Fist Full of Dirt

FFOD323 : Dr. Disturbance Can Flat-Out Hunt Part 2

Mossy Oak Season 1 Episode 323

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This week we’re back with Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Marcus Lashley, better known as Dr. Disturbance. Last week we got into plenty of turkey talk and this week we’re picking right back up where we left off.

Marcus has spent a lifetime studying wild turkeys but what I enjoy most is talking to him as a hunter. There’s a difference between knowing about turkeys and knowing how to hunt them.. and Marcus brings both to the table. We covered more strategy and stories so if you enjoyed Part 1, you’re gonna love part 2.

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SPEAKER_00

Welcome to Fistful of Dirt, the official podcast of Monte Oak Properties. Whether you own a small farm, leased land, or just love hanging in your backyard. We're all about the outdoor lifestyle and how to get the most from your time in God's great outdoors. Now here's your host, Ronnie Cut Strickland.

SPEAKER_02

Am I live from the Camo Cave?

SPEAKER_04

Am I live?

SPEAKER_02

And you missed the best conversation. She didn't have the microphones on. I found a couple of turkeys where I got permission. It's late in the season, but they're in our neck of the woods. Yeah, they're all they're over there where Cranky shot the devil. And Lauren was like, and I was like, man, I'm gonna be tossing and turned or coming from the east, coming from the west. She said, these turkeys are horrible around here. It's just maybe if you know where they're at, good. Well, that ain't that's just the start here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

If they're like, we got turkeys in their goblin, I'm like, I love that for you, but good luck getting them to participate and to fly down where you think they're gonna fly down. Like they've got 360 degrees when you were telling me that spot, and I knew the exact spot you were talking about. And I'm like, oh, it just doesn't make it any easier. Like I love it that you heard them, but I heard them. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

It's it's you know, these turkeys around here, the the biggest decision is, am I gonna call? And that's hard to deal with.

SPEAKER_04

Mine is how close are we gonna get early?

SPEAKER_02

We're gonna get as close as we can in the dark. The good news is I know that terrain pretty good. So, hey, that's a whole nother podcast. I didn't want to.

SPEAKER_04

We're on a tangent.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I have had so many awesome comments about last week's podcast, Dr. Marcus Lashley.

SPEAKER_04

Dr. Disturbance.

SPEAKER_02

I knew uh interviewing him from a hunting standpoint, not a scientific standpoint, was gonna be interesting to me. I didn't realize it was gonna be that interesting to everybody else, but that's cool stuff. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_04

I had fun going, I like going through people's social media to pick out what sound bites I'm gonna use. And it's like he's the soundbite a second. If he's talking, it's a good soundbite, and ended up just finding these pulse sounds because he raised those pults from when they were little bitty, and I just loved hearing all the little sounds, and I'm like, I'm gonna go with that.

SPEAKER_02

The bubble cluck. I've been practicing my butt off on the bubble cluck. The bubble cluck. So anyway, that's no uh no big secret. We're gonna do part two of Dr. Marcus Lashley at Dr. Disturbance. Y'all follow him. He's fixing to launch a YouTube channel, I think. This Dr. Disturbance, but and I ain't gonna spill the beans, but I made a bunch of posts about Cranky closing out his grand slam. Did and uh I that's probably gonna be another podcast just because of the way things went down. And I can only hope for your upcoming hunt that it's easier to get into than what me and Cranky went through.

SPEAKER_04

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02

And uh the good news you we were out at the roost, and it was a long road trip. It's about 16 hours getting it from where we live. And so that's like 32 hours round trip, just driving. In a weekend, and we were at the roost a total of about 13 hours, counting a night's sleep sleep.

SPEAKER_04

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, well, it's a classic road trip, but uh Cranky got it done. Matt, his older brother, he got a little bonus hunt, and he uh he did a typical roost hunt where they got up like at seven and had a cup of coffee and took it easy, yeah. And they were going out about eight o'clock and he was done in 40 minutes. Got to hang out with the new owners and uh Dwayne and Susan Adams, and I got to hunt with Dwayne and Jim Kewen, because Jim's kind of during the transition, he's out there, so that was That's awesome. That was fun and Dwayne's special. Yeah, Dwayne's already added 17,000 more acres.

unknown

That's wild.

SPEAKER_02

That's a lot of dirt. That's a lot of dirt. And he uh and I he he had been watching these turkeys not that far from the lodge, and uh he was keeping close eyes on them because number one, they were close to where the lodge is, which they've they've spissed up a lot. I gave Jim a whole bunch of grief about that. It's uh they've painted and put a fence up and gravel and new dining room. It's nice. Nice anyway. He was keeping an eye on these turkeys because they were all Miriams. And I was like, look, don't put me where there's a mix because Cranky he he don't need he don't need that pressure.

SPEAKER_04

He don't have a lot of self-control.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, he don't.

SPEAKER_04

I get it. He may get that from me.

SPEAKER_02

Everybody enjoyed him talking about his last hunt. I'm gonna get him to talk about this one. And he did a little calling, but it was more of a it was more of a uh struggle than anything. Seventeen degrees that morning.

SPEAKER_04

Woo wee.

SPEAKER_02

Seventeen. I shot some video, shot a lot of video, got to kill and all that kind of stuff. But I was so happy coming home because I was like, because we had done the video of the swan song at the roost, and and Dwayne and Susan invited us back, and I was like, Well, that chapter ain't closed.

SPEAKER_04

That made me so happy because what a special place and special people.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we'll do a podcast, and it's you know, it is fun and it's affordable, and it's such a rare thing to be able to go and get two species Rios or Miriams, and they're out there, and some people will say, Well, that's a dirty bird, it's a mix. Cranky's was clearly a Miriam and such a fun, different kind of hunt.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And uh it's totally different. Glad to keep that connection. And uh, you know, I don't talk about many places.

SPEAKER_04

No, you don't.

SPEAKER_02

I was having that conversation with Dwayne them. I said, I talk about uh the roost, I talk about Bent Creek, heart of Texas. Heart of Texas.

SPEAKER_04

But there's also those are places you've been going for decades.

SPEAKER_02

And I know what's gonna happen if somebody listens to me and books a hunt. They get they treat everybody the same, not like Cuz gets a special deal. He don't. And everybody that goes sends me a PM or what, man, that was awesome.

SPEAKER_04

That was awesome. Going back.

SPEAKER_02

Ain't even got through turkey season. We're already talking about 2027.

SPEAKER_04

So why is it like that?

SPEAKER_02

That's crazy. So before we get nuts on that, that's a great story. Probably gonna tell the whole deal next week. But this week, we're gonna finish up with Dr. Marcus Lashley. Dr. Disturbance, he gets deep into hunting details on this one. So without waiting any longer, let's go speak to uh Dr. Marcus Lashley. How long will you sit there before you make a decision? All right, I probably need to make a button hook or I need to move or I need to call. How long will you sit on one after he flies down and you know he's on the ground?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I think I I'm constantly analyzing the situation and you know it's it I hate to say it depends, but it really does. Like this morning I was telling you, we went in we snuck in this turkey's home. We were in his kitchen and and he just wasn't hungry.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. You know, he we We were in the bubble with him.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. We we got in and and we didn't know where he was at. I didn't roost him. But I had a good idea of where he was gonna be, you know what I mean? Like we we knew he would be roosted within earshot where he could pitch down into our lap, but I didn't know exactly where he was because I didn't go last night and roost him. But he woke up and he was right there where he was supposed to be. He was seventy-five yards from us, what I'd estimate. And uh we you know, he woke up and I'd I like to let him wake up on their own. Um you know, I've done plenty of owl hooting and crowing and all that, but I'd I really like to just let the woods open, you know, uh wake up on its own, and I've just started to value that more and more for for whatever reason, but we let him wake up this morning, and then he was right where he was supposed to be.

SPEAKER_02

No owl hooting, no nut, no tree call, no anything.

SPEAKER_05

And then after he woke up, we waited several minutes and then did a little bubble cluck, a little, you know, tree yelp, just enough to get him to answer it. He did.

SPEAKER_03

And then we sat there and then I heard a hand and I thought I better be the first hand on the ground.

SPEAKER_05

So I had a little wing, you know, that I've made of a gobble rush. And uh I told the other guy that was with me, I said, I'm gonna I'm gonna let him gobble one time and in that commotion I'm gonna pull this wing out real quick because we're too close really to be moving or doing anything, you know. But he gobbled and I grabbed you know, I thought I was already ready and I pulled it out real quick and I was like, Alright, I'm gonna let him gobble again and then I'm gonna be the first hen down. He said, Alright. So he gobbled again and I He gobbled at that. He liked it. I was like, okay. And then the hen started pitching down. You know, it turns out we've got hens all around us and we did not know that. We heard we had heard one, but two or two or three of them did a fly down and he just going crazy, you know, and they they all decided to convene up on top of the hill. He's about three quarters of the way up the ridge, roosted. We're at the bottom of the ridge with a big ag field behind us the day before, just to kind of long story short, he had whipped us all over the hillside and he got out in that field and we couldn't do anything. So I'm thinking we gotta be on the field side of him, and if he goes the other way, at least we're not out. You know, we can move around. It's a there's a lot of terrain in the this hardwood uh forest. And if he gets in the woods, we can do something, but if he gets in the field, we're done. We you know, so let's be on that side. Well, this morning, of course, he didn't go to the field, he went to the top of the hill where all the hens pitched down. And then he gobbled. Next time it's faint, next time we can barely hear him, and then that was gone. Never heard another gobble. So in that case, you know, we made the decision pretty fast. We better get up and get on the other side. And we did that, and it he never gobbled again, we never got on him again. And then I ended up finding a different group of birds, and I I sat on them for several hours, which it led into that story where I got in that pinch point and that that stump. So, you know, that in that case I made that decision within about 15 minutes because I didn't want to give up the gobble time, you know, knowing that he he's already gone fast and he's got a group of hands with him, and we're just not gonna compete with that.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I love watching the YouTube stuff with you and uh what's the other doctor? Uh Will. Will, yeah, we're watching Will. Because y'all make a face when you say it depends. And you yeah, I kind of expect that, you know, from somebody that's really got the knowledge. I that's the answer I want to hear because they're not gonna tell you. I used to do seminars all the time about turkey hunting, and my the name of my seminar was There are no absolutes, because there are no absolutes.

SPEAKER_05

Well, you know, people don't like to hear the nuance, and when I say it depends, that's what I mean. Yeah. There there's nuance.

SPEAKER_02

Every hunt's different.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Every place is different.

SPEAKER_05

If it wasn't different, we wouldn't love it so much. You know, that's one of the the traits about turkey hunting that we love so much, is you just don't ever know. You never know.

SPEAKER_02

It was pretty windy while we was in Florida, and I was amazed how much volume we got out of that wing bone. Tell me about the wing bone first, because it's it's more of a it's kind of an heirloom as much as it is a turkey call. Tell me about that call first.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so there was a historical researcher in Florida, so my predecessor, so to speak, uh although we've never met, and uh he he died. But uh Lovett Williams.

SPEAKER_02

Legend.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, you know, and definitely that's a great word for it, legendary turkey researcher, and someone that you know I've read a lot of the work of and have looked up to, sort of an icon, you know, for me. And uh especially now I'm doing a lot of work in the same area that you know he worked on Fish Eating Creek. And I have uh an ongoing study that's all around there. It's not on Fish Eating Creek, but there's properties all around it that we have birds tagged on and doing doing cool stuff. So it's really, you know, the special type of relationship, even though we never met, you know, I'm sort of like following in his footsteps almost what it feels like. And uh, you know, uh that that's one thing. I've heard all kinds of stories. I've met lots of his friends and they tell me stories. And uh I had heard about him recording turkey calls, and you know, he was selling these cassettes and he was uh outfitting turkey hunts and doing all this stuff and and making calls. And one of the things that that I learned about him is that he always was carrying a wingbone call, and that was what he hunted with. And so when I got to the uh property where we hunted together and shared camp, I was wearing that wingbone, and that was one of the first things that was said to me, you know who used to wear a wingbone was Lovett Williams, and I said, I did know that. In fact, this one was made by him.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so just to back up, I you know, I've been working in Florida for uh almost seven years now and focused mainly on turkeys. I I do a lot of game species work, so I've done deer work and and quail work as well, but turkeys is where my passion is, and that when I moved there it kind of gave me the opportunity to focus on turkeys. So I had been doing that for uh a little over five years, and uh a fellow by the name of John reached out to me and told me, you know, I really appreciate all the work you're doing. Love it was one of my friends, and I've got something for you. I'd like to to come by and see you if you can, you know, spare some time. And I said, sure, I'd be happy to to see you. So uh he came by my office and he came bearing gifts and he gave me a little box and uh said I I want you to have this. I've been watching what you're doing, and I think Love It would have really appreciated it. So I want you to have this. I opened it up and it was just like this overwhelming thing, you know, seeing this wing bone that's signed by Lovett Williams, and it was number 16 in the set.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_05

So I was just kinda, you know, just I'm still blown away by it. I was like, wow, oh my god. So I'm just immediately like, I can't believe this. Like this is such an amazing thing, like, thank you so much. And I was telling him, I was like, I'm gonna put this into a case and you know, like protect it, and and he's like, No. He's like, You've got to promise me that you're gonna go kill a turkey with this wing on. And I told him at the time this was last February. It was February of 2025. And he told me that. And I said, Well, I never even used one. I d I don't know how to use it. And he said, Well, you're gonna have to fix that. And I said, I told him, I promised him, I was like, I will become proficient with this and I'll kill a turkey with it before I protect it.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_05

And uh, you know, it I just took that seriously. So Yeah, I heard it. On February 1st of last year, I started practicing with that wingbone. And and trumpets, I I've done a a thing, I need to update folks on my progress on the trumpet. I hadn't done that in almost a year now, and I think people would probably be surprised.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

But I have trumpets in my truck, I've got them in my office, we got them in the bathroom, you know, there's always a wing bone or a trumpet available, and I wear them around my neck. The faculty in my department are wondering what the why I'm got these weird-looking straws on my neck all the time. You know, like they I just uh practiced and practiced and practiced and practiced and till I felt good about it. And I also last year I hunted the whole season with only that. And I didn't kill a turkey. And I was just like, well, it I didn't get good enough. Yeah. So but I, you know, uh practiced and practiced and then it all came to a head there at the property when you were there, and uh we you know, Jake was all about that and he he said, you know, let's let's go all in. So we did and we hunted hard that first day in that high wind, and uh we ended up closing the deal on a big gobbler, you know, with just that wing bone. But to me, that that's where that came from is it was almost like a challenge for one thing, and uh also you know, I was overwhelmed with that gift and that he would give that. I mean, he was his friend, you know, and he he gave me that call. And I just I really appreciated that. And the other part of it is if you hadn't gathered already, I kind of get obsessive and I'm I'm uh really passionate and uh I love a challenge. Yeah. Which is one of the reasons I love turkey hunting, and I was just like, man, if I could kill a turkey with this wing bone, I'd done something, you know. I don't want any call other calls, I don't want a blind, I don't want decoys. We're going with me and the wing bone.

SPEAKER_02

Just cause hey, you do you. I've seen those things, I've been around them. I don't use one. I I've never I could you know I couldn't, I probably could figure it out because I use a two-car. But what got me about yours is how loud you could make them first three or four yelps, and it was wind was blowing, and I was thinking, before I heard it, I said, they're just going on a stroll. And then you yeped out in the yard, and I went, I turned my head and and I asked my one of my grandsons, I said, Was that that wing bone? Yep, Hop. Man, that thing was all you need, and it was impressive. I'm telling you, I never heard one get get up that loud. But and when I handed you to the tube call talking about being obsessive and liking a challenge, I've never seen anybody grab one and go at it that hard and in 10 minutes making good notes with it. But anyway, the uh the the wing bone thing, you know, once I learned where it came from and all that, I was like, golly, I hope he doesn't put that in his pocket and sit down on it. That's why I was around your neck, I know. But now that now that you killed a turkey with it, you gonna put it up?

SPEAKER_05

Well, I've been thinking. So, you know, I I kind of had an idea, and I'll see how you react to it, see if it's a good idea. But uh I have a wing off of that turkey.

SPEAKER_02

The first one that got caught up with would you run in the wing bone?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so what I thought is wouldn't it be cool if I made a wing bone out of that guy? Oh, yeah. And then we'll take that wing bone, I'm gonna kill a turkey with it. Which I that's an you know another thing for me to make my own call to kill like that's a challenge I needed to have. Uh so it may take me a while, but that that was kind of the idea. I'm gonna make a wing bone out of that. I'm gonna try to kill a gobbler with it, and then I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna f finish it. I've looked, been looking, you know, trying to figure out how I want it to look and everything, and sign it, and then we'll auction it off and raise some money for turkeys. And then I'm gonna what I want to do with it is leave them a note and say, all right, whoever gets this is gonna have to keep it until there's another scientist down the road that you can gift it to that's gonna take that challenge and go kill a gobbler with it. And let's see if we can keep that going. I to me that just seems like a really cool way to go about it.

SPEAKER_02

That's awesome. The only part of that that may be too lofty is finding another scientist. It's gonna sound like that. That was uh that was pretty impressive. I I like and you're never too old to learn new tricks. And uh I agree. I was so thankful that I was there to see that, you know, and I'm gonna make some more posts about it and I'll we'll talk about it on the the podcast, of course. But that's uh I couldn't believe y'all did that and all that win. And Jake was clearly a little emotional about that. He had no idea he was gonna get to hunt with you. Yeah. Because when we auctioned off the hunt, you know, he was like, You were gonna come. Hang out in camp, which was awful nice. But Jake said, I'm gonna take him hunting. And he said, Well, I'm tagged out. And boy, you could see that you couldn't have got the grin off of his face with a crowbar. He was like, Oh, and I said, You you let him call one up for you, boy. I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna call for you. He likes Superman. He got out of them street clothes and his mouth just like that, like he went in a phone booth.

SPEAKER_05

You know, they always say you put on your britches one leg at a time. That's not what he did.

SPEAKER_02

He just went on. 10 seconds, he was ready to go. That was special. Speaking of wind now, we're gonna get I I got a few more hunting questions. I know we're running a little long, but golly, to have you here is just priceless.

SPEAKER_05

But well, I'm I'm really glad to be here. It's really fun to listen to you. And uh I told you you said something about how glad you were to hunt with me, and you know, I I responded to you. But I've been watching you take kids and everybody hunting on TV since I was a little kid. So the pleasure is mine.

SPEAKER_02

Well, bless you for saying that. I love you know, early on, I could it's always been enough for me to just be in the in the mix, you know. Somebody asked me last year how many turkeys did you kill? I said, none. I've been responsible for some, you know, but it's like I don't I don't know, and neither do you. It's just being in that that environment is what I love.

SPEAKER_05

Well, that was something, you know, we killed that turkey with the wing bone on day one, and y'all did not. I mean, it was it was terrible condition. We didn't hear the turkey on day one. Yeah, we were all in we were all over turkeys, you know, and they weren't saying much, but we were in them. And uh we ended up closing the deal on that one, which we also got to watch, you know, respond, and he it was funny, I'll just tell you this before I get back to the the main point of that. Uh we had this turkey come through and he's he's sort of walking through there, and I had called and he he it looked like he was coming looking, you know, but he's like you're gonna have to do something. And he was like, You need to call at him soft, and I said, This thing ain't got but one gear on it now. I don't know how this is gonna go. He's like, Well, you're gonna have to try. You're gonna have to try to be soft. So I I did a little, you know, three note yelp real soft, and man, it was just pretty. You know, it just you know, just like wafted it out there to him, and that his his head just went you could see it swell up and get all white. And then he went into strut and it's like, okay, he knows where we're at, you know, and I'd uh it ended up going where we couldn't see it, and he kind of let down his guard, and then I was still watching because I was like, son mate, I don't feel right. And then the turkey all of a sudden walked back out and there he was. And uh it was funny because he started backtracking, going back up the hill, and he was like, Man, I need I needed this, I needed to get mad at him. And I was like, Well, I'm glad you're mad at him because he's about to be in your barrel. And he was like, He's going the wrong way. And I was like, No, he's gonna do this button hook and he's gonna walk out right here into your barrel, watch it. I just you could see it on his face. Wow, just the way that he was looking. He couldn't stand it. It's like you know how when uh something's going like maybe you're driving by a wreck or something and you're trying not to look, but you're kind of looking over there, you know. You it's something like that's the way that turkey was acting to me. It just looked like that. And he ended up doing it about a 400-yard circle and ended up right in his barrel and he shot him.

SPEAKER_02

But he told me you call that ahead of time.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

That's amazing. So um That comes from spin being that close to turkeys all the time and looking to my eyes.

SPEAKER_05

Well, I mean, how often do they come in? I I like to make a joke about this, and and I even tell new hunters this all the time. It's like, you're gonna be pointing the wrong way. When the turkey comes in, he was not going to come in where where you think he is. Yeah. And I'm always surprised when they do, but that's what I was telling him. I was like, you know, they do that to us all the time. You just usually can't see them.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

They are coming there, he was looking for a way to get around behind us. He did not want to come through that little opening straight into us. He wanted to get around in the woods and look for that hen in the woods. And he he went to our right trying to figure out a way, and he couldn't get through that way, so he did it, he backtracked and went the opposite way because he knew he could get in there to see where we were at, and then he knew precisely where we were at. To the leaf. Yes, he knew exactly where where he was looking. So now you've made me tell that story, and I forgot what we were on before that.

SPEAKER_02

That's fine. I uh it goes back to making them look for you. Yeah, but yeah, I had to talk about the wing bone because it was very impressive.

SPEAKER_05

Well, yeah, where I was going with that. So we killed that turkey the first day, and then y'all had not done well on that first day with those conditions, and then you were gonna go the next morning, and then y'all were like, Well, what are you gonna do? And it's like, well, we're not gonna sit around the house, we're gonna we're going with you. Please go with us. Yeah, and it's like, well, we got five people now, we're gonna have to try to hide. And it's like, well, we'll go we'll figure that out. And we did. Yeah, we did.

SPEAKER_02

I'll uh I'll press I'll I'll treasure that forever. You know, I got to kill a turkey with Tom Kelly, and now with you, and I was like, Man, it don't get much better than that. And uh those special ones, you kind of take your family out of the mix, but having you and Tom Kelly actually called a turkey up for me in North Dakota. I had that made into like a rug, and my young aunt Lawrence, she immediately took that away from me. But that that's an heirloom. I I gotta ask you now going back to I gotta get some hunting stuff in here. It was bad windy the whole time we were down there. And and and take the wing bone out of the equation, although that's the one I've seen that would cut it. What how do you change your tactics when you finally get a day to hunt and it's 20, 25 miles an hour? What do you do different than a bluebird beautiful day?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, one one thing that I really like, and and you'll hear people talk about this, but I might have a little bit of different flavor on it. I like something this loud that's gonna cut through the wind, and I particularly like something that's high pitched.

SPEAKER_02

So I have uh I have one of those calls.

SPEAKER_05

I know you do. So uh I have a a box call that my cousin made with Houndstooth. Uh I forgot what he named it, but it's a little bitty box, and it's loud and it's high pitched.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_05

And that I I really like that. I usually don't use it unless it's really windy like that. The other thing that I change tactics on, well, there's two things. One of them is coming from hunting experience. You can get away with a lot more when it's windy. Yeah. Everything is moving and and it's easier for you to move, and you can kind of peek around and find turkeys a little easier without bumping them. So that's one thing to you know keep in mind. I'm not telling you necessarily go tromping through the woods everywhere and bump all the turkeys, but you can get way away with a lot more. So be aware of that. And and sometimes you gotta push the envelope a little bit. But the other thing is is coming from research. We've done a lot of work with radio trackers on turkeys. And one thing that has become pretty obvious from you know, from my point of view, is they like to get out in the open. They are trying to get somewhere they can see a long ways, which is probably going back to that same thing. Predators can get away with more movement, there's less contrast because everything is moving. Right. So it's uh it makes the turkeys vulnerable. So they are trying to get out in open uh areas where they can see really well and they don't have that danger, or at least that's what I what you know I'm trying to uh get into a turkey's head, but that you know, from my point of view it makes sense that that's what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02

You can be a little more visual hunting when it's windy like that.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, they're getting out, you know, and it may be a a big oak stand or oak flat, or it could be an ag field or or a a pine stand that's just been burned recently or something like that. But I'd that's where I find turkeys. Yeah, and they might get in a little hole or something where they're kind of out of that wind, but they're in this area that they have high visibility.

SPEAKER_02

Common sense is good. And I was again stunned that that wing bone would cut that wind like that, but it was very matter of fact, I saved the text because I was texting with uh Jake while we were sitting there, and that wind was blowing, and I was trying not to use my tube call. I did use it a couple times because I wanted that gobble. Yep. And uh, text to Jake, I said, tell tell the doc to hit that wing bone. He got the biggest kick out of that. Old timer's more than just a knife, it's a timeless tool meant to be passed down. The USA made generational series of knives are crafted to last generations, so they become memories made, lessons learned, and values taught. Old timer knives built for generations. There's been a few times I can recall when I've been on a burn there and didn't get him, couldn't go back the next day or maybe even that next week, but I got a buddy, maybe it's a little bugger. I can send him a waypoint on Onex. Or the gobbler was, maybe where he was gobbling or where he went. Something you can hold over his head when you need help, fixing your truck, working on your house project, or maybe you want to know with a crappie or pipe. Give the gift of a gobbler, send him a waypoint from Onex. From the bunkhouse XL to the lodge package, Basecamp Home Series delivers modular, high-quality homes designed for outdoor enthusiasts. Large kitchens, multiple bathrooms, gear storage, a scenic outdoor living stations. All customizable to your lifestyle. It's comfort without boundaries. Visit BasecampHomesteries.com for more information.

SPEAKER_04

If you enjoy listening to Fistful of Dirt Podcasts, then you've probably heard. Give us a rating, leave us a review if you like it. Well, if you like it, here's what you can do. Open your iTunes Podcast app available in the app store if you don't already have it on your phone and type in Fistful of Dirt. Make sure you're following us. Scroll down through the episodes until you see ratings and reviews. Thanks for listening. We'll see you in seven days.

SPEAKER_02

Talk about calling volume and I'm and take the wind out, and that's a perfect bluebird day. Uh does call and volume make a difference while you're hunting? Do you if you call too loud, do you think he thinks you're closer? What kind of what kind of volume control should you have?

SPEAKER_05

And I know it depends, but yeah, I hear a lot of people talk about this. Yeah. And uh I I think there's I mean that's one of the things. There's a lot of really great turkey hunters and there's a lot of ways to do this. But I think I I've never heard heard anybody kind of lay it out the way I think about it. Um so I I generally am trying to use the volume in two ways. One, I'm trying to be the lowest volume I can for to for him to hear me. But I'm also using volume to indicate mood. And you know, sometimes you know sometimes you're gonna kill him with a hand that's content and he's just mad that she's content. Like she's over there and she's not coming and she's just gonna stay over there and you might be real quiet and just kinda you know what, I I heard you gobble over there, but I'm not doing that. I'm just gonna hang out over here. There's some crickets and leaves, and I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna peck around right here and you know, you just do your thing and that makes him mad. Uh but other times he he's excited and you gotta get excited and the volume goes up. You know, I'm I'm thinking about it like that, and I'm trying to use that situational awareness of what's going on with the turkey and trying to match the the the attitude and mood that I need to to to have the best chance on him. So, you know, I'm thinking about volume I'm thinking about that way, not necessarily Well, some sometimes I might be trying to make fool him how to do it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but you're you're thinking more about attitude. I never thought of it like that.

SPEAKER_05

Well, you know, no I might be trying to make him think that I'm not that I'm farther away or or you know, that I'm leaving. You know, the the the runaway hen that if you can pull that off it works sometimes. You know, if you get in the right situation. But I think that's what it's about is trying to figure out what's going on in his head and trying to take away take advantage of the situation. And I think one way you can do that is to try to think about the attitude of the hen and how he w is going to respond to different kinds of attitudes in the situation he's in.

SPEAKER_02

Because mold timers, they'll tell you, man, you call too much and the hen drug him off. And I know I I you know I don't know how their pecking order works, but is that a myth? Like if you call and the hen answers you and she's over there with a goblin, will she lead him away from her or or is she that smart, or is that a thing? That's a tough one.

SPEAKER_05

That's a great question. I wish I knew it. I wish I could get in their heads.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you know, people tell you all the time, well, you call to him and she drug him away. You hear that constantly. I'm like, I don't know if they're that smart.

SPEAKER_05

I think that that there may be some truth to that. You know, that you you can also there's been plenty of instances where I've done this and I hear people talk about this. That can go the other way just as fast.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

You you're trying to make the hen mad to get her to come to you and and she drags him to you. So in that case, we're thinking about her as a dominant hen, but I never hear anybody think about it the other way. Now, if she's a submissive hen, absolutely she might be trying to avoid that confrontation. Why would she bring the gobbler to a dominant hen that's gonna whip her?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Right? So the I think the pecking order's probably playing some role, and sometimes they just have somewhere else they want to be. Right. And it's your job to try to figure out where they want to be and be in the middle of it, you know. So um it it's really hard to to pin down exactly what's going on, but I think the reason that there's so much discussion about it is because it depends, and you you know, the everybody gets into situations and they do different things at different times, and sometimes that you're you're trying to make a dominant hen mad so he you know drags she drags him right into you, and and sometimes it's a submissive hen, maybe it's a Jenny, and she knows that she's gonna be in trouble if she brings him over there and she may take him away from you just as quick.

SPEAKER_02

And somet sometimes they found a bunch of crickets and they went this way.

SPEAKER_05

They just yeah, they've just got somewhere else they need to be.

SPEAKER_02

The only thing that is absolute in turkey hunt is we all overthink it. It that that's to to me the fun part. Yeah. Is like what your mind's doing while you're sitting there, and pretty soon you convince yourself you're right. Yeah. And you were probably wrong to begin with.

SPEAKER_05

You just got lucky when you when you close the deal. That's what I think.

SPEAKER_02

I got a couple of more calling questions. Do you think that gobblers can recognize pitches and tones from a certain hen? Maybe why he gobbled at my mouth call or he didn't gobble at this?

SPEAKER_05

Do you think they they recognize different Yelps and I I definitely think that they are recognizing different hens. Now I I will say, uh and this is probably gonna be the first time anybody's ever heard this, because it's something that's hit me with research again. I hear people say things like, Oh, you gotta find the hen he knows, or you know, you th he's not gobbling at you 'cause he doesn't know who you are, or something like that. And then I put a bunch of GPS tags on hens. And we have a study ongoing right now where I just looked at the data on it and I just was blown away by it. We we've got, you know, these hens that we've captured in this area, and on average they're nesting like miles away from where we caught them. Wow. And they're just moving all over the landscape, and then I've done studies on other areas where they they don't do that. So what the reason I'm bringing that up is they're probably depending on where you're at and how that population's operating and what they're doing, you know, it may be that new hens are showing up constantly.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And you know, he may not have ever met a hen and she just showed up from yesterday and she was a couple miles away and now she's here. And I you know, one thing that you know, I'm just gonna speculate. Uh one thing that seems to be going on is if you know that when hens get ready to nest, they go somewhere there's nesting cover. Imagine that. Yeah, imagine that. And if you don't have it, they're gonna leave. If you do have it, they're gonna show up. And that's you know, about middle midway through the season, all of a sudden all the hens start showing up, and guess where gobblers do what what they do? They start showing up too.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And uh, you know, if you're in that situation, that novel hen might be quite good. If you've got if you've been managing your property really well really well and you have a lot of great nesting cover and you're the destination for nesting, then all of a sudden new hens are showing up all the time. That might be a real advantage for you because now you're just a new hen.

SPEAKER_02

Your calling just got way better. You know, I I don't think.

SPEAKER_05

Well, and that's one way to make, you know, to get better at turkey hunting, make more turkeys. Because if you make enough of them, you get to mess up over and over again, and eventually you don't mess up.

SPEAKER_02

I'm 80 miles an hour trying to do that, I promise you. I was out there, I got a couple of pictures I'm gonna show you when we get out of here. But you you know, I don't put so much faith in that. I've been around this game a long time. Fred Law over at Enan Plantation, we used to go over and make TV. He's as good a turkey hunter as it lives and breeze. And he said the best hunt he ever had, he said his mouth called, he used the term, he said them reeds were welded together. They'd been on the truck. He said it was the most horrible thing, and he said that turkey just gobbled. So you just don't ever know.

SPEAKER_05

Well well, think about it. This there's a couple of things that we can draw from that. One, hens have different voices. I've lived with a bunch of them. They sound different, right? You you're you're a turkey.

SPEAKER_02

You're a bunch of chicks' mamas right now, aren't you?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, no, you can you can hear the different voices. They they sound different. And you should take some comfort in that because now you don't you need to be in a range. You don't have to be perfect, right? You don't have to be a grand national champion caller to to kill a turkey. Thank you God for that one. Yeah, you need to be in a range, so you should take some comfort. You just gotta be close.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Uh but you know, the other thing is if he's ha if he's got a bunch of hens around and he's already bred all of them, a new hen showing up's pretty exciting now.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

You know, so maybe that's gonna play to your advantage.

SPEAKER_02

And um your opinion from hunting. What's uh what's the best or most important or something you go to all the time? Call sound other than a yelp. What's your favorite call other than a yelp when you're like dip you're deep into this one now? So what what what's your favorite call?

SPEAKER_05

If a turkey is close, I love using scratching.

SPEAKER_02

Really? I thought you were gonna say a cluck and a purr or something like that.

SPEAKER_05

Well, that's what everybody says, and I love those. Yeah. Especially a cluck. If you get one to answer a cluck, that that's a good sign.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And and I believe that. If you get him to answer leaves, that's a better sign. So bad, neutral, good, I'm kind of you know, there there's a couple of things and and some of this I'm getting from from being around them all the time and the and their uh captive work. There's a few sounds that they make all day long every day. Doesn't matter what the weather's like, they're always kind of making some sounds and a a wine and a bubble cluck. Those two sounds are making it all the time to each other. They're doing it all the time. The other thing is they're gonna eat every day. Yeah. So the leaves scratching, they're they're eating. That's just normal. It's every day. Doesn't matter if it's windy, doesn't matter if it's raining, you may not be able to hear the leaves, but they're gonna eat. So it's just such a a ubiquitous sound, it doesn't matter how much pressure there is, they're always gonna do that. So I I really like that because you know, something they're going to do every day, no matter the situation, uh that's a normal sound to hear all the time.

SPEAKER_02

That's such a good thing. I I saw a guy doing that years ago. Uh the uh scratching the leaf, you know, I got chickens and I love watching them all the time. They got the exact same rhythm. You know, it's one foot and then sometime and everybody say, Well, it's the right foot first, or I said, No, it's not. Sometimes they're doing it with their left foot first, but it's a it's an absolute sound. Cranky got to hear that when he killed his called his own turkey up over in Texas. He couldn't get over that.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Well, and that is one thing it isn't just raking leaves, like you're trying to mimic the way that they sound. So pay attention when you're around them and listen to it and the cadence of it and try to match that when you're doing it.

SPEAKER_02

All right, this is a purely hunting question. Then we're gonna talk about how to follow you. But uh what's your thoughts on trying to roost one uh in the afternoon? I I have my own thoughts on that. I know it's way easier out west and it is in these swamps and stuff like that, but is that a thing with you, or are you one of them people that's like, man, I'm gonna get to a high point where I can be surprised in the morning? What's as far as you got three days to hunt this spot, you're gonna be roosting one every day, or you don't worry about it that much.

SPEAKER_05

I would say most of the time I'm not roosting them. Yeah. And it's not uh it it's more of a um situation issue. You know, but especially in the east, they don't gobble most of the time, you know, it's not a very good consistent strategy.

SPEAKER_02

You're bumping them most of the time.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, like you you you're in there and amongst them and you you can mess them up real easily and it's not very easy to roost them without being able to either see 'em leave a field or something. Or uh you know, hear them gobble when they get on the roost. So I'm I'm not using it very consistently because of that. Um but I will say this, if you roost one, that is an enormous advantage. Oh yeah. Because now you got all night to plan out how this how it needs to go in the morning, and you got that level of excitement, you're not gonna be late. You know, that's you you gotta be there early before it wakes up, you gotta you know, you gotta take a lot of care. And and I love the strategizing part of it. That's one of my favorite things is just trying to think like a turkey and trying to figure out what's this thing gonna do and how can I take advantage of that. And I I really like that from that that standpoint, because if you know where one's at, that level of excitement and trying to to plan for that chess match the next morning, you know, there's a lot of value and a lot of advantage that comes from that.

SPEAKER_02

Overthinking it. Laying in a bed looking at the season with your hands crossed, looking at the season. I I get it. That's fun. My you know, my my personal thoughts, just me, is I wish they would sh they would shut all the hunting down at 12 or 1 o'clock myself. Give them give them all afternoon.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, just let them be.

SPEAKER_02

Just let them be. When they get close to the roof tree, that's base. You know, like when you were playing tag, that's base. But anyway, that'd be safety spot. That's a safety spot.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I uh I appreciate that viewpoint. And you know, I would much rather them be com you know comfortable and just do their thing and and go up naturally and then b have a new fresh morning next morning than to risk bumping them.

SPEAKER_02

I think it makes a difference. I you know, the turkeys where you can't hunt them today, they seem to gobble better. But anyway, all right, here's a here's a question. Now, this is something that that it's got nothing to do with hunting and it's got everything to do with hunting. But what can the average person out there listening? And there's a look, there's a lot of new people getting into this. I don't know what the stats are, don't really care. I'm I welcome them all. Put them in the club.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

What can they do to help what you got going on? What can they do to help not only University of Florida and and Dr. Lassey, but anybody else? What can the average person do say I'm gonna make a difference? What would you tell them? What what can they do?

SPEAKER_05

Well, there's lots of things you can do.

SPEAKER_02

That's what I want to hear.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Pick one. If you if you want to support research, regardless of where you're at, if you want to help us, we've got a you know, a place that you can kick in a few dollars or whatever you want to do. There's several scientists all across the nation that are de dedicated to the wild turkey, and they all have that. So where if you want, you know, you want yours to go to to Georgia because that's where you live, or you want it to go to Kentucky, or you want it to go to Oklahoma, there's somebody there working on that. And you can directly contribute to that. And that for me, that's extremely important because uh most of my funding is coming from that sort of avenue now. So I'm getting money from conservation organizations and RCO grants uh uh gamekeeper grants. I'm you know that's a base for the funding, but for me to really be able to do the kind of work that I think needs to be done to make sure I can focus on what I think needs to be focused on, I have to have that kind. And you know, a lot of that comes from just average people that really appreciate the information. Now we are also really actively producing things that can also benefit you at the same time that so while you're helping contribute, you're also benefiting from that. And what I mean by that is we have uh an online course right now that we got launched and it's two parts, and one is just hardcore turkey biology and what you need to know to be able to manage a turkey population really well. So that's a a great thing. And then we have a second part that is really deep. This is how you manage turkey habitat. And what I I wanted to build this this set of modules online so that people could take it on their own time wherever they're at. And we're charging for it, and the reason that we charge is because I have to be able to pay the bills. So that was a way for me to simultaneously fund the lab, but also take that information and put it all in one place to develop this comprehensive course so that you can learn from it and manage turkeys better. So, you know, taking that course is not only increasing your knowledge, but helping us to continue doing what we're doing. So, you know, that's another way, another thing that I'm really active with. Some of the other scientists are, some of them are not. But we have a YouTube channel. Go watch stuff. You're learning from that, we're putting it on there for you to learn from it. And at the same time, that's generating revenue for us. So when people are watching it, you know, it's an incentive for us to get really good information and and make it watchable. So I'm trying. Not very good at it, but I'm trying to watch it. Tell them what the name of the YouTube channel is UF Game Lab. So that's the lab that I run. UF Game Lab. Yeah, University of Florida Game Lab. That's the U.S. channel. And it's mostly turkeys.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah. I know I'm watching.

SPEAKER_05

We we put a little bit of deer stuff on there just to you know cater to to those individuals and and uh some quail stuff and have just habitat hardcore stuff a lot. Well you know, food plots, that all sorts of stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02

So or do they go to get the cores? Same place.

SPEAKER_05

So uh you can go to UF Game Lab on any of the social media and click on our bio and and it'll have a link to it in there, or you can email me or message me at mine handles Dr. Disturbance because I'm a habitat guy because Habitat makes turkeys. And uh so that's Dr. Disturbance. You you know, if you message me, especially on Instagram, I'm really active and I try to get back to everybody that messages me.

SPEAKER_02

UF, that's the University of Florida, UF GameLab.com.

SPEAKER_05

Oh yeah, so there's lots of ways. You know, the the other thing is you may want to do that by supporting an organization that supports us. So, you know, buy one of the the uh stamps from the gamekeeper grants. You can yeah, people have contributed to NWTF and and uh you know some of that might get funneled to me or other scientists, or you can earmark it. And uh you can make a donation that's that's earmarked to go to a specific thing. So uh, you know, there there's lots of organizations that are providing uh funding. The difference in that is that you're letting that organization uh steer some in that case. So like they may have a different perspective on what is needed than an individual scientist where you currently live. So it just depends on how you want to support it, but there's lots of ways to do that.

SPEAKER_02

The least you can do is follow him on Instagram. He posts a lot of good stuff, but the UF Game Lab YouTube stuff is priceless. Look, you don't have to have 10,000 acres to make a difference. That's right. I had a guy tell me, and he listened to one of our trapping episodes, and what he did is he went, because it and everybody's I don't have time, I don't have time, and he went to the hunting club, he bought 24 of them dog-proof traps, and everybody took a day. You know, John was on Monday and Frank was on too and now they're just trapping left and right, and everybody's having a ball. There's ways to do it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Even you know, in that case, you don't a lot of people don't own land. Yeah, but you're finding a way to try to contribute.

SPEAKER_02

That's right. Just be part of the solution. Don't be part of the problem. Don't just sit there and throw shade on your social media.

SPEAKER_05

So Well and I I kind of feel like that now. I I need to give back. You know, if I'm gonna take one, I need to give back a lot of them.

SPEAKER_02

Well, you're you're toting a big load, I promise you give back one.

SPEAKER_05

I'm trying.

SPEAKER_02

I'm just grateful I got to hunt with you and see how you operate in the woods because that's always fun to see. And and uh I'm I'm gonna give you the uh the handle of absolute turkey thug. And uh and I appreciate your time. I know you absolutely just stopped by here in between two turkey hunts, which you're probably guiding people, but from uh me and Toxie and Laureen up here in the Camo Cave, thank you for that time. It was just priceless.

SPEAKER_05

Absolutely. Glad to be here. It's fun talking to you.

SPEAKER_01

I'm in my tree stand every afternoon. I escape the stupid world with my Mossy Oak Camo, which by the way, I'm getting on the Mossy Oak podcast. It's called Fistful of Dirt, which pretty much summarizes my life. You know, in Braveheart and the Gladiator, when the Gladiator went to fight the evil forces, he'd kneel down and get a fistful of dirt and fondle the essence, the physics of spirituality of the earth, and that we all must remain grounded down to earth. So I fondle earth every day.

SPEAKER_00

You're listening to Fistful of Dirt, presented by Mossy Oak Properties.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna check them off in the box and go into my save that podcast file, even though I was kind of on it. I know as two of my favorites, part one and part two.

SPEAKER_04

I I'm like, it feels greedy, but in the back of my mind, I'm like, will he come back next turkey season? Because like I've been thinking of things y'all didn't get to.

SPEAKER_02

He uh he probably would. And uh you know, I I learned a lot. I learned a lot hunting with him for a couple of days. And he's he's got that mindset when he gets his mind on something, nothing else matters. And uh the fact that he loves to hunt him as much as he does do the research. I thought that was a fascinating angle, and apparently all y'all liked it too. So you're welcome. Nice that was a cool deal. Uh next week I'm I'm hoping to get Cranky back in here to tell the story of closing out his grand slam. Because it was a quick hunt, but it was intense.

SPEAKER_04

And a lot happened in a short amount of time.

SPEAKER_02

A lot happened. It was very intense and he handled it well. And uh got to hang out with my boy Jim Cuan from the Roost, who's you know, he's still there during the transition to the new owners, but two thumbs up for that and uh two thumbs up with a plus mark because uh Dwayne he's already added I think 17,000 acres and they're living out there. He said they live out there seven months out of the year now, so he's he's yeah, he's getting local knowledge, he's visiting with a landowners and is he ever doing it right.

SPEAKER_04

So making it his home now.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. So we'll we'll probably give you next week a play by play of what may be one of the most epic, quick, fast road trips we've ever done. Thirty I think it was thirty-two hours driving. Yeah. Twelve hours at the roost.

SPEAKER_04

Turn and burn.

SPEAKER_02

Turned and burned. And uh Frankie got a big kick out of it. And uh I think you'll enjoy it. I don't know if we can get him in here or not. He's kind of a big star now. You know, he changed a little bit when he got his uh Grand Slam and he uh But you know, and now I gotta you know, he's been wearing all this stuff. Jim Ronquist sent him, you know, they got their stuff at the NWTF. He got a he's got that old time stuff flying. I told Jim Ronquist, I said he thinks he's on the pro staff. He said, Well, let's put him on there. So y'all are working on his resume, and uh at some point I'm gonna read that out loud because it's uh for a 14-year-old, he's pretty impressive. They all are. They you know, Grand Slam for Cranky before he even got his driver's license. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_04

That's wild to me.

SPEAKER_02

I'm already kind of getting sad about turkey season winding down. But uh I did some gamekeeper stuff yesterday. I had two or three days in a row at home. I'm like, wow, what a treat.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And I was spraying your husband has to tell me how to pronounce this every time. Clefidin. Or I call it cometh. Anyway, I was spraying my clover and uh the trail camera. I got a trail camera on this clover patch. I don't know for what, but anyway, it snapped a picture of me spraying that clover. I said, I'm gonna talk about that on a podcast. So you know, we uh one one book opens and uh closes, and the other one opens. So with that said, I hope you enjoyed Dr. Marcus Lashley as much as me and Laurene did. If you're a turkey thug, you ate that up.

SPEAKER_04

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

So for me and Laurene up in the Camo Cave from Mossy Oak and Mossy Oak Properties, God bless you all.

SPEAKER_04

We'll see you in seven days.

SPEAKER_00

Your favorite place.