Turkey Hunting
PODCAST: The End of Pepe LePew
I was missing some pieces, so it took extra long to assemble the podcast from the hunt yesterday. The reason for the name is that the gobbler chased a unwilling hen about 400 yards, trying to mount her unsuccessfully. I couldn’t figure out why this gobbler was zig-zagging in and out of the pasture and the adjacent woods, until I saw the hen. His over-zealous attempts at mounting her eventually led to his demise. I’m convinced the hen came towards me, because she was trying to fob him off on a more willing female. The original recording lasted well over … More . . .
I Shot Pepe LePew
I’ve been at turkey hunting since Reagan’s first term. I’ve seen a lot– not all, but a lot. This was a new one on me. Things started out pretty normal for this season. Since the Opener on Saturday, the gobblers have been sounding off whole-hardheartedly right before flydown. However, they clam up as soon as they hit the ground, and seldom make a peep afterwards. Over the years, I’ve learned that this is a sign of them still being in that post-breeding latent phase. They still have hens around, and the hens are not straying far. It is not until … More . . .
Shamanic Dream Team Line-up Changes
They say one door closes and another opens. I talked to my best hunting buddy, SuperCore, this week. He was late checking in after his return from Florida, and turkey season was nearly upon us. The news was not good. He’s hanging it up– no more hunting. He’s battled back from all sorts of things– several bouts of pneumonia, a heart attack, and a quad bypass. However, time has just taken its toll. He won’t be coming to camp tonight. We spent a decade hunting turkey and deer together. Before this, he’d never hunted. I’m going to miss him mightily … More . . .
Yute Hunt That Wasn’t
This should be a great story about how the Mooselette and I went out Saturday morning and called up a turkey. She’s still too young to shoot a shotgun, but she’s at the right age for everything else. Everything was set. Moose and Angus were going to come down Friday evening and bring my granddaughter down. Thursday night, I got a stomach bug and ended up in the worst multi-day hurl in 40 years. I spent Friday evening in the Emergency Room with an IV bag on me. Drat! Instead, Angus and Moose took granddaughter #1 to Wright-Pat to the … More . . .
No Podcasts, but. . .
There will be no podcasts of my scouting trips this year. I tried. I failed. Nothing went right. It all went wrong. The turkeys did not cooperate until this past weekend. Normally, I’ve been out three or four times before this time of year. However, I did not hear a peep out of them until last weekend– nothing I could record, but they were at least there. I got down to the farm well before sundown on Friday. I had a nice treat. There was a gobbler roosting just behind the Tobacco Barn, less than 200 yards from the front … More . . .
Return to Turkey Camp, 2019
I made it to camp well before dark on Friday. Normally, I make the first trip back on a Saturday. In the past, I never knew what I would find. With the new security cameras, it takes a good deal of the suspense out of the process. The big question has always been power. Yes, the cabin remains habitable without electricity. However, it is not at all pleasant. I’ve got a wood stove and kerosene and gasoline lanterns. However, you need electricity to run the pump for running water.  Sometimes the power has been off for six weeks at a … More . . .
How should the beads line up?
From: OldGobbler.com  Author Topic: Shotguns with 2 beads, how to line them up  (Read 232 times) ugaDAWGS09 Jr. Member Posts: 16 Shotguns with 2 beads, how to line them up « on: February 20, 2019, 07:45:35 PM » I’m trying to get my new A5 dialed in for turkey season and I’m shooting about 6 inches low and a couple inches to the left at 20 yards. Would stacking the beads like a figure 8 raise my point of impact? I’m doing my best to mount the same every time to my cheek and look flat down the rib with … More . . .
Am I a Successful Turkey Hunter?
If you find me out on the web still listed as somebody’s pro-staffer, you’ll see that I never claimed to be an expert turkey hunter, only an expert beginning turkey hunter. If you want to look at what makes me a success, it is that I have looked at it as routine. I always try to approach each season as though it is my first. I always strive to keep things simple, and I always try to learn from whatever I am doing. It’s been nearly 40 years, and I’m still pretty much that guy who pulls on his box … More . . .
Nearing the Half-Way Point
With the Polar Vortex about to sweep down from the North, and the Super Bowl nearly upon us, I thought I would check in. I normally look at Super Bowl Weekend as the half-way point in the wait between the end of Deer Season and the beginning of Turkey. It really is not; I mean don’t go breaking out a calendar and start counting. It used to be that you had to have your turkey tag request in the mail by about now, or else Ohio wasn’t going to let you hunt in the spring. Thankfully those days are long … More . . .
KY Non-Resident Fees Hiked
From: 2019 Licenses on Sale FRANKFORT, Ky. (1/12/19) — Licenses and permits to fish, hunt and trap in Kentucky in the coming license year are on sale now. The 2019-2020 license year starts March 1. License and permit fees for Kentucky residents for the 2019-2020 license year are unchanged from the 2018-19 license year. Prices on some options for non-residents have changed and include: Annual fishing license, $55; One-day fishing license, $15; Seven-day fishing license, $35; Annual hunting license, $150; Statewide deer permit, $185; Spring turkey permit, $85; Fall turkey permit, $85; One-day hunting license, $25; Seven-day hunting license, $65; … More . . .
Turkey Poults in the Yard
This is just plain cool. I don’t care who y’are. Saturday afternoon, I was taking a nap when I heard a noise. I rolled over and found a hen turkey peaking in the bedroom window. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. They just walk right up to the screen. So I started to roll over, and this spooked the hen. She went putting off. I looked out and saw a bunch of turkeys, hens and poults running off into the back yard. Later, I checked the security cameras and found two videos. Here’s the same bunch exiting through the … More . . .
Turkey Season 2018 Post-Mortem
As you read in the last post, we pulled the plug on Turkey Season a little early this year. Before I put everything away and start thinking ahead, I first want to thank everyone for the kind words, thoughts, and prayers for KYHillChick. The surgery is tomorrow. We’re are hoping for the best. She is on 24HourCampfire.com, so you can email her over there or leave comments here. She has been really appreciating it. I also want to throw out a few items of gear that stood out this year. This season was all about staying warm and dry. First … More . . .
I’m Done!
It’s over. Turkey Season still has another week to go, but it is over at our camp. Angus tagged out. He pulled 2 gobblers off the west side of Gobbler’s Knob SuperCore was benched for the season with pneumonia. I never got a shot. I’m not sure a gobbler ever honored my call all season. I freely admit that I’m not all that great a caller, but I’m not THAT bad! Statewide, I expect the harvest numbers to be way down. Bracken County is off by a third compared to last year. Pendleton is down by a quarter. We still … More . . .
Angus Tags Out in 2018
Angus is making it look easy. This one flopped down from his roost and came running over with less than a half-hour’s legal hunting on Saturday. Angus said he was working a more mature gobbler that was back behind Broken Corners when this fellow flew down from the roost and ran practically up Angus’ leg. Angus shot him at under 10 yards. This was a 2 year old gobbler with 1/2 inch spurs and a 9.5″ inch beard. However, you wouldn’t know it. Angus’ shot gave the gob a quick beard trim. Me? I went birdless again this weekend. What … More . . .
Something Snapped
At 1630 ET last afternoon, I looked at the updated forecast and saw the following progression: Thunderstorms, high wind and rain before sunset Overnight wind and falling temperatures Low was to be in the low 30’s First light: Snow, wind, cold Changing over to wintry mix and wind Changing to rain by 1100 ET Something snapped. I’d just spent too many days this season with too much cold, rain, wind and wintry mix for there to be anything left in me. What’s more, I’d not seen a gobbler, nor had one honor my calls. My son got his gobbler in … More . . .
Angus Scores in Rainy Opener
Saturday was, hands-down, the best bit of turkey hunting weather I’ve ever seen for an Opener here in SW Bracken County. There was only one thing missing: turkeys. Angus and I stayed out to 1100. There were a half dozen shots all morning. Maybe a third of what I’d expect. Only one was relatively close. I had one gobbler honor a call shortly after flydown, but that was the last I heard of him. The other thing missing was SuperCore. He’s down with the New-Mown-Hay. (Pneumonia). This is the first Opener he’s missed in a decade. Bummer. The Shamanic Dream … More . . .
Turkey Camp 2018
I just thought y’all would like a pic of a truly beautiful day at the Thoughtful Spot. It’s on the cusp of Spring Gobbler Season. It’ll probably hit 70 today. There are gobblers gobbling like crazy. It also shows off my new panorama viewer. This post has already been read 735 times!Views: 0 Related posts: Turkey Camp, 2002 Turkey Season Transitions Stalking vs. Ambushing (Mostly about Ambushing) I’m Done! The Run-up to Spring The End of the Garbage Pit Bandit Turkey Hunt Ends — One last humiliation If I was the NewGuy at Turkey Camp Part 3
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PODCAST: Return to the Honey Hole 2018
There is something that seems darn near-miraculous in the way an old turkey hunter can stroll out in the thin light of pre-dawn, over a ridge socked clean in with fog and come up a half-mile further on, set up next to an old log and wait, to be rewarded a quarter of an hour later with hearty gobbles from a host of turkeys that he left almost a year before. At least that is how it felt to this old turkey hunter, guided by nothing much more than a lot of faith and wee bit of moonlight peaking out. … More . . .
What’s It Going to Be Like on the Opener?
NOTE:Â The locations of the NWS long range predictions has changed I’ve written before about my love/hate relationship with long range weather forecasting. I can’t really believe it, but I can’t help watching. It goes back to my earliest days, reading the Farmer’s Almanac. It never seemed to be right, but everybody said it was accurate. I have to say that trying to predict the weather in April and May in the Trans-Bluegrass is a daunting task. I have seen everything from. . . well, I’ve seen it. I distinctly remember the forecast one day in April reading, “Intermittent … More . . .
What’s Ur Goto Call, Y’all
From KentuckyHunting.net KYBirdman said: As some of us feel the Ky. turkey population may be declining. I feel if I release my go to call the population may be in grave danger. I hear you Birdman. It’s a dark and somber time for sure. However, think of it as a historical thing. Someday someone may want to know what a real KY turkey hunter used. We owe it to posterity Me? If you’d asked in my first 15 years of turkey hunting, it would have been my Quaker Boy Grand Old Master that Dick Kirby put in my hand. At … More . . .
Scouting Turkeys with Google Earth
I want y’all to understand that I’ve been doing this for 30 years or more. It was only recently I found Google Earth’s Ruler function. In the past, I would take a topo map and plot this stuff out. I have even done the trigonometry necessary to do it without a map. Google Earth makes it sooooo much easier. All you need is : 1) A lensatic compass. 2) Pencil and paper or something to record your readings. Back home, all you will need is Google Earth loaded on your PC. Optional, but not absolutely necessary is Google Earth or … More . . .
On Learning to be an Expert Turkey Hunter
There was an outdoor writer many years ago that opined that turkey hunters fell into 3 categories. 1) From 1 to 20 turkeys, the hunter is trying his best to learn how to hunt turkeys 2) From 20 to 40 turkeys, the hunter is trying to tell everyone else how to hunt turkeys 3) From 40 turkeys on, the hunter has learned to shut up and keep his opinions to himself. Look, I don’t mean to be telling y’all how to hunt turkeys, but I’ve been at it most of 40 years. The way I look at it, sometimes it … More . . .
A Turkey Hunter Takes a Fearless Inventory
I finally stopped procrastinating and put together a log of the turkeys I’ve killed over the years. There were some surprises. For instance, I didn’t realize that I have averaged filling 1 tag /year since I took my first bird. That is a huge thing considering the number of years I went dry, because I didn’t have enough time off work to make a decent go of it. Other surprises: I have only bagged one gobbler in May. It makes sense. Most years, I’m tagged out, and though I’ve done a lot of hunting in May, it’s usually been as … More . . .
Turkey Season Post-Mortem 2017
When I look back at Turkey Camp 2017, there are two things that immediately come to mind and they’re both the weather. The weather was uncommonly warm this season.The harvest in our county was down, and I can only think the weather had something to do with it. It was a record mild winter. That gave the turkeys a leg up. I am fairly sure we had more survive the winter than average. It also meant things were a little accelerated. However, rather than moving everything evenly forward a couple of weeks like it did the flowers, the warm weather … More . . .
Biscuits and Gravy in Browningsville
We were down at Mister Browning’s store in Browningsville. We heard there were good biscuits and gravy available on Saturday mornings. O.D. was there. O.T. and O.P. showed up as well. One thing you have to remember is that it is important to have a fresh set of turkey hunting duds if you plan on going to Browningsville for breakfast in season. I was tagged out, and Supercore did not want to hunt in the pouring rain. He dressed. I stayed in my civvies and wished I hadn’t. Folks looked at me like I was some kind of heathen. They … More . . .
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