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"Hey there,
My name is Trad Dyches and I'm from Charleston, South Carolina. I'm an avid hunter when it comes to deer, ducks, and turkey, but for me nothing does it like turkey hunting. Something about it. I am now 19 and a current student at the University of South Carolina. My spring schedule is always heavily loaded in the afternoon leaving me every morning open. I hunt mainly in Jacksonboro, but also wonder around a few places here around school. Despite school I still get 3-5 days a week in.
I started turkey hunting only 4 years ago. Though I killed my first deer and ducks around age 9, my dad never was big into it. Needless to say started on my own 4 years ago. I have taught myself everything and even called in my first bird solo. I have since called in many birds, but still get the same feeling every time I hear that gobbler light off and echo through the lowcountry swamp. I now would assume call for someone rather than shoot. It doesn't matter to me. I started using mouth calls pretty soon after I started, giving me what every turkey hunter needs...variety. I started with a few mouth calls and found a few I liked okay.
The past couple of years I saw your mouth calls in a local hunting store and picked ONE up. I was back the next week to buy all Bud and Betty offered. I can't say enough for them from the way they feel and hold up not to mention the pure quality of sound as well as the ability to control the sound. I love them. I swore by *** (*sorry, we had to remove this competitors name out of courtesy, but we appreciated Trad letting us know!) until Bud and Betty. All the pics attached are birds called in with Bud and Betty mouth calls.
The story though is of the two similar looking pics on a front porch of a cabin. I'm on the right. The other guy is my room mate here at school.
Last year I went opening morning (mar 15) to my place in Jacksonboro, SC. I had 3 longbeards hung up and strutting at 75 yards. The Bud and Betty call was not to blame at all. It was what they wanted to hear...it got them to cross a bigger than normal ditch filled with water. After that however the birds (all 3) had senses come in. This is in the swamp now, not a field. They picked a spot 75 yards away from me and gobbled 500 times, blew up, and repeated this for 2 HOURS...No lie! Not a hen came to them either. They left I snuck out and went back to school and total astonishment.
Opening day isn't suppose to be that hard. My room mate had never killed one, so when I got back he asked "how did you do?" My answer to him was a question, I said "Do you want to kill a bird tomorrow?" Of course he said YEAH YEAH!
So next morning we went and with in an hour Bud and Betty and I had 2 longbeards 20 yards away looking around cypress stumps and white oaks for an imaginary hen that Bud and Betty helped me create. My room mate shot BANG! "Big Bird Down 22-11-1.5" (This is a saying I use with my friends when we kill a bird. Me or them, we will call each other and leave a message quickly saying "Big Bird Down" followed by 3 numbers.) Anyways my room mate lit up and ran up to the bird. I told him he peeled his cap back! He laughed and asked if I wanted to go tomorrow at his place 2 days later when he had a free morning. I laughed as I knew he was hooked.
We went 2 days later and were walking down a road and heard one light off early in the pines. I gave a hoot 5 mins later and got what I was looking for. We moved in a little ways as this bird is double gobbling on the roost by himself. He was hot! We set up and with Bud and Betty again on the roof of my mouth, my room mate was presented a 25 yard shot. He peeled his cap back. We stood over the bird and realized it was still dark almost. hahaha a 8 min. hunt.
The rest of the season is irrelevant to the story...but it was good. This season started and I was on my way back home after a hunt in St. Matthews. I was surprised at how little they gobbled that morning for how perfect it was. I called my room mate to see what he heard and he said the same thing...not much! It was too nice to not kill one, so I asked him if he wanted to kill one. It was on the way home so I figured might as well try. We headed into the woods with Bud and Betty. I started calling and walking around with no gobbles. We came to a pretty piece of hardwoods where I called somewhat conservatively.
It was so calm and I knew there had to be a bird in there...it was too pretty. So I let loose on the Bud and Betty 2.5 I think it was. BAM there he was. He lit off about 500 yards in...and was running. We set up and the gobbler wanted himself some Bud and Betty. 5 mins from the first gobble my room mate spanked him at 15 yards right after the loudest and coolest spit and drum I've ever heard. The bird was 20-10.5&7.5-1.25 double bearded. 1:30 we killed him!
We walked back to the cabin totally unaware of what day it was...as his dad took pictures he informed us it was 1 year to the date when my room mate had killed his 2nd bird ever the year before. We decided to try to keep this tradition up for as long as we can. As long as I have a Bud and Betty mouth call I'll feel as if that's the best chance I have to keep it going. Love the calls!!
Trad"
If you have a Bud & Betty Hunting Story, email us at: turkeycalls@budandbetty.com and we'll add you to our website!!
Other Stories:
Russell's Eastern in Carolina
Russell's Merriam in Musselshell
Russell's Osceola in Southern Florida
Russell's Rio in Southwest Texas
Bud & Betty Customer Stories & Photos
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