I do not usually miss a turkey. Missing two the first week is unheard of in my long career. However, this morning 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 … Continue reading →
This all gets complicated, so I will lay it all out in chronological sequence. The Shaman Muffs It To begin, I had a few gobblers out in front of me at the start of legal hunting, arrayed out in front of me at the Honey Hole. As soon as I … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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: … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
. . . and having said all that,  let me do a complete about-face. Do you want to know what made me a successful turkey hunter? It came down to exactly one principle: Become your own expert. I have been giving you an introduction to turkey hunting as best as … Continue reading →
I’ve talked about the kit. Now, I am going to put it all together and talk you through what to expect. First off, let me tell you what does not work. If you’re a beginner, you read a lot about master turkey hunter tactics like Run & Gun. Forget it. … Continue reading →
This is a continuation of the thread I started in the last post. Now that I’ve done a dump on the firearm-related stuff, here is what I think about calls, clothes and the rest of the gear  The CallsIf you’re a new guy to the sport, you’re going to … Continue reading →
I started to put this into my missive on what the NewGuy needed to know, and it became something bigger than I expected, so I am going to put it in its own post. If you are starting out turkey hunting, learn to be still. How still is still? For … Continue reading →
I wrote a piece back in the early fall giving advice to the New Guy at Deer Camp. At least one fellow, Remnar found it to be good stuff, so I figured I’d try and compose one for Turkey Camp.  In this first installment, I’ll deal with the shooting system … Continue reading →
I don’t know about you guys, but by Mid-May every year, I’ve lost the feeling. In the good years, it’s because I’ve filled all my tags, and I’ve got to start thinking about practical things like mowing the lawn. In the bad years, I reach a point where the season … Continue reading →
We lost Jay today. He had just gotten too old and sick to go on. It’s okay. He had a good run of things. He was 14. It was just time to go.In 2006 we got Jay through a Collie rescue agency.  I’d just nailed a doe at the farm … Continue reading →
Yesterday marked the 12-week mark in the countdown to the Rifle Opener in November. It found me staying home from camp to escape the all-day rains that never quite materialized. So what needs to be done? Odds and Ends By this time of the year, I have all my clothes … Continue reading →
Last night #3 son, Angus, was asking me about camo. He’d seen some Youtubes with this guy touting the ultimate new super-duper stuff. He wanted to buy a set. I explained to him that I’d been where he is starting off about 30 years ago. I had not only 1st … Continue reading →
In the previous missive, I examined what makes an ideal deer rifle from the perspective of chambering. The answer was “Yes, one of those will do nicely.” Now, I’m going to start getting into the real meat of it. What action? What length? The answer is still the same: “Whatever … Continue reading →
This is my 1000th post on this weblog. More than half of them have something to do with Deer Hunting. About half of what remains is about Turkey Hunting. That leaves about 250 posts that are mostly about Raising a family at a perpetual deer camp instead of the mall … Continue reading →
I recently had a conversation online with one of my neighbors, Mike. Mike and I met years ago at the store in Berlin, but we’d lost each other since. He found this weblog the other day and wanted to say hello. We’re close enough that we could probably shout at … Continue reading →
