A Turkey And A Ring: Wild Wedding Proposal

Newbie hunter Callie Cunningham got her first turkey in Burke County—and then it was her boyfriend Brett on a knee as he proposed and put a ring on it.

Callie Cunningham set out on her third season turkey hunting with a good opening-day game plan in her head, as good a plan as you can come up with for trying to outsmart a very intelligent bird. Countless pins marked on maps, hours of trekking through the woods, and many early mornings with no luck of taking home a turkey, she was determined to make something happen on this trip to middle Georgia private land. 

Callie knew there were birds on this specific piece of property—she had been here a few times in the previous seasons. Now it was just a matter of capturing the attention of a tom and meticulously chasing him down for the perfect shot. After an unsuccessful first day of the trip, on the second day, Callie, with the help of her boyfriend, was able to take her first turkey, and that hunt also ended with a ring on her finger.

Born and raised in Marietta, Callie wasn’t all that familiar with hunting. No one in her family hunted, and she didn’t even know anyone who did. It was somewhat a foreign concept that she had only heard about and saw on videos, but it always piqued her interest and was something she wanted to try. Never having an opportunity to go, Callie had to face the facts—she may never get to… until she met Brett Waggoner. He was an avid deer, turkey, duck, quail, “you name it, he hunted it” type of guy. Safe to say, she would finally have the opportunity to give hunting a try.

Brett was able to give Callie some lessons on the do’s and don’ts of hunting, a lot of tips here and there on how to be a successful deer hunter, and a rifle she could use. Deer season rolled around, and Callie was ready to take to the woods. Very independent, she started her journey by herself and decided she would either sink or swim. Callie had a few unsuccessful sits, and then finally in the late season, she was able to shoot her first deer by herself with a .30-30.

“I learned a lot of things by hunting solo,” said Callie. “It really helped me to learn quickly, and I think that was the best thing for me. I don’t think I would have had as much respect for hunting if I didn’t start out on my own. I am so thankful Brett is a book of knowledge about hunting and let me pick his brain.”

It came time for turkey hunting, and Callie carried on full steam ahead. YouTube and Brett gave her some insight into how to turkey hunt. Brett gave her a few pins to check out on some public land, and she was off. One weekend, Brett was turkey hunting out of state, and Callie was determined she was going to hunt that weekend, too. So she headed for one of the pins that Brett had shared with her.

“I found a good spot to park on the WMA and started my trek into the woods. I made sure to start a tracker so I could find my way back easily,” said Callie.

“I was definitely a little wary going into the woods, but I did it anyway. Light started to break, and I called some and heard a call back. This made me really excited, so I called some more, but the call back sounded pretty funny. Come to find out, it was another hunter. So after that I decided that day was not the day for me to kill a turkey and I headed home.”

That story may sum up the rest of the season for Callie, and maybe even the season after that. A few more failed attempts at bagging a turkey, some interesting and maybe questionable hunts on public land, and the season came to an end with no bird. But Callie was hopeful for deer season, because that year was her year to bowhunt, which was a natural transition since that was mainly how Brett hunted deer.

Now familiar with hunting, Callie was ready for something a little more challenging. Bowhunting was that transition. She had been practicing with a bow and had gotten her climber all set up and was excited to learn something new. Callie was able to get access to some land where she could learn to bowhunt in her climber. Learning the ropes, figuring out timing, wind, the right tree to climb, and all the other things that come with bowhunting was a bit of a daunting learning curve for her. There were quite a few sits in the woods without seeing a thing and quite a few busted deer before she was able to successfully shoot a deer with her bow.

“Bowhunting became something I was so passionate about,” said Callie. “I grew to love just sitting in the woods, even if I didn’t see a thing. I was very grateful for the time to sit in the woods and was even more appreciative when I was able to shoot something. I think being so up close and personal with a deer is what I love about bowhunting. I don’t know if I will ever want to hunt with a rifle again.”

Callie is now a die-hard bowhunter and loves the continual learning that comes with it. It fanned the flames of her new passion for the outdoors and nurtured love for hunting she didn’t know was possible.

The feeling she got from bowhunting only made her desire to kill a turkey that much stronger. Another year passed by full of some successful hunts and some frustrating hunts, until last  season’s opener.

While bowhunting was her favorite because of the skill and stillness that come with it, she also enjoyed the intellectual chase for what she likes to call “tree chickens.” Turkeys have quickly become neck and neck with bowhunting on her favorites list in light of her most recent turkey adventure.

For Callie, the opening weekend of turkey season in 2024 started off with no luck at killing and a little bit of frustration. The Saturday morning hunt found some turkey sign with some scratching and tracks in the sand nearby, and she even heard and a few distant gobbles. The afternoon hunt, however, was a little different story.

“It was horrible,” said Callie. “It was so hot, and we were sweating profusely with giant mosquitos humming in our ears, and it was dead quiet in the woods.” 

It’s safe to say Callie was less enthusiastic about going on Sunday, but it was Brett’s birthday, and he wanted Callie to join him. Little did she know that Brett had a plan… but that plan would not work if Callie didn’t shoot her very first turkey.

“We got in well before light. It was pitch black dark, but we could hear a lot of owls calling,” said Callie.

“We heard turkeys gobbling about 7:15, and we took off around a bend and down into the bottom and up into a field. We sat there and called for a second, and we could hear them. They were coming quickly!”

As soon as Callie knew that the birds were coming in hot, she sat down at the base of a tree, keeping an ear out for Brett to tell her when he could see them. Sitting in anticipation yet frozen, Callie finally saw the birds coming with speed. Brett called one time, and the birds jumped the creek, which Callie had mentioned she didn’t think they would do, and headed straight at them.

“They put on a full show for me. They were spitting, drumming and strutting. Doing it all. It was a super cool experience,” said Callie.

“They came close enough for a shot, and one putt. I knew it was now or never at that point.”

Elated from shooting her first turkey. Callie and Brett made their way up to a field to get some pictures together and some of Callie with her first bird. Brett, a veteran turkey hunter, showed her how to pose with her turkey so the beauty of the bird could be seen in the picture. Because no one was around to take their picture together, they set up to video the two of them posed with the gobbler. While Callie was smiling for the picture, Brett was fiddling in a pocket on his turkey vest. Callie turned to see what was happening, and there was Brett on his knee holding ring and asked the famous question. Callie said “YES” and couldn’t have been more excited to end the weekend with her first turkey under her belt, a fiance, and a fire for turkey hunting.

She had gotten her first bird… finally… after two full seasons of no luck and countless trips to private and public land, with some interesting stories gained and many lessons learned.

Her successful hunts and even her hunts when she wanted to give up made her passion grow for the sport. Callie learned to value every aspect of hunting even in the off seasons.

Hunting is where she finds her peace and stillness, whether in the stand or walking through the woods, and she finds respect for the land in the off season when getting ready for the next hunt. Callie had fallen in love with hunting before her trip to middle Georgia with Brett. But being able to kill her first turkey and then knowing she would get to spend a lifetime with him, taking hunting trips together, and having many more firsts made hunting and being in the outdoors now one of her favorite things to do.

“The picture with the kill isn’t at all what hunting is about. There is so much more to it. Hunting lets me connect with nature and think about our purpose in being on the Earth,” said Callie.

“I can appreciate the bugs that the turkeys eat and the birds that fly around while I’m sitting. I can take it all in. Honestly it makes me appreciate the community I have gained from being a hunter. There’s so much to hunting, and I love it.”

Let this story show that one doesn’t have to grow up hunting to fall in love and gain a passion for it. It’s what you make it and what you are determined to do. There truly is more to hunting than trophies and pictures.