Turkey Hunting
Losing Stuff — Requiem for a Hat
I was asked to join the pro staff of Heirloom Turkey Calls this year. Brian sent me a bunch of calls to try, and after bagging a good gobbler, I managed to lose one of the calls. It was one of his Single Barrel calls– easily the most beautiful call I’ve ever used — a turned wooden scratch pot with matching stained glass and a picture of a gobbler under the glass. I went back time and again to the spots where it could be, but it was not there. The good news is that the call was fantastic, and … More . . .
The last Moose hunt
Sunday was Moose’s last hunt as a Yute. He will turn 16 in a few weeks. It passed without much notice or fanfare. We went out to the honey hole and waited for the light to come up. Nothing. After 10 minutes of silence. I finally spoke. “That’s how I went through so many seasons.” I said. “I’d drive 200 miles– go out in the dark. The light would come up. Nothing. I’d call a bit and then go back to my car and go home.” I had started hunting turkeys only a few years after the modern seasons were … More . . .
what slate call do you like for calling turkeys??
I’ve had a Quaker Boy for over 20 years that worked here and there. Over the past couple of seasons, I have taken to making my own scratch pots from slate, glass, slate-over-glass, and aluminum. The parts can be got from Shipley’s In fact, I called in a nice one last year with the slate over glass. However, I was still learning, I had used the wrong glue, and the glass detached as I made a loud cutt. It was enough to bring in the gobbler, though. This year I’ve been invited to join the Pro-Staff of Heirloom Turkey Calls … More . . .
Turkey Week 2008, Recap
I’m back. My turkey hunt is over. There’s one in the freezer, and I am glad he’s there. The birds were quite uncooperative overall. Angus and I went out again this morning. The gobblers have been making good sounds from the roost, but they shut up and crawl in a hole immediately after pitching down. The trees are a good week behind their normal schedule. Maybe the turkeys are too. I think it has been a confusing year for them. This morning was no exception. We had five gobblers responding to us, but none showed up. We saw a lot … More . . .
Youth Hunt Results
In a better world kids would come with slider bars and radio buttons. When things get rough, you should be able to got to F)ile P)roperties and start jiggling the settings until things come out right. Kids don’t have those kind of adjustments– at least none that easy. I guess that’s why there’s dads. #2 Son, Moose has been a lover of firearms from the start. He’s also a recoil hound. He was shooting 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum before he shot 22 LR. Whatever got him going, I would love to have cloned and replicated into #3 son, Angus. … More . . .
The Son of Natural
History never does really repeat itself. I wish I could go back in time to 2003 and really hunt my arch nemesis, Mister Natural. We fought each other all through season on 2003. He won. I ended up with bronchitis. It’s a long story. Mister Natural and the Incident at Broken Corners I haven’t had the urge to go back and repeat 2003’s season over again, at least not how it played out back then. As a result, I’ve shied away from the barn at Broken Corners. However, the day before, I’d been on the phone, pretty much where you … More . . .
Bulletin: The Son of Natural has met his match
Long story– It’s late and I want to go to bed. I shot a gobbler a few hours ago and I’m just now getting cleaned up and ready for dinner. The short of it is that the Son of Mister Natural got a wee bit too close to the barn at Broken Corners. Details and pics tomorrow– promise! This post has already been read 333 times!Views: 21 Related posts: The Son of Natural Mister Natural and the Incident at Broken Corners
More . . .
Caught 2 poachers, but they got let go
Originally posted in http://www.kentuckyhunting.net Ever since we took possession of our farm in 2001, we’ve had trouble with poachers. I’ve caught a few, and let most of them go with a stern warning. Those are the ones I’ve met face to face. After one discussion of the issues involved, they don’t come back. I’ve called the tip line on a few others. I have also sent packets to the two wildlife officers that include letters of permission to visit, maps with property boundaries and summaries of the poachers doings. Up until today, I had not seen a poacher actually caught … More . . .
One of those mornings
Well, I’m back in– already. The temp stayed about 5 degrees warmer than they predicted– probably up around 34 F. I’ve been glassing the pastures, but there is nothing. I’ll go back out this afternoon and hunt between the strut zones and the roosts; I’m bound to pick up some action, since it’s due to warm up considerably. THis morning, I had a nice spot picked out with three gobblers all roosted within 200 yards. I sat down, made a few tree calls. They all answered and after about 5 gobbles a piece, they all shut up and disappeared. I … More . . .
So where DO they go after flydown?
The Ben Lee Catechism states that turkeys go to water after flydown. It also echoes the first book I read on turkey hunting. It simply said that you get between the roost and the closest source of water and ambush them– in fact, that was all it said about turkey hunting. I have tested that theory and it just does not seem to pan out– at least as a surefire thing. Once long ago, I was bowhunting on the last day of season in January and heard a flock come down off the roost and go to the creek. The … More . . .
Announcement: the shaman joins Heirloom
ANNOUNCEMENT: William “the shaman” Allendorf is now a member of the ProStaff of the Heirloom Turkey Call Company of Haughton, Louisiana. To have him tell it, Bill “the shaman” Allendorf, doesn’t claim to be much of a turkey hunter, but he’s the world’s expert at being a begining turkey hunter. It’s a long story. Most of Bill’s stories are that way. Our resident rattle-shaker knows what it’s like to start hunting without a clue. Bill has been writing for over 25 years, and quite a bit of it has been about his love of turkeys and turkey hunting. You can … More . . .
Where Turkeys Go After Flydown?
Yesterday was my first good day out scouting this year. I was able to monitor the flydown of four flocks on either side of a ridge. It was pretty much a typical morning for the turkeys. The gobblers gobbled a bit, the hens yelped a bit, everybody took their turn plopping down into the leaves and they all milled about squaking at each other. . . . and then they were gone. There is nothing quite so unexpected and sudden as the feeling you get when you realize that you are now alone in the woods. It is as though … More . . .
Scouting Report– Happy Easter
I rolled out of the rack at 0637, determined to make one more attempt to scout out a gobbler. Dressed in jeans, my barn coat and bedroom slippers, I threw on a pot of coffee, opened the back door and took a few steps away from the kitchen window so the sound of the percolator would not interfere. I made my first owl hoot. Nothing. My scouting was a failure. This was my third morning of trying to scout up a turkey. So far it was a dismal failure. I walked around to the front of the house and hooted. … More . . .
This post has already been read 4813 times!
Views: 13
