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Welcome to the world of tomturkey. Please bear with me as I attempt to build a site which will inform you about who I am
and what I do. You will find many interesting (I hope) facts about me here and some links to my favorite web sites. I am a
tool & die maker by trade and a turkey hunter at heart. I also love to hunt deer, ducks, and pretty much anything else that
is in season. So look around and enjoy your visit, and drop by again soon !!!
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Hi, my name is Gary Caughman. I live in Union County, South Carolina in the beautiful Sumter National
Forest. My main interests in life are hunting, fishing, and conservation of the wildlife habitat that makes this possible.
I support a number of outdoors oriented organizations which support these interests. I am past president
of The Piedmont Chapter of The National Wild Turkey Federation in Union S.C. I also currently serve on the state board of
directors for the South Carolina State Chapter. I would love to hear from members of other chapters across the country about
some of the interesting activities going on in your area.
Please feel free to E_Mail me with any suggestions or comments, and thank you for visiting with me.
Below are links to some of my favorite web hangouts. Give 'em a look.
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Check out my hunting photos and related stories below!!!
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I have always hated when the season opener(April 1 in upstate S.C.)
falls on a Saturday. This year I had been very busy during the month leading up to the big day and had very little time for
scouting. These two factors combined can make even an old timer like me very nervous about what to do.
I awoke early on
Saturday, still not quite sure where to go. As I made my morning coffee, I remembered that a young friend had told me about
seeing lots of turkeys on a small piece of property we lease for deer hunting. This property is covered with young planted
pines except for about two acres of bottom land where it borders along the river. I figured " what the hey, at least I won't
be crowded there" so away I went.
I settled in the bottoms about half an hour before the first hint of daylight and poured
my first cup of coffee. As I leaned back against a big hardwood to await the coming light, I finished my cup and checked the
time, 5:30, I was shaken by a booming gobble less than 100 yards away. It was still dark and the gobbler was behind me so
I repositioned to put him to my left.
Now it was getting good light and I gave him a few soft clucks. He cut me off with
a double gobble. Then I heard what all hunters dread. At about 60 yards to my right and on his side of the river a hen yelped.
"Oh no" I thought, "what do I do now"? I gave a fly-down call and the boss hen went crazy. It worked, she pitched out of the
tree and sailed across the river and landed five yards from my decoy. She stood and looked at the deke for a moment and started
to feed on the lush green of the bottoms. Then I heard the heavy wing beats of the gobbler as he left his perch. I looked
in his direction and saw him sail across the river and land at about 35 yards. I waited for him to walk from behind some brush
and the hunt was over.
He tipped the scales at 23 and 1/2 pounds with a 9 and 1/2 inch beard and 1 and 1/4 inch pearly
hooks. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometime!!!!!! |
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"SWEET REVENGE"
Some turkeys just refuse to be killed. Such was the
case with Gallberry Joe. The name was borrowed from "THE OLD PRO TURKEY HUNTER" by Mr Gene Nunnery and
was bestowed upon a bird that roamed the ridges =
along Tyger River in 1999.
This boy frustrated several local huinters throughout
that season, but none more than myself and my best buddy.
We had both tried him at every opportunity without success.
He would gobble his head off, but each time we thought
he was doomed, we ended up with egg on our face.
When the 2000 season rolled around, I was determined
not to waste it on this rascal. I hunted elsewhere and
took two fine longbeards during the first five days
of the season. On the final day of my vacation I was
ready to give Ol' Joe a try.
I set up in a blind near his roosting area and waited
for him to make the first move. I didn't have to wait
long as he thundered at the first crow I heard. I
answered him with a soft tree call and was cut off in mid-call. I waited a few minutes and gave him my best
fly-down call.
GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!!!
The next time I heard him, he was on the ground and
headed my way. Pretty soon he strutted into view
at about fifty yards and looked for the sweet lady
that he knew to be waiting out in that opening.
When he came to within thirty yards and raised his
head to take another look, I greeted him with a
load of #6 shot.
He weighed in at 20 lbs, and sported a 11" beard
and 1 1/8" spurs. I can't be absolutely sure that
this was the real Gallberry Joe, but he sure allowed
me a sweet taste of revenge!!!!!
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SLEEPING LATE
The weather forecast called for high wind and cold temperature on Wednesday. This was the forth day of the SC season and I
was tired from the early morning hunts, so it was not surprising that I didn't hear the alarm at 4:30 AM . My wife woke me
at 5:30 when she got up to get ready for work and asked if I was going to hunt. I said I would if the wind wasn't too bad.
It started to get light outside and I noticed that contrary to the forecast, there was no wind and the clouds were breaking
up. I grabbed my gear and headed out the door with no particular destination in mind.
I figured that maybe the forecast would keep the crowds down on the nearby public lands. Still, I was surprised to see only
one vehicle parked along the two mile forest acsess road that runs along the ridge behind my home. I was even more shocked
upon reaching the end of the road to find that nobody was hunting the river bottoms there. I slipped down the hill into the
bottoms which was glowing green in the rising sun. I placed my decoy in the sand about fifteen yards from the edge of the
hill and found a shaded spot to sit and enjoy the scenic beauty of open hardwood bottoms. I gave a loud series of cutts on
my wingbone call. After sitting for about ten minutes, I noticed movement in the bright sunlight some one hundred yards across
the bottoms. It was a turkey with a bright red head & neck. I slipped a diagphram into my mouth and made some soft feeding
calls and scratched the leaves. The tom turned and started toward me, stopping occasionally to check out my deke. I nervously
waited for him to walk the sixty or so yards which would bring him into range of my 870 SP . As he entered the danger zone,
he walked behind a tree and I quickly raised my gun. When he came back into the open I placed the bead on his head and squeezed
the trigger. Lights out !!!
He was a 17 pound two year old with 1" spurs and a 10" beard . He had slipped in quietly and met his doom!!!!
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This is a bird I killed on a hunt at the Davant Plantation in Ridgeland, SC in March, 1995. This hunt was donated to the South
Carolina Waterfowl Association by the plantation owner for their banquet program. I purchased the hunt along with a friend
in the auction at the Laurens county Banquet.
We arrived at the plantation on Sunday afternoon and were given a tour of the land by the owner. Monday morning we were up
well before daylight and in the woods as dawn broke. We heard two different gobblers on the roost and decided to go after
this one because the other one was too close to the house for our comfort. He gobbled steadily as we moved in and found a
suitable site to set up and placed two hen decoys in the old roadbed. Once set-up, we started to call to him and he just hushed.
We called periodically for about 30 minutes but he never answered. We were discussing what to do next when I looked up and
saw his fan coming through the woods straight to us. When he entered the roadbed, he spotted our dekes and homed in on them.
He walked behind a small tree and I quickly shouldered my gun. He must have spotted my movement as he quickly turned and started
to walk back the way he had come, but it was too late because when he walked from behind the tree I adjusted my aim and dropped
him where he stood.
He tipped the scales at 21 lbs. had two beards one 11 1/2" and one 6 1/2" , but only had one spur of 1 1/8". The other spur
appeared to have been broken off
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This is a bird that I took here in Union County in April, 1992. My friend and I were walking around some pastures behind his
home late one afternoon. He had already filled 3 of his 5 tags and was trying to help me get a bird. We eased up to the edge
of one pasture and spotted a group of turkeys about 200 yards away right on the edge of a wooded draw which ran down the middle
of the field. We got into the draw and sneaked as close as possible to them without spooking them. We talked about splitting
up and decided that I should set up where I was and let him sneak around the other side and try to cut them off as they moved
around the edge of the woods, and maybe one would come by me within range on his retreat. He left me and after about 10 minutes
I heard him shoot. I got ready but the only thing that came around the corner was my partner with a gobbler slung over his
shoulder.
He walked up and dropped his turkey on the ground beside me, unloaded his gun and sat down beside me. I congratulated him
on his bird and as we sat there sharing the story of his hunt ( which at this point I really did not want to hear ) I gazed
out across the field. After about five minutes, to my amazement, I saw a huge tom trotting across the open pasture coming
right at me. My buddy was looking at me and didnt see the bird as he entered the woods 80 yards in front of us and disappeared
behind some trees. I told him not to move as there was a gobbler approaching. He really didn't believe me but I convinced
him to be still anyway. I slipped a call into my mouth and started to cluck and purr softly, but I couldn't see the turkey.
I readied my gun and waited for five or so minutes. Suddenly, he stepped out from behind a tree and was only 35 steps away
and amazingly right in front of my gun barrel. I didn't even have to move the gun, just knocked it off safe and dropped him
in his tracks. He scored 18 lbs,10" beard, and 1 1/2" spurs. A real limb hanger!!!
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This is a deer that I took on Thanksgiving Day in 1994. It was a very cold morning and I had left my first stand to seek out
the warmth of the late morning sun. I walked to an open field and sat down on a stump in the corner of the field to watch
a phone line right-of-way that ran down a hill through a five year old cut-over. After sitting in the warm sun for about 15
minutes, I saw the buck walk into the opening. I had to stand in order to see his body enough to shoot. I whistled and he
paused long enough for me to squeeze the trigger. A perfect heart shot and he was mine. He weighed 150 pounds and his 8 point
rack was 15 inches wide.
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Here is my best racked deer. It was killed on December 11, 1999. He weighed
150 pounds. His rack is 18" wide with 8 points. He now graces my wall above my computer desk.
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tomturkey@earthlink.net
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