Travis T-Bone Turner, the popular co-host of Michael Waddell’s Bone Collector TV Show and Realtree Pro-staff hunter, announced today that he has joined the BowCast team and will host the “Food For Thought With Travis T-Bone Turner” segment of each BowCast show.

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Some of country music’s top artists are coming to Early County next week along with some top hunting professionals for a week of turkey hunting and a benefit concert and it’s called Country Goes Huntin’.

“Bringin’ it back to the camp,” the theme of the 8th annual Country Goes Huntin’, sums up the sentiment of cofounder Sam Klement, “We want to bring the event home to Early County where it originated.”

The concert event will be Tuesday, March 31 at “Goocher Holler” located 10 miles south of Blakely on U.S. 27. The gates will open at 5 p.m. The local band Durty South will play at 6 p.m. and the country artists will take the stage at 7 p.m.

The $100 tickets include the concert, dinner, raw oysters and a chance to mingle with the stars. Tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce. Call 723- 3741 for more information.

Since 2003 dozens of charities have benefited including the Wiregrass Children’s Home, Georgia Sheriffs Association, Wheelin’ Sportsmen, the Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Each artist that participates donates their time and receives a portion of the proceeds to go to their favorite charity.

Country artists expected to participate in next week’s event include Aaron Tippin, Blake Shelton, Colt Ford, Rhett Akins, Lorrie Morgan, Daryle Singletary, Bobby Pinson, Buddy Jewell, Dallas Davidson, Daniel Lee Martin, Killer Beaz, Lo Cash Cowboys and Tyler Farr.

Michael Waddell, host of the hottest new outdoor TV show Bone Collectors says, “It’s like having a back stage pass to the coolest hunting camp in the country!”

In addition to the concert, there is an online silent auction where you can bid on items donated to Country Goes Huntin’, including one of a kind items and special hunts. The auction will end April 2, 2009. For more information go to www.camospace.com.

The Blakely-Early County Chamber of Commerce is helping plan the event. “This is an opportunity for Early County to get national exposure on Outdoor Network shows Bone Collectors, Realtree Roadtrips, HS Outdoors and at least six other top rated TV shows,” stated chamber president Hilary Halford.

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Travis T-Bone Turner, co-host of the Outdoor Channel’s top-rated hunting show Michael Waddell’s Bone Collector, will appear at Sportsman’s Outfitters in Dothan, Al, on March 30th, 2009 from 2pm to 7pm.

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Old friend reunion .
Paul Thompson is the proud owner of Bows-R-Us in Lucedale ,MS , It was so good to stop and see him and his family at there new location. Paul and I have been friends for a lot of years. We go way back from shooting on the ASA tournament trail. He has been real successful in competition and in his buisness . It was real good to see them and I appreaciate them taken me to one of the best lil’ catfish eating places I have ever been too . Can’t remember the name .

Yours in archery
Travis

We all headed down to Vatoville, courtesy of Jim Scheifelbien on a sweet private jet. There we were met by our guide Billy Bob “Bunk” Gallbreath and we headed to the ranch. We hugged Vato, got our gear in order, headed out to the stands and within a few hours had the first four of 15 down on the ground. Over the next few days our crew would have a blast singing karaoke, chilling around the campfire and doing some serious deer management. Total count at the end of three days – was 38!

My last morning I was lucky enough to kill a 125 inch 8 point, this was a great way to end the management extravaganza and a relaxing end to the 08 hunting season.

Thank you to Vato, Michele, Bunk and Jim for a great trip!

The first week in December the crew was at Hadley Creek Outfitters in Illinois for muzzleloader hunt. We got our stuff settled and relaxed around Stacy Ward’s amazing trophy room. The next morning we headed to our stands, I would be hunting on a bean field where I had seen a big buck a couple of times while bow hunting. Just after daylight I saw the buck but he was out of range, he fed for over an hour and then left the field. That evening we went back to the same location and deer started filtering into the field around 300pm. I glassed in the timber and spotted a good buck bedded, all I could see was the deer’s horns and he looked to be a 140’s class 9 point.

He disappeared and a few does began to come out into the field near where he had been bedded. Then I saw another buck, this one was a little bigger, long G 2’s and 3’s and good mass, but a little narrow. I decided to take a shot, had a good solid rest and missed him by an inch. I was crying around, feeling sorry for myself when the buck that I had seen bedded popped out right beside my blind. My cameraman Tyler Viars “Squeedunk” got on him and told me to take the shot. I did, he’s dead and he’s a beauty.

Thanks to Stacy Ward and the gang at Hadley Creek Outfitters for an amazing experience and tune into the show to see the full story!!!!!!!

On the 13th of September I flew from Fairbanks AL to some town in Texas, met up with my cameraman Stephen Boulware and drove two hours into New Mexico where we met up with my good friend Cory Knowlton of Global Hunting Resources. We would be hunting speed goats with Beaver Head Outfitters and Cowboy Chuck Martin would be our guide. New Mexico’s antelope season is a two-day event and Beaver Head’s leases hold lots of animals. The biggest surprise was when I arrived at camp Corey had flown in my girl friend, Arika Sanders, to ride along and witness the event.

The first morning we woke up, headed out and got on a group right off the bat with a goofy horned buck, but just couldn’t get a shot at him. So we continued looking and we spotted a buck that I wanted to put my tag on, Stephen, Corey and I put the sneak on and with one shot from my TC Icon had a nice 14.5” buck down. Now it was Cory’s turn. We looked over several groups of antelope, none with a buck big enough, but we finally spotted a lone buck and put a sneak on him. Corey made a perfect 150 yard shot and also had himself a good 14” goat.

Thanks to Chuck and the guys at Beaver Head Outfitters for a great hunt for more information on great hunts around the globe contact Global Hunting Resources @ globalhuntingresources.com.

On the 27th of August I met up with my buddy – Donnie Vincent – in Fairbanks for a fifteen-day bear and moose hunt. I would be hunting black bear and Donnie would be hunting Grizzly and Moose. Donnie had drawn a special permit on the Koyukuk Wildlife Refuge; possibly one of the best moose hunts in North America.

Our trip started with a 70-mile boat ride up the Koyukuk River, transferred our gear onto a smaller jet boat and we continued up a small tributary to bear camp. We hunted there for 6 days, experienced a few sittings, caught many world class arctic grayling on dry flies but because of unseasonably warm weather and a bad blueberry crop we were unsuccessful filling Donnie’s grizzly tag and my black bear tag. So, we loaded the jet boat and headed back down two and half hours to the Koyukuk, reloaded the gear in our original prop boat and headed up river another two hours to Virgal Umphenour’s main moose camp on the banks of the Koyukuk. There we would camp overnight, get new supplies, and head out the following morning for a spike camp – 30 additional miles up river.

We decided to hunt our way up the river to spike camp. Along the way we stopped and one of our guide’s – Shawn Huffman – secret hunting holes. We hiked for several miles and then found two cows at the back of the meadow, so we closed the distance and couldn’t see any bulls so we went beyond them and Shawn raked a tree, a bull immediately answered and headed our way. As he came closer he was grunting like crazy, we could see his horn tips swaying through the willows, coming closer and closer to our position. He was pushing 70 inches wide, but he had narrow palms, and only a few long brow twines. So, Shawn instructed Donnie to pass this one.

We set up our spike camp and hunted hard for several more days to no avail. In the meantime, I shot some beavers with my Hoyt Katera and we set up some black bear baits with the carcasses. On the fifth day we had an encounter with a huge Boone and Crocket bull, that was coming right to us, but a smaller bull came out of the willows and got his attention –we ran out of daylight before we could get a shot off. This bull was a true monster.

On the final morning of the hunt, I awoke at 5am and heard something rummaging through our camp, just a few yards outside of the tent. I grabbed producer Marc Womack’s 45, unzipped the tent opening to see a 150lb. black bear staring right at me – 5 yards. I cocked the hammer on the pistol, aimed and fired at the bear’s chest and he died 12 yards from our tent. An hour or so after daylight we started investing around the camp and discovered that the bear had ripped out both windows of our tent, where myself and Donnie had been sleeping. We were unable to hear what was going on, we had earplugs in our ears because Marc snores like a bear in heat.

It was ironic that I had spent several days baiting bears with no shows, and then on the last day I fill my tag in the middle of camp just in my underwear! What luck!!! In the words of Michael Waddell, I would rather be lucky then good any day. So, true.

That evening we went back to the main moose camp, we spent the night and headed to town to catch our airplane. Donnie stayed behind to hunt for 4 more days without us, to see if he could fill his moose tag. As luck would have it – the very first morning after we leave, Donnie and Shawn found a small herd of cows and see horn tips sticking out of the grass. They snuck into about 50 yards, the bull stood up and Donnie hammered him with his TC muzzleloader dropping the bull within 50 yards. The best part – Shawn captured the whole hunt on video! Donnie’s bull was a little over 60 inches wide, truly, an awesome ending to an amazing trip in one of the world’s last true wildernesses.

Make sure you catch this hunt on an upcoming episode of Michael Waddell’s Bone Collector only on the Outdoor Channel.