Show Notes
The Limbhanger Turkey Hunting Podcast brings opinions and discussions from all aspects of the turkey hunting community. From legendary turkey hunters who hunted in military fatigues, to the modern day hunter embracing technology while still maintaining the traditions passed down for generations, all are welcome at this roundtable discussion about one of the wariest creatures in North America, the wild turkey.
Join us as we dive deep into America's favorite bird, talking to die hard turkey hunters all over the country who live for spring. For us, this is more than just a fad. It's a passion that runs deep into our soul. If that sounds like you, you're in the right place!
Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more relevant outdoor content!
Show Transcript
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Welcome to the Limb Hanger Turkey Hunting podcast, where you're gonna hear opinions and discussions from all aspects of the Turkey hunting community. From legendary Turkey hunters who hunted in military fatigues to modern day Turkey hunters embracing te. While maintaining the traditions passed along for generations, all are welcome at this round table conversation about one of the war creatures in the woods.
That's the North American Wild Turkey.[00:01:00]
All right guys. Welcome to the Limb Hangar Turkey Hunting podcast. You probably don't recognize this voice here, but my name is Joey Bell. And if you're familiar with Southern Ground Hunting, you. Our friends here, Parker McDonald and Matthew Reeves. Both hail from Alabama. So what we decided to bring, with the Lemon Hanger Podcast here is a kind of a round table view, a round table discussion, so to speak on.
The world of Turkey hunting, and we're probably gonna hit all aspects of it. We're gonna hit probably a little bit from the purest side of things and probably make our way all the way over to the guys that are embracing pretty new technology. And with whatever you can think of, shotgun shells, red dots, decoys, we're gonna try to hit all aspects of it.
Yeah. But of course, at the beginning of this thing, this was a spark in Parker, McDonald's eye last. So Parker, when you were drumming all of this up in your head for a Turkey Hunt [00:02:00] podcast and these months that you've spent thinking about it, even during deer season, we all know because we know now that you're.
Your passion is really Turkey hunting. And we don't talk, we don't say the D word on here no more. D So what the D word. I like that. What what was your what were your first initial thoughts about creating this Turkey hunting podcast? Dude, I think it's hilarious that you you refer to a. Turkey hunting podcast the same way as some people would refer to a pregnancy, like back when she was just a sparkle in your eye.
, . No, dude. So I've loved a Turkey hunt for a long time. Like I know both of you guys have Last year I did a, like a single season slam thing where I, went I've never, it's never been anything that's been super important to me to get all the, what is it, the North American or US subspecies.
But I just scheduled my season last year to, to do that. And so I ended up driving to Wyoming [00:03:00] from Texas. I shot my Rio in Texas and I was wrapping up the whole slam with Miriam's in Wyoming. And so I was driving up to Wyoming from Texas, which is a long freaking way. Don't recommend that drive, and I don't know, man.
It's just, it's so long and you're driving through the Midwest and you're like, It's so boring. There's no trees. You're driving in, the hot time of year, so there's not there's just deer around and it's just really a long boring drive. And so I'm looking for Turkey hunting podcasts, right?
I listen to my. Regular ones that aren't hunting related podcasts. But then I've I'm trying to get in the mood I'm going to kill my last Turkey in this single season slam. I'm trying to get in the dang mood for it. So , I'm looking all over the place for Turkey hunting podcasts, and I'm just struggling to find many of them that I can, that I feel like I can relate with.
There's a lot of Turkey hunting podcasts out there, but I didn't feel like. Man, I, if I could put [00:04:00] the Turkey hunting. Community. I want, I'm divide 'em into almost two subcultures. There's like this new age of Turkey hunters, and then there's this very traditional group of Turkey hunters.
And it seems like they clash on a lot of levels. And so you're gonna find podcasts that really identify in this faction. And then you find another podcast that really leans more towards this other style or subculture within the Turkey hunting community. And I thought, man, I'm not a, I don't feel like I belong in either one of those things, and I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that are the same way.
Man I love the poetic nature of Turkey hunters when they talk about turkeys. I think it's really cool and I'm a creative. myself too. So really think that it's neat to see, like to hear men, like grown men with beards writing poems about a bird that gobbles. You know what I mean?
I think that's cool. . I think the creativity flow is really neat. But at the same time, you have this same subgroup of [00:05:00] Turkey hunters that almost seems like they're trying to make me feel bad about killing a Turkey. God, I appreciate the, , and I understand the meaning behind the quote of wanting to breathe life back into that gobbler.
But man, I'm be telling, I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm thankful that I killed every single Turkey that I've killed. You know what I mean? I wish I could have killed every single one that I heard govel. And so I really wanted to create this podcast as a. Way to share the hunt, share what we do, share the passion behind what we do and share it in its rawness, right?
Like we're not gonna hide the fact that we are. trying to kill turkeys right in the woods. And we're trying to help the listeners get better. We're trying to do all that stuff. But we're gonna do it with caution because at the same time, we do respect the animal. We respect the man, all the people who have gone before us in the Turkey hunting community who have made it what it is today.
They've had a big part in that. And so I don't wanna forsake those traditions. And so that's what I wanna. Wanna [00:06:00] do in this podcast and like you said, Joey, man, we just want this to be a round table discussion. And that's why like, when I think of, I, there's not three people who are probably more different from each other.
Just if you were to line us all up and put our college degree college educations and our majors, which I wouldn't have one cuz I don't have one of those college degrees. But you wouldn't stylistically we're all three different, just all across the board. We're here. And Matt, I think you're you bring this really cool element of being a forester with your job.
And so your job is in the outdoors, yet you decide to spend all your free time in the outdoors as well, right? Yeah. And it seems like you just have a good time. . Yeah. It's fun. And it's funny you say that when I was in school, a lot of people were saying that, Hey, once you get to working in the woods all the time, you're not gonna want to be in the woods.
Shh. Hunting, fishing, whatnot. That, that hasn't bit me yet. I'm. There you are still early in my career, but [00:07:00] enjoying it. But now I'm tickled to death to be here to discuss with you guys. Parker said, we're here to talk about killing turkeys and we're gonna do that, like you said, in a respectful manner.
And for me, respect on a Turkey is huge. I'm really big on that, not. Point of it getting weird. Which a lot of people have made it pretty weird. Uncomfortable. Whatcha talking about uncomfortable? What? Like what? What? Matt, what have you seen? Just I, I like petting dogs, and just dogs are fun to pet, but I've seen people like petting these TURs and, I like to touch the feathers, but they're like crying, wiping their tears off the feathers, and it's just , it's weird.
It's weird. We're here not to say, don't, not necessarily don't do that. If that's your cup of tea, that's fine. But that's not who we are. But we're here to get mad at 'em and kill 'em and keep killing them. It's like you said, if I heard a Turkey g I wanna go kill it.
But also try to figure out how to keep killing them. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like how to preserve. The bird and [00:08:00] protect the bird so that we have the opportunity to keep doing it. What you're not saying is, you're not saying we're, we don't care about conservation, we don't care about, absolutely.
We care about those things. Those are like the utmost of importance, right? For this bird that is in a super fragile state. But at the same time like we ain't gonna cry. You know the phrase, don't cry over spilled milk. Don't cry over a dead Turkey. That's why we're there, man. And it's fun and it gets our blood pumping.
Joey, I know like you don't really give a flip about a deer or any other kinda wildlife. Like you're pretty much just, you live for that for spring. Yeah, I do. It never turns off for me. And sometimes I think I'll probably mention it in conversations to come, but it's almost like it didn't even turn down this year, like ever since.
It ended last season. I've just been raring to go and it gets worse every year. And there's there's guys there's plenty of guys like that out there. [00:09:00] And we'll we'll we'll talk about those guys too. And we're, like you said, we're not here to breathe life back into 'em, but whenever I do get a goer down, I'm not breathing life back into him, but I wish there was a dozen more just like him lined.
That's right, right behind him. But it's but the culture thing, that's what brought me into Turkey hunting because of one, it was just different than deer hunting. And it they, there are some guys out there that romanticize it. Maybe a little bit too much it seems or at least maybe too much for my taste.
But I do like that aspect. I just don't get that connection with deer hunters that I do with Turkey hunters, like the stories are just different when you tell a Turkey story versus a deer. . Yeah. Yeah. And I fully agree with that. Like Turkey hunting, there's tra different, like I have more traditions in the Turkey woods than I do in the deer woods.
Like one, that thing that holds near and dear to my heart is every year on the opening day, me and my dad hunt together. We've been doing that for, I think this may [00:10:00] be our 20th year, or last year, may have been our 20th year. I can't recall. That's what I do. That's something special to me.
That's something I'll always hold. And you'll always hear somebody say, there's nothing like a spring morning. They truly mean that, and. You don't, you won't understand it until you experience it. And I had a buddy who's now obsessed with Turkey Hunt and I took him last year and he always wondered why I missed fishing tournaments to go Turkey hunt.
Thought that was just ridiculous. Now he's gonna be missing fishing tournaments this year, to go Turkey hunt. So that just shows you the bug that can bite you through the Turkey hunting and what you can love and what you can gain from it. And Joey, I. It eats up at you And to put things into perspective for you guys on the three of us who are talking right now.
Like I said, I'm a forester. Joey, he identifies as a Turkey, literally. On LinkedIn, if y'all look him up, he identifies as a Turkey pronouns. [00:11:00] Turkey hunter's. A Turkey hunter. It's a Turkey hunter. Yes, that's right. Yeah. So it's hell, I identify. It's just awesome. What we've got Joey, who identifies as a Turkey hunter Parker, who's a man of many talents.
Design everything, and then myself as a forester. I appreciate that, Matt. That was sweet. Oh, hey, you, you are, you need to say you are. And so that's why it's cool that we're here, putting all our knowledge together to give you all the best that we have. And going back to what Parker said on our conservation, I see all different kinds of Timbertop forestry.
And so as we talk on this podcast, I'll be able to, give y'all some intel on where I see the most populations you. Turkey habitat and whatnot, and just actually some really cool stories. I think at some point during this series this year, we're gonna be telling some stories and some of our experiences, so that'll be really neat to dive in.
Cuz I, I love telling the story, I love listening to the stories and hopefully y'all will gain some knowledge from that. But it's just, it's gonna be a [00:12:00] fun one. Matt, you Talking about stories, and that's one thing that, especially in Turkey hunting, it gets me fired up because Turkey hunting stories to me are where tax tactics are drawn from.
Yeah. When you hear a good Turkey hunting story and you remember the tactics that if it was a good storyteller, you remember those tactics that he's talking about gallberry Joe on the old pro Turkey hunter. If you're a serious Turkey hunter, you know the story of Gallberry Joe. I remember those tactics from hearing the story about that hunt.
So I'm just a sucker for talking to guys who are absolute Turkey killers the type of guys that know how to tell a story. And I feel like as a listener, as a co-host and also somebody who's gonna be absorbing this knowledge as well from the guys that, the people that we get on this podcast, I just feel like.[00:13:00]
Man, this is gonna be a really cool opportunity because as these people share these stories, some of them may even be Joey, you telling us a story, or Matt, you telling us a story or me telling a story from what's happened this season. Man, I just don't feel like there's a better way to learn and to just such a good Resource to draw from as a Turkey hunter than hearing another guy's stories.
And so yeah. Good Turkey. A good Turkey hunting story almost sounds like a war story. Yeah. , battle movements and terrain and all these other things. It's what it, when I hear a good Turkey story I do hear, or a visualized, an old man. Telling a story about WW two . Yeah, absolutely.
And just sit there, tell, telling that type of story. So it, that's bombs going off and it's actually a hn Yeah. A hn going crazy over here. Yeah. Pinn that got between you and that gobbler and toted him off somewhere. All kinds of crazy stuff. Yeah. That everybody loves a good Turkey story, I think.
I'll tell you what guys, I [00:14:00] am jacked up about this season. I'm fired up about limb hanger and man I really think that for the listeners listening to this man, give it a shot. Episode one is coming up right here, talking about Turkey scouting with Catman. That's a cool episode. It was a lot of fun recording that with a buddy, Jonathan.
From Tennessee, also known as Catman Outdoors. So look forward to that. It's coming at the end of this week, but yeah. Welcome to Live Hanger. Hey, thanks for listening to the Limb Hanger Turkey Hunting podcast. Hope you tune in next week for another great conversation about our favorite bird of woods as the Wild Turkey.
We'll talk to you guys next week.
