First Illinois Spring Turkey Hunt

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.

New Year Custom Run – California Old Growth Redwood

Here’s a sneak peek at our first Custom run for 2010.  We are making these calls out of 250 year old California “Old Growth” Redwood.  We estimate to have about 30 pieces each of the Magnum and Spur designs. Both designs will be numbered and feature a striker with matching handle and our signature 500 year Old Growth dowell.   Once they are available we will post ordering information here on derbycitycalls.com

Check out some early photos of our custom build.

 

Mike Bevan bags trophy bird with Derby City Call

Derby City Game Calls wants to thank Mike Bevan of Los Angeles California for his purchase of the Derby City Spur design Slate over Glass Turkey Call, upgraded with Old Growth Striker.  Upon follow up by phone from Brent Stoner of Derby City, Mike stated how impressed he was with the call and the striker and the sound it produced.  Mike told Brent that he was so impressed with his new call and striker that he threw his other friction call away.   Mike was in our neck of the woods here in Kentucky on Holiday and got in a little hunting of his own.  While he was here he ordered another DCC call, ( Magnum Slate over Glass ) and two more Old Growth Strikers.  Below you will find Mike’s comments in his own words on how the calls worked.  Thanks again Mike for the purchase of the calls, proud to add this one to the Kill Zone. 

Brent Stoner,  Derby City Calls

” Dear Brent,

Ment to call and thank you for sending me the call when I was in Clarkson but was hunting deer/turkey day and night. The call is fantastic. Got this bird using the call. Birds came in from all directions. Back in Los Angeles now and can’t wait to go back. I will be showing these calls to all my hunting buddy’s. Wishing you guys a wonderful holiday season.

Best Regards,   Mike Bevan”

Even More Old Growth

No, I am not blogging about a new batch of old growth wood, log cabin, strikers, or even turkey calls.  Derby City has not torn down Honest Abe’s birthplace for its precious old wood.  Although, that is not a bad idea.  Just kidding around.  We do not want to upset anyone at the Historical Society.  The old growth that I am referring to in this blog, is me.  I will be entering my fourth decade on this planet at the end of the month.  Aging doesn’t really bother me.  To me, my 40th birthday is just another day.  The new gray hairs on my head are a sign of sophistication.  Who am I  kidding?  I don’t like this one bit.  I am half way to 80, my life is officially half way over.  That takes into account that I actually live to see 80.  In all reality, my life could be way more than half way over.  Man, I am really getting depressed writing this blog.  Does anyone know a good counselor?

I am a 40 year old man with the mentality of an 18 year old.  Maybe that makes me feel young enough to keep doing all the things that I love, especially hunting.  It’s a funny thing how your body changes (gray hair, aches/pains, extra weight, hairs growing from strange places), but the mind seems to stay in a time warp(between the ages of 18-25).  I know over the next 10-20 years that my body will start wearing out.  I can only hope that my mind will stay in this time warp.  I don’t want it to ever say you are too old to climb that tree or get in that blind.  I think I could deal with losing some of my physical abilities more than I could deal with losing my mind.  Hopefully, I never lose either of the two.  When you lose your mind, you lose your will to live.  A big part of living for me is spending time outdoors.  I don’t ever want to lose that.  Stay young at heart and strong in mind.

Bring it on big FOUR O!  I am ready for you.

More Old Growth Wood

Derby City Calls has landed some more old growth wood.  This wood was salvaged from an old cabin that was demolished off of Arnoldtown Road here in Louisville, Ky.  The log cabin dated back to the 1850’s and had fallen in disrepair.  The owners decided to tear it down and build a new home on the site.  The cabin was made from a variety of different woods that were available to the settlers back in the 1800’s.  So far,  we have salvaged poplar, oak, chestnut, Walnut and cherry from this cabin.  There are still 40 more logs to mill.  We have made some striker handles from the old growth oak.  The striker in these pictures are a combination of our old growth woods.  The 500 year old Old Growth dowel compliments this striker beautifully.  You can see the outstanding character in these woods.  This wood is absolutely gorgeous.  The oak has a lot of worm holes that make it truly a one of a kind striker.  Don’t you want one? The Old Growth Striker works great with our full line of Turkey Calls.

Pictured  below is wood from this cabin

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