Chasing Easterns in Alabama

I’m sure you all remember my quest to shoot a turkey with my bow, but failed miserably.

This year I changed my game plan entirely and headed south to Alabama with a shotgun to chase Easterns. I met up with my friend Hilary Dyer of Grandview Media at the Davis Quail Hunts lodge. Our host Field Trial Hall of Famer, Colvin Davis and his wife Maize Davis, greeted us. We all got a laugh at Hilary’s expense when she left her choke tubes at home and had to use the loaner gun – a 10-gauge pump. After that laugh we ate a good southern meal and prepped for the hunt.

There was turkey sign everywhere and I was pumped! However, that feeling was short-lived as Murphy’s Law crept down to Alabama. Next thing I know, turkeys aren’t answering my calls, turkey tracks lead to nowhere, roosting spots disappear and hens are aplenty but toms are absent.

I hunted three times a day with no luck. I sat…I spot-n-stalked…tried every method in the book with no results. On the last morning, determined, I set out with Hilary and Maize. The night before they were able to locate a roosted gobbler not far from the lodge.

We set up our decoys on an elevated field and started calling at first light. Within minutes we heard a gobble probably 300 yards behind us. He was fired up too! However, behind us was another field sandwiched between two ditches. It became apparent that the gobbler was walking up and down the ditch line, refusing to cross over.

If this gobbler wasn’t coming to us, we were going to him! We left our decoys and blind behind, as we knew we had to move fast. We crossed one ditch in hopes our big boy was in the field. After calling again, a silhouette appeared. My stomach turned when Maize confirmed our guy was about 200 yards across the field and on the other side of another ditch!

After strategizing for a brief moment we determined that Hilary and myself were going to army crawl to the other side of the field and set up right along the ditch. Maize would stay back about 50 yards and call. The game plan was to lure the tom right along the ditch line and shoot him from the other side. It was a fail-proof plan.

I took off my pack, clipped my ThermaCELL to the small of my back and started crawling. Hilary and I slowly but steadily made our way across the field. My motivation came when our tom would gobble. We got set up on the edge of the ditch and waited….and waited.

After a long sit we heard crows overhead causing a ruckus. Shortly after that Maize walked up to us and said she saw the crows harassing the tom and he took off in flight. Bummer!

Every Spring I am haunted by Facebook status updates and Twitter feeds – photos of successful hunters smiling while displaying a fan of feathers and long beards. Men, women and children, young and old, experienced and novice all are mocking me for one simple thing.

I can’t seem to kill a turkey. People now have a name for it…the Slayer/Salyer turkey curse.

Introduction from newest member of Chevalier!

My name is Tim Zick and I am thrilled to be the newest member of Chevalier Advertising Marketing and Public Relations.

As a public relations associate, I’ll be able to utilize the bachelor’s degree I earned from Minnesota State University, Mankato. I majored in mass communications with an emphasis on public relations. Prior to graduating, I spent roughly six months interning at a non-profit organization called The Arc of Minnesota Southwest.

Having been raised on a farm in Northern Minnesota, I am very familiar with hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. Where I’m from, deer hunting is a major holiday. You either become a hero or have to spend a venison-starved winter waiting for next year’s hunt. It is the only time of year that my dad takes off from work.

Personally, I enjoy grouse hunting and fishing equally as well as hunting deer. Spearing Northerns during the winter is fun as well. Other outdoors activities that interest me include four-wheeling, snowmobiling and looking for sheds in the spring.

I’m very excited at the opportunity to work in this industry and to be a part of a great team at Chevalier Advertising. Check back later for more posts!

Early Opening to Turkey Season

Florida is a destination for a lot of people but it interests me for one reason only....Osceola turkeys. When I worked for the National Wild Turkey Federation I help trap and transfer some birds once but had never hunted. Thanks to an invite from good friend Greg Gatto, that was all about to change.

I was lucky enough to have Ray Eye to help with the calling for me and videoing the proceedings for Outdoor Life's Chasing Spring. Actually, when hunting with Ray you have to work pretty hard to get a yelp in....he does love to call. A trait I admire in a turkey hunter. The hunt also served as another chance to put my Nikon Turkey Pro scope and Xtended Range shells to the test. Happily I can report it all worked as planned.

The bird was a good one even by Osceola standards, sporting spurs well past the inch mark. And he completed my Grand Slam. A great trip with some good friends.

If you go, even this early in March, do not forget your Thermacell. You'll thank me for reminding you.

Livin' the Dream

Throughout the course of a year I get to work on a lot of cool projects and one of my all time favorites has been Nikon's Livin' the Dream magazine. In printed form the magazine is bound with the 2011 Nikon catalog and available at dealers across the country. But we wanted to do something special and expand on the content and interaction..... So Livin' The Dream digital was born.

Livin the Dream digital

There are hotlinks to products, advertisers and web addresses. We also linked videos to almost every article title. It's located on nikonhunting.com. Check it out if you have a little down time.

Happy 100th Post!

I think everyone in the Chevalier Advertising headquarters in Oregon has finally recovered from whatever crud followed us home from the 2011 SHOT Show. I usually try to scout out the coolest/most unusual stuff at the shows. Remember ATA 2010?

As a waterfowl nut, I am totally stoked for Winchester Ammunition’s Blind Side! Watching Winchester Ammunition’s own Brad Criner demonstrate the capabilities of Blind Side at the Bass Pro Media Day was pretty neat.

The tightly packed and stacked Hex shot hit the ballistic gel like a ton of high-velocity tumbling bricks. The channel was massive on the gel from the Hex shot. Since the Hex shot is stacked, you’ve got 15% more shot pellets in a shell.

The math for me is simple:

More shot + Hex Shot + Massive Wound Channels = Happy Hunter!