The Spring Legion Podcast
Welcome to a year-round discussion on the wild turkey and those who hunt them. Hosted by Hunter Farrior, founder of Spring Legion and author of Ballad of a Turkey Hunter, the weekly podcast is geared for all outdoor communities and dives deeper than the usual tactics and calling tips. Holding true to the brand, topics are built upon respecting the heritage and challenges of hunting, with a never-ending appreciation for all that the spring season provides. Enjoy insight from special guests like Dave Owens of Pinhoti Project, Cuz Strickland of Mossy Oak, our friends at NWTF and Muscadine Bloodline, and so many more widely known for their impact in the turkey hunting community, as well as the deer, duck, and waterfowl realm, who exhibit the obsession of which only a real turkey hunter may truly understand. Thanks for listening.
The Spring Legion Podcast
Best Turkey Hunting Stories of Spring: Our "Why" and Close Gobblers
Year SIX of turkey hunting tips and stories has arrived with a warehouse full of spring 2026 gear and a head full of stories that matter more than numbers. We pulled the curtain back on how Spring Legion grew from spare bedrooms to stacked pallets, why we obsessed over simplifying designs, and what it took to bring Greenleaf across the lineup without investor money. Then we shifted to the real currency of our brand: hard-earned lessons from a season ruled by wind, hens, and terrain that punishes bad angles.
Georgia reminded us that timing beats talent. After days of punishing wind, the first quiet minutes lit a gobble from way off, triggering a mad dash from the porch to a setup that worked only because we were there when the woods finally breathed. In West Virginia, the mountains turned sound into a trickster. Gobbles sounded close while birds covered country fast, and a crow call at the perfect moment kept us from stepping into a gobbler’s vision cone. Hunting with a partner who reads the same map in your head matters—call when the lane turns in your favor, and let the bird make the last mistake.
Across states, hend-up flocks and better hatches changed the playbook. Low-volume mornings forced a patient, movement-first style on public ground where birds have seen every trick. Woodsmanship won the day more than loud calling: benches, cover, leaf rhythm, and a respect for how quickly a skyline burns you. We even talk about the tom that strut-carved a pine straw bowl by standing in one spot forever, a perfect snapshot of why observation can beat pressure.
The quiet theme is mindset. There’s a season where you chase numbers, and a season where you chase the right moments. We chose to walk away content, tags unpunched, because the woods had already given enough—daybreak gobbles, tough reads, and proof that purpose beats tally. We also share Black Friday bundle details, restocks, and plans to bring on help so we can tell more of these stories and the real, chaotic path of building this brand.
If you’re here for honest turkey talk, thoughtful tactics, and gear built to serve—not shout—we’ve got a full run ahead. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, share this with a hunter who lives for first light, and drop a review to help more folks find their way to the spring woods.
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All right, y'all. Welcome back to another episode of the Spring Leader Podcast. And it is hard to believe that we are going into year six, I think. Maybe. Yeah, year six, we're headed into. We feels like yesterday. I mean, we really just I mean, I hope there's a an SD card in here. I was I was looking at it, but I have no idea which one it is. It's whatever we recorded our last podcast with. Is the one that remains in the Rogue Caster here, and the um subject's gonna remain the same. Y'all know, and if y'all are if y'all are listeners, longtime listeners of the of the podcast, you know kind of what we're about. Uh Spring Legion is a brand, if you're new, that um is focused on turkey hunting. And that's um that's really just uh in a nutshell version of who we are as a brand, it it it it extends out to a lot of the um the old school ways that we uh grew up turkey hunting and um finding ways to uh provide means of representation of that um culture that we were born into. And uh that's what we try to do, and and so far I think we've um kind of accomplished that. It's kind of crazy to say, but right. We're um we're grown a lot. We're we're in a new setting here. It's um bit bigger of a warehouse than uh spare bedrooms and and garages and stuff that we uh built the company on. But um got a lot of stuff in here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we filled it up for sure. I didn't think when we got it a few months ago that we'd be hurting for room already, but we're we're getting close.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I thought we we fixed that problem by getting one, but doesn't seem to be the case because we are um I mean we're we're if if you're not watching this, it we're surrounded by boxes of of 2026 spring turkey hunting gear and apparel. Yep.
SPEAKER_01:And it feels good to say that. It does. That's been uh been a long time coming and a lot of stress in between and building and creating and I don't know everything you could think to say about it. It it has been.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, but it's been fun. And again, for those who who are new, my name's Hunter Farrier, and um I'm the founder of the of the brand, and Chase Farrier is here. He is my brother, if you didn't connect the dots on the same last name. Uh he is the uh other host of the podcast and been doing it here for a few years, and and we did a lot of hunting this year, so we're gonna probably dive into talking about that and some of the things we learned and some of the things we learned not to do. Um a lot of those. So uh we'll uh we'll dive into that. Um for those who care to know, which uh a lot do, we are um we are are releasing everything today, the day this comes out. This is a big day, guys. You know, this is what we've been working on since literally May of last year. We were on the way back from hunting, I don't know where, but um, it was day one of the of the grind, and that's kind of what we do. A lot of folks think we're really busy during the spring and and really kick back and deer hunting and doing trail cameras and stuff during the fall and summer and stuff like that, but that ain't the case. The um the long days of work days and stuff like that was just recently behind us. Right. But it's during the summer and the fall because that's when we got to get everything in for spring, so everybody's got you know what they need in the spring, and and and it arrived, and that is a big breath of fresh air because that's just a lot of the stress. But uh yeah, so we uh we we just released and restocked everything pretty much from last year. I don't think anything didn't come back um between the pants and the gators and the gloves and the you know jackets and stuff like that. We did add a button down and a little bit of uh variant to the uh the camouflage pattern. Right. Green leaf everything. We got green leaf and all of it. Yep. So that's um that was a big plus. That was something that a lot of folks wanted last year as a growing brand. You know, we never we don't have investor money, nothing like this. It's all going off an eight dollar hat that was flipped twice, right? You know, a long time ago. And uh you gotta be patient, you know, it's gotta grow.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Takes a minute longer. Um but we're getting there slowly.
SPEAKER_00:And we have no idea what we're doing. Most times. A lot of folks think I know what I'm doing, but I don't. Still winging it. Yep. And um a lot of mistakes, but a lot of um triumphs too. It's the small triumphs, right? But it is a lot of them, and they and they accumulate and grow into something that it is today, which is cool, and and we're forever thankful for those who have supported us over the years. Y'all could have easily checked out, but you didn't. Right. And if it weren't for y'all, it wouldn't be. Yep. But yeah, so y'all check those out at springlegion.com. You'll follow us on all the social medias. It's at Spring Legion across the board, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, um, and probably whatever else there is, we probably got one.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. We also released the new hoodies too quite a few weeks ago. A week or two ago. Um, I currently have one on in there or their sweep. There was a lot of work actually went into these too. You wouldn't think it, but yeah to make it to make it simple.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Most of the work is to is to make it simple. And we got a couple other things we hadn't released yet. That's going to be in the spring. Um, for those who who want to follow along, it's it's gonna be something pretty special. And most of the work was making it simple. Yep. It was it was it was taking stuff away and making it things that it's not more than things that it could be. So um more info on that to come in the future. But um, but yeah, we'll be running a little Black Friday bundle deal on all the new green leaf and all the new original bottom land, the everything we just got, it's it's you'll be able to get it at a discounted bundle the entire week of this uh podcast release. But other than that, that's all we got. Yep. We ain't gonna fill it up with with apparel and stuff, because I want to talk about turkeys. Right. And that's what we're here to do, and that's what we're gonna do. So, what do you think? Like a recap or like some stories or you know how I'll do it.
SPEAKER_01:Just sit down and press go and hope for the best.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. You don't think I wing it? Yeah. Jace really wings it.
SPEAKER_01:But I can't follow a uh a script, I guess you would call it a fake script, a notepad, whatever, um, to save my life.
SPEAKER_00:I try to all right. I write a couple pencil notes down to to remember things to mention, like if it's important, and if I get 50% of those, I'm doing hype, but most times I don't. If I remember where I put the dag on list, I'm doing better than usual. That's my big problem is I'll write a list and then lose the list. I'm good at writing them. I'm just not good at remembering where they went. So yeah, what so what was your I mean you got a favorite hunt off the top of your head? Probably. Which one would it be?
SPEAKER_01:It'd probably be on a Georgia turkey. Yeah. Just because I never hunted over there, mainly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um which I think we've already dived into the whole meat and potatoes of the the detail part of that hunt, but I mean just a little quick recap of it.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah, I mean it was I was hunting with my good buddy Gresham, um, who we really struck up friendship over turkeys. I was I think I was boiling deer heads out in the driveway at the little neighborhood and he pulled up on me and um, you know, figured we were like-minded. And so we uh you know, we hit off a little friendship there and he he pulled up one night and I was working outside in the carport and he said, Do you want to go to Georgia tomorrow? And I said, Yep, tell me when to get in the truck, let's go. And so I just, you know, winging it real quick, you know, hadn't really spent a ton of time other than one or two, you know, evenings with him. And um we got to spend eight hours in the truck and four or five days together hunting turkeys and you meet 'em good, you meet 'em good that way. Let's just say that. But um, yeah, hard hunted hard for a few days and then literally sitting on the back porch, heard one crank up right after the wind died for the first time in four days. And that's I mean, it like but it was funny because we were sitting there and I thought I was thinking to myself, I'm like, if one's gonna crank up, it just happened. And we're ever sitting on the dang porch missing it. Like uh we gotta get our stuff together either way. Like I just mentioned that, I think, and uh by that time, like as far off as you could hear it, pow. And I was like, I know what that was, you know, let's go.
SPEAKER_00:And that's um that's something that I've I've learned over the years is if you can't, if it's windy, you know, weather-related obstacles and stuff, a lot of times them turkeys are just as easier to hear one as you are. They want to hear a turkey gobble or a hen yelp or something like that. They want to find them too. And um, especially if they haven't been able to see them if there's not a lot of open pastures or anything like that, or or familiar kind of little luck and areas you go to that they just know they'd be. Um yeah, right after that rain, right after that wind dies down, they're like, all right, yeah, let's get the ball rolling. You gotta be there to you gotta be there, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I I had realized, oh dang, we're not there at the moment. And it just worked out. It's kind of like sunrise again.
SPEAKER_00:They'll they'll get backhand up, you know, but but it be there at the right time. It's it's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that was the first time it was right in three days, four days, however long we had been there.
SPEAKER_00:And honestly, give me that over three bluebird mornings. Because that third blueberry morning, it's like they got it figured out. They ain't even gotta gobble. They know what they're gonna do.
SPEAKER_01:They know what they're gonna do, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Not all the time, but you know, they're they're not looking. They're not, and that's kind of the style we hunt is is we're not we don't necessarily, you know, have a plan to go. A lot of folks, and I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I'm saying a lot of folks either have established land that they hunt and they know how the turkeys work, they know what they usually do, they know you know where they're gonna go, stuff like that. But most times we're hunting turkeys first time.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And and a lot of times, so we're kind of really banking on them finding a turkey that's looking for other turkeys already, if it's gonna be the best case scenario, instead of trying to play behind eight ball a little bit, which is usually the case.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:You you you find the turkeys, but they've they found themselves because they do this every day, and you you're the new guy, you just showed up. So being able to find a turkey that's also a little curious is always beneficial in that in that scenario.
SPEAKER_01:But and it's it's nice whenever you do find one that ain't in that scenario and you you win that ballgame. Oh yeah. You know, that that does you know, we're we're not strictly just hunting for that one turkey that's looking, you know, we're hunting all the turkeys there. I'm yeah, if it's bringing a beard, I'm hunting him. You know? Like, right.
SPEAKER_00:I'm not partial, I promise.
SPEAKER_01:Um, but it is nice whenever you do find that one and you'd be like, all right, yeah, here we go. Oh yeah. And you know, they may whoop your butt too. Yeah. But you know, a lot of times you can kind of feel the feel the feel the room out real quick and say, okay, we got a little bit better chance for this one maybe. Yeah. Than the other ones, you know.
SPEAKER_00:I don't remember who I ain't taking credit for, but and it ain't like a a famed quote, but somebody, I think it was somebody like a known person who said, like, just just hunt the turkey that's gobbling. Right. You know, don't make it hard. Like if it's you want to make find someone to make it hard, put me in a room with three different goblin turkeys, and I will I will analysis by paralysis or whatever, paralysis by analysis, I will overthink it all. And it isn't I would much rather just one. But if you give me a lot, then I'm like, oh, nice gotta remember hunting the one that's gobbling, the one that wants it. Um but yeah, I mean, I mean this year was a was a good year on my hand too. I mean, I'm blessed to get to hunt a lot, and that's really kind of my goal is to hunt as much as I can while, you know, tending to business and family back home. But um But I'd say, I mean, it it was a it was a it was a different year in terms of hend up situations, I think, across board. And I'm I'm talking like, you know, talking to other folks who who get to do this and stuff like that, and and what they've noticed. A lot of them agreed, even if I didn't mention it, that was kind of their first you think there's they're hitting up a lot more this year, which I I I agree. I think they were, yeah. Um not a bad thing. I don't know why. I'm not a biologist. I know some biologists who might know why, and a lot of them probably don't either. You know, it's just uh because they're turkeys, they're animals, they they just do things for for no real reason.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Um But that's that was the case, and a lot of folks got frustrated by it. Some mornings I was frustrated by it. Um it it you know, I don't know if it's a we've had a couple good hatches. I'm talking, you know, southeastern and relative and relative to past seasons. I think it has been a little better. The past couple hatches have been a little better. I mean um maybe there's a lot of jakes, maybe they don't have to gobble as much, maybe they are just end up, maybe it's you know. I was I was seeing a couple a couple strutters with a group of 30 hands instead of just one with a group of 30 hens, like usual. And it's those are those are really hard if you never run a dose. You get one long beer with a group of 25 hens, and you're number 26, and it's a long time waiting. And a lot of times the best thing you can do is go leave and come back because it's you most times you ain't talking them off.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:But um, but I'd say my favorite hunt of the year, and I don't know if we talked about it on here. I don't think we have. I think it was after we unintentionally, intentionally left the podcast stuff back home.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:When I get on the road, sometimes I'm I'm thinking about one thing and it is Well, you know we did take it with us. We did?
SPEAKER_01:We forgot the power cord though. Oh yes. We did. Once we got about nine hours from the house, we went to pull it out to check and make sure we had everything, and somebody left the power cord sitting on the counter at the home. Yep. Yep. I forgot about that.
SPEAKER_00:And it we attempted I'd had it in my truck for a while and not even looked. And then I was like, we're gonna go and stock up on some episodes. Me and Jay's gonna take a road trip and stock up on some episodes while we're driving. Yeah, because I'd figured out how to plug it in and stuff, and I was like, we can just record it while we're driving. We got 20 hours ahead of us, it feels like. Yeah, we went to plug it in, like nothing to plug in, dude. You know, you ain't gonna power recorder.
SPEAKER_01:I forgot about that.
SPEAKER_00:Yep, but um, but the favorite hunt of the year, and I've I mean I had several. I mean at least the favorite hunt that I haven't talked about on here probably, I think would be with our buddy Easton up in West Virginia. Mm-hmm. No, I mean it was kind of uh it was it was a uh a chapter and a whim of hunts that were unplanned. Uh I think I left here at 10 p.m. I was in bed. Left here at 10 p.m. drove to Georgia to hunt with my buddy Drew and wound up shooting a turkey at a of course 11 a.m. It wasn't like off the roost. It was, you know, I'm I'm 20 hours awake at this point. I'm I'm hanging on by a thread. And then um I think went to Kentucky and Tennessee and stuff like that, and then went up back up to um maybe went through Georgia again, and then I went to w West Virginia. It was just a you know, just a big tangled pretzel of, you know, crisscrossing pass and stuff, no real route or plan. But um wound up getting getting in this area um where Easton's from. I think he he took off work or something like that and was able to go and um slept about 30 minutes in the truck, got with him, and I ain't never really hunted this type of terrain. I kinda have before a time or two up in that area. But this was this was a little different. And it it was it was it was I mean, it was just different. It was it was pretty, but it some of it was a little thicker and trashier, you know, was kind of like Mississippi, a lot of elevation manipulation going on with the with the gobbles and the nails. He was, I mean, and it and I think I liked it a lot because he was a he's a turkey hunter, and that's something we hold pretty, you know, pretty high regard when you call somebody a turkey hunter. Right um I don't just like pass that out to folks who hunt turkeys. If um there's a big difference, I believe, in folks who hunt turkeys and folks who are a turkey hunter. And uh when you meet one, you kind of know it. And um, you know, it wasn't long after we got to listen, I was like, all right, these are the turkey hunters we're we're good, it's gonna be a good day. Regardless if we kill one, we're gonna, you know, iron sharpens iron kind of stuff, you know. Going get along. Yeah, oh yeah. And we did. And um got to listen and he was hearing some and stuff. And I and this was when I'm like, I love being the one who doesn't know what's going on. You know, in a new scenario, in a new situation. I mean, I think the first time me and Gary were hunting in like Tennessee mountain-ish area or whatever, we hunted a turkey that was on another mountain thinking he was he was coming. He's coming, you know, we're we're ready. And then we neither of us had really hunted one that would there's a potential he's half a mile or steps away, but he just sounds 60 yards away because the way he's gobbling. You know, that was cool to I mean that's what 10 years ago or however long ago it felt like, but this was kind of one of those situations as those turkeys were gobbling, waking up and doing this, and he was like, No, that's that's in that county. You know, we can just hear that from here. I'm like, that's freaking crazy, man. Um but and and the way they would move, they move so fast up these, you know, big steep mountains and stuff, and and we would try to get around them and stuff like that. We saw a bear, that was kind of cool. Um got on a bench and and pretty much and this is why I loved it, because I mean I'm not gonna sit here and just say I'm the best pin dropper on a gobble, but I nailed this one. I mean, I was like listening and listening. I'm like, if he's a turkey, he's gotta be he's got he can't it was pretty processing eliminate, he can't be here, he can't be here, he's gotta be on this little knoll, you know, that that we knew about, and we kind of eased our way up there between the bears stuff, and the more gobbled, you know, around this little bowl and stuff, and I'm like 85% chance that's you know he's moving, you know. And we called at him a couple times, trying to turn them around, and they they were just courtesy gobbling all the way, you know, somewhere else. I don't know, they were they weren't moving away because you can't either moving down or up or something, you know, it's it's hard.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Um but you can kind of see all of it, which means you can be seen by all of it. So you gotta be very careful on what you peek over, and um which is a whole new world to me, even as much as I could tell it. I've never been in a situation that steep, that you know, that uh open and closed at the same time, if that makes any sense. Um but yeah, so we're kind of just easing along, kicking leaves and stuff, scratching, trying to just trying to sound like some turkeys move, we're trying to move fast, because I mean we're already behind them, and they're kind of going clockwise and we're going clockwise around this big bowl. And um and we pick over one and I don't remember I think a we had just called and was, you know, like I said, we we weren't trying to be quiet with the leaves and stuff, trying to sound, you know, like a group of uh turkeys moving throughout. And it was a real pretty place. And we were, I mean, if a game of inches, we were this close to just busting over this and going down in there with them. And a crow called right right above this kind or something like that, probably saw us and you know, and one, when I say one hammered right on the other side of that knoll, it was the turkey, the original turkey, he just hadn't been gobbling.
SPEAKER_01:I see.
SPEAKER_00:And he had he had been murking his way. Yeah, because he he kind of came up without us doing nothing. So he was he was he heard us and didn't respond. It was coming straight to he was about we were about to do the whole like be careful walking and calling because you might just you know collide with one walking to your cause and not gobbling. That's what was going on. We just thank God for that crow. You know, because we were about to bust it. But when he hammered, I mean, that was I mean, blew our socks off right there. And I thought he was probably 40 yards at that point. I mean, I'm like, do I just sit right here and let him walk up and shoot him? Um, but we were able to like just I mean, I mean I I'll never forget Easton turning around and just his eyes were just big as softballs because he was one step ahead of me and like before I could even like process that the gobble is like he heard the just to break it and just you know just tackle me. Like, dude not take another step. But we are one step away from ruining all of it. If he gobbled, he didn't see us. So we we just like you know, I'm talking just like clawing our way as low as we can to get back to a tree, and we both found a tree and stuff, and and um like I said, I thought that turkey had to be 40 yards. Uh-uh. Because he he got 40 yards and it was even louder. I mean, it was like he just kept gobbling louder and louder and louder, and we caught a couple times, Easton did, I think. Um, trying to just get him to walk up this little little bit of an open area path. He was on it, it was perfect, you know. And that's that's a benefit of hunting somebody who knows what they're doing too, you know, knowing when to not call and stuff like that. And being on the same page with them is a huge thing. Never hunting with him. We're on the same page the whole time. Um that normally takes a day or two to hunt together.
SPEAKER_01:Sometimes it don't happen.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, there's some folks who just don't hunt well together. Right. Um I know a couple folks who don't they're great turkey hunters, don't hunt. They don't not dislike each other, they just they never can get in sync, you know.
SPEAKER_01:And it took me and you a while to get in sync so differently. But now it's like, all right, we kind of know what we're dealing with, you know, because we've hunted so much together. But it did take a minute for us to figure that out. Yep. And not necessarily just go go that way and and and do that.
SPEAKER_00:Um yeah, so he um Yeah, he caught a couple times. He comes up here, and I mean when he gobbled that last time though, I mean he would he was probably literally 40 yards at that point, but I I never heard Dirk gobble that loud. I mean he was he was scrimmage. I mean he shook the whole I swear he shook the leaves off the tree. Yeah. And I was like, I my my heart ain't bit beat that fast in a long time, you know, because I still can't see him. And I'm like, heck, where is he? Because I he's gotta be right there. And then finally I could hear some footsteps and he came on up. But so that was fun. Um Yeah, that that was probably probably probably my favorite, I would say. Yeah. And then um and then what else? We we got to take a couple more trips and and and hunt my dad and break a time or two this year.
SPEAKER_01:That was fun. Yep. Um Yeah, me and Breck had a good hunt. Didn't didn't connect, but you know, a hard hunt hard hunting bird um on public and and we just we struggled with him for a day or two and then finally made it all happen and and I I g I mean he came right in the perfect gap, and Breck just couldn't quite see that one little the one gap he stuck his head up, Breck couldn't had one little limb covering it, and it just didn't work out. But like at that point, that was the last hunt of the year, I f like I felt like we won still, because I mean I was like, if he's gonna pop up in one spot, you know, that I could have drawn a four-inch circle on where his head was gonna pick over the ridge, and I'll be dang it it came right through that four-inch circle, you know, and I was like, I feel like I still won that one, you know, in a way. Yeah. Even though we didn't tote one out, you know, that was a real fun hunt, you know, the way it worked out. Yeah. And um we'll have to get Breck on here to tell his side of that a little more. Um, but that was fun, you know, getting a hunt with him and and hunt with dad some. And um I remember one cool thing was that phone I saw. Oh yeah, I forget I saw one then. And I mean he wasn't big as my left foot. Yeah. Um and we were slipping through some tall grass, and I mean he had to be two days old. Right. And um I about stepped on, I thought it was an ant ant hole ant heel. And I was like, don't stamp on the head. Like I'll that's the only reason I was like, don't step there. And then I was like, oh dang, you know, and I'm less than a foot from it. Yeah, you know, like I'm one step away from it, like hovering over it and it didn't ever move, didn't do nothing. I actually made sure it was breathing, you know, make sure it was cool. But um, you know, that was real cool to to see, you know, I've seen a few at a distance, but never that was cool. And that that new and small, but yeah, trying to think of some other things.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I mean I I will say I'm I'm trying to think as a whole by the turkey season. The year before so 2024 was uh my kind of objective was to to hunt the weather, was to n was to not have a plan and and accomplished that. I didn't really have a plan on anywhere I went, but but um I did hunt the weather this year and it it paid off, I think. You know, I think I had better opportunity and stuff like that. And um I do think I hunted probably more there wasn't but I mean a couple of turkeys I killed by myself. And I I mean I I think turkey hunting is a is a solitude type of you know, kind of sacred uh opportunity you have every morning, you know, to do. And so that that was kind of different for me to get away from as much as I'm used to. Uh I it's it's one of the things that's evolving as this as the brand grows and stuff. And I and I've I've learned to like hunting with folks at more and more every single year. And um and I really enjoy hunting with folks I don't I barely know. And I like, I mean, me and Gary went hunting and stuff, and I I hunt with folks who I I know I've known for a long time and make sure I hunt with them, but um folks like Gary Sweeney and stuff like that in Tennessee, you know, folks we every time we see each other we're like, we need to go, you know, and we finally did. Finally went, yeah. You know, and that was awesome. Easton also. Yeah. Oh yeah. Uh uh there was several, um several more too. Um between Pennsylvania, another one in Tennessee, and um shoot, I don't there's more, but I can't I can't think you know, or and um in Kentucky too, and um Share Camp with Dr. Chamberlain and Mike Cousin, yeah, that was really cool. Um really cool hunt, which I think we already have a podcast on it a couple episodes back in the latter part of last season. But um but one thing I think probably more so something that was different for me this year was um I was I was cool with walking away at the end. Yeah. You know, as much as I love circuit hunting, there's nothing much more I love than hunting turkeys. And um and it it was just I was alright with it, you know. It it's kind of part of that process and the maturity of a turkey hunter, you know. And um I think we've talked about before a lot of other folks have recognized it and and there's there's stepping stones of being a you know, a turkey hunter, and that's part of it is is the killing phases and stuff like that and kill at all costs and then you kind of shift into how you kill 'em and and you know what's more important. Then you shift into like making more turkeys to hunt and and r you know, more respect towards the resource, then that's your focus and stuff and and um and it was uh you know, I was I was sitting there and I I don't I was up north and uh it was kind of by myself and usually, you know, you want to end on high note, you think, but I'm like, yeah, I don't I don't really what what's that gonna do? What's that gonna change, you know? Right. If um I've had my fill, my my cup is full, I've I've done it all, you know. I've I've I've hunted these turkeys more than I ever thought I'd hunt in my whole life and I can be able to do that in a year or two. Right. And uh I don't have an objective of states and stuff like that or I definitely not like numbers of turkeys I want to uh you know, throw on my shoulder. Right. Um but yeah, I mean I was just I was sitting there and I was like, you know, I mean I love this, but I was I was kind of conflicted with my my thoughts there because I'm like, well you gotta. You gotta you gotta kill one. You're you know, you're you're a turkey hunter, you're supposed to that's what you're supposed to do. But now I was kinda I kind of cussed myself there for a second. I'm like, turkey hunter is part of who I am. That ain't like my identity. You know, I'm a I'm a dad. That's I'm very proud of that. I'm you know, a husband. Um, you know, that's some business tend to here. You know, if you're gonna want a business, you can sacrifice some stuff.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_00:I sacrifice a lot, but you know, turkey hunting is usually the the last thing I want to sacrifice, but I do every now and then. But um that stuff tends to, you know, that was kind of I promise my daughters don't care if I'm a turkey hunt, if I kill a turkey or not. They're just r they're ready to see me, they miss me. Right. And I miss them. And you know, I kind of I want to go home. I'm like, you know what, if I can hear some gobbles, it it'd been kind of bad weather. Just it was it was very cold, it was very rainy. I'm like, tired of sleeping this day on the truck. I know that, yeah, you know, at this point. I'm very tired of that. Um so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna get up in the morning, it's a pretty day, and I can go here and probably get one. Because I know, because I I I pulled up and this is the last, you know, final few days of the year, and one of the you know, the few states that are remain open and um pulled up. Went through a daggum ringer of a thicket at the first place I went. And I I've never, and Chase, I'm telling you, I've never in my life been in that big of a vine. Really? I mean, I'm I didn't know that kind of wooded areas existed. It took me thir every bit of 30 minutes to 40 minutes, maybe an hour to move 20 yards. I was caught up in everything you can imagine. And um Yeah, so I I'm I literally said, screw that. I'm going to where I know some more turkeys are and I know the terrain's different, and it's an hour drive away, same unit I got tags for. Yeah, I can do this. And that's what I did, and I pulled up and by God, those turkeys. There again. Like I left it like three years ago, exactly the same shade they were standing in when I drove away and drove back down to Mississippi, Georgia, or wherever. It's like the other ones were waiting on me. I'm like, awesome.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I know where I'm gonna get, you know. I go up there and they're like, they're discing it or something like that. They're just it's it's like an ag stuff. Oh, okay. And they're they're they're working on it. And I'm like, did not think about that part, you know. Because the other time I came was the was even later, and now it's you know, it's a week and a half, two weeks before I I was here and it was all done. Right. It ain't all done now. So probably gonna be a turkey in that fresh dirt in the morning. He's probably not there right now, but probably will be in the morning. And if I go sit there, he's probably gonna come to it, regardless if I'm there or not. Right. So I kind of left there. And then there was there was, and I'll say this, there were several opportunities where I could have just killed a turkey. Turkey on this in this two days. Right. Or a day and a half, really. Even that afternoon, if I want if I want to just go home and kill a turkey and go home, this is this driving between these two thick places in the Agfield stuff is what I'm thinking about like, you know, who are you to say, like, I I gotta kill one before I can go home? Like, I don't have a boss making me do this. It's not my job, you know. Yeah, we are not trying to. This is a quota. Right, this is fun. You know, I was I was I was honestly ashamed for the the 10 seconds that entered my mind, you know. Because that's not who I am. And I was like, hold on, you're getting influenced by the wrong folks if that's what you think. Right. So some self-reflection there. And uh and wanted to get back to another area where I knew some of the turkeys were, and I'm like, I honestly don't even care about killing. I want to hear them gobble. Because I haven't heard a turkey gobble in a while.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Because of the the cold and stuff.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:It was rainy, coldy when y'all were up there, remember?
SPEAKER_01:The last yeah, some of the last few we killed were you know, kind of slower hunts, you know. It's non-exciting, you know. Quote unquote boring, you know. Boring, yeah. Call a few times, they may gobble at you one or two times, and then just kind of you weren't hearing them if they did.
SPEAKER_00:I remember several. I could sea gobble. Right, but you couldn't hear it when the wind was so bad. Yeah. And um, even though they would technically come in, you know, to uh work.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. It still just kind of didn't scratch the 21 degrees.
SPEAKER_00:I'm freezing, and you can't hear them and they can't even strut without getting blown over. Like you and we shot a couple, you know. Yeah. Wouldn't trade it. I'm glad it worked. That's best that's what the hand we were dealt, that's what we were doing. But I mean, that first blueberry more, I'm like, I'm I'm gonna stay here, let this thing ride out, let that let them turkeys fly up in a tree so I can hear them gobble. You know, because that that's what I want to that's what I want to ride out. I have a checklist kind of in the back of my mind, and it and none of that is killing it. It it's like hearing one gobble at you know daybreak. Hearing all the other birds, the sounds they make at daybreak and stuff like that. Because I don't I don't hunt other things really. I mean, I just turkey hunt, and then I'm busy up to the brim this time of year, deer season, stuff like that. I know when I when I get a drug, it's probably it's gonna be a while before I hear any of this stuff. You know, I hear a doll bark two miles away. You know, I I don't wake up and get to hear that. Um so I I wanted to let them turkeys do whatever they're gonna do. I didn't even stay to like watch them roost or nothing. I'm just like, I don't I'm not I'm not trying to scheme nothing. I just want to get out there and get on a high point and hear some more gobble and and what happens, happens. I mean if I can get on one, get him hot and kill him, heck yeah. Right. And but but I elected to go away from the dirt field and go to the other side so I knew you know I could hear some. And um and but I could still hear the dirt field, and these they got but a lot. There was like five of them, and they're all on a property, you know, across the line and stuff, and cool, you know. I'm like, I'm gonna sit at this corner that I'm sure everybody who's ever hunted this place is sit at. I know my chances are low. Right. I'm not trying to be some you know, chess match it out with them and gotta I gotta get some blood on my hands. I'm just like I'm gonna get where I can hear good and see good, and it's over the end. That's what I did. Yeah. And um, and one gobbled in that dirt field by God about eight o'clock, and I'm like, hmm. He called one time, you know. I'm like, there he is, he's there, I could have shot him, but you know, he never that was the only time he gobbled. And um, I'm not saying I don't enjoy killing him because I do. And I don't want to do much more right now than go kill a turkey. Oh, yeah. You know, but at the end, my cup was full and I was like, you know, I I needed that. I needed to to walk away empty-handed for a season, I feel like, just to appreciate the resource as it is and have something to look forward to going back. And yeah, I think that means that was a that was a a little bit of a new thing for me, even as a however 30-something year old turkey hunter I am. That's um that's not something that always happens. But um something that was new. And uh I remember in the back of my mind like you know, mention this on the podcast, because we talk about and I think this is kind of just I hate the word industry, but it is a uh an outdoor realm misconception that that the folks you see and the folks you hear and the the media you consume and stuff is usually the good, but they don't ever talk about the times that they don't go on or the times that go past that. We we try to more than the average, you know, podcaster show or whatever. We might have more unsuccessful mornings than the the average you know, podcast and stuff, and that's alright. But um but uh but that's something that I don't think gets talked about enough is that the nine times we we just walk away because it it it it wasn't right, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Which yeah, one or two of them, you know, I got to just sit there and watch them for a while. Yeah. And knowing that they know that inch mark of where they can they can be shot at and versus not. And and that was that was fun to just sit there and and let them sit there and gobble at me and strut and just would not break the and you know. Trust me, I threw the kitchen sink at some of them.
SPEAKER_00:Oh yeah, you know, trying to I need two steps, dude. Yeah. I don't I don't want to to ruin it for tomorrow. Right. And um I don't know, I think we might have punting them a couple times. I kill one, you kill one, kill one later on. Yeah. Don't know the same ones, but right, same area. Glad we glad we didn't botch it and didn't throw kitchen sink at them that day one on those particular ones.
SPEAKER_01:But I don't think them turkeys were getting hunted hard. Thankfully. I don't I don't know. I could I mean I could be wrong, but um I mean I th we were hunting them hard.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, them first week it was it was not a good first week in the city.
SPEAKER_01:It was yeah, I forgot I've come trying to remember it. It was rough weather. Talk about hind up and bad humid weather. Yeah, bad humid, yeah. They were hinned up from the get. I mean it. They got one all day. If that. Yeah. I remember one more.
SPEAKER_00:If you didn't know where they should be, you weren't you weren't doing nothing.
SPEAKER_01:They'd got give you one or two on the limb, and that was it. The whole and I mean I hunted from daylight to dark for two weeks straight, I feel like, you know, just about. And just you know, and I would hear maybe one gobble in the distance, and then if you didn't get a good pin on him from then, yeah, you're done. You know.
SPEAKER_00:Which I that's part. I I love that about their gun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, as much as I love hearing goblin strut and and and and all that good stuff, I like hearing them making it being difficult. Like if you don't if you don't hear it right, if you if you're walking in that one moment, you're done. You just did all his work for nothing. And that's you know, that m that's what makes it special. And there was um there was a couple around in the local area, public land stuff that pressured burrs that you know, 100. And I'm like, eh. It's tough, you know, and that's what I like about it, you know. I mean, I'm not eating the words of saying I like it. I'm like, this I really do enjoy that. I I enjoy thinking I have it figured out and and getting proven wrong. Oh, yeah. I'm like, see you mean someone else thought of this wild plan and did it before me, and now you know exactly what I'm about to do. Like, because you he he read it like a couple of times, they'd read it like a deck on the script. I'm like, oh, he he knows what he knows what's up, you know. And before I even got to, you know, show him a second card there, he he was on to me. Right. And here I was thinking I was good. Nope.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You you're at least the second person to try that one. Right. This year.
SPEAKER_01:But um now I will say that one I did get in Miss in Mississippi. It it was Yeah, I felt like I won really 1-1-1. Yeah, you know, won the the gold medal, not the silver, you know. Right. Just and it was it was a lot of woodsmanship went into that. You know, and it felt like I mean, you you I was amongst them without them knowing I existed. That's fine. You know, and that was just cool. I mean the hens flew down to thirty-five yards from me, you know, played her, you know, I guess played her whatever, you know, where they do the weird wobbling and chasing each other and you know, just kind of I don't know what that is, but like chickens do it. Very comfortable feeling. This is they ain't gonna do that walk out looking. Yeah, just you know. Yeah, I I I don't know, yeah, I don't know what you call it, but you know, looking funny, right, being themselves, you know what I'm saying? Like nobody's watching them, you know, and and the the gobbler flew down at you know fifty probably and just sat there and strutted. And I'm telling you, when I got up there, I I had to get him to break, you know, twenty yards so I could get a shot on him in range and all that, and get him inside of 40. And um I walked over there where he was stuck behind a tree. I could just see his tail fan and his head coming out each side of this one tree, and he stayed in one spot for 15 minutes, probably. And he had a a pile of pine straw that he from strutting in one singular circle standing on it that was like a bowl. You know, he had I mean it it was a mound that was packed down dead center from his feet. Like yeah, I don't know how you say like how to explain it, but it was like scooped up so much with his wings and stood on the dead center of it, it was like a I don't know, when you make biscuits you you do the flour up and put the eggs in the center, you know? No. I know you don't know how to make an egg on biscuits. Somebody will understand what I mean by that. But like if you built a sand mound and poured water on the top, like a volcano almost. Yeah, but it was like from him packing it down and pushing it up, you know, all at the same time. But I mean it was like a foot tall mound he had built. You know, old pine street was pretty cool. And it was cool, you know, and that's how locked down he was for those 15 minutes. I mean he didn't move an inch. And had to, you know.
SPEAKER_00:You can't really just tell somebody, like you gotta almost so you mean he didn't move for, you know, and I I'm telling you, I've seen them sit there for two hours. Uh stone calls I don't even say spit or drums. I'm just talking like that turkey is frozen. He might be dead. I don't know what's going on with that. Yeah, is that mounted or a mounted turkey there? And all uh yeah, you think that and all of a sudden he looks at you. You know, where you're like trying to think, maybe I can sw maybe I can move a little bit here. No, no. Yep. Gone. Yeah. Um it's just they sit there and they do they the turkeys have no nothing to do.
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_00:Breed, eat, and don't die. Is there a list of things to do every day. Mm-hmm. And and and you you can't make them straight, you can't make them gobble and stuff like that. You can appreciate it when when they do, you know, when it comes down to maybe the last two rah or something like that that I'm gonna do, I will s uh so to speak, I'll I'll I'll I'll use those as my checklist like I did. But anyway, Chase said one of our cameras has done down because we are so unprepared. Yeah. Um that's all right. So yeah, if you listen to this, y'all be sure to follow us on the social media stuff. And and we might do YouTube stuff. I don't know. We gotta we gotta figure that out. We're gonna try to in the next few weeks try to get some some help. You know, some whether it be media or or warehouse fulfillment stuff. We're gonna as as after the holidays are over, probably, or maybe a little bit during the holidays, we're gonna kinda get a little bit of a system going here and and y'all might see a few new faces out and about and stuff. And hopefully we'll be able to pump out as much content and and stuff like that as you can. We're not uh we're we're we're too young to be like not tech savvy. Like I understand you know what HDMI chord is, but I mean that's pretty tech savvy, isn't it? No. Well really showed it there. Yeah. Um anyway. Couldn't find the adapter earlier. But but not new school enough, not young enough to like just really like wake up in the morning and want to make content. Right. Like I I'm an I don't like being seen. I don't like just it's a big step for me to get heard on a podcast. I mean, I don't like yeah, it's against my bloodline to even talk about turkey hunting stuff that I know. I had to get over that because I felt like it it wasn't happening. You know, it was a lot of what can I sell folks, not what can I teach folks. Right. And I'm like, well, my God, if it's gotta be me, it's gotta be me. You know, it's gonna start this. And I didn't not say I started it, but you know, at least participated in the in the sharing of knowledge and stuff like that for folks. And like I said again, iron sharpens iron. I learned more, I'm telling you, all down this hill, I learned more from folks who haven't turkey hunting as much as me as I do folks who do. I uh appreciate folks who do hunt more than me and know more than me. But when they're when I'm able to go hunt with folks and able to look at it, but when when someone's able to see something with the view of some a new, you know, uh a new vision of of a scenario or something, they're like, We'll just go to the top. Okay, yeah, let's try that. That's a good idea. Instead of trying to do all the stuff I was saying and do, let's just get in front of them. How about that? That's a great idea, guy. You know, and it works, and it's I'm like, I gotta I gotta slow it down and simplify this stuff, you know. Yeah, um, but so hopefully we'll be able to have some more content with stuff that we learned and stuff that we have learned and and um as well as a couple a couple stuff along the way of the the the brand's growth. We might do a I thought about doing maybe like a week of stuff of like just um kind of the storytelling part on our end, because there's a lot that's happened with Spring Legion to get for it for it to get here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That that we haven't talked about because we just talked about turkey hunting, but it would be interesting to folks, I think, to to to see the process that was no matter how chaotic you think it is, I promise you it was more chaotic than that. Of the the things that had to happen, the exact people you had to meet, stuff like that for it to get as big as it is today. Right. And um, you know, very appreciative of everybody who's had a hand in it and everybody who supported it. And uh we know a lot by name, you know, folks we've never met that we just recognize on the um on you know, through orders and stuff like that. We know like I know them personally because they've been, you know, biased this whole time and we we certainly appreciate that. But it'd be good to you know, and maybe make some reels and stuff with some photos of what we're talking about and stuff. I'm like, wow, y'all really y'all really did live in that run-down shack, you know, you know, and that's that's really the first spring legion hat right there, you know, stuff like that. And that and then kind of you know see what see what's happened since. Um but yeah, so we're gonna wrap this up. I don't know, we might do a part two this week. I don't know, it depends on how fast we can charge these cameras. But the next one I I would say that the next episode we might get into a little bit more of the tactical side. This was supposed to be a little more storytelling. I like talking X's O's, so uh my all my stories wind up being just here's what the turkey did, and here's what went in my head and stuff like that, instead of just I'm not a good storyteller. Right. But the next one will be a little more stuff we learned from the birds. Then from there I have no plans.
SPEAKER_01:So we're back.
SPEAKER_00:So hope y'all enjoy the rambling. We got uh six months of rambling in store, and we appreciate y'all following along. Hope y'all subscribe and and follow the podcast wherever you choose to. Apple, Spotify, YouTube, wherever else. If y'all if y'all do listen to podcasts on other platforms besides the main, you know, two or three, let us know because when we have control, we can put it on whatever app that is. I I can do that in about 30 seconds if you would rather listen to it on something else. So you know, all we can do is see the analytics, but if I think the three choices, obviously that's the three we're gonna see. We can we can expand it even more, and that's what we're gonna do. If there's a fourth we don't may not know about, let us know. I ain't that technical. That's what we're asking. You know. I know what HDMI cord is, but that's about it. Anyway, uh appreciate y'all listening to the Spring Legend podcast. See you next time.
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