Turkey Hunting
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 . . .
Shamanic Tag-Out: Scratch One More
It’s now a little after 0930, on the third Saturday of KY Spring Gobbler Season. I’ve been tagged out for a little more than 2 hours. I woke this morning with the expectation of not even hunting. The heavy storms started around midnight with high winds, driving rain, thunder, lightning and several bouts of hail. I was listening to thunder when the alarm went off at 0430. The skies lifted long enough at 0530 that I suited up and told Supercore I was making a dash for Midway. The way it was thundering, I was fairly sure I was going … More . . .
Supercore Scores!
After a long dry spell, Supercore scores on a nice 2-year-old at 0820 this AM. The gobbler came to his calls and trotted within 10 yards of the Jagendehutte. Supercore had to engage in some close-quarters combat with the gob, but eventually got it tied off to the ATV and brought it home. It’s a 19 pounder with spurs going 11/16ths and a 10 inch beard. This breaks a dry spell we had since the Opener last Saturday. The gobs have had a bad case of lockjaw. We all were out today. SuperCore was the only one to see one. … More . . .
This is Earth. Scratch One Gobbler
I did not make a podcast this morning. There was not all that much to hear. On the other hand, this morning ended up being about as perfect a hunt as I am going to have in this life. It all began yesterday. When I got here to open up Turkey Camp, there was a gobbler and hens out in the yard. From noon until sundown they were out there. I had to be careful coming out the door or walking around the side of the house. I knew it was the same gobbler that kept showing up because he … More . . .
Turkey Camp is Open!
As of Noon today, Turkey Camp is open! I pulled into the drive today and there were a gobbler and there hens out in the side yard. I had to work quietly carrying stuff in through the back door, because I had turkeys watching the front door. Where these scouts? Did they have the house staked out? Naw, that’s crazy. That’s paranoid delusion. Still. . . As I write this the countdown timer is showing T-minus 18 hours Plus. I expect the rest of the Shamanic Dream Team to start arriving before sundown. Meanwhile, I’ll listen to Rush, put out … More . . .
Mooselette Goes Turkey Hunting
Well, sort of. Mooselette, my #1 granddaughter made it out to turkey camp with her daddy, Moose. We had a chance to go out to the Honey Hole and listen to the gobblers and hens at flydown. It was below freezing, so I brought along an arctic sleeping bag for her to crawl into. Afterwards, we came back and patterned our turkey guns. Moose asked to have his mother’s 20 GA Remington 1100 brought out. He had not shot it since was about Mooselette’s age. Mooselette, all of 5 now, had a chance to try it out. Her reaction? Less … More . . .
Honey Hole II
I was out at the new Honey Hole, putting up the blind that I built last year. It’s made out of the some of that fancy 4D burlap. I cut a 54″X12′ piece in half and made 2 27″ inch high pieces that I then rimmed with paracord. Last year, the blind worked great, except both Angus and I managed to shoot into instead of over the burlap– same hole, too! Go figure. Anyhow, this year, it’s back up, pretty much as it was. One thing I noticed was the fancy 4D camo had faded considerably. I had an old … More . . .
One Month to Go
The Countdown Timer on my webpage will cross the 4-week threshold as I write this– 1 month to go before Spring Gobbler Season opens. Normally, I would be down at camp, scouting. Hopefully I would have the umbrella mic up and be recording some hens. I’m not. I’m also not fretting too much. SuperCore’s birthday party is tomorrow, and between the inclement weather and the logistics of coming back to town for the party, I decided to stay back in town.
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Plotting the Return to Turkey Camp
It’s coming up on 10 weeks to the start of Kentucky’s Spring Gobbler Season. What am I doing to get ready? About a month ago, right around New Years, I went down and checked my supply of turkey ammo. I shoot Federal 3-inch #4 lead. It is not the rarest ammo out there, but nobody local carries it anymore. About this time of year, it shows up in decent quantities on the websites. The last time I needed some, I ordered from Grafs.com. Hibberd’s, my LGS would also order it for me. I try to do a minimal amount of … More . . .
So you want to hunt turkeys, huh?
I have never claimed to be an expert Turkey Hunter. I only claim to be an expert Beginning Turkey Hunter. I started hunting turkeys back during Reagan’s first term. I still consider myself a beginner. If I were just starting out turkey hunting this year, here’s what I’d be doing. First off, I would be concentrating on where I was hunting. If more than 35 seasons at this, I can tell you that turkeys are very much tied to the land. What a gobbler does this morning is intractably linked to what his great-great-granddaddy did. Some things change. Roost trees … More . . .
Woke up this morning (and bought myself a gun)
It’s raining graupel this morning. It’s above freezing; the little ice balls are hitting the roof and making such a racket that it woke me up. This is not the sort of day for thinking about turkey hunting, but there it is. The switch inside my head has but two settings. One setting is for deer. The other is where it is now. I have already been to the basement once this morning to check on supplies of ammunition. I have enough 3-inch #4’s to last for a few more seasons. My calls are still all packed up. However, I’ll … More . . .
Turkey Season 2016 Post-Mortem
The shotguns are back on the rack. The ammo and calls are put away. For all their work, Angus and SuperCore are eating tag soup. However, we all walked away with actionable intelligence. This was a good year overall for us. Everyone had shooting opportunities. First off, let me talk about the weather and how it affected the turkeys. Coming off a mild winter, this was the most pleasant turkey seasons we’ve had in 15 years at the farm. We had fairly warm mornings in the low-to-mid fifties and highs frequently going into the low 80’s. I think this accelerated … More . . .
Afternoon Tactics– What Blythe Taught me
Mark Hay on T&TH was asking about how I call gobblers in the afternoon, and I thought I’d start a new topic rather than go deeper in the Hunting Pressure thread. This is a description of what I do on my property when I want to entice a gobbler in the afternoon. I save this tactic for a sunny windy day when. I probably would not be seeing gobblers other ways. I wait until about 2 PM and then go to one of several spots where I have seen gobblers strutting in the afternoon and mimic a hen that is … More . . .
A Momentous Occasion
When I started turkey hunting, Ronald Reagan was still in his first term. Ohio had a spring season, but you had to apply for a tag months before to get into a lottery. The closest place I could hunt a spring gobbler was 5 counties over. It took a 3 hour drive to get there. It was in Hocking County, one county over from Vinton where the last remaining flocks had been netted for breeding stock. By 1995, Ohio allowed turkey hunting in Clearmont County. That meant you could now hunt one county over from my house. I was deer … More . . .
Last Tag Filled Amid Mortal Combat
In a way, I am somewhat relieved that the digital audio recorder was not working this morning. It saves me having to listen to it all again, to make it into a podcast. Now that it is over, I do not feel like I have achieved a great victory. In fact, I want to say straight off that I screwed up. Let me back up a bit. Last Saturday was the last chance any of the three of us, had a chance to shoot a bird. Most of the past week, there were no gobblers gobbling on the entire farm. … More . . .
PODCAST: The End of the Galloping Gobbler
Hens were roosting downhill from him, and I think he pitched down to them first. They came uphill to meet up, and then the hens and the gobbler walked the far fence line and emerged at the far end of the pasture, about 80 yards away. The hens crossed into the next pasture and started coming towards me, angling out into the field to feed. The gobbler stayed close to the treeline that held my blind and soon was making his final approach in full strut. I waited until he crossed behind a large tree and brought my gun up. … More . . .
The New Honey Hole
I was back at the New Honey Hole today, erecting a blind. This spot differs in one main way from the original Honey Hole, about 10 yards to the north: it is considerably more exposed. I took a 5X12′ piece of burlap and split it lengthwise, and surrounded it with a paracord. Here is the result after it was hung This post has already been read 3861 times!Views: 4 Related posts: Congrats shaman…you now carry a camo purse. Went scouting and never left the bedroom An Anonymous Acolyte and Mister Remmy More on the Return to Turkey Camp Double Beard … More . . .
A Question About Turkey Ammo
This is a question that is asked more out of ignorance than anything else. I don’t want to be confused with the Old Schoolers that think you have to limit your kit to what your grandfather used. I also do not want to suggest there is an ethical issue here. As far as I am concerned, all I owe the gobbler is a quick death. Period. Mine is a question of practicality and economy more than anything. My question is about the loads we choose to use turkey hunting. First off, my confession. When I started out, a 2 3/4″ … More . . .
The Westwood Blind
Over to the west of Garbage Pit, there was a bunch of fallen cedar boughs. I was out this morning scouting and decided that we probably needed a new turkey blind over that way. See what y’all think. This post has already been read 2973 times!Views: 5 Related posts: Congrats shaman…you now carry a camo purse. Went scouting and never left the bedroom An Anonymous Acolyte and Mister Remmy More on the Return to Turkey Camp Double Beard with a Double Barrel Turkey Camp, 2002 What (Still) Makes a Great Turkey Gun Turkey Hunting circa 1942
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