HUNTING QUAILS OR COYOTES, NEAL LOVES THE OUTDOOR LIFE

ORIOLE -- Most weekends, you can find Larry Neal hunting turkey, or deer, or geese, or quail, or dove....

The list goes on and on, and includes coyotes and frogs. And it all started when Neal was 11 years old.

"I usually hunted with my father and one of his friends," he said. Now, as a self-employed carpenter, he is able to plan his work schedule around his hunting.

"I'll work 60 or 70 hours during the weeks before the seasons start, and then take some days off during the week in season," he said.

Though Neal, who lives in Oriole, hunts many different kinds of animals, he says turkey hunting is the most challenging, and its what he likes to do best. The upcoming turkey season starts April 23, and lasts for two weeks.

"It takes a lot of patience," he said. "Turkeys are considered one of the most difficult animals to hunt."

To hunt the birds, Neal will go into the woods before dawn, usually 4:30 or 5 a.m. He'll often sit and watch the birds for hours, waiting, and coaxing them to come closer by calling them.

He has to be very quiet so he doesn't scare the birds away. "For example, they usually won't tolerate any unnatural sounds, like talking or metal clinking together," he said.

"Sometimes it gets discouraging. I've had birds come right up to me and I'd be about ready to shoot them when a coyote or another hunter will spook him."

He's killed a few over the years, but none more prized than the one that's now mounted in his home. It came close to setting a new world record.

The bird, killed in the spring of 1987, weighed 25 pounds and had spurs (which protrude from above the turkey's feet and are used for fighting) that were unusually long almost 2 inches. The spurs are also used to measure a turkey's age.

The bird's spurs were the second-longest of any turkey that had ever been killed and registered in the country, but it also had another unusual trait two beards protruding from it's chest. Normally, turkeys have only one.

"They were 10 and 9 inches long, and if it weren't for the second beard, he would have been a world record," he said.

Neal, 30, loves to hunt, but says most people misunderstand why.

"I'm fascinated just observing the animals. You can learn so much," he said. "Once my father and I called 13 gobblers up at one time to within 20 feet. We watched them fight, gobble and strut for nearly an hour.

"So many people think that hunting is a bloody, gory thing, but really the kill is a small part of it."

What's the biggest part then? "Spending time with family and friends," he said. "I remember sitting around the campfire on hunting trips and telling stories. For a lot of people, that's why they love it."

Also a fisherman, Neal likes to take his wife, Diane, and two young children with him on those trips.

The family takes a week-long camping and fishing trip each summer.

But hunting turkeys is something Neal's son, Lance, 3 and daughter, Lacey, 5, aren't yet ready for.

"I hope to teach the kids someday, but it's something you have to be very careful about. You can't force them into it, and dead game is sometimes hard for young kids to handle."

Often before the turkey season even starts, Neal will go out into the woods to just watch the turkeys, and occasionally call to them.

"I'll spend about 20 days in the woods before the season opens," he said.

Though once native to the area, turkey and deer were nearly wiped out prior to the 1940s due to land clearing, which was done mainly by fire and unregulated hunting, Neal said.

They were re-stocked by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the 1940s through the '70s, using hunting license fees.

Most other game in Missouri have supported themselves, mostly because of their ability to live in close contact with people, he said.

Neal, who's been hunting turkeys for 17 years, said most of his friends think he's an impressive hunter because he usually comes home with a prize. But Neal said it's because he's able to hunt so often.

"People think I'm a good hunter. I'm probably no better than they are, I just hunt a lot," he explained.

And he's cautious not to become too confident of his own skill.

"I think I've had good success because I was fortunate enough to learn from very good hunters who had good ethics," he said. "Not everyone is so lucky."

Neal said he doesn't shoot wild animals that are too young, like a young doe or a small buck, or game that are not in season.

"I think hunters come a long way when they pass up their first game," he said. "I think you feel pretty good about it."

Neal said that if he wasn't able to hunt one season, he'd feel like he was missing something.

"It's just something I have to do," he said. "It's like an addiction."