Turkey Hunting
Do you hunt turkeys in a blind?
I’ve only had turkeys in the blind with me a couple of times, and I’ll tell you that it makes for a very cramped situation. . . . oh, nevermind. I try my best to hunt out of a blind. When I’m out scouting in March, I’ll find a few spots that are prime ambush sites and I’ll come back just before season and run a piece of camo cord around 3 or four trees and then clothespin a 12′ piece of die-cut or burlap to that cord. I hunt a lot with a kid in the blind, and it … More . . .
Turkey Season looms
Been busy as all get-out since Christmas: 1) Found a Ben Lee Super Hen call– I’ve been wanting one for 20 years. Ben Jr. is now making them 2) Traded for a Transfan gobbler decoy— first gobbler deke I’ve ever had. 3) Ordered neoprene socks from Cabelas– I’m tired of having wet feet early in the morning 4) Ordered a Flock-in-a-Box scratch box call. It’s easily one of the more versatile calls I’ve ever encountered. 5) Placed an order with Shipley’s for the parts to make 4 new pot calls and 3 new pegs. Two are for me ( a … More . . .
Friction Calls
My experience has been that every day and every turkey seems to demand a different call. I’ve got probably half a dozen friction pot calls that are store-bought. It’s always a guessing game. I take a couple with me each day. Some days they like one, the next day they won’t honor it for anything. It’s the same with boxes, mouth calls, or anything else. One thing is for sure: what goes into my pack at the start of season, isn’t what comes out at the end. This past year, I started making my own, partly to see what went … More . . .
Before there were Turkey Targets
Instead of a fancy store-bought turkey target, I still like to do it the way I was taught before folks had such things: Take a Dixie cup and put it upside down on a stick about 18″ high. Use a backing board with newspaper. Back up to the chosen distance and let fly at the bottom rim of the cup. The rule of thumb is that two pellets in the dixie cup will kill a gobbler at that distance. I’ve never known that rule to be proved wrong. Keep placing newspaper on the backing board to see the whole pattern. … More . . .
The shaman returns to camp
He’d been late getting out of town, and after an endless drive it was cold and still and dead. The shaman noticed that the place had shifted again; the door didn’t stick as much as it had. He walked in and for a moment all he could see was his frozen breath. His nose told him that somewhere inside was a dead mouse. In the dark, his boot found an empty box of D-Con in the middle of the floor to confirm it. His eyes adjusted and there before him was the dining table. An orange vest hung off the … More . . .
Mandatory Orange on Ground Blinds?
odis7326 from KentuckyHunting.net asks: deer hunting from blinds: would like some feed back on a idea i had the other day when i was thinking about how as a deer hunter there could be a safer way for hunters to hunt from a blind. i had a buddy that had his blind shot at while he was in his ground blind, lucky he dident get hurt, but was really shaken up by the whole experiance. also i wonder if maybe it wouldent be to bad of an idea to require a hunter that hunts from a ground blind to have … More . . .
Advice to a guy that’s new to calling
Remember that by most professionals’ estimates calling is only about 20% of the game when it comes to turkey hunting. Scouting is by far the most important part of the game. If the birds have a mind to fly down to one side of the roost and walk off and you’re on the other side that morning, no amount good calling will change that most days. Most days, a gobbler wants you to come to him, not the other way around. You’re trying to turn nature on its head a little by bringing the gobbler to you. Second: remember that … More . . .
Why don’t you use 3.5" shells?
I go with 3″ shells and here is why. Most of the time, you aren’t going to be shooting all that far, and the turkeys are not that hard to kill. When you get up into 3.5″ or 10 GA, you’re talking recoil levels like what you use on elephant. That is simply too much. Generally speaking, at least in these parts, there is so much cover in the woods after the first week of season that 20-30 yard shots are about it. Some dream of shooting out to 60. I dream of Seeing out to 60 yards. If you … More . . .
More thoughts on the Beginner’s Strategy
I had some more thoughts on this last night: Bum weather– the cold wave made the turkeys come to the protected narrow east-facing pastures to catch sun. I knew where they were going to be. Chest Pains– I had to be careful how I moved. That led to the following strategy: 1) Scout extensively. Roost your birds, etc. Get their movements down cold. 2) First light would find you well back from the roost, listening, but still in contact with the birds 3) Maintain contact with the turkeys. Listen to them fly down, etc. 4) Make a few calls early– … More . . .
A New Prescription for Beginner Success
I’m going to give you a piece of advice, based on your question about flashlights that may receive some HARRUMPHS! from the others, but I think it’s valid just the same. Last year was the first time I did not bother to hunt flydowns. I’ve been hunting flydowns for 25 years now. I’ve had rotten luck. Most years, I concentrated on flydowns and I was usually so dejected by 0800 that I felt like my day was over. This past year, I had two things happen. One was that the weather was unnaturally cold. The second was that I was … More . . .
Do Turkeys Mind Flashlights?
I would say that it’s a matter of how much flashlight and where and when. I’ve been as close as 80 yards to a gobbler and hens and not had an effect on him. I was hunting amid dense cedars and I was coming in at first light. I was also keeping my flashlight pointed at the ground. If I had done it much later, or if I’d flashed it their way or if I had been in more open woods, I’d probably spooked them. I can also tell you that probably everyone who comes here has spooked turkeys off … More . . .
Letter to Santa from a Turkey Hunter
Dear Santa: I’m writing late to you, but I have some ideas for turkey hunters for Christmas. See if you can cook them up: 1) A cheap pair of boots that are lightweight, warm and waterproof. Is it asking too much for a turkey hunter to have dry warm feet? Every pair of boots I get are either too hot, too cold, too heavy or they leak. If they don’t leak the day I get them, they’re leaking by the end of the first week. 2) A mouth call safe that hold onto calls that allows them to dry out … More . . .
How long do hunting clothes last?
I’ve got stuff still from 1982. My sons are wearing the stuff I started out with. You replace them when they stop doing the job. Some things I’ve learned over the years: 1) Rotate your clothes. To keep scent down, I always have one or more changes for the weekend and let one set out to air while I hunt with the other. It also doubles the life of your clothes. 2) Detergent kills. Sun kills. Driers kill Hot water kills. I switched to baking soda years ago and it does a passable job of cleaning as well as getting … More . . .
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