Podcast
The Spring Legion Podcast
Hosted by Spring Legion Turkey Hunting · EN
Welcome to a year-round discussion on the wild turkey and those who hunt them. Hosted by Hunter Farrior, founder of Spring Legion and author of Ballad of a Turkey Hunter, the weekly podcast is geared for all outdoor communities and dives deeper than the usual tactics and calling tips. Holding true to the brand, topics are built upon respecting the heritage and challenges of hunting, with a never-ending appreciation for all that the spring season provides. Enjoy insight from special guests like Dave Owens of Pinhoti Project, Cuz Strickland of Mossy Oak, our friends at NWTF and Muscadine Bloodline, and so many more widely known for their impact in the turkey hunting community, as well as the deer, duck, and waterfowl realm, who exhibit the obsession of which only a real turkey hunter may truly understand. Thanks for listening.
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Late Season Gobblers: Hunting Big Hill Country Easterns
1w ago00:48:13Tap to summarizeLate season gobblers will humble you fast, then reward you when you least expect it. We’re recording from Mississippi during the May chaos, swapping road stories, gear mishaps, and the reality of trying to stay consistent when turkey season has you living out of a truck and chasing the last open states. We get honest about fourth quarter turkey hunting: why the woods can feel dead even when birds are there, how gobbling windows shrink as nesting ramps up, and why “loafing” becomes the default mode once the morning fire fades. We also talk about the weird ways sound travels in steep country and mountain hollers, where a gobble can bounce, lie, and pull you into a long hike if you guess wrong. From there, the episode turns into story time and lessons learned. Honey breaks down a classic hunt with turkey guru Garrett Sweeney, then dives into one of the most memorable hunts of the year: a long, sweaty chess match that ends with a gobbler drumming and grinding uphill right into range. We also unpack a second-morning moment where the bird gets painfully close but the shot never feels clean and why passing can be the win. If you’re chasing late season turkeys, hunting pressured public land, or trying to get better at reading terrain, calling timing, and commitment, this one is for you. Subscribe for the finale run, share this with a turkey hunting buddy, and leave us a review with your toughest late season lesson. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →Take the Road Trip | Western Gobblers, Wolves, and Fun Hunting
2w ago00:51:34Tap to summarizeA gobbler is drumming close enough that we’re whispering “be ready”… and somehow the bird still feels invisible. That’s the kind of trip this one is. We’re deep into late-season spring turkey hunting, seasons are winding down in the South, and we decide to head west on a whim with Austin Seals, Jennings, and Gage for a public land style run through steep country, big timber, creek bottoms, and zero cell service.We get into the real mechanics of a do-it-yourself western turkey hunt, starting with the unglamorous part: last-minute flight changes to dodge snow, flying with a firearm, TSA slowdowns, runway delays, and the scramble to make a connection that could have cost us half a day. From there the stories turn into pure turkey problem-solving. We break down what it feels like when a tom is clearly there but won’t gobble, won’t show, and seems to drum from thin air, plus the small adjustment that finally flips the switch and gets him talking like he “never heard a call before.”The mountains deliver their own lessons. We talk about extreme terrain, thick cover, birds that lock into tiny spots and refuse to move, and the safety reality of hunting remote ground without service. Add in predator sign and a late-night “that’s a wolf” moment outside a tiny tent, and you’ll understand why we keep coming back to the same point: don’t force the plan, hunt on the turkey’s clock, and don’t go alone when the country can bite back.If you’re into spring turkey tactics, calling strategy, western Rio and Merriam style behavior, or just want an honest hunting story with real decisions and real consequences, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with a buddy who’s still chasing May gobblers, and leave a review with the strangest “ghost turkey” moment you’ve ever had. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →Hunting New Turkeys in New Places - What Changes and What Stays the Same
3w ago00:55:10Tap to summarizeWe hit the road to stretch the season past Mississippi’s closing day and learn what changes when the turkeys, terrain, and weather are brand new. We trade stories from West Texas and Idaho to show why ethics stay the same and why turkeys still find ways to win. • the bittersweet end of the Mississippi spring turkey season and the push to travel • how we approach new states and new subspecies without changing our style • why turkeys do not live everywhere and how to avoid hunting empty woods • West Texas glassing and positioning on Rios with fences roads and pressured birds • a close-range finish that starts with a turkey hearing footsteps in dead grass • Idaho public land lessons on movement timing weather breaks and staying with birds • why gobblers try to gain elevation and how a small setup mistake costs you Y’all be sure to check out the new Late Season May Sale at springlegion.com! Use Checkout Code May20 for 20% off the entire collection of Spring 2026 Turkey Gear. Supply is low. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →Talking a Gobbler Out of His Bubble - Hunting Henned Up, Stubborn, Public Land Turkeys
4w ago00:59:32Tap to summarizeA gobbler that will not budge is not “uncallable” so much as unbeatable from the spot you keep choosing. We get honest about that tonight, swapping two spring turkey hunting stories that start with stubborn birds and end with the kind of small adjustments that actually change outcomes. If you love the chess match side of turkey hunting, this one is for you.Chase walks through an April roost hunt that happens on almost no sleep and on a hard deadline, where the turning point is not a magical sequence on a call, but a hen’s attitude and the hunters being set up for what follows. Then we jump to a public land turkey hunting grind in Tennessee centered on a property line gobbler living on a safe knob. We talk terrain, sound, and why downhill setups can feel impossible in open woods. A trumpet call gets the most reliable answers, but silence and patience are what finally make the bird do something different.We also zoom out into bigger takeaways you can use anywhere in the Southeast or beyond: why “you’re not on the wrong turkey, you’re in the wrong spot” is often true, how to think about hung-up gobblers and hen dynamics, and why habitat work like prescribed burning plus predator management can make a noticeable difference over time. If you’re chasing Easterns now and thinking about a western trip later, you’ll hear how we’re planning for that too.If this helped you think clearer about turkey hunting tactics, subscribe so you do not miss the next round of stories, share it with your hunting buddy, and leave a review with the most stubborn gobbler you have ever dealt with. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →49-State Super Slams with Brooks Henry and Sophie Hooker
Apr 2000:37:30Tap to summarizeWe talk with Brooks Henry and Sophie Hooker at the NWTF convention in Nashville about chasing wild turkeys across the country and what it takes to finish a 49-state Super Slam at a young age. We get into the unglamorous parts of travel hunting like budgeting, gear failures, planning routes, and learning when to move on to a bird that is actually ready. • finishing the 49-state Super Slam in Utah and how that final swing came together • skipping high school graduation to hunt South Dakota and getting humbled by tough birds • saving money on a family farm to fund spring travel and what it really costs per state • food, sleep, and living out of a truck versus adding comfort with a camper • trusting gear, shooting TSS, and the superstition that follows missed birds • the broken red dot screw story and why checking patterns and mounts matters • flying versus driving and why Nevada can be a one-state exception • dealing with crowds, access limits, and hunter harassment without wasting your season • the “when he’s ready” theory, covering ground, and not getting stuck on one turkey • using topography and woodsmanship to break a turkey’s bubble and close the deal • Sophie’s goal to start chasing her own 49 and how they plan to do it together LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →Wild Turkey Archives: Turkey Hunting Culture, History, and All Things Old-School
Apr 1300:46:25Tap to summarizeFrom Primos' Truth About Hunting Vol. 1 to the original Knight and Hale videos, and all the other "Kings of Spring" era turkey hunting videos in between, we're diving into the real old stuff today with a group of guys who know how to revive the old-school turkey hunter in us all. Listen along for a very interesting project you'll want to check out immediately, The Wild Turkey Archives. A lot of turkey hunting “history” isn’t sitting safely on a bookshelf. It’s on VHS tapes, three-quarter inch broadcast tapes, old magazines, fading photos, and raw footage that never made the final cut. And some of it is so fragile it has to be baked just to play one last time. That’s why I wanted to get Paul Campbell, Nathaniel Maddox, and Brent Rogers on the phone to lay out what Wild Turkey Archives really is and why it’s more than a highlight page.We get into the mission: preserve and celebrate the history and heritage of the wild turkey and the wild turkey hunter, not just for nostalgia but to inspire multiple generations. We talk conservation history, callmaking history, and the cultural “fabric” built by books, interviews, and classic hunting media. You’ll hear about major donations like thousands of NWTF tapes, the push to digitize raw interviews and restoration footage, and the jaw-dropping finds that show up when collectors and organizations start opening their vaults.We also break down how you can actually use it: the free Wild Turkey Archives database versus the insider packages that fund the work and include access to the Wild Turkey Archives streaming app on Apple devices, Android, and Roku. If you care about wild turkey hunting history, turkey hunting videos, and protecting the stories that made the sport what it is, this is for you. Subscribe, share this with a turkey hunter who grew up on those old tapes, and leave a review if you want us to keep bringing conversations like this every week. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →Textbook Roost Hunts: Hunting Creek Bottom Gobblers on the Limb
Apr 600:50:12Tap to summarizeA gobbler that only talks once can make you question everything you think you know about spring turkey hunting. We’re in Mississippi with our buddy Easton Davis, who’s down from West Virginia, and the contrast hits fast: hotter mornings, thicker woods, flatter ground, and public land turkeys that have heard it all. Then the script flips and we get the kind of roost hunt most folks only daydream about.We walk you through what changed and why it worked. From recognizing how hunting pressure creates “tight lipped” gobblers, to using late morning scouting to confirm a core area torn up with scratching, to understanding how creeks shape roost choices and travel lanes. We also talk about the tiny flydown window where a few honest notes on a mouth call can persuade a bird before he locks in on real hens, plus the sound challenges of pine bottoms where gobbles feel farther and wind can mimic drumming.We zoom out too: turkey populations run in cycles, good hatches don’t happen by accident, and habitat management and restraint matter if we want strong spring turkey seasons for years to come. If you’re into Mississippi turkey hunting, West Virginia turkey hunting, public land strategy, turkey calling, and reading sign, this one is a straight dose of practical field talk.Subscribe so you don’t miss the next road story, share this with your hunting group, and leave a review if the show helps you. What’s the quietest gobbler you’ve ever tried to kill, and what finally made him break? LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →Trumpet Calls and Georgia Turkey Hunting with Clay Townsend
Mar 3000:33:11Tap to summarizeA turkey call can be a tool, a craft, and a time capsule all at once. From a back room at NWTF, we sit down with Clay Townsend and his son Dawson of Clay Townsend Calls to dig into what it really takes to build handmade turkey calls that hunters trust and judges reward. Clay lays out the unglamorous part most people skip: building daily, scrapping what doesn’t work, leaning on honest critique, and slowly finding a process that produces consistent sound and clean finish.We also talk about the pull of the Grand National Callmaking Competition. Clay tells the story of sending in his first trumpet and finishing dead last, then coming back year after year until the work finally broke through, including a huge run on the amateur friction side and later wins on the air-call stage. A highlight is the “champion of champions” class and the meaning behind earning the Billy Bice Award, named for a legend Clay knew personally. Dawson shares his own competition path, what he’s learned building pot calls, and why trumpets feel like the next precision challenge.Then we bring it back to the woods: a hard-earned Osceola hunt in South Florida, a first-turkey double that lit a fire under Clay’s wife, and why scouting without a gun can make you a better turkey hunter and a better caller. We wrap with what’s new at the bench, including Clay’s durable plastic injection molded design and where you can find their work online. If you enjoy turkey hunting, turkey calling, and the culture of custom callmaking, subscribe, share this with a buddy, and leave us a review. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →A Special Turkey Hunt | Navigating Crowded Public Land Gobblers
Mar 2301:03:04Tap to summarizeThis week, the conversation turns personal, as Hunter shares why one particular spring morning matters a little more to his family, hunting on his late son, William's, birthday for the first time, and how grief can resurface years later. Most importantly, how his faith in God and the spring woods can pull you toward gratitude for God's blessings, even during the loss of a loved one.From there, we get practical about public land turkey hunting. We cover how we handle crowded pull-offs, why we avoid crowding another hunter even when a gobbler is close, and the small habits that keep you from blowing up someone else’s setup. We also dig into early season turkey calling tactics that match real conditions: softer yelps, fewer notes, longer pauses, and using hens and terrain to help a gobbler commit instead of hanging up.That leads into a wild play-by-play hunt with a fired-up hen, a longbeard closing hard, and a chaotic Jake almost crashing the party at the last second.If you enjoy honest turkey hunting stories, public land strategy, and the deeper reasons for why we keep showing up every spring, you’ll feel at home here. Subscribe, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave a review so more folks can find the Spring Legion Podcast.Use Code SPRING26 for FREE Mask and Gloves with purchase of a New Spring Legion Turkey Vest through April 1st, 2026. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
Transcribe →A Mississippi Turkey Opener for the Ages - Hunting Gobblers in the Pine Straw Jungle
Mar 1601:04:45Tap to summarizeOpening weekend doesn’t ease you back into turkey season. It shoves you in. We roll into the 2026 Mississippi spring turkey season with pollen in the air, gear scattered from the offseason, and that familiar feeling that we’re already behind the sunrise. Then the woods remind us why we do this: one gobble and suddenly every step and every yelp matters again. We break down a “pine straw jungle” hunt in thick Southern pines where sound gets muffled, gobblers can drum forever without showing themselves, and a bird can go from nowhere to 15 yards in a blink. We talk about when to stay quiet, when to give a louder hen calls, and how small details like sunlight on your gun barrel or a hidden logging road can decide the whole setup. If you’ve searched for turkey calling tips, drumming distance, or how to set up on a pressured longbeard, this one is packed with real-world context. We also get into the public land side of opening weekend: crowded pull-offs, the value of a quick conversation to keep everyone safe, and how fast pressure changes turkey behavior. We finish with the season’s bigger themes, from hunting with family to the superstition and humility that come with chasing birds that feel “nine years old” by day two. If you like these honest turkey hunting stories and practical strategy talk, subscribe to the Spring Legion Podcast, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave a review so more turkey hunters can find it. LINK: Save 10% on your next North Mountain Gear Leafy Jacket with code LEGION26 at northmountaingear.comLINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10Follow us on Instagram:@springlegion@hunter.farrior@chasefarriorWe'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:North Mountain GearMossy OakApex AmmunitionVortex Optics
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