Turkey Hunting
On Shock Calls
(fromthe Quakerboy.com forums) Early in the morning at my place, I can usually rely on my owls to piss off the gobblers. The owl hoots, the gobbler responds, and I didn’t have to do squat. If you listen to what time that takes place, that’s a fair indication of when the gobblers are going to be open to shock calling with an owl call. You can cheat it a few minutes, but owling in pitch dark generally won’t get me anywhere. I also find that past sunrise, owling is useless. Ditto with crows, hawks, woodpeckers, etc. Later on in the … More . . .
What makes Turkeys Laugh?
I’ve made a study of all this for well over 20 years. The shaman’s list of things that will get the turkey’s laughing at you: 1) Fancy new calls 2) $5/round ammo 3) Fancy new matching camo 4) $140 knee-hi snake boots where there ain’t no snakes, especially if the pattern matches the pants and jacket. 5) 10 GA shotguns 6) 3.5″ shotgun shells 7) Turkey vests. Have you ever tried to get a turkey to wear one of them things? 8) Turkey seats. I tried for years to get a turkey to sit in one, but they laughed so … More . . .
Surrounded Angus Battles Gobblers to a Draw
I’ve got us another member of the brotherhood, gentlemen. He may be more worried about getting warm right now, but I think he’s hooked. I’ve included a picture from earlier in the year. I think the temperature was in the low seventies when it was taken. Believe me, he was buried under about 3 additional layers, and that smile was a cold grimace when our action ended this morning. We have an ideal place for ambushing turkeys about two-thirds of the way back to our family campground. It is a line of large oaks and cedars on the narrowest part … More . . .
From the Quaker Boy Forum
From the Quaker Boy Forum . . . but back to the original question: What’s in your vest? I’m ready to hunt Saturday with Angus, and what I’ve got in the bag is probably what I’m going to start with when my Opening Day starts on the next Saturday. Here’s what’s in it: Quaker Boy calls: My Grand Old Master box call Easy Yelper Carbon and Acrylic strikers from my Triple Threat scratch pot Homemade Calls Aluminum Scratch Pot with ash striker Slate over Glass Scratch Pot with purple heart striker Locator Calls Crow, Hawk (I do my own owling) … More . . .
What’s in your vest, shaman?
Folks over at www.kentuckyhunting.net were asking what was in your vest. First off, I don’t carry a vest anymore. I carry one of these: I ran into a couple selling these at the Outdoor Show in Cincinnati. I bought one and I have been using it now since 2003. I ordered two more this year for the kids. Go to http://www.wibags.com/ if you’re interested. They’re only $12. It has three pockets. In the largest, I carry my gloves and 1 or two box calls, and a push-pull. In the middle, I carry a flashlight and ammo. In the outer pocket, … More . . .
Congrats shaman…you now carry a camo purse.
This is from The Quaker Boy Forums: drum817 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Forest City, NC Posts: 21 Congrats shaman…you now carry a camo purse. just funnin’ : ) drum817 View Public Profile Send a private message to drum817 Send email to drum817 Find all posts by drum817 Add drum817 to Your Buddy List  03-25-2007, 09:04 AM shaman Member No, you’re right. It’s a turkey hunter’s manbag. I didn’t think I’d ever see myself doing it, but look at the alternatives left to men: The turkey hunter’s toolbox: I don’t think Kennedy or Sears will be manufacturing … More . . .
Went scouting and never left the bedroom
This morning was supposed to be a simple scouting trip, just Angus and I. I had packed some camo blinds, some string and some clothespins and figured we’d set three or four blinds up before we came in. Angus and I were a bit late getting out. Just as we were heading for the door, I caught sight of something in the field—a half-dozen hens and a gobbler. We stayed inside and we watched them come up to within a couple hundred yards of the house. I got out the binos and we opened the window—they were close enough that … More . . .
It outta be sure fire
For a number of years I was fortunate to count among my dearest friends a fellow by the name of Joe Taylor. Joe was a local folklorist down in McCreary County,KY and used to do a show on the radio as “Professor Nitwit.” The Nitwit segments were usually filled with Joe’s methods of ironclad hillbilly logic and how to apply them to everyday situations. A typical Nitwit solution to something like ice fishing would be to lower a burn barrel through the ice and when the fish came close to warm up, pull up the barrel. Among other things, Joe … More . . .
Turkey Scouting
Scouting for Spring Gobbler Season can be an arduous, thankless process of slogging through the cold woods looking for sign. Or then not. I have a system. I get up before sunrise and pour myself a cup of coffee and then step out onto the front porch. I owl a little in between sips, and if the gobblers over on the next ridge are ready, I get a gobble in return. Some years I get it on the second weekend in March. Sometimes I get it on the third. When I can get a gobbler to answer, I know season … More . . .
The Shamanic Signature Series Custom ScratchBoxes
New for 2007! The Shamanic Signature Series Custom ScratchBoxes! Now don’t all go crowding each other. Somebody’s gonna get hurt. Yes, here they are, the bestest turkey calls the shaman’s has ever made. Actually they’re the first ones. See, I lost my glass call a few years ago. I wanted a new glass and an aluminum. I checked the prices and . . . Whew! Angus’ bagpipes had set me back quite a bit, so I figured the time for innovation was at hand. It turns out a company by the name of Shipley’s of Cadiz, Kentucky makes … More . . .
Fancy Turkey Hunting Gear– the $5 turk load
Somebody was asking me the other day about Nitro shells. I said I’d shot Remington Nitro Buffered Magnums for years until switching to Federals. No, he didn’t mean that. He meant those new Nitro custom shells. They are custom built turkey loads that run you about $5 apiece. Nope, never heard of them. Color me old-fashioned, I’ve been shooting at turkeys since the premium stuff was $5 a box–a box of 25! See, the way it is with me, I figure as long as I keep it on the cheap side, those old turkeys can’t really hurt my feelings. If … More . . .
More on what makes Turkeys Laugh
I’ve made a study of all this for well over 20 years. The shaman’s list of things that will get the turkey’s laughing at you: 1) Fancy new calls 2) $5/round ammo 3) Fancy new matching camo 4) $140 knee-hi snake boots where there ain’t no snakes, especially if the pattern matches the pants and jacket. 5) 10 GA shotguns 6) 3.5″ shotgun shells 7) Turkey vests. Have you ever tried to get a turkey to wear one of them things? 8) Turkey seats. I tried for years to get a turkey to sit in one, but they laughed so … More . . .
Taking it to a new level
From www.quakerboy.com forums #1 Report Post Old 01-23-2007, 10:23 AM shaman shaman is online now Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 18 Default Going to the next level I am looking at my 24th gobbler season this year. I am a passable caller. I can call a bird in under good conditions. In the past 5 years, any day I go out I either see a turkey or I’m within shooting range of one. Now that I have my own place, I can hunt a full week plus 3 weekends. What’s next? What would be a good next step … More . . .
The shaman comes back to camp
From The Quaker Boy Forums — just started. The wind was stiff enough that it blew the door open as soon as it came unlatched. It was snowing lightly, but it wasn’t cold enough to stick. It was cold, it was muddy. It looked like the sky was going to open up. The shaman bolted the door and kicked a clod off his boots and surveyed the inside. In the murk, you could still see an open box of thirty-thirty and a broken grunt call on the dining table. An orange vest hung off the back of a chair. The … More . . .
Sacrifices
Midrivers from RacksandSpurs said : Thanks for mystical memories of seasons past and and helping us to realize the sacrifices made in one area of our lives to accomodate a feeling of contentment and fufillment in another. He then goes on to get all complimentary on my writing to the point that I can’t repeat it here. Here’s my reply: It’s funny you say “sacrifices.” At the time I took Gordo up on his invite and moved into his spare room, I was happy to have a roof over my head. The tent had just been a means to an … More . . .
Eating Jake
The other day I finally got around to smoking the turkey ref: Mooseboy Gets His Bird Anyhow, this was about a 15 pound jake. I started about 0700 concocting an injected marinade of 1 stick of butter 1 container of lime juice (you know the little lime-shaped) container with lime juice in it 1 medium jar of grape jelly. . . . and a bunch of jerk-type spices by the teaspoon load: garlic powder, allspice, curry powder, ginger, pepper etc. This made a gawdawful looking greenish bile-like substance that I then injected into the bird in every conceivable way. Later, … More . . .
Turkey 2005
Mooseboy finally got his chance at a gobbler yesterday. We were down in the bottoms of Pity Creek. The action has been kind of spotty since opening day. Friday, I had a visit from The Two Jakes, but they were heading away from me and I had to take a desperation shot that turned out to be sixty yards. Oh well. Yesterday, they came back. They kind of caught us by surprise, suddenly appearing at our decoys. John was blocked from the shot, and they were close to disappearing back the way they came. So John had me take the … More . . .
How still is still?
They always tell you to be as still as you can when you hunt. How still is still? Hmmm. I’ve been so still at times that a squirrel once climbed up my leg. On the other hand, I’ve taken a buck from the ground at 10 feet with a bow, while his sister stood and watched me draw from 3 feet away. I shot my first deer after standing up in plain sight to take a whizz, but I’ve also been busted sitting in a 25′ tree stand with a stiff wind blowing in my favor. It has a lot … More . . .
Mister Natural and the Incident at Broken Corners
As I came over the rise at the first barn, there was Mister Natural. He was blocking my way. I honked the horn, and he stood his ground. I backed down over the rise, put it in 4WD, took a deep breath and gunned it.
More . . .
Turkey Camp, 2002
Log of the Hole 19 April, 2002 1300 EDT Weather: 82F Rain predicted. Five days of Spring gobbler hunting will make any man humble. Tack on my load of 20 years of self-inflicted bad luck and Friday morning saw a man stripped of all delusions crawl out of bed and catch my reflection in the kitchen window. The forecast promised rain by 11. The kids were coming for the weekend. It had to be this morning, or probably another week, or quite possibly another season. I checked the doppler radar out of Cincinnati, and there was rain one county over. … More . . .
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