Carter Family Old-Time Virginia Turkey Hunting Dogs

History of the Carter Family's Virginia Turkey Hunting Dogs
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Ancestor of Virginia turkey hunting dogs

"For us it all began in May of 2000 when Dolly, an English Pointer/English Setter mix that belonged to a fellow Buckingham County turkey hunter/friend of ours, gave birth to Buster. Buster's father was a Gordon Setter/English Setter mix.
Randy had always turkey hunted family owned land in Buckingham County. His love of the sport grew stronger with the partnership he had with a prior dog, Waylan. After the loss of Waylan, he somewhat lost interest. The arrival of Buster (one from a litter of 8) rekindled his passion for the sport.

Randy Carter's Virginia turkey dog Shiloh

From the first hunt with Buster it was clear he was special! He required no training. Turkey hunting was in his blood, and it came very natural to him. Buster hunted until he was 14 years old, at that same non-stop, steady lope that he did at 4.

In September of 2008 we decided to breed Buster with a female named Shiloh, from the same friend/kennel. In November of 2008, Shiloh gave birth to a litter of 6. We sold 3 and were so in love with them all, we ended up keeping 3 for ourselves: Bear, Meggie and Spot. This is Bear:

wild turkey hunting in Virginia with the best dog in the world

Hunting wild turkeys on the Mattaponi in VA

2 VA hunters with 2 turkeys thanks to Bear dog

American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association Wingbone Calls

This is Meggie:

Randy Carter's Virginia turkey dog Meggie

Turkey dog hunting the Mattaponi in Virginia

Very early on we realized these puppies were definitely born with Buster's gift and temperament. They hunt awesome together or individually. We could never imagine life now without every one of them. All of our dogs hunt like nothing else matters (except you!). They range wide, but check back with you often.

And this is Spot:

Randy Carter's Appalachian turkey dog Spot

Garmin Astro says Spot ran 7 miles at Mattaponi

We now do most of our hunting in the counties of King William and King and Queen. Our dogs are given a lot of affection and attention. They are very sweet, and loving! All of that affection has not hindered their hunting in the least! They love to please you!

Randy Carter's Virginia dog Spot flushes turkey for Will Bagby

October 31, 2015 - first fall turkey for Will Bagby.

Spot did the honors on the flush.

In June of 2011 we decided to breed Buster and Shiloh one more time. This union yielded just one special puppy on 9/2/2011 - Lucky! Lucky was the spitting image of Buster, and had a feisty personality immediately. This special pup was purchased by Mr. Jon Freis of Maribel, WI. Now three years old, she should be in her prime for the next ten years or more. Jon says she has one speed - wide open!

Virginia turkey dogs inherited their drive

Which brings me to today. In September 2014 we decided to breed Meggie to the best Sire in our Buckingham County Kennel, Stonewall. On 12/1/2014, Meggie gave birth to 7 puppies (4 females and 3 males!) Can't wait to watch them grow and develop their personalities, and find great homes where they can do their thing!!! Here they are at only one day old:"

Best dog in Virginia to sire turkey dog puppies

Best sire of future Virginia wild turkey dog puppy

11 days old. 5 puppies are spoken for, 2 left as of 12/12:

Virginia turkey dog Meggie gets turkey for young hunters

2 weeks:

3 weeks:

Best, Fastest Turkey Dogs in the world come from TurkeyDog.Org

Prettiest and smartest turkey dogs are at TurkeyDog.Org

One month old:

6 weeks old:

8 wks old:

high speed Virginia turkey dog puppies 8 weeks old

The best Appalachian turkey dogs are from Randy Carter's kennel in Virginia

9 wks:

Dropper turkey dog puppies for sale in Virginia

Long ears come from the secret hound ancestor

Spring 2015 season - the dogs are doing their job.

Champion turkey dog and mother of future champion puppies

Future Turkey Dogs from the #1 breeder in Virginia

Some sad news. We are going to put Buster down tomorrow morning. He has been a great dog and a best friend. Sad to have to do this.

Patriarch of the turkey hunting dogs died March 16, 2016

The country's best turkey hunting dog died today

The fastest, biggest running, good dog you ever saw

Buster with his daughter Lucky, a spitting image of the old man

The first two pictures above are of Buster as a puppy. The last one is with his daughter Lucky, who looks just like him.

High speed turkey hunting dog, from Virginia of course!

Busters big gobbler on his last fall turkey hunt

The middle 2 pictures above is the last turkey I killed with Buster before I retired him. Really miss the time in the woods with him and he whines like a baby when I load the other dogs and leave him. This was October of 2012. The last picture above was at 15 years old.

Buster lived to be 16 years old. Here he is in the spring of 2013 and then enjoying his well-deserved retirement in the winter of 2016.

Rest in peace, Buster. Gone but never forgotten. Now he's in the Turkey Dog Hall of Fame.

Randy 3/15/16.