The Tennessee Valley of North Alabama may not have as many turkeys as some other regions of the state, but the flock has grown a great deal over the years and now offers some outstanding hunting opportunity.

Terry Goldsby of Madison County has seen the growth of turkeys -- and the popularity of turkey hunting -- first-hand in this region. He's been hunting North Alabama since 1977 and has enjoyed very good success in the area.

The turkeys of the Tennessee Valley figured prominently in his bid last year for a single season "Grand Slam," which he was able to achieve. But he got a little nervous about the home turkeys. He had his other three species under his belt and still hadn't taken an Eastern as the final week of the season approached.

But the hunting broke loose and he was able to take three Eastern gobblers in the last week of the season to complete the slam.

Let's join Goldsby as he talks about what Tennessee Valley turkey hunting was and what it has grown into.

Back In The Day
Goldsby's first-ever turkey hunt was back in the spring of 1977 on what was then called the Waterloo Management Area. Today it is the Lauderdale Wildlife Management Area.

"I worked for TVA in Muscle Shoals at that time," he said. "It was an easy drive for me. I roosted a bird on that first hunt and, believe it or not, I killed a turkey on the very first morning I ever turkey hunted."

He was hooked at that point. He'd prepared for the hunt by purchasing a Roger Latham box call that he still carries and uses regularly today. (Cont.)

"I think I paid $7 for it at whatever store was comparable to Wal-Mart at that time," he said. "I've gotten my money's worth out of that call, for sure."

He also purchased one of the old Johnny Stewart game call records to learn how to use the call.

"I hunted the Lauderdale area for two or three seasons, and then they closed it to turkey hunting," Goldsby said. "The turkey population got real low. It wasn't because of me. The turkeys worked on me. I didn't work on them."

Needing a new place to hunt after that, he migrated to the Bankhead National Forest, which also includes the Black Warrior WMA.

"I hunted the Bankhead hard for about five years," Goldsby said. "I would drive from Muscle Shoals to hunt. I think I killed two birds during that stretch."

Technically, he said, the Bankhead contains the Tennessee Valley Divide. Some creeks flow to the Tennessee drainage and some flow to the Warrior.

"I'm sure I hunted some long ridges with one side that was in the Tennessee Valley, while the other was in the Warrior," he said.

Black Warrior turkeys have a reputation as being hush-mouthed or call-shy and Goldsby saw some of that even way back in the 1970s.

"When one gobbled, you could hear it a long way off," he said. "But it could be very difficult to get to it."