Turkey Hunting
Run & Gun– Does it Work?
Run and Gun has some bad connotations for me, but it has to do with where I am and how I’m set up. I don’t mean to throw shade on the R&Gers. I’ve got 200 acres in SW Bracken County, KY. A number of years ago, I had a couple of “big time” turkey hunters come out to the farm for an afternoon hunt. Where they came from, afternoon hunting was banned, so this was like some sort of guilty pleasure. They left after lunch and were back before 5, all tuckered out. They’d set up on the edge of … More . . .
KY Turkey Poacher Fined $44,000
From KDFWR News Muhlenberg County man ordered to pay $44,000 in restitution to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife for turkey hunting violations Hunting Law-Enforcement Wildlife Licenses-and-Permits ​​​​​​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 5, 2024) — A Muhlenberg County District Court judge has ordered a local hunting guide to pay $44,000 in restitution to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources following the guide’s conviction on multiple hunting violations. ​​​This past spring, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement Division Game Wardens discovered that local outfitter, Timothy Smithwick, 59, of Drakesboro, Kentucky, was operating an illegal guide service on his property in Muhlenberg County. ​​​Second … More . . .
Over and Over Again
It come down to a pile of gear in the dining room, a couple of gun cases, a bag of laundry, and in this case a large unwieldy carcass to get stuffed in the freezer. Spring Gobbler Season is over. Five hunters with only one gobbler between us for 21 days of hunting– that is about as wretched as it gets. Looking back on it, I think we were done in by good weather. That sounds like a lame excuse, but let me explain. If you rewind the tape, I was able to get back down to camp really early … More . . .
Humiliated by Turkeys
I have spent a good bit of the last 25 years teaching folks how to be humiliated by turkeys. That was based on a good 20 years experience before that being humiliated myself. Not everyone I have taught to hunt turkeys gets it. I am not sure I even get it. I just introduced another fellow to the sport, and I am not sure he gets it. You have to understand, Foxtrot Charlie is not just an accomplished big game hunter, but he comes from a long line of big game hunters. He has a grandfather pictured with Elmer Keith … More . . .
Report from The Turkey Opener
Scratch one Gobbler. Today was the Kentucky Spring Gobbler Opener. The morning hunt was a bit of a scratch. Moose and Mooselette saw nothing out at Dead Skunk Hollow. Angus had a herd of hens at Blackberry. A gobbler came in but didn’t get close. Angus chanced a shot and the gobbler fled; it was too far. I went to the Honey Hole. I had one hen working out of Left Leg Creek that kept coming to my calls, but kept running away. After Moose and Mooselette came in, there were some gobbler over in Hundred Acre Wood. Moose tried … More . . .
PODCAST: Encounter at Dead Skunk Hollow
Last Sunday, I was able to get out one last time and record material for a podcast before season starts. Actually, it was KY’s Yute Season, but my Yute was with her mother and was unavailable for hunting with her grandpa. It was a shame. I seldom see turkeys this active on the weekend before the start of Spring Gobbler Season. I witnessed two things I have never seen before. First off, just before sunrise, I noticed my glasses were getting dirty. When I got them off, they were wet. After I put them back on, I realized I was … More . . .
Strong Harvest Expected
Kentucky Today is reporting that a strong harvest is expected for Wild Turkey hunting season.That is extremely good news. Here’s the article: Strong Harvest is Expected for Wild Turkey Hunting Season Here’s the text: This post has already been read 3920 times!Views: 6 Related posts: KDFWR Turkey Study Underway KY: Record Harvest for Modern Gun Deer Season But then again. . . From the KDFWR: Outstanding outlook for the hunt Know Thy Game, Know Thyself Indiana DNR Rule Changes The Role of Personal Ethics in Hunting Kentucky’s the Place — Sort of
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Spring Rules are Out
Part of my ritual of spring is getting a hold of the spring rules and reading it cover to cover. Mooselette? Foxtrot Charlie? You better get cracking. This post has already been read 4166 times!Views: 5 Related posts: The Role of Personal Ethics in Hunting Report from Deer Camp: Opener 2024 Spring Turkey Rules are Out! Turkey Season Post Mortem, 2025 Mooselette Bags Her 1st Deer KY Spring Rules are Posted Report from The Turkey Opener The Turkey Trigger Tripped
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PODCAST: Foxtrot Charlie @ The Honey Hole
Foxtrot Charlie is a buddy of mine. He’s been a big game hunter for decades, and only recently got interested in domestic offerings. I invited him to Deer Camp last fall. He had a ball. I invited him out for Spring Gobbler. He came out with me to the Honey Hole to get his first introduction to the hardest game on the North American Continent. Here is my 90+ minute visit with him while we listened to the turkeys doing their thing. Podcast — Foxtrot Charlie @ The Honey Hole This post has already been read 6436 times!Views: 9 Related … More . . .
PODCAST: Peyton Place At the Honey Hole
This was my first time out to the Honey Hole this year. The turkeys have been very active due to a warm end to the winter. I had hens and gobblers sounding off over a 10 acre patch with me in the middle. It was a wild morning. I even had a hen pitch down off the roost and walk right up my back side. So here is the Podcast. I hope you enjoy it. Podcast — Peyton Place @ The Honey Hole This post has already been read 6718 times!Views: 15 Related posts: Turkey Season Transitions Know Thy Game, … More . . .
Another Trip to Turkey Camp
I went back down to Turkey Camp yesterday. I had several projects that needed work, and I wanted to get out and listen to the turkeys. First off, let me describe yesterday morning’s scouting trip. Starting at 20 minutes before sunrise, a large flock started going off near the Honey Hole. I could not count all the gobblers; they were all going off at once. However, there were several hens in there as well. I think this is the final incarnation of the winter mega flock. The mass gobbling ended abruptly about 10 minutes after sunrise. It sounds like the … More . . .
Return to Turkey Camp
This is the earliest I’ve tried to return to camp in 20-some seasons. A good deal of it is because I’m retired now. In the past, I had to wait until the weekends. Last year, I was still feeling the chemo and had to wait until someone else could go down with me. Every year, I start looking for a day with highs of at least 50F and no precipitation. Last year, that was late February. Some years, it’s been the 3rd weekend in March. The place was intact when I got there. The winter had been mild and there … More . . .
When Should I Start Scouting?
It just turned over 90 days until the Spring Gobbler Opener in Kentucky. It is 12F and the wind is gusting to 24 MPH. Believe me, today is not the day to start scouting. So when? It all depends. Scouting New Property My big question is how much pain is involved and what is it worth to you? Turkeys are generally not silent. On a still morning in winter, I can hear hens flying down a good 300 yards out. Driving 50 miles for a chance to hear that sounds reasonable. 200 miles? That’s up to you. Looking for sign? … More . . .
The Turkey Trigger Tripped
I’m not one of those guys who dreams of turkey hunting all year. By the time mid-May comes around, I’m pretty well done with the whole thing. Don’t get me wrong; I love turkey hunting. It is just such a frustrating and humbling process that I get tired of getting my nose rubbed in it. It is not like I really have any choice in the matter. The state shuts down the season and the gobblers shut down themselves. There are things to do, and camps to be made. fishing to be done. Move along. There is nothing more to … More . . .
Turkey 2023: The Post-Mortem
“Hunting 16 of 22 days and only getting one bird? Shaman, ol buddy! What went wrong?” Nothing went wrong. It all fell together. It just did not fall together in a pleasing way. Now that I’ve had a couple days in the recliner and a couple nights of 10+ hours of sleep, the lightbulb is beginning to flicker again. Look, the only thing “wrong” with this season was me, my health. I deliberately limited myself to one hunting venue simply because I did not have the energy to go elsewhere. The Honey Hole is a 1/2 mile walk from the … More . . .
Shaman Gets His Bird
It was a little over a year ago that I trudged out with a bird. The Cancer was back. I was starting Chemo in a few weeks. That might have been my last hunt. Here it is, a year later. The Cancer is gone. I’m still a little rocky from all the poison they shot in my veins, but I was determined to take a bird. Normally, going out to the Honey Hole, I’d have a tag or two filled by the end of April. Usually, I’d have at least one bagged the first week. This year? 16 days of … More . . .
Moose Scores!
Things have been rough out here at the farm this season. Everything about the turkeys has been delayed. I have never hunted so many days in a season before, and I can tell you the action has generally been lousy. It was not until mid-week last week before I got anything resembling normal gobbler action. Thursday was the first morning I got a gobbler to come in to a call. For the most part, they’ve been hopping down off the roost and following hens. I was able to work a gobbler for the better part of an hour. He came … More . . .
Angus Scores! — Hello, My Honey!
I have been experiencing a complete dearth of huntable gobblers all through the first week of season. Oh, I’ve been hearing them, and hearing hens as well. It has just been one day after another of the gobs hopping off the roost and disappearing off the property. It has been exceptionally warm this week. A front came through yesterday, dropped a load of rain and then blew out over last night. The rain was well gone when we got up this morning. Moose, Angus, and I were hoping this might spur the turkeys a bit. Moose went to Garbage Pit, … More . . .
Report from Turkey Camp– The Opener, 2023
Never in the 20+ seasons I have been to our camp, have I seen such optimal weather for a Turkey Opener. When Mooselette and I put our rumps down at the Honey Hole, it was 62F, no wind, and a dappled sky. I set up the DAC to record stuff the morning. We had all the usual players, gobs, hens, owls and such, but nothing ever showed. I had put two gobblers to bed the previous night. One was within 200 yards of us. At sunrise, we even had a tree full of hens hens go off as they flew … More . . .
PODCAST: T-Minus One Week at the Honey Hole
It was a bit windy, but I made it out to the Honey Hole. I was surrounded by gobblers and hens. At one point, the nearest gob flew down from his roost about 50 yards from me and made a beeline over to some rowdy hens. When I left them, there was love in the air. So here is the Podcast. I hope you enjoy it. Podcast — T-Minus 1Week Just click on the link above to listen In other doings, Angus and Moose are down for the weekend getting chores done. I gave Moose a pop-up blind for Christmas. … More . . .
Mooselette’s Yute Opener
This year was most honorable #1 Granddaughter’s first attempt at a turkey hunt while fully armed. Mooselette had been out with me on several turkey hunts over the years. This was her first as a hunter. She went with Daddy Moose out to Dead Skunk, while I tried to record the gobblers out at The Honey Hole. Over the past winter, Mooselette had come a long way toward mastering a mouth call. She and her father worked a few gobblers. She got a gob to answer her calls. However, the turkeys were in no mood for coming to a … More . . .
PODCAST: Back at the Honey Hole
It was good to be back at the Honey Hole. Frankly, it’s just a good time to BE. I managed to connect with some gobblers, including the latest incarnation of the Virginia Rambler. So here is the Podcast. I hope you enjoy it. Podcast — First Time Back Just click on the link above to listen  I’m down at Turkey Camp awaiting the arrival of Daddy Moose and the “Stone Cold Turkey Killer.” Mooselette will be going out for her first Yute hunt as an actual hunter. I’m killing time in the rain at the moment, but I managed … More . . .
Stone Cold Turkey Killer
Mooselette came down with Daddy Moose last night. She’s on Spring Break. We went out this morning with the recording equipment and spent the hour bracketing sunrise listening for birds. The birds did not cooperate, but she and I had a fun time nonetheless. Yute Season is in a couple of weeks. This year Mooselette has decided she is ready to take a bird. We, therefore, spent the rest of the morning getting her sorted out with a 20-Gauge Mossberg bolt gun– the same gun her Uncle Angus used when he was a Yute. Getting a kid going on a … More . . .
Spring Rules are Out
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources has released the rules for the Spring Hunting Seasons. There are no big changes. This summarizes what few there are: Here is the whole guide in PDF format for download: This post has already been read 2988 times!Views: 0 Related posts: KDFWR Turkey Study Underway From the KDFWR: Outstanding outlook for the hunt KY Turkey Poacher Fined $44,000 The Role of Personal Ethics in Hunting KY Non-Resident Fees Hiked KY: Record Harvest for Modern Gun Deer Season Spring Rules are Out Indiana DNR Rule Changes
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Down to the Farm
I made it back to the Farm for the first time since the end of Deer Season. Now that I’m retired, I can go went the weather is best and not try to shoe-horn things into the weekends. Tuesday afternoon, I got to fire some of my recent reloading projects. The first of these was 4 different loads (2 bullets with 2 powders) pursuant to taking on the coyotes. Of the 4 loads, I found that a 52-grain Speer Hollow Point over BL(C)2 gave me the best grouping. The other choices involved CFE223 and a 55 grain Hornady SP. I … More . . .
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