Ray Eye Media Turkey Camp on the Big piney River - How It Works
Bill Cooper 4/27/15
A pair of wood ducks zoomed past. Their high pitched squeals rang off the dogwood covered hillsides. Shortly an osprey followed their path and lit in an ancient sycamore tree overhanging the Big Piney River. A pair of honking Canada geese followed. Sunrise approached. The whippoorwills had ceased their raucous calls. Wild turkey toms had begun to shake the ridge tops with their lovesick gobbles. I reveled in the glory of the first day of Ray Eye’s Media Turkey Camp as I stood on the banks of the Big Piney River with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Hunters in our camp had scrambled to gulp down a bit of coffee, biscuits and gravy before heading to the woods. A full breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns and hot coffee would await them at ten o’clock. I volunteered to stay behind and serve as camp cook, so the host of talented writers and other media people could concentrate on the work at hand of killing turkeys and formulating their stories into photos, videos and hard print.
The list of attendees at the camp read like a of “Who’s Who” of outdoor media experts. They included: Linda Powell, of Mossberg Firearms, Melanie Swearingen, media and public relations with the National Wild Turkey Federation, Brandon Butler, the executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Mark and Ellie Strand, of Midwest Outdoors and podcast, Scott Davis and Steve Sylvestier, of Urban Hunting TV Show out of Memphis, Tennessee, Stuart Ruehling and Mike Ponder, of Indian Creek Choke Tubes, Josh Dahlke, of scoutlookweather.com, Matt Sproce, editor of North American Hunting Club Magazine,Tony Caggiano, of World Slam Adventures, Gary Lee, of the Ozark Radio Network, Chris Vogler and Ray Eye, of Eye on the Outdoors Radio, STL 1380 radio and podcast, and Spence Turner, a freelance writer, and myself, Bill Cooper, of Outside Again Adventures TV.
As I enjoyed my cup of early morning coffee on the deck overhanging the Big Piney River, the first shot of the morning rang through the fog cloaking the Ozark Mountains. It came from the direction in which Josh Dalhke and cameraman Matt Sproce had gone. They showed up at breakfast with a fat jake in hand, the first bird to be bought into camp.
Hungry hunters began to arrive for breakfast. Laughter and storytelling filled the cabin. Smells of woodsmoke from the fireplace, bacon frying and Wilderness Roast coffee added to the ambiance. Turkey camp had fallen into place perfectly. Superb stories for media outlets were being created in front of my eyes.
I had a special vantage point by serving as camp cook. Everyone returned to the cabin after their hunt. I enjoyed being the first to hear the enthusiasm and relive the story of each one’s morning hunt. I will forever remember Spence Turner flying down the lane in his UTV, pumping his fist to indicate he had scored on a big Ozark mountain gobbler. His story won the best in camp award as well. Spence sports a prosthesis, having lost a leg to diabetes. He is legally allowed to hunt from his UTV. He covers it with camo material turning it into the perfect hunting blind.
Stuart Ruehling, from Indian Creek Chokes, served as Spence’s guide. According to Stuart he saw something in the turkey woods he had never seen before. “When Spence knocked that big gobbler down with a load of White Lightning by Spectra Shot, I raced to the bird. When I turned around to show Spence the gobbler, there he stood with his pants around his ankles. His prosthetic leg had fallen off and he was trying to get his leg back on so he could come to the gobbler. That was a first!”
Every morning the hills rang with the boisterous gobbles of lovesick turkeys. Hunters headed out into the predawn darkness with high hopes of outwitting one of these magnificent birds. Sixteen year old Ellie Strand tagged along with her uncle, Mark Strand, the editor of MidWest Outdoors Magazine. Ellie had already begun her career as an outdoor writer and the invitation to join the crew at turkey camp gave her young career a big shot in the arm.
Each morning Mark and Ellie were the first to leave camp. Ray Eye had scouted a hot spot on U.S. Forest Service lands and the Strands left extra early every morning to get a jump on anyone who might hunt these public lands as well.
I kept the aromas of hot meals and hotter coffee stirring into the smells of wood smoke and Ozark mountain air. Smoked rainbow trout and eggs for breakfast, whitetail deer fritters for lunch and smoked black bear roasts for dinner made for a menu that can be found in few other places. “Writers who eat well, perform well said Ray Eye, camp host. “I think most of our attendees had never seen a camp menu like Cooper provided. He served rainbow trout, black bear, whitetail deer, ham and beans, bbq pork steak, salads, soups, relish trays on the cabin porch tables decorated with wildflowers. And it all overlooked the Big piney River.”
More gobblers died, stories were born and videos created. Every communicator agreed, however, that it was impossible to convey to the public the total experience of being in our turkey camp. The place, the people, the comradore, the laughing, joking and storytelling, all of which took place in a grand setting deep in the Ozark Mountains, made an incredible turkey camp experience, the best any of of us had ever enjoyed.
Media hunting camps are impossible to organize without sponsor support. A special thanks is in order for: Cowtown USA of Cuba, Missouri, Ray Rays Smoke House BBQ Sauce, from Cabool, Missouri, Thomas Coffee, Wolf Premium Oils, Hook’s Custom Calls, Indian Creek Chokes and Mossberg Firearms.
Ray Eye Media Turkey Camp on the Big piney River - How It Works
Bill Cooper 4/27/15
A pair of wood ducks zoomed past. Their high pitched squeals rang off the dogwood covered hillsides. Shortly an osprey followed their path and lit in an ancient sycamore tree overhanging the Big Piney River. A pair of honking Canada geese followed. Sunrise approached. The whippoorwills had ceased their raucous calls. Wild turkey toms had begun to shake the ridge tops with their lovesick gobbles. I reveled in the glory of the first day of Ray Eye’s Media Turkey Camp as I stood on the banks of the Big Piney River with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Hunters in our camp had scrambled to gulp down a bit of coffee, biscuits and gravy before heading to the woods. A full breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns and hot coffee would await them at ten o’clock. I volunteered to stay behind and serve as camp cook, so the host of talented writers and other media people could concentrate on the work at hand of killing turkeys and formulating their stories into photos, videos and hard print.
The list of attendees at the camp read like a of “Who’s Who” of outdoor media experts. They included: Linda Powell, of Mossberg Firearms, Melanie Swearingen, media and public relations with the National Wild Turkey Federation, Brandon Butler, the executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Mark and Ellie Strand, of Midwest Outdoors and podcast, Scott Davis and Steve Sylvestier, of Urban Hunting TV Show out of Memphis, Tennessee, Stuart Ruehling and Mike Ponder, of Indian Creek Choke Tubes, Josh Dahlke, of scoutlookweather.com, Matt Sproce, editor of North American Hunting Club Magazine,Tony Caggiano, of World Slam Adventures, Gary Lee, of the Ozark Radio Network, Chris Vogler and Ray Eye, of Eye on the Outdoors Radio, STL 1380 radio and podcast, and Spence Turner, a freelance writer, and myself, Bill Cooper, of Outside Again Adventures TV.
As I enjoyed my cup of early morning coffee on the deck overhanging the Big Piney River, the first shot of the morning rang through the fog cloaking the Ozark Mountains. It came from the direction in which Josh Dalhke and cameraman Matt Sproce had gone. They showed up at breakfast with a fat jake in hand, the first bird to be bought into camp.
Hungry hunters began to arrive for breakfast. Laughter and storytelling filled the cabin. Smells of woodsmoke from the fireplace, bacon frying and Wilderness Roast coffee added to the ambiance. Turkey camp had fallen into place perfectly. Superb stories for media outlets were being created in front of my eyes.
I had a special vantage point by serving as camp cook. Everyone returned to the cabin after their hunt. I enjoyed being the first to hear the enthusiasm and relive the story of each one’s morning hunt. I will forever remember Spence Turner flying down the lane in his UTV, pumping his fist to indicate he had scored on a big Ozark mountain gobbler. His story won the best in camp award as well. Spence sports a prosthesis, having lost a leg to diabetes. He is legally allowed to hunt from his UTV. He covers it with camo material turning it into the perfect hunting blind.
Stuart Ruehling, from Indian Creek Chokes, served as Spence’s guide. According to Stuart he saw something in the turkey woods he had never seen before. “When Spence knocked that big gobbler down with a load of White Lightning by Spectra Shot, I raced to the bird. When I turned around to show Spence the gobbler, there he stood with his pants around his ankles. His prosthetic leg had fallen off and he was trying to get his leg back on so he could come to the gobbler. That was a first!”
Every morning the hills rang with the boisterous gobbles of lovesick turkeys. Hunters headed out into the predawn darkness with high hopes of outwitting one of these magnificent birds. Sixteen year old Ellie Strand tagged along with her uncle, Mark Strand, the editor of MidWest Outdoors Magazine. Ellie had already begun her career as an outdoor writer and the invitation to join the crew at turkey camp gave her young career a big shot in the arm.
Each morning Mark and Ellie were the first to leave camp. Ray Eye had scouted a hot spot on U.S. Forest Service lands and the Strands left extra early every morning to get a jump on anyone who might hunt these public lands as well.
I kept the aromas of hot meals and hotter coffee stirring into the smells of wood smoke and Ozark mountain air. Smoked rainbow trout and eggs for breakfast, whitetail deer fritters for lunch and smoked black bear roasts for dinner made for a menu that can be found in few other places. “Writers who eat well, perform well said Ray Eye, camp host. “I think most of our attendees had never seen a camp menu like Cooper provided. He served rainbow trout, black bear, whitetail deer, ham and beans, bbq pork steak, salads, soups, relish trays on the cabin porch tables decorated with wildflowers. And it all overlooked the Big piney River.”
More gobblers died, stories were born and videos created. Every communicator agreed, however, that it was impossible to convey to the public the total experience of being in our turkey camp. The place, the people, the comradore, the laughing, joking and storytelling, all of which took place in a grand setting deep in the Ozark Mountains, made an incredible turkey camp experience, the best any of of us had ever enjoyed.
Media hunting camps are impossible to organize without sponsor support. A special thanks is in order for: Cowtown USA of Cuba, Missouri, Ray Rays Smoke House BBQ Sauce, from Cabool, Missouri, Thomas Coffee, Wolf Premium Oils, Hook’s Custom Calls, Indian Creek Chokes and Mossberg Firearms.
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