BOWTREADER WEEKLY: Turkey Hunting - A Timeless Tradition

Good morning! If you are reading this when it is posted, we hope you are outside turkey hunting. If you are, this hint to stop reading. We would hate for you to get so far with your Sitka gear and bow only to scare a turkey away with your phone!

Today turkey season opens locally which means by the time you are reading this… we will be out there too! It is one of our favorite days of the year — if we are lucky, the weather is perfect, there are no bugs to speak of, and our calls lure one in gradually as the sun rises. Traditionally, bird hunting has been one of our favorite ways to get new hunters, especially kids into the sport. Duck and dove hunting is a favorite for kids in the “talkative,” stage, but turkey hunting is always soon to follow!

Yes, those two types of bird hunting are completely different. From a sport where you can move around in the bushes as much as you want until ducks fly overhead to one where you have to be as still as a statue is a big change — but it is also a great point of growth which has always made it a favorite for our family! There is something truly special about being that close to the rawness of God’s creation without a blind, the height of a tree stand, or thick pond weeds to block your way. You learn something different then — your only option is to be still and just HUNT.

Turkey hunting began the domino effect of our story so it has some genuine respect among us. It all started there and since then it has claimed the name of our “American Tradition”!

Our core founder, John, started the first generation of hunting in his family by stalking turkeys in the backwoods near his house. You could say it taught him a lot. First of all, learned not to make sounds like a dead rabbit unless you want to be attacked by a coyote (seriously, don’t take the chance). He learned how to stay still and when to investigate movement. More than anything, he began to learn to love the sport — and that love is one that has lasted for his children and the hunters we help get outdoors today! 

Turkey hunting is a great way to get into the sport and stay active when it is off season for deer hunting. Each year it rolls around just as the weather is warming up which makes it a great way to enjoy God’s creation! 

Not only because they are native animals that Americans have been hunting for centuries, not only because they taste pretty darn good on thanksgiving, not only because there are a ton of them which makes hunting them only ethical — we hope you will join in the tradition this year because there is something fresh and new to enjoy about it.

One of our favorite parts of turkey hunting is that when you are on the ground waiting, anything can pass you by at arms length. A deer can practically jump over your knees — a coyote might sniff the tree you are leaning against for rabbits. Whatever the case, God is constantly revealing life through his creation. Join us for one of many hunts or be the first in your family to kindle the American Tradition!

Also in The Saturday Morning Post