January 20, 2015
By Christian Berg
Photo by Russ Harrington.
After a stellar 15-year musical career highlighted by a dozen No. 1 singles and more than 30 million albums sold, Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox offers no pretense about superstardom and makes no apologies for staying true to a rural identity forged during a blue-collar upbringing in the farm country of Central Ohio.
"A lot of people in my position are musicians who became hunters. I was a hunter who just happened to become a musician," he said. "This was my life way before I even knew music. My brother and I grew up raising beagles at 8 or 9 years old. Running rabbits was our big thing. So, it has been my life. Music is truly what I do, and hunting and the outdoors is truly who I am."
We were recently afforded an opportunity to spend some time with LeVox at Fast Cars and Freedom Farms, his 2,000-acre hunting retreat deep in the hills of Tennessee, for exclusive, behind-the-scenes access of his hunting property and to talk what it means to live country.
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And be sure to enter the Country Superstar Sweepstakes for your chance to win a Gary LeVox autographed Epiphone Les Paul guitar in the new Mossy Oak Break-Up Country camo and other great prizes from Bowtech, ScentLok and Mossy Oak!
Back Door I'm of the opinion that the best shot to take a full strut turkey is when he is facing straight away from you. This is a common shot, especially if you've placed a jake or tom decoy facing your blind. This bird can't see a thing behind him because of his fan, which alleviates the chance of getting busted while drawing.
Where exactly to aim is not up for much debate, you need to go full-on prison mode and set your pin right on his back door. If your arrow flies true you'll take him from stern to bow and catch plenty of vitals along the way.
Busted Every couple of birds you draw on from a blind will either hear you, or catch a bit of movement. Most of the time they stop and take notice, or start walking away. Either way, this is the perfect time to not rush the shot. You've got time, often quite a bit of it, and there is no reason to force it.
It only takes a few seconds to aim and then release correctly, both of which are necessary for an accurate shot. Take your time and shoot him. As long as you're already at full draw it will be too late for him to save himself (provided you do your part). Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic...
Cruiser Ever see the blue-hairs at the mall walking in the winter? You know, the ones who pump their arms with vigor and fast-walk laps past Sbarro and Baby Gap every day? They are the human version of the cruiser turkey. He is on a mission and while he might pass through, that's all he'll do. Some birds aren't going to stop, and I don't know why.
I do know that he is the kind of bird that doesn't get tagged by bowhunters very often. If you encounter this dude, let him go. He is a low-odds proposition, and just might circle back later in the day after he has met all of his longbeard obligations.
Drive-By The drive-by is a tough call. I've shot birds doing this and it all depends on what distance they walk by at and if you can get them to stop with a few yelps (which is a great reason to get good with mouth calls). For whatever reason, probably because they are the pansies of the turkey world and don't want to fight your jake decoy, some toms just check in without committing.
These birds are a shotgun hunter's dream, but can be a nightmare for bowhunters. Sometimes those same birds will swing back through and commit, other times they won't. Gauge his body language and be honest about your abilities. If you can drill him, drill him. If you're hesitant, by all means hold off.
Full Strut Nothing says turkey hunting like a puffed-up butterball in front of your blind. This bird, just like bears and musk-ox, needs to be judged correctly. Beneath all of those feathers is a relatively small vital zone. I've shot birds in full strut, and will do it again, but I much prefer to body shoot them when they are not as deceptive in size.
The good thing about strutting birds at close range is that they usually stick around for a while giving you a good chance to assess the situation. If you're familiar with anatomy and can visualize where the body lies underneath all of those feathers, let fly.
Half Strut Somewhere between full strut and no strut is the half strut. Birds do this a lot when they haven't fully convinced themselves of your decoys' liveliness, or sometimes just because their tiny brains say so.
The half-strutting bird gives you a much better chance to estimate exactly where the vitals are and aim accordingly. The downside to this bird is he isn't going to stay in half strut, he will either go full on or back to not strutting at all.
The Head Shot I'm a body-shot guy. I like aiming four inches above the hip joint and hearing that thump as my arrows passes through. That doesn't mean the headshot isn't an option, because it is with the head-lopping broadheads on the market.
If that's your style and you're hunting birds that will commit well to your decoys, then go for it. Just make sure you've practiced plenty beforehand. Hanging bananas from fishing line in front of your target can be a good way to practice with those heads.
Obstructed View This should be a no-brainer, but sometimes with a big tom in front of us we lose our brainpower. So I'll just say skip the obstructed shots. In all the history of bowhunting game animals, very few thread-the-needle shots have worked out well. Most of the time bad things happen.
When dealing with a turkey and his diminutive vitals, anything that can get in the way of your arrow is a bad deal. If he is calm and committed he will give you a better shot. Wait it out.
Pick up the March issue of Petersen's Bowhunting for the Christian Berg's full article with Gary LeVox on his blue-collar roots, bowhunting dreams and living the country lifestyle.