WEBVTT - Ep. 311: This Country Life - Flying Deer and Counting Turkeys

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves

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<v Speaker 1>from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

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<v Speaker 1>my experiences and life lessons. This Country Life is presented

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<v Speaker 1>by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you

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<v Speaker 1>the best outdoor podcast the airwaves have to offer. All right, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some

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<v Speaker 1>stories to share, flying deer and counting turkeys. Turkey season

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<v Speaker 1>is getting craked up just about everywhere over the next

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks, and your old uncle Brent has got turkeys

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<v Speaker 1>on the brain. I got a good story from nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>years ago that involves my son, perseverance and a question

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<v Speaker 1>that's still unanswered. I'm gonna tell it and let you decide.

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<v Speaker 1>But first I'm going to tell you this story. This

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<v Speaker 1>story comes from This Country Life listener David Jackson. David

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<v Speaker 1>lives in Lead Hill, Arkansas, which is in Boone County

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<v Speaker 1>and close enough to Missouri to hit the show Me

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<v Speaker 1>State with the twenty two. I myself have chased turkeys

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<v Speaker 1>near Leadhill many moons ago, picking a few of the

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<v Speaker 1>ripe ones and toting them home to the flat land.

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<v Speaker 1>But David has offered the following for your approval. So

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<v Speaker 1>in David's words and my voice, here we go. It

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<v Speaker 1>was open in the morning a turkey season spring two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and fourteen. My dad had recently passed away, leaving

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<v Speaker 1>my sister made the family's hunt farm east of Hardy, Arkansas.

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<v Speaker 1>For several years, my Dad, my sons, and I had

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<v Speaker 1>enjoyed hunting and camping there. Lots of memories were made.

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<v Speaker 1>As you can imagine, my brother in law had never

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<v Speaker 1>gotten a turkey, so I decided that this would be

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<v Speaker 1>the perfect time to introduce him to our farm and

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully both of us would be successful. But Dad and

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<v Speaker 1>I had taken deer, turkey and squirrel over there for

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<v Speaker 1>years from that farm, but the turkey population was superior

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<v Speaker 1>to that of the deer. They were everywhere back in

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<v Speaker 1>the day. This cool Chris morning turned out to be

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what we had hoped for. Clear skies do on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground, hot coffee in the thermost, and most importantly,

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge of where the turkey is normally roosted. At least

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<v Speaker 1>we thought we knew. The property north of Ireland was

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<v Speaker 1>known for noise, late nights and more noise. This must

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<v Speaker 1>have been the reason for the unexpected relocatetion of what

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<v Speaker 1>we called our predictable turkey roost, causing them to move

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<v Speaker 1>on the adjacent ridge on our southern border. I sent

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<v Speaker 1>my brother in law to the normal roosting ridge while

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<v Speaker 1>I chose to huddle up on the ground on the

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<v Speaker 1>edge of an ATV trail near the northwest corner of

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<v Speaker 1>our land. I just knew my hunting partner was at

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<v Speaker 1>the perfect spot. I'd seen them flying down many mornings

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<v Speaker 1>near this location. What we expected to happen that morning

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<v Speaker 1>did not happen, not even close daylight broke in a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes past when I heard goblin to the south.

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<v Speaker 1>I had never heard a sound from my brother in

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<v Speaker 1>law's location, so I decided to just stay planted and

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<v Speaker 1>wait a few more minutes. What I didn't know was

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<v Speaker 1>that my brother in law also heard the gobbles too,

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<v Speaker 1>and he decided to leave his spot and head to

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<v Speaker 1>the south ridge as fast as he could go. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>have you ever hunted on a ridge? Sounds sometimes seemed

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<v Speaker 1>closer than they really are. His thought was the turkey

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<v Speaker 1>was close, but in reality it was much further. Ir

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<v Speaker 1>ATV trails allowed us to walk between various deer stands

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<v Speaker 1>on the property with ease. You could cover lots of

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<v Speaker 1>ground quickly and quietly. My brother in law made it

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<v Speaker 1>out to the trail just fine, but apparently had made

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<v Speaker 1>quite a bit of noise going through the woods from

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<v Speaker 1>that ridge he was on to the trail. What neither

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<v Speaker 1>of us knew was that there were several deer bedded

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<v Speaker 1>on that ridge right between us. I was thinking of

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<v Speaker 1>gathering up my stuff and heading south to that ridge

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<v Speaker 1>before they flew down and I heard the noise. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I've heard deer running through the woods hundreds of times,

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<v Speaker 1>but from a deer stand. This was my first time

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<v Speaker 1>to ever hear him running from a seated position next

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<v Speaker 1>to a main trail in the dark. He had apparently

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<v Speaker 1>busted the deer from their bed, causing them to run

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<v Speaker 1>for their deer lives, and it was fight or flight,

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<v Speaker 1>and they chose the ladder. Fortunately for me, Most of

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<v Speaker 1>the deer ran just to the right, but one deer

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<v Speaker 1>one deer did not. I'm guessing it was a doe,

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<v Speaker 1>but I really couldn't say. It was pretty dark. All

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<v Speaker 1>I know is that that deer was big, But I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>running right down the trail right in my direction. This

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<v Speaker 1>dear didn't know I was on the ground in his path,

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<v Speaker 1>and I suspected at the last second it must have

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<v Speaker 1>thrown huh a new stuff on the ground. Well, that

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<v Speaker 1>stump was me and it jumped over my head. And

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<v Speaker 1>the last second was one of its back legs grazing

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<v Speaker 1>my left knee cap as it flew over me. But

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<v Speaker 1>it felt like someone took a baseball bat and swung

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<v Speaker 1>it at my leg. That that really just happened and

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<v Speaker 1>my injured? Is my knee? Okay? Are there any more

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<v Speaker 1>ore coming down that trail? Questions galower flashed through my mind,

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<v Speaker 1>but thankfully only that one made contact. Now I had

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<v Speaker 1>no clue that my brother in law had moved and

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<v Speaker 1>jumped his deer, and neither did he. I also didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know he decided to circle around and head to the

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<v Speaker 1>same ridge I was going to as well. We had

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<v Speaker 1>both heard the goblin on the south ridge and both

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<v Speaker 1>decided to head that way, coming in from opposite directions.

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<v Speaker 1>Even with the deer collision, I managed to get there

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<v Speaker 1>before he did, which turned out to be a blessing

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<v Speaker 1>and a curse. My path was pretty much straight up

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<v Speaker 1>the ridge while his was over and around and then

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<v Speaker 1>up quickly in position. A short time later, I saw

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<v Speaker 1>the tom's head and beard and ranged just twenty yards away,

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<v Speaker 1>and I let him have a three and a half

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<v Speaker 1>Winchester number five. That was the blessing. My brother in

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<v Speaker 1>law hadn't made it there yet. It was still down

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<v Speaker 1>the hill on the other side and was out of

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<v Speaker 1>range of my shot. That was also a blessing. The

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<v Speaker 1>curse was that I would have preferred him to be

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<v Speaker 1>the one to get that bird. It would have been

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<v Speaker 1>his first. He came running and asked me, did you shoot? Ah? Yep,

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<v Speaker 1>it was me. We were both shocked to see one another,

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<v Speaker 1>him thinking I was far away to the north of me,

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<v Speaker 1>thinking he was still up there where I had left him.

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<v Speaker 1>While hunter and gun safety were drilled into our heads

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<v Speaker 1>from childhood, this is case and point that you could

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<v Speaker 1>never be too careful. We celebrated and enjoyed fresh fried

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<v Speaker 1>turkey over the next couple of days. I supported the

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<v Speaker 1>sowordine for a week and wished that dear jump could

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<v Speaker 1>have been documented on video tape. Backed several turkeys since

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<v Speaker 1>that Chris Spring morning, but none have been more painful.

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<v Speaker 1>Safe hunting out there and watch out for those knee

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<v Speaker 1>knocking high flying deer. Well. David Jackson of Leadhill, Arkansas,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks for sharing your story and the reminder for the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of us to make a plan, have contingencies, and

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<v Speaker 1>communicate above all else. But according to David Jackson, that's

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<v Speaker 1>just how that happened. My son Hunter had been rambling

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<v Speaker 1>around on the planet for eight years and one month,

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<v Speaker 1>and it just smashed his first long beard a fortnight before.

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<v Speaker 1>It was an Arkansas opening morning double that had two

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<v Speaker 1>turkeys flopping after three shots from his twenty gauge pump.

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<v Speaker 1>He fired once and me sending two more after he

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<v Speaker 1>patiently handed me his age seventy, the last of which

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<v Speaker 1>hit its mark. It would be the fuse that burned

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<v Speaker 1>bright for several years until, for one reason or another,

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<v Speaker 1>his interest led him elsewhere. But that season we learned

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<v Speaker 1>a lot, both of us, me teaching him everything I

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<v Speaker 1>knew about chasing turkeys and he teaching me too that

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<v Speaker 1>to borrow Steve Vanilla's freeze, a fresh set of eyes

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<v Speaker 1>does find more beans. For our last tags, we were

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<v Speaker 1>hunting a farm in southeast Darkansas that had little to

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<v Speaker 1>no pressure and a good population of turkeys. We'd seen

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<v Speaker 1>one in particular that had a harem of hens that

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<v Speaker 1>frequented a section of timber and open fields. He roosted

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<v Speaker 1>along the edge of a big open pasture almost eighty

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<v Speaker 1>acres worth of prime manicured cowfu. The only irregularity was

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<v Speaker 1>a point of wood that pushed out into the fields

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<v Speaker 1>about sixty yards. Also, there was a spring seep that

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<v Speaker 1>acted as a natural watering hole and shade for cows

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<v Speaker 1>in the summertime. Was also where that turkey roosted. Nearly

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<v Speaker 1>every day, would pitch out into the middle of that pasture,

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<v Speaker 1>and the hens followed suit, usually joined by several jakes

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<v Speaker 1>who lingered around the edges, a flock of seven hens

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<v Speaker 1>that that gobbler pushed around the pasture like a cow

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<v Speaker 1>dog moves cattle, always keeping the tight rein on the

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<v Speaker 1>seven hens. I played every trick I knew on that turkey,

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<v Speaker 1>who would answer at nearly every call I threw at him,

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<v Speaker 1>only to strut in circles as he herded the ladies

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<v Speaker 1>around and around the open landscape. I called at the hens,

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<v Speaker 1>but he wouldn't let them leave. I called the jakes

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<v Speaker 1>up so many times I started being able to recognize

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<v Speaker 1>the differences in them. We'd become some paticos from our

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<v Speaker 1>many visits, all within sight and earshot of that old

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<v Speaker 1>boss Gobbler who paid attention to their ventures but never

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<v Speaker 1>tried to join their escapades. Now he was satisfied with

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<v Speaker 1>courting that gaggle of hens up and down the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of that pasture. Even though he was ruthless and heavy

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<v Speaker 1>handed about any of them straying off, he was unbothered

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<v Speaker 1>with the adding number eight to his hair. It was

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<v Speaker 1>like he knew his limitations, and apparently seven was it.

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<v Speaker 1>I tried a combination of calls and decoys and tactics

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<v Speaker 1>with him, diaphragms, box calls, slates, snuff box calls. Snuff

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<v Speaker 1>Tobacco used to come in small ten canadas, about the

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<v Speaker 1>size of a half dollar in circumference and three to

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<v Speaker 1>four inches long. Old timers would make them out of

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<v Speaker 1>an empty can. You cut half the lid off, replaced

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<v Speaker 1>that portion with latex held in place with a rubber band,

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<v Speaker 1>with a narrow gap between the latex and the ten Now,

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<v Speaker 1>with the bottom of the can removed and a little practice,

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<v Speaker 1>you can make some show enough turkey record that I've

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<v Speaker 1>seen make some old tough turkeys come in like you

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<v Speaker 1>had them on a string, But not this hickory nut.

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<v Speaker 1>He wasn't playing around with anything but the safety of

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of that pasture and those seven hens. Eventually

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<v Speaker 1>they walk off and disappear in the woods around the field.

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<v Speaker 1>Edges were so open from cattle use that there was

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<v Speaker 1>zero chance of moving on him. After he passed us up,

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<v Speaker 1>we just had to sit and watch him walk away.

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<v Speaker 1>Other turkeys would gobble, but it had gotten personal. No

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<v Speaker 1>other turkey would do. It had to be this one.

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<v Speaker 1>And that wasn't just for me. That was all Hunter.

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<v Speaker 1>He was on a mission to show this gobbler who

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<v Speaker 1>the real boss was. Whenever we employed the decoy, we'd

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<v Speaker 1>get there way before daylight and set up, only to

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<v Speaker 1>have him approach up to a certain distance from us,

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<v Speaker 1>and the decoy always out of comfortable range of Hunter's

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<v Speaker 1>shotgun and his ability to shoot it. This was his turkey,

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<v Speaker 1>and even though I might I might have smashed him

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<v Speaker 1>on a couple of occasions with my shotgun, I chose

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<v Speaker 1>not to even try. I was just as hypnotized by

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<v Speaker 1>wanting Hunter to succeed as he was, maybe even more so,

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<v Speaker 1>and we approached it every day like we were engaged

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<v Speaker 1>in battle. We had long given up the decoy the

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<v Speaker 1>last times we'd used it. The gobbler had gotten kind

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<v Speaker 1>of spooked, and I don't blame him. It was made

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<v Speaker 1>from foam, The paint had almost all chipped off of it,

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<v Speaker 1>and it wasn't that much of a true representation of

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<v Speaker 1>a hen turkey anyway. As a matter of fact, it

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<v Speaker 1>was ugly. It was only in my vest because I

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<v Speaker 1>had forgotten to take it out. It weighed nothing, it

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<v Speaker 1>favored nothing, but it folded up and stayed unnoticed in

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<v Speaker 1>the game bag. More accurate description would be that it

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<v Speaker 1>looked as much like a wild hen turkey as a

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<v Speaker 1>Hearsey's chocolate bunny looks like a wild rabbit. On day

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<v Speaker 1>number five of hunting this gobbler, we were once again

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<v Speaker 1>standing on the south edge of this big pasture, facing

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<v Speaker 1>the north way before daylight. A quarter of the property

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<v Speaker 1>laid to our left or our west from where we stood.

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<v Speaker 1>The other three quarters, obviously were to the east and

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<v Speaker 1>our right, and we were present on the west side

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<v Speaker 1>of that point of woods that stuck out in the pasture,

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<v Speaker 1>the one with the seeping spring. I told you about

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<v Speaker 1>this morning. The turkey gobbled on the south side of

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<v Speaker 1>the pasture, just like always, but he was further to

0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:17.439
<v Speaker 1>the right or the east, towards that end, further away

0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:21.880
<v Speaker 1>than normal, placing that point of woods between him and us.

0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:26.240
<v Speaker 1>So picture it in your mind. We were standing on

0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.840
<v Speaker 1>the edge of a cow pasture, twenty acres of open

0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.600
<v Speaker 1>pasture to our left and to our right was sixty

0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:37.040
<v Speaker 1>acres except for that point of woods that stuck out

0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.680
<v Speaker 1>in the field on the same side we were, and

0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:45.000
<v Speaker 1>the gobbler was roosted on the other side. We never

0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:47.960
<v Speaker 1>tried to get closer, and we never made a peek.

0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:51.280
<v Speaker 1>To tell you the truth, I was all out of ideas.

0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:53.880
<v Speaker 1>I heard him when he flew off the roofs, and

0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.280
<v Speaker 1>I split second later I saw him fly out into

0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:59.560
<v Speaker 1>the middle of that pasture in the early dawn. A

0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:02.120
<v Speaker 1>few moments later, the hens followed, and I heard Hunter

0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:11.640
<v Speaker 1>counting in a wisp one two, three, four, five, six, Dad,

0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.520
<v Speaker 1>six hens. Yeah, I see him hundred. I've been seeing

0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:19.560
<v Speaker 1>them for a week, No, sir, we've been seeing seven hens.

0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:24.840
<v Speaker 1>What was right? There had been seven with him, and

0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:27.680
<v Speaker 1>we waited for number seven to fly off throost counting

0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.000
<v Speaker 1>and recounting all the hens that he was ushering around

0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.960
<v Speaker 1>in that field like a bull elk does cows. I

0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.800
<v Speaker 1>wonder what happened to him, I told him I didn't know.

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:39.680
<v Speaker 1>Maybe she was already sitting on the nest. But if

0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:42.520
<v Speaker 1>there was ever a chance for this hideous decoy virus

0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:46.800
<v Speaker 1>to work, it was right now. It was my last play.

0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.160
<v Speaker 1>He could see the wheels turning in my knogging, and

0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.240
<v Speaker 1>I grabbed him by the arm and we sunk deeper

0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.000
<v Speaker 1>in the edge of the woods, and Duck walked to

0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.280
<v Speaker 1>where that point of wood stuck out in the field.

0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.440
<v Speaker 1>From there, we got down on our bell, all up

0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.160
<v Speaker 1>the edge of that point to the opposite side, away

0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.600
<v Speaker 1>from those turkeys, both of us sopping wet from the

0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:12.520
<v Speaker 1>mud and morning dew. After crawling forty yards, I struck

0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.320
<v Speaker 1>that hen decoy up and keeping a big red over

0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.800
<v Speaker 1>between us and the turkeys. I crawled over to it

0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.880
<v Speaker 1>on the west side of that point, and sliding up

0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:25.040
<v Speaker 1>next to it, we sat down, facing the absolute opposite

0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:29.360
<v Speaker 1>direction from where they were. We couldn't even see them

0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:34.200
<v Speaker 1>when we got settled in, but round and round he strugged,

0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:36.960
<v Speaker 1>pushing those hens around as they fed more or less

0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.640
<v Speaker 1>in our direction, but on a course that would once

0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:43.840
<v Speaker 1>again keep him well out of range. Hunter sat on

0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:48.080
<v Speaker 1>my right and shotgun oriented toward that decoy in his back,

0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.840
<v Speaker 1>to the goblin and yeppling that was taking place right

0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:56.000
<v Speaker 1>behind his shoulder out in that field. Not turning around

0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:58.680
<v Speaker 1>was like trying not to watch a fishing partner's court.

0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:01.720
<v Speaker 1>Was all I could do to keep still, to not

0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:03.920
<v Speaker 1>roll over, and try to peek around the back of

0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.280
<v Speaker 1>that tree to see where they were. They hadn't made

0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.920
<v Speaker 1>a sound in what seemed like forever now, and there

0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:13.200
<v Speaker 1>was absolutely nothing between us and them but that big

0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:17.000
<v Speaker 1>red oak, no underbrush, nothing. We were as hid as

0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.439
<v Speaker 1>the terrain would allow, which was only good until the

0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.960
<v Speaker 1>turkeys got past that point of land and would then

0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:26.679
<v Speaker 1>be able to see us sitting against the base of

0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:30.639
<v Speaker 1>that tree, plain as day. Our only hope was that

0:17:30.840 --> 0:17:33.440
<v Speaker 1>raggedy decoy I had jobbed in the ground out in

0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:35.600
<v Speaker 1>front of us, on a sweet gum limb I'd cut

0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:39.200
<v Speaker 1>a week ago, and hopefully it would keep their attention.

0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:42.480
<v Speaker 1>The stake that came with it was lost to who

0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.840
<v Speaker 1>knows where, but that gum limb was a fitting substitute accessory.

0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.400
<v Speaker 1>That looked abouite as much like a turkey leg as

0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.720
<v Speaker 1>that decoy did a turkey. But we were all in

0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.680
<v Speaker 1>that peg legged out cast from the island of misfit

0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:59.560
<v Speaker 1>towards was our obi wan Kenobi. It was our only hope.

0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:02.639
<v Speaker 1>I looked down at Hunter and he was rock solid,

0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:05.160
<v Speaker 1>his shotgun propped up on his knee and aiming down

0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:08.239
<v Speaker 1>the barrel toward that decoy. I had to give it

0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.080
<v Speaker 1>to him. The little man was mission focused in front

0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:16.760
<v Speaker 1>side oriented. You good, buddy, Yes, sir, do you see him?

0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.159
<v Speaker 1>I looked up out toward the middle of that field,

0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.480
<v Speaker 1>and I did see them there. They were loosely taking

0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:27.480
<v Speaker 1>the same path they'd taken every morning before, rolling westward

0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:30.600
<v Speaker 1>down the middle of that pasture, with that gobbler taking

0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:35.320
<v Speaker 1>inventory every step of the way. He strutted around each hend,

0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:38.159
<v Speaker 1>turned his fan toward whichever one he was closest to,

0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:42.080
<v Speaker 1>as if she was the only gal in town. Bud,

0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:44.520
<v Speaker 1>they're out there right now. We'll be able to see

0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:49.400
<v Speaker 1>him in a second. We're still only six hens with him. Dad,

0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:53.400
<v Speaker 1>I'm looking number seven, and when he sees her, it's

0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:58.080
<v Speaker 1>going to be all over him. He was. He was

0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:02.280
<v Speaker 1>as confident as anything got seeing me not so much.

0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:06.320
<v Speaker 1>I gave it one in a million. Nothing else had worked,

0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:08.840
<v Speaker 1>and now I was betting on a turkey's math skills

0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:12.000
<v Speaker 1>to lure him within shotgun range of my eight year old,

0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:14.800
<v Speaker 1>and doing so, he'd had to be close enough to

0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:18.840
<v Speaker 1>see what no living entity should confuse with a live

0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:23.000
<v Speaker 1>wild Eastern Turkey hen, the same one that he'd been

0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:27.879
<v Speaker 1>leary of approaching two different times this week. Cut your

0:19:27.920 --> 0:19:29.560
<v Speaker 1>eyes over, Eddy, Now you ought to be able to

0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 1>see him by now. They were moving at a slow

0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:36.320
<v Speaker 1>but steady pace, and the hens were feeding along with him,

0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:39.480
<v Speaker 1>right on their heels, strutting the whole way one hundred

0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:43.240
<v Speaker 1>and fifty yards from us. I glanced down at Hunter.

0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:45.919
<v Speaker 1>I washed him close to me, make sure he was breathing.

0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:50.080
<v Speaker 1>He wasn't moving an inch. I felt good about that.

0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:52.560
<v Speaker 1>I looked over stairs at that deco and lost what

0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:55.080
<v Speaker 1>little bit of confidence I'd built up over the past

0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:58.560
<v Speaker 1>few moments. The turkey gobbled and broke me from my

0:19:58.720 --> 0:20:02.359
<v Speaker 1>sneering gaze at that unreasonable facsimile of a hen Turkey.

0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.520
<v Speaker 1>I had not bought another one. I looked over and

0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:09.479
<v Speaker 1>he was looking in our direction. He gobbled again. And

0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:11.960
<v Speaker 1>came out of his trut, facing our direction, but looking

0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:16.159
<v Speaker 1>straight at that decoy. He didn't move, and after a

0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:20.639
<v Speaker 1>few seconds all the hens were looking too, and I

0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.320
<v Speaker 1>figured at any moment this was going to be the

0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:27.920
<v Speaker 1>repeat of every other interaction. Then, after what seemed like forever,

0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:31.760
<v Speaker 1>the hens went back to feeding, He went back to strut,

0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.120
<v Speaker 1>and all of them slowly fit toward our direction. Wait

0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:42.800
<v Speaker 1>a minute, were they actually doing this, son? Can you

0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:47.080
<v Speaker 1>see them? Yes, sir, they were covering those one hundred

0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:50.280
<v Speaker 1>and fifty yards at a snail's pacing. With every step

0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:53.000
<v Speaker 1>they made towards that decoy, I thought it would be

0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:57.399
<v Speaker 1>the last. The hunter never flinched. E been sitting that

0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.440
<v Speaker 1>way without moving from more than twenty minutes and was eight.

0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:05.879
<v Speaker 1>I was forty and about to lose my mind. The

0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:08.560
<v Speaker 1>ground was rock hard at the base of that tree,

0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:11.760
<v Speaker 1>with all the years of cows patting down that dirt.

0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:14.600
<v Speaker 1>On the thing between my behind in China was two

0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:17.600
<v Speaker 1>square feet of Arkansas and a butterbean sized piece of

0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:20.600
<v Speaker 1>flint I'd miss sweeping away when we sat down. That

0:21:20.680 --> 0:21:24.159
<v Speaker 1>seemed to be growing in both volume and sharpness with

0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:28.400
<v Speaker 1>each tick of the clock. I stared back at the decoys,

0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:30.280
<v Speaker 1>who were now starting to pick up the pace as

0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:33.879
<v Speaker 1>they came closer, and one by one they passed in

0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:36.439
<v Speaker 1>front of me and Hunter and either walked up to

0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:40.600
<v Speaker 1>or just behind that one legged raggedy decoy that was

0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:43.919
<v Speaker 1>twenty yards in front of us. They never gave us

0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:47.600
<v Speaker 1>a second look, feeding right on past her. Then the

0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:50.119
<v Speaker 1>gobblers strolled in and took his spot next to that

0:21:50.200 --> 0:21:54.399
<v Speaker 1>foam Jezebel fan, fully spread wings, dragging the ground and

0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:58.919
<v Speaker 1>drumming like it was his job. Hunter waited until he

0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:02.080
<v Speaker 1>stepped right in front of where his gun barrel was pointed.

0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:05.960
<v Speaker 1>Without moving an inch, he popped the safety office shot

0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:12.880
<v Speaker 1>that joker square in the left ear right then. Now,

0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:16.360
<v Speaker 1>from that day forward, that old raggedy decoy was known

0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:20.440
<v Speaker 1>as Number seven. No idea on what became of her.

0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:23.239
<v Speaker 1>We moved a few times since then, and she was

0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:25.800
<v Speaker 1>on our way out the day she lured Hunters Second

0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:30.879
<v Speaker 1>Turkey into its doom. The real question is King Turkey's count.

0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:41.639
<v Speaker 1>I have no clue, but it makes me wonder. I

0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:45.440
<v Speaker 1>appreciate so much all of you who's been the biggest

0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:49.119
<v Speaker 1>part of this country life. It's not possible without you,

0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:51.400
<v Speaker 1>and I encourage you to keep sitting in those stories

0:22:51.400 --> 0:22:54.840
<v Speaker 1>to my tcl story at the meadeater dot com. We

0:22:54.960 --> 0:22:57.920
<v Speaker 1>love sharing them with you. Thanks for listening to me

0:22:58.000 --> 0:23:00.640
<v Speaker 1>and Clay Bow here on the Bear Grease Channel. We've

0:23:00.640 --> 0:23:03.080
<v Speaker 1>got a lot of new stuff coming soon that I'm

0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:06.000
<v Speaker 1>really excited about and I know you're going to enjoy.

0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:09.920
<v Speaker 1>Knew this country life merch is coming in the next

0:23:09.960 --> 0:23:12.480
<v Speaker 1>few months. Folks are working hard to get it here

0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:15.600
<v Speaker 1>just as soon as possible. See y'all hang in there

0:23:16.440 --> 0:23:20.240
<v Speaker 1>until next week. This is Brent Reives signing off. Y'all

0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:20.840
<v Speaker 1>be careful