Turkey hunting can be so easy. An hour into opening-day morning of the 1999 Georgia turkey season and Michael Mayfield was sitting with his back to a pine tree watching over his gun barrel as a longbeard strutted steadily toward him - and the bird was already in range. The tables, however, were about to be turned.

Michael Mayfield, 30, of Braselton is well-known and successful in the turkey-calling circuit over the past seven years and is currently a member of the Team Realtree local pro staff. He's been hunting since he was a kid and killed his first deer at 10. His first gobbler came at age 14, and he has been a turkey-hunting addict ever since.

On opening-day morning, Michael was hunting on an 875-acre tract of family-owned land in Oglethorpe County. The tract, purchased three years earlier was part of the old Hogan Plantation. A creek with about 138 acres of thick swamp surrounding it nearly splits the property and the rolling hills and ridges rising from the swamp are covered with mixed pines and hardwoods. From the air the land looks like it has measles - because of the 49 food plots that have been planted in a variety of wildlife foods... Read Full Article

For more hunting tips, visit Georgia Outdoor News.