Twittering and Turkey Hunting

Last weekends turkey hunt didn't end with a BBD (Big Bird Down) but I did have a lot of fun. I have a lot going on right now with preperations for moving in to our new house but if nothing happens I think I will try doing the live tweets again this weekend. BTW, anyone looking for a great workout should look in to CrossFit. I recently started it and I can already tell it's working!

Live Virginia Spring Turkey Hunt!

Stay tuned to the live twitter feed in my sidebar or go to my twitter account and follow along with todays turkey hunt! (If I have signal)

Twitter

I have added a twitter update to the side page for new info that isn't quite "postworthy" and for just quick updates! If you're on twitter add me at http://twitter.com/TommyNunley.

Life at Full Draw: The Chuck Adams Story (Book Review)

First off I have to say that as a bowhunter, well really just a hunter in general, Chuck Adams is my biggest hero. For people in my age group Chuck Adams seems to be a direct offshoot of the late great Fred Bear. Chuck has his fair share of detractors but he has done a lot for the sport of bowhunting. This book has been something I’ve wanted to read for quite sometime but somehow I never got around to getting it. For Christmas of 2008 I made sure it was put at the top of my wish list! As soon as the book was in my hands I started in to it and was finished reading it in a few short days!

The theme of “Life at Full Draw: The Chuck Adams Story” to me is passion. Chuck has as much or more passion for hunting than anyone you’ll ever meet. He pours his heart and soul in to hunting and writing about hunting. He has sacrificed much to do what he loves but a man of such character and drive will do whatever it takes. The book takes you through all of Chuck’s life up until it’s printing in 2002. For those looking for hunting instruction this is probably not the book for you. Chuck has written more articles and books than I can count and they are full of great tips and insights in to hunting but this book is focused on Chuck the man. I did pick up a thing or two, and definitely some inspiration, but this is certainly not a how-to book. You are taken through the journey of the man’s life through childhood, young adulthood, and of course through his beginnings as a writer and through the animals of the Super Slam. There are some great hunting tales in the book but the most impressive thing to me is the extreme dedication that is shown by Chuck throughout his life. I think of myself as a pretty hardcore guy who will do what it takes to get the job done but I don’t know that I’m as dedicated or as mentally and physically tough as Chuck Adams is. I do however intend on finding out but that is a whole other story.

The book is well written and laid out in chronological order for the most part. Author Gregg Guschow does a pretty fair job of getting a private man to open up but there are times when the details are slightly vague. The book doesn’t hold anything back though and it does directly deal with a lot of the criticisms that Chuck has faced throughout the years. It spends a little too much time on the politics of hunting for me but even at that I found myself learning a few things. Everyone I’ve met in the hunting/outdoor industry has seemed to be genuinely nice and kind but you’ll see from reading this book that there is pettiness and jealousy everywhere. Chuck isn’t perfect though and I’m sure he’s brought some things on himself but it does show you that when you get to the top of any industry there will certainly be people gunning for you.

If you haven’t noticed, I really liked this book. As a matter of fact I’ve actually started reading it again. Chuck Adams is a hard driven, dedicated, passionate, bowhunter, and I think any hunter would enjoy reading the story of a man who did what it took to live out his dream of hunting full time. You will learn of the sacrifices that had to be made and the toughness that it takes. “Life at Full Draw: The Chuck Adams Story” is a great read and I doubt you will be disappointed!

Hardcore Daily Bowhunting Practice!

Now that I have a new bow, and so far it has no issues, I'm back to shooting almost daily. Since I've had the bow I have shot it every single day but I know the streak will be broken soon enough. I do believe in practicing as much as possible though. I like to keep my strength up and try to get a little better each time I shoot. I'm going tomorrow evening to shoot with a couple of really good local shooters and I hope to learn some things that will take my game up a few notches! No burn, no earn!

Americans Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher Finish 3rd in the Boston Marathon

I kept up with this race through live blogging on RunnersWorld.com! It was an exciting and tense event! I was so amped up that I set a new PR on mile run at lunch!

2009 Virginia Spring Turkey Hunting Week Two

Dad and I got in to the woods in time this week and we got our spot! We had a good time today and got to put my new Eastman Outfitters Undercover X5 to the test. The blind was so nice on that chilly morning and it came in very handy when a hen passed by us about 20 - 25yds away. I had to do a lot of moving to get her on film and she never even knew we were there! The blind is very adjustable and we could see everywhere that we needed to see. Ok, so now that I sound like a commercial, lol! Anyway, I was doing my best calling and we had a gobbler coming our way when someone else spooked him and he went flying right over top of our location. I wasn’t real happy that someone let me do all the calling and then messed up on sealing the deal on the bird, but it happens so we just kept on hunting hoping that another bird would come by later. I tried every Primos call I had but none of them were able to coax another gobbler our way today but we’ll be back in the woods trying again soon!

After running to Rural Retreat and picking up Harry, and then playing with him for several hours the two of us packed up and headed back to Bland. I dropped Harry off to hang out with my Mom for a while and then my younger brother John Paul, my Dad, my uncle, and two of my cousins headed to the Mechanicsburg Christian Church’s 2nd Annual Sportsman’s Banquet. They billed the event as an exotic game tasting event and I can say it was that and more! They had all different kinds of wild game to try and it every bit it was delicious! The desert list was nothing to sneeze at either and I have some heavy miles to put in this week to burn off all of the calories I ingested. The meal was only $5 to boot! I couldn’t believe all of that food could be so cheap! The featured speaker of the night was Scott Sanders of Primos Game Calls and I’ll say that I think all of us will be heading back next year for the 3rd Annual event! Now I just have one more trip back to Bland tomorrow to attend church. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Cold, Wet Turkeys and Rural Retreat Virginia

I have to start by saying my title is kind of misleading. The truth of the matter is the cold and wet turkeys I’m going to tell you about are Dad and myself and we were actually hunting in Bland VA, but let me explain.

The plan for opening day of spring turkey season ’09 had been to start off on a farm that Dad and I had permission to hunt on. The only problem with that was the fact that several other people had permission as well. We were planning on getting up really early to beat the crowd and be able to get to “our spot” first. The only flaw with the plan was the fact that I didn’t set my alarm properly. By the time I woke up on my own around 5am and made my way to Bland our “early” arrival had turned in to a “just in time” arrival. We sloshed our way through the muddy fields until we got to the junction of roads that would lead us to the destination we wanted to go and there we were disappointed in the fact that there were fresh tracks in all of the roads. There are several fields back in each road but not knowing where the other hunters would be, we decided to just back out of there and not risk messing up a fellow hunters set up.

After not getting the spot we wanted we decided to head up in to some National Forest land. I knew of an old semi-hidden road that I had deer hunted on last year that seemed like could be a good destination for turkey. We patrolled the road a time or two just calling, listening, and waiting for an hour or so. We decided that while it was likely turkey did use the road sometimes there just wasn’t enough fresh sign to stay there in the rain. We were giving up on turkeys in there that day but as is my luck this year we had seen plenty of deer sign and had added another potential deer hunting hot spot to our list.

The farm we had wanted to hunt on was a newer one to us so we decided if the hunting wasn’t going so well then the best thing we could get done was some “yelp track” scouting since we didn’t have time to get to any of our other hunting spots. If you don’t know what “yelp tracks” are then you haven’t read “The Truth: About Spring Turkey Hunting According to Cuz” by Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland and I suggest you go out and buy it soon. “Yelp tracks” are signs of other hunters on properties you hunt. Dad and I decided to head back to the farm we were going to start on now that the sun was up so that we could see where the other hunters were parking at so we would have a better idea the next time we were there as to where to go. On our arrival we were greeted by the pleasant surprise of not seeing a vehicle parked any where near where we wanted to hunt! We quickly grabbed our gear got in to the field and made ourselves a homemade brush blind. The next two hours or so were pretty uneventful. We would call every now and again and just quietly talk and glass the rest of the time. It was getting cold and despite waterproof clothing it was pretty damp out as well. We were determined to stick it out though and we did. The only real excitement happened around 11:40AM or so when behind us in a field below us we heard a turkey sound off a single beautiful note. I looked at Dad and quickly let off a response call. We knew that we were talking to a hen but for 15 minutes we went back and forth with her. At times I was afraid it was another hunter but if it was I was determined to meet them and get some lessons as their technique was nearly flawless. The two fields were separated by about 20 yards of thick wood lot and a fence so we had to walk around to a gate before we could make sure that it was a lone hen like we suspected. As legal hunting hours ran out our curiosity got the better of us and we snuck around and were able to confirm that it had been a real turkey that I had been conversing with. While the day had not resulted in us giving a turkey a ride home we had a good time and I felt a lot more confidence in my calling since the hen had continually talked back to me for that length of time. I don’t ever see myself winning any championships but at least I’ve improved to be just good enough to fool a real turkey for a little while! The thing that made me worry though is the real deal couldn’t even get a gobbler going that day; I hope they were just napping and not busy running to another county because of us hunters stomping around their territory.

As for the Rural Retreat part of the title… I’m pleased to announce that my family and I will be moving to the beautiful town of Rural Retreat Virginia next month! Barring a failed home inspection Jessica and I are closing on a home on May the 4th! I hope you all are well, hunt hard and aim well!

PSE Bow Madness

I made my choice today... I will be the proud owner of a PSE Bow Madness in the next day or two! My Hoyt had to be retired due to a dying limb and after much agonizing, until I actually shot the Bow Madness, my choice is made! My Bow Madness has the 70lb limbs and is the smoothest and quietest bow I've ever shot! I'll write a full review after I've had it a little while!

Good Friday

Thank you Jesus for dying for our sins.

The Countdown is On!

Last Saturday Josh and I had a blast at the Bland County Many Beards Chapter of the NWTF. A lot of money was raised, food was enjoyed, and connections were made! It was a great time and a lot of good causes will be funded due to our efforts. However, at the heart of the NWTF’s mission is to keep our hunting traditions alive and to celebrate the wild turkey and hunting the wild turkey, and that’s what we get to do this weekend! I’m doing my final preparations now and I can’t wait to be in the woods bright and early Saturday morning! I wish you all the best of luck. Stay safe!

Virginia NWTF Convention in Bland County and More...

Tonight is the Bland County Many Beards NWTF Banquet at the Rocky Gap High School in Rocky Gap VA. Josh and I will be attending and we’re really looking forward to it! I can’t wait to meet some more of the areas turkey hunters and see some old friends again.

As far as the upcoming Spring Turkey season I’ve been preparing the best I can. I’ve been working out like crazy to get in shape, practicing my calls, and brushing up on my Turkey hunting knowledge. I’ve also been reading “Cuz” Stricklands book “The Truth about Spring Turkey Hunting”. The book is full of tips and stories and I feel like I’ll be a better Turkey hunter after finishing it. This weekend I should be able to shore up all of my hunting areas as well. I can’t wait for next weekend!

Also, as you can see above I’ve been practicing my shooting almost daily as well.