Sneaking Back to the Farm
The Thunderstorms are due back after Noon. I’ll be beating it back to town shortly, having concluded a very productive trip to the farm, and one of the best days I’ve ever had. I’ll give you some highlights.As soon as we heard they were relaxing the quarantine, The Shamanic Dream Team started planning a return to Turkey Camp. We couldn’t hunt them– nonresident tags were quashed– however, we did have plenty of other things to do. For starters, I had to mow grass. In places, it was getting waist-high. I stopped in Falmouth on the way to buy a new … More . . .
Missing the Opener
As I write this, I can hear Angus in the shower. He was called into work this morning. He would have missed the Opener anyway. Last night was his birthday. He also celebrated 5 years working in a sheet metal shop. I suppose it was good news that he is having to work overtime in times like these. There could be worse things. I talked to Moose the other day. He’s still waiting on his relief check. Little Mooselette has been reading the Rush Revere book I gave her. This will be the first Turkey Opener I’ve missed since ’86. … More . . .
PODCAST: Yute Hunt 2020
This should have been a triumphant announcement. Mooselette had shot her first gobbler. However, a worldwide pandemic interfered. It was just not to be. Okay, I can live with that. I went out alone this AM with the umbrella mic, ready to record some more stuff– hopefully enough for another podcast. For the second week in a row, a gobbler keyed on the mic and came running up. This time, a gobbler on his way to meet a hen calling off the property, came right by my set-up at the Honey Hole. You can hear him spitting and drumming right … More . . .
My Season is Over
I came in this morning from recording material for a podcast, and I had this surprise waiting for me on the KDFWR website​​: Non-Resident Spring Turkey Permit Sales Suspended Effective immediately, standard nonresident spring turkey permits for 2020 will no longer be sold in order to conform to Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order and current CDC guidelines to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Only non-resident hunters who have already purchased 2020 spring turkey permits, and can comply with the Governor’s Executive Order No. 2020-266 should consider hunting in Kentucky during the spring season. The order requires all non-residents … More . . .
KY Afield Show Q&A on Turkeys
Here’s a link to the 3/28 KY Afield show. It’s a Q&A about the upcoming turkey season. The good news is that nobody is anticipating a closure due to Coronavirus. Views: 2 Related posts: Show a Little Compassion What Happened to the Turkeys? Strategies for Turkeys on a Small Plot How do I prepare to go hunt turkeys Do you hunt turkeys in a blind? When to start scouting Turkeys Turkeys in the Rain Where do pressured turkeys go?
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PODCAST: The Mistaken Gobbler
We had a hard rain and thunder on Friday night. However, it was still in the low Sixties when I got up. I had to wear a short-sleeved shirt out to the Honey Hole and still managed to work up a decent sweat. I rounded the last curve in the track– had the gate to the field in sight. “Gobble!” There was a gobbler that seemed perhaps 60 yards away, perhaps only 40 yards away from the Honey Hole itself. I was shielded by a large cedar. I decided to set up the umbrella mic in the middle of the … More . . .
T-Minus 4 Weeks and Counting
The Shamanic Dream Team converged on Turkey Camp yesterday as the clock ticked towards one month before the opening of KY Spring Gobbler Season. We had a lot of ground to cover. First off, we had to officially inaugurate the Kip LeBlond Memorial Grill. Kip and I were best hunting buddies back in the 80’s and 90’s. We had a lot of good times together before we went our separate ways. Kip died a while back while duck hunting in Arkansas. His widow donated Kip’s monster Charbroil Commercial Grill to us. Moose and Angus brought it down to the farm. … More . . .
Ambushers and Old Schoolers
It was well over a decade ago when I witnessed an online war on the Turkey & Turkey Hunting Forum between a faction of self-styled “Old Schoolers” and the rest of the turkey hunters online. One of the biggest issues was that of ambushing. By the Old Schoolers’ way of reading things, turkey hunting should be done “by calling alone.” There was even a section in several states’ rules that mentioned this. Pennsylvania was one of them. At the time, I voiced the opinions that: 1) Fair Chase demanded that one obey the rules of the state. Since Kentucky did … More . . .
What (Still) Makes a Great Turkey Gun
First off, I’d like to draw your attention to: What Makes a Great Turkey Gun? What Makes a Great Turkey Gun? March 18, 2011. It’s been the better part of a decade since I wrote that. I see everyone talking about their new turkey rigs. I decided to go back and look at what I said, and see if it still held up. Do I still believe it? Yes. But Shaman! What about all those nice 20 gauges? What about all those fancy heavier than lead turkey loads? My answer to that is, what about all the turkeys? They have … More . . .
PODCAST: The Kitchen Sink at the Honey Hole
I was not expecting all that much this morning. I just wanted to get out with my recording equipment and make sure everything was ready for the upcoming season. I really enjoy recording the turkeys and if I could walk away with some sound, any sound, it would be fine. I went out to the Honey Hole. I had not been that far out at the farm since the first week in December. I heard a couple of gobbles on the way, but nothing like I was going to hear once I got settled in. Yikes! What you will hear … More . . .
It’s Out! KDFWR Releases Spring 2020 Rules
The new rule book for the Spring Seasons is out. There is no big news for hunters in the Trans-Bluegrass– it’s same old/same old. The only statewide change of note is that the Land Between the Lakes will not have a quota hunt this year. Bluegrass Depot is closed to hunting. I tell everyone that hunts with the Shamanic Dream Team: Read the book cover to cover every year. Views: 4 Related posts: Spring Turkey Rules are Out! KY Spring Rules are Posted Kentucky Fall Rules Are Out Kentucky Fall Rules are Out KDFWR 20-21 Hunting and Trapping Guide is … More . . .
Turkey Calls — The Shamanic Brain Dump
What is the best turkey call? I am not going to be pretentious enough to tell a veteran turkey hunter what to take with him out in the field. However, if you’re still at the point where you are not sure what to use to call in a turkey, this may be your huckleberry. I had a suitcase full of calls before I really stopped to think about this question. In about 2002, I found that I was getting myself weighed down by everything I was trying to shove in my vest. I decided to do without the vest and … More . . .
When to start scouting Turkeys
For the better part of the past 20 years, we’ve been coming back to Turkey Camp given the following criteria: 1) It’s after the Super Bowl 2) It’s not pouring down rain. It isn’t snowing, and there is no ice. 3) The predicted HI for Saturday is at minimum 50F I pack a bag and watch the forecast. Some years, that happens in late February. In some years it isn’t until the last weekend of March. The reasons for this are manifold. The biggest of these are safety and comfort. When Cincinnati gets snow, Camp will get ice. When the … More . . .
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