#HuntGarmin Spotlight: In the Blind with Taylor Drury

Last time we spoke with Taylor, she talked about her life outside of Drury Outdoors and what she loves about hunting. Now let's dig a little deeper…

Garmin: We heard you went turkey hunting with your dad in Iowa this spring and had a chance to be behind the camera. Tell us more about that experience and what it meant to you.

Taylor: It was my very first time being behind the camera. There have been a few other times in the past where dad and I were hunting together and I had a camera just to mess around with and become familiar with it. Just a few weekends ago, we were up in Iowa and I tagged out the first night I was there, so dad still had to fill his tag. He said, “Hey, instead of Wade (his cameraman) filming, how about we stay together as a team and you film your first hunt tomorrow?” I was so excited about that! The next day, we went to the first setup and had crazy turkey action all morning. At the last setup, we called the turkeys in from 100 yards, all the way into 20 yards when Dad shot a big tom. I told him that I enjoyed filming a turkey kill just as much as being behind the gun. It was just a whole new challenge for me and a great learning experience. It was a big test for both of us because we had to make sure we were communicating and that he understood my hand signals. He was hyperventilating because he said he was so nervous for me!

Garmin: Which Garmin products does Drury Outdoors use the most in the field?

Taylor: We use the Garmin VIRB during every hunt. It plays a tremendous role in production, whether it’s for DVDs or TV shows. Almost every Drury Outdoors team member uses them, too. I can’t speak for everyone, but my dad uses them for every hunt, my Uncle Terry uses them every hunt, and their camera guys are always setting them up. We usually have a main camera and then two VIRBs.

This year during turkey season, we were setting them out in the field by the decoys and covering them up, so we were getting some awesome up-close kill shots of turkeys. Even through deer season, we’re setting them up in two different locations to get different angles – usually one in the field and one in the tree or the blind over the hunter and where they’re aiming. We’ve gotten some amazing shots with them!

Garmin: So what is your favorite species to hunt, and what is your most exciting hunt for that species?

Taylor: I can’t choose just one, but it would be between deer and turkey. Those are really the only big game animals that I’ve hunted, but they are both a huge accomplishment and challenge. However, my most memorable hunt would probably be a deer hunt from last year. My dad and I were hunting late season in Iowa together and it was two days before New Year’s, there was snow on the ground and a negative wind-chill. We got in there early one day and the pressure on us to shoot one was really high since it was late in the season. The sun was out and there was a crazy amount of deer movement going on. We had probably been in the blind for 35 minutes and out stepped the biggest deer that I’ve ever harvested, and it happened to be with a muzzleloader. My dad hadn’t seen it or gotten trailcam pictures of it in 7 or 8 years. He made it sound like it was a ghost from the past!

It was really cool to have Dad behind the camera and watch those deer come all the way in to about 60 yards from us and I made a perfect shot on him. What made it so cool was that after I shot him, he went into this creek that was frozen solid. We got down there to recover him and just enjoyed the moment. The sun was shining on the ice, and the heat from his body had melted some of the ice. A lot of blood rushed under the creek. It was just one of those picture-perfect memories. It looked like a postcard – it was one of those surreal moments and capped off a great hunt, and it was my biggest deer ever.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Taylor! We can’t wait to see the giants you harvest this fall!

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