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.

We were pleasantly surprised at the response our calls received at the NWTF Convention this year.  Derby City placed 4th with our Aluminum Magnum in category 6.  The Tracker placed 3rd in the trough call division.  For a young company, we are extremely proud of these accomplishments.  However, it was not the medals that made us the most proud (although that helped a lot), it was all the kind and positive comments that we received from everyone at the booth.  Derby City would like to thank everyone who came to our booth.  We enjoyed talking, interacting, and making connections with everyone.  To everyone who purchased one of our calls, we hope they put many birds in your vest for years to come.  To everyone who just stopped by to look or chat, we enjoyed the opportunity to talk a little turkey with you.  We think the future looks bright at Derby City Calls.  Derby City…….Good Call.

Good friend and Customer Lanny Crawley of Greenwood, IN sent us this note along with some pictures of some Turkey’s he called using his Derby City Game Call.  This is in Lanny’s words.

” Jeff,

   I was working in an area that I knew held turkeys, so one morning I parked off the road, opened my window and started calling turkeys using your slate turkey call that I bought when I ordered my guitar.  As you can see the call works!  I called three Hens & two Jakes.  It took some time but eventually the three hens jumped on the back of my truck and one hen jumped up on the roof.  Dumb Indiana Turkeys!  I’ll see you when my guitar come in.

Thanks, Lanny.”

Lanny,  thanks for sharing this with us and good luck in Turkey Season!    Derby City

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.

We are adding a new feature to our website here at Derby City Calls.  Check out the KillZone in our photo gallery.  We want to see how successful everyone is this season.  You will be able to submit pictures of your deer, turkey, bear, elk, waterfowl, small game, etc…  All you need to do is send us an e-mail with your picture and all the specifics(your name, species, date of harvest, points, weight, etc…)  Send the e-mail to info@derbycitycalls.com.  We look forward to sharing our hunts with you this year.

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.