Everything is Bigger, Hotter, and Pokier in Texas

Everything is Bigger, Hotter, and Pokier in Texas

First-time turkey hunter targets Rio Grande on Brotherhood Outdoors

by Kate Nation

Tori Letson grew up deer hunting with her dad and brothers, but she had never been turkey hunting before heading to Uvalde, Texas, in April to meet up with several USA staff, partners, and the Brotherhood Outdoors film crew to hunt Rio Grande turkey with Southern Outdoor Experience (SOE) Hunts.

“I’ve always heard that turkey hunting is so much more thrilling in comparison to deer hunting, so I was looking forward to finding out for myself,” said Letson, a member of IBEW Local 136 and Bank of Labor business development officer.

At Bank of Labor, Letson works to build relationships with labor leaders and support their initiatives while positively impacting their members and communities nationwide through Bank of Labor’s vision to give every American the opportunity to earn a living wage

Growing up in a home full of boys and working in the labor world, Letson has no problem fitting in with the guys at hunting camp. On this trip, however, she was joined by USA Communications Manager Kate Nation—also a first-time turkey hunter.

“I loved the opportunity to hunt alongside another female who is passionate about the outdoors and share the experience with her,” Letson said.

Letson and Nation started their hunt in a blind on the first morning with Brotherhood Outdoors producer Jamieson Crast. While the hunt was slow with only two hens sighted far in the distance, the laughs (though muffled) were plentiful.

All the hunters in camp got skunked on both the morning and evening hunt of day one. Texas showed its colors on the morning hunt of day two. Letson found a cactus with her glove as she reached for something on the ground in the dark blind, and when the sun came up, she caught sight of a massive snake—an eastern indigo—making its way toward a water trough less than 100 yards away.

But thorns and a non-venomous snake paled in comparison to the 65+ ticks USA Conservation Programs Manager Sam Phipps counted on himself after hunting under a tree in the same area or the huge rattlesnake Steve Ettinger with the Illinois Conservation Foundation killed while hunting on another property that day.

A flock of hens came to feed in front of Letson’s blind, and several gobblers were making their way toward the blind only to be scared off by cattle coming to drink at the same trough as the snake.

“It was so much different than deer hunting because you can hear turkey close by and anticipate them walking up at any moment,” Letson said. “It’s frustrating when you know they are around you, but you never see them.”

As morning turned to afternoon, things got hot. Upon picking Letson, Nation, and Crast up around noon, SOE owner Mike Stroff suggested heading back to the lodge for a quick lunch and then going straight back out to set up the blind in his honey hole.

So, wearing long-sleeves, gloves, and face masks in temperatures soaring above 90 degrees, the crew set back up in the sweltering blind with the hope of cooperative toms and Stroff’s promise of cold margaritas with the harvest of a turkey.

“It was much hotter than I ever anticipated it could be sitting in a blind,” Letson said.

But with hens all around the blind and toms responding to Crast’s calls, the action was hot as well.

As the hunters waited anxiously for the gobblers to appear from the right side of the blind, one suddenly appeared from the left at about five yards away, heading straight to the decoys. With no time to think, Letson pulled the trigger on her first turkey.

“Leading up to pulling the trigger, I remained calm,” Letson said, “but the moment he dropped, my heart started racing. I couldn’t wait to share the news. It was definitely a moment I’ll never forget.”