My first turkey hunting trip to Illinois turned out to be one of the most exciting hunts that I have ever had.  I had a game plan set up to hunt a corner where the farmer’s son had been seeing birds for the past two mornings.  I held tight to this original plan until I drove to another spot on the farm just before dark and had a longbeard gobbling to every little sound.  After roosting this bird, I called my friend Scott Cronin for some advice.  We concurred that I needed to set up on this hot bird.  Another close friend of mine, Brent Lynch, was going to sit with me the next morning.  Brent and I snuck in when it got dark and set up a Primos Vision blind in the middle of a cut soybean field.  All we had to do was try to get some sleep that night.

Brent and I got to the blind about an hour before daybreak.  We did not want to take a chance of spooking that bird off the roost.  I set out a Peep-n-Tom and Pretty Penney decoy and we sat in the blind waiting for the day to break.  Lucky for us, we had a mouthy owl in our area and he started hooting early.  When he started, he got the boys fired up.  Not one gobbler was roosted close by, four of them where in the area.  They gobbled continuously on the roost and did not shut up when they hit the ground.  I was using an Old Growth Spur slate/glass and Mahogany Magnum Aluminum/glass.  I called softly with the Old growth pot to let them know I was in the area.  All the gobblers stayed in a hardwood bottom, gobbling every time I called.  I stopped calling, not wanting the gobbling to attract live hens and take the birds the other way.  Too late.  We heard some live hens start calling from where the gobblers were located.  It sounded like the gobblers were heading away from us, so I broke out the aluminum mahogany and did some soft yelps and clucks.  After 10-15 minutes, Brent saw a hen enter the field.  Two more hens came out and we heard a booming gobble in the woods.  I told Brent he would be coming.  About that time, Brent’s eyes got big and he said, “Big gobbler, here he comes.  I said, “How close.”  Brent said, “He is right there.”  I peeked around the blind and the gobbler was in a sprint for the decoys.  He puffed up and strutted to the Peep-n-Tom.  He flogged it and brushed up against it, then he pecked him a few times.  Finally he stepped back just enough to allow me a shot.  He went down in his tracks.  The longbeard weighed 21 pounds.  His beard was 10 1/2 inches and he had 1 1/4 inch spurs.

Brent had a great time.  It was the first time he got to see a successful turkey hunt.  What a hunt it was.  Derby City Calls were very successful in bringing those birds to the field.  Good scouting, good calls, and patterning your gun all pay off.  These three things were extremely important in helping me fill my first Illinois turkey tag.

Derby City will be introducing its new trough call at the NWTF Convention  in Nashville.  It is called the Tracker.  This is a very easy Turkey Call to use if you are a new turkey hunter.  It has great rasp and is a very good call when you need to call softly to bring that big gobbler into gun range.  This call can also be personalized and comes with a standard striker.  However, we highly recommend upgrading to our signature Old Growth Striker.

Rick's Bird - 22lbs, 9 1/2 beard, 3/4 inch spurs

Derby City Pro Staffer, Rick Denkhoff, ended a long year of chasing longbeards on a high note yesterday.  He closed the deal on the next to the last day of the fall season.  Here is an account of Rick’s hunt.

“December 10th, the next to the last day of Kentucky’s fall turkey season, was a great day.  The temperature was 28 degrees with a cold wind blowing.  I had been sitting for about two hours and was getting really cold.  If it wasn’t for my new hunting blind keeping that wind off of me, I would have been out of the woods way before I got a shot at this gobbler.  I was getting ready to pack up and head out when I finally heard some birds working their way towards me.  I was able to call in four longbeards using soft clucks and purrs with my Old Growth Magnum call and Old Growth Cherry striker. The birds came to within 25 yards and I harvested a 22 pound gobbler with a 9 1/2 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs.  It has been a long season and I was glad to finally bag my first bird of the year.  I am looking forward to the 2010 spring season, using my Derby City Calls.”

Rick is a great guy.  He is a very humble person.  We are thrilled that he connected on a nice bird.  Congrats Rick.

Derby City Calls ended its first fall turkey season on a high note.  On Oct. 30th, 2009, the weatherman was calling for high wind and rain to move in with temperatures in the mid 70’s.  It is the last day of the season and I wasn’t going to let the weather stop me.  I hit the woods early and set up near a roosting site.  The wind was picking up, just as I heard a flock of birds moving through the woods.  I made some soft putts and few kee-kees, alternating between my Derby City Spur and Magnum calls.  I was also using one of our Old Growth strikers made from the old cabin wood we recently purchased.  Our calls worked great.

In a matter of minutes, I had 5 nice birds closing in.  The biggest gobbler passed to the right of me, a mere 5 yards from my blind.  Unfortunately, I was set up for a shot to my left and I could not pull off a shot without spooking all of them.  I had to let that big longbeard walk.  I was whispering to myself, “I know where you live and I will be back for you this spring, Tommy Bird!”  I sat still and waited for the others to move into position for me to get a shot.  I lowered the boom on a nice, big bodied, bird.  This bird, along with the hen from opening day, filled my fall turkey tags.  I have learned the hard way that the breast tastes better than an unfilled tag any day.

I love the fall turkey season.  Kentucky is blessed with 2 fall seasons.  I love to put fresh wild turkey on the table for Thanksgiving.  My family and friends enjoy it as much as I do.  I have a feeling that this year’s harvest will be the best ever.  Even though my fall tags have been filled, I can’t wait to meet up with “Ole” Tommy Bird this spring in his own backyard.

Derby City Calls- a great, proven turkey call.

Footnotes: for field staff and pro staff

8 birds taken this fall season with Derby City Calls

Best Bird – Dave Berry  

24 pounds 12 inch beard  1 1/2 inch spurs

Best shot- Scott Crume, nice bow kill

Best Review- Clark Bush (check it out on his site, All About Shooting)

Best Time hunting- Brent Stoner, and smallest Bird!

Best Bruise- Jim Dawson (nice one)

 Best Effort – Rick Denkhoff (better kill a bird in the spring or you go from Pro Staff to “No Staff”)!!

: No photo available…. check back in the spring!

Also, congrats to Jim on getting his first fall bird ever.  He was a trophy bird and a very close 2nd to Dave’s trophy.

Derby City Pro Staffer, Scott Crume, had a successful hunt last weekend.  Scott is a diehard bowhunter.  Even though it was shotgun season for turkey, Scott had his bow in hand and decided to test his new Magnum turkey call from Derby City.  This is an account of Scott’s hunt in his own words-

“It was Sunday evening in Spencer County.  I was hunting a roost that an estimated  40 birds were using.  About 30-45 minutes before dark, hens began flying up to roost about 75-100 yards downhill from me.  I made some calls and it wasn’t long before 2 gobblers closed to within 20 yards of me.  I drew back on them without being seen, but I shot between the first gobbler’s feet (My bow limb hit my treestand when I was releasing my shot).  That bird flew off down the ridge.  There was enough commotion going on with all the turkeys around me that the second gobbler hung around.  I made the next shot count at 24 yards.  The tom only made it 40 yards before piling up.  He had a 9 inch beard, 1 inch spurs, and weighed approximately 20 pounds.”

Derby City is excited to see how well our calls are working.  These calls make exceptionally soft putts, purrs, and clucks.  These calls resulted in the death of three birds last weekend between Scott, Jimmy and Brent. 

Hey Scott, don’t worry about the miss.  The boys at the shop will be teasing  you a little, trust me.  All I can say is, ”Scott and Jimmy be eating Turkey”  At least you did not get a big bruise for your missed shot.

Congrats to you, Scott.  We are glad you choose to use Derby City Calls.  It is great to have you as a Pro Staffer.

After agonizing over missing that nice longbeard on Saturday, as well as nursing a bruised shoulder, I redeemed myself Sunday morning.  Brent Stoner and myself hit the woods again early on Sunday.  At 8:09, a lone gobbler came strolling into the field.  Brent could tell I was getting excited.  My heart was about to beat out of my chest and I had to control my breathing.  Brent said he thought I was about to hyperventilate.  Although I looked like a nervous wreck, I was very much under control.  One shot was all it took this time.  (No Bruises either).  We decided to sit tight for about 30 minutes, hoping another bird would come in for Brent.  However, the anticipation got the best of Brent.  After 5 minutes, we had to go see how good of a bird he really was.  He was a limbhanger: 11 inch beard, 1 1/4 inch spurs, est. 23-25 pounds.  This was my first fall bird ever.  I would like to thank Brent for taking me with him to his honey hole.  Those were two outstanding days of hunting and I look forward to many more hunts with Brent.

After this weekend, Brent and I are stoked about Derby City’s line of Turkey Calls.  We are anxiously awaiting the Spring season to see how well our calls will perform.  If this fall is any indication, Derby City will be the demise of many lovesick gobblers this Spring.