Editor’s Note: Fred Darty, today of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, specialized in hunting canny old gobblers – birds that eluded other hunters many times. He learned in his years of hunting turkeys that no one else could take that, “A trophy turkey must be at least 5-years old and must have encountered many hunters. All but a handful of men have given up hunting him. He rarely will come to a hen or a caller. Caution has superseded his sex drive, and he’s probably the wisest creature in the woods.” Darty was like an Olympic athlete. He studied, he trained, and he polished his skills as he competed against the very-best adversaries he could find. He didn’t always win, but that’s what made his hunting turkeys worthwhile.

I first met tall, quiet Fred Darty at a lodge in central Alabama many years ago. I’d heard that arty, who was in his mid-40s at the time, was almost sure to bag a turkey every day he hunted. “Shoot Done for me,” I told him as a joke early that morning. “Sure,” he answered quietly and left the lodge. Dressed from head to toe in camouflage, he melted into the darkness. I met Darty for lunch, and he reported that he and his son had heard some turkeys and would try to take one in the afternoon.

That night, back at the lodge, Darty sauntered over to my table. “Your turkey is in the cooler. Keith and I both got one in the afternoon, so I went ahead and cleaned the one I shot for you.”
“You’re kidding,” I said. “You said you wanted a turkey, didn’t you?” Darty asked. No one ever had given me a wild turkey before. I never have given one away or known of anyone else who has. A turkey is hard to give away, but that’s not true where Fred Darty is concerned.

“It’s not difficult to take young turkeys before they get their educations,” Darty explains. “You can get in close, set-up and call, and they’ll come. But once a hunter has gone after a turkey and failed, the odds switch heavily in the turkey’s favor.”

Fred is the most-meticulous hunter I’ve ever met. Nothing is overlooked in his preparation for a hunt. Nothing goes unnoticed when he’s afield. All available information is gathered, screened and run through his volume of turkey hunting experience, until a viable plan is worked out.

Careful, early training in the woods accounts for much of Darty’s wildlife expertise. In 1945, Fred Darty turkey hunted for the first time. “I was only 6-years old,” Darty remembers, “but my dad was a superb turkey hunter and taught me what he knew.”

Years later while practicing dentistry in Warner Robbins, Georgia, Darty began concentrating on hunting trophy gobblers. Knowing that he love to hunt turkeys, patients and friends often told Darty about wary gobblers that had fooled them for years. Many hunters offered Darty a chance to hunt a trophy turkey. As Darty’s reputation grew, outdoorsmen all over Georgia and Alabama began to call Fred when they were forced to give-up on an old turkey that had outsmarted hunters time after time. And, Darty often succeeded when no one else could.

To learn more about hunting turkeys successfully, visit John E. Phillips’ Amazon book page at https://www.amazon.com/John-E.-Phillips/e/B001HP7K6O. For even more information from many of the top turkey hunters and callers, check out the book, “PhD Gobblers: How to Hunt the Smartest Turkeys in the World” at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V83RLG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p4_i11 and available in Kindle, print and Audible. You may have to copy and paste this link into your browser. (When you click on the book, notice on the left where Amazon says you can read and hear 10% of the book for free). On the right side of the page and below the offer for a free Audible trial, you can click on Buy the Audible book.

Tomorrow: Why Depend on Calling, Knowledge and Turkey Tactics