Am I Dreamin' or What?

Long time no blog. I know.

Imagine strapping on a pair of spikes, grabbing a piece of hand carved lumber from Louisville Slugger, and stepping to home plate to take batting practice at Yankee Stadium. That's what happened to me yesterday.

In this journey I have seen a dream come true. Yesterday I hunted with a man who is a legend; he's mentored me for years in turkey hunting and didn't even know it. David Hale. He's now become a great friend and encourager.

David is literally the Mickey Mantle of the hunting world. A man who's name in the industry has no rival. And even bettter, David is a fully devoted follower of Christ.

Several decades ago David Hale and a man named Harold Knight, two good ol' boys from Cadiz, KY, decided to start marketing game calls. Goose calls, turkey calls, all sorts of stuff. They basically pioneered the game call revolution. Knight & Hale Game Calls was born. Even to this day, their TV show, Knight & Hale's Ultimate Hunting, is seen by 225,000 actual viewers per week.

David and I have gotten to know one another over the last 2 years. And recently, we have partnered together for a really neat concept, again, of which I cannot tell you just yet. Even still, stepping out of his truck and into the woods to chase turkeys was surreal. He's no idol. Those are dangerous to your health! Yet he is a man I admire. And to call him a friend is an honor.

So we headed out into the Bluegrass state to chase Kentucky gobblers. And the chase ended at 7:02 am when I slung a bunch of lead at this old tom. This tom had 1 5/8 spurs and an 11 1/2 beard. Dude. That's a very, very old turkey and a true trophy. And I killed it with David Hale running the camera. What a day.

That makes our 5th turkey this week!

A few days before Chris Littrell and I headed to Oklahoma to hunt down Rios. And man did we hunt 'em down. Killed 3 in 2 days. Which included this double where he shot first, gave me the gun and I gave him the camera, and then I slammed the 2nd tom. Unbelievable footage man. It was one of the most fun hunts I've ever had. And fast action, too.

Chris is the pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg, TN. One of the resources we provide for churches is outdoor ministry DVD production. The concept is that churches can take their hunting footage, and we'll produce if for them as a way of sharing the gospel with their local community. Chris and his fellas at Trinity are doing just that. And let me tell you brotha', they are going to take the gospel to some ol' boys in Lawrence County that have never heard it before. It's creative, cutting edge, and it's the only way guys like these are ever going to listen.

So that's where I've been in the past 2 weeks. Hunting hard. We've got one more week. I hope to see a few more toms gobble their last day!