TALKING TURKEY: Expectant mother says, “I like to keep active and do things I enjoy”

Nowadays most expectant mothers continue to work right up until the last minute.

Destin’s Rachel Staples, who is expecting her second child in mid-March, is doing the same … kind of.

This past week, Staples shot a Rio Grande turkey, an eight-point buck and a javelina all within three days with a bow in South Texas.

She was on a hunting trip with her husband, Capt. Allen Staples, and their son Jeb, who turned four while they were in Texas. Also on the hunting adventure at the Campos Viejos Ranch in Rio Grande City, Texas, was their friend Capt. Justin Destin.

This wasn’t Rachel’s first time to go bow hunting. The 30-year-old mother has been bow hunting for about five or six years.

“But I had never killed a turkey before,” she said.

“It was a little bit of a challenge, but it was a pretty open spot.”

Rachel nailed the turkey from about 20 yards away with a Hoyt compound bow on the first day of the hunting trip.

On Day two, they were in search of a deer, but they found a javelina on a trail.

The javelina, which looks a little bit like a big wild hog, was walking up and down a trail when Rachel shot it from about 15 yards out.

Day three is when she finally got her buck. She said, they were sitting in a ground blind when they saw the deer feeding. She hit the buck from about 20 yards out.

“He jumped and ran into the woods, but he didn’t go far,” she said.

While Rachel was getting her buck, young Jeb was sitting with dad who was rifle hunting.

“He was such a trooper,” she said of Jeb on the 14-hour drive to Texas.

Rachel loves to hunt and this is not her first time to go while being pregnant.

As a matter of fact, Rachel said she has a photo of herself with two does she had killed while she was pregnant with Jeb.

“I like to keep active and do things I enjoy,” she said.

In addition to hunting, Rachel loves to fish and run.

Just a couple of weeks ago she did the Round the Bay run, noting she tries to run between three and six miles most days.

“I’ve been very blessed, I feel good. But I’ve slowed down,” she said.

Although Rachel realizes it’s going to be more of a challenge when their second child arrives, she said, “I’ll do what I can.”