MARCH 22, 2008
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: NELSON AND TYLER CULLUM
CALLS USED: FOWER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPS, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT CALLED IN/SEEN 1 GOBBLER
On opening day I traveled to the Cullum farm to hunt with Nelson and his son Tyler. After hearing a bird gobble at daylight within a few hundred yards, we anticipated we would be looking at him within a short while. What we didn’t anticipate were Nelson’s cows becoming intrigued with our decoys and making the worst of a promising situation. The gobbler circled around our front attempting to come in but would not advance to our decoys as long as the cows were there. He eventually made his way around our left side and away.
MARCH 25, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #1
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: ALONE
CALLS USED: SMALL FOWER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: CACKLING, YELPS, CUTTING, CLUCKING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT CALLED IN 2 GOBBLERS AND KILLED 1 – VIDEO
I traveled to my hunting club on the third day of the season and made my way across the swamp bottom and quietly set up on the opposite side. Not long afterwards I heard two birds gobbling within about 200 yards. I made some some fly down cackles and then some soft calls. It wasn’t long until I could see one of the birds across the swamp bottom. Shortly after this I saw the second. I knew there was a creek run between us, but hoped they would cross or follow the creek along until they were within range. I called softly and the birds responded perfectly. The first bird made his way somewhat quicker than the second and was in now in position. I eased up to shoot which made him become alert which worked out perfectly for the shot. When I shot, the second bird only ran a short distance. I called and he started back to the downed gobbler. He didn’t want to leave his partner, but soon wandered away. The bird weighed 17 pounds had 3/4 inch spurs and a 9 inch beard. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler..
APRIL 2, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #2
LOCATION: WILKINSON COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: WAYNE BRIDGES AND DAD
CALLS USED: FOWER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING AND PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT CALLED IN 3 GOBBLERS - VIDEO
I went with my Dad and a good friend Wayne Bridges on this morning. Wayne had told us these birds would be tough to call in. It wasn’t long until the birds started gobbling but so did the hens fire up in front of us. A hen appeared on the edge in front of us and soon the 3 gobblers came out on our front left. As it turned out, our set up was just not sufficient to get these birds in especially with the competition of the hens. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 6, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #3
LOCATION: TWIGGS COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: DAD
CALLS USED: FOWER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CLUCKING, PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT CALLED IN 2 JAKES, 1 HEN AND 1 GOBBLER – KILL AND VIDEO
After Dad and I heard no birds at first light on a local WMA, we made our way to a private track to hunt the remainder of the morning. As soon as we stepped out of the truck, we heard a gobble. We started around the field and realized the gobbler was in the same field. We backed around and made our way down the inside edge of the woods. We didn’t see him so we sat up and called a little. After a while we heard him again and this time he was several hundred yards across the bottom and we suspected that he was on the power line that we normally hunt. We made our way to a power line where he continued to gobble and strut for a hen. We eventually called the hen in and he followed but sneaky enough to stay on the far side of the power line. When Dad got an opening he shot and but just as he went behind a tree in front of my camera. As Dad got up to go retrieve the bird a couple of Jakes started in from the direction the gobbler had came. The bird weighed 19 1/4 pounds had 1 1/8 inch spurs and an 11 inch beard. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 8, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #4
LOCATION: PUBLIC LAND
PARTNER: DAD
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: PM HUNT - GOBBLER VIDEO
Dad and I hunted some public land on this afternoon. We met two guys walking out as we walked in. We asked them if they had seen any birds and naturally they said no. We proceeded anyway because we wanted to try and roost a bird for the next morning. After a while of calling, a bird in the distant gobbled. It wasn’t long before we spotted him across the field, but we were not in a direction he wanted to come and it was apparent he didn’t trust anything that sounded like a hen without seeing one. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 16, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #5
LOCATION: SPRINGVIEW NEBRASKA, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: DAD
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING GOBBLING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT – JAKES AND HENS - VIDEO
Dad and I made our way to Nebraska and on the first morning we hunted our favorite roost site. We could see several turkeys roosted and after flydown we realized it would be the same results as two years before. All Jakes! When the birds made their way into the edge of the woods we eased up to make our way around the edge of the thin treeline. As we did we spotted some of the same birds and had to set up. Without much cover we decided to call anyway. This would be tough with so many birds. There were about 10 jakes and 4 hens. We called them within about 10 yards. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 17, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #6
LOCATION: SPRINGVIEW NEBRASKA, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: DAD
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: CUTTING, YELPING, CLUCKING AND PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: PM HUNT – CALLED UP 9 JAKES - JAKE KILLED VIDEO
On this evening Dad and I would try some different land in hopes a nice gobbler would show. As it turned out there were more jakes. This would make about 40 jakes we had seen in the first two days. With three of us in camp we decided that one of the jakes wouldn’t hurt the population and would surely make for some “fine dining” so after calling up 9 more jakes, the decision was fulfilled. The Jake would weigh about 17 pounds and had a 3 inch beard. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 18, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #7
LOCATION: SPRINGVIEW NEBRASKA, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: DAD
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: CACKLING, YELPING, CLUCKING AND PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT – CALLED UP 2 GOBBLERS - 2 KILLED VIDEO
On this morning Dad and I would try 2 birds we had seen the evening before. These were the only mature gobblers we had seen. We made our setup watching the small wood line where the gobblers would most likely be roosted. As soon as it was time, they started gobbling and never let up. They started making their way across the field and appeared they would not come in. They seemed to almost choke themselves trying to outdo one another gobbling. This was a gobbling fenzy! We had set our decoys in front of us and now the birds were on our right. This was definitely a bad position especially to try to get a double. As they made their way into the decoys, they turned and came right at us and made their way into the wood line where we were sitting on our right side. I told Dad not to worry about a double and just try to get one of them. When they made it all the way past us and behind us, Dad knelt up and swung the gun and shot the right bird. I had swung the camera around only hoping the birds would still be in the video. When Dad shot I swung my gun to my left shoulder and shot the second bird which had only moved a few feet after Dad’s shot. This was only the second bird I had ever shot left handed. Dad’s bird weighed 20 pounds had 3/4 inch spurs and a double beard both 7 1/4 inches . My bird weighed 20 pounds had 5/8 inches spurs and a triple beard 9 1/4 inches, 9 inches, and 8 inches. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 24, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #8
LOCATION: TWIGGS COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: ALONE
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER, GOBBLE TUBE AND TRUMPET
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING, GOBBLING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT CALLED IN GOBBLER – KILL VIDEO
Upon returning to Georgia on a Wednesday, I had a real tough decision to make. Should I go back to work or complete my scheduled vacation and go turkey hunting. After I thought about it a bit, it really wasn’t that tough of a decision. I made my way to some private land where I saw a hen soon after daylight and heard some distant gobbles. At first I felt the gobbles were too far to attempt to move on, but the woods were now thick will full foliage and I knew I could cut the distance in half. After my second setup and initial calls there were no responses. I sat quietly as I knew the bird should have been able to hear me. After about 20 minutes he showed up in the corner of the field. The bird had a full fan, but after looking closely I saw the bird only had a 3 or 4 inch beard. Once the bird was close enough I saw his spurs were not that of a jake and decided to take him. The bird weighed 20 pounds with 1 1/4 inch and 7/8 inch spurs and a 4 inch beard. See this hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 25, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #9
LOCATION: TWIGGS COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: KEITH SMITH
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: PM HUNT CALLED IN GOBBLER – KILL VIDEO
A good friend Keith Smith and I made our way to hunt a bird on this hot evening that had eluded him a couple of times. Keith knew where the bird had been roosting so we tried to make a setup between the hardwood bottom and suspected roost site. About an hour before roost time we heard a gobble from where Keith said we would. We had placed our “Floozie” decoy in front of us to where the gobbler coming up the road would see it. We didn’t call much and soon I spotted the bird which had came down the road beyond the point of the decoy. He apparently had seen the decoy however, because he turned and came directly to it. As the bird moved to the right Keith decided not to let him get any further around which would make for a difficult shot. Keith’s shot was about 50 yards but was true! This wasn’t the bow kill video we had been hoping for but it was definitely a good start! The bird weighed 19 pounds with 1/2 inch spurs and a 9 inch beard. See the hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 26, May 3, 4, 10, 14, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #10, 13, 14, 15, 16
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: DAD
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER, GOBBLE TUBE AND TRUMPET
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING, GOBBLING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNTS CALLED IN 1 HENS 3, JAKES AND (2 - 3 GOBBLERS – 3 - 4 TIMES)
I made my way back to the Cullum farm on this morning. After hearing 4 or 5 gobblers, these two showed up following a hen and couldn’t be called in. This was just the beginning of 4 frustrating hunts where these birds showed us just who were boss! On the next trip to the Cullum Farm, Dad and I setup on the upper end of the field where the birds had gone the time before. This single gobbler with a really nice beard came in but drew his line quickly. When these two gobblers came in, the first bird actually layed down in the pasture and as they came closer to him, he finally moved away. We figured he may have been the dominant bird, but the other two had teamed up and was more than he could handle. On the third trip my son Chase and my Dad and I would attempt once again to set up and try our luck, but this time we slipped in quietly on the hillside near where the birds were roosted. The long bearded bird came in first with the other 2 gobblers coming from farther away. Again, when the two gobblers got close, the long bearded gobbler left. The birds this time were just out of range. On the fourth trip, my Dad and I slipped in to the same location well before daylight. After daylight we didn’t feel satisfied with our setup so we tried to find a better one before attempting to call. We had heard all the gobblers and they were far enough away to allow us to move. Soon as we decided on a setup, the cows came through. As soon as they left and I called the two gobblers answered behind us. Dad said he had about a 20 yard shot here but was trying to wait until the birds cleared the thicket to enable some video. The birds never presented another shot. See the hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 28, 2006 VIDEO HUNT #11
LOCATION: WILKINSON COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: KEITH SMITH
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CLUCKING, PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: PM HUNT CALLED IN 1 HEN, GOBBLER BOWKILL - VIDEO
After a morning hunt on the day before and hearing 3 gobblers, Keith Smith and I found the perfect place in a small food plot to setup in hopes of a bow kill. We made our way back on this evening and before getting setup a bird gobbled at less than 100 yards. We quickly completed our setup and prepared for some intense action. With just a minimum amount of soft calling it was no time the gobbler a hen was within 15 yards. The gobbler was well within range, but with a hen around Keith couldn’t move. The gobbler got a little nervous and started back into the woods. Keith started to draw but couldn’t get a shot. He was now at full draw but would hold it in an attempt to catch the bird slipping around the edge. The bird was out of sight especially as the grain in the plot was very high. The bird was making his way around the plot to where the hen had went. I continued some soft calling and whining to keep his interest and made him gobble. Keith still at full draw found the bird in his sight and released a perfect shot at over 30 yards. What a hunt! When you call in a good gobbler this close for a bowkill and get it on video it just doesn’t get any more satisfying. What a sense of accomplishment! Keith’s bird weighed 19 pounds had 1/2 inch spurs and a 9 1/2 inch beard. See the hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
APRIL 30, 2008 VIDEO HUNT #12
LOCATION: WILKINSON COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND
PARTNER: ALONE
CALLS USED: FOWLER CUSTOM SLATE, 3 REED BATWING CUTTER
DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CLUCKING, PURRING
DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT CALLED IN 1 HEN, 2 GOBBLERS – GOBBLER KILL - VIDEO
On this morning I traveled to my hunting club and setup on the edge of a field. A few fly down cackles after daylight brought this bird to his strut zone but he would not budge any closer. As I continued to call another gobbler with a hen made their way to the same location which brought the first bird out of strut and to my location. As soon as I shot, I began calling and the second gobbler immediately game to the downed bird. A double would have been too easy but this was my 3rd bird which was the limit in Georgia. The gobbler weighed 17 3/4 pounds had 1 1/4 inch spurs and an 11 inch beard. See the hunt on my 2008 video: Turkey hunting with Derek Fowler.
