An Honor and a Blessing........ By Freddy McGuire

Our good friend Barry, for the past 4 years, has hosted a Wheelin’ Sportsman hunt here in Bedford County. This year there was going to be 12 hunters coming and Amy and I asked Barry if we could attend and help out.

We met at the Bedford Moose Lodge at 4:30 and all the hunters paired up with the guides and Barry took pity on Amy and I and said he would take us. Barry then informed Amy and I that the farm we were originally going to hunt had been poached/hunted all week and that we were going with Plan B. Barry even said the guys that were hunting/poaching the other farm were aware that they were going to host a hunter for this hunt today. Unbelievable that someone can stoop that low. Plan B was to hunt the “Rock and Turkey” farm and then Barry said “I hadn’t planned on hunting in there again so I’m going to make it a little interesting and take my crossbow!” Incredible!

We got to the farm and Barry instructed Amy and I what we needed to do and he headed off up the mountain in “The Machine” with us following. Soon we reached the blind and started setting up. Barry guided us the whole way and got us setup and situated before light and we settled in and started chatting about past hunts, where the turkeys were, what the turkeys usually do, where they roost, etc. As it started getting light Amy and I realized just what a beautiful place this was. We were on a small bench on the mountain that was an open grassy pasture with scattered trees, a lot of which were full bloom dogwoods. It was indeed a special place and the hunt was already a success.

As the light was growing we all listened intently for gobbling but none came at first. We were all surprised as Barry knew there were gobblers in the area. Before long though a gobble rang out from a place Barry said they typically roosted. They gobbled some and then a hen cranked up below them. Barry pulled out his homemade tube call and laid out some sweet hen talk and they answered several times and started heading our way. Before long the gobblers must have met up with the mouthy hen and all went quiet.

Just a bit later Barry heard a gobble a good ways up the mountain and he called to them. Not really answering the calling but getting close as Barry explained to Amy and I where the birds were and what they were probably going to do. As the gobbling got closer Barry said “We should see them in just a minute.” Sure enough, a minute later, Amy spots a hen moving our way through the woods. Then another hen. Then a fan, and another fan, and another fan, and another fan, and then another. 5 strutters!!! As they worked down the mountain our way Barry said he thought they were jakes but one of them had an almost full fan. We had a great encounter as the 5 gobblers marched right down to the decoys and gobbled, strutted and drummed for us within 15 yards. It was a great sight and I was getting beautiful video! That group of birds finally walked off and we sat and talked about the excitement of having them in there that close and getting to see the show and how that was worth the price of admission. Barry made the comment he sure wished that one of the other hunters were there so they could whack one of the jakes. What a great morning!

It wasn’t long after the jakes and 2 hens headed off that we were just looking, waiting, and watching and soaking in the beauty of this place when a black shiny object caught our eye way up in the woods above us. We caught glimpses as they made their way down through the woods and then confirmed what we were hoping for… 2 lonely longbeards! Barry again gave them some sweet calling on the tube call. As the 2 gobblers approached the field Barry was nervous because he had 2 gobblers shy away from his gobbler decoy “The Creature” on opening morning in this same spot. The birds had definitely spotted the decoys and make their way cautiously in our direction and occasionally feeding and looking. When they got directly above the decoy their demeanor changed along with their head coloration and the show was going to get good! Side by side they came and eventually blew into full strut and approached the decoy at 15 yards. Barry had his crossbow on them and was patiently waiting for the right shot. He whispers to me “I’m going to shoot the one on the left.” And I shifted the camera to that bird. Then Barry says “That’s too good a shot to pass up!” and shortly after the arrow disappeared into the gobblers sweet spot!!! The bird immediately took flight and flew right in front of us but you could tell he was in a bad way and was getting lower to the ground and disappeared just over the rise in the field. The other gobbler was still in full strut at the decoy!

I had told Barry earlier in the morning that if he shot one I would give chase but I didn’t want to spook the other gobbler too bad and felt that his bird was down. Barry finally says to me “Go get him!!” I hopped out of the blind and headed towards where we last saw the turkey. As I crested the hill I spotted the form a gobbler lying on the edge of the green field and a fist pump confirmed for Barry that the gobbler was indeed dead! It was a turkey hunting high for me to see that bird and I proudly carried that gobbler back to Barry in the blind and there were smiles, congrats, and some tears all around!

I told Barry when I brought the turkey back that I’ve been in on a lot of turkey hunts and turkey kills but this one right here was one of the best ever for me.

It’s a big cliché but everyone always talks about how these hunts are for the disabled but the people that really get the blessing are the volunteers… and that’s certainly true in this case as well. It was an honor, a privilege, and a blessing for Amy and I to spend the morning with Barry. He is a true inspiration to us and so many other people. Oh… and he’s one heck of a shot and a turkey hunter!!

Barry… Thank you for “guiding” Amy and I on this hunt and allowing us to be a part of it!!

Guys… At the end of the day Barry was still excited, yet disappointed that he was the only one that had killed a bird. In that moment, Barry was still worried about the other hunters!

Check out the video here!

This story was taken from Freddy McGuire’s website, www.vaturkey.com and re-printed with his permission. All photos are also courtesy of Freddy and Amy McGuire.

The James River Chapter conducted it’s 4th annual Wheelin’ Sportsmen turkey hunt on April 25th. We hosted 12 hunters from all around the State; Galax, Charlottesville, Christiansburg, Roanoke, Chester, Chilhowie, Waynesboro, Danville, Hudddleston, Moneta, Lynchburg and Bedford.

This hunt is now held in the memory of my dear friend Gene Parker who lost his battle with cancer last year. He was the first person I asked to be a guide when I was arranging our first hunt, and he even showed up last year while fighting back the pain of this dreadful disease. This hunt was for you my friend.