I’m an outfitter. My day starts between 5:00 and 5:30 am. I’m usually not asleep until 11:00 pm. Here’s the catch, this isn’t my hunting season schedule. This is the off season, January thru March and May thru August. I’m up early busting my butt with a long run or a bike ride before most people have had a cup of coffee. I’m back in the gym lifting during lunch. I also manage to squeeze a family, a job, church and a few other activities into those days.
I love outfitting, and I’m good at it because I invest an enormous amount of time preparing for my client’s success. Basically, I ask for two things in return from them; be in shape so we can get to the turkey and make a clean shot to put it down. The second request is the easiest. Actually, most people that hunt with me are good shots. They practice, usually a lot. It’s been beaten into to every hunter’s head to make a good clean kill shot and most people take it seriously. The request to get in shape to be a better turkey hunter seems to be a bit more difficult. If my hunter can’t stay with me during the pursuit of the turkey, I’ll be the only one with a shot opportunity because they’ll be dragging their butt behind me somewhere.
So, if I’m willing to go the extra mile and get prepared for that hunt of a lifetime for a client, why can’t I get him to invest a few hours a week as well? Obviously these clients work hard at something, they can afford premium hunts, they’ve got ample time off, and they’ve got the best equipment money can buy. But they’re missing the one thing I need from them the most… fitness. You don’t buy fitness. It takes work, and only they can make it happen. They’re going to get my best effort regardless of the shape they’re in, but in the words of Jerry McGuire, “Help me help you”. I try to remind them that I’m their biggest advocate. Nobody wants them to take a nice turkey or two more than me. Their trip may depend upon their success but my livelihood depends on it. So if you want our hunt to go as planned, don’t show up in my camp unless you’ve prepared for success. Go to the range, sight in that new shotgun, pattern that new turkey load and choke, but instead of going home to celebrate by sitting on the couch, hit the trail. Start an exercise program that will mimic the hunting conditions we’ll encounter, and give it everything you’ve got until you arrive in camp. Cut down on the donuts and lose 10 lbs. Eliminate one bad meal each day and replace it with all vegetables or even a supplement drink like a Wilderness Athlete Recovery Shake. (You can cut 350 calories per day with this simple rule, that’s a pound lost every ten days!) You’ll feel better, go further, and recover quicker during a hunt.
If you don’t, you risk being that guy….the one we talk about after you leave camp. Several years ago a guy showed up for a spring turkey hunt. For months he told me that he’s a “run and gun” turkey hunter and he chose to hunt with me because he wants to kill four turkeys in two states in three days. This is my kind of a hunt, all out and with a hint of impossibility. He shows up with every turkey hunting gadget known to man, including a brand new pair of boots, which tells me right away we’re in for a disaster. We push hard the first morning, killing a quick easy bird but then the work starts and before I even realize it, he’s trailing 50 yards behind me everywhere we go. He went 50% on the hunt killing 2 of 4 birds, which sounds like success but the point is, he wasn’t ready for the hunt. If he wanted to run and gun he damn sure should have been doing the running part of that equation for several months before he came to camp!
I don’t expect you to out distance me (this isn’t a competition), but I do expect you to be prepared. Don’t let me down, and I won’t let you down….promise!
Charge ON!
Get in Shape to Be a Better Turkey Hunter
is a guest post by Jerick Henley with Chain Ranch Outfitters in Kansas and Oklahoma. Chain Ranch Outfitters provides quality whitetail deer, Rio Grande turkey, and hog hunts. If you are looking for an outfitter who will bend over backward to make sure your hunt is a success, no matter what your definition of a success is, then call Chain Ranch Outfitters today.