We know whitetails are going to dominate this space for a while. So I’m happy to post this great turkey picture from Walt Hampton, who is training Bridle Creek Buck to be a turkey dog.
This jake is Buck’s first turkey, which Walt Dropped with a light load in the .30/.30 barrel of his over/under. Buck was just 10 weeks old in this shot, so he has a lot of birds in his future.
While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures.
Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism.
After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters.
Congratulations Walt and Buck on your turkey!
Comment by Ralph Barton — November 8, 2010 @ 1:09 pm
Congrats on a great hunt Walt! Fall turkey hunting with a dog is the only way to go. I took off this past Friday to do the very same thing with my GSP. I am already looking forward to the second season in December so I can get out again. Who manufacturered your O/U in the picture? That resembles an O/U .222/20 gauge Savage that one of my friends owns. What breed of dog is Buck?
Comment by bird_dog07 — November 8, 2010 @ 1:38 pm
Thanks for the comments folks; Buck is a registered lab from a friend down near Essex, parents are English and Canadian labs. He went absolutely crazy over the bird and we’ve been having some fun with the wings on training dummies. The combo gun is in fact a Savage .30/30 over 20 gauge, model 24V series B. I used a light load with 130 grain Speer bullet for the turkey load, and the shot was about 70 yards. Buck sits quietly (mostly) when we hunt, chews a few sticks, takes a nap, but he heard the birds coming before I saw them, was intently looking their way when they appeared. All in all, quite a hunting companion.
Comment by Walt Hampton — November 8, 2010 @ 3:02 pm
Kevin<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Pats Buck on the head and says "Atta boy!"
Comment by Kevin — November 25, 2010 @ 10:28 pm
Way to go Buck, and that was great of you allowing Walt to tag along with you. You seem to be doing a good job with his training. Juat kidding Walt, I have hounds and people don’t realize how much enjoyment there is in seeing a dog doing a good job at what it was born and trained to do.The harvesting is a distant second to the dog doing well whatever the game is whether it be birds, rabbits, or bears or whatever else.Having a dog and keeping it in shape and tuned up is a year round job but well worth the time. Wishing many years of hunting pleasure together for you two.
Comment by R Sprinkle — November 27, 2010 @ 11:28 am