The Curse is Broken!!!

Many of you know that I am an avid hunter/shooter/outdoors dude. If you live nearby me you’re bound to be drawn in by a story on a pretty regular basis, and if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or even this blog you’re bound to see updates about my exploits on a semi-regular basis. While I really enjoy my hobbies, I try to remember that they’re not always for everyone, and so I try frequently to avoid overwhelming everyone with my excitement, stance, or opinions in these areas.

However, I digress. Today, I cannot withhold my excitement or fear any longer as I scream, “THE CURSE IS BROKEN!!!!” You might be wondering which curse I mean. Well, growing up, I hunted. Lots of things. But never turkeys. Though I learned to call at a young age, Dad and I never really had the know-how or interest to pursue the elusive THUNDER CHICKEN. 2 years ago (three seasons) I caught the fever. I will even go so far as to say that I might possibly enjoy turkey hunting more than deer hunting. It’s more high pace, and more action-packed. Bear in mind that I say these things after having not killed a turkey in either of my first two years hunting, and not for a lack of close calls or frustrating encounters.

Yesterday, my losing streak ended! I was hunting with my good buddy Ralph Fox, and after having struck out in our first spot, we hit gold with the second. From the time they answered the call, till the time we had two birds on the ground, was less than 5 minutes. Talk about a rush of adrenaline! I’ll be the first to admit my bird wasn’t the biggest (Ralph’s was bigger), and he even had something weird going on with his feathers. But, he’s mine, he’s in the freezer, and I smoked that sucker!!!

On a side note, my good friend, Lisa Chapman (click on her name to find her on facebook) started a Taxidermy business almost 2 years ago now and will be mounting the fan, beard and spurs for me (actually I think she’s already done :). She’s got a fledgling website through WordPress that I’d encourage you to check out if interested. She does fantastic work and her rates are easily the most competitive around. She’s got pics on the site and her contact info along with directions are there too, you can find it at strutsandruts.com.

Check out the pics below of me and Ralphie grinning big time showing off our trophies!

Mine was an 18 pounder. He was mature, but a little sickly. Why do I always kill the freak animals?

Closeup of the scale.