2011 Spring Turkey Season

Turkey Season Summary Letter 2011

Well I do have to admit it seems like a long time ago when my first hunters left. I look back and so much water has gone under the bridge since then and yet we all say time is flying by. I guess the best thing I could say right now is that you know as well as me that time never changes, we just get so caught up in the race that we rarely stop and reflect back on what has just taking place for the last month, the last season, or maybe even the last year. We get so busy looking ahead to see what’s in store for us around the next corner, and that I think, is why time seems to slip by so very quickly. I know it’s been said many times before, but now in my older days I understand why. “Just stop and smell the roses, but at the same time you smell them, reflect on all the blessing’s that God has given us and all the good times we have had. To me this world is getting nothing but scarier in many ways. So keep your Faith in God and His Blessings in your heart.

Now here is the season summary.

First I want to apologize for a, “later” than ever, “letter”. But a lot of that water that passed under the bridge I was telling you about, well some of it I felt as though I was swimming up stream. But never the less everything went without a hitch and here I am. I survived my Daughters wedding, and then the wife and I survived a 4,000 mile, through 8 states, trip on our Harley trike. Coming back to these miserable conditions and right now it is 103 degrees out side and I am inside with a glass of ice water to my left and a big bowl of cold cantaloupe on my right and the turkey chart is my mouse pad. So here we go.

I had a very large crowd of bow hunters this year, “one”, and Nate. But he doesn’t count cause we were just pretending, right Nater? I am sure Denton will agree. Any way, we won’t mention much about Mark’s hunt either except, that I would warn anybody that thinks they can out set this man better have a rear end made of cast iron, cause it ain’t gonna happen. No, really I had a great time with Mark and we saw a lot of turkeys and got some great footage, just couldn’t seem to get an arrow through any of them big fluffy ones. His four or five year streak was broken, but folks he’s still smiling and for his side kick Richard, that young man went out with the boy’s, (N & D) and got a couple of nice toms, on a rainy opening morning. Plus Nater got most of the action on film. It is some great footage and I will get that stuff all to Kevin real soon for the web site. We are putting everything we got on film this year on the web site and with the low number of hunters; we had plenty of free time to run a camera or two, we ended up with lots of good stuff.

We also took three other kids in the early season and captured most of that action, if not all of it, on film. That is still the high light of our season, first time kids, there’s nothing better.

Yummmm, fresh cantaloupe!

Bob Westlund’s group was down to 3 this year and his group is always our first group of the regular gun season and we were eager to get started. Our enthusiasm was unusually high because we were on a mission and we conquered that mission in less than one and a half days by getting those boys SIX BIG TOMS and kept my fanny out of hot water because I had booked our next group to arrive early. Oh yes, I booked it that way knowing that the pressure would be on and believe me it was. But I will do anything I can to accommodate all of our friends schedules. Well it got down to the last hour or so on that second day and Nater pulled through with a bird off of Frankenberry’s and one off of Wickham’s, nice job! Denton came along with me on that second day because he had already tagged out Bob W. III on opening morning, another nice job! So Denton and I took out Big Bob and ended up getting him two nice toms with just one shot. Well maybe I do remember Denton grabbing the gun from Bob and tearing out through the woods, but I wasn’t quite sure why until Bob said that one of the birds got up and took off running and Denton was hot on his trail. I, myself was still in shock and missed that part because when I saw those two toms come charging in at full speed, I panicked and hit the dang button twice, I guess, anyway I got nothing on film. Anyway as I was pouting a shot rang out, “Boom”, Bob and I hear a shot go off over this way. Bob says, you think he got him. Boom, we hear another shot go off over that way this time. Now we don’t know what is going on over in the cedars that surround us. This time we start discussing which one might have won, the turkey or Denton. A few minutes pass by and we see Denton pop out of the woods down about a hundred yards, with the other bird. That boy has got some wheels under him and a whole lot of determination when it comes to turkey kill’en. Well that’s another story for Grandpa Bob to tell the grand kids. Real Nice!

Well the stories could go on and on and I sure didn’t want anyone thinking that I had forgotten these hunts. I could go on and on and wish I could. With the shortage of hunters I managed to go with many of our guests this year either guiding or filming or both. I had a blast this year and was sad that it was so short. Denton, Nate and I live for this time of the year anymore and are always sad when it is over and we have to part our ways again till the next time. But time fly’s, Don’t it??

Here are the stats for 2011

Bow hunters ------ 1
Youth ---------------- 5
Gun ---------------- 17
Time Taken: AM----21 PM -----10 yep, 31 total
Eastern -----23, Rio’s ----- 4, Hyb ---- 4
Beards : Double’s ---- 5, Jakes ---- 3
Over 20 missed shots, oopppps!
Longest beard 10 ¾” taken by first timer, Jan Snedeker
Longest spurs 1 3/8” taken by, Vinny Conners
Heaviest bird 24# taken by, Richard Ashley, first bird of the year.

I wish I could tell every hunt that I see, but then this would not be a letter, it would be a book. Thank you so much everyone that had a part in this season, especially those that work for me. It was a lot of fun and can’t wait to see you all again.

Written by Kurt Nunnenkamp
On the day of July 28, 2011