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May 7, 2008 - Rusty Dunn - # 15 -
Today, the leaves were wet and they were able to sneak in to about 100 yards from a very vocal bird. They set up and yelped…got an immediate response…then, he shut up. After 15 minutes, soft called again…nothing. Another 15 minutes…soft called…nothing. Another…nothing. Then, Stephen gave a loud call and he finally responded and started walking straight to Rusty. At 35 yards, Rusty nailed him. 17 lbs., 1” spurs and 10” beard.
Congratulations! First ever for the recently
frustrated, now-hooked duck hunter-turned-turkey hunter. April 26, 2008 - Sam Murray -
# 14 - Son of the State of Tennessee's Turkey guru, Jack Murray, who hunted
many times with us at HD. Sam and Wilson Burton barely got into the woods
in Area 1 W when this guy started calling for his hens. Wilson was
evidently a pretty good sounding hen and this bird fell to Sam at 6:15 AM.
16 lbs., 10.4" Beard and 1" spurs. Nice job. April 12, 2008 - Nate Greene, again! - # 13 - (this is # 3 for Nate - total hunting about 3 hours.) April 11, 2008 - Ned Priest, again! - # 12 - Same story, second verse - arrived late, scrambled to find a spot...went to 3 E this time...worked hard for about an hour...DOA @ 5:00 PM...14 1/2 lbs., 8 3/4" Beard, and 1" spurs! Message from Ned..."Dude, I'm hot. Nothing to it..." April 8, 2008 - Ned Priest - # 11 - Ned decided to enjoy a little hunt prior to the Lady Vols game and showed up on the campus at about noon...signed out for Area 3 W, where everyone else has been hunting and there couldn't possibly be another bird...but, along came a couple of shooters and Ned did the deed...back by 2:30 or so... in time to get home and watch the Women's Finals...about 18 lbs., 9 + " beard and 3/4" spurs... April 7, 2008 - # 10 - Wilson Burton - At 6:00 PM, Wilson had been in position for over two hours...never called...was working on his Blackberry answering e-mails and coordinating the next week's activities...when...suddenly a jake appeared...then a long beard....then another....then another. With the Blackberry in one hand and the gun by his side, he was basically trapped by the birds. Slowly the Blackberry went down to the ground, the other hand gripping and slowly moving the gun into position...the grip...the shoulder...the cheek...the sights...the lower jaw...and at 20 yards, pulled the trigger. The bird lay prone, but the other birds stayed around wondering what in the world just happened to their buddy. After about 30 minutes and several Blackberry messages, they finally eased away. Thirty minutes later, he picked up the bird and eased away himself...planning his return to the area the next day. Statistics - 20.5 lbs., 10.5" beard, 1 1/8" spurs. Congratulations! April 5, 2008 - Robert Alexander scores again! # 9 overall. At 5 PM Saturday, Robert is high on a hill, so he could get a decent cell phone signal, and is talking with Scottie, his daughter, when two white heads appear. "Gotta go!"...."No, No, No, I mean NOW...call you later". The birds work themselves into position for better identification...both are mature...now 30 yards...BANG! # 9 is history... April 1st and 2nd, 2008 - Richard Speer and Nat Harris score - Richard with a 22 pounder and Nat with a 18 pounder.... so, the total is now 8! March 30, 2008 - Nate Greene (#2) ..................................................and Skip Neblett
Skip in front of Lodge →→→→→
March 29, 2008 - Nate Greene, Robert Alexander, Owen Hardcastle and Jimmy Love....
NEW SEASON FINALLY ARRIVES - MARCH 29, 2008 April 12, 2007 - Robert Alexander documented a miss and then a hit. Turkey # 7 gets into the books. Robert arrived about 3 PM and decided to go to a new food plot north of the Quarter Moon Food Plot...found a comfortable spot for an afternoon nap and called once...within 30 minutes, 2 mature birds show up...Robert carefully aims and fires...and two birds flew away! On the way to the Lodge, he decided to stop at an old favorite - the Doug Hardcastle-named "Hissy - Pissy" blind (old # 8 for the rest of us). Again, he called once...and within 20 minutes, a bird silently strolls up...more carefully this time, Robert took aim and fired...turkey # 7 weighed 22 lbs, sported a 10 1/2" Beard, had 1 1/4" spur on one side and 1 3/8" on the other. Score 7 - 1. March 31, 2007 - It's Turkey Time in
Tennessee! Nate Greene, Owen Hardcastle and Richard Speer March 31, 2007
Hunting with the
master guide Robert Alexander, this is the second year in a row that RA has
guided a mature tom harvest for me on opening day. Although he is slipping just
a bit. Last year it only took 35 minutes after getting out of the car.
This year it was approx. an hour and a half...90 minutes! At one time when the turkeys were behind us, I was in such a contorted position that the whole right side of my body from my hip to my foot went to sleep. I could not stay in that position any longer. So, I had to lay down on my chest and put the gun on the ground and hope that they did not appear over the ridge during my movement. Likewise, Robert shifted around to the back of the tree. The birds were right on us gobbling but a shot did not present itself. The birds talked for the entire 1:15 from fly down until the shot was made. We could not see them but they were within 50 - 60 yards the whole time. After the deed was done and we were admiring our accomplishment, we heard another gobble! We set back up but were not successful in calling in another Tom.. only a hen and three jakes presented themselves in the next 45 minutes. Obviously, this was a very exciting morning. I am looking forward to next year going for a TURKEY "THREE-PEAT” - three strikes in a row on opening morning. By the way, I am reserving my appointment now with Robert for next year opening morning. I'm delivering a bottle of Absolute this afternoon to seal the deal. Got up. Got dressed. Drove within 100 yards of Brother Mike's blind. Got in stand @ 6:15. Made one call. Bird strutted in...DOA @ 7 AM. Mowed grass until noon. Easy! Well, ya' see, it was like this... and I swear this is the truth.....
Turkey # 1 - I got to the club
about noon on opening day, Saturday March 31. After checking everyone's
location, I decided to go to Area 6. I knew that turkeys sometimes use
the woods road up that hollow so I set up where that road leaves the little
food plot just east of the base of Hammer Ridge. I put out 2 hen decoys
and my B-Mobile Primos strutting gobbler and sat in the thick woods just back
from the food plot edge, looking into the food plot and onto the road. About
4:00 PM, 2 gobblers came in from the west, out of the large field/food plot
where Stand 6 is located. They were headed across the food plot, right toward
the woods road, when they saw my decoys. They couldn't believe that some
intruder was stealing their women!! they actually gawked, stared and walked
like drunkards, staring at my G-Mobile. Heavy 13 #6's smoked Turkey # 1
at 20 yards.
If you believe this, Nate has a bridge in Alaska to sell to a certain doctor.
Turkey # 2 - On Monday, April 2, I
decided to go to 60 Ridge and set up in the brand new ground blind on the
brand new food plot there. It didn't look too good for gobbling - warm,
humid, cloudy and breezy. I parked way back on County Line Rd and walked
past Stand 2 in order to approach my spot from the north. Just as I
reached the little neck of woods where 60 is located, not one but two gobblers
lit up strong. One was out the ridge and the other in the head of the
hollow behind me, about halfway up to the ridge where I had just walked!
I immediately sat down and set up looking at the new food plot. As I did
that, three very mouthy hens began tree-calling just down the side of the
ridge from me. They couldn't have been 50 yards away! They started
by tree-peeping and clucking but moved quickly to yelping, cackling and
cutting. So now I had two gobblers yelling at three hens, who were
yelling back! It was a turkey symphony and it had my heart rate at about
130!!! I joined in with the hens and was expecting to see big boy real
soon when the hens flew down into the hollow that opens on Old County Road at
the Old Home Place food plot. I continued to call from my spot on the
ridge to sound like the most conveniently located anxious whore for the
gobbler across the food plot, but suddenly he stopped for about a minute, then
lit up again from the side of the food plot right next to the ground blind.
I never saw him and I still don't know how he got there so fast. He
gobbled at me and the hens in the hollow for about 5 minutes at about a gobble
every 15 seconds, then walked off into the hollow gobbling. I was now in
utter despair! What looked so certain about 30 minutes ago had become a
real long-shot! In desperation, I tried an old Jimmy Barnes trick.
I ran right to the spot where the gobbler had been strutting beside the new
ground blind, set up in the ground blind, and called. I could not
believe my eyes when I saw the tip of a strutting tail coming up the ridge to
me about 5 minutes later. It was big boy and his subordinate buddy - and
their girl friends - coming back to pick up that last hen!!! Turkey # 2
was pole-axed at 23 steps!
Those are my true stories...and
I'm stickin' to them!
************** 2006 *************** May 13 - Turkey # 16 - Toby Magsig (Skip Neblett's son in law). Perfect ending to the season...
Toby and Skip arrived at the north end of the west lop of the Kelly-Goff Ridge
road about 5:30 AM planning to climb the ridge and listen for gobbling.
Just out of the truck Toby heard a gobble to the west. Sounded fairly
distant but we followed our ears up the logging road to the junction of the
woods and clearcut at the top of 1W.
The bird was gobbling frequently (more toward Hog Creek Road) and we set up
there with a decoy in the clearing and started to call. He slowly headed
our way but then seemed to drop off into the hollow along the north edge and
we quit hearing any gobbling. We tried to be patient but about 9 AM,
having heard no gobbles for an hour, decided to move.
We packed up and started to walk quietly down the road to the bottom.
About 150 yards from the top we heard a hen clucking excitedly in the hollow
off to the left. Hoping she might have a gobbler in tow we dropped right
along the edge of the road and answered her. She was conversational and
we talked back and forth for about 5-10 minutes. We were both facing
down the hill toward her when we heard a booming gobble just up the hill and
off toward the same little hollow on the north side of the road. Toby
was to be the shooter and had just time to edge around slightly uphill and to
change his gun position. He normally shoots lefty but had to position
for a right-handed shot due to how he was situated this time.
Unfortunately he did not realize how close the bird was and did not get his
gun up to his shoulder immediately. Within seconds not one but two
mature gobblers popped up on the road looking for their new best girl friend
and they both were looking right where Toby was lying half against a tree and
half out in the road. The distance at this point is only about 30 yards
but of course Toby doesn't have his gun mounted yet and they are looking right
at us.
One is in full strut and seemed to be the dominant bird. They both
slowly walk down toward us and Toby picked the BIG boy as his preferred
target. That bird then veered to the left just off the road and
partially behind a tree fall maintaining his strut and his visual contact with
our position. The second bird continued right down the road till he's
within 15 yards and Toby's going over in his mind the best way to initiate
'hand-to-wing' combat.
At this point the bird on the road takes a left hand turn and looks like he's
going to depart the scene over the left side of the road bed. Toby
quickly goes to plan B realizing that he may not have a shot at the larger
bird and that the closer bird is going to be out of sight shortly. He
quickly mounts his gun (right handed position). The strutting bird sees
movement and gives an alarm putt. The closer bird accelerates toward the
edge of the road. Toby gets off a shot just as the bird drops out of
sight past the side of the road.
At this point we hear nothing but the sounds of a fleeing gobbler or gobblers.
No thrashing in the leaves. Anticipating the worst, we are thrilled to see
Toby's bird lying stone dead in the leaves about 5 yards down the hill toward
the hollow. The great "wrong handed" shot was made at 18 yards using #6
Hevi-Shot. The beautiful three year old bird weighed 15# 10 oz with a 10
inch beard and 1/1.03 inch spurs.
This was Toby's first gobbler ( he killed a Jake last year) and was the reward
for eight days of pretty hard hunting this year in some pretty nasty weather
conditions. He had a few close calls but no shots till our last day of
the season.
May 12 - turkey # 15 - Philip Fontenot. This morning, Philip slept until 5:30, then chose a close place to go – Area 3. He quietly called (mouth yelper) down each hollow until he got the type response he wanted…set up in the woods and called a couple of times again - very softly. About 15 minutes passed and he was greeted by a gobble about 15 yards away - from the wrong direction, of course. By the time he turned around to get into a decent shooting position, the three birds were about 40 yards away. Several putts later, they were in the air. Philip claims he put his best wingshooting move on the lead bird and pulled the trigger. Down he came at 42 yards!
16 lbs., 4 oz., 1” spurs and 10 ½” beard.
April 27 - Turkey # 14 - Skip Neblett. This too is a relatively short story. Skip arrived for the morning hunt around 8:30. By 9:00 or so, Skip was in perfect position - decoy in sunlight, clear shot to the left and right (but not straight ahead) - and began his soft calling routine. This bird never said anything, but managed to sneak up the blind front approach, and presented a good shot behind a fairly thick bush. Knowing that a bush is 90% air, Skip took the shot and the bird took a few steps to present a better shot. Bang! Another shot jolted him and he rolled down hill. On Skip's arrival a third shot did the trick. Total hunt time 1 hour 15 minutes. (This same day, Will Morgan hunted from 5 AM to 12:30 PM and heard one faint gobble at 6:15.)
Skip in the traditional turkey pose. Skip in the traditional HD pose.......
April 22 - Unlucky Turkey # 13 - Nat Harris. This is a 35 minute, no calling story. "Pretty Boy" is a new gobbler decoy endorsed by Harold Knight and David Hale. Nat Harris was given one by Frank Bloom, who heard they were fantastic. They are! The afternoon of the 22nd, Nat took Pretty Boy and his subordinate companion, "Pretty Girl", to Area 7. He walked down the edge of the field and then between the pine trees to somewhat conceal his movement. A brief set-up included the Tom and hen decoy plus a bobbing battery operated hen decoy. Nat settled in for the afternoon at 4:10 PM. He did not make a call of any kind. At 4:40 or so, a Tom came into the middle of the field and spotted the Pretty Boy set-up. He RAN to the decoy, which had obviously invaded his territory, and stopped about 20 yards from Pretty Boy. Nat shot him at 42 yards at 4:45 with the new Hevi-13 # 5 load.
Set up from the Tom's perspective...
Close up of the set up plus the Tom... Click on it for a better view...
Giving credit where credit is due...
April 22 - Turkey # 12 - Mike Wright. This morning, Mike went to the lake to listen. Heard one near stand # 60 and made his way to him...set up...heard another behind him...eased around the tree and yelped a couple of times...nothing responded. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he spotted the original bird walking by at 15 yards. The Tom jumped up and flew to the right. Mike swung his gun from right to left and tried to time the impossible shot with opposite trajectories. Needless to say, he didn’t connect. A little while later, he heard another gobble...set up...yelped a few times...and another Tom was strutting straight to him. This time the shooter, the shotgun and the bird were in sync. The deed was completed at 7:55 AM. Two bird opportunities within 45 minutes! And, what a bird it was! 19 lbs., 8 oz., 10 1/8" Beard, 1 5/16" left spur and 1 ¼" right spur. April 21 - Turkey # 11 - Bill Clark. With the storm thundering this morning, Wilson Burton and his guest Bill Clark chose to sleep in. But they had a plan. Last night Bill had been fishing and heard a very hot Tom west of the lake. So, he basically had one roosted. This morning at 9, they went to the lake, crept up the point leading to the clear cut to the west and spotted several Toms strutting in the field near Stand # 2. They slowly backed away with Bill assuming a position in the wooded saddle and Wilson backing another 50 yards east. Wilson called and got an immediate response. After every 2 or 3 gobbles, Wilson would call again. Slowly but surely the Tom walked down the road toward this cute sounding hen until he came face to face with Bill. The job was completed at 35 yards. First ever was quite a trophy - 18 lbs., 14 oz., 11 1/2" Beard, 1 1/4" spurs (pointed and curled), probably about 5 years old! Congratulations! Perhaps Wilson will forward some pictures.
Bill Clark and Wilson Burton
Bill Clark in the classic Turkey Picture..... April 20 - Turkey # 10 - Con Knox. Master caller Con Knox ventured out early Thursday morning and the rain forced him back to enjoy a snack and let it subside. He then walked up the road and was looking for an appropriate hill to call and listen when 3 Toms walk by. Con, still standing, picked up his gun and fired. Result - 16 1/4 lbs., 9 1/2 inch beard, 1.0 inch spurs. The "Con-method" works again! April 13 - Turkey # 9 - Jim Love. What could be easier? Jim started hunting at the crack of noon, slipped into a one man blind near stand # 11, called once, received a hearty response, put down his call and never uttered another sound, picked up his book, read a few pages, looked up and saw a nice Tom in full strut escorted by a few hens walking straight down the road to him, waited until they were about 20 yards away and fired. Result - 17 7/8 lbs., 10 inch beard, 1.0 inch spurs. Per Jim, "Nothing to this game". April 12 - Turkey # 8 - Quinton Robertson. This retired MLB pitcher and Wilson Burton were setting up for a long afternoon hunt, when Quinton heard a faint gobble. He whispered to Wilson who was busy moving leaves out of the blind and otherwise making noise. They quickly got into position - Quinton the shooter, Wilson the caller. 5 minutes later, here comes the very hot Tom and is felled. Game over - 10 minutes total hunt. Weight, measurements and picture to follow. April 10 - Turkey # 7 - Jim Love Jr. First Turkey ever, and he did all the work - heard it, set up, called it in, waited and waited for the bird to release his strut, decided he couldn't wait any longer and BAM. Vital statistics - 18 1/4 lbs., 9 1/2" Beard and 1" Spurs. He has some great pictures he'll send me some day... April 7 - Turkey # 6 - Wilson Burton. This TVA bird spoke a little too much and was taken at 6:40 in the TVA. But, wow, what a bird! 21 1/4 lbs., 10 1/4" Beard and 1 1/4" Spurs, scoring 66.75 on the NWTF Scoring System. April 6 - Turkey # 5 - Wilson Burton. After three misses on a bird a couple of days ago, Wilson managed to coax one close enough to stay in his pattern. Result - 18 lbs., 2 oz., Beard 9 3/4", Spur 1" - a beautiful 3 year old! Taken in TVA area. April 1 - Quite a start. Richard Speer is publishing an over/under
number of 25 Toms to be taken this year. Here are the first weekend's
results:
Owen Hardcastle Greg Sheanshang October 27 - Turkey rules and Regulations set. The Fall Turkey season is November 12 - 18 with one bearded turkey allowed. This Spring we will be able to harvest 4 Toms. Spring Turkey Season is April 1 through May 14. Also, this Spring there will be a special Youth Hunt on March 25 - 26, with one bearded turkey allowed. May 11 - Will Morgan # 11 - The Old Homestead Warriors - This is the tale of several efforts to take one of these birds. The story starts with Jimmy Barnes. He had spotted them several times hanging around the general vicinity of the Old Homestead Field, Stand # 1, Stand # 2, the Lake Food Plot, the Hidden Food Plot, etc. The first hunters were Kari Sheanshang and Nat Harris who ventured into a secret place in the middle of the field in front of Stand # 1. They heard the birds and devised a plan for the next outing. Score - Turkeys 1, Hunters 0. The next hunting trip, Nat set up on the east side of the Hidden Food Plot, had a great morning with plenty of birds and plotted their movements. In the process, a coyote came too close to the live hen decoys and had to be harvested. Score - Turkeys 2, Hunters 0, Coyote -1. The next morning, Daniel Morgan and Doug Hardcastle set up for the same bird(s), and followed him (them) up the point toward Stand # 2, but eventually lost. Score - Turkeys 3, Hunters 0. After a few days, turkey hunter extraordinaire, William Morgan, armed with all this knowledge, entered the fray. Here's what he had to report: "Nat told me where this bird roosts and that he was very call shy. He assured me that if I didn't call, he would fly down and walk right past me. Well, maybe I called once, I'm not exactly sure, but he flew down and went the other way. I listened to him gobble for over an hour and decided to chase him. I got close the 1st time, called softly, and he immediately went the other way. I spent the next 3 hours running from set up to set up trying to get in front of him. Finally, by being totally quiet and not calling at all, I shot this one at 10:45 when they (2 of them) walked into the hidden food plot! I took the first one - 18 lbs, 1.25" spurs, 9 inch beard. Nice old bird!"
You can click on the picture to enlarge it. But, look at the curve and points. Surely a 3 to 4 year old! Final Score - Turkeys 3, Hunters 1. Nice job, Will! May 3 - Toby Magsig - # 10 - Skip Neblett's son-in-law got his first ever - a 15 pound Jake. I don't know the story, but I understand he was in one of the duck blinds at the 3-way Runway in the bottoms. However, at 15 pounds, I think this bird should be drug tested for steroids. April 29 - Wilson Burton - Turkey # 9 -
April 26 - Turkey # 8 - Jim Love. The next morning, Jim ventured to the Do-nut Field early. Same thing. A fly down cackle, some soft clucks and yelps, and in comes this bird quietly. 19 lbs., 1 oz., 10 1/2" beard, 1" spurs. April 25 - Turkey # 7 - Jim Love. Harvested at the Trigger Finger Field in the afternoon. Jim made one or two calls, put down his box caller and waited. About 30 minutes later, in walks this guy - quietly. Taken at 20 yards - 19 lbs., 2 oz., 9 1/2" beard, 1 1/2" spurs - apparently a 3 or 4 year old bird. April 8 - Turkey # 6 - Nate Greene
Nate's version: Last year a bird
snuck up on me while I was asleep. I was within 10 feet of the same tree
last Friday afternoon at around 2:30 and yes I went to sleep again. I had been
calling and napping for about an hour without a response at all, then I stood up
to retrieve my decoy and walk to another area. I said to myself what the hell,
and called one more time and was immediately answered with a huge gobble that
was within 75 yards of my locale. He was just below the ridge I am on but
I could not see the hot Tom. So, I sat back down rather quickly and put my gun
up and took off the safety. Now I am shaking with excitement. Then I
heard 1 gobble, followed by another and then another. Turned out there were
three Toms traveling together, and I could not see over the bump in the hill in
front of me. But I could barely see the fan of one Turkey and then the blue
head of another Tom and then the blue head of number three. My experience is
telling me the strutting Tom is likely the dominant bird but he is also the
third in line and the other two are LEAVING. I figured I would quickly have a
small window to shoot the bird and that it would happen very soon. I had no
time to think about what to do. I could only see the head and a few inches
of the birds neck when I shot. When I finally shot, the ground and leaves
in front of me were going everywhere. I jumped up not knowing if I hit the bird
or not. But good ole Heavy Shot 3 1/2 inch did the job. I paced 45 yards to
the downed bird and was hoping and praying that it was NOT a Jake. The bird
checked in at 18 lbs., 10 inch beard, 1 inch spurs, probably two years
old. Wow! By the way, had I not been sitting on a stool that was elevating me
slightly off the ground I would not have had a shot. Use a stool! April 4 - Turkey # 5 - Clay Iaquinta's First Bird - Story per Wilson...
The pair arrived at Heart's Desire Sunday evening, successfully sighted in Clay's youth model, single shot 20 gauge, but failed to cheer the UT Volunteers women's basketball team to the National Championship game. Turkey hunting proved better than basketball. The next morning the trio set out extra early for a natural crossing, built a camo net blind, set out three decoys, and waited for fly down time. Distant gobbles could be heard to the south, and clucks and yelps could be heard to the northeast. Being in the middle can be fun.
Wilson tried to sound like a flock of hens using slate, box and mouth calls. The combination worked, even though the birds never gobbled after flying down. Within thirty minutes Frank spied five birds trying to slip in silently. The big boy took a peek and then hung back, while the four jakes moved in for a closer look. Clay slowly got his gun up and over to the right about the time the lead jakes started to putt their uncertainties. When Wilson said "shoot", Clay dropped the hammer. Amid the winged retreat a jake lay flapping. Clay moved from being a turkey hunter to a turkey killer with his first bird and a big grin. His next question was, "Can we go fishing now!" April 3 - In the morning, for bird # 4, Skip Neblett joined in with a nice 2 year old, 19 lb. bird with 9" beard and 7/8" spurs.. April 2, 2005 - By 5:45, the first was down - by Richard Speer (2 year old, 18 1/2 lbs., 9 1/2" beard, 1" spurs) ... These birds were thoroughly scouted by Richard and he was perfectly positioned at 5:00 AM CST among a whole bunch. He picked one and BAM! - Down went the first of the season!
Later, the second by Frank Stephens (3 year
old, 20 lbs.,
March 6 - It's Turkey Time in Tennessee - for State-wide, Youth-Only Hunting March 26 - 27 (2 days). Ages 10 - 16, with the 17th birthday being the cut-off. Bag Limit is 1 for the two days (not one per day), but the only limitation is that it must be bearded... meaning, it can be a bearded hen. Last year, this was a one-day hunt. For the rest of us, the season starts April 2nd and has been extended 5 days to May 15. Bag limit is the same as last year. A hunter may not take more that 4 bearded turkeys - only one per day - maximum of 3 on private property - maximum of 2 on WMA. So, if you take 2 on a WMA, you may only take 2 more on the statewide hunt. May 7 - Turkey # 25 - Richard Speer -
The story is now in. It seems the saga started with Richard and Carl chasing a bird between Silver Gate and Stand 13. Carl and Richard had different approaches, but a large possum got in the way. After a few attempts to eat a hunter, he left. It's hot now. So, Richard decides the air conditioned comfort of his pick-up truck would be more suitable for showing Carl the property. So, in the bottoms, as far away from the lodge as possible, Richard cleverly shows Carl the deepest hole he could find. Stuck. Done. No budging. Called for reinforcements. Nothing. So, they started the long walk back. As an afterthought, Richard grabbed his gun and 2 shells. Camouflaged with his finest white hat, Richard and Carl set out. They were met and picked up by Will's friend, but on the short trip out, in front of food plot 3, stand # 15, they spotted a strutting Tom. Carl said "Go for it". Our zealous hunter crawled into position. But, unlike the previous recanting, the area was signed out to Nate and Michael. They had been chasing the bird all morning and were in their truck approaching from the river side...Richard was in place on the west side of the food plot...suddenly there was movement of the hen... then of the Tom... then the approaching vehicle... it was now or never... BAM!... toward the general direction of the approaching auto... down goes Tom... soon to arrive are Carl, Will's friend, a bewildered Michael and Nate (having just been in the general direction of the receiving end of the sound of a shotgun blast from their own exclusive territory)... and all admire Richard's bird... but, the truck is still axle deep. And, as Paul Harvey says, "For the rest of the story...". Regardless, this marks the end of a fantastic season with bird # 25, the exact prediction of Jimmy Barnes. May 1 - Turkey # 24 - David Neblett -This
morning David got his first ever "call in by himself" bird.
DAVID - NEED YOUR STORY... April 28 - Turkey # 23 - Ned Priest - Wednesday morning was perfect... temperature in the 50's... high pressure... clear skies... plenty of stars visible at 5 AM... so quiet you could hear your own heart beat... etc... Ned, Richard, Nate, Nate's guest Cham and ??? were each in pursuit of a lonely Tom. Ned found a likely candidate who then proceeded to out-maneuver him, out-flank him, and generally kept Ned confused about his position. Finally, at the moment of truth, Ned saw his head for the first time and blasted him. Whoops! The big talking crafty old bird turned out to be smart young one - a Jake! I am reminded of a quote from Fox Haas, the father of Mossy Oak's Toxey Haas, who after bringing home a loud talking Jake, said something like, "If he talks like a man, he can die like a man". Regardless, this is bird # 23 and presented an excellent hunting challenge. Nice job! And, there are 12 more days of turkey hunting season . No doubt this year will set a standard which will be hard to match. April 26 - Turkeys # 21 & 22 - Ned Priest & Skip Neblett - Early Sunday morning, Ned went up the point beside the intern's cabin. With multiple gobblers talking, Ned picked one and set up on him. No problem communicating as each yelp produced a response. However, the turkey would not get any closer and eventually wandered away. Ned moved several times and ultimately found another spot to talk with him. Again, no movement. So, Ned used the Jimmy Barnes "A-B" trick, meaning after talking too much from position A, he quietly moved away 25 - 30 yards to position B, called as though he was no longer interested... and, the Tom came running...a great hunt for Ned and his 19 pound 10 oz. prize sporting a well worn 5" beard and 7/8" spurs. Time of day - 8:33 AM. Later that morning, Skip found another turkey in the North Country. His was a 3 year old, 15 1/2 pound, 9" beard with 7/8" spurs. I originally thought this was the first time any hunter at Heart's Desire had taken the full allotment of birds. My information was not correct. Skip has only killed one himself this year. I had asked for a more accurate story. In his own words, here's what actually happened: "Sunday morning started out better than Saturday for me. At least I didn’t lock my keys in the truck and have to call the locksmith before daylight. When I left my truck it started to shower: I stopped to put on my rain jacket and thought: “ Here we go again.” Saturday in the rain had been very unproductive. Almost no turkey noises hunting the same area as today. I walked quickly to my listening post on the ridge. About 6:02 I heard a gobble to the northwest. I waited. Repeat gobble in a couple of minutes. Sounded like it was about 10 miles away but there were no competing gobbles so I headed in that direction. When I reached the next finger ridge, it was quiet. I decided to walk out on the ridge to sit and start to call. As soon as I sat down the bird gobbled and I realized he wasn’t that far. He was just low on the ridge, almost down in the hollow. He was gobbling every few minutes and moving away now. I realized I probably couldn’t call him from where I was and got up to move toward him. Unfortunately the new growth in a previous poison area was so thick I had to go around it and by the time I reached my place to intersect the bird, he was dead silent. After a little meditation, I decided on a plan of setting up to call along the old road bed leading up the ridge and away from the noise of the swollen creek. I wanted to end up by 9:30 on the ridge overlooking the donut field where I had heard a bird calling midmorning on a previous day. I called off and on for 45 minutes without any response. It was now about 8 o’clock and time to move to a new spot. I crept down the road about 200 yards and climbed a deer trail up the ridge and set up against a big tree in fairly open woods with just a little green underbrush in front of my position. I really had no idea from which direction he might come. After a couple of calling sequences, I found the tree pretty comfortable when my butt pad and back pad were positioned well. I woke to the gobble at 8:30 and wasn’t sure exactly where it came from but knew it wasn’t too close. I sat tight and he sounded off again in just about a minute. He sounded like a good bird but it didn’t really matter as it was the first midmorning gobbler I had heard in three hunts. He was high on a ridge and two ridges over but the topography made me think he would hear my calls well and there were no significant impediments to his walking to me and so I started to call. He seemed to respond and actually seemed to be coming closer and then it was clear that he was gobbling and strutting and not really coming and I needed to move toward him. I moved to the next ridge and set up again in very open woods and close to the road where I had started. I called and he gobbled and he steadily moved in my direction but further up the ridge. He would come in my direction and gobble and I thought it was just a matter of time and he would be coming down the road to find the hen. However he had different ideas and kept a stubborn strutting path up and down the ridge in the place where the road isn’t too steep. After a while I stopped calling hoping that would make him come. No such luck. He was gobbling every 60 to 75 seconds and I was entertained but making no progress with this guy. I decided I needed to try to sneak closer when he strutted away and I left my pack and tortoise call at the tree and scooted up the ridge about 125 yards. After sitting down against a tree and planning the shot with his next pass down the road, his next gobble is well to my left, almost behind me. He’s walked up and around onto the top of the next ridge over and is close enough that I’m worried about bumping if I move toward him. When I did move up the ridge a few yards, there’s a conspicuous silence and I’m ready to kick myself when I hear the commotion of a heavy bird and flapping of wings. Something is different than the usual sounds of a tom leaving the scene and I realize he’s called up a hen and is busy with procreative activities at the moment. Fortunately I can’t quite see the honeymoon and hopefully he can’t see me. My next move is to head down the ridge, collect my gear and at the bottom and to get back over to the ridge that he is now on which is the place that this encounter had started for me. After making that hike, I’m rewarded by a thunderous gobble about 200 hundred yards up the ridge as I set up by yet another large tree. By this time I have no intention of letting him know I’m here. I have nothing but ambush on my mind having already had my best hen noises spurned by this guy for well over an hour. I’m keenly aware he has proven his ability to call the hen to him (in the not too distant past). He begins his routine again - gobbling every 60 seconds – and my heart begins to race again as he seems to be coming down the ridge towards my position. Unfortunately I realize after just a few minutes that he’s back in that aggravating strut pattern of the previous ridge: deja vu all over again. I don’t have any more bright ideas so I decide to go back to the basics. I let out a couple of sequences of soft yelps with my favorite Primos diaphragm . They sound good to me and he immediately answers. I’m back in the game! I’m focused on where I expect him to come from when I see movement off to the left, coming out of the clear-cut area and into the woods above me at about 75 yards. Its big and black and yes, it has a long beard. As the bird on the ridge above gobbles again, this bird moves quickly down toward me with plans for the hen he had heard just a few moments before. He stopped just behind some light brush, scanned the woods below intently, and then took a few steps to put his head and much of his body behind a double tree within range. By now my gun is up and the safety is off and I’m mentally making sure that my cheek is firmly against the stock and that I’m looking straight down the elevated rib of the Browning. A half step later his head and neck are clear of the trees and I fire without hesitation. The memory of that big bird flopping down that little ridge and into the gully is one that will always excite me. I walked to the bird and confirmed that he was mortally wounded, then retraced my steps, counting the 35 paces between where the bird came out behind the trees and my cushion on the ground. After cutting out the date on my first tag for 2004, I placed it on his leg and appreciated the sharp spur of the 3 year old bird. As I lifted him to admire his beard and the metallic bronze sheen of his feathers, it occurred to me that he felt lighter than most of our mature toms and that he had probably been working overtime to compete with the more vocal gobbler who had entertained me for the better part of the morning. I suspect my bird had done more than his share to service the hens of the north country. The pack on my back felt considerably heavier as it settled around my shoulders as I began my hike back to the truck. But that’s a good burden to bear." April 25 - Turkey # 20 - Eric Pederson - Visiting from Jupiter, FL and a guest of Richard Speer's, Eric and Richard ventured into Area 7 early Saturday morning. They scored with Eric's first ever turkey - a 13.75 pound jake. April 19 - Turkey # 19 - Marcus
Sheanshang - Another first ever experience. This was a true classic
when a plan is executed perfectly - by the bird as well as the hunter.
Marcus and Nat Harris had first pick the night before and chose Area
# 7.
April 17 - Turkey # 18 - Sid
Dassinger - We have a violation here. Unbeknownst to Sid, his guide
Skip Neblett, also his boss at Vanderbilt as an intern in Pediatric Surgery, led
him astray. It seems as though everything is fair in the world of turkey
hunting, so Skip and Sid managed to spot a bird in area 6 - not the area they
had drawn.
April 15 - Turkeys # 15 & 16 - Wilson Burton & Nat
Harris - Wilson and Nat set out to tag team a Big Boy in a couple of areas.
They started in Area 10 to listen and identify their bird. by 6:20 or so,
they decided to go to the gobbling bird in TVA.
Turkey # 17 - Nate Greene - At 4 o'clock that afternoon, fresh from
his three hour power nap, Nate ventured into his vehicle in search of anything
that looked like a turkey with a beard.
April 10 - Turkey # 13 - Doug Hardcastle - This morning Doug, Billy White (the box call, not the person) and Robert Alexander ventured into the woods. By 11:00 our thirteenth bird was hanging in the game station - 16.5 lbs., 8 1/2" beard and 1" spurs. See story below. By the way, Doug is now out of tags, but is available for guide service. Call him at your convenience. Or, if anyone has any breakfast, lunch and or supper requests, please give him a day or two notice. The Gospel Truth...according to Doug...Giving credit to a tip from Nate Greene, Doug and Robert selected area 2 W (Old Homestead Hollow). Saturday morning, they approached from the top...hooted...birds were close...called...birds obviously had other things on their minds and traveled away. Doug and Robert then drove around and approached them from the south, climbing up the hill beside the hollow. At the top, near stand # 60, Robert took one ridge and Doug the other. Robert sweet talked two, then three birds...in full strut...at about 100 yards. One by one they approached, then followed hens down the hollow and out of sight. The last one was about to go down the hollow and gave Doug an alert look. Doug took the opportunity. 10 gauge, 3 1/2" Mag, # 4 Hevi-shot...down for the count. Knowing the distance was pretty far, he jumped up and ran over to the bird in anticipation of having to shoot him again. Not so. The bird didn't move. Robert picked up all Doug's stuff, his empty shell (soon to be bronzed), his wad, etc., and paced the distance to the bird. Believe it or not, it was 66 yards! DOA at 6:45 AM. Turkey # 14 - David Neblett - This breaks the record of 13 for each of the last two years! Story has yet to be sent to the Webmaster; however, we have learned that David called in a bird from an adjoining county while jogging. At first light, the bird appeared, gave David a decent look...David fired...and as they say, the rest is history. Some day, I'll correct the story. In the meantime, the bird was checked in as 18.5 lbs., 8 1/2" beard and 3/4" spurs. April 9 - Turkey # 12 - Doug Hardcastle - With his new purchase, a Billy White Hustlin' Hen Box Call, Doug managed to slip into area 10 and park at the runway intersection. After blowing his own truck horn to announce his presence, he ventured into his normal over-the-corn hunting technique. But, the turkey sounded off to the northwest and forced him to move to shorten the distance to about 100 yards. Down went the decoy. Out comes Billy White, a mouth diaphragm and a slate caller. Between the three he made a few yelps and cuts, then clucks, getting cut off by two gobblers at every sound. At 6:08 AM, a jake landed within two feet of the decoy. At 6:10 a large body flew in and landed about five feet from the decoy. One sideways step and the show was over - 21.25 lbs., 9 1/2" beard and 7/8" spurs. April 7 - Turkey # 10 - Will Morgan - Mind you, this is only the morning of the 5th day. Will and his chief turkey consultant, Jimmy Barnes, went into Area 1 W this morning. In classic fashion, they heard...went to the gobbling bird...set up...called seductively...immediate response...gobbled all the way in...over 20 minutes worth...full strut...21.25 lbs., 9" beard and 7/8" spurs. Turkey # 11 - Don Alexander - Con's guest, Robert's cousin - Since
there were so many birds in the Rifle Range early yesterday, Con encouraged his
guest Don Alexander to explore the easy pickens' in the clover at the 200 yard
marker. Lo and behold,
April 6 - Turkey # 9 - Con Knox - Tuesday afternoon, Con spotted three strutting Toms in the Rifle Range near the creek bed. Using his unique best crawling stealth technique, he managed to sneak up the creek to the nearby Toms, bolted from the security of the creek cover, blasting away commando-style, trying his best to address the middle bird, and fired once, twice then three times - in the butt! After the third, the poor old guy finally gave up! At the moment of final breath, his statistics were 19.5 pounds, a 12 1/2" beard and 1" spurs. Nice ambush! April 4 - Turkey # 7 - Con Knox - Sunday, the talking was a little less, but Con managed to sweet talk a jake into his area. Since Con arrived at 2:30 and recorded only about 2 hours sleep, anything that presented an opportunity was in trouble. At 8 AM, Con and a jake met for first and last time - 12 3/4 lbs., 3 3/4" beard and 1/2" spurs. Lost in the shuffle in the wee hours of Sunday morning is this little story. Saturday afternoon, Master Guide Frank Stephens hosted a turkey-less hunter, Doug Hardcastle, and took him to the same spot he and Robert had hunted that morning. They even parked about 5 feet from the spot he had earlier parked. So, with two opportunities to retrieve all necessary hunting equipment, that morning and that afternoon, the feeling is that Frank expected Robert or Doug to spot his shotgun leaning up against a tree and bring it back to the truck. Neither recognized that responsibility. So, Sunday morning when Frank and Robert were going to do the "Dream Team" thing again...no gun. According to Frank, it was either Robert's or Doug's responsibility to look after his needs. So, the first order of business Sunday morning was to violate the Love's territory at about 3:30 AM and capture the lost weapon. Needless to say, no turkeys talked to Jim and Jimmy Love that morning. Turkey # 8 - Will Morgan -
April 3 - Saturday - April 3, 2004 - What a day! The gobblers were talking and several people scored. The day ended with 5 mature birds and one jake for a luck lady first timer. Turkey #'s 1 & 2 - Robert Alexander and Frank Stephens. At 6:30 that morning, 4 - 6 (depending on who you ask) Toms showed up in full strut. Robert shot. Frank shot. The season begins with Frank's 17 lb., 9" beard and 1" spurs coupled with Robert's 16 lb., double beard totaling 14 1/2" and 1" spurs.
The "Dream Team - 2004"
Turkey # 3 - Wilson Burton - By 7 AM another Tom had the misfortune to bump into Wilson - 18.5 lbs., 9" beard and 7/8" spurs. Turkey # 4 - Richard Speer - After communicating with this bird for awhile in several different locations, Richard followed the bird and his entourage of hens up the Silver Gate Road and found them in the middle of the road with a lot of tall warm season grasses between. He pulled another "Speer Sneak" and shot his at 20 paces - 20.75 lbs., a fungus-effected 3 1/2" beard and 1" spurs. Turkey # 5 - Kristie Sheanshang (Marcus' wife) - At 4:30 PM or so,
Greg,
Turkey # 6 - Philip and Eric Fontenot - Not to be outdone with all the shooting around them, Philip and Eric stayed out all day. Finally, the big guy showed up. In normal paternal courtesy, Philip allowed Eric to position his Benelli Black Eagle and pull the trigger. "Click" was the response. Philip then took him - 16 1/2 lbs., 8 1/2" beard and 7/8" spurs. April 3 - Friday - Opening Weekend, 2004 - The draw for territories was held Friday night at 8 PM. However, prior to the draw, Philip Fontenot mentioned that someone recently had run out of gas in his four-wheeler. Since Philip had been featured in an earlier experience on this website, he was compelled to let someone else have the limelight. That night he presented a "Got Gas?" T-shirt to the lucky winner for 2004. I'm sure most thought that was the end. However, the next morning a large banner had been placed across the main entrance road for all to see...just a gentle reminder for someone to check his gas gauge. Later, the lucky recipient had his picture taken in front of it.
November 27 - The 2004 spring season and bag limits were set this week as April 3 through May 11 - 39 days. An additional youth hunt is scheduled for May 15. The bag limit remains one bearded turkey per day, not to exceed three per season on the statewide hunts. The limit in WMA's is one per day, not to exceed two per season. However, the total bag limit for the year is four. July 22 - The fall turkey season has been established as Nov 15 - 21. Fifty permits are available for Benton county for the shotgun hunt. Also there is non-quota archery hunt (no permit required) with a 1 bird limit for that same week. For the complete TWRA proclamation on the turkey season, visit section IV, page 8 at http://www.state.tn.us/twra/proc03-13.pdf April 28 - Richard Speer has done it again - turkey # 3 for himself at Heart's Desire, and turkey # 13 overall at Heart's Desire this season. From Richard via cell phone, "I managed to get # 3 this morning - also from Area # 7. This time I went up Hammer Ridge Road to ground blind # 85, set up, soft called and a hen showed up. So, I now have a live decoy. She did her thing for awhile and a nice tom came in silently. At 29 paces, I dropped him with # 5 Hevi-shot - 17.5 pounds, 10 1/4" beard, and 3/4" spurs. The deal was over at 7:10 AM. This has just been a fantastic year! Thanks to all of you who worked so hard early on to make HD what it is today." I also have a picture, but I cannot get this site to accept it yet. Gotta' go find a certain 14 year old who can tell me what to do.
April 23 -
Actual story per David Neblett, son of Skip:
April 21 - This morning, a minimum of 500 turkey
However, that afternoon, he went back to the top of food plot # 2 to roost one. Lo and behold, a big boy appeared and will not see tomorrow because of # 6 Hevi-shot...DOA at 7:30 PM or so...15 lbs., 9", 7/8" two year old. Congratulations! Obviously, all of us should schedule to be hunting next Easter weekend. Per Ned, "Two days, two birds...nothing to it." This means we have managed to harvest double digit turkeys for two years in a row. Nice job, Jimmy Barnes. Nice job, hunters. Nice job, clear cuts. And, we still have a few more weeks of the season. April 20 - # 6 Hevi-shot was the ticket for Ned Priest at the far end of the clover field near the SMZ (streamside management zone) near the old Mossy Oak "bio logic" field. Around noon, several Toms had been using the small area as their strutting area. Ned did the HD usual - got on hands and knees, duck walked 20 - 30 yards and dropped him at about 40 yards on the far side of the creek...18 1/2 lbs., 9" beard, and 7/8" spurs - a good two year old bird. Nate Greene participated kinda' sorta' in that he spotted the birds several day prior. Then Robert Alexander and Nat Harris moved a one man duck blind (the same one which has already been used for several other birds) into an advantageous place and Ned did the rest. April 18 - The next morning, Philip
Fontenot,
Early that morning, he managed to sneak up on a beaver, dispatched him with # 6 Hevi-shot, then went turkey hunting around Blake Hollow # 2 field. Something annoyed him, like a honking horn or whatever (???), so he decided to return to his four wheeler to see what the problem was. On the way, he heard a gobble, looked up, saw a "big boy", called, got a quick response, called again and "Big Easy" started walking straight to him... the rest was quick and dirty... at 42 steps, the "man" fell... victim of # 6 Hevi-shot also!!! Thank goodness for the honking horn across the river. Other picture and details to follow... So, now we're up to eight birds! April 17 - April 17 - Later that day, Skip Neblett
of Vanderbilt pediatric fame, who for some reason has been rather tight
lipped about his turkey hunting and sighting experiences, managed to snag a nice Tom
via the "creep and sneak and crawl" technique.
April 17 - Turkey # 5 was taken by Wilson
Burton.
April 14 - Those two turkeys who frequented Area 7 near Stand # 6 are now down to one. Today (Monday, April 14), Richard Speer, one of our newest and most enthusiastic members, managed to maneuver around until he put himself in position to take advantage of a recognized pattern of the two Toms. They had been frequent (and vocal) visitors of the small field near the small "porta-potty" box stand and also the area behind stand # 6. Richard started his day at 6:00 AM in the small field area, later shifted and spotted the two in the big field at 8:00 AM, unsuccessfully called to and chased them for awhile, left and visited other areas, returned, spotted them again, set up, got frustrated, decided to sneak ("neak") up on them and crawled to a prone position near # 6. One by one the flock passed - hen, jake # 1, jake # 2, jake # 3, hen, then Tom # 1 followed by # 2. Richard slammed the first Tom at 22 steps - 17 1/2 pounds, 9" beard, 3/4" spurs. # 5 Hevi-Shot did him in. Time was 1:25 PM - a 7 1/2 hour encounter - truly a unique ("uneak" = you sneak) experience! Pictures to follow.........Something's wrong with my "save". I'll get it soon. April 5 - Having noticed that most hunters had approached Area 3 from the south, Robert Alexander suggested that Doug Hardcastle sneak in from the north. At 5:30 AM, Doug heard the big boy, managed to secure a position about 75 yards from him, assumed the "Jimmy Barnes" set-up on a hill and softly called with his new box call. At 5:45, the show was over - one shot with # 4 Hevi-shot. Great hunt!
19 1/2 lbs., 10" beard, 3/4" x 3/4" spurs
Richard has a picture we'll scan soon. Saturday morning, March 29th, marked the first day of the season and as usual the turkeys made fools of most of us. But, not so for Tommy Hawkins! On his first ever turkey hunt, he was surrounded by Jakes and hens all morning, Finally at 11 AM, he decided to take one. As he described it, the Jake weighed 60 pounds and was 6 feet tall.
First HD turkey of 2003 - March 29. Tommy proudly displays a beard from his Jake. Needless to say, we think we've converted another waterfowl hunter. (Click the picture for a larger image.)
Philip Fontenot and Will Morgan with their double - April, 2002.
Turkey hunting at Heart's Desire is extraordinary. The club manager, Jimmy Barnes, has a video with over 100 birds in one field and with 12 different Toms in full strut. Our turkey population exploded with the increased nesting habitat created by the various clear cuts throughout the property. Add the other ingredients for a healthy herd - food, water, roosting spots, hills and hollows, open fields for bugging - all of which are abundant at HD - and you have the perfect situation. This past season, 13 Toms were harvested which included only 1 jake by a very enthusiastic first time turkey hunter, Eric Fontenot.
Here is a picture of Eric's brother, Justin, with his first turkey! (Justin felt that Eric was getting all the press in this web site.)
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