2011 Spring Turkey Hunting Season is April 2 - May 15.  See http://state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/wallet.pdf

May 8, 2010 - Nate Greene - 19 lbs., 10 1/2" beard, 1 1/2" spurs................LOOK!

April 10 - Bo Chance - Here's his story as related by his dad, Brent...

Bo had gotten a new 20 gauge Benelli Montefeltro Short Stock for his 7^th birthday. He had been waiting to shoot it so when we got to HD we filled up some water jugs and let him blow them up.  That done, he was ready.

Stephen suggested we go to Lake Road as there were some jakes hanging around there.  The only problem that was Area 2 West was assigned to Uncle Doug Hardcastle.  I told Doug we were not going to move but would stay in that one spot near the corn and the Box Blind.  Uncle Doug approved, so we took off about 3 pm.

When we first got there we entered the field slowly and ran several turkeys out of the far end of the field. So we jumped in the creek bed and walked about 40 yards past Box Blind 23. I set Bo against a big tree and cut him some shooting lanes and started to call.

The first call brought on about four different gobbles from four different directions. I proceeded to call every 8-10 minutes and almost every time got an answer. One bird to our south kept getting a little closer with every call…but finally shut up.

We had been there an hour and Bo was getting a little fidgety so I belly crawled out to see the whole field. I looked around and finally saw the Big Boy.  He was walking down the middle of the field from the south coming straight to us. I couldn’t tell how big he was but I saw a big red head. I belly crawled back to Bo, moved him into the right direction, told him what to do and I got ready in case he needed a back up.

Sure enough, just like in the videos, he came down the middle of the field looking for a mate. He got into range and I whispered to Bo, “When he stops walking and sticks his head up, SHOOT!”  The Tom stopped, I said “SHOOT” but nothing happened.  The Tom started walking again and I repeated the message.  This time he pulled the trigger and dropped him in his tracks.

Bo had hammered him at 32 yards!  21 pounds, 1 inch spurs and a 9 ¾ inch beard.

I had previously called in 9 first birds for people and killed a couple myself but nothing will top being with my son on his first harvest of mature Eastern long beard. I do believe that I was more excited than Bo at the time but he was pretty fired up to take his feathers to “show and tell” at school on Monday!

April 3, 2010 - Finally 2010 Turkey Season has arrived.  Jamie Osteen started things off with a very nice 3 year old bird, followed a week later by Philip Fontenot with a similar bird.

April 25 - David Neblett was hunting a bird his father Skip had unsuccessfully played with several times this year.  He set up near the field just south of Bonnie Fay's house in Area 1 W...called ever so softly... bird came into the middle of the field and waited for the hen to come to him...strutting, spitting, drumming, etc...but, David waited and did not call again until he started to leave...a soft sexy yelp and cluck enticed him to turn and walk into David's range - 20.375 pounds, 10 1/2" beard and 1 1/4" spurs...Super bird!

April 25 - Jim & Jamie Osteen

were in the blind at the end of the field in front of stand # 17...bored...called every 15 - 20 minutes...nothing...with face mask and gloves off, Jamie looked up and saw a head above the 4 feet tall grass...then 2 heads...then 3 and 4...4 Toms walking straight to them...no calling, no strutting, no nothing, just walking straight to them...they aimed, fired twice apiece and two flew away...but two were flapping - one 16  3/4 pounds, one 21 + pounds!

April 25 - Philip's story for his second bird:

April 24 - Philip's story:  "The bird for Friday morn. went like this: got up late, went in orange gate, played with a bird on one ridge that outsmarted me, then went to Hourglass, bumped a bird on the way but went to blind anyway. Set up decoy in edge of field, heard gobbles down the ridge, they worked around the hill and into the field. All I could see was a fan as they had locked up because of the decoy. Finally, one gobbled and sounded like they were leaving, I took a chance and stood up where I caught this one in the field coming out of a strut. From a standing position, 56 yards. We had a little wrestling match which I won and it was a great morning."

April 10 - The story goes something like this...Sam and Nate Greene hunted in Area 8 in the morning, but were frustrated by the lack of action.  Early that afternoon, they took their magazines and pillows and planned to wait it out in the ground blind in Area 2W.  Nate called once and proceeded to work on the news and information in his Blackberry.  Sam's asleep by now.  About 15 minutes into the hunt, Nate looks up and two Toms were within 30 yards.  From a dead sleep, Sam eased up, fired twice and took one.

17  3/4 lbs., 10  1/4" Beard, 1  1/4" spurs - CONGRATULATIONS!

An untold story about this hunt is that Sam's fearless guide extraordinary turkey hunting brother Nate walked up on a turkey within range but was unable to get a shot off... and then they actually tried to work him for an hour.  Hmmmmm...

March 28, 2009 - OPENING DAY TURKEY SEASON...FINALLY ARRIVES!!!!!

Nate Greene, Jr.  did it. He and his father Nate ventured into Area 2W, which neither had ever visited.  By 10:00 or so, they had heard nothing, but received a text message that the birds in another area had been hot for an hour...duh... they were talking somewhere, just not where they were set up.  So, off they went into the unknown territory searching for an illusive talking bird.  An hour or so later they were greeted with 2 eager Toms and called them.  When they got into the "red zone", only Nate Jr. had a clear shot and took it.  First ever turkey... Like Father...Like Son...

Later that day Wilson Burton took a very old bird - spurs measured 1 5/8" apiece.  April 15th is around the corner, so Wilson decided to pitch a tent beside the blind in the Do-nut field - to do his tax return while "hunting".  He did both.

March 21, 2009 - Alabama Youth Hunter - The Alabama Contingent beat the Tennessee contingent 1 - 0 - and the entire hunt was video taped.  The Hunter and his Dad plus a cameraman were successful for the first turkey taken at HD this season.  Details and pictures to follow.

END OF TURKEY SEASON FOR 2008

May 7, 2008 - Rusty Dunn - # 15 - Yesterday, Rusty and Stephen Scott had a 2 ½ hour conversation with a Tom, only to have him race in to 10 – 15 yards, take a peek, putt and disappear.

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.)

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 →→→→→  

Hot Shot, Nate and Tom # 2 for Nate...

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! 

On a beautiful opening morning, our season finally opened.  By 7:00 AM, Owen Hardcastle and Nate Greene had their first birds...Richard Speer followed shortly thereafter.  That afternoon, Ned Priest bagged the oldest and biggest of the day - a 22 pounder!  The next morning, Ned Priest bagged another by 7:30 and the scoreboard read - Hunters - 5, Turkey Misses - 0.  A few days later, a turkey-frustrated Jim Love harvested the often seen Rifle Range Tom.  Score 6 - 0.

Nate Greene, Owen Hardcastle and Richard Speer

March 31, 2007

Owen's story...

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!

We got set up and as the sun rose we saw that the turkeys in question were roosted about 70 to 80 yards behind us.  They flew down at about 6:15 am.  Robert worked the turkey for over an hour before a shot presented itself.

The turkeys were in front of us...behind us...on the side of us...all around us.  In fact, Robert had just slid around to the back of tree because approx. 10 minutes before the shot was made, they were within 50 yards of us in the opposite direction.  They reappeared down the ridge 180 degrees from where they were 10 minutes before.  When they reappeared Robert was not in a position to take a double.  I kept waiting to see if we could score a double but I felt like the Turkey were getting too close and I might spoil at least one kill.  I just could not wait any longer and took the shot at 30 yards.

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.

Nate's story...

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!

Ned's 1st story...

Well, ya' see, it was like this... and I swear this is the truth.....

If you believe this, Nate has a bridge in Alaska to sell to a certain doctor.

************** 2006 ***************

May 13 - Turkey # 16 - Toby Magsig (Skip Neblett's son in law). Perfect ending to the season...

May 12 - turkey # 15 - Philip Fontenot.

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...

Giving credit where credit is due...

Pretty Boy did all the work...

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