Nothing Like on Paper
I was beginning to wonder if the tom had been spooked by a this strange “hen” yelping from inside a vehicle, when I heard a shotgun blast.
Christmas Holiday Shenanigans: Part 2
When modern deer hunting seasons were first established in Georgia during the late 1950s and early ’60s, it was against the law to hunt on Sunday in many (if not all) Georgia counties. Sometimes these laws were enforced and sometimes they were not, depending on the...
When the Turkeys Busted Loose
Me and Poach and the Window Wizard, walking this scrubby sheep pasture west of town. Sheep got buck teeth and clip the grass right down to the dirt. Canada thistle and prickly ash take over, tight clumps around the boulders the glaciers brought when they came and...
The Poet Laureate of Turkey Hunting
An overview of Tom Kelly’s published work.
Mournful Echoes
“…before I could gather my feet under me I felt a boot on my neck.”
It’s a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird…Or Is It?
A turkey hunter encounters a mockingbird with an impressive vocabulary, imitating quail, bucks and hogs. But one sound sent the hunter running. After poring over a topographic map all winter, I finally drew my X on an out-of-the-way piece of public land. It was going...
Our Gobbler: Competing for a Prized Wild Turkey
Who would get to the massive gobbler first: the author or his poacher neighbor?
Turkeyless Triumphs: A Successful Season Without a Harvest
America’s largest game bird is a formidable opponent – elusive, suspicious, wary. But is leaving the hunt empty-handed really a loss when there is still so much to gain? I am still somewhat of a newbie when it comes to turkey hunting. Whether it’s spring or...
Making Tools Out of Turkey
By crafting knives, totes and other useful tools, you are taking an extra step as an ethical hunter by making the fullest possible use of your bird. Among turkey hunting enthusiasts, beards which dangle a foot from a turkey’s breast or have the breadth of the spine of...
The Art of the Hunt – A Daughter’s Experience
The dull thud kicks her wiry frame and the bird falls like a sack.