Welcome And Meet Kayla

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Hey everyone, we're back with another show of Echoes of the Hunt Behind the Hunt. And today we have Fit to Hunt with Kayla. She is here to share an amazing story of a turkey that she recently killed with her father. And man, Kayla, I am so excited to have you on this show. I can't wait to dive into this story. So tell us about yourself. Let's let's dive in right now. Let's get after it.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Hey, so uh thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm Kayla. I I'm from Arkansas. I am uh married, um, three kids, I'm a nurse practitioner, and I really enjoy hunting. Um I I uh I did a lot of bow hunting last year, and one of the properties that I hunted the most, I saw more turkeys than I did deer. And turkey hunting just sort of piqued my interest a little bit. Where I grew up hunting, um turkeys were very scarce. So I I really didn't know very much about them. I never really hunted them. Um, but I I watched them very intently. I would have up to 20 hens come in, a couple gobblers come in during deer season, and um I I paid attention to, you know, what sets them off. Um I was really good at spooking them initially, and I learned that sound, which actually came in handy for the turkey I I ended up getting. Um yeah, I I was just, you know, there's there's not anything really in the spring to hunt. So I thought, well, why not give turkeys a try? Um, being a little bit more challenging than I expected. Um, but I I I started practicing calling probably around December. And I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna give it a I'm gonna give it a go.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

So yeah, I'm not gonna lie, your videos that you're making of you doing the calls at your office were cracking me up. Like you see like your coworkers going like, what the heck is Kalo up to now? Like they just had me die, and I was like, that's great. It just shows how dedicated you are.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Yeah, I'm the office clown, and I also like I like to uh pique other people's interest in in the outdoor world. I think a lot of uh people, but women specifically, um, they're they get rubbed the wrong way when it comes to the outdoors, and it's not just about you know going out there and just killing everything inside, um, but it's about having fun and respecting nature and understanding why you have this balance that you're you're helping with the ecosystem. So I like I like that aspect of it.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Yeah. Speaking of balance, you said you're

Balancing Motherhood Work And The Woods

SPEAKER_00 3:10

a nurse practitioner, and you also have three kids and uh and a house full of just kids going everywhere. So how do you balance that as also a hunter, a nurse practitioner, and a mom? Like that's incredible. How do you how do you do that?

SPEAKER_01 3:31

So what helps me the most is um my husband. He I work part-time and I stay at home with my kids part-time. So um two days a week I'm at home. And during that time is when I do a little bit of archery, archery content, um, things like that. Um but so him, but then also I just I really enjoy it. It's um it is what I feel like makes me a better mom, more patient mom, having that time away um to to unwind and just enjoy being outside. Um uh my parents too, they're really good about helping keep the kids on my days off when I want to sneak out into the woods or go set go check my traps. I enjoy trapping too. Um, so I, you know, I feel like I feel like anything that you really enjoy, you make time for. So it's just one of those things that, you know, I just uh do the best I can with what time I have.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Yeah, it's yeah, for real. It's it's hard to, especially for those that have a full-time job and then they have to come home, deal with the family life, keeping everything normal and just having as much interest as possible at home to make sure the kids feel love and that you're there for them and show them the care and affection you have. And then when it's like for me, it's like when they're down and asleep, now it's nighttime, and this is my time to grind. But I also have to realize like, I have a spouse, I need to be there for her as well. So I can see it being a little bit more challenging for those with a full-time job, but then I can also see it being very challenging for those with part-time jobs as well, because you have so much more going on because you have patient, you have patience, right? And you have to do, I'm sure you have to do labs at home, you have to do all that stuff to make sure like their stuff's up to date in their file. So, like you're bringing work home with you, so you're technically full-time work, like that's insane.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Yeah, yeah. This is my home office. I do telemedicine sometimes, but uh yeah, being someone's healthcare provider um is heavy sometimes. Yeah, but then also on top of that, the you know, raising little ones and balancing the household, it's it's no easy task.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

So no, it's not, and I feel like a lot of people have a misconception of that. Like they see all these like well-known hunters, well-named hunters, and they're just like, Man, it must be nice to have money. Like that doesn't money does not negate the fact that they still have stuff going on at home, they still have other stuff that they need to take care of as well. And like, all people see is just money, and it's just like that's not the case. Like, yeah, they're grinding really, really hard. Like they were, they went from nothing like how we are to where they are. Like, I'm not saying we're nothing, but like they went from like ground zero and worked and grinded to get to where they were, and they're still grinding.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

So it's like kudos to you to be able to take, you know, separate work, home life, and hunting, and being able to like adapt to all of that. Like, that's awesome. Good for you. So yeah, um, so when you do have your time off, do you spend more time doing archery or do you spend a lot of time on the computers while working on your content, or do you balance it pretty evenly? Would you say so?

SPEAKER_01 7:08

I guess it depends on um what's upcoming. If it's uh if I'm preparing to deer hunt, I'm making sure that you know I'm fine-tuned with my bow best I can be. Uh, or if I'm if I have like an archery tournament, which I I've started shooting at a few tournaments uh recently. Um and it it just kind of varies. I I honestly like nap time is probably when I make do the most of my content on my post. So yeah, or like my lunch break at work, you know, I don't I got caught up on my charts in my lab. So let me just edit a reel real quick.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Oh, dude, that's awesome. Yeah. Jeez, for me, it's it's uh it's a hard balance, but it for me as well at work, that's probably what I can get the most out of my time on social media because like let's be honest, active duty doesn't do a whole lot. We do a lot of sitting around, getting told what to do, and then we finish that, we just sit around and wait some more. So we have a little bit of time on our hands at work, but um, so yeah, when you were focusing on this turkey, what led you to wanting to turkey hunt?

Learning Turkey Calling The Hard Way

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Was it just because it was so scarce, or was it like, did your dad bring you up in the turkey hunting world, or was it just like, you know what, I need a challenge and I'm gonna go after a turkey?

SPEAKER_01 8:30

So uh, like I was saying, I I I didn't grow up turkey hunting. I I saw some turkeys occasionally growing up hunting um on our family land, but um never had that experience of uh you know setting out decoys and sitting while someone called and calling in a turkey like that when I was a kid never happened. Um so I watched all these turkeys during the fall, uh, and I was like, okay, so so this is something that I could try whenever deer season's out. Um and it can't be that hard. That's what I stupidly told myself. So I'm like, I'm not gonna get one of the mouth calls that I'm gonna just, you know, call, practice calling with it. And I I'm pretty raw in my content, uh, like it or love it. I it's just or like it or love it or hate it. I I just am like, you know what? Everyone starts somewhere, and I'm just gonna prove that you don't have to be good at something to to like it and to get started with it. So I actually posted a couple of videos of me. It was a slate and then a diaphragm call. And someone actually commented on my video and then on TikTok they went live and I hopped in their tick, I hopped in there live um because the comment that they made, it wasn't like you know, malicious or anything. And he actually made calls and he was like, Hey, I I noticed that you were calling. Um, I think that the call that you were using is a little bit too big for your mouth. Do you mind if I send you one to try? And I was like, sure. So he sent me one. The frame was smaller, you know, female, smaller mouth. Um, but he he sent me one with a smaller frame, and and I was amazed at how much better I sounded. So he actually spent some time with me um helping me learn how to use it and call. So he's the one that uh we did a live turkey talk turkey calling contest on TikTok. It was very, very fun, very neat. That's awesome. Um, yeah, but the the fact that he spent the time to invest in my interest, I was like, well, I mean, now I really have to give this a go, you know?

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Um yeah, that's amazing how someone in the community just takes the time to help someone. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

I love that's what I love about the uh hunting community, if you will. Um, you know, sure you're always gonna have, you know, negative that are like you should have done it this way, but you know, anyone that that's willing to give constructive assistance, I won't even call it criticism, just like, hey, you know, I they they love your effort. They wanna, they want to see you do better. And yeah, he did that. He did that for me. And I was like, okay, well, I really I really gotta give this a some effort. So uh my husband actually got us some call uh some decoys. We got an electronic uh Jake that just would spin with a full fan and and a hen. Um, and I'm just like, all right, let's do this. Let's rock and roll. Had some cameras out, and I was seeing two pretty good toms consistently. Um opening morning, we go out and it's like this textbook perfect hunt. And in the back of my mind, I'm like, it can't be this easy. And then wasn't um, you know, he he gets his little alcohol and we figure out where they're at. We set up our decoys, here they come. He gets so excited, and he's like, shoot, he'll shoot.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Oh, I think I think I heard that in the video, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

And I was like, do you not like and and he he used to turkey hunt um a long time ago? But again, Arkansas is really not known for turkeys, and where he actually grew up, they have a very short season and they only have one tag. Um, the state or the the zone that I'm in, we have two tags, but our still our season's very short and it's very late. Um and he's like so excited for me that he rushes my shot, which I take responsibility too because I'm the one that pulled the trigger, but don't get that bird. And I'm just so irritated.

Community Help And Better Mouth Calls

SPEAKER_01 12:55

And I have multiple other hunts where it's just like, okay, maybe there's just a hen or I hear one and I don't see it, and it got so frustrating that I'm just like, okay, well, this is just not gonna happen for me. It's just it's just really not. And I uh kind of got down on myself a little bit, and that's normal.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

That's that's absolutely normal.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Yeah, yeah. Uh again, social media, they you know, all you're gonna see for the most part are people want to highlight their success, which I mean, sure, go for it. But um you want something that's real, here I am.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Because yeah, that's that's one thing that people forget is seeing the raw emotion from your failures and seeing the recording of your failures, it gives you that time to actually reflect on what you just did. And you actually, I don't look at it as a failure, I look at it as it still is a learning success because now you're actually taking something in that you failed at and you are learning from that. So it's something where you can actually just go out and do later and be more proficient at it. And a lot of people just look at it, they get so bummed down and they let it ruin their season.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

Yeah, yeah. So, like yeah, there's um there's there's a really big um a group, the hunting public.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Um yeah, I know that.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Yeah, when I started my YouTube, um, I think it was like the week before uh my deer incident, I call it, happened. They they posted a video, uh like a 45-minute video of this guy. He makes a shot on a deer and he thinks he absolutely smoked it, like I did. And they spend two days with even with a dog looking for it and they don't find it. And I'm like, you know what? I so appreciate that because yeah, that's real, and that happens if you hunt long enough, that's going to happen to you.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Oh, for real.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

And so I'm like, you know, I really initially didn't want to post that first turkey hunt. I didn't, but I'm like, you know what? This is just the reality of it. I'm learning, and I can't be so hard on myself that I'm afraid to be real. So um I included it in my video. Um, but yeah, I I went to another property, so I learned I've learned a lot from watching people on social media in that, you know, turkeys they may have a pea size brain, but you know, when when they go out and there's two of them, and then suddenly they hear this loud bang after hearing a hen and and then they're solo, they learn, hmm, something's out to get me, and I don't want to necessarily uh goblin run to this estranged hint that you suddenly hear. So I learned, hmm, maybe I need to mix up where I'm hunting at and and see if I can find some other properties where some turkeys haven't been hunted, and that's what ended up leading to my success. I went to the Ozark Mountains and gosh, we walked four miles of ridges and just hills and didn't see a single bird sweating and sweating and just uh so yes, and and um okay, okay, you know, that happens, whatever. That evening, I go back to the property that where I had missed an opportunity, and it we had just gotten like two days of rain, and the creek is so full. And I'm like, uh, I can't where where I needed to go, I needed to cross

Misses Frustration And Staying Honest

SPEAKER_01 16:45

this creek, and so I'm like, I'll just sit in a deer stand, I'll just watch. There's probably nothing in anyways. There's a turkey out there. I'm like, you know what? I've walked four miles today and I haven't seen a turkey all day. And now I see one. You think I'm gonna let some water stop me? Absolutely not. I just I'm like, that can't be more than knee deep. Oh my rear end. So I'm like soaked, and I'm like, you know what? Game on. So I like I'm army crawling to this bird, and I get probably about a hundred yards from it before I have no cover and it spooks. But I'm like working with daylight. So in Arkansas, you know, you can hunt all day.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Oh, that must be nice.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Yeah, yeah. So I'm like, okay, so so this whole day is in the bus. You you you saw turkey, you had to get wet, but but you got to army crawl to it. Like, not very many people get to do that. This is a this is a learning experience. It was, I was, even though I didn't even get a shot, I was like, okay, I still got this. Like, you know, I'm not gonna give up. It was it was still really, really cool experience. Actually, while I was army crawling to it, I would call to it a little bit and I got it to strut once, and I'm like, oh no more. I didn't get it on camera because it's just me, and I actually had to leave my camera on the other side of the creek, but like I'm like, oh my word, like this is so cool.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Um, and it was that so cool seeing that stuff happen. It's like, oh, that makes you feel good. That's awesome. Yeah, I remember last year when I was going after this bird, I was there's this ditch, and I jump in it and I knew it was mucky, but I didn't care because I glassed this bird probably about 500 yards and it was open field. So I get in this ditch because it was the quietest that there was, because it was not necessarily like dry, but it was dry enough to make everything crunch and stuff. So I get in this ditch, and I know I have to come out of it eventually. So I look over to my left and I come up, there's a trail that cuts into the tree line, and I see that he's still in the field. So I have I'm sitting there, I was like, if I step anywhere with these boots, it's gonna be loud as heck. So I take them off and I'm walking with socks. I kind of like curl my pants up a little bit so they don't get snagged or anything. And I come up, I'm like, perfect. I'm like maybe 30 yards, he has no idea I'm there. And I go up to draw, I'm like, I got him. And this freaking coyote just comes out of nowhere. I'm like, are you serious right now? So this it was a black coyote too, which was even it was really cool, but it was just like, Are you serious? I just literally crawled in a ditch 500 yards to get here, and you come and do this on me, like oh, but like it was it's the experience leading up to that stuff, like getting your hands dirty, getting your knees dirty, just getting in getting low into the dirt, like you were doing. Like, yeah, yeah, like that's phenomenal. Like, I just love that stuff. It's just it speaks volume of your character and how you're not scared to just get dirty when you need to. Because you're trying to, you're you're pursuing something.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Yeah. I um and and no knock on anyone that that gets to do this, but I just I I the hunting that that I chose to do um last fall, I changed it up a little bit with a mobile hunting, hunting public, not hunting over bait, um, walking crazy, sometimes miles to to find deer. Um, I I learned so much by doing that. And and I'll be hard pressed to be one of the girls that just you know has all her stuff done and she's sitting in a blind and here it is 30 minutes later. Like I'm just not hunting like that. So it um it's just yeah, it's uh it's it's harder going about it like that, but I have learned so much more because I'm having the woodsmanship experience, if you will, understanding like, okay, well, I know that that this over here isn't from an armadillo or a squirrel. This is where some turkeys were feeding, so I need to continue on this route versus where before I would just be like, well, that's just probably where an armadill was, you know, kicking up some some leaves. I I can differentiate that because I've spent so much time in the woods understanding and being able to read and watch the turkeys that I watched in the fall and understand this is kind of what it looks like whenever they've come through the woods a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Yeah, yeah. I think that's awesome. So you're you're learning yourself and teaching yourself how to track. Is that what I'm understanding? That's that's great. It's it's hard for people to go out and to realize what they're looking at. And if you sit there and actually study it and see it and go home and do research and stuff, like it's very difficult to track. And for someone to go out and be self taught in it, that's amazing. Like good for you. Um so for your turkey that you went after,

New Ground Mobile Mindset Pays Off

SPEAKER_00 21:50

when when did you realize like this area is gonna be like a gold mine for you when you went out with your dad, when you actually got the the bird we did the story on? Like

unknown 22:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

When did you finally realize this was it? Like this is going to be the day.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

So this was uh the third property that I had the opportunity of hunting. Um, so like I was saying, I I watched uh several different um people on social media talk about, you know, you know, you know, turkeys are dumb, but they're not dumb when it comes to survival. Like they they learned that, oh, uh that sound made me lose my buddy here. I'm not necessarily just gonna gobble and give myself away and come puff up my feathers to you. So this was an entirely different property. No one, to my knowledge, no one had hunted it and no one had been to this area. And the property owner was like, Yeah, around this time of day is whenever I see them around this area. Um, it was about a 300-acre property. So I literally got the maps and they were like pointing. So, and then I pull up on next and I'm like, Okay, there's a pond here, there's a pond here. I think we're gonna start out here. So I called my dad literally the day before, and I'm like, hey, you want to go turkey hunting with me? Like I um like grew up hunting with my dad, taught me so many things, but in the last couple of years, just because life has been so busy, I really haven't gotten to hunt with him. So I thought this will be a you know fun opportunity to to go with dad.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

So he's like, Yeah, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

So he throws, I pick him up, he throws his decoys in the bed of my truck next to mine, and we load up and and I'm like, okay, I've never been to this place. And I sent him screenshots of my on X pins and uh, you know, kind of giving him an idea of what we're looking at. So we pull up, you know, before the sun starts rising, and I'm like, all right, so based on based on what I heard and what this map says, we're gonna start walking in this direction and we're just gonna figure it out. So we send it. We each have a shotgun and our decoys and off we go. And what I wasn't counting on, so I was thinking, oh, you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna set my decoys out in this field, and it's just they're just gonna come do it. No, the grass was about this high. Decoys, no go. So, and and you know, we're having to figure it out on the fly because we've never been here before. And slowly here comes the sun moving up, and so that means that the birds are gonna, you know, get off the roost. So I'm like, okay, we the woodline is very thick, but we make our way through it, and when we get in there, it's like, oh, this isn't so bad. Um, the little deer scouting, just in case they let me uh deer hunt that.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Always, always keeping that open. You gotta do that.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's that's what I like the most, anyways. So um, you know, looking again for signs of scratching or wherever they could, whatever they could be feeding on. And there's another field just on the other side of these woods that we're in. So I'm like, hey, I'm gonna go look and just see maybe it's not as thick, or there's a spot we could still set up our decoys and we could um sit out in like a little tree island and call them in. So I go and I'm starting to mess with that, and he's just standing in the woods just listening. And he hears a gobble and he looks at, and you know, he just gives me that look, and I'm like, all right, let me put my decoys up. We're about to run and gun. So I go up to him and we hear it again. And I'm like, oh, there's two, we could double, maybe. That would be cool.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

That would have been cool.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

Yeah, yeah. So um we we get all our stuff and we walk as quick but as quietly as we can. And we ended up walking probably close to 300 yards, and we get set up and we don't hear him again. So I have my decoys out in front of me, he has his decoys out,

Scouting The Property With Dad

SPEAKER_01 25:55

and we're each like kind of calling together, slash taking turns, so we sound like more than one hen. Nothing, absolutely nothing for like 20 minutes, and and what had happened. So we end up like, okay, well, we'll just pick up our stuff, and there's there's we're on 300 acres. These aren't the only two birds on this property. Sure. Yeah, we pack up our stuff, and I'm like, I'm just gonna see, you know, where they went. Well, they had pitched down this very steep, like ridge, gully, whatever you want to call it, and there's a waterfall down there. And I'm like, yeah, there's no way if I go down that I'm getting back up. Like it is that I don't want a bird that bad, you know. So I'm like, oh but it is what it is. We go back to where we started because across the street or across the road where we would park, I'm like, well, we could start, we could go over there. She sees birds over there too. So my dad being my dad, you know, we have the little discovery channel, which tree is this conversation as we walk because he likes to see your first and dad. I'm very in tune with you know what type of hardwood this is, and making sure I know that this is a persimmon tree, and you know, and I I don't say anything because I know it's like you know, he you know he's dad, we get it, you're retired. Passing on his wisdom, okay. I'll have to I have to do this to my children someday. So I'm just feeling smiling, nod, smiling nod. I think I just oh daddy, there's a turkey. That's what we're here for. It's so sorry to interrupt you, but let's go get it, you know. And then it actually came from where we were. So we while we were over there, I guess we had called them back up. Um, so we walk about 50 yards and we stop. And my dad's like, I'll just, you know, I'll just call to him and see if we can get him to gobble. So he calls a little bit, and I'm like, you know, we have walked quite a bit already. Why don't we just sit down and like listen to figure out, you know, I know and I have an idea of where it the sound came from, but it was pretty distant, and I don't I don't want to spook it. So I sit down and my dad's still standing there, and I'm like, I hear something. And I'm like, Daddy, sit down, like, go ahead, sit down. I like I hear something, and he he doesn't hear it. And again, going back to having that uh time in the woods and differentiating sounds, and you know, I I know it's not a squirrel, it's way too consistent, it's a little bit actually too loud uh to be a squirrel. Um, I know it's not a deer because the deer doesn't sound like that. Um, you know, and I know it's not gonna be all these other varmints because it's sunrise and those are more in the evening time slash night. So I'm like, I'm pretty sure we have a turkey in route. And and I'm like, Daddy, do you do you hear it now? It's getting louder, it's getting closer. He doesn't hear it. And they're probably about 50, 60 yards. And and I mean, they're steadily coming and coming fast, and we don't call again. Um, he can't see it. And where I'm seated, my camera's in my backpack because I'm like, you know, I I was fully expecting we're gonna walk across this field. I was probably gonna hit my truck and get something out of it, get my camera back out. So um I'm like, here they come. I don't have, you know, this is this is another time when I get a shot at something and I don't have my camera out. I've got to figure that out a little bit better. But um I hear him closer, they're 40 yards, he still doesn't hear him, can't see them. And I see a little bit of a beard swing and see a redhead, and I'm like, this is I was like, Dad, it's a it's a turkey, it's a ton.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Were you perched up on a tree or were you standing?

SPEAKER_01 29:51

I was seated, so I had my vest, um, I had my seat out, and I'm just sitting out honestly in the lane, wide open. There's like one about maybe a four wide, four-yard wide lane in front of me. And at the end of it is uh about 30, 35 yards is an oak tree. And he's sitting more, he's to my left, and there's like quite a bit of brush around him, just just happened that way. And about they're probably about 30 yards in a little bit of thick stuff, and he finally is like, Yeah, I hear him. And I'm like, turkeys, like it's more than one. I can see two. And then quickly in front of me at about 30 yards, this big red head is like

Quiet Setup Fast Approach And The Shot

SPEAKER_01 30:40

up. And I'm like, okay, it's it knows that something's up based on its posture. Again, based on me spooking them back in the fall, I can tell by its body language, it's not relaxed thinking that we're a hen at this point. It has an idea, maybe it heard me whispering to him that that we're here, and so then back in my head, it's like, okay, so whenever shot is presented, whenever you have it, you're gonna have to take it. And it comes out in this lane, and you know, it has that like head straight up, and it looked we lock eyes, and and I'm like, all right, it knows I'm here, and there's that oak tree and it's heading behind that oak tree, bam, rolled it. My dad didn't see the turkey until I had made my shot, and like it was just very quick instinct of I know that that it's it's fixing to take off, and this is my only chance, and rolled it. Um, the turkey behind it was kind of like, what just happened? And I wasn't paying attention to it because my this one started flopping, and I ran up to it and stepped on its head so it didn't go anywhere. Um, because I'm like, no, like I've worked so hard for this, you're not getting away from me. Like you're mine. And that turkey ended up staying there for a little bit. My dad got some really cool footage of walking up to me because like it was, you know, no longer like I'm not the little girl that you know, I don't need permission to to make the shot, and I don't need you to tell me like to run up to it or to whatever. It's just like, you know, like this is what I'm after. This, you know, hunter mode kicked in, and he walks up to me with a phone, and then and I'm like, oh yeah, there's another turkey. Big old another big old beard, bearded turkey flew away. And it's like, oh, it would have been cool if we could have doubled. And I'm like, we didn't have the opportunity, dad. This bird was fixing to fly away itself.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Well, I will say the raw emotion from that video of your dad walking up to you was just like um I thought it was absolutely insane. I thought it was so cool to see like how just over the moon you were, and the fact that your dad was there, the one who like taught you how to hunt, and he ripped out the phone and just like started rolling. And I was like, this is so cool! Like, yeah, father daughter in the woods hunting turkey, and you guys got it done together. And I was like, that's that is very touching. I thought that was so cool.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

And like uh, my dad, you know, later he was like, You can't be so dramatic whenever you get. I'm like, but you don't know how hard I've worked for this, and like, you know, going starting from the fall, like trying to figure them out, and then learning how to call and a little bit embarrassing myself on social media, figuring out calling, because it, you know, it's it's not as easy as people some people make it look. Some people that's just what they do, and they're so good at it. Bo Brooks, uh Shane Simpson, they are so good at it. Um, but also they have that experience behind them. I did not. Um, so I I you know, I walked several miles, I sweated and cussed a lot in the woods trying to get to this thing. And I, you know, it's just like, oh my word, I I accomplished this. Like I set out for this, yeah, and I was able to make it happen. And um, when we finally got the turkey home, you know, showed my kids because my kids knew that mommy's hunting turkeys, and um, and I wanted to show them like, you know, this is this is what I did. And when we cooked it and we ate it, we talked about, you know, respecting the harvest and that this is you know, food that God prepared, God gave us, and you know, that's what hunting is essentially for. Um, but we also whipped out a tape measure, and that thing had a good beard on it.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

Holy smokes, did it? I'm jealous.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was uh 11 and 78.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Good lord. That's a beard.

SPEAKER_01 34:48

Yeah. So I took it to uh a taxidermist. He has done one of my European mounts. Um he does great work. And I when I brought it in to him, um, I was telling him, you know, this is my first turkey. I just, you know, I wanted to have something really cool in the office. Um, it's like it's a beautiful bird, like the colors on it actually stand out compared to a lot of other birds

Respecting The Harvest And Mount Plans

SPEAKER_01 35:15

that he had in his freezer. And whenever he pulled it out and he saw the beard, he was like, You're not gonna full body mount this. I know, right? I mean, no, and he was like, but I don't think that you understand how good of a turkey it is that you got, and I'm like, Yeah, yeah, I don't. That's what I'm told. And he's like, You're you want white tail, right? And I'm like, Yeah, he's like, This is like a 200-inch deer equivalent.

SPEAKER_00 35:39

See, this is like a burnt crock.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

People like me hate you. You're this is like a boon and crockett turkey, and I'm like, sorry about that. And he's like, You know how you feel whenever someone's new to hunting and they go out there and they just get the big one? He's like, he's like, sorry, I'm at least getting a feather board, okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

Honestly, I I prefer feather boards over uh full-body mounted turkey. I just think it laid out and seeing how colorful the feathers are in that way. I think that's so beautiful. Like, that's just me. Um, I've seen them fully mounted, I think they're cool. Um, especially when the people add like the little details that like it's standing in like grass and there's like rocks and some wheat or something. I think that's really cool. But man, feather boards are just I think they're so cool. That's just me.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

Yeah, yeah. I I think the featherboard is gonna be really pretty. And honestly, like for what I would be paying for a full body mount, I I would rather save and maybe this fall have a really good deer and shoulder mount it, maybe. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

I'll also wait on my stag and follow to get it. I cannot wait for this to get done.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Yeah, I hope I hope this fall I can I can uh get a deer with my bow that's uh big and worthy of a shoulder mount.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

Oh yeah, I'm I'm confident that you'll be able to get something big this year. You are with how dedicated you were last year, I I can only imagine the amount of dedication you're putting into the offseason this year to hopefully harvest this big buck you want.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Yes, so oh, I want him so bad. Yeah, I I learned a lot the way that I changed hunting up. I learned a lot. Um, and I won't I won't say that last fall was a failure. I mean, yeah, I did harvest a couple of deer, the biggest one ended up getting away. But um I I look at it as just, you know, just every hunt should build upon itself, whether you shoot a deer or not. Um you're you should always be learning. And I learned a lot, sometimes the hard way. And I think that I'm gonna be able to apply all of that in such a a good way this fall that I don't see myself not being successful. Um, I'm going to also apply. We have urban hunting here.

SPEAKER_00 38:05

Yeah, so yeah, we have urban archery here.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

Yeah. So I'm gonna I'm gonna apply for that. That gives you a few more tags, it gives you a few more weeks than other people in some unique locations. So I'm hopeful for that. But um, yeah, that I don't know what it is about that publicly and mobile hunting with a bow. It just

Why Bowhunting And Saddle Hunting Hook You

SPEAKER_01 38:25

it just has the it gets the blood going, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

It does. I feel you on that. We're I was at the bow shop today, and I switched back from the I went I have the AX90 and I switched back to my RX 10. There's just something about a carbon bow, but we were there just talking, uh, my buddy Jamin and I, and man, I was just like, I cannot wait for deer season. He was he just looked at me and he's like, brother, same. He was like, it was like turkey season came and went in a flash, and it was like, what just happened? And it's just like like for some reason, whitetail just I love going after white tail. Like it's just it gets the blood going. It just so much learning every single year. Me being in the in my saddle, like last year, I learned a ton because last year is my first year doing saddle hunting, and I practiced it one time in my backyard, and I was like, okay, I got this down, and I go out and I'm tethered to this tree, and I'm up there. I'm like, this is a lot different than I expected. Like, it's more open, like the angles you actually have to work, the harness, and I was like, this is insane. This is I love this. And I got hooked, and man, I was just like, I don't ever want to change. I didn't I don't want to go back to a metal stand ever again. I don't want to go back to a lock on, I just want to stay in a saddle and bubble hunt. I was able to move to a different tree that like later on the year that was like 50 yards away, and 10 minutes later, this deer comes walking underneath me. She was a beautiful doe. I let her go, but I watched her come underneath me. She sat for a few minutes, she laid down, and I was like, okay, I got some good footage of her. And then she just hopped up and went about her way. But I thought that was the coolest thing ever. That being able to just go from one location to the other very quickly was ideal. Like that just it just made it so much more effective.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Yeah, I'm gonna try saddle hunting. Um, I do uh want a little less weight to carry in the woods. I carried a lock-on, they carry the Rubicon. It's like I think it's like nine pounds, and then I carry the uh skeletor by tethered, I carry their stick, so that's another like eight pounds. I'm a 130 pounds after I eat breakfast. And so we carry, me carrying like, you know, if I if I get the opportunity to go hump hunt public, it's about a 45-minute drive. Sign in, and then the walk-in and drive in even. Um, yeah, it's it's it's a it's worth an all-day sit when I get to do that. So I'm carrying in enough to stay all day, and I'm carrying up to 45.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Your camera gear. Yeah, you're carrying camera gear as well. Like it's it gets heavy.

SPEAKER_01 41:07

Um I'm carrying a third of my body weight between everything I'm going in for, and I'm like, you know, if I can get that weight down. So I I do have a saddle um to try. I'm gonna start practicing because I have heard um that it that it is a little bit not more complicated, but it's just a different balance that you have to get the shot off while you're in the saddle. So um I definitely want to be competent in that and not have any mistakes. Best I can help it engage to that aspect.

SPEAKER_00 41:41

The one piece of advice I'll give you is when obviously practice in your backyard, but figure out like the best pack setup that allows you to quickly detach stuff from it and to get it onto the tree and for you to get up into the tree, and then having like what you need able or what is um what do you need to grab out of your pack very quickly and put it back and stow it. So, like for with Bullpath, they have like these little packs, like I'll say you can put underneath your seat. Well, you can also put it in front of the tree um and tether it to the tree. So, like I prefer when I'm in the woods, I prefer a monocle versus a vino. So, like it's just something that I can put in there. You can even use your range finder as a as a monocle, but like sometimes you just want to see, like, you saw slight movement, you can just pull up that little monocle and you can see it, you can get them at like 10 power. And I was like, it's like, okay, yeah, there's a deer over there. Okay, cool. Let me work a grunt real quick. And then you have it all in that little pouch. It's like instead of having like that big vinyl harness on in a saddle, because like when you're sitting back and you have to come across, like you feel like you're gonna get caught up. So try to. If I were you, I would try to minimize any type of stuff that's like on your chest and try to put it, tether it to the tree somehow. Yeah, that's just that's very that's a big learning point for me because my first deer that I drew on, I noticed that it was catching one of the side pouches on my bino harness. And I was like, crap. And it was just like, I was like, that's not good. If I release this arrow, I have no idea where it's gonna go. So of course, like I had to like wiggle and move, and of course, the deer saw me and was like, deuces and took off. I was like, Yeah, whatever, live and learn. But I took off the the bino harness and put it in my pack. And I was like, I haven't I noticed I have not been using the binos at all when I was in my saddle for the first, I would say four or five sits. And I was like, why am I why do I have this here? So it's just one thing less for me to carry. But now if I'm going to an open field, I might focus on taking my bino, but that's just I don't know. That's some advice that I'll I give you to try out.

SPEAKER_01 43:48

So yeah, yeah, that'll it'll be an adjustment. Um, figuring out like even like uh some people I follow, they say that the way that they anchor their camera to the tree is different. Walk on versus saddle. So yeah, that'll be something I've got to figure out. Um, I just got a new camera. Well, it's it's it's in route, anyways. So I've got to I've got to figure that out.

unknown 44:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Do you have one of those like little swing arms?

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Not yet. Well, probably that's what I'm gonna need for this this other camera. This camera will have like zoom and stuff. I've just been using a DGI and just you know, throwing it up there however I can.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

DJI is great though, especially like for like point of views, like looking down at you or from like below you looking up at you. Like it's so difficult. Last year I noticed I start I had to start using my phone. Um, but I I finally got a camera now, and I was using my DJI, and I was like, I can't zoom in with this, so I switched my phone out for it. Like phones are great, yes, but like you're in the middle of recording, and then like all of a sudden you get a text message, it freezes up the camera, and you're just like, Oh, I didn't put it on, do not disturb. And it's just like so now, like having a camera is just a game changer, but yeah, the swing arms, like I think I have a muddy right now, but like those things are that that changes the game up in those tree stands.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

Yeah, yeah. I I plan on using I still plan on using my DGI for the point of view, but if especially if I can, you know, get on, even if it's you know, there's a couple people that have offered to have me come and they have so many do tags they need field just just to have some good footage of smoking some deer close of my the wide angle.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

Do you guys have uh like farmland there where like farmers just need hunters to come take out part of the herds and stuff?

SPEAKER_01 45:42

Or is it just like everyone loves if we do, it's probably more south than where I'm at, and I haven't met them yet. Yeah, so you know, here I am happy to come eliminate your deer.

SPEAKER_00 45:57

My friend Max, she last year she was able to get on a couple farms and help clear out some of the deer. I think she got two or three. I thought that was pretty cool, and I was actually poking her brain about that. Like, how did she went about to get the you know the farm tag and how that worked? And it was very easy for her to get it in Michigan, but here in Chesapeake, I looked into it, it sucks. Like you have to get a certain type of permit, you have to get other things, and you're just like, I'm just trying to hunt. Man, I don't want to have to spend an additional like $300 just to go hunt some farmland, but yeah, but it's it's it'll be worth it in the end if I could get some good footage.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Yeah, so Carl and I we put in for Kansas, we found out about Kansas, I think, next week. And that's exciting. The um outfitter that invited me to hunt hogs um in Oklahoma, they also have land in Kansas. So he was like, if you know you do good with your content here and you draw and you put down these units, then we could maybe make that work. So that'd be cool. Um that would be cool. If not, we would still go hunt public out there, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

Are you gonna do rifle or bow for hog?

SPEAKER_01 47:14

They have uh yeah, I I'll just I love my bow. Like I I loved getting my turkey, but there's just something about drawing a bow back. Yeah, it's something even my squirrels that I've gotten with my bow. I mean, that it's just that's impressive. I just love that. I I love I just love my bow. Um, I I don't really plan on unless I'm taking my little kids, because there's no way unless it's a deaf, a dumb deaf deer that would even come near where my children are if there's a wood. So the best the best thing I could do is you know, maybe shoot one that's uh along at 200 yards, maybe. Um I just I love I love hunting with my bow. I nothing comes close to it adrenaline-wise, and just knowing that it's you know, it's you, it's not necessarily your equipment, it's it's you on that. And if if something fails, it's it's on you. So it just makes you want to fine-tune yourself. Um, it makes me, you know, I did this Robin Hood here at 80 yards a few months ago. I yeah, that was cool.

SPEAKER_00 48:25

That was really cool.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

I just I want to be, I just I I want to be successful, um, I want to be ethical, but I just I just always in seeking that rush, like the rush of an archery, even if it's just just a doe, some people call I love that way more than you know, shooting a deer that shot this one at 175 yards, and he was actually trotting behind a doe. I shot him on the move. Shooting a doe with my bow beats that.

SPEAKER_00 48:58

I mean, I know the feeling there's I remember the first deer that I harvested with my rifle, and I will never forget the first deer I harvested with my bow. Like it was just I remember the sink walking towards me, and my heart you I felt like everyone in the world just saw my shirts doing this because I was like, oh my gosh. And when he it was a spike, but at the end of the day, like shoot what makes you happy. One, it brought it put food in the freezer. I'm happy about that. Um, that's the my biggest concern is getting fresh food into my children's mouths. Um, but he's walking towards me, and I'm just like, oh man. And I I start standing up really slowly because I had a climber, and of course it starts creaking, and he just like, what was that? Like looking around, like, oh no, oh no. But he comes to my right side, my weak side, and so I have to like slightly turn. And so like I'm using my up, like my feet are staying straight, but I'm like a my upper body's like a turret, so I'm like completely turned. And it was those awkward shooting platform, but he was like 15 yards away and he was getting ready to keep moving until I mapped him and he stopped. And I just hearing that I was just like, was that it? Did that just happen? And like I was shaking, like I was going nuts. And my buddy Ronnie, my best friend, he was in the field behind me about maybe 300 yards, and I was like, dude, I think I just shot, I just hit a deer, I just hit a deer. He's like, dude, I heard the bow, I heard, I heard the thwack. He's like, You definitely hit it. So I get down, I go up to my light and knock, and it is just covered in blood. And I'm like, Yes. So I wait about 15 minutes and I start walking, finding blood. Ronnie meets me, he's helping me track, and then all I see is the white belly, and I was just like, I was kind of like overcome with emotion. And he was like, dude, that's your I was like, he was like, that's your your first bow deer. And like, I was like, it will, I couldn't have asked for anything better to be out there with my best friend, and that was yeah, a bit emotional for me. And I was like, dude, I am so thankful for this. And what was even more fun was just him and I dragging that thing out of there. He was like, I hate you. He was talking so much trash, he's like for a spike, for a spike. And I was like, shut up, dude. He was just like, I'm messing with you, man. But it was just like it was so fun to be there with him and getting that book. Like, I I remember every little detail now. For my rifle buck or my rifle deer that I killed, I'm like, I don't remember like the little details. I know I killed it with a rifle, but there's just something on a bow that you can just remember almost every single detail for almost every single deer that you kill.

SPEAKER_01 51:36

I don't know, that's just it's having them be so close, yeah, and you being able to watch discrete movements that they make and being able to uh move in a way that they hopefully don't know that you're there, and um, you know, you've to get to that point, you pick the right spot because you paid attention to their feeding patterns or where they're bedding, but then also you've paid attention to the wind and they don't smell you. All those factors don't matter so much whenever you have you know a boom rocket that can go out to several hundred yards, not to knock on people that rifle hunt because you know, I you know, I'll still pick it up some, but there's just some there's just something way more woodsman-like to be in a in a tree, uh, especially if you're if you're not hunting over bait, which I stopped hunting over bait last fall, and to know that like I actually hunted this deer, you know, and and it doesn't know that I'm here and I'm within, you know, I've I've had deer come under me and I've been able to spit on them. And it's just there's just something about being that close that just makes it that much more exciting. But you have that, like, oh man, it has to be able to hear my heart because I like it's pounding in my ears.

SPEAKER_00 53:01

Yeah, that adrenaline dump afterwards, like you get into the truck, you're done cleaning it, you're you're doing your thing, you sit there, and you're just like, Okay, let me think about everything I just did. And next thing you know, you're just like, I am so exhausted, but it's just it's just like because you put your heart and soul into something that you love so much, and it's just like, yeah, you just want to scream for joy, and it's just like that, you're just so tired. Like, I remember when I when I killed my uh buck out in uh Oklahoma, I was just like, as soon as I watched him go down, I literally just slumped in the chair, and my buddies is like, You good? I was like, I needed that. I was like, because like I was having a bad season, I was shooting over deer. I don't know what was going on, but I was just like, I needed that, and it was just like the decompression button was hit, I could relax, and just going up and praying over that animal and thanking him for his life, like that was just like so

Advice For Women And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_00 53:55

rewarding. So, but so before we close this out, Kayla. Um a question I have for you is I think that a lot of girls or little girls and women who want to get into this industry need to hear, I want them to hear your point of view. If you had some words of encouragement or some advice for young women that are wanting to get in this industry but are too scared, like what would you what do you want to say to them?

SPEAKER_01 54:24

I would say don't compare yourself to people on social media. People are always gonna post what makes them look the best. Um, everyone starts new somewhere. Um, do do what you love and don't worry about what people think about you. Um just if it's if it's truly something that you enjoy, even if you feel like you're really terrible at it, the more you do it, the better you're gonna get. Um pick people's brains around you that that also enjoy it too. Um uh don't compare your harvest, like don't ever worry about, well, I can't post this because it's not big enough. Social media makes hunting a competition, and it's not it the competition is you being better each season for you and for your hunting. It is not to compare to anyone else's, like you were saying, um, you know, it it was just just a spot, like no one should ever have to justify their how they feel their tag because you're proud of it. Like, who cares? Who cares what it is? You successfully harvested this animal, good for you. Who cares if it joke blow down the street, you know, shot a 200-inch deer? Like, who cares if you ethically hunted that deer and you've practiced or or turkey or whatever it is, you put in the work, be proud of it and don't worry about what social media says or compares you to.

SPEAKER_00 56:02

I love that. That is amazing. Um, yeah, I concur 100%. A lot of people take that for granted. They always compare themselves to others, and a lot of people have gotten away from actual hunting and made it more of a competition these days. Like, we gotta get away from that. It is fun to poke fun at each other and have fun and games, but at the end of the day, you gotta have fun with what you do and be happy with what you do. You know, it's just stop comparing yourself to others. Like, who cares? Like, it's just yeah, go out there and have fun and love what you do, for sure. And with that, I'm gonna close this out in prayer, uh, real quick before we close this out. So, Lord, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing Kayla to the show, bringing that turkey to light for her, Lord, and that he came into her path and to for her to have that moment with with you, Lord, and have that moment with her father. And it's just a breath of fresh air, Lord. And I I thank you so much for this valued conversation with Kayla. And I pray that the words of wisdom that she shared at the end just resonate with the young women out there and include uh men, and that they just stop focusing on the bad, stop focusing on oh, I'm never gonna be good enough, or it's never gonna be good enough, and just focus on what makes them happy, Lord. Uh, thank you for this time, and in your name I pray, amen. So, ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate you guys for uh listening. Uh, this podcast is brought to you by Boondocks Hunting, part of the Boondocks Hunting family. And with that, I appreciate it, guys. Kayla, thank you so much for coming out on the show tonight.

SPEAKER_01 57:39

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 57:41

Absolutely. All right, guys, we'll catch you next time.