GRANT: We're in the middle of turkey season.
I've seen a lot of feathers flying this spring.
GRANT: You nailed it, girl.
HEATH: Nice shot.
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GRANT: Turkey season opened recently in the bluegrass state, so Adam and I packed up our
gear and headed to Kentucky.
GRANT: Our first hunt in Kentucky was near Tompkinsville, right near the Cumberland River.
We arrived late Monday night to the beautiful River Breeze Cabin.
Knowing we were in for a long week of hunting, we didn't waste much time socializing and
went right to bed the first night.
GRANT: We could've stayed up a little later, 'cause when we woke up in the morning, it
was cold and snowing.
We stayed out all day, but no success on our first day in Kentucky.
That evening, we checked out the forecast and it was obvious, the next day would be
much better turkey hunting conditions.
GRANT: We teamed up with outdoor writer, Josh Lantz, and it didn't take us long to strike
a bird the next morning.
GRANT: We heard a couple of birds gobbling right at daylight and set up.
But that early in the season, especially with the colder than normal conditions, gobblers
tend to be a little bit unpredictable and these birds drifted away.
GRANT: We started making our way across the property, doing a little prospect calling,
and it wasn't long until we struck another tom.
GRANT: This tom was responding to every call we threw at him and we knew it wouldn't be
long until he appeared on Josh's side.
GRANT: As mature toms often do, this tom eased out and barely gave Josh a look and then cut
behind us, gobbling as he went around the side of the mountain.
GRANT: I've played this backdoor game before, so we just let him drift off about 100 yards
-- switched Josh around to this side, and cranked up the call, once again.
GRANT: There wouldn't be much time to coordinate between the shooter and the cameraman, so
Josh was gonna tell me he was ready, I was gonna reach over and wiggle Adam's foot and
I was in the middle, just being the conductor of the signals.
JOSH: (Whispering) Here he comes.
ADAM: (Whispering) What'd he say?
GRANT: (Whispering) Here he comes.
GRANT: Kill him.
JOSH: Holy cow.
I was so, I was so glad to hear you say, "Kill him."
GRANT: Well I ...
ADAM: I didn't think I was ...
GRANT: I, I couldn't see the turkey, and I didn't know if you wanted my attention or
what?
I'm like, "Well, okay.
I'm gonna say kill him, but I don't know if Adam means that."
JOSH: I couldn't believe you could see him.
GRANT: We gonna call that the 180 hunt, because we've been flipping 180.
JOSH: Oh man, you guys.
GRANT: Good bird.
JOSH: Nice bird, huh?
GRANT: Yeah, good bird.
Been dragging, worn down.
Look how much he's worn down.
JOSH: Yep.
GRANT: You know, as with turkeys, I mean turkeys pretty much are turkeys, but it's the hunt,
and that was a great hunt.
I thought he was gonna come out here, popped around behind us.
You had to do the 180, switch around us.
JOSH: Yeah.
GRANT: Got over here, and then across the creek and here he was.
JOSH: And it happened fast.
GRANT: Happened quick, didn't it?
JOSH: Well, Grant, thank you very much.
GRANT: Kentucky turkey down.
JOSH: Yeah, my first Kentucky bird.
GRANT: There you go.
It's a dandy.
Yeah, Adam's foot started bumping.
I'm like, I don't see no turkey, but then, it bumped pretty hard, so ...
GRANT: After we went back to River Breeze and shared the story with other hunters, Adam
and I had to pack up our truck and roll west to the Kentucky Proving Grounds to go on our
second hunt.
Adam and Mr. Hamby chose a portion of the farm we call West Ridge for the first morning.
They had selected a small food plot right between two larger patches of hardwoods, and
it just looked like a great strut area.
GRANT: They put out a couple of decoys, and got on the edge of the field, just in time.
GRANT: As soon as they started calling, a hen responded.
So they kept calling to her, hoping she'd bring a gobbler into the field.
TERRY: How about that for a turkey hunt?
We saw these three gobblers coming out of the, out of the edge of the food plot in the
woods and he came up and really worked that decoy over, and then, old Winchester, a Long
Beard XL just hammered him.
I mean it hammered him, feathers went everywhere.
I think we cleaned him right there on the spot.
(Laughter)
TERRY: That was pretty cool.
ADAM: That was an awesome hunt.
(Laughter) Sunrise.
TERRY: Yeah, it don't get any better than that.
Nice rope.
Look at, look at those hooks.
Nice hooks.
We didn't get to stay out here very long.
Thank you, Lord, for another good hunt.
ADAM: Oh, yeah.
TERRY: First of all, for another day.
Now, another good hunt.
GRANT: What a beautiful show Mr. Hamby and Adam got to watch, great sunrise in the background
and mature toms at 15 yards.
GRANT: Later that afternoon, while we're at the cabin eating and swapping stories, Adam
and Andrew spotted some gobblers out the window.
AJ: Three gobblers.
GRANT: They were about 300 yards away, and it didn't take Andrew much time to grab a
fan and his shotgun and cut through the woods.
ADAM: He's going right up the tree line.
GRANT: Adam had the presence of mind to grab a camera and film right through the window,
as we watched this very unique style of hunting.
ADAM: Whoa, wait a second.
They're going right to him.
UNKNOWN: They're going right to him.
Every one of them, going right to him.
ADAM: They are running.
TERRY: You filming that?
ADAM: Oh, yeah.
Oh, there they go.
Right to him.
GRANT: They're cutting the gap awful quick.
ADAM: They're, oh ...
UNKNOWN: Oh, I am on it.
ADAM: Hey, oh.
Yeah, he got one there.
UNKNOWN: Whoa, whoa.
GRANT: I'll have to admit, that was one of the coolest hunt's I've ever seen turkey hunting,
but I'm gonna tell everyone to please be cautious, if you try to use fanning.
Remember, that fan's made to look like a gobbler coming through the field.
And if there was another hunter there, well it could result in a horrible accident.
ANDREW: I mean they were pale red at that point, and I just kept inching closer.
I'd look, inch closer, look, and then his head would change colors, and --
UNKNOWN: Yeah, we could see that change color from here.
It's like dude, they're all red.
They're running.
GRANT: Once again, we had another outstanding time at the Kentucky Proving Grounds, but
Missouri season was opening Monday morning, so once again, we packed the truck and rolled
home.
GRANT: The first morning out, Adam and I went up to the top of a ridge we call 50 Acre Glade,
giving us a great area to listen to.
GRANT: Just a few hundred yards away, a group of gobblers responded to Adam's hoot, and
it was game on.
GRANT: (Whispering) There's three birds, right over there.
ADAM: (Whispering) That's right, get to that first ....
GRANT: We scurried down the steep hill and got in position, about 200 yards away from
where the toms were roosted.
GRANT: We selected this spot, because it's relatively flat and open timber for that part
of The Proving Grounds.
GRANT: These birds were responding to everything we threw at 'em.
We were just hoping, given the time of year that some hens didn't cut 'em off, before
they closed the distance.
GRANT: We heard the toms fly down and could tell they were coming our way.
GRANT: They closed the distance fast, and I was kind of searching through the fog to
see if I could spot a gobbler.
GRANT: (Whispering) Okay.
ADAM: (Whispering) Okay.
GRANT: (Laughter) (Whispering) It was so foggy.
I was having trouble picking up limbs from the decoy, for a second, until I saw his head
wiggling, and then, it was all over.
It may have been my breath, now that I'm seeing it creatin' fog right in front of me.
(Laughter)
GRANT: That worked out about perfect.
It's about what, 35 yards, or so, out there?
At least I get a pattern about that big, at 35 yards.
They were all good birds.
GRANT: That was like what we had the first couple days -- first day at Terry's.
Call 'em, they come.
Make you feel like super turkey hunter.
GRANT: Looks like about another three year old bird.
About an inch, probably an inch and an eighth's spurs, or so, and of course, he's been dragging.
Got those worn off wings.
GRANT: Big, long, thick beard.
You know it's all good, but those turkey breasts are even better.
We're gonna take this back to the house, make a little meat, celebrate with the family,
take my dad, later this morning, on a turkey hunt here in the Ozark mountains.
GRANT: Adam and I have obviously enjoyed a great start to the 2014 turkey season.
There's a couple more weeks of season, here in Missouri, and I'll be taking my father,
and some other friends.
I hope you have a chance to go turkey hunting this week, or do something in Creation.
Most importantly, slow down and enjoy Creation, and listen to see what the Creator is saying
to you.
Thanks for watching GrowingDeer.tv.