The 2024 NWTF Show is in the books, and it once again lived up to all the hype that comes with the greatest turkey hunting event of the year. The Bowhunting.com crew made their first trip to Nashville with the booth in tow and quickly realized this show is the place to be in mid-February as turkey hunters from across the country take over Nashville.Â
Bowhunting.com fans stopped by the booth to grab caps, shirts, hoodies, and decals, as well as to register for the Mathews Lift bow giveaway. It was a great time to catch up, swap stories and photos, and meet many of the fine bowhunters at the show.
Crowning a Calling Champion
The best turkey caller in the country is crowned each year at the show’s Grand National Calling Championship. It’s the biggest stage in the turkey calling business, and the platform every aspiring turkey caller strives for.Â
When the judge’s scores were finally tallied this year, Matt Van Cise was crowned as the champion of the Senior Open Division once again. This makes Matt a 9X champion of this event. There’s never been another turkey caller like him. He’s truly the man to beat at this annual calling contest.Â
Turkey Hunting History
Turkey hunters that enjoy the rich tradition and nostalgia of turkey hunting history took part in the seminar, Wild Turkey Literature: Past and Present presented by Mossy Oak and the Bottomland Book Club. The event was hosted by Brent Rogers and featured special guests, Harold Knight, Doc Weddle, Chip Gross, Michael Simpson and Sarah Clark.Â
Rogers introduced his brand new book, Yelp & Gobble, INC. at this year’s show. It’s easily the greatest collection of turkey hunting history wrapped around the game call boom with pioneer brands like Primos, Knight & Hale and Quaker Boy. Â
Hunting Gear & Goods
You’ll always find a seemingly endless supply of hunting gear and goods at the show each year. And it’s not just turkey gear. You’ll find everything from deer and ducks, to predator and everything in between.
This year, brands like Grounded and Spring Legion introduced lightweight apparel designs built specifically for turkey hunters in the warm days of the spring season.Â
Spring Legion also introduced a pair of leg gaiters for turkey hunters to help combat the ticks, chiggers, moisture, mud and muck that come with turkey hunting in the spring. Â
The crew at LITE Boots once again wowed the crowd with their incredibly lightweight knee boot. It’s being touted as the lightest 16″ waterproof boot ever made. They feature a 100% water-proof, seamless, once-piece design, so you’ll always stay dry. Even better, the boots are priced at just $90 a pair!
The NWTF Show is pretty much a backyard event for the Tethrd brand, headquartered just south of Nashville, in Columbia, Tennessee. The team was on hand to display and demo their growing line of gear and goods for both deer and turkey hunting.Â
We met up with the Land & Legacy guys to check out their Habitat Management Annual Calendar. It’s a really slick and attractive guide to keep you on track with all your wildlife and property management goals. Â
More and more hunters are finally hearing what they’ve been missing thanks to hearing enhancement products like Tetra Hearing. These guys were back at the show providing turkey hunters with hearing tests and products designed specifically to help turkey hunters hear the distant gobbles and yelps they’d previously been missing.
The NWTF Show truly has something for everyone. From boats and packs, to boots, turkey totes and the popular Turtlebox cranking out the tunes, we saw it all during the show. We even ran into the guys at Backwoods Grind who were on hand to keep everyone loaded up with coffee throughout the show.
From the vendors, to the programs and activities, the NWTF staff does a great job of making this a family friendly event. So whether you’re a hunter, or family member simply tagging along, you will enjoy the sights and sounds of the NWTF Convention & Sport Show.
Lastly, we took a little time to catch up with some of our favorite turkey hunters at the show to ask a few tough turkey questions. Check out the video below for a look at what they had to say.Â
If you missed this year’s show, you really missed out on a great time. Be sure to make plans to be in Nashville in February of 2025 when the greatest turkey show on earth comes to town once again.
For more information on the National Wild Turkey Federation, visit www.nwtf.org.Â
