Turkey Hunting
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 2123 times!Views: 0 Related posts: Spring Turkey Rules are Out! It’s Out! KDFWR Releases Spring 2020 Rules KY Spring Rules are Posted The Turkey Rules are Out! KDFWR Turkey Study Underway Kentucky Fall Rules are Out Kentucky Fall Rules Are Out The Run-up to Spring
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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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