Turkey Camp Craziness
By: Joe Byers
Turkey camps reinforce friendships, increase success through shared experiences, maximize fun, and bring new members into the fold. Here’s how to start this great tradition.
In the dead of night, I stopped the rental car in the middle of a rural gravel road. Following a crude map, I came to a small cabin with several vehicles parked outside. Was this the turkey camp to which I had been invited? I carefully opened the front door. The interior was dark and seemed to be filled with bunks. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I spotted an open bed. I climbed in. As I tried to fall asleep, I couldn’t stop wondering if I’d awake with friends or be shot as an intruder.
An alarm sounded well before dawn, and I was gratified to recognize two people in the room. Thus, began a spring ritual that I’ve learned to love and greatly anticipate. Turkey camps are fun, entertaining, and educational. Despite the early rise, days are filled with adventure and camaraderie as men and women rekindle friendships that are often an annual event. Hunting success is high, and everyone pitches in with camp chores.
Family Ties
A father-daughter hunt creates a lifetime of memories.
Spring turkey season often coincides with high school and college spring break, making it the perfect time to introduce a youngster to the hunting world.
Blake Shelby brought his 15-year-old daughter from their home in Louisiana for opening day in South Dakota, and the duo were abuzz with their new environment. The young cheerleader had never seen snow, and several inches were forecast overnight.
The Shelby’s left Louisiana with temperatures in the 80’s. As we left the cabin that morning, temperatures were in the 20’s, and six inches of snow covered the ground, including an inch of crust that crackled like cornflakes with each step. “We wore every piece of clothes we brought and were still cold,” laughed Blake at lunch that first day. Despite the challenging conditions, Blake and his daughter worked into a dense patch of thickets, where he called a mature tom into 20 yards. The 20-gauge barked, and father and daughter forgot all about the cold and snow.
Muddy Madness
Multiple tags allow for extra hunting time and keep everyone in the chase.
Spring snowstorms can cause chaos in a turkey camp but so can heavy rain. Two years ago, our camp area received so much rain that gravel roads were nearly impassible, and only a new Nissan Titan with four-wheel drive got us to our destination.
We were able to make it to the distant farm for our hunt. Ken Byers called in a gobbler for Emily, a Hornady employee, and we were quite excited. Midway back to the truck, Emily asked if Ken had videoed the shot. “Sure,” he said, “Let’s give it a look.” With the hunt over, we huddled around the camera to watch and listen. The video rolled, and we heard Ken‘s calls over the camera audio. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who heard his calls. Suddenly, gobbles thundered in the distance, as a group of toms heard the recording and responded. We looked at each other in utter disbelief and then sprang into action.
Ken and I crawled to the cover of a large tree, as the gobblers appeared on a distant rise. The toms came directly toward our location, crossed a small stream, and moved into range. Boom! Feathers filled the air as the lead turkey went down, and our suppressed excitement erupted like a volcano.
Turkey Camps As A Learning Experience
Turkey camps an ideal way to introduce new hunters and make new friends.
Aside from exciting hunts, turkey camps are great learning experiences for young hunters and those new to the sport. Over the years, many young men and women have taken their first turkey in our camp, and the excitement of recruiting a new hunter is always gratifying.
Hunting turkeys in the West is much like deer hunting and skills are easily transferred.
Hunting turkeys in the Great Plains often requires miles of walking, glassing, and acting strategically to score a bird. Rio’s and Merriam’s’ turkeys travel extensively during the day, so finding and getting close to them is much like hunting mule deer or whitetails in the open country. Those new to turkey hunting get to experiment with shotgun patterning and shooting stances for maximum accuracy. In addition, hunters quickly learn the importance of avoiding a skyline silhouette, using binoculars, and managing gear.
Everyone pitches in. I relish the role of camp rooster and having coffee ready for the first risers. I often help cook breakfast, wash the dishes, or work the grill at dinner. We prepare for the camp by cooking large casserole dishes at home and freezing them. We can put a couple of large dishes in the oven prior to the evening hunt and then return to food that’s already hot and ready-to-eat.
Venison is a frequent menu item. We consume the last of the previous year’s harvest and empty our freezers for the coming deer season. Turkeys also are great fare, and often the first birds killed grace the menu later in the week- truly “eat what you kill.”
Not Just For Guys
Not for men only. Keeping the gals in the action means everyone hunts, laughs, and enjoys.
Many deer hunting camps are male only, but our turkey camp has worked equally well for both genders. Typically, a dozen or more men and women stay at our camp, and even with a single bathroom, things go smoothly.
When I first joined this group of friends, Autumn Byers, Ken’s daughter, was a teenager. She was already a savvy hunter, who led me to both deer and turkeys on several occasions. Today, she’s a mother of four and a key part of the Byers Media business.
Our camp has one official guide and several mentors, a part I occasionally play. Since I’m always the oldest person in camp, I become “Uncle Joe”, which always prompts a smile with newcomers. If we are going to a place I’ve been before, I’ll take a newbie under my wing, no pun intended, and help him or her through the process. Upon my return from the blizzard turkey ambush, I drove Autumn and Katie Hale, a first-time Western turkey hunter, to a roosting grove, where turkeys had been heard gobbling the night before.
I dropped the two gals along a path that led to a huge haystack that often attracts turkeys. Autumn and Katie sneaked through the snow and located the turkeys, which were walking away from a feed lot. Autumn was able to stop a big tom at maximum range, and Katie unleashed a load of 12-gauge Remington shot that knocked the gobbler off its feet. However, it got up and followed the flock as the birds waddled through the deep snow.
Autumn knew not to follow the flock, but circled to head it off, much like a deer hunter would do. Sure enough, they spotted the gobbler lagging, and Katie anchored it with a shot that avoided other birds. Approaching the downed gobbler, a snow-angel fest broke out as these young women celebrated their success with great enthusiasm.
Start Your Own Camp
Turkey camps are inexpensive and can build high adventure. Start one this year and watch for it to become a tradition.
It’s difficult to overstate how much fun and what a learning experience a turkey camp can be. If you like this idea, you may want to begin with a weekend to work out the kinks and go for the full week the following year. All you need is a type of shelter and basic camping gear. Locate a remote cabin, rent a small house, or consider grouping campers in the same area.
Everyone pitches in to make the camp run smoothly.
Planning the camp is part of the fun, and a little preparation goes a long way. First, prepare some meals in advance. The first night steak grill is traditional, but bake or buy large casseroles and freeze them in advance. Also, bake a large batch of potatoes and wrap them in foil. This makes them quick to heat for meals, and sliced fried potatoes are a real treat with bacon and eggs. Everyone likes grilled venison.
Designate roles. Who will gather firewood, cook, do dishes, and the like? Have a meeting of key members prior to the camp, and talk about details such as who can attend, what licenses are needed, and where you will hunt.
Finally, expand your group. Invite first-time hunters or family to attend. Having a non-hunting child tag along will build enthusiasm for the outdoors and provide a great bonding experience. Celebrate with turkey nuggets. Many Eastern hunters roast turkeys, yet the Southern folks have it right. Look up a recipe on the internet, deep fry chunks of that gobbler, and prepare to be wowed.
Wherever you are on your turkey camp journey, from just starting out to a long-time veteran, you’ll have the opportunity to create terrific memories, make life-long friends, and have a blast.
