Sam Bradshaw
First let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Sam Bradshaw from Dyersburg, TN. I am 15 years old and love to hunt and fish. When I was 8 years old my dad passed away and he left his love for the outdoors in me. I am located in North West Tennessee and about 15 miles from the MS River. With this major river/flyway for ducks brings us waterfowl every year by the thousands, so to me a good day in the duck blind would be an awesome day for anyone else!
Although I love hunting all species of animals, the wild turkey is my biggest passion to pursue in the outdoors. While I’m typing this I’m thinking about the the big gobbler I watched strut across a 400 acre field this afternoon! My dad was a master of the mouth call and participated in, and won many major calling competitions over the years, including the TN state contest twice. I always have a turkey call somewhere close to me year round, practicing to become the ultimate turkey hunter and also a competitive caller. I have had the privilege of having my buddy Mike Sentell join me in the woods for a lot of turkeys hitting the ground, I owe it all to him for teaching me all the tricks of the trade concerning Turkey Hunting
Deer Hunting is something that came to me early in life, killing my first deer when I was only 8. It has been in my blood my whole life and I am very blessed to be able to hunt on some extremely well managed property in Illinois and in Tennessee.
I have taken a few bucks but nothing of great size to speak of, but I have taken tons of does to keep the herd numbers in check. I am still waiting on Mr. Big to walk out about 30 yards to get my first buck kill with a bow. I love Bow Hunting and stalking animals, it brings another challenge to me in the hunt!
I would have to say that my proudest deer I’ve ever killed was this past year. I started scouting at my lake house and got a few deer patterned and hung my stands. The first time I climbed into the stand I didn’t sit there 45 minutes and a big doe walked by and I couldn’t pass this big healthy deer up at a distance of 35 yards. I took her and it was the proudest moment in my deer hunting career!!!
Duck season is a busy time of year for a 15 year old that can’t drive and has a farm but can’t get to it! I take duck hunting far too seriously as I will sometime go and forget about everything except that big green head coming in to the decoys right before shooting time.
The past few seasons we have had a big group of ducks coming to the edge of the water in a flooded bean field. For the past two years I have set on the waters edge for about 20 times and maybe have killed 5 ducks, but I have realized how much work it is to hunt out of ground blinds! A few years back I went with my buddies to a hole that the ducks had been keeping open and we limited out in 40 minutes with an 8 man limit, and the whole trip was just watching the 10,000 mallards get out of a 2 acre water hole at once!!!!
I have planned out my life at a fairly early age. My goals are to finish high school. Then go to a college close to home to get a degree in business, after which I will go into the family business and continue my outdoor pursuits.
I joined Team Hammerdog in 2005 as part of their Youth Video Hunting Team and have spent much time filming my hunts and outdoor pursuits to be included in the Jr. Team Hammerdog and Hammerpup video series.
I enjoy doing this as I hope to encourage other youths and their parents to get into the outdoors, discover their own love of hunting and fishing, and build stronger parent/child bonds, and help to ensure the future of all outdoor sports for future generations, and possibly pass on some of the knowledge my father and his friends have passed on to me.
Sam Bradshaw
Jr. Team Hammerdog