Blake Shelton: The Early Hunting Trip That Blew Him Away
Blake Shelton has always talked about his love of hunting and fishing. In the many interviews I did with him through the years, he always seemed to light up when talking about his pursuits in the outdoors near his home in Oklahoma and beyond.
In a new interview with Hook and Barrel, Blake shared that his two worlds of country music and hunting and fishing met one day when he was watching 1990s country star Tracy Byrd on TNN’s weekend outdoor show. (TNN was a former country music network that was later purchased by CMT.)
Shelton told the publication, “I was the guy that basically had already figured out what makes me happy by the time I was 14 years old: It’s country music and fishing and hunting. I saw Byrd’s show and remember going ‘Oh my God! You can be a country singer and hunt and fish? Those are my two things!'”
He added, “That’s the great thing about country music artists. About 70% of ’em, before I even shake their hand, I can almost guarantee we’ll have something in common, and it’s hunting and fishing.”
Over the years, Blake’s hunting country music buddies have included Luke Bryan, members of Rascal Flatts, Craig Morgan, and more.
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His love of hunting and fishing has allowed him to meet many of his heroes, too, most notably Country Music Hall of Fame Member John Anderson, who provided Shelton with one of his most memorable hunts before a show in West Palm Beach.
Blake explained that Anderson and himself were doing a concert together in West Palm Beach and the elder country star knew that Shelton had never killed an Osceola turkey. He told the young singer, “Bring your camo, I wanna take you to my friend’s place and go turkey hunting.” Blake noted that it was the day of a show and he’d been up the night before in Jacksonville until 3 a.m., and he soon realized, “Oh my God, I told John we’re gonna go turkey hunting at 5 a.m.”
Shelton said he “got up with a hangover,” and Anderson was “standing out there fully camo’d up.” The two then went and met up with a guy named Alligator Ron. He said it was just such a “completely different ecosystem than I’m used to seeing,” being from Oklahoma. He recalls driving through there going, “There’s no way there’s a turkey in here, or if there are turkeys down here they have web feet.”
He concluded that the first time he saw an Osceola turkey was on that trip, and “We ended up getting a bird. I was blown away.”
