FFOD309 :  Colonel Tom Kelly is my Dad - a conversation with Laura Bates

Fist Full of Dirt · Jan 20, 2026 · 1h 6m

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Colonel Tom Kelly never set out to write a classic. He set out to tell honest stories about the turkey woods, the people in them and the moments that stay with you long after the season ends. This week we’re joined by Kelly’s daughter, Laura Bates, for a conversation about the man behind the words and the unlikely path of Tenth Legion… a book that began as a self-published, (and later bootlegged) favorite passed hand to hand among hunters and became one of the most influential works in turkey hunting literature.

Laura shares what it was like growing up alongside her father’s…