There’s not a lot of “must see” television for me these days; however, last Thursday night was an exception. It was the premiere of a documentary that I had been looking forward to for some time and the fact that it came on in the middle of turkey season made the anticipation even greater.

“The Colonel and The Fox,” is, as its subtitle states, the story of “The Greatest Generation’s Fight to Save America’s Greatest Game Bird.” It is the story of the wild turkey set against the backdrop of two icons of turkey hunting, Col. Tom Kelly and Mr. Fox Haas. It is also the story of family, the families of Kelly and Haas set against a much larger family, the family of turkey hunters.

Ten years ago, Daniel Haas and his brother Neill had the idea of getting their Papaw Fox together with Kelly. Both men are members of The Greatest Generation, the generation that made it through the Great Depression and World War II, and they are also the generation that would end up saving the wild turkey as well.

For those who may not know, Kelly is a forester and author whose iconic work “Tenth Legion” is considered the greatest book on turkey hunting. He has long been considered the poet laureate of turkey hunting.

Haas, who is the father of Mossy Oak founder Toxey Haas, was a pioneer in the reintroduction of the wild turkey and, over the past several years, has become iconic in his own right.

Both men were born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, and both grew up with a passion for turkey hunting; however, up until three years ago, the two had never met.

Daniel and his brother Neill wanted to change that. “We knew this was a lot bigger than just us. This was an opportunity to celebrate two of the last remaining men from turkey hunting’s greatest generation,” Haas said.

The brothers began working to make it happen and, finally, three years ago their dream became a reality. The setting was the Haas family turkey camp near Livingston, Alabama, and, at the time, Mr. Fox was 90 and Col. Tom was 93.

Kelly was set to arrive in camp a day before Mr. Fox, which would allow for a morning in the turkey woods. Daniel, Neill, and their father Toxey would have the opportunity to share a hunt with the Colonel.

Daniel said he was intimidated at the thought of hunting with Kelly. “You hear stories about him. Obviously, his wit is legendary. He’s the smartest man I’ve ever known, but he’s got the vocabulary of a sailor, when necessary,” Haas explained, adding, “You’re afraid if you do something stupid in his presence in the woods, you’re going to end up in one of his books.”

Mr. Fox arrived in camp to meet the Colonel after the morning hunt and Daniel described their time together in camp as both magical and historical. “We wanted to capture that feeling and we knew the story had the potential to be one of the greatest stories ever told about the wild turkey. We wanted to create something to the expectations and level of significance that this story deserved,” Haas said.

To do that, they reached out to friend and filmmaker Nathaniel Maddux, owner and creative director of Slate + Glass (www.slateandglass.com), to produce the documentary. According to Haas, the project was unprecedented in the hunting world as no one really films feature-length documentaries.

Maddux, a talented filmmaker, is also passionate about preserving archives that document the world of hunting. This passion heavily influenced his production. He took footage from the time spent at the Haas turkey camp and masterfully blended it with photos from both Haas and Kelly as well as previously unseen home movies from the Haas family.

He also featured vintage footage of the trapping, netting, and relocation efforts from the archives of states like Pennsylvania and Missouri. Pair all this with an all-original musical score and you have yourself one exceptional documentary.

Daniel said that watching the documentary for the first time was an emotional experience. “There were a lot of emotions involved in this project and I’ve never been prouder of anything that Mossy Oak has done from a video standpoint. It’s so powerful and special and it is absolutely worthy of the magnitude of the story that it is.”

After watching “The Colonel and The Fox,” I must say that I agree. It is more than a story about turkeys and turkey hunting. It is a story of family, of lives well lived and a story of legacy, and it is a story to be passed along to the next generation to inspire them to keep that legacy alive.

In the words of Mr. Fox, “The good that men do will live long after they are gone.”

This documentary is a beautiful testament to that belief. Take time to watch it this week (currently streaming on YouTube) with family and friends who turkey hunt or, better yet, with family and friends who don’t and who don’t understand what makes turkey hunting so special. After watching it, they’ll understand.

Until next time, here’s to men like Colonel Tom Kelly and Mr. Fox Haas, to companies like Mossy Oak that “walk the walk” with a level of authenticity that is so needed today, and here’s to seeing you out there in our great outdoors.