What Turkey Calls Should I Buy?
I’ve been at it now for over 40 seasons. I write for the outdoors, I’ve been a pro-staffer, and I’ve made a bunch of calls.Let me let you in on a basic truth: turkey calls are there to mostly attract hunters and not turkeys.I’m not going to say that a top-notch turkey hunter can’t make magic out of a high-end call, but most turkey hunters aren’t in that top notch. Furthermore, you take away his $200 call and give him a $20 call and he’ll still make magic. It ain’t the call.Let me clue you into another basic truth: The … More . . .
KDFWR Turkey Study Underway
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) is investigating the reason turkey harvest numbers have been slipping. This past year’s harvest was well below average. I’m catching up here; this came out while I was having Chemo. Here is the link: https://fw.ky.gov/News/Pages/Wild%20turkey%20studies%20underway%20in%20Kentucky.aspx I’ve saved an image of the article here: Related posts: From the KDFWR: Outstanding outlook for the hunt KDFWR 20-21 Hunting and Trapping Guide is Out It’s Out! KDFWR Releases Spring 2020 Rules The Turkey Rules are Out! KY Non-Resident Fees Hiked KY: Record Harvest for Modern Gun Deer Season Turkey 2020 Post Mortem Back in Turkey … More . . .
PODCAST: The Virginia Rambler Goes Down
This did not take a whole lot of editing, but it turned out pretty well. I was out earlier today in the fog and managed to bring a gobbler in and close the deal. Some quick notes. First off, the extraneous pops and cracks is water dripping off the trees. The fog was extremely thick. Second, I sound like I’m on death’s door throughout the podcast. It was just that I was a tad wheezie from all the fog. I actually feel better than I’ve felt in 5 years. Don’t worry. I still feel fine. For close to twenty years … More . . .
The Shaman Nails a Gob
I had to call it quits last weekend. The trip out and back to the Honey Hole aggravated the leg, which had been the reason I spent the early part of last week in the ICU. I did not mind it much. Sunday thru Wednesday was cold or rainy– or both. I’m on blood thinners so 35F no fun whatsoever. I stuck around town until Thursday so I could hear what they have planned for me in the way of chemo-therapy. After that, all I wanted to do was get back out to the farm. They start pouring the bug … More . . .
Angus Scores in Turkey Opener
The 2022 Kentucky Spring Gobbler Season started about as well as any. It rained overnight but stayed in the mid-fifties. The last shower evaporated a few miles from us just as we were heading out. It looked like things were going well. They did, just not for me. Angus and Moose had a tremendous morning. I was out at the Honey Hole, due south of the cabin. There was gobbling, but nothing close. I ventured out of the blind after 0800 and put up my new experiment. I got the idea a few years ago, watching gobblers in the pre-season … More . . .
Mooselette Comes Out for Yute Opener
#1 Granddaughter, Mooselette, attended the 2022 Yute Opener with her Grandpa. I took her out to the Honey Hole in hopes of recording something for a podcast. It wasn’t much of a hunt; we did not expect it to be. Mooselette did not even bring a shotgun. We had fun. This was yet another year where the turkeys did not cooperate. I’ve now been to 20 or so Yute Seasons on this farm, raising 2 sons to the sport along the way. I was telling Mooselette: there have been maybe three of these weekends that actually produced anything like a … More . . .
PODCAST: Closing the Deal
This is the first podcast of 2022, and it is a good one. I got out to the Honey Hole just as a roost of hens to my left was pitching woo to a roost of gobblers to my right. Over a half-hour the loudest gob and the most vocal hen decided to hook up. The gobbler practically ran the hundred or so yards between the roost trees, and met up with the hen and her girlfriends at the base of their roost. The deal got closed. I just let the audio roll without comment. I hope you enjoy it. … More . . .
Sighting-In Day 2022
Requiem for a Turkey Load I really cannot remember the last time I blew my wad at paper. It must have been ten years ago. I’ve been shooting pretty much the same load at turkeys since 1996, Federal Premium 3-inch 12 Gauge 2-ounce #4. The boxes have changed. The load has changed– twice in 25 years. Once, the load itself changed. That was when they introduced the Flitecontrol Wad. I got an idea about 8 years ago that Federal might be dropping it from their inventory, so I stocked up. I was right. I have not seen the load listed … More . . .
How Loud Should I Call?
From Old.Gobbler.com: I am always amazed at how sensitive gobblers can be and how far calls can travel. A good many of the turkeys I’ve killed at flydown have come from 200 to 400 yards away. Ones I’ve taken in mid-afternoon have come from much farther. Usually, I start off about as low as I can go. I try not to be first; I try not to be the loudest. Before flydown, I’m usually just letting them know I’m there. After flydown, I usually clam up. If a bird is interested, he’s going to start making his way to me … More . . .
When Should I start Scouting for Turkeys?
When should I start Scouting for Turkeys? That’s a very good question. It certainly is a timely one. As I write this, the countdown is just passing T-Minus 7 weeks to The Opener. I’ve been at it 40 years, and I can’t tell you a set formula. For the last 20 years, I’ve been on the same 200 acres and hunting the same flocks, and I still cannot tell you. Turkey hunting is such a perverse sport. I used to have this girlfriend. She kind of goaded me into getting engaged and then promptly dropped me. A few weeks later … More . . .
Bubba Paints His Turkey Gun Again
Back in 2009, I spray-painted my Mossberg 500 with Krylon Fusion and documented it for Turkey & Turkey Hunting. The story was well-received, and folks not only liked the paint job, but liked the way I described it. If you’re interested, here’s the original story: I can report that the paint job has held up. It has had a couple scrapes and scabs and such, but I have just touched up the larger patches, and let the here-and-there nicks be part of the charm of the gun. I can also confirm that after over a decade, spray painting the gun … More . . .
What is the best time of the day to hunt wild turkey?
From Quora:What is the best time of the day to hunt wild turkey? I’m going to limit my answers to Spring Gobbler Season as I seldom hunt in the fall. Gobblers can be taken at any hour during legal hunting times. However, several things impinge on this. A lot of states used to make it illegal to hunt turkeys after noon. I don’t know if any still do, but there are still a lot of old farts running around that think hunting birds in the afternoon is bad. It isn’t. I’ve had some good afternoon hunts in Kentucky. I’ve also … More . . .
My Life as a Turkey
It is currently showing 13F on the thermometer. There is about half an inch of snow on the ground. All the deer rifles have had their final cleaning. Something inside me flipped and now I am starting to think about turkeys. What really threw me over the edge was that I woke up at 0300 and could not get back to sleep and I poured myself some coffee and sat down with the remote and started to scan the web for stuff to watch. The first thing that came up was this: My Life as a Turkey It is the … More . . .