The End of the Garbage Pit Bandit
I do not usually miss a turkey. Missing two the first week is unheard of in my long career. However, this morning was saw my second since the Opener. The first was due to taking a shot without being properly situated. The one this morning has me scratching my head. The gobblers were already sounding off a good half-hour before legal hunting this morning. It was warmer than it had been, about 48F when I sat down. That probably had a lot to do with it. I had gobs sounding off all up and down on both sides of me. … More . . .
PODCAST: Another Galloping Gobbler
I’ve got a theory about gobblers. It is all about gobblers’ personalities. You see, I’ve been watching many generations of turkeys live and die on the property. Some traits, like the motor-mouthed trait that I first saw in Mister Moto, seem to be genetic. However, there are some traits that seem to go with the land. If a gobbler starts inhabiting a given section of property, they seem to inherit the traits of gobblers that have come before him. That is how I seem to have many Mister Naturals that all seem to select that same strut zone out behind … More . . .
Yute Season 2021
The Mooselette got a chance to get out and deal with the turkeys on Saturday. It wasn’t quite the show we had hoped for. The cold snap had made it a rather subdued affair, and every gobbler seemed to be henned up. However, honorable Number One Granddaughter was able to get a gobbler to honor her calls. You could see she no longer sees turkey hunting as something happening to her; she is now making it happening. The gobbler in question was roosted with hens somewhere over in Virginia, a long finger ridge running parallel to the one we were … More . . .
ODNR Announces Proposed 2022 Turkey Season Changes
From OldGobbler.COM Ohio is proposing a change to the bag limit. The new proposal taking effect 2022, if passed, would limit you to harvesting one bearded bird from public land. You can still kill two, but only one can be from public land. Oddly, they site poor reproductive years, but they leave the fall season intact. Of course, the fall kill is a very small fraction of the spring harvest. Annual fall harvest is around 1200-1500 birds and about half and half on sexes. While spring harvest averages around 18,000 -20,000 bearded birds, almost all gobblers. Also: It splits the … More . . .
PODCAST: A Little Bit of Everything
I finally got enough audio for a podcast. The turkeys have not been cooperating this year. This AM, I managed to catch them at the Honey Hole. It’s a long one, and it has a bunch of gobblers, hens and crows sounding off. This is one you’ll want to just lay back and listen to. Just click on this link: Podcast –At the Honey Hole, 2021 Views: 8 Related posts: PODCAST: Closing the Deal PODCAST: Return to the Honey Hole 2018 PODCAST: Another Galloping Gobbler PODCAST: Gobblers at the Honey Hole PODCAST: The Kitchen Sink at the Honey … More . . .
On the Subject of Camo
https://www.kentuckyhunting.net/threads/camoflauge.178148/ I feel blessed that I live in a time where there is now an abundance of birds. Going out and finding a gobbler is not such a big deal anymore. I remember a time when just hearing a gobble was a victory. I can also attest to going the first twenty years thinking that a better camo or a better call would somehow provide the winning edge. I am here to tell you that there is no winning edge in turkey hunting except what is between your ears. Maddog Mattis once called it the most important 6 inches in … More . . .
Turkey Season Transitions
I have seen a bunch of articles written over the years about the various stages of the wild turkey’s spring breeding. I have been watching this firsthand at the farm for twenty seasons now. I am going to give my thoughts on it. Remember that I am about 10 miles south of the Ohio River in the Northeast of Kentucky. What is going on in the southern part of the state is considerably different. Ohio’s season starts a week later than mine, so everything I say here is predicated on my location and my experience. To begin, let me review … More . . .
Indiana DNR Rule Changes
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has changed the rules a wee bit. Turkey hunters can now use .410 shotguns, and can use smaller shot. Deer hunters can now use breechloading muzzleloaders (there’s an oxymoron) like the Traditions Nitro system. See: Administrative Rule (Regulation) Changes Full text here: The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) gave preliminary adoption to the changes listed below governing muzzleloaders for deer hunting, beaver trapping, and wild turkey hunting equipment at their meeting on Nov. 17, 2020. The public comment period has ended, and the NRC will vote on the proposed changes at their meeting … More . . .
The Fake Stump
I finally got the fake stump installed at the Honey Hole this afternoon with the help of Moose and the Mooselette. This is the culmination of several years’ worth of planning and fretting. It all goes back to 2016. I had been turkey hunting with my back against the same dead tree for a decade, when the inevitable happened and the old tree fell over. Requiem for the Honey Hole Here is how it looked back in the day: I tried several other trees in the vicinity, but it just was not the same. I finally decided to erect a … More . . .
The Sons of Moto
I got Turkey Camp opened up Saturday. I have learned that it is not wise to show up on a Friday night. You never know what you’ll find. I always wait for Saturday morning to go down. The place was just as we’d left it. My sons came down a few hours later and went out for a late-season squirrel hunt. I ventured out mid-afternoon to check out The Honey Hole. It was pretty much as I’d left it last Yute Opener. I was out getting audio for a podcast when I got a call warning me that NR license … More . . .
Picking your Turkey Load Back in the Day
I know I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating. Back when I started turkey hunting– we’re talking Regan’s first term– A good turkey gun was any gun that could put 2 pellets through a Dixie cup at 40 yards. You put a Dixie cup on a stake and backed up given yardage and shot. 2 or more holes through the cup meant you were good to go. Someone had figured out that was enough to kill a turkey. It had probably been a measure for pheasant or geese and they just adapted it. I went the extra mile … More . . .
Spring Turkey Rules are Out!
It’s funny. I looked over on the left at the “On This Day” box and it said that I had reported the Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide had been posted in 2013. Sure enough, I went to look on the KYDFWR site, and look what I found: I could not find all that much new that interested me. The Hunter’s Ed requirements have changed, due to COVID. The training is online and you submit a video in lieu of attending a Range Day. Also, the first time Hunter exemption is now free. If memory serves, it used to be $5. … More . . .
Stalking vs. Ambushing (Mostly about Ambushing)
I want to clean up a bunch of questions that have been asked of me. Some have been recent; others go back a ways. Mostly, this is about ambushing, but there’s more. You keep talking about ambushing being good and stalking being bad. Why is that? Let me explain some things the way I see it, and maybe you will understand. This question is probably in reference to a piece I wrote a while back where I stated that hens go to gobblers and not the other way around, I meant this in a general sort of way. This is … More . . .
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