Editor’s note: In this recurring blog, editor Brian Lovett looks back at some of the most memorable hunts of his career. This one occurred in April 2000.

Another trip to Texas? That’s what the headline translates to in English. Don’t be impressed. It’s called Google Translate. But long before there was such a thing, yes, I made two trips to Texas in one spring. No. 1, to the Hill Country, netted my first two Rio Grandes. No. 2 promised more adventure in the Brush Country farther south.

The first morning, I joined Michael Waddell, then of Realtree, and a videographer at a large pasture with a large creek bottom. And we tried to make things more difficult.

First, we called in a gobbler that offered a brief shot opportunity but no video, so we passed. Then Waddell float-called behind me and yelped in a gobbler that saw me and spooked. Zero for two.

Finally, at midmorning, I struck a gobbler on a distant ridge, and after my third or fourth series, it was apparent the turkey was coming — fast.

We ducked into some roadside cover, and the gobbler was on top of us within minutes. I let him get close — way too close — and then ended the hunt. The turkey was a good one, too, sporting 1-1/2-inch spurs and a thick rope.

Waddell and the videographer joined me, and we celebrated the flash hunt. After snapping a few photos, Waddell yelped on a mouth call just for kicks. Unbelievably, two gobbles exploded from nearby, and we hit the dirt.

Almost instantly, two gobblers walked into the open and craned their necks at 30 yards. I shot the trailing bird, and suddenly, I was done hunting in Texas for the year.

I soon got an idea about how fortunate I’d been. Hunting got tough the next few days, and our group only took one more bird. I guess turkeys always even things out, even in the wilds of southern Texas.