Carl Bock and his sons, Jordan and Jesse, have been traveling to South Texas from their home state of Pennsylvania to hunt turkey since March of 2021. This spring marked their fifth consecutive trip, and they harvested six longbeards over three days of hunting.
“We’ve hunted with the same outfitter in the Dilley area called Dilley Dove, every spring,” Carl said. “They work hard to make sure we are in a good position to enjoy close encounters with gobblers.” Bock’s son, Jordan, struck first. On the first morning of the hunt, he doubled on two mature long beards within the first 10 minutes of legal shooting light.
“The birds were roosted about 150 yards from where we were set up with our decoys at the edge of a field,” Jordan said. “A group of hens flew into the field off of the roost and came running at the decoys, and two gobblers were right behind them. I was able to harvest both of them on back-to-back shots. It was a picture-perfect morning.”
Carl and Jesse were sitting together at the edge of a different field during the first morning. They had two toms come strutting into the decoys about 30 minutes after sunrise, and Bock arrowed one with his crossbow. Later that afternoon, Jesse scored two gobblers with one shot from his shotgun.
“We had a group of jakes come in to the decoys,” Jesse explained. “They walked off for a few minutes and then came back with additional jakes. Then they walked off once again, but when they returned, three longbeards followed them. I was able to line up two and make a good shot.”
Carl took his second gobbler on the second morning of their trip.
“The birds were acting kind of finicky that morning and weren’t talking much,” he said. “After trying a couple of areas without success, we picked a spot during the mid-morning hours where birds would likely be moving through.”
They heard one gobble, and then a few minutes later, two longbeards started heading their way. Then both birds went into the brush as if they had been spooked. One finally came out and headed their way again, this time in full strut.
“When he got to 50 yards, I took my shot,” Bock said. “The bird fell right there, sealing the deal on another great morning in South Texas.”
Bock and his sons said they look forward to their Texas turkey trip every spring.
“The Rio Grande turkey down here are just a blast to hunt,” Carl said. “But more than the birds, it’s the people that keep us coming back. The guides have become our friends, and there’s just so many great people who we have made memories and friendships with over the years. And that’s what trips like this are all about.”
