I flew into Fort Worth Texas, and was sitting around the baggage claim waiting for a ride when I noticed a man with a gun case and a camo hat. I asked if he were down here to turkey hunt. As it turned out I had introduced myself to this weeks competitor, B. J. Blair from New Jersey.
B.J. and I sat and talked for a while before we saw Wayne enter the claim area. Wayne brought Gabe, one of the cameramen. After several takes of us leaving the airport and being chaufferred away in a stretch limo, we were on our way to meet Kent and Syndal McClatchy in Olney Texas.
Kent and Syndal own and operate about 5000 acres in North Central Texas as a cattle company. A few years ago Wayne convinced Kent that the property would be well suited to guided turkey and deer hunts. Kent's management of the property has transformed the Texas countryside into a haven for Rio Grande turkeys.
Monday morning I found myself in one weird turkey hunting situation. Turkey hunting for me has always been a solitary experience. Or an experience shared only with one other hunter. I've never hunted with more than one person at a time. When we set out to hit the blinds we looked like a parade. That first morning Wayne, Kent, Mark Shroyer the cameraman and myself set out attempting to sneak into a blind.
I'm sure we sounded like a herd of water buffalo walking in, and it was getting pretty light by the time we sat down. I had an assortment of calls, but this morning Wayne would do the talking. No sooner had we gotten settled, Wayne made the first call. It was answered instantly by no fewer than 6 individual birds.
I heard the fly down, and spotted the first bird within minutes of our having been in the blind. 1,2,3,4. Four turkeys were on their way to Wayne's calling. As we watched the birds out of the corner of our eyes they began moving closer. They gobbled with every other step. We could feel the vibrato and hear the feathers buzzing. The gobblers, although very cooperative, were jakes, young of the year birds. The longest beard in the bunch was about 4 inches. Pressure off! We watched as they approached, circled the decoys and passed by the end of my gun barrel at about 5 yards! At that distance you're sure they can hear you thinking!
We were surrounded by wildlife, during our week in Olney. Birds of all descriptions, the wild hogs and their rambuncous piglets were frequent visitors to our blinds. By the end of the week I had seen my first jack rabbit, my first scorpion, my first armadillo and my first roadrunner!
We hunted everyday, I was paired up with Tommy Santrock, a representative from Leathermen tools, one of the show's sponsors. Tommy as it turns out is originally from very nearby southern West Virginia. We ended up having a lot in common and he was a great hunting partner and judge!
B.J. Was paired up with Bert Wison as his guide and judge and the second day Bert put B. J. On a bird and B. J.'s hunt was over. I on the other hand got to hunt right up until the evening before we left. I never did get my Rio Grande, but when we faced the camera for our one on one interview, I reached down into my latent enthusiasm bucket and turned it over. As it turns out that's what sold me, At the boardroom that night, it was announced that I would move on....
This show aired Saturday and Sunday Aug. 27 and 28th
