A 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.com

LINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10

Follow us on Instagram:
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@hunter.farrior
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We'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:

• North Mountain Gear
• Mossy Oak
• Apex Ammunition
• Vortex Optics

This 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.com

LINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10

Follow us on Instagram:
@springlegion
@hunter.farrior
@chasefarrior

We'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:

• North Mountain Gear
• Mossy Oak
• Apex Ammunition
• Vortex Optics

Opening 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.com

LINK: SAVE 10% on the new 2026 Line of Turkey Hunting Gear at springlegion.com with code POD10

Follow us on Instagram:
@springlegion
@hunter.farrior
@chasefarrior

We'd like to thank the following sponsors for making this podcast possible:

• North Mountain Gear
• Mossy Oak
• Apex Ammunition
• Vortex Optics