Chris Redman joins Derby City Pro Staff

Derby City would like to welcome Chris Redman to our Pro Staff.  Chris is a Louisville native who had a storied football career at Male High School and the University of Louisville.  Chris was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens where he earned a Super Bowl Ring in his rookie season.  He has played for the New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and is currently a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.

Chris is good friends with Derby City Pro Staffer, Dave French.  Chris is an avid outdoorsman.  He loves to hunt and fish.  According to Dave, Chris loves to chase those ol’ longbeards.  Sounds like Chris is going to fit in great with Derby City.  Welcome aboard Chris, we look forward to many good years of hunting and story telling.

Looking forward to Deer Season

Just because Derby City’s main focus is on turkey calls doesn’t mean we are only turkey hunters.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to chase those longbeards.  Turkey hunting is a passion of mine.  However, deer hunting is not far behind it.  I am looking forward to the cool, crisp autumn air.  There is nothing that makes a hunter feel more alive as when that first cool day arrives.  I can almost smell the sweet aroma of fall.

Living in the suburbs of Louisville, most people would think that wildlife does not exist here.  Serious hunters know that suburbs can hold some great whitetail deer.  I have several whitetail that visit my backyard every day.  As October wains and November appears on the calendar, I normally have some very good bucks come by looking for does.  These bucks can live to maturity.  Most are not pressured and have ample food throughout the year.  As long as they are not hit by automobiles, they grow up to be trophy animals.

I have not hunted them much since I have lived in my house, but that is about to change.  The number of deer in our subdivision has steadily grown over the past 4 years.  I have had as many as 18 deer in the yard at one time.  If time allows, I will be after some of these deer this year.  Good luck and don’t overlook the suburbs.

Here are some pictures from last year.  One is a picture of a small button buck who frequently visited the feeder throughout the day. 

Opening Day Success

The opening day of Spring Turkey season in Kentucky turned out to be another exciting hunt for me.  This has been a great year, 2 hunts-2 dead longbeards (1 in Illinois, 1 in Kentucky).  The day started with a couple of longbeards gobbling on the roost.  They were on both sides of me and each was about 200-300 yards away.  I had scouted the area and knew where the birds should be that morning.  I set the blind up in a pasture field and set out my Peep-n-Tom decoy.  I called very softly with my Old Growth Spur.  The birds would answer back from the roost.  I decided to wait for them to fly down before calling any more.  I thought I was going to be dealing with some tight lipped birds, but one fired up down in the woods about 150 yards away.  He was on the ground.  I pulled out my Aluminum Magnum to let him know that I was there.  As soon as I played the call, I was cut off on both sides by gobbling.  I had the one down in the woods and 2 more in the pasture field to my right.  I called a few more series, they responded each time, then I decided to shut up and let them find me.  After 10-15 minutes, I see 3 jakes and 1 longbeard walking along the fence line.  I also have a hen pop out of the woods about 90 yards in front of me.  Another longbeard (the one that was hammering in the woods) came out and joined the other longbeard. 

The hen started to feed towards me and the other birds saw her and started my way.  The 2 longbeards came up over a rise and spotted my decoys.  They started to come in at a fast walk.  These birds were curious, but did not appear to want a fight.  They walked around him a few times.  The bird that was gobbling in the woods started to strut around the decoy.  Once he came out of his strut, I put him down for good.  He was 19 pounds, 10 inch beard, and 5/8 inch spurs.  This was a great start to the year.