Until I heard about the exploits from this spring of a retired dude from Georgia.
I met this guy a few years ago while I was down there chasing turkeys. They told me what a passionate turkey hunter he was, but I didn’t realize just how passionate until now lol.
I don’t have full details on every state that he hunted this spring, but here’s what I know:
He started in Florida in early March and ended with a New Hampshire/Vermont hunt a few days ago. I know he also hunted MT, WY, GA, VA, WV, and AL. He hunted several other states as well.
He drove slightly over 21,000 miles.
He shot 41 TSS shells.
He killed 42 gobblers.
He lost 20 pounds.
He walked 632 miles.
I’d bet nearly all of these turkeys were killed on public land.
He sleeps in his truck and finds somewhere to shower as the need arises lol.

A few years ago this guy was chasing a gobbler in the mountains of West Virginia. He had followed this turkey all afternoon. When the turkey flew up to roost he was miles from the truck, so he slept under that turkey and killed him when he flew down the next morning.

That my fellow turkey fanatics is the definition of a passionate turkey hunter!!!!

That is awesome. Would love to sit and hear every story with this old hunter.

I’d like to talk with the guy I’ll bet he has some great stories.

Super passionate

Well done. A lifetime of adventures in that spring. Took about two days per bird.

Someone needs to do an article about this guy.

Wildman out Killin turkey's that's way cool.

He's not an old hunter. He's maybe early 40s.

He killed 51 or 52 gobblers a couple springs back....in several states. ALL of em on public land.

He retired from Ga DNR a couple years back. He was the kind of game warden that a poacher didnt want on his trail. Quick story: he was on to a turkey poacher that was baiting them in his yard and shooting from his back porch. He was off one weekend and I asked if he wanted me to continue the surveillance. He said that I couldn't get in there close enough to watch the area. I said sure I can. He said OK, but you can barely touch the bottom of the creek you have to cross to get into position to see the house. May have to swim a few yds...

Uh...he (not me) caught the guy shooting a gobbler from the porch the following Tuesday morning.

I enjoy turkey hunting and do some traveling for that purpose but what he is doing is a little extreme IMO. But if that is his thing, more power to him! I will go a lot slower and smaller scale and take time to enjoy and savor the experience. YMMV

Dont be a hater QBD!!!

He must really like eating turkey meat.
How does he process all the meat on the road?

I wonder if he prefers different calls in different areas? Are calls species specific?

Threw me with the word retired! Well still a little older than me lol

Maybe I'm an odd man out here but I hav no issue with a man shooting turkeys of his porch on his land. So what do you call baiting them having a few bird feeders out. Must be more to it because it seems pretty low class of a move to bother him to me.

Hope he had a gun case with him when he overnighted in the WV woods. It is illegal to have an uncared firearm in the woods after 1:00 pm during spring gobbler season.

I believe he was either in NC or NE GA when this occurred.

Cracked corn put out just for turkey bait. We learned of it from a complaint. Not legal in Georgia to hunt turkeys over bait. Location was checked (at night), then watched for several days. Guy finally did what complaintant said he was doing. Just good game warden work.

Doesn’t go by “Doc” does he?
He sounds like a “boy” I’ve hunted with also from Georgia in a in several states.
I’ve always said persistence and patience kills turkeys. Put in the work and killing birds is possible anywhere. The right mindset works too. Tell yourself and anyone with you you aren’t leaving the woods/swamp/mountain/prairie without a bird that day and make it happen. I’ve put in many a day of 0230 wake up to 1900 getting back to the truck after chasing a bird all day. Eventually they slip up or eventually double back. Sometimes luck works too, lol!!