through, but it did and we had another good day in the turkey woods. We set up 3 times and managed to get a gobbler in close for Tim to limit out in Georgia. The bird put on a show and Tim was so close to him, it took a few minutes before he could even raise the gun. We really enjoyed our hunts with Joe and Tim and look forward to seeing them again next season! watch video April 3rd we hunted with the winners of the
Cabela's Youth Calling Contest. The contest took place at the Cabela's in Gonzales, Louisiana and was open to kids age 10-16 years old. The hunting area was provided by nearby landowners and local hunters did all of the necessary scouting and preparations for our hunt. We were able to get a really nice longbeard in close and Garrett Booksh (13 years old) made a great shot at about 13 yards. Garrett's dad was with him and our new friend Lucky Needham did the calling and set-up. I captured the hunt on video and will have it available soon!
Congratulations Garrett on your nice bird, and a special Thank You to
Cabela's Gonzales for sponsoring this event! Watch video
April 12, 2011 we woke up to a line of rain coming through South Georgia, and I got a call from Nolen wondering if we should go this morning. I said it looked like a thin line on radar, lets go get that big bird he started calling the Ghost! We had a plan and we weren't going to let the weather stop us. Part of our plan was to get in a deer stand that had a roof. That helps when it looks like rain. The second part of the plan was to put out a small strutting decoy called B-Mobile. Nolen had hunted this bird 3 times before and Ghost would go the other way. He gobbled a lot in the tree and the last time we hunted, this Ol' Tom probably gobbled 100 times before he flew down. He has hens and likes for them to come to him. Well, after that hunt I realized Ghost was the heard bull and it was time to let him see B-Mobile in his territory. The rain may have slowed him down some, but he did gobble some in the tree and answered me once on the ground. We waited a good hour before I did my 1st gobble. Then maybe another 30 minutes I did my 2nd gobble. Then soon after that I saw him in a half strut coming right to B-Mobile. Nolen doesn't have to be told to shoot and Ghost was flopping at about 35 yards. This is the heaviest bird we have seen in a long time at 21 pounds, sporting a 10 1/2" beard with sharp 1 3/16" spurs. watch video
April 16th Jimmy was in Alabama near Auburn hunting with Mary Katherine Donner
on her 1st wild turkey hunt. The birds gobbled good that morning and Mary Katherine was set-up on a food plot near the roosting turkeys. Jimmy started calling and the birds responded. This nice Jake came close enough for Mary Katherine to make a good clean shot and harvest her 1st wild turkey! Congrats!
April 19th Jimmy took one our local airmen for his 1st turkey hunt. The morning started out slow with no birds gobbling early, but later walking and calling they were able to get one to respond. They set-up in an area that we had hunted successfully before, and managed to get 2 birds coming to the call. The 1st bird to get close enough to our hunters got to ride in the truck. He was a nice 4 year old bird with 1 1/4" spurs. Congratulations Dan on your 1st Wild Turkey!
April 23rd we joined several volunteers that helped 
with the 3rd Annual Talon Outdoors Handicap Turkey Hunt. Thirteen disabled hunters got to go on a South Georgia wild turkey hunt. The day started out real foggy for Jimmy and I, but we were in a place that had turkeys. Our good friend Charlie Ward offered us a great opportunity at The Empress Rod & Gun Club south of Quitman. After scouting with Charlie on Friday, we came up with a good plan for the Saturday hunt. The turkeys weren't as vocal due to the fog, but later we were able to get some birds gobbling and interested in our set-up. Just before we were going to call it a day, a big ol' mature gobbler and his hen started down a road our way. After what seemed to be 30 minutes, he made it to a spot 23 yards out and just right for our hunter, Greg Allen to make a clean kill. It was great to see our wheelin' sportsmen take part in such a great sport like turkey hunting, and even more rewarding to see the generosity of our community that stepped up for the challenge. A big thank you to Charlie and The Empress Rod & Gun Club and Talon Outdoors for organizing such a great event! watch video
April25th Jimmy took one of his church members turkey hunting. Chase Godwin had never killed a turkey and was ready to give it a try. Of course with Jimmy as the guide and caller, his chances were much better of harvesting his 1st wild turkey. It also helped that this turkey hasn't been hunted this year. According to Jimmy, the bird gobbled good and strutted to them just like he was an Ol' longbeard. A nice hunt when so many hunts can be difficult.
Congratulations Chase!
April 26th Jimmy was hunting with Chris in Alabama and had a gobble at 10 yards,
but he saw Chris move and got away. I was at The Empress Rod & Gun Club again helping a 14 year girl and her dad with her 1st turkey. Charlie Ward helped us get a good set-up and we were close to the gobblers. The hens carried them away fro us but we learned where we needed to be for tomorrow!
April 27th Dan, Emma, Charlie and I got in our perfect set-up and the birds put on a show for us. Two gobblers were out front and one took the lead to come in for a close shot. See what happens next on the video
April 29th Jimmy and I teamed back up with our good friends Michael and Micky DeLoach. We hunted several times this season to only have a bag put over our head by these two strange acting gobblers. Today we were ready to break up that pair and we had a reasonably good plan to do so. It was a perfect morning for turkey hunting. It was calm, the temps had dropped some to about 54 degrees and the sun was making its presence in the East when our big gobbler started his morning ritual of gobbling. Gobble he did. The hens flew down first and it all got started. We got some great video and the ending is as strange as this Ol' bird and his partner were. Video coming soon!
May 2nd we teamed up with good friend Tim Keller of Talon Outdoors, LLC. He had an O'l Bird that was giving him problems and he thought getting some new ideas on what to do could get this bird in bow range. Our plan was good and 
the execution was perfect. After a little wait on this beautiful morning, we started hearing gobbles around us and our plan began. Three gobblers were in sight early, but they were happy chasing and playing with each other. After a few soft clucks, the 2 longbeards and 1 jake started walking toward our set-up. On arrival to the food plot the big gobblers acted like they weren't interested in our decoy, but the shy little jake stepped up and decided to go over and check her out. That didn't set well with the Ol' Longbeards and the joined the jake in his pursuit of our decoy. Tim took his time and made a great shot at about 20 yards. You can see the arrow entering into the lower back of the gobbler. What happened next we didn't expect! video coming soon
May 7th was the 1st day of our 2 day hunt in the North Georgia mountains. This weekend was a guided trip for our youth turkey calling contest winner, Danielle Worthen. Danielle competed in a turkey calling contest last summer at the FLW fishing tournament on Lake Lanier. The tournament was judged by TV personalities Hank Parker, Harold Knight and Jimmy Houston. The contest was sponsored by Cabela's. Also on this hunt was special guest
Magen Prather from THE FOWL LIFE. Danielle's parents and sister were there for support and to enjoy the beautiful mountains. We had a great set-up for the 1st morning after watching 2 big longbeards strut in the same spot for 50 minutes the day before. We got in the blind early, but the birds didn't show up. We did a little "Run & Gun" before lunch and got 2 turkeys answering our calls pretty quick. We moved in closer and set-up, only to have the birds go behind us and to the area we made our 1st call. Lesson learned! These birds are coming straight to a call. After a good lunch we jumped on the pontoon boat and did a little fishing on a beautiful mountain lake. Several bass were caught and it was time to head back out for an evening hunt. We had a good idea of where to go for a chance at some birds after our morning hunt. All our gear in hand, we started our walk to the food plot we thought would produce a turkey or two and on the way came face to face with 2 big longbeards in the road looking right at us. We froze in our tracks and waited about 10 minutes before they walked out of sight. Then we backed up and headed toward the food plot the birds were walking to. We set-up and Magen gave them a little call on her crystal. The turkeys responded with a quick gobble, showing their interest. A few minutes later, I tried my wingbone and they gobbled real close. Danielle was facing the decoy and Magen was covering the woods. The birds decided to cut through the woods and Magen was going to have the shot. At about 8 yards the birds stopped and I hit the wingbone call which brought on a loud thunderous gobble before Megan made her shot. It was a quick and exciting hunt. I tried to get the 2nd bird back in for Danielle, but he had left the area. We hunted the rest of that evening and the next morning trying to get a bird in for Danielle, but were unsuccessful in getting another bird. Danielle received some camo clothing, a turkey vest and a rod and reel combo from Cabela's for winning the contest! Magen Prather and Danielle Worthen
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March 15th our season in Georgia slowed down this week and the birds weren't responsive to our calls. Most days were quiet with little to no gobbling. Our new friends from Louisiana came in town for the final 3 days and we hit some very good areas for working birds, but none paid off. Saturday was tuff due to the continued thunderstorms, but we had a great time trying to hunt these crazy turkeys in South Georgia. Many people we talked to said it was a tuff season. We noticed a big reduction in birds in several of our hunting areas that normally had good populations. I noticed more birds eaten in the woods this year as well. We normally get close to 50 longbeards in gun range, but this year we had only 27. We had a lot of fun with all of our hunters and really appreciate Cabela's helping with the turkey calling contest and hunt. We also would like to thank the landowners that let us come in for special hunts. We couldn't do it without their support. Stay tuned for more turkey videos of this years hunts and other Outdoor Adventures!