WEBVTT - Ep. 213: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - When It All Falls Apart 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.240 Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.680 from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040 I want you to stay a while as I share 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.479 my stories and the country skills that will help you 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360 beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.880 part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.960 outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.120 pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:34.720 think I got a thing or two to teach you 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:43.840 when it all falls apart. John Prine released a song 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:47.880 in May of nineteen seventy eight titled That's the Way 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:53.159 that the World goes Round. Here's the chorus. That's the 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.080 way that the world goes round. You're up one day, 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.040 the next you're down. It's a half a inch of 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:02.480 water and you think you're going to drown. That's the 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.880 way that the world goes around. Now, if you can 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.720 find a better analogy for my turkey season, I want 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:11.680 to hear it. You'll find out why in a minute. 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:23.720 But first I'm going to tell you a story. Two 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.800 days before my birthday in twenty twenty, I brought home 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:30.679 a coon. Now that's a whole story in itself, but 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.640 all the context you need for this one is a 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.600 new dog and taking up residents with us just a 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.800 few days prior to the world coming unraveled. It was 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:44.000 a very opportune time for my family to have something 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:47.720 good to focus on while we navigated through the new place. 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:51.320 We all felt lost in not knowing what we were 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.560 supposed to do about all the changes and restrictions we 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.120 faced in our jobs and daily routines. We focused our 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:02.120 energies on our faith, each other, and a clumsy, four 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:06.440 legged tree and walker pup named Whalen. It was love 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.000 at first sight from my youngest daughter Bailey and my 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.400 wife Alexis as they each introduced themselves to that big 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:16.799 ear joker, who instantly returned the affection. Unlike any other 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.240 hound I'd ever owned, he had a lot to learn 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:22.240 if he was going to be a coon dog. I 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:23.799 had a lot to learn if I was going to 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:26.720 help train him, and the thought of him not making 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:30.840 it really never cross my mind. I already knew he 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.560 wouldn't be leaving because of how the girls felt about him. 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.320 Hound hunters, my dad being a prime example, can go 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.919 through dogs like grass goes through a goose. Get one 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:44.040 keep him awhile find the fault or mannerism you don't like, 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.520 and send him on down the road to the next guy. 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.360 Then he'd get another one and start the whole process 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:53.720 over again. I remember many times when Dad and I'd 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:55.639 be out at the dog pen. I'd ask, where's old 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.760 so and so. He'd say, Oh, I sold him or 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.600 I traded him for this one. Hounds came and went. 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:05.639 It was the nature of the community and the process 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:09.800 and developing a pack of running dogs that worked well together. Hounds. 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.480 Many women have preferred styles of how dogs hunt, how 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:16.880 they sound, how they look, how they act. When you're 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:20.760 feeding multiple dogs, like my dad did, you're always looking 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.000 for the next one that'll give you the advantage in 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:27.079 helping your pack outrun everyone else's. Now. I say all 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.160 that to say this, When you have two other people 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.239 in the house and they love dogs more than anything, 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.400 and not this type of dog or that type of dog, 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:42.640 but dogs period. Getting rid of one that doesn't suit 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:47.520 your fancy can be harder than it should be, as 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.760 long as it is in biting the neighbors, chewing up 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.760 the burkingstocks or the Lululemon. That Rascal will have two 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:57.520 strong advocates in his corner when the conversation comes up 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.720 that maybe he just didn't work it out hunting the 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:04.040 way I want him to. I tried it out a 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:06.120 month after we got him, and don't get me wrong, 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.440 I had no intention whatsoever getting rid of my new 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:13.160 coon awn. When I said I don't think this dog 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.599 is working out, Alexis and Bailey both looked at me 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:19.320 and and I'm paraphrasing here, but the gist of their 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:24.640 responses were so what he ain't leaving a month into it, 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:28.359 and I knew this dog better work because it appeared 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.279 that they would sanction my dismissal before they would His 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.239 coon Dog School was in session five six and seven 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.640 nights a week. I'd be in the woods with Whaling 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:42.480 after the girls had gone to bed. Sometimes Bailey would 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:44.599 go with me, and that was back before getting muddy 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:47.719 was a bad thing. She hunted a lot with me 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.039 and was there from beginning in Whaling's progression from just 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:54.080 a dog wandering around in the woods to hunting with 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:58.320 a purpose. Now, whether Bailey win or not, Whaling than 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:03.279 I were through the hot summer we win. I'm blessed 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.640 to have friends who have land near where I live in. 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:09.840 The abundance of public landing available in Arkansas is huge, 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.400 So for the first year I hunted like a man possessed. 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:17.599 It was a routine. I worked during the day, came home, 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:20.960 spent time with the family until the girls went to bed, 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.400 and then me and Whalen went to work every night 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:28.360 with few exceptions. It's the best way to do that. 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:32.719 I found. By exposing your dog to places where coons frequent, 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.400 you're gonna find out pretty quick what you're dealing with 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.840 and the natural ability of the hound, and what you'll 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:41.320 have to work on to get him focused on how 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.960 you want him to hunt. It's a process, and the 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:49.839 best process is repetition. Doing everything the same over and 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:52.240 over again. The way you load him up at the 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.080 house in your truck, the way you put his collar 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.159 on him and unload him when you get there, the 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:59.600 way you unsnap him off the lead, how you talk 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:01.560 to him before you turn him blues and what you 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:05.799 say is all important. If you do everything the same 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:11.119 every time, you'll notice anything he does different, and that's 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:13.840 how you see his tendencies. That's how you gather the 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.720 data for how good or badd he's doing. When everything 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:23.280 is equal, the anomalies stand out. That's how it works. Now, 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.960 I believe it or not, that dog is watching you too. 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:29.560 They're creatures of habit, just like we are, and they're 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.920 training us at the same time we're training them. Consistently 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.080 doing the same thing over and over is comforting and 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:41.480 soon I found wailing standing at the back door looking inside. Now, 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.200 anytime around dark, if he saw me walk towards the 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:48.200 garage door, he'd go stand by the backyard garage entrance. 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:51.480 If I stepped into the backyard with his lead in 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.120 my hand, he'd stand motionless for me to snap it 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:56.320 on him, and then he would pull me to the 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.200 truck to load up. I let him get away with 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:01.720 pulling me so often that I've had to retrain him 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.080 on healing so he doesn't pull me down. Michael Roseman 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:07.040 would tell you that I have done a terrible job 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:11.000 be correcting that, and he'd be right. But the dog 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:12.800 is smart and he'll do what I tell him, so 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:15.640 I really don't mind it. In fact, it kind of 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.680 comes in handy Sometimes when I'm going up a creek banking, 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.160 I need a little help from my four legged friend 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:25.600 to get to the top. The first summer was like clockwork. 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:29.720 We were a well old machine of routine. Kiss the 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.080 girls goodbye, load my boots, light and vest in the truck, 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.400 Walk to the back door with my lead, Snap it 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.680 on the dog that was standing at attention. Load him 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.560 in the dog box. Drive fifteen minutes to the hunting spot, 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:45.520 put my lighting boots on, put his collar on him 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:48.880 while he stood on the tailgate. Walked to the release spot, 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:53.000 standing straddle of him, holding his collar. I'm patting his 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:57.120 ribs and releasing him while saying let's go. Every step 0:07:57.120 --> 0:07:59.720 of that was done exactly the same way every time, 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:05.560 old deviation whatsoever. He started catching on pretty quickly that 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:09.200 dude possesses a lot of natural ability, and by repetitively 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:11.920 keeping him in the woods, I was taking advantage of 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.680 that and only having to correct a few minor issues 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:18.600 I found undesirable. With all that was going on at 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:22.240 the time, I'd become concerned about a jillion things that 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:26.360 was going on around us just in life. Alexis was 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.800 working remotely most of the time, Bailey was doing the 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.439 online school thing, and we were all three trying to 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:37.520 get used to the new abnormal being normal. The only constant. 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:41.040 That was constant was mining Whalen's routine through all of 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.720 that madehem. After months and months of repeating the step 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:48.120 by step process of leaving the house just as as 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:50.680 I detailed to you, and hunting the same spot over 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:54.640 and over, I decided to go to a new spot. Now. 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.600 This one was almost two hours away, and I decided 0:08:57.600 --> 0:08:59.760 that we both needed a new set of woods to 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:03.120 look cat Whaling was treated on his own now, and 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:05.960 our routine had become more like a rut. Not in 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:09.480 a bad way, but just in the mindless autopilot of 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.200 day after day of the same thing at the same place. 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:16.520 I was spicing it up. Now it was going to 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:18.280 be good for both of us. I was going to 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:21.000 see how he did out of his comfort zone, and 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:23.800 I was looking forward to adding that day to what 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:27.200 he'd been doing on familiar ground. We were going to 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.760 a big expanse of public ground, and I had been 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:33.280 struggling over where to cut him loose. I had four 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.200 or five places in mind to cast from, and my 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:40.160 first choices already had someone hunting there. I'd been all 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.559 over the map of the area, picking out spots to go, 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.200 downloading the offline maps to my trackers so i'd know 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:48.800 where I was and where whaling was in relation to me. 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:52.480 I'd have to leave earlier and to get there right 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:56.280 at dark. There was a lot of water in that area, 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:58.360 so I took some dry clothes in case I got 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:01.800 wet from wading to him shitty tree across the slough 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.439 that was over my boots. I didn't want to drive 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:08.319 home with a wet pair of breeches all the way 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.080 to the spot. For nearly two hours, I thought about 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:14.480 where to go first, and changed my mind several times 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.320 in a route until I got there, and then I 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:18.800 just went to the closest place I could find it 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:22.000 that wasn't even on my list. I was excited to 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.200 look at some new country. I was excited to see 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.600 what my dog would do, and a spot he had 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.079 never been to and how he react to the new 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:33.160 area was the focus of my mission. I thought about 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.480 it all day that and all the other things that 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:38.600 were going on at that time, and the two hour 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:43.559 drive seemed to take forever. Time usually passes quickly when 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:47.960 I'm preoccupied with something, but when the preoccupation is with 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.000 getting to the starting point, the road there seems to 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:56.160 go on forever, But finally I was there. I stepped 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:57.679 out of my truck and I put on my light, 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:00.280 I changed it to my boots, and I I tired 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:03.240 up the track and collar. All of that was the 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:05.920 same as always. It was my pregame routine at the 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:09.839 parking spot before getting Whaling ready to cut loose. I've 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.800 already told you that there's a routine inside this story 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:17.320 about routines. The only difference this time was the time 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.680 it took to travel to the new spot, and Whaling 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.160 didn't bark from the inside of the dog box when 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.360 the collar beefed after I turned it on. He always 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:30.160 did that every time, like it was ingrained in him. 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:33.880 I attributed it to his excitement for the upcoming hunt, 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:35.959 after all, every time he'd heard it beep over the 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:39.320 last few months. He was turned loose to chase Bandido 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:45.959 shortly afterwards, Except this time, now many questions were running 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.920 through my mind. Was the ride too far? Did he 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.600 get carsick and puke everywhere? Oh Lord, did I make 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.559 a mistake and take it him to a different spot 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.560 too soon? When I dropped the tailgate and looked inside 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:00.360 the dog box, I knew immediately what it had happened. 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.079 The ride wasn't too long for him, he didn't get carsick, 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.000 and I hadn't made a mistake by taking him to 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.920 a new spot. I hadn't done any of that. The 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.560 mistake I made was not loading him up at the 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:17.400 house before I left. He was still at home. I 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:21.840 was coon hunting without a coon dog. And that's just 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:35.560 how that happened. For two episodes, I talked about how 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:38.960 twenty four hours in Missouri all fell into place this spring. 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:41.600 I was zigging when I should have been zigging, and 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:43.840 I was zagging when I should have been zagging. At 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.400 every turn, I was guessing right and making the right 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.600 moves or not moving, and it was all paying off 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:53.800 and flopping turkeys. But I don't want you to get 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:56.920 the wrong impression about my luck or how the majority 0:12:56.960 --> 0:13:00.520 of my adventures play out. No chance, So that if 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.640 you listen to more than the last two episodes of 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:06.160 this show, my life is a highlight reel of calamity, 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.680 a literal step by step storyboard of lessons on things 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:13.280 you shouldn't do. And you folks that have been here 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:15.560 a while, slide over, let the newbies have a seat. 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:21.720 Follies to follow here's one that's so fresh that if 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:23.840 this door was a gallon of milk, it wouldn't have 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:27.680 had time to go bad. Since it happened, guess where 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:33.520 it occurred, Yep, Missouri. Remember the three stories I told 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.320 you about three turkeys that met their fate on the 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:40.640 opening week this year. Remember me beating the feathers off 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:44.079 of that dead turkey. See where I substituted a dead 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.040 horse with a dead turkey and still continue to beat 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:49.400 the dead horse by continuing to talk about the opening 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:52.120 day turkey hunt by using a different dead animal. I'm 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:57.160 out of control. Well, I went back to Missouri the 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:01.320 following Monday, a scant seven day from the zenith of 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:05.880 my personal best twenty four hours a turkey smashing. I 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:09.120 owned the Missouri turkeys. I was in the zone. I 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:13.000 had something to prove. I'd recently placed third in the 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:17.000 Meat Eater online turkey calling contest behind the show Nuff 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.560 Deer Killer, Mark Kenyon of our very own Wired to 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:25.560 Hunt podcast, and some other bozo named clud Clay Mud 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:28.520 or some other soap opera name that I can't think 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:31.240 of right now that has a podcast on this very feed. 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.240 If I ever get bored enough I was listening to 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:40.480 it doubtful. But anyway, after that rig contest, I had 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.680 some bonds to pick with goblin turkeys. Those are the 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:47.200 votes that really count, and I count those one beard 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:51.280 at a time, not like Clud does with a sweatshop 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.040 full of mule skinners, rubbing blisters on the thumbs, voting 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.120 online like the room and board depended on it, which 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:01.440 I'm sure it did. Who cares. I'm a turkey killer, 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.040 and I had two days to run back up there 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:08.640 and show Clud and Mark the deer Guy and everyone 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.760 else that in the Turkey woods, I'm as dangerous as 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.120 a drunk monkey with a box cutter. I couldn't wait 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:17.880 to get there. Now, these things that usually have a 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.360 way of evening out or really ending up in Nature's favor. 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.920 Mother Nature is like a casino. She'll let you win 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:27.320 a little, and you may even win a lot, but 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:31.000 in the end the house always comes out on top. 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:33.600 Neither one of them are in the business to let 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:37.080 you win for long. They used like to love you 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:41.080 into a false sense of security, then whammo, you lose. 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:46.680 I would be reminded of that very soon. I don't 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.240 know why it surprised men in the end. I don't 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:52.240 think it really did. I was just on a roll 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.320 and I had time for one more throw of the 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:57.520 dice because Daddy was feeling lucky and baby needed a 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:02.200 new pair of shoes. I hunted all day where I 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:05.760 called up the two turkeys on the opening Monday, one 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.760 for me, one for my post daughter. The turkey I 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:13.080 was on a daylight answering every call I made to him, 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.240 had a hen with him. He walked away, no problem, 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.480 Go find another one, and I did. I found him 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.480 strutting in a field. I made a big loop. After 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.320 making the perfect plan to get in there and set 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:30.720 up on it, I miscalculated where I thought he'd be 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:35.040 and I spooked him on to another property. With the 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.120 afternoon hunt run, I decided to pack it in early 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.440 so I didn't do any further damage. Actually, come to 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:45.320 find out, I didn't spook him at all. I spooked 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:48.600 a turkey that I didn't even know was there where 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:52.200 I'd planned to set that afternoon and jump that gobbler. 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:58.200 Before getting there, there was another gobbler gobling in that 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:02.240 spot the next morning. I wouldn't learn that until I 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:05.200 decided to go to a different spot and my host 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.119 texted me with the good news he heard him from 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:12.560 the back porch. Oh well, it didn't matter. The next morning, 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:15.560 I was on a different piece of property and listening 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:19.000 to several turkeys goblin. It would only be a matter 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:25.479 of time. Remember I'm a turkey killer. The first turkey 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:27.720 I set up on that morning was doing his best 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:30.840 to gobble the world awake until he hit the ground. 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:35.160 After that he shut his yap and didn't say a word. 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.760 I called the hen in, expecting to have her boyfriend 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:43.600 rolling behind her, but alas she was sad. No problem, 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:48.680 Go fight another one, I did. He's back to where 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.679 another one had been gobling that morning, and there he stood, 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.280 almost half a mile away, blowed up like a big 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:59.000 black trash bag in the edge of an open field field. 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:04.760 Turkeys they're tough nuts to crack. Sometimes sometimes they're really easy, 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:10.639 or so I've heard from me. There was a long 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.000 tree lined fence road that ran along the south end 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.720 of that field for nearly half a mile, and I 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.359 was at the east corner. He was at the west. 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.679 There was a lot of ground between us, and I 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:24.600 had a drop dead time of twelve pm to get 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.240 out of there, to make the long trip back home 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:29.080 to catch a plane the next afternoon in a little 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:33.600 rock a good, bad, or indifferent. Come twelve o'clock, I 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.080 had to be making tracks for the Casa day reefs. 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.440 I watched him strutting and walking, strutting and walking, and realized, hey, 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.760 he was making his way toward me, and he was 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:47.200 following a hen. Now at the time, they were moving 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.679 pretty good, So I just sat down where I was 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.080 at at the east corner of the field. Last time 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.399 I saw him, he was about fifty yards north of 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:59.560 the edge, making his way straight toward me. A slight 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:01.680 rising in the elevation of the field kept me from 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:04.240 seeing him when I sat down. I just had to 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.720 be patient and trust the science of what I was doing. 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:10.640 I'd killed a sack full of turkeys just a week ago. 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:14.640 One I literally pulled the trigger on the other two 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:18.240 died of the trickery of my calling. This dude was 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.439 more or less given up by walking straight towards me. 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:24.720 I guess he'd heard about me. It figured it'd be 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:27.359 easier just to come on in and get it over with. 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.240 Forty minutes later, I started to think he wasn't coming. 0:19:33.400 --> 0:19:36.560 Dad gun, I could have pedded the tricycle down there 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.920 and back in that length of time. Well, I slowly 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:42.399 stood up, shot gun at the ready, and there he was, 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:45.919 back in the original place I'd seen him over seven 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:50.040 hundred yards away. This was only going to prolong his 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:53.000 life for a few more minutes. As I crossed the 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:56.000 fence on the opposite side of the woodline and made 0:19:56.119 --> 0:20:02.120 my way west. Just inside I headed out wheatfield. If 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:04.239 he stayed where he was right now, he was a 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.119 dead man walking. The timber at that end of the 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.000 field was bigger and would allow me to slip in 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.240 there close enough to bust a cap if he decided 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:15.000 to retrace his steps. I was close enough to the 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:16.560 edge of the field that all I had to do 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.120 was standing in the shadows and send him one when 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:22.720 he got close enough. Either way, he might as well 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:26.159 been at Martha White's getting custom fitted with the battered 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:28.480 bathing suit he was going to be wearing while swimming 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.240 in my deep frier. The wind had picked up pretty 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:34.320 good now and it was blowing from north to south. 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:37.359 Any noise I made would be pushed away from him, 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:39.879 and the leaves had come on a lot since the 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:43.680 week before. That was going to hide my movement when 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:46.480 I got down to where he was, or allow me 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:51.120 to slip unseen up to the fence row. I cut 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:53.199 the distance in half and peeked down to where I 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:56.720 could see him. He'd have that distance himself then was 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.439 walking back toward me. This was going to be easy. 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:04.360 He'd already walked this route and felt safe while doing it. 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:09.199 Turkey potpire, just plain old fried turkey. I couldn't decide 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:13.080 which one I was gonna cook first. I sat down 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:15.080 on the fence row. He didn't know I was on 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:18.160 the planet. He was walking towards me. It was now 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:21.320 at one hundred and fifty yards, But this time there 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.080 was no strutting, no hesitation, no follow on the hen. 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:26.960 He was on a bee line for the hen he'd 0:21:27.000 --> 0:21:30.679 heard earlier. That sounded good and looked a whole lot 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:34.359 like me. I raised my double barrel up to my 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:38.040 shoulder and rested my thumb on the safety, waiting to 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:43.000 slide it forward, my index finger just outside the trigger guard, 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.760 Waiting patiently. I glanced down at my phone screen. Eleven 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:51.800 forty four am. I had sixteen minutes left at a 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:54.600 little over one hundred yards. I slid the safety off 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:57.880 and began sighting his red, white and blue head down 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.679 the barrel, the bead over and less and less of 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:04.920 his head and neck as he got closer with each 0:22:05.160 --> 0:22:09.439 purposeful step. I picked out a spot at thirty yards 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:12.320 to send him a smoking tea spoon full of nastiness. 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:16.440 He's at eighty yards now, and he's showing no signs 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:18.960 of slowing down. This cat only has a few more 0:22:19.000 --> 0:22:21.400 seconds to live, and in the blink of an eye 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:23.880 he ducked his head, flying and running back the way 0:22:23.920 --> 0:22:26.440 he came as fast as his wings and feet would 0:22:26.480 --> 0:22:30.560 toad him. I put my shotgun on safe and raised 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:33.240 my cheek from the stock, wondering what in the world 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:37.560 had just happened. When a crop duster nearly drug his 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:39.760 wheels through the top of the tree I was sitting 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:42.800 under as he made a big, loud pass right above me. 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:45.560 Had I had wings, I believe I'd have picked up 0:22:45.560 --> 0:22:47.920 and flew with him. It scared me as bad as 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:57.399 he did a turkey. I found it humorous eventually, and 0:22:57.480 --> 0:23:00.879 I watched that pilot making pass after as I walked 0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:04.679 back towards my truck, shot gun broken down and resting 0:23:04.680 --> 0:23:08.240 across my shoulder. I was nearly back when he passed 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:11.080 right over the top of me while banking back toward 0:23:11.119 --> 0:23:14.080