Turkey Hunting
Seriously, Where DO Turkeys go after Flydown?
What they do after flying down, I read years ago that turkeys like to find water. So I ruined my early turkey career finding standing water and positioning myself between that and the roost. After realizing that I had been misinformed, I set about making a life’s work of finding out what turkeys do after flydown. The truth is that after a hard night on the roost, the first thing they like to do after pitching down is to find some lowly track in the woods. There in the half-light of dawn, there is a vague far off sound. Eventually … More . . .
PODCAST: Angus Rolls the Gob
We’re just in from Turkey Camp– end of Week #1 of KY Spring Gobbler Season.
In between doing battle with the gobblers, I’ve been trying to edit down the podcast of Angus’ last hunt as a yute. It was a challenge– a lot of wind noise in the original sound. Some of it may sound a little funky, and there were three setups before we finally got a shot at a gobbler.
Let me know what you think
PODCAST: Angus Rolls the Gob PT 1
PODCAST: Angus Rolls the Gob PT 2
PODCAST: Angus Rolls the Gob PT 3
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The Last Yute Hunt — Angus Bags a Bird
If we had given up and gone in at 0900, we would have still counted it a success.  This was the last hunt Angus was going to make as a youth hunter. Around 0830 this morning, a gobbler honored one of my calls way way out. He was well off the property, so we decided to pick up from the Honey Hole and close the distance a little. This had been a trying Opener to Kentucky’s Spring Gobbler Season. Saturday, we had lots of turkeys at flydown, but they all hit the ground and took off for the south east … More . . .
A Bit of Backstory: The 870 That Wouldn’t
If you listen carefully to the as-yet unreleased podcast of Angus’ hunt, you will here him mention that his shotgun functioned perfectly. That was a huge thing for Angus and I– much bigger than you probably know. Back when I was out of work, I had an old boss that looked me up. He was in a bigger fix that I was. He offered me a minty Remington 870 TB Trap for a pittance. I relented and drove up to the old watering hole he and I had frequented after work a decade earlier. He pulled the shotgun out of … More . . .
Yute Hunt 2014
This is the start of Angus’ last Spring Gobbler season as a Yute. He turns 16 in a couple of weeks. I bought him all his youth licenses and tags yesterday— they’re good until the end of the year. However, after next weekend he will be hunting on his own as an adult. Saturday morning started rough and did not get much better. It had poured rain for three days, before Friday night when it got windy and cold. When we arrived at camp, the dogs ran inside and would not come out. We had barely left the front porch … More . . .
PODCAST: Gobblers at the Honey Hole
It has been a good year back at Turkey Camp. After such a horrible winter, it was good to have decent weather. We have had 3 good weekends. The only thing that has not been cooperating has the turkeys. Oh, they have been there, all right. They just have not been all that vocal. This morning was Different. Angus and I started at the Honey Hole, but a gobbler started sounding off back towards the house, so we followed him. After he hopped down from the roost and left, a doe showed up. She was very curious about what we … More . . .
The Run-up to Spring
I once opined that if you took me off my 200 acre plot, I probably would not be a all that great a turkey hunter. However, I was probably the best there was on that one 200 acre patch in KY. So far, no one has come forward to dispute that. But then there is last year. Last year was a bust. Nobody got a thing. It was an off year overall. The harvest numbers were down. Outside of the Opener, we hardly made contact with birds. The Opener, however, was incredible. I’ve never had more close encounters with gobblers … More . . .
It’s Over
Now that it is over, I can crawl back out from under my rock, make my confession to the world and crawl back in. KY Spring Gobbler Season is over. I’m wet and spent. The shamanic dream team has decamped. Yes, I’ve gone a whole season without filling tags before. Yes, I have had rough seasons before. By summer, I’m sure I’ll have a better perspective on it. Right now, I feel unusually dark. You have already read about our Opening Day fiasco– 7 shootable birds in 2 hours and nothing to show for it. Well, after that, the birds … More . . .
Report from Turkey Camp — Wow! What a Ride!
Angus and I could have filled all our tags if things had just been a wee bit different. We went out to the Honey Hole this morning for Opening Day of KY Spring Gobbler Season. We had a half-dozen gobblers sounding off first thing. A little past sunrise, the sandwich truck must have showed up, because every turkey on the ridge suddenly clammed up and went down to get a cup of coffee and a honey bun off the roach coach. A little later we saw hens coming way– swear I saw a styrofoam cup under one wing and some … More . . .
Angus’ Yute Hunt
Well, we’re back in. Angus is doing a load of dishes before we pull out of camp. Yute season was a bust. We spent two days waiting for something to happen. About all we had to show for it was a single gobble about 200 yards away. Saturday, there was gobbling, but it was well off the property and it died out shortly after sunrise. On Sunday, we were greeted by remarkably high morning temperature (usually a sure ticket to early season gobbles), but things were deader than we had seen it in quite a while. My theory is … More . . .
PODCAST: The Honey Hole
They say there is no such thing as a honey hole in turkey hunting. Well, I have a honey hole. Angus and I were out scouting it in preparation for the beginning of Yute Season next weekend. I will let you be the judge. PODCAST: Angus and Dad at the Honey Hole PT 1 PODCAST: Angus and Dad at the Honey Hole PT 2 NOTE: You may find that the links load slowly. If so, try right-clicking on them and downloading them to your system before playing This post has already been read 883 times!Views: 1 Related posts: PODCAST: Gobblers … More . . .
PODCAST: Locator Calls up on Gobbler’s Knob
It was cold and snowy on Sunday– didn’t know if I would be able to make it back to town, so I stayed back and finished off a podcast from my last trip down to turkey camp. This one was neat, because it had a whole bunch of things other than gobblers in it. There were hens, crows, owls, and even a hawk. I collected all this in the half-hour either side of sunrise last weekend in a trip up to Gobbler’s Knob. I was sitting in my favorite spot, about 20 yards behind the Jagendehutte, up on top of … More . . .
Strategies for Turkeys on a Small Plot
My strategy for hunting turkeys is different than most professional turkey hunters. It is different than most guys who travel to hunt turkeys in far-off destinations. It is different than a guy who hunts public land. My situation has determined a lot of my strategy. Back in 2001, I acquired 200 acres of prime turkey land in Bracken County, Kentucky. It has about 40 acres of pasture and the rest is second-growth Oak Hickory savannah and red cedar thicket. My land is on a long ridge that falls off into the Licking River flowage. I limit myself to just those … More . . .
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