The gentleman wearing black is my wife's great, great grandfather. This was taken in the 1920s in the swamps of southern Georgia near where we reside today. These gobblers are native turkeys (the genetic line that was here before Europeans arrived in North America. Turkey re-stocking did not begin here until the 1970s.

There is another pic in her family of the wife's same G - G grandfather with a doe deer on his shoulders from the 20s. Im trying to get a copy of that pic. Also, native deer before deer re-stocking started here in the 50s.

Very cool pic!! Markings on the wings seem to be pure Eastern’s. I’ve heard from some that the birds over that way now resemble Osceola’s more so than Eastern’s even with the “black wings”.

My homeplace in South Alabama, north of Mobile, has similar original stock wild turkeys. They were never shot out of the Tombigbee/Alabama River swamps. The birds don't have solid white barring with it being more speckled and narrow banding than birds I see from points north. They also run to the small size with my personal best being only 20lbs. Nominally they are the original eastern but I think there's a pretty broad overlap of genetic exchange between Florida and south Georgia and LA. Particularly since there isn't a hard physical barrier like there is between some of the other subspecies.
The genetics got spread even further north as this area was where Alabama went to for birds for restocking.

Yes. Most of the birds around here now would pass for those from a palm tree-lined cow pasture south of Kissimmee, FL....

...which I believe is due more to Florida's re-stocking efforts near the state line than Georgia's efforts that occurred further north of here.

Awesome pic!

A friend of mine from near Ocala had an uncle that worked for the Florida Wildlife Commission back in the day, and that guy told him that the birds used to stock the area around Madison, Florida were pure Osceola birds from southern Florida. He said to this day the birds in that area are Osceolas. I guess people aren't the only ones that are getting homogenized.

That good info. Madison County, FL is less than 20 miles SW of me.

I was fortunate to be involved (as a DNR employee) in one of the last re-stocking efforts in south Ga back in the late 90s. I baited them for a week and then fired the net over 16 hens and 1 jake near the Florida line that we boxed and released about 60 miles north in south-central Ga.

... they tried that over here in East TX... didn’t work well at all .. blame went to fire ants ... but I saw a couple turkey’s so ignorant they would wander up and hang around a home place .. so doubt they were wild net caught turkey turned out here .. but who knows

... the man I bought my place from had a “wild” turkey that showed up and followed him around everywhere... and would spur a stranger only if the man turned his back lol

I remember those days. Where I grew up west of Birmingham there were no turkey and deer were a distant memory.
We drove to the homeplace to do our deer hunting. Fortunately, my grandfather and his buddy Grady Wilson were among that group of old hush mouth turkey men that knew where the birds were. BTW Ben Rogers Lee was among that group of turkey men. I remember Mr Wilson was part of a state program that tried hatching out eggs collected in the wild and releasing those birds. It didn't work out as poults raised by domestic don't learn to survive like they do from a wild hen.

I learned from those old guys that you never told folks where you saw a bird and to rub out tracks as you found them. Some of those guys would get pretty riled if someone tried poaching one. Mr Wilson was one not to cross.

Guys these days just don't understand why the old timers laid down some hard and fast rules such as if you didn't call it you didn't earn it. Bushwhackers were the lowest form of life. Sometimes I miss those days.

Some states tried releasing pen-raised turkeys that were 75% or more wild genetics. Didnt work too well. Predators loved it though. Them turks needed that other 25% wildness to survive.

Ahhh...the Tenth Legion!

[quote=warrior]I remember those days. Where I grew up west of Birmingham there were no turkey and deer were a distant memory.
We drove to the homeplace to do our deer hunting. Fortunately, my grandfather and his buddy Grady Wilson were among that group of old hush mouth turkey men that knew where the birds were. BTW Ben Rogers Lee was among that group of turkey men.

I haven't thought of Ben Lee in many years. Back when my All Purpose Boy was a kid, maybe 7-8 years old, our local hardware/sporting goods store people gave me a call. It seems they were involved in some radio outdoor show deal and that evening they were having a couple southern Good Ol' Boys hanging out with them in a sort of informal meet-n-greet that was mostly the hardware folks and the two celebrity turkey guys sitting around B.S.'ing. The one store owner's adult son knew I was a turkey hunting nut, so he called me up to see if I wanted to come over and hang out. The pup and I spent that evening hanging out with Terry Rohm and Ben Lee. Terry was interesting as can be, but Ben was an absolute hoot to be around. Every darn thing he talked about was either interesting as heck, or halarious. I had made an old box call from a chunk of Redwood some years before that and I tossed it in my coat pocket and had Benn Lee autograph it for me. Of course I still have the thing, and my All Purpose Boy will have it when I'm gone. My son grew up never knowing a time when turkeys weren't around, and he is a very good gobbler chaser too, but I don't know if he understands what a icon ol Ben was to the sport of modern turkey hunting.

Great pic Swamp Wolf.



I haven’t thought about Ben Lee I’m many years either. I inherited one of his cassette tapes from my dad. I’d listen to it every year on the way to Turkey Camp. I sold the old Dodge pickup about ten years ago and with it my last cassette player. I haven’t listened to Ben since.

I also inherited a copy of the book The Old Pro Turkey hunter by Gene Nunnery. I highly recommend it to any serious turkey hunter.

For those that live and breathe turkey hunting and consider it almost as important as oxygen is to breathing, you should read:

The Tenth Legion by Tom Kelly

Just ain't right for the guy in white to be that greedy...…. holding a gun to his buddy's head trying to take his turkey too.

Thinking back on those days when deer and turkey were scarce I have to think it and the teaching my dad and older gentleman in the community gave me made me the trapper I am today. Not that I'm any great shakes at it but back then you had to go out and search for sign and figure out what to make of it. It wasn't just sitting on a greenfield knowing something was almost guaranteed to wander by. Maybe youngsters today are missing out and taking things for granted.

That feller on the right is doing just what my Dad taught me.
Always take advantage of a nearby easy rest for your shootin iron.

Zim

Lol

I did a double take on that too first time I saw this pic. He's actually a couple feet in front.