Hunting Roots Podcast

Talking Turkeys and THP with the Thrash Boys

• Brodie Swisher • Season 5 • Episode 235

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0:00 | 54:48

We're catching up with Josh and Reid Thrash to hear about their recent turkey hunt with The Hunting Public crew for their annual kickoff to the spring season in Mississippi. Don't miss this one! 

The Hunting Roots Podcast is brought to you by onX Hunt - www.onxmaps.com

www.mossyoak.com

SPEAKER_02

Alright, welcome back to the Hunting Roots Podcast. I'm Rodie Switcher. This is episode 235. And we've got a turkey hunting story for you this week. We got the Thrash Boys on, jumping on here in just a minute, uh bringing them on to tell the story of their last couple of weeks, I guess, as they kicked off the SW turkey season and the big kid, the adult finally got to come into play. And if you haven't ever caught up with these guys, if you don't know their name, uh again Josh Thrash, out of Mississippi, Reed Thrash, and uh little brother Luke, and uh they've even let their sister hunt every once in a while. And uh they are commonly, I say commonly, every year uh a part of the hunting public's kickoff to turkey season. And so if that name sounds familiar, that's where it's coming from. The hunting public goes to Mississippi every year and hunts with these guys and uh tag along with them with the cameras and tow for the kickoff of their turkey season on the Mississippi youth hunt, and then they of course go on and begin their turkey tour and hunt when the adult season comes in to swing and and hunt pretty much all over Mississippi and uh do their thing. But they kick the season off with the thrash boys. And my my family got to know them a number of years ago. Uh we did a camp down there with them at the thrash farm and and just got to know them and love these guys and what they're all about. They love to hunt, they're passionate about it, deer, turkey, whatever. But more than that, they love the Lord and uh they want to make him known. And I love that about them. And uh we were sitting there last week and and uh my buddy Keith Polk had sent a text and said, Man, you need to check out this check out this video, just drop the video link and and we've been kind of waiting and watching for these hunt to start. You know, we've we've not watched a lot of turkey films just yet because we've got so long before we get to kick off our season. Don't want to get too riled up just yet about turkeys. And uh but we do look for for this video to pop up, the first hunt of the year from the hunting public. And again, it's with our buddies, you know, it's with our friends. And sure enough, Polk sent the link, I clicked on it and we watched, and uh at the end of it, uh Reed, man, he drops a shout-out and and he's wearing the hunting root swag, so we we love that. Uh we always trip out on that every year. But uh at the end it's a riding off after a successful hunt, uh a little shout-out from Reed. And so we appreciate that. That's always cool. And um the dude's just a trip, man. I mean, uh I told him you're gonna have to get your uh a YouTube channel or something started because one hunt a year is not enough with with the Thrash Boys on the Hunting Public. It's good to see them, and uh he's just a natural uh in the woods behind the car, behind the camera, in front of the camera, whatever. Um Reed Reed does a great job. And um just an inspiring young man. And so I wanted to get him on to tell the story about uh his turkey. And uh, you guys need to go watch it and check it out on the YouTube channel The Hunting Public last week's video. Good, good stuff, and it will put you right in the middle of the action tweet. Love that. We're gonna get him on in just a minute. But first let me say this podcast is brought to you by the crew at Onyx Hunt, onxmaps.com. It is a website. Go check it out, get it in your phone. This is the official hunting app of the Hunting Roots podcast. And man, uh you don't want to hit the woods without this tool in your phone for navigation, for scouting, for safety, for uh just all of it. And when I say safety, just that peace of mind, insurance, if you will. Knowing that you're gonna know where you stand, that's their slogan, but you're gonna know where to go, where to get, and where to get back to. And uh so it's just a great tool. Peace of mind in the pocket uh with this app. Uh so check it out, onxmap.com. Also, big thanks to the crewmultioak, maltyoake.com. Go check them out if you need some fresh uh threads for hunting season. Get your get your Maltyoke jersey back and ready to go for turkey season. Lots of new stuff this year. So go check that out from uh camo to turkey vest and everything in between. Uh and you can also check out the articles and content that got popping up over there at Multioak.com. Big thanks to them as well. All right, that's enough of that. Let's get the crew on the line and here with the thrash boys. I've got to tell you about their experience. Another turkey hunt with the crew from the hunting public. Let's get it on. All right, we are back with the thrash boys from Mississippi. And if you don't know these guys, you just need to flip on the hunting public in the early stage in spring. These are usually some of the first uh videos that pop up. But I had a chance to spend some time with Josh Thrash and his boys, his family uh down at their farm years ago when we did an event together, ministry event, and and just came to love these guys. And so I want to welcome Josh and Reed to the podcast. And uh you guys, I really appreciate y'all for jumping on tonight and uh sharing your story.

SPEAKER_04

It's good to be here, buddy.

SPEAKER_03

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Well, listen, Reed, we uh me and my boys, like I said, we were we were tripping out the other night when uh when Polk said, Hey, you need to you need to watch uh you need to check this video. He dropped a link to the the hunting public's YouTube video uh from last week. And we've been anxiously awaiting uh as we do every year. We we love to see you guys and your hunt start up to season that's kind of uh because Tennessee season doesn't start for so long, we kind of have to live through you guys, and man, every year. We love what y'all are putting down. And uh the other night when we watched, I mean, we uh we it was just so good. And uh and like I said, man, it's one of those hunts where you just feel like you're right in the middle of it as a as a viewer, and y'all laid down what I think is just one of the uh one of the coolest hunts you'll ever see as far as just a fly down hunt and just just the excitement, you can just kind of tell it, you know. And so I just want to one say congratulations to you, Reed, on a great hunt, and uh we always appreciate you. And like I said, we always trip out when we see you wearing a hunting root shirt or cap or whatever, and then the shout out at the end of the video, man. We were we were dying. It was awesome. And uh so thanks. Congratulations to you, man. Hey, tell us about the season so far. You guys are how many weeks into to turkey season there in Mississippi?

SPEAKER_00

Two, three, two or three maybe?

SPEAKER_04

We're in our we're in our uh hey, we started uh youth on the seventh and uh grown-up season on the fourteenth.

SPEAKER_03

So we're third.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, we're about a week and a half into the grown-up season. So headed toward our third week of turkey hunting.

SPEAKER_02

Gosh, it's flying by so fast, man. And I forget I always forget you guys do the the youth get a full week, so we just get a Saturday and Sunday here, the week, you know, a weekend for the youth hunters, and that that's pretty cool that you guys get the whole week um to go. And so tell me, how did things start off? Like I said, we watched the video, but I can't remember how many days into season that was, or kind of walk us through your opening morning and and just kind of take us up to that hunt.

SPEAKER_00

Well, first I was with Jake and we started off um on opening morning on a different turkey than this one. But there was birds gobbling everywhere. I mean, it's just been really good gobbling this year. And we had one goblin and we were on him, and he's a pretty old turkey, and we were just like he we couldn't make him gobble, but we could we could barely see him. He we walked out in the road and he was standing there, but he didn't see us, he was just hell fan. So we hunted him for a while, and um we I I think opening morning we came back to the house and we were just kind of like uh so we just came back and Saturday and Sunday weren't Saturday, Sunday, and Monday weren't the best hunting, I don't think it was rainy. I think it rained pretty good Sunday. But Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were really good, and we went out Wednesday, and Wednesday was really, really good. We got on turkey and we got right up close to him and he was gobbling. It was this turkey I killed, he was gobbling really, really good. But he flew down and he flew down and went straight to the bottom. We fought him the whole way and he flew down, well uh one of our buddies killed one, so we went back to the house to see that one, and we came back with a guy behind us calling, and we got set up on top of a little knob above us, and we called to him, we called to him, and he came to about he would not come out of the bottom. It was like he had a line drawn where he would not come out of the bottom. And we called to him and he got to about a hundred yards, I'd say.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But we just could not get him to break. And we fooled with him for an hour and finally he just moved off. But he was gobbling a lot to be a midday turkey goblin.

SPEAKER_02

What do you think he was What do y'all think he as far as in that bottom? What what do you I mean, what do you think? Is it across down there? Is that his strut zone down there? What when I see because you just you do see that a lot where they get in that bottom and they just won't budge. They'll gobble at you all day long, but they won't budge out of that. What do y'all think those birds are doing, or what's keeping them in there? Is it just a security, or what do you think uh why do you think that bird was that was his place to be and not budge from? What do you think the draw is there?

SPEAKER_00

Just being comfortable in there and having hens all around. I bet I mean I bet he had two or three hens and maybe a Jake.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Uh maybe even a Jake. And that was actually Tuesday morning we got on him with our buddy.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But we came back in Thursday morning. We me and um Jake had pinned him that evening. We saw him in a field and he went out and taroof, and he was still gobbling really good. So we let him go taroosed and we pinned him really good. And Wednesday morning we uh we got about a hundred yards from the pen, and he flew down, another turkey gobbling back off to our south, and we we just kind of sat there for a little bit and we could hear him cutting up, and he kind of shut up, and then for a little for a little bit he was just quiet, and then all of a sudden it just started gobbling really good again. And that other turkey to our south kind of shut up. We think he went to a uh a clear cut where it's just been recently burned. And so we kind of moved close to this turkey, and we crossed the creek. He was on, we got on his side of the creek, and we got there and we could hear him, and all of a sudden it just was uh real. We we thought he was coming right to us. But he had a Jake, and he had a he had it was him, a Jake, and we think either one hen or two hens. And they just sat there in that bottom about this time probably 80 yards away, you couldn't see him just out of just out of seeing seeing distance.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And we were just we finally I had to go to a hair appointment and we we just had to back out. Man. We came back in there.

SPEAKER_02

You you you you went for a hair appointment, left the turkeys for a hair appointment. You're killing me. All right, but go ahead. Carry on. Sorry, sorry.

SPEAKER_04

His mama trumped us on that one. She had that appointment scheduled, but it was supposed to be scheduled to give him enough time to kill a turkey, but he just didn't kill one fast enough.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Now see, I like the way mama worked this. She actually gave you time. She gave you time to get it done, didn't mess up your hunt, and uh you didn't fulfill the obligation in time. So I get it. I'm good, I'm good with that. I'll I'll buy it. So carry on, sorry, sorry.

SPEAKER_00

But um Luke killed one that morning, and so we were kind of like, well, we'll just go see his, and Luke killed his, and we went to get the haircuts, and then we came back and we uh we we went all the way around that place trying to get him to gobble, and finally we ended up in a field, and we Mr. Aaron hit on the flight while I'm hunting Mr. Aaron now.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And the turkey gobbled right where he we had left him, right in the bottom. And we moved closer and got to about sixty yards in the creek bottom with him. We were probably it was the wind was blowing, we had some pretty bad weather coming in after that, and we he came in about 80 yards, but this time you could see him. It was just a wide open bottom. He didn't see us. He just knew there was a creek and he didn't want to jump the creek and he just could not see it in. So he he sat around there for a while, you could hear him spitting and drumming, and he was gobbling. And so we finally just had to back out before the weather came. So we went home and the next morning, Thursday morning was just I mean, it was windy, it was still damp, after big range, yeah, probably forty degrees. And it was it was just a overall just dreary morning for turkey hunting. And we actually spooked the hen off the roof about eighty yards from him, right where we were sitting that afternoon after my haircut appointment. We spooked him off the roof, the hen, and we circled around and got on that same knot, but we were a little far down towards him. And he was across the creek, and we were on the other side of the creek. Well, we didn't know if we were even gonna hear him gobble, but we sat down there, and all of a sudden he gobbles, and then right after he gobbles, my red dot just turns off.

unknown

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00

So I was I had I had to tell daddy, I was like, my red dot's off, my red dot's off, and he's got a big old pocket knife, bench-made pocket knife, and he's sitting over there full with a red dot in the dark. And my red dot now looks like a silver nickel after when it was black. So now it looks like it's been beat up.

SPEAKER_02

From where he's been trying to use that pocket knife like a screwdriver.

SPEAKER_00

At one point he even asked me Sharon if he had a screwdriver and a vest.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it looked like he tried to tried to take the um the battery cover off the red dot with a cold chisel and a hammer. Yeah. We got it off and back on. That's the important thing. That's right.

SPEAKER_02

And I've got one that looks the same way. I've got a little, I think it's a hawk, uh, a little hawk uh red dot on mine, and same thing, dude. I I had a leatherman or something, and I remember the same scramble. My buddy's like, dude, red dot's off. And I said, Well, turn it on, man. And he said, I did. And it went back off. And we had two gobblers coming, hundred yards coming, marching across the field, and same thing. I'm over there just and I got a quarter and I got a penny and a diamond and I got a screwdriver and the leatherman, everything I could try with, you know. Finally got the leatherman open and just, I mean, chewed that stucker all to pieces, trying to get it all open. We couldn't do it. The turkey he tried to shoot looking between the little space underneath the red dot between down the river, whatever, and shot and whiffed on those birds. So I've been there, and man, I was I was feeling it. I was having flashbacks when I watched that video with your dad. He's like, Give me the gun, give me the, you know, let me let me have it. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I've been there. But you got it changed. Yeah, it was nerve-wracking for sure. And yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It was very lucky.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It was very lucky when we got it on.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you got so he's working on your on the red dot putting a fresh battery in and and the birds just gobbling, I mean, still in the tree right there in front of you. Is that the that the deal?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, sir. He was probably 80 yards, but it was so windy and rainy, he was probably 20 feet off the ground. He was he was barely even off the ground.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I finally called, and he got the first time I called with the cane call I have, and he couldn't hear it. It was just too soft and it was wind was blowing. So I called with my mouth call and he gobbled and he turned and faced us, and that's when Mr. Aaron saw him. And about that time Daddy got my red dot on. And right after I got my red dot back and turned on, in about 30 seconds, about 30 seconds to all of a sudden Mr. Aaron's like, He's coming, he's coming. He flew down, he flew right to the creek, perfect. Just he thought we were the hen, but we were glad we flew to the hen. And he flew right to that creek, and he just pitched right across that creek and came right to us. I mean, it was perfect. And at one point we were kind of I didn't know if he was in range, so I waited for him to come. And then all of a sudden he was just I mean, it was just like he was breaking. He was flew across that creek, it was pretty. He just came right to us, and Daddy called and got him to pick his head up and I just I smoked him. It was perfect.

SPEAKER_02

How far do you think he was from you when he hit the ground? When he flew down and hit the ground, how far was that from you?

SPEAKER_00

Probably forty-five yards, fifty.

SPEAKER_04

No, I don't think he I think he was thirty-five or forty probably.

SPEAKER_00

When he flew down.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, when he flew down? Yeah, when he flew down and hit the cards. Well, he's probably eighty he's probably eighty in the tree. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

He flew down.

SPEAKER_04

And then he flew down. When he flew down and hit the ground, yeah, he was probably fifty-five, fifty, fifty-five yards. Then he came across the creek. So he was he was well within range when he finally took the shot. I just I was probably didn't give him uh good enough counsel. I I was trying to kind of look out of my right eye. I was on the opposite side of the tree from the turkey, so I was turned way around, so it's so hard to get a range for any depth perception when you're looking, yeah, when you're looking all the way around like that. So but he and Aaron had it covered. They just told me when to call to make him stick his head up. That's all I contributed.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, man. Well, I've been in a few of those kind of hunts like that where they fly down there in your business, and that was what was so cool. Is that sucker just you know, it was his time, you know. I mean, the Lord just had that all worked up for you guys, and I mean he flew down right there in your business, and then a quick little few steps up there, and he's right in your lap. And uh man, it's it's that's so cool how that all came about. And uh just a beautiful hunt, man. I mean, just an adrenaline. Uh like I said, I don't know what it was. I think just the fact that you just felt like you were sitting there watching uh or sitting there watching with you, you know. Y'all did such a good job. Aaron did such a good job about just putting you in the hunt. And then when that that panic moment when it's like when they do pitch out of that tree dog. Because you've been waiting for it, and he's gobbling, and you know you know he's fixing to do it, but when he finally does it, it's still no matter how much you think you're ready, here he comes, here he comes, here he comes. You know, it's just that, oh my gosh, man, here he comes deal. And uh, I mean it just it's it's wild. That's wild. But hey, tell me about that cane call because I we were wondering what you got, what where you got that and what that's all about.

SPEAKER_00

Well, uh I got it for Christmas from a guy called uh Chris Steed.

SPEAKER_04

Lee Steed. Lee Steed, yeah. Mr. Lee is a uh I I kind of um I'll tell you about Mr. Lee. He uh he came in a sporting goods store. You're familiar with vans. He came in van, I don't know, eight or ten years ago and had a had a whole handful of cane yelpers that he had made. It's like a cane, a trumpet made out of cane, really is the one I got. It's a lot more plain game than the boys, but he probably had fifteen or twenty of them in his hand. And I bought one from him then and just kind of kept up with him and who he was and reached out to him before Christmas, talked to him about getting a couple for the boys, and uh so he's a he's a retired highway patrolman that's uh long time turkey hunter. He's he's he goes way back, started in the 60s turkey hunting here in Mississippi, and uh he makes those little cane yelpers, they're real simple.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Uh but uh they're just a nice little call. Um Reed Reed's worked on use and his and gotten pretty good with it. Luke Luke's working on this as well. They probably both of them can do them better than I can do mine. And I'm not real good with one of those, but they do a good job with them. Yeah, man. That's awesome. But uh it you know, one thing that I will say about the the hunt is it you know, it did happen fast, but I think it came across pretty good in the video all the time that was put in and and you know, Reed hunted with the hunting public guys for gosh, since he was probably you know he's uh thirteen, so since he was five or six years old, seven, something like that. And that was the first turkey he's ever killed on video. So I killed one when they were there, but yeah, you kill you kill one when they were here, but it wasn't they weren't with you, but that was his first one for them to be videoing and yeah, he and Jake kind of worked hard to get it all figured out, and then Aaron came in and kind of helped close the deal, you know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So what was the deal? Jake just they y'all they were just tag team and Jake had to go back home, or y'all just swapping up around the area or what?

SPEAKER_04

Well, you know, Jake came down, he and Crystal came down, let's see, the Friday before youth season, and uh we had gone out to eat with Susan's mama for her birthday, and we got back and got back kind of late, and he and Crystal had actually already gotten here and we gave them a room in the house because they got a new little new little baby, baby girl.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And um, so they had already bedded down for the night, and Jake started hunting with us immediately, you know, opening morning to youth, and they stayed, they actually um dedicated little hazel at our church, which they watch online from Brandon, Wisconsin. Oh wow, on that Sunday, and um Jake stayed and hunted with us through Tuesday evening. They got up and left early Wednesday morning. Um so he and Reed kind of had this turkey for the most part figured out, and then Aaron came. Uh when did Aaron get here? Did he get here Wednesday?

SPEAKER_03

He got here Tuesday.

SPEAKER_04

No, he got here Tuesday. Aaron got here Tuesday, and so he kind of picked right up where Jake left off and started hunting for Reed on Tuesday. So I was hunting with Luke this whole time, and we got Luca bird on what, I guess that was Tuesday.

SPEAKER_03

When Luke got his birth Wednesday, okay.

SPEAKER_04

Uh right before the weather came in, and uh so Luke and I pretty much hunted together all youth week and Reed hunted with uh Jake and Aaron over the course of the whole week before Aaron and them had to take off for the for the big boy season. Yeah, yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02

But uh that's awesome.

SPEAKER_04

It was quite the hunting and he uh he actually Reed actually killed one. I I left for Florida to go hunt with a buddy of mine in Florida this past Friday evening. And uh Reed had baseball tournament Saturday. Uh so he played Saturday morning up until about midday, and then he came on Saturday evening and he um he put the the hoodoo on one Saturday afternoon by himself, so I'll have to let him tell you that story too. So that's a pretty good little story, just a different different hunt, field hunt.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, well, I do want to hear that story for sure. I wanna before we move on, and I we should have just got Luke on here too. I feel bad. I we should have got him in here to tell his story too, because of an awesome hunt he was in on. And um and Reed, I gotta ask, I gotta ask Reed. I mean, when you're when your brother kills a turkey and and he's got a turkey kill before you, tell me tell me honestly how that works on you. Are you proud for him? Are you a little bit like, good gosh, what is he doing killing a bird? I ain't got you know, is there a little jealousy? I mean, are there a little bit of both? Or kind of tell me how you're thinking on that. Because I got my my boys are a little bit of both. Uh they try to act like they're proud of each other. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I'm a little bit of both too. I like I'd be honest, I'd rather go watch I'd rather go watch somebody kill one kill a turkey that looks only killed five or six in his life, yeah, and go kill one of their first many of many turkeys, yeah, then just I'll I really like that, and so I was glad for him, but also I kind of felt that competition with him and his buddy had already killed one, and I was the only youth around here who ain't killed one yet.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And you got like like y'all talk about, like, man, this is you probably feel a little bit snake bit, like it, man, these guys come down every year and I hunt with them. We lay down these awesome hunts, but I hadn't got to actually kill one on camera, and so you probably got a little bit of that, and uh the monkey on the back deal. And uh so yeah, you got you had some extra pressure on you, and you uh you've always done such a good job though. That's what we me and my guys talk about. We'll you know, every time we watch your hunts, and it's been cool to watch just from when we first met you years ago and knew you were just a stone cold killer, even you know, that's been I don't know how many years ago, five years ago, whatever, and could see that potential in you then and then um and and know even at a young age, you know, what you were doing, and then to to you know fast forward all these years and just to watch how how good you are with the cam in front of the camera and just you hold your own, man. And and we it it's so funny to watch when you're you're out there and you you're you're you know more or less uh guiding these guys, you know, guys that are uh veteran hunters and and they're they're down there and you're you're telling, hey, I think we need to do this and I think we need to do this. Let me call right here, let me do this, and he's right down here and just um I don't know. I saw several comments people making, you know, I guess on YouTube or social media, whatever it was about the hunt, and they uh it's all saying the same thing. That that kid uh it's gonna be trouble on the turkeys, you know. And you already are, but I mean you you you've you just got it you you got it figured out at a young age and uh very accomplished turkey hunter at your age, and that's it's so cool to watch and to see how you continue to progress. And uh I don't know. My boys were asking the other day, we were talking like, man, Reed's gonna have to start his own YouTube channel too, man. He he just got such cool opportunity and um and and just so good doing your thing, man. It's fun to watch. It's just really fun to watch you and your element and uh especially on them turkeys, it's pretty cool. So tell me about that second bird though. Went out on your own?

SPEAKER_00

Well Yes, sir. I was just that day it was it was hot, really hot. I bet it was eighty-five degrees that day.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I just got through playing baseball. It's about four thirty and I left the house. I was just like, I just want to go see if I can strike one if worse comes to worse. I'll go see if I can keep some in the field and see if I can eat on those which rarely ever get killed, because once you get on that field, it's you normally ain't gonna kill 'em. Which I think it kind of got lucky about forgetting where they went and me being able to get in the right spot. So I just worked and worked around and called, couldn't get nothing gobbled, so I eased up in that field and there's a berm right into the road where that field goes into. And I got up on that berm and I was just sitting there and I was having binoculars and I was just looking around and looking. And I still don't know what these turkeys were. I think they were two hands, and I just saw two hands in the shadows where the shade is pretty good, and they just worked their way into the woods and walked off, and all of a sudden, about a hundred yards away, I look over and two big old lone beards just step out, just plain as days and just step out, nothing else, but I'm just two lone beards, and they went straight to their hands. I called to them and everything went straight to the hands, and they went up in the woods too. All of a sudden, about when the gowlers were in the woods, the hands popped out in the field. And I'm guessing the gowlers were running because as soon as the hands popped out, the gowlers were there. And so they got up there, and there's a creek bottom. The creek bottom I filled my first turkey hand. I got around that creek bottom and walked the creek all the way around to what we call the swamp. So I got kind of got in that swamp and I got up around where there's a corner of the field where it's kind of set off, and you can't really see it because they were behind another corner of wood separately. And I figured these turkeys were gonna lose through the swamp, so I got up there to the corner of the field and got belly crawled all the way up there, and just I got up there and I was just laying there flat on the ground, not on a tree or anything, and about eight inches of grass. I had my yellow suit top ball, and I was just laying there with my gun on, and I could see them through the um brush. It was just you see their two gobblers and they kept coming and coming and coming and found like they were just in the wide open right out in front of me. And they'd look and then they just put their head down and keep taking. And then turkeys, one of them kind of got curious. I think he might have thought of me a little bit, but it wasn't bad enough for he just took his head up and walked off. He just kind of came closer. He just would take closer to me and check closer. The other one kind of stayed at about 50, 50 yards, and turkey just hit perfect. I hadn't called it when I got set up there that whole time. And he got the air, and I was I did not have a good problem. I think my red dot busted my lips. I don't really know what it did, but I think that's how it happened. But I didn't have I had my gun sitting on my chest, like on my thermal. But of my gun. Oh boy. And the turkey kind of came around to my right thigh, and I'm shooting left-handed, so I kind of had to flee. So I was laying there and I called. I yelled one time, he stuck his head up the swan. He took about two steps back and he just lifted his head up, and I I mean it was just perfect. I smoked him. Had a he had a he was a really good turkey. One spur was broken off from fight, and then he had about an inch of spur on the other one. I had 11 and a quarter inch beard.

SPEAKER_02

Good gracious. How far was he, you say, when you shoot it?

SPEAKER_00

Uh probably right at 40. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

To clear that up a little bit, Brody, the field shaped like an L, and he was he kind of got around the uh the outside corner of the L from them.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah so if that makes sense. So he just kind of got around the corner from 'em, and we're not, you know, we're not real purists by any means. So that's right. Um Bachet one is fair and legal. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. No, man, that's hey. I mean, that's woodsmanship, you know. People can call it what they want to. It's right. It's it's woodsmanship. It's you you playing the game, getting where they want it to be. I mean, that's the bottom line. You want to kill a turkey, you get where he's heading, and uh, you know. I mean, you can you can sit there and chase them all you want to all day long. That's fun trying to play catch-up, but getting where he's going is is and that's that's the deal, you know, and so and I don't know that there's any more uh I mean, yeah, sure, when they're coming in there just slamming and gobbling, whatever, but I mean uh that laying out on the ground stuff, I mean, those to me are some of the most adrenaline-packed hunts when I'm sitting there laying on the ground and I got a bird walking into me, and you're just sitting there shaking and your whole body's shaking, you can't hardly take it, and the ticks and the chiggers are crawling all over you, but you know, hey, lay right here, he's walking right to you, and uh man, that's a fun, fun hunt. Fun hunt.

SPEAKER_00

Well, he was it was just the way it set up perfect because them turkeys are not really gonna call them in because they get in that field and they have a hen, yeah, they're gonna straight to straight to her no matter what. And there's even a turkey in that field and he's been doing it for a couple years. You call at him, he'll just turn around and walk off. Like he will turn around and adjust his feathers and just go the opposite way.

SPEAKER_03

That's right.

SPEAKER_00

No matter if there's hinge or anything there. So I was just like 'cause I tried calling to them to see if I'd call them up, and they just kept going. They'd look and just keep going. So I was like, there ain't no way I'm gonna kill these turkeys unless I go get around there where they might come by the roof.

SPEAKER_02

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

And it just worked by perfect.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. That's awesome, dude. That's so good.

SPEAKER_04

Brody called me and asked me what to do, and I he called me and asked me what to do, and I told him what to do, and he didn't even do what I told him. So I don't get to take any credit for the city. No credit either.

SPEAKER_02

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_04

Uh uh. I was really trying to steer him away from them, so there might be something left when I got home.

SPEAKER_00

He's missing them all. He's already missed one here.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I'm glad you brought that up because I was gonna ask about it, and I I felt bad asking about it. But since you brought it up, Reed, let's let's let your dad share what um what he can about missing birds. I don't know. Was that here in Florida or both? Or what what you got, Josh?

SPEAKER_04

Both, yeah, both. I'm uh first first go-around was a um I've got a permission property between here and town that I hunt some every year. Kind of it kind of works good to catch on the way to work in the morning. So I uh called in two Longbeards last week one morning and didn't have my breech closed on my gun and it snapped. And uh couldn't get a couldn't get a follow-up shot. And then uh let's see, fast forward to I believe it was Thursday morning, went back in that same spot and called one of those two turkeys back up. And uh he had a Jake came in with a Jake, and uh he got up there and you know in killing distance probably about 25 or 30 yards, and I I was ready, and you know, he didn't know I was anywhere in the world, and came right up there with that jake right beside him. And I guess the last minute I'd started putting pressure on the trigger, and he stuck his head out to kind of run at that jake do sometimes. And you know, my brain was had already told my finger to pull the trigger, and I just I couldn't reel it back. It was um it was just it just wasn't any coming back from it. So um I didn't even and as a matter of fact, and when I shot he ran off about 10 or 15 steps and stood there for probably 20 seconds in the wide open.

SPEAKER_01

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_04

And because I, you know, when my gun snapped, I thought I had teased my breech shut and it didn't close for that reason. Well, come to find out, my gun still had some packing grease in it. It's it's about three years old, and I still got some of that old packing grease in it, and I had to c I had to tear it all the way down and clean it up, but yeah, I had not done that yet. But uh when I shot this first breach didn't close all the way, so I didn't have a second shot. I could have shot him easily the second time. So anyway, needless to say, when uh when that happened, I came home and tore it all the way down, took the barrel off the action the whole nine yards, cleaned it out and got it ready, and then and then went all the way to Florida this weekend and missed another one uh on the last day of my Florida hunt, and uh just no excuse whatsoever. I don't have any excuse for that when I um he was close and I I violated one of the cardinal rules of turkey hunting and I shot him in full strut thinking he was just so close that I could, you know, kill him. We had some nervous hands and I didn't want to bring any more attention to us. Just been one of those years, man. Yeah, it's uh humbling. But uh it happened. But I was I was sick to go all the way down there and and miss one. Oh, dude. But yeah. You just don't shoot them in strut. I don't care. I won't I'll I'll never do that again.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

It makes you sick. And try to make them stick that head up.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. No, it it does, man. It makes you sick, and I I've been there plenty where where, you know, and it seems to me it always happens when I'm in a camp with somebody or doing a you know, I've done some of these media hunts and um man, I I've missed a bird or whatever. And you come back to camp and and everybody knows about it, and you know you know, it just oh it kills you. You know, it's embarrassing, and it's just it just it just takes you from, you know, you know, you've been doing it long enough and you you you just like, man, I uh what a loser. I feel like such a loser. You know, you're like I I've been doing this forever and here and here it is. It's like I'm just making rookie mistakes or just I don't even know what I did wrong. And boy, you just you just feel like rock bottom, man. Just just especially when you like you said, like you drive to drive to Florida or wherever you go, and at home or on the road, and the thing that we dream about all year long, and here it is in front of you, and and it doesn't work out like you've been dreaming about. And that it's a low blow. That's right. It hurts. It hurts.

SPEAKER_04

That's right. It's tough, for sure, but it's part of it. And I've I've gotten a little I'm actually probably a little better now 'cause I guess I've done it so many times than I was when I was younger, so Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I get over it, seems to get over it pretty quick and just get back in the game.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that's it. Yeah, because I mean i you know, like you said, you've done it enough and I'm the same way. I've missed enough, and I've you know, people ask you, Oh, would you ever miss? I've man, I miss more than I kill, you know. I missed way too much, and uh I'm good at missing. But like you said, if you if you let those uh those mind games play on you, that's when you you know you get in that rut where you miss and and then you're just sitting there, the next bird comes up and it's like, don't be missing. Because that's what Aiden, my oldest boy, did a few years ago. He missed one and then you know, he's got that in his mind. He's like, hey, don't miss it. You know, uh I don't want to miss it. You know, quit focusing on missing. You know, when you talk keep talking about missing, that's exactly what you're gonna do. You know, you gotta try, you know. I don't know. It's tough. But I I don't want to talk to you sometime off off the off the phone call about your gun situation. I feel like I've got one doing the same thing. And it's same deal last year, man. We we were doing an on-x media hunt with a crew. On X hunt guys were down here and uh from Montana, and we had plates across the river that they had gotten lined out, and it was a place that had been hunted. I think it was taking a week of season, birds everywhere, and they said, hey, this is a legitimate chance for us to kill a triple. There's uh six long beards in this bunch, and uh and sure enough, we had four of them come, uh, and three of them get lined out just as I mean textbook as you could have and uh same to twice to get up there, and uh that's one, two, three of these things. And same kind of deal. They got up there in 25 yards, and one you know, somebody's yelling to kill them, and you know, I just kind of got a little nervous and went to shoot my gun twenty click and uh we'd walked out there in the middle of that field uh early in the morning. I guess I just didn't drop it, drop it tight on it or whatever, and it just clicked and then went from killing the triple to one guy killing a bird, and boy, I just felt like the biggest turd in the of the day, man. I was like, here we go. I just blew that for everybody, you know, and so I uh I need to hear what you did and how you fixed your your problem because I feel like I got the same thing probably working on mine.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, I can I can share with you what I did. It wasn't really a big deal, and I think I got it taken care of now.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I did look after I missed in Florida yesterday morning and it put my second shell in like it was supposed to, if I had if I had needed it, but it wasn't any need to it wasn't any need to use it. As it as it is the case most of the time, you don't need that second one. It's better just to save it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Especially yeah. Especially these how these shells are getting any more.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I don't know if you're doing the TSS thing or not, but I mean holy smokes, man, that's got we load load our own, but I hadn't had I hadn't bought any in a while, but that's coming before too long. We're about to run out of material, so we'll get to feel the the sting for sure. What uh yeah, what what what is it looking like for you guys up there?

SPEAKER_02

Man, we we I think we're looking pretty good. We have uh you know, we've got a new place we're gonna uh we started deer hunting this past fall. This will be our first spring to to get to hunt it, and it's a place that uh, you know, it's it's got birds, and you know, we've got neighbors that that like to chase them too, so we'll see. You know, I think the birds kind of uh ride both sides of the fence and and um so we'll get to play the game. You know, we're excited about it. It's a good spot. Um and then our other uh other place that we've been hunting for a number of years uh should be good again. Last year, our opening day spot, Ada and I went in there and there was uh they planted you know winter wheat on the plate. And so by opening day of spring it was tall and it was just too tall for a bird, you know, wet and frosty and you know just wasn't gonna be a fly down spot that it normally is. It's usually on the X. I mean they fly out in this this field and they march right up there to you, you know. And it's uh it's a got you know, it's just a killing spot, just a historical uh spot where they fly down and and it's it's good. You know, and this year uh the rotation, you know, crop rotation should be back to good again this year, clean field. And uh so we're that's kind of our open-to-day spot. We go in there and um like I said, we've doubled in there before when there's a bunch of birds, you know. We'll uh don't mind taking two off that place. We'll we've doubled up and um it's just been a good spot. And so we're excited about that. And I think most of the, you know, I mean most of the farms are I I think, and I was gonna ask y'all the same thing, but I I feel like our numbers are are up this year, just from what I'm seeing, and and trail cameras and different stuff. I mean, are y'all seeing that a little bit that numbers seem to be better than normal this year or better than they've been?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Yeah, we uh, you know, having an early spring like we've had, and and I think the numbers are up as well here. We're seeing a lot of jakes, yeah. Uh, which is good. Uh not only are the you know gobbler numbers seem to be up, but there seems to be a good crop of jakes, which will mean good things for next year. But yeah, um, you know, certainly having this early spring has helped us a lot too.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um the birds, you know, they were gobbling good, like Reed said from day one, you know, opener of youth, you know, a lot of times our youth opener is gonna be, you know, cold and you know, no greenery at all. Uh yeah, windy, that sort of things like a lot of a lot of times that's what we're dealing with this year, man. It's been like, you know, late March almost. Yeah. Yeah. Right from the get-go. So we're way ahead.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and that's kind of what our season as much as I hate, you know, the two-week pushback that we've had to opening in mid-April now, um it really does allow you to when the season does open, you're you're you know, you're full rut right in the middle of it. You know what I'm saying? It's kind of like you it's basically like your your deer season opening in in mid-November, or maybe for y'all down there, maybe in mid-December, you know, you're you're you're opening up right in the middle of the hot and heavy stuff. We always have like that, you know, that last weekend of March when the youth hunt in the past would be you'd have a great hunt just because it's open today and birds are everywhere and then they're just screaming, you know, and just gobblers everywhere. It'd be good. But then you'd have that hend up stuff for a couple weeks, and then about mid-April is when man and a jets were going nuts and gobbling, and you'd have every bird. I don't know if it's just I I always thought it was just that frenzy whether the hens are about all about all done. And so when you do have a hot hen or whatever, he's he's with and they're you know, you'd have every gobblers coming from every direction to get in on that and and that's mid-April. And so I mean that's when our station opens now. So you kind of open right right into the hot and heavy stuff, you know. I mean, it's the opening weekend, it's it's further, it's it's it's slamming, you know. So uh it's good. I mean, it's good. It's just like I said, I I've got to start getting out and going and we said we're gonna do it this year um in traveling because Remy, you know, uh Remy's just like Dad, we gotta go. You know, he he he loves watching the tongue you know you guys are doing and then folks in Florida and different stuff. But it's like why why are we not doing this? You know what I'm saying? Why are we waiting until mid-April? And um and I I know, I know. And this year I started working uh back as student pastor uh at our local church we've been going to for a while and came on staff with those guys. And so I mean it's just been uh a busier spring and and um you know getting things rolling with that and everything in the first few months, and so that's the excuse this year, but uh we definitely got to get out and and get uh get further south and Try to pick up on some of these early starts for sure because it's um right. There's just no reason not to be going and hunting somewhere in March.

SPEAKER_04

Absolutely not. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely not. We would love to have you guys down sometime.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we need to. We were talking about it. We were talking that we saw a picture of Caleb the other day, Caleb Polk, and it was just like, My gosh, man, dude's graduated, and just you know how time flies. I mean, uh it just truly gets by we need, you know, hadn't seen any of y'all in a long time. So we need to need to make that happen. Reed, tell me about your favorite thing about hunting with the hunting public crew. I mean, it's uh obviously a blessing for you to get to do that every year, and I know a lot of people are envious of you and Luke and your dad just being able to do that every year, just a special opportunity you guys have. And um, what is it about that time together every year when you guys get together? What do you like the most? What's that what's that all about for you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, sir. I just I really like it because first of all, they're really good guys. Um they love being down here. They me and Luke and um a bunch of them. We always play a bunch of sports, they're always really active. Like I feel like some of the people just feel like we're gonna do our own thing, but they really like to hang out with us and we like to do stuff together. And I really like hunting with them a lot. But um hunting with them is my favorite thing, and then probably just uh messing around with them at the house, even taking them fishing. Jake's been fishing down here and just uh just the basketball games in the backyard.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Yeah, man, that's cool to see, you know, with for Jake getting married, having a kid, and uh same with Aaron getting married and and having some step kids, I guess, and it and I've really admired how Aaron has has handled, you know, just with those kids that he's he's married into. And I I don't know if it's the the kid's name is Miles or who it is that he uh has got uh as a son. Is it Miles?

SPEAKER_04

Um I've been I've enjoyed the one that hunts with him a little bit.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I I've enjoyed watching that and I I made the comment a while back about how impressive Aaron is, and I mean he's just such a good teacher, you know, and uh and and who knows, you know, you know, I know a lot of people are are one way in front of a camera and one way off camera, whatever, but man, he just he comes across as such a good teacher, and and you know, we've been able to connect at the NWTF shows and he's been on the podcast before, but I've always just been impressed with the patience he seems to have, be it other kids he's taken hunting and students he's had with him, and then you know, now the stepson and um just a just a cool dude to you know like you said, Reed, just to really enjoy spending that time and and being with you guys and and looking forward to it because you're right, Reed. There's a lot of a lot of guys on you know these hunting shows and stuff, and man, it's all about them. It's like, hey, I'm coming into Mississippi and you know, I'm gonna hunt on y'all's place, thrash farm, you just let me know where I can go. You know, I want your best spot, I want to do this. I need to, you know, give me a bird, all the stuff, and it's all about them. And uh that's what I think's cool about that crew when they come down and and and just spend the time you know with you guys and uh just really enjoy that. And I know they they enjoy that, and it's just a a neat relationship you guys have been able to develop. And I just thank you for uh you know, y'all sharing your story and and uh being able to watch uh through the hunting public, you know, YouTube channel and see you guys every year. It's it's cool for me and my boys and appreciate what you guys do and and your willingness to pray, you know, before and after hunts, and and just uh being faithful uh to what God's called you guys to do through that opportunity and through that platform, man. That's a really special thing, and we we really appreciate it every year.

SPEAKER_04

Well, we appreciate the kind words and uh having you guys follow along and everybody else out there that enjoys it and so kind to things that they say, and uh you know, it's just uh it's a big deal to us. Just a just a good time, you know. Just enjoy having those kinds, and it's it's like you said, it's a blessing to get to do that and just be a part of it. So it's been a it's been a big deal for us, a good thing for us, and we just uh just enjoy having them here every year and you know, get to spend time with them, they become good friends, whether they had a you know presence online on social media or not. They they've they've become just good friends of ours, each and every one of them, really. Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. Well guys, I don't know if you noticed that hand me that that hand-me-down sick of quarters of hoodie read head on. That's his favorite garment of all time. He had it he had it on the morning he killed the uh turkey, probably underneath the uh hunting roots hoodie that he had on.

SPEAKER_03

So he's got it.

SPEAKER_04

I love it. He don't go on a cool morning, he don't go anywhere without that hand-me-down stick.

SPEAKER_02

I love it. I love it, man. It's awesome. Well, we got to get some get some fresh swag down that way and and uh keep you guys after it. But uh no, I do appreciate you guys and uh look forward to keeping up with your season. So, Reed, you have are you tagged out or you got three birds down there, Mississippi you can kill?

SPEAKER_00

We get three. I've got one more to kill, but I'm trying to let everybody else catch up right now. Well, trying to let old dad catch I'm letting old dad catch up after all those misses. Yeah. I'll probably miss the next next turkey I'll shoot at though.

SPEAKER_02

I know. You get running that mouth, you sure will. That's right. That's right. Well that's awfully gracious of you. Give him a chance, you know what I'm saying? Give him a chance.

SPEAKER_04

He's getting older and uh I'm not I'm not gonna turn it down.

SPEAKER_02

That's right. I know. Hey, I don't care. You know, I'm all about letting the letting my my my kiddos get to go and um but you know I sure still like going out there too, and we'll we'll have those times. I don't know it it was our deer hunt this year, and I'll just say this before we go. Re uh Reed, my boy Remy, he he had killed, he killed, I guess it was on his opening day, gun season maybe. He killed a buck, and you know, it was a nice it was just a nice, you know cute eight pointer, you know, and he thought it was definitely some ground shrinkage got us because when it was running across the field it looked bigger. He shoots it, he was thrilled with it. Excuse me, and that's that's all that mattered. I thought, you know, he he he's fired up about it. Um and so he he got his buck, you know, and we're it's all good. And and we went out, you know, hunted some more and and did our thing and I was bow hunting and different stuff, and then we got out there later in the season and and we're hunting and and I remember Remy saying, Dad, it's your turn now. You know, you get to hunt now, and I want to see you get a big buck, Dad. You know, I want to see you get a buck. You me you know, because my other boy, my older boy Aiden had bow killed a real nice buck, um, big ten-pointer, and that we had on trail camera, and he killed it, Remy killed this eight-pointer, opening the day rifle season, and so you know, he was all about it. Dad, it's your turn. You need to get you one, Dad. We've all been s you know successful. Well, we're sitting there one afternoon at the farm where we had you know the buck that ate and killed a nice ten-pointer. There was another buck that showed up that same week on camera uh a month before this particular hunt. I hadn't seen him since, and sure enough, Beanfield late season, and uh this deer walks out, and I could tell, you know, and through the fog and the spitting snow and rain and stuff, I could tell that he was good, you know, looked like a pretty good deer. And I thought, man, he looks kind of wide, and and I just couldn't tell though, and it was a rifle, and I thought, man, I don't if I want to get ground shrinked, I'd rather be with the bow than with the rifle, and I just don't know, and I'd I don't know. And I remember Remy, you know, um we were just kind of back and forth, you know, and and I kept thinking, man, it looks like a good one. And Remy's like, oh, he he's a real good one, you know, and um and he's like, I'm gonna shoot him.

SPEAKER_01

And I was like, I was like, well, hold up, hold up, buddy. I said, What well, you know, what about dad?

SPEAKER_02

You know, I'm thinking when we started this hunter, you you were like, Dad, you need to get you one. And now this big buck walks out and all of a sudden, you know, heck with dad, I'm shooting this thing, you know. And he just, I mean, when the big buck walked out, he kicked me to the curb and and and he was ready to, you know, forget all the talk about dad getting a buck. And like I said, I wasn't sure exactly what it was. Uh the scope was I I couldn't keep it, you know, the fog off the scope, and just really wasn't sure. Low light, last light, and so I let him shoot, and sure enough, that sucker shoots his 10-pointer, probably 150-inch 10-pointer, just just you know, great West Tennessee buck, you know. We walk down there and he picks it up out of the leaves, and I'm like, oh my gosh, what did I do? Letting him, you know, letting him shoot, you know. And so I had a little bit of mixed emotions there because I was like, I'm so proud of you, Remy. And then I was like, Well, I you know, that was my time. That was my turn. It was my turn to shoot a deer. You know, what's the deal?

SPEAKER_00

And so my turn.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. And uh, but now I told him, I said, dude, I'd rather you shoot them things all day long, man. That's awesome. And so all good. Well, man, we thank y'all so much. I actually saw that video. That was a great year for sure. Yeah, it was a good one, man. It was a cool deal. Good story. Yep, yep. Well, hey, let's uh let's let's seriously get together. I need to catch up with you guys and the polks. I'd love to get down there at some point and whether it's fishing or something this spring or whatever. Uh, we need to catch up on life. I'd love to get together, go camping or something. We need to do something for sure.

SPEAKER_04

And um man, yeah, absolutely. We got a new late back here with a nice camping spot. Come down and we'll do a fish and camp out and fish cooking or something like that. Oh, yeah. Sound like a good time.

SPEAKER_02

Awesome. Awesome. Well, hey, y'all tell Luke I said hey, and and we'll get him on the next podcast for sure to share his story and uh catch up again one of these days. So uh appreciate you guys. God bless y'all, man. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, bro. Say ya bye. All right, guys, that's gonna wrap this one up. A big thanks once again to Josh Thrash, Reed Thrash, and the crew down there in Mississippi. Love catching up with them. I really, really love those guys. Great people, great people. If you ever get a chance to meet them, say hello, introduce yourself, and uh you'll be a better person because of the encounter you have with the thrashes, I promise you. And um be sure to go check out that video. Go check out their videos. Uh there's several cool hunts that popped up as they kicked off the season with the hunting public. And I promise you this one with Reed and his brother Luke is just good stuff. I mean, if you like a fly down in your face, good stuff, right there. I mean, that's what's hard to beat. It's a good one. So go check it out at the Hunting Public's YouTube channel. We appreciate you listening once again. Encourage you to chase him with all your heart, soul, and strength, and we'll see you right back here on the next one. Shoot straight. God bless.