Big names in turkey hunting circles?

Some have had just more money and opportunities than the rest of us. Or luck.
Some worked for it or were entrepreneurs and made a great living.
Some are assholes that think they are better than everyone else, and that all the public land belongs to them because they are a YouTube celebrity.

I don't get into celebrities, pros, athletes, movie stars, singers. They are all people just like I am. They ain't special just because they have a big social following.

That being said, I've met a few over the years. Some seem to have good character and some seem to have zero character. But that's just my opinion and what I've seen.
 
I don't turkey hunt any more, but years ago, my cousin and I were chasing the same bird as another guy at LBL, so we backed off. We were amazed at how good his calling sounded.

A few hours later we found out it was Harold Knight when he walked out of the woods and greeted and talked to us. Really nice guy.
 
Most sure enough Turkey killers hunt where there's lots of turkeys. And most of them will tell you that. And most of them you've never met

And some of the pros were those guys who got an opportunity. And some were rich and are not good hunters and those are usually easy to spot. I've hunted with both.

The main reason you don't know most of them is because of the rich ones.

You want to meet some sure enough stone cold turkey killers, go to East Central or Southwest Alabama. There's some old men in those areas that probably could kill a turkey in downtown NYC.
 
AlabamaSwamper said:
You want to meet some sure enough stone cold turkey killers, go to East Central or Southwest Alabama. There's some old men in those areas that probably could kill a turkey in downtown NYC.
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That I can attest to. I grew up hunting Macon, Bullock, Lee counties and man some of the old guys I knew were just unreal. My dad was a big hunter but not a turkey hunter. That side of my family is from those areas so he knew everyone and everyone knew him. His buddies and "Ken" took me under their wings when I got into it at young age and man I learned soooo much from those guys.

The constant theme with all of them was the same though. They were EXPERT woodsman, I mean stuff I didn't even think of or know of to notice. They were not the best callers but they knew how to find turkeys and they knew exactly where they wanted to be and why.
 
Those guys laid the foundation for me when I was younger that imo is why I've been successful.

Learn the woods you hunt, every tree, every opening, every hill and dip. You should know it so well that before you even make a set up you envision it down to the tree you are gonna be at before you even make a move.

Study turkeys and their behavior. Why are they doing what they are doing. Where do they like to go after fly down and why. Where do they stage in the heat of the day and why. Where do they stage before fly up and why. If it's raining where will they be. If it rained over night does that change where they go in the morning. If it's windy do they like certain places. Some of that can't be answered all the times because turkeys will be turkeys, the point being is educate yourself on WHERE and WHY. If you make a mistake, great, learn from it and what could you have done instead.

Between those 2 alone you can kill turkeys anywhere with enough time and effort.

Calling was always their lowest priority, but their main leases was when to call and when not to call.
 
Went to a seminar Harold and David held in the 90s, I guess. I think it was in McMinnville, Tullahoma, or thereabouts.

Great guys. Did a Q&A session.

I stayed around after and showed them a toothbrush striker. They were intrigued.

Aaron Tippin was there as well, sitting amongst us commoners.
 
I couldnt name a "big name"turkey hunter. I grew up in farmland, learn to chase through trial and error way before youtube. I guess knight and hale would be the only big name names i knew because their names were on the calls i bought at walmart. Still to this day i cant watch turkey hunting on tv, the calling drives me nuts as im usually trying to sleep
 
I was on a hunt once that Harold Knight was also part of. Great guy! Never met him but I used to love watching Eddie Salter , seems like a down to earth good person.
 
AlabamaSwamper said:
Most sure enough Turkey killers hunt where there's lots of turkeys. And most of them will tell you that. And most of them you've never met

And some of the pros were those guys who got an opportunity. And some were rich and are not good hunters and those are usually easy to spot. I've hunted with both.

The main reason you don't know most of them is because of the rich ones.

You want to meet some sure enough stone cold turkey killers, go to East Central or Southwest Alabama. There's some old men in those areas that probably could kill a turkey in downtown NYC.
Click to expand...

I grew up cuttin my teeth in the southwest bama swamps. We still have our camp down there. This is the truth…momma grew up with Ben Lees daughter which I heard he wasn't even the best Turkey hunter around down there just the only one who would talk. The toughest turkeys I've hunted out of multiple states have been down there by far…they are evil and full of piss and vinegar when they gobble.

I've met plenty of them at various Turkey shows. Salter, knight, hale, primos…all nice guys. Preston Pittman, t bone, and many more were nice. I don't care for a lot of the new guys or YouTube "stars" like Dave owens.
 
Ron Jolley, Eddie Salter, Preston Pittman are the three of the most down to earth I met. Some of the second tier Primos guys are good dudes, some are azzhats IMO…Was fortunate enough to meet Tom Kelley and have an autographed copy of Tenth Legion as well as his little green book. A bunch of folks I work with worked with him in his professional life and said he was a great guy!

I have heard the Kirby family are great folks, Ray Eye and some of the MO guys I would love to learn from as well as Knight and Hale before me passed.
 

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