Bear Grease - Ep. 435: Turkey Stories - Getting Shot, Attacked by Bobcats, and Flintlocks

Episode Date: March 25, 2026

On this episode of the Bear Grease Podcast, it’s Turkey Stories time! We’ve gathered a lineup of hunters from Arkansas, Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi, both young and old, connected by a love of spring turkey hunting.  You’ll hear about a University of Arkansas student on her first solo hunt, a hunter who survived being shot in the back, bobcats crashing the scene at the worst possible time, a woman in pursuit of a Turkey World Slam with a flintlock shotgun and more. Plus, insight from turkey biologist Mike Chamberlain and voices shaped by a lifetime in the woods. If you love turkey hunting or just plain old good stories, don’t miss this one. Watch Clay's Utah Mountain Lion Hunt on YouTube Thank you to our sponsor, Tecovas. If you have comments on the show, send us a note to [e-mail] Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Shop Bear Grease MerchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. First Lights fieldware collection is made for the work that happens long before opening day and continues when the season ends. Products built for early mornings, full days and real use. Hard wearing where they need to be versatile where it matters. No shortcuts. Just gear designed for the work that earns the season.

Built to perform, built to last. Check out. First Light's new field. We're gear at firstlight.com. So we come to Covney County Hospital in a hurry. And got him in there, pulled his clothes off, shot whatever were on that tile floor. How would you like to hear some turkey stories from Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and even old Mexico? Well, my friends, if you said yes to that, you are.

are in luck. This is our annual Turkey Stories episode. We've rounded up some of the best, most unique stories that we could find from a completely unique set of homo sapiens, both old and young, both men and women, but what they have in common is a love for spring mornings and wild turkeys. I've said this before, but you can learn a lot just from listening to stories. Today we're going to hear from college sophomore Holly Newkirk on her first. solo turkey hunt. It's good. We'll hear from a man who got attacked by Bobcat. We'll hear of a man getting shot. We'll hear one bizarre story of two shots fired at the same turkey. We'll even hear from wild turkey dock biologist Mike Chamberlain. But sadly, one of our storytellers,

Mr. Claude Strother of Alabama, passed away in January of 2026. We recorded his story back in the fall and we'll be posting it posthumously. I really doubt that you're going to want to miss this one. And hey, you can do me a solid by checking out my new film about hunting mountain lines in Utah with some legendary houndsmen and mulemen. It's up on the Meteor YouTube channel as part of our new 12 and 26 film series. It means that aside from our weekly releases on that channel, every month we're releasing a full-scale film.

Watch and comment and let me know what you think about line management and about riding those mules. My name is Clay Newcomb and this is the Bear Grease podcast where we'll explore things forgotten but relevant, search for insight and unlikely places, and where we'll tell the story of Americans who live their lives close to the land. Brought to you by Tukovas boots. I'm a cowboy boot man and I've been wearing Tocovas for years. They're the most comfortable boot I've ever put on. Good boots for good times. Here we begin, found ourselves in the spring.

The cyclic nature of this life and the hunter's connection to the natural systems of the earth are astonishing to me. All powered by the turning of this globe, the changing of the seasons. What it does is it makes me grateful that I've been given another spring. Our first story is told from the heart of the Ozarks by auctioneer and squirrel dogs. man deluxe, Gary Farmer, but he's also a turkey hunter deluxe. This is a story of when his friend Frank recruited him to help double team a gobbler, and the conclusion of their hunt is so wild, it's hard to fathom. Here's Gary.

Frank, he used to live out the road here, a few miles, was raised up with him. He's a big turkey hunter, a big hunter of any kind. and he tried to call this turkey up for quite a while, and he could never get it killed. And I ran into him, and he said, I've got a turkey. I can take you right to where he's gobbling. I can make him gobble. And he said, I can't do a thing with him.

If you'll go with me, I think we can get him. So I go with him. We go to this spot, and he said he'll be. are out over there on that hillside and heel gobbled. And he called that turkey gobble just like he said. And I said, if you'll give me a little bit, I said, I'm going to go around him. But you know how this country is.

You may have to cross a deep holler to do it, you know. But I made a big circle and I got around him on the other side. And that turkey's never heard me call. A lot of times you can change calls on a gobbler and he will come. And a lot of times you can change directions on him and you can call him in. So anyhow, I'm going to try the other side of him. We didn't even discuss this, but we were thinking the same way. I got over there and I called, he gobbled.

He'd start going the other way. When he did, I'd move in on him. Frank would call. He'd start coming my way. He would move in on him. We didn't even discuss doing that, but I knew what I was going to do. He was thinking the same way.

We fooled with this turkey for 30 or 45 minutes, and I'm talking. I wouldn't crawl, but maybe 10 steps at a time. And it took forever. But finally, we both closed in on him, and he'd go to him. He'd come towards me, back and forth. Finally, I saw him. I saw the goblin.

And he was good. And I pulled in on him. I sat up there, and he'd come to me, and I saw him, and I shot him. And while he was flopping, we both ran to him, opposite directions. I mean, I was on one side of the... gobbler, he is on the other. And he said, I got him. I finally got him.

And I was all confused. Because I shot the turkey. Well, I said, did you shoot? What you mean did I shoot? Y'all killed the turkey. We shot at the exact same time. He didn't know that I shot. I didn't know that he shot.

So I just left it that away. and he was so tickled that he killed that turkey, and I didn't even try to claim the turkey. But we shot at the exact same time. Now, did you tell him that you shot? I finally told him that I did shoot. Yeah. That is unbelievable.

That's an honest truth that happened. I think the statistical probability of two guys working a turkey to the exact spot in shooting at the exact spot. and shooting at the exact same moment, such that it sounds like a single shot, is astronomical. And yes, it does make one think about safety in the turkey woods, and that's exactly where the next story leads us into. Lake Pickle of the Backwoods University podcast right here on this feed

recorded this story for me. It's of his friend Mr. James Quick, and Lake describes Mr. James as an old school Mississippi turkey hunter who was turkey hunting in Covington County when the turkey hunters were in the single digits. And this is the coolest thing, he only uses its natural voice to call turkeys. He once forgot his turkey call and realized that he didn't need one. He never turned back. Here's Mr. James Quick with a scary story. We went to Jeff Davis County one morning.

I let him out. He went to one field. I went on down the road. I left my other hunting buddy out, and I went to the bottom. It was a 60-acre soybean field I walked across. It had just been chisel-plowed. I see you're about that deep where you can't hardly walk in.

Yeah, it's rough. Well, I heard of turkey. I'll have headed towards a buis won't just as hard. Towards the river hard as I could go. Well, I heard the first my buddy shoot. I took about two or three steps. And this fellow, he weighed probably two hundred forty, fifty pounds, need about five, ten. You could hear him holler from Hilda Jackson just about it.

Well, he hollered. I said, oh, he's got that big turkey he's been after. I took three or four more steps towards my turkey, and he hollered again. I said, well, shoot, what in the world going on? I said, you could be quiet and let the rest of us go to our turkey and get one. Well, you hollered, you go scur. Well, he hollered again a third time. I knew something had happened.

So I turned around, I broke, I run until I couldn't run no more. But I was going back to the truck. I knew the second hunting, but it would get. to him before I could. I knew, I figured he'd slipped and filled his gun barrel full of dirt and his gun barrel blowed up on him. Well, I finally made it to the pickup. I blowed the horn, and I don't know I was coming. I took off. Got up there and I started down the log road with my pickup and just before I went over that hill I saw him coming up it. My buddy had him by the arm leading him out.

he got shot in the back. This fellow that had just got out of a parchment the week before had decided he was going turkey hunting. Well, my buddy was calling the turkey. He was behind a bunch of bushes. But he's opening over to the right. He knew that he's going to come out and out opening, so he just changed positions. When he did, This fellow that just got out of parchment, saw him move, and shot him in the back.

Thought he was the turkey? Well, he just shot movement. Saw movement. He saw movement and shot him. My gracious. My hunting, buddy, it knocked him completely over. He got him in the right shoulder from the waist all the way up to his ear loved. But he had that much of him stick it out, you know, out by the tree.

It knocked him out for a second. But he turned and looked up. He saw the man walk up to him and looked down at him. And the fellow says, oh, my goodness, I've killed a man. Well, he broke and ruined. And he stopped at the first house that he could get to. And he called the law himself. Well, in the meantime, we got to him and got him into truck.

And we started the hospital at Collins with him. It was cold that morning. He got on an Army field jacket. We didn't pull it off. We didn't, we're just trying to get him to the hospital. And we got on the road and he says, Now, Jamie, I ain't dying. I don't think.

But says, drive safe, but don't waste no time. So we come to Covenant County Hospital in a hurry. And got him in there, pull his clothes off. shot went everywhere on that tile floor. Luckily, he shot him for seven and a half bird shot. But I was in there in the emergency room, and the nurse, doctor never had got there. The nurse cut his t-shirt off.

You could hold it up, and it looked less like a screen off of a window. And she said, how many shot is in that shell? And I said, ma'am, I don't know. She says, well, you helped me just a minute. I had him laying on the table on his stomach. She said, I'm going to count, and you cover up when I get through counting, and I'll count some more. We counted between 175 and 200 shot that went in him.

Oh, my goodness. But all I can say is the good Lord was watching over him. I'd say. The man it shot, he went and called along. The gay morning got there, got his gun. just what the second shell in his gun was, buckshot. Oh, my goodness. I mean, if it hadn't been the first shot, it would have killed him.

He'd probably have killed him, yeah. But he could never go back over there. The rest of the turkey hunting he done, he done it on his own land. He couldn't go if he thought somebody else was going to be in the woods with him. Scarred him. Yeah. I don't blame him. That'd shake anybody up.

That'd shake anybody up. When he died, they were still getting, he would have shot, it would work to the skin and they could pick out. No way. That's wild. It's a shame he didn't get to turkey. Well, he told me where the turkey was at. And he told me, he said, I can't go hunting. He said, you go get him.

He said, I've seen him. He's the biggest that over here. Well, I went over there one morning, went to him. He wouldn't gobble. All I could hear was a big old turkey. Sound like a Jake. I said, well, I'll call to him, see what it is. I called that turkey up.

That was the biggest turkey that I've ever seen and the biggest beard on a turkey. I blowed leaves all over him at 12 stels. Oh, no. I just, I cleaned mist him. you. I never did go back and hunt him anymore. Yeah. Never did go back and hunt him anymore.

This guy had over 175 pellets in his back. In almost all types of hunting involving firearms, we wear hunters orange or high visibility colors so that others can see us except turkey hunting because those rascals can see color, so you've got to be camoed out. That's also why they don't let us use rifles because shotguns are close-range guns.

You really got to be able to identify your target before you shoot, but that doesn't always happen. Turkey hunting can be dangerous, but don't let that keep you out of the woods. I think the key for all of us is to be a little paranoid, not of getting shot, but of shooting someone. I think the responsibilities got to be on each of us individually. It sends chills down my spine to think of shooting someone.

My dad, Gary Believer-Nukum, was once in a camp where a guy got peppered in the back. And it really ended up being kind of inconsequential. It didn't do a lot of harm to the guy, but just scared everybody. But with today's loads, it could be serious. And sorry to get so serious, so quick, but I've got a question for you that's going to solve your little conundrum of being stressed out about getting shot while turkey hunting.

And that is, what is a bear-greece turkey stories episode without a story from Arkansas's Andy Brown. I mean, really. Here he is, our buddy Andy. He's got a short story. He told me about hunting with one of his best buddies back in the 1980s when it was legal to kill two birds in a single day on a three bird limit. Me and my old buddy Wayne, we tracked thousands of miles after turkeys.

But anyway, me. We and Wayne, we went up on the mountain one morning and parked the rig right on the highway, and we went south off the mountain. We knew where there was a couple of big saddles. We got off down there at daylight and went into the first saddle. I mean, it was a fine morning. You could have heard one five miles probably that morning, but nothing. And so we just went right on through that one and dropped on off down into the second saddle.

and when we walked through it, we got out on the south end of it there. And just as far as you could hear, I mean, at the bottom of the mountain, there was a couple of turkeys got one down there. And Wayne said, what are you going to do? I said, Wayne, that's a long, that's a long ways. I mean, that's a long ways down there. He said, well, we ain't got nothing else to do. I said, well, come on.

And that's when I was probably in my 30s in, you know. It didn't really matter. It was all downhill. And so we get off there. And those turkeys are in an old road at the bottom of the mountain that we could have drove to. If we didn't do, they were there. But, I mean, it's a long ways off the top of that mountain. And we get down there and we got set up.

And anyway, I put in, calling those turkeys, and they were just, they were in the road, and I knew they were, but they just, here they come. They were just, they were just turning handsprings down there. I mean, just copped their tail off, and they came up there. Wayne was sitting to my left, and anyway, he had a gun up, and I can't remember, Wayne shot a, I think it was a 1,1003-inch magnum, which in those days was the good. gun, you know. Anyway, I seen this old gobler coming up leg down there, and I thought was way too far. And about that time, oh, Wayne just cur, wham, you know. And when he did, I seen a turkey fly, and I seen Wayne, he shot again, you know.

And I said, Wayne, why in the world did you shoot at that turkey so far? He said, well, I killed, too. What do you want me to do, he said, you know. And so we go down there and he killed two biggins. I mean, I'm talking about them that had, feels like they got the brick in their chest, you know. And, of course, it was one of them warm April mornings. And it was, I mean, it's just straight up. And, I mean, you got to go back through two saddles.

And once you get through them, it's still. But we finally pulled out of there. I mean, we's lathered up too. hard. Wham! Andy said. For usual, Andy's story involved intimate details of the cardinal directions, sound effects,

and as always, a hearty laugh. That was a good one. Last spring, Clay Newcomb and I collaborated with Jason Phelps at Phelps game calls in building each of our own favorite turkey diaphragms called Prime Cuts. Now, I'm going to tell you,

love mine because it's easy to use. I'm not going to go, I'm not going to win a turkey calling contest. It's just not going to happen. But when I run this call, I get the sounds that gobblers are looking for. I have a great turkey hunting track record. If you go listen to real turkeys out in the woods,

they're not going to win calling contests, right? That's who I listen to. I can make those sounds on my cut. I also hunt with Phelps's cut, and I hunt with Clay's cut because they're all three great cuts. Check out Prime cuts at Phelps gamecalls.com. I think you'll be glad you did, and you'll find out that the Steve Ronella cut is an easy-to-use

cut for beginning callers who just want to start making good turkey noises and getting action. And our next story will probably also get a hearty laugh from you, or at least a smile, because it is from the University of Arkansas college sophomore Holly Newkirk. She has such a fresh, energizing story, and she did something that was really hard. I think you're going to hear a passion in her voice that's real and genuine. And I also want to note that this isn't her first gobbler. She's killed many.

She's a veteran, but this is the first bird that she killed completely solo. I think you're going to see what I mean. This is a great story. I'm Holly Newkirk, and I'm from DeValswell, of Arkansas, but I'm a student at the University of Arkansas. And last spring, I killed my first turkey by myself or moved to Fayetteville in the fall and didn't really like it up here because there wasn't enough hunting going on. And so when spring came around, I was like, there's a bunch of mountains up here. I'm going to find turkey hunting land.

So during like January, February-ish, I started looking on on X. I was trying to find like big chunks of land where I thought it would be good. And I found this one person and he had like probably around 200 acres. and so I put his address on my phone and I drive down like four miles of gravel roads by myself. And as I pull up to his house, there is 10 strutters in his yard. And I'm like, I have hit a gold mine. He ends up giving me the permission to hunt his land. I call my down the way home.

I'm like shaking of excitement. So turkey season comes around. I have gone to his place like three different times since then to scout where I think the turkeys are. And I found a spot that I thought was ideal. so opening morning comes I go to his house he wants me to stop by his house and talk to him first before I go out he's like hey

there might be somebody hunting this side of the property line but you hunt this side like you have all that lane on that side and I'm like okay sounds perfect so it's already cracking daylight I'm scared of the dark scared of coyotes so I wait a little bit for daylight I get to where I was trying

to go and they immediately start gobbling and I'm like oh my word They were close. I'm like, they're on top of me already, and I'm not where I'm trying to get yet. So I just kind of sit down by this tree, and I'm like, okay, so I have my decoy beside me, and I'm like, maybe I should put it out, but I want to be able to crawl around if I want to, the turkey's, like, go in a different direction. So I get my gun beside me, have my decoop beside me, and they're just hammering, just nonstop,

the whole time. So I sit there, I don't really make any calls. I'm kind of quiet, wanting to see what they're going to do. When it's getting daylighter closer to fly down, I make a little call here and there. They're cut me off every time. like, oh my word. And so I thought I was in the money. I put my decoy like 10 feet in front of me, just like set it out a little way so they could see it in case they needed to. And I kind of hit behind this tree a little bit. And I'm sitting there and I'm ready. Fly down comes. I see

a hand fly down and I hear another one fly down. That's all I see. I see them fly the opposite direction. And I'm like, that's not ideal, but maybe they'll come around. They kind of shut up for a minute and I'm like, oh no, okay. So I make a little more call. Nothing happens. And I'm like, that's weird. And so I start uching around a little bit around this fence line, and then they start cranking up again. And I'm like, okay, I know where they are now. They're across this draw from me and a beautiful pasture that's over there, and I can get to them. And they're gobbling again, just nonstop, nonstop. So I get over there, I get closer. As I'm walking through the woods, I bugger two hens, and I'm like, oh no, and I kind of freeze for a minute. And then they like

put off, but not anything too serious. They just did a little put off and ran away a little bit. I get to where I want to be by this tree, right where I can see over this pasture. And it, like, has a little crests over the pasture. And I'm calling. They're cutting me off. I see two heads, bright red heads coming at me. And I'm like, oh, this is perfect. They're coming.

I'm shaking so bad. And I hear another one gobble off to my left a little bit. I'm like, okay, so there's three long beards right here. This is great. I have a laser on my gun, so I get my laser on. I'm sitting up. I got, I'm sitting there. I'm sitting there.

And I'm like, okay, I need about 20 more steps, 20 yards or something. and they're gonna be like ideal. They're on the edge of range then, but a little bit, but I just wanted them to be close. I didn't wanna risk it, they were coming in too good. Sitting there, boom, somebody besides me, shoot. I freak out. I'm like, what in the world?

I see the turkey, what I thought flopped, and then I see the other one run. Now like, oh my gosh, someone just shot my turkey right out from under me. I'm like, I know I'm on the right property line, and I see two guys from this tree line that's just like 50 yards from me running towards the turkey.

And I'm like, what, in the world. And then I like immediately duck down back into the draw and I'm like, hi, because I was scared. And I'm checking on next. I'm like, I know them where it's supposed to be. Calling my dad freaking out. And I'm like crying at this point because I'm like, I had these turkeys in my lap and someone just shot my bird. And I'm like trying to ease over and see them and I see them, but they're walking away and they don't have a bird. And I'm like, what happened? And then it starts drizzling raining at this point. I go under a big cedar tree. I kind of hide from the rain a little bit, kind of get myself together. I'm regrouped.

like I'm just going to wait a minute. The shot shouldn't scare them off too much. Like there's still two other birds around, I know. And sit there, wait for the rain to pass. And then I start like just easing around the fence lines, going up and down the draws on the fence line and everything for probably about an hour and a half. Calling every now and then.

Crow calling every now and then. Nothing was happening. Nothing was cranking up. I was sad. I was on the phone. I'm like, dad. This is just heartbreaking. And he's like, Holly, stay with it.

And I'm like, okay, dad, I'll stay with it. And I'm like, it's been an hour and a half, two hours. I haven't heard. anything. And I look at the property line. I'm like, okay, he told me to stay on this side, but somebody else was hunting this side and shot my bird out from under me already. So I'm going to go to the side that he told me I shouldn't go to because somebody's going to be hunting there. People that were hunting apparently didn't know what side either. So I'm like, okay, I'll just go to their side now. And I'm like, he really didn't. He just said they'll be there early morning,

but he said they wouldn't be there long. So I'm like, okay, I should be clear. Nobody should be out here. And I hadn't scouted this side yet because I was like, it was thick. It wasn't really pretty. I was like, no, this is not ideal. I'd kind of give enough. I'd kind of give enough. up and I'm like, I'm sad. I've walked miles now, up and down everything. And I'm just kind of open past, you're not really hiding. And I have to move this gate. And as I move this gate, I drop it. And I hear what I thought was a gobble, like a shot gobble from the gate dropping, but I wasn't for sure. So I'm like, no, I'm just hearing stuff because I want to hear something. And so I picked the gate back up. I'm not being quiet. I go and stand by this tree that's like probably 30 yards

from the gate. And I just do a slight little yelp on my slate call. And immediately right on top of me and I'm like whoa like I like froze and I'm like wow that's right on top of me I threw my decoy down I threw the fan down and I'm like okay I can't sit here I'm not gonna see where he's coming up from because I have trees around in front of me and there's an opening over here so I run to this tree and there's like a bob wire wrapped around the bottom of the tree I'm like that's gonna hurt if I sit against it so I sat a little bit in front of it and I wasn't very like comfortable where I was sitting but this turkey had already gobbled two more times just for me to run 50 yards from one tree to the next tree. And I was like duck down trying to run in this tall

grass. And I'm like, okay, I had my dive grabbing my mouth so I could call if I needed to because I didn't want to use my hands. I didn't want to make too much movement. And he's just gobbling again. Like he's worked up. He is coming. And he's getting closer. I'm messing with my laser on my gun. I can't get it on and I'm freaking out. Like I'm sitting there pushing my laser trying to get it on. Can't get it on. He gobbles again. And I can hear, I can hear, I can hear drumming in my life. And I hear drumming. And I'm like, this bird is on top of me. And I just can't see him yet. I finally get my laser on. I get set up. I'm like kind of freeballing it because I didn't want to get against the tree. So I'm sitting there, have my arms on my knees. And I hear

drumming, like, loud drumming. He gobbles again. Now, like, it shook me the way he gobbled. It was shaking my bones. So I looked at my left, and I see the very tip of his head. And I see it, and I'm like, oh my gosh, he's right there. So I try to, like, easily move. And I'm, like, beating up on him and I get on him. And I just want him to top a little bit more. I didn't want to, like, shoot just too much of his head. And I see his fan. He's in complete strut and I'm like this is beautiful and I sit there and he's he's still in strut he pops his head up just a little bit and I shoot him and he falls immediately and I'm like ah as I jump up immediately I'm grabbing my phone on my pocket trying to call my dad trying to face-time

him because I want him to be there with me running to the turkey and I trip I fall over on the ground to get my phone I'm like face time my dad he immediately answers I start crying I'm just so excited and my dad's like in the parking lawn in front of his office in Litterok because he works literally he's in front of his office and he's like no way holly no way and i showed the turkey it was beautiful it was just the most awesome thing ever i'm on face time with him and he starts in the park and like crying because he's so excited for me too and it's just the best thing ever i sat there with that turkey and prayed for a long time how thankful i was even though it started out as a bad hunt ended up being so good and so awesome um sat there and pray over the turkey for a while if dad was on the

phone calling my sisters it was the best thing ever just got got my first turkey by myself with just one call all i say to that is dad gum that was some good work holly incredible good job on the onyx hustle and hanging in there after a disappointment and even a little scare at daylight this wasn't done on purpose but there seems to be a pretty legit safety theme in these episodes we've just got to be careful out there and what the heck i'll give you another hot tip for turkey hunting safety that I learned from old Gary Believer, Nukum myself, and that is he likes to wear glasses

when he turkey hunts, and so do I. I wear contacts, I sometimes wear glasses, I like to wear glasses, because you never know. It's possible to get peppered and you want to be able to protect your eyes.

Our next story is from Old Mexico, and involves a twist that would be hard to predict, but it would also be hard to predict how unique Zoe Kaywood is. She's from War Eagle Arbor, Arkansas and is a veteran turkey hunter. She's in her 70s. And she only uses a flintlock muzzleloader. I'm Zoe Medlin K. Wood from War Eagle. And, you know, I was thinking about this the other day about what happened when I was going for the World Slam and I went down to

northern Mexico to hunt the ghoults turkey. You have to get a military permit to even get a gun in, even though it was a black powder gun, because I was going for a world slam with a black powder gun. And it wasn't just a percussion cap. It was a flintlock. So when we finally got all the papers, which a Kentucky turkey biologist, he helped me with all this. And we finally got that gun in. And there were so many turkeys before I got there. Isn't that typical of turkey hunting, though? But when we got there, we hunted for three solid days.

Of course, my guide was a Mexican, and he didn't speak any English at all. He was a very congenial guy and really respectful of me, but no English at all. So if I wanted to ask him anything, if he didn't understand my sign language, when we got back home to the lodge, then the outfitter there, he would, you know, have to explain to translate. So I told the outfitter to please explain to him that this was a flintlock. So if he was going to hunt close to me, like he did on the very first day, the few hours we were out, he needed to sit away from either on the left-hand. side of me or several feet back or a couple of feet back away from the right side. Otherwise, he was going to get sprayed with that flint when it went off. So it really put the fright in him.

It frightened him so badly that whenever he sat behind me from that time on, he would be like 20, 25 feet back. I mean, I couldn't talk to him or anything, you know, because I couldn't communicate. You didn't want to do that in the turkey woods and make any knowledge. noise because he was so far back because he's afraid of that flintlock spray. So we hunted for three days, and on the evening of the third day, we heard some birds going to roost, and we thought, oh, maybe this is it, because it had been so dry around there as far as birds for us, completely three days. And the thing about Mexico that I just love is there is absolutely no sound when you hunt

in Mexico. You don't hear a train, you don't hear a plane, you certainly don't hear a car, you don't hear the clop, clop of the horses and mules that they used in the village. You don't hear anything. Perfect silence. It's just absolutely wonderful. So where we roosted those birds was a big long valley, and the next morning, of course, we were out there way big early. So we get all set up and we hear gobbles, and it's a big bird, I'm sure, sounding off. And I looked back there to see where he is, of course, way far back, as I said. And I started calling, and he was calling as well. And I was calling, he was calling.

And that bird then flew down off the roost, and he was coming my way. And when I saw him, I saw right behind him was a bobcat. and I mean this was a big Mexican bobcat. And it just, I was so concentrated on that bird that I didn't even think about that bobcat from then on. When that bird got within my range, I pulled that trigger and that spark blue and that Kewood gun just went off. And I looked back to see where my man was and he was completely, he was flat out on the ground. ground. He's just kicking his feet with joy like this, but his heart was just pounding, and he just goes like this in sign language, and he says, the bobcat, the cat, the cat. And what had

happened was, I was so concentrated on that bird, that bobcat actually jumped and tried to get that gobbler when I shot, and I actually splattered him, was shot at the same time. But I didn't get to all this translated until we got back home and back to the little village and the outfitter could translate it. So we took that man out though, and anybody that wanted to, after I had got my bird the next day and see if they wanted to shoot a flintlock because none of them had. They hadn't even seen a flintlock before, you know. So we went out there and when he shot that flint lock, when he pulled that trigger, his head went like that. And of course, he could missed the target, but it was so much fun and he loved the experience of least trying to shoot that fire bomb.

What are the chances to shoot a big Mexican gobbler at the same time a Bobcat is about to pounce on that exact gobbler? That wasn't that gobbler's day. And what a special lady. When we met her, we found out that she killed a mountain lion with Warner Glenn and Kelly Kimbrough, Warner's daughter. daughter back in 1971. That is crazy. What a small world that we live in. Last spring, Clay Newcomb and I collaborated with Jason Phelps at Phelps game calls and building each of our own favorite turkey diaphragms called prime cuts.

Now, I'm going to tell you, I love mine because it's easy to use. I'm not going to go, I'm not going to win a turkey calling contest. It's just not going to happen. But when I run this call, I get the sounds that gobbler. are looking for. I have a great turkey hunting track record. If you go listen to real turkeys out in the woods, they're not going to win calling contests, right? That's who I listen to. I can make those sounds on my cut. I also hunt with Phelps's cut, and I hunt with Clay's cut because they're all three

great cuts. Check out prime cuts at Phelpsgamecalls.com. I think you'll be glad you did, and you'll find out that the Steve Rinella cut is an easy-to-use cut. for beginning callers who just want to start making good turkey noises and getting action. Our next story is from a well-known turkey biologist, Mike Chamberlain. And this man can't open his mouth to talk about turkeys without teaching folks something. Here is one of his stories from way back in Virginia before he'd ever killed a gobbler. Way back. Here's Dr. Chamberlain.

I was at Virginia Tech. I was a student. I was new to turkey hunting, and I screwed up so much. And I had hunted this bird on National Forestland, and he was roosting on the way up on the side of the mountain. And it would take me about an hour-ish to hike up to him, and every day he would fly down onto a bench. But I could never figure out, and once he got on the bench, the saddle, if you will, he would predictably go one direction or the other. depending on the day, but I could never get to him in the dark to really pin him down to where if he went left, I'd be there, if he went right.

I could never figure out exactly where he was going. Well, one afternoon, now this is like 10 hunts in. My grades are suffering because of it. And I get up and I'm there in the afternoon and I hear it. And I'm like, all right. And so he flies up and I know exactly where this Joker is. I wait till pitch black I ease myself down the mountain

I get back to campus in the dark dark way after dark I'm stoked dude I'm so I'm gonna kill this bird I get up the next morning up in the dark I think I got up at like 2.30

because I want to make sure nobody got to the spot I get there I hike nobody's around I get perfect I'm like 150 yards I'm like as soon as I'm gonna do a tree of yelp

and he gobbles and I'm like, perfect. I have a slate call time. I do a real soft yelp, and he cut me off. I'm like, oh, this is ball game. And even my dumb self knew to shut up now. So I didn't call again. Well, he sits there and he sits there, and he never go out again.

And it gets daylight, and I'm really starting. You've been there, and you're like, I'm going to call one time just to see where he's at. And I hit a soft yelp, and I hear him fly out. And I'm like, oh, and I get on the gun. I'm like, here he comes. I look to my right. That Joker is flying down the mountain. That bird sailed completely out of my sight down that mountain,

and I never saw him again. And I came back to hunt him several days later, and he was gone. I was so deflated that I just, like, I quit. I can't do this. And I'd never killed a spring turkey at that time. Oh, no kidding. And I was like, I can't do this. Like, I'm not.

of doing this. That bird made me so upset and I've never gotten over it. I was like, that bird should have come down that gun barrel when he cut me off. And he literally knew something was wrong. And he flew off the mountain, not to return. Once I started really fall hunting, we fall hunted a lot. Once I killed a few birds in the fall, which was before this point, but I killed a few birds in the fall. And when I started the spring hunting, I realized that it was a different ballgame completely. I ended up killing a few more birds in the fall. And then I got lucky.

I called a bird in the following season after this happened. I called a bird in, but he was following a hen. And she was very content. And I watched her approach me, and she was feeling. beating along and she would call back to me. She wasn't agitated at me, but I listened to how she was behaving, and I watched her, and I listened

to the noises she was making in the leaves. And I soaked that in, and I watched his reaction to everything, and I just shut up. And I sat there and listened to that bird and watched how, and it took her over an hour to get from the bottom to where I killed him. And I can still,

I can close my eyes, and I can still see that Joker strutting up behind that hen. And the realization that she's, going to walk right past me. And if I just sit here, he's dead. I'm going to kill him. And of course, I was literally hyperventilating and, you know, sweating and falling apart. And I was staring at him so hard, you know, you get the spiders in your eyes. And I'm starting to have to twitch my eyes because I've been staring at him so intently. And when I shot him, I was so elated, I like fell apart. I ran up to that bird and was on him so fast that I probably should have gotten injured.

Like, I threw, I dropped the gun and took off running towards him. And when I got to him, I didn't even know what to do. You know, you watch it on videos and stuff, VHS. I didn't know whether to grab his legs or his head or to lay on him. I didn't, I was lost. I was just, I was dumbfounded. And I can finally remember, you know, of course he's flopping around everything. And I can remember trying to keep him from flopping off.

And then I saw a feather come out. And I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, I don't want to lose any. You know, and there were no cell phones. And I didn't have a camera to take a picture of him or anything. But I didn't want him to lose any of those feathers so I could admire it. And so I finally, he's like, I'm going to lay on him. So I laid on that bird to keep him from flopping. And once I knew he was dead, I just sat there.

and admired him. And I still do that. But I learned from that, I was like, if you just slow down and try to sound subtle and calm and use the vegetation, use your intellect, use very, very subtle calls, and you just go slow, that you can be successful rather than just running all the time. And that is how I have turkey hunted ever since. And sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn't.

That day, that day hooked me, but she taught me if you just, just wait. Slow down and be patient and I'll get him there. Slow down to go fast is what Dale Earnhardt once said. Sometimes you have to slow down and go fast. Slow down to go fast. That's some good advice. Our final story is unique for multiple reasons. Our storyteller, Mr. Claude Strother, was attacked

and injured while turkey hunting. But secondly, Mr. Claude passed away in January of 2026, and we're releasing this story in celebration of his life. Here's Mr. Claude. Claude Strauth, Kastonberg, Alabama. I started hunting, I don't know, 70, one or two, maybe 70.

and you've hunted ever since done real well i've i think i've called up 83 for other people and killed 247 myself and uh i've just been steady i got them all cataloged i can read let you read about any hunter ever been on because i got it in my books whether i kill a turkey or not going to talk about my bobcat attack my daughter made me fan famous with this because I had a great picture with a lot of blood, but I wasn't supposed to be out of the house, really. My wife had gone to East, and I told her I was too sick to go. She left, and I eased down in the wood, drove down, and I knew it was some turkeys there. And I sat by two small trees because I couldn't find a big one that was clean enough.

Perfectly camouflaged, head net, and was sitting, and the only thing I'd yep with my head moving back in forth real slow every nine in and all of a sudden it was like a baseball bat drove me forward i blinked and raised my hand and looked back thinking it was a baseball bat somebody and it was just kind of a glaze back there beautiful park looking no track and then i looked back around and shook my head and there was a big bobcat walking off about 15 yards from him. He hit, thinking my head was a hoot owl or a hawk or a small animal. And what saved me, he caught right above my eyes, but bit the back of my neck, but he hit so hard, it stunned him also.

And so he didn't go all the way in. As he hit, it stunned him and he released. and came over my head or he really could have done some damage but I had a good picture of blood everywhere just scratches, superficial scratches here and back of the head nothing didn't go away pretty quick

he was just doing it, he was trying to get something deep I didn't, I wouldn't have shot him if he'd walk back up you know unless he was foaming at the mouth but he was just doing his thing I love bobcats. I shoot cowlots, and I will shoot her, Armadillo. They walked in here.

Bobcats been here forever. So with foxes, beavers, I don't shoot anything that was here before me. You know, they got a right to be here. Hunter David Brown now hunted all over the country to govern. Seven, we were in South Dakota. Here came seven jakes up the hill and two big goblers, about 100 yards behind. We're trapped. We're laying flat down on the top of the ground.

I told David, here comes seven monsters. Got monsters. He popped over here. I said, kill him, David. Those monsters were he blasted away. Hell, it was a Jake. I knew it. And I said, and I'd stay still. I went back to the up, and those two big gobbels never slowed down. He came right on up.

And I swung a little to the left. I eased around there and killed one of them. And David said, I killed a Jake. I said, oh, no, really? And he did, he said, you pull that one off on me. I did. I snaked his butt on that one. But we hunted Indian reservations also.

This was on the Indian reservation, and turkey, further west you get easier to kill. You can kill a turkey out there now. It ain't like Alabama, Georgia, or Mississippi. It's a whole different world. But I had some great. great trips and had a good deal this year. I had a little having some health problems,

but had a little break, felt good a few days, and actually killed three, and called it one from grandson, he killed and one for his girlfriend. And had to get help getting one of mine out the woods. I went down a hill too big, and I couldn't get up the hill with. I was too weak to try dragging him, and I couldn't even drag him. So I made it up, sent somebody else to get my gun. in Turkey later. I don't have much wind right now, you know, but, and hopefully I'll be in the

woods again next year, maybe. Lord willing. Mr. Claude didn't make it back into the woods this spring. But what joy you could hear in his voice as he recounted the stories of hunting the wild turkey. But what stood out to me was that he seemed to love and value all the people that he hunted with. And it seems like he had a lot of people around him at the end. Even keeping track of every turkey he ever called up for other people. I keep seeing this more and more with greater clarity. Our experiences in wild places get so much of their value from the people that we share them with and the people that we have relationship with that even want to hear our stories. The best thing that you can do today is to build strong and healthy relationships.

relationships with the people that God is placed in your life that are within arms reach of you. How many turkeys you kill in your lifetime doesn't matter unless you've got people around you that care. And that's the truth. What a great set of stories. I cannot thank you enough for listening. And thank you for listening to this feed with Lake Pickles Backwoods University and with Brent's This Country Life podcast. These guys are so talented in what they're. they do. But the theme of this episode seems to be, be careful in the woods this spring.

Another hot tip from Gary Newcomb. He always told me not to wear anything red, blue, or white, even like a white undershirt, the little V that might be in a white undershirt, or even white socks that might be visible when you sit down and crouch by a tree. Be cautious and conservative when hunting public ground or any place you think others might be. And also, where you can, and do your part to restore some quality turkey habitat, whether that's doing a burn or timber thinning on your land that you hunt, or by joining one of the Turkey Conservation Organizations, like Turkeys for Tomorrow or the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Some of my buddies just started a group called the Wild Turkey Archives, which is a wild turkey history organization. There's a lot that we can do to keep the wild places wild, because that's where the turkeys live and the bears. First Lights fieldwear collection is made for the work that happens long before opening day and continues when the season ends. Products built for early mornings, full days and real use. Hard wearing where they need to be versatile where it matters. No shortcuts.

Just gear designed for the work that earns the season. Built to perform, built to last. Check out. First Light's new fieldwear gear at firstlight.com. IHeart Podcasts. Guaranteed human.