Photo submitted

For the third year in a row, Stephan Richardson's focus, talent and practice paid off when he won the Gobbling Division at the Wild Turkey Bourbon/NWTF Grand National Turkey Calling Championships in Nashville, Tenn.

The competitions took place during the National Turkey Federation 34th annual National Convention and Sport Show, held Feb. 18 to Feb. 21, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

"I was overwhelmed with joy and relief," said Richardson. "I started gobbling with a tube call as a tool to hunt turkeys and eventually started competing using a mouth diaphragm, and it's worked out."

Every February, callers from all over the nation flock to the NWTF's National Convention and Sport Show to compete in the championships. This year's convention, sponsored by MidwayUSA, had more than $25,000 in cash and prizes going to the top callers in nine divisions. Seats filled up with onlookers anxious to see and hear the terrific turkey talkers.

In the Gobbling Division callers are asked to perform a series of calls that imitate a male wild turkey or gobbler. Callers use the gobble and "spit and drum" calls of a gobbler and sometimes incorporate crow calls, owl calls and more into their routines. A panel of seven expert judges score each call and the slightest mistake can virtually eliminate a caller from contention.