Charlie Elk

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Archives for April 2014

How to Hunt Turkeys in Wind & Rain

April 28, 2014 by Charlie 1 Comment

Wisconsin wild turkey hunters are moving into their third season.  That comes with rain and wind which is typical of springtime weather.  Most hunters think this is better than snow, although on May 5th of 2013 20 inches of wet snow suffocated the woods.  Let us all hope there will be no repeat performance this year.   The thing a spring turkey hunter must keep in mind is the turkeys are still there doing turkey things no matter the weather.  Where else are they going to go?

Soggy rainy days can be productive. The turkeys are still doing what turkeys do.

Soggy rainy days can be productive. The turkeys are still doing what turkeys do.

Wind and rain bring some advantages to the turkey hunter who perseveres through their discomfort.  Both help hide hunter’s movements and noises.  When the wind is blowing there is movement all around from greases, brush and trees. A turkey’s eyesight is their first line of defense however it is only 2 dimensional eyesight so background movement makes it harder for the turkey to pick out danger.  This causes turkeys to move less and become more wary,(if you can imagine that).  A turkey’s second defense is their acute hearing which also is impaired due to wind and rain  moving plants while causing background noise that aids in covering accidental human made sounds setting the stage for a successful hunt.

To avoid the loss or degradation  of the their primary defenses turkeys hangout or loaf  around in areas where the wind has less affect.  Such as hollows in hilly country or even folds in open field land and flat woodlands.  Rain seems to keep turkeys from moving around as much so when a hunter finds turkeys they’ll be less likely to leave the sheltered area.  If the hunter can enter these zones relatively undetected and waits 15-20 minutes for “settle time” before calling softly they may soon find a lonely turkey silently responding to their calls.  Keep in mind the rain and wind that takes away from the turkey’s senses also diminishes the hunter’s.  This will make identifying the approaching turkey more difficult.

Today’s modern turkey hunters if they go hunting in the rain and wind setup in a blind.  This is better than not hunting but remember turkey movements are curtailed during times of less than perfect weather.   These blind and decoy spreads are occasionally successful.  I have little advice to offer with these blind setups even though I have killed a few gobblers from blinds on bad weather days.

My preferred bad weather tactic is “sneak’n and gun’n”.  A version of running and gunning at a much more careful and focused pace.  A rain suit is a give away, way too noisy.  Instead I wear fleece which is quiet, warm, sheds quite a bit of water and dries quickly using wearer’s body heat.  Wood and slate calls will not work wet.  Mouth calls, wingbone calls. and crystal pot calls with synthetic strikers are the order of a inclement weather days.

When possible setup with the wind to your back.  This is more comfortable and call sounds carry downwind better than upwind.  There is a theory turkeys prefer to travel into the wind rather than against it.  Traveling into the wind keeps their feathers down in natural position, where as traveling with the wind pushes their feathers forward causing some discomfort and soaking under their feathers if it is raining.

If the hens are nesting they are more likely to stay on nest rather than be interested in any advances from a gobbler.  So the hunter may have  more lonely receptive gobblers to work with.

Remember when morning weather is bad turkeys will usually leave the roost later.  I’ve encountered roosted turkeys as late as 11 am.  Unless the hunter has roosted turkeys the night before they may want to wait until they hear turkeys or it’s light enough to see before heading into the woods.  On the other side of the day if late afternoon/evening weather turns windy and wet turkeys may go to roost earlier.

So when is a good time to hunt?  Whenever you have the open tag and time off.

Good turkey hunting.

 

Filed Under: Spring Turkey, Stories, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, Turkey Huntig Story, Turkey Hunting, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Looking Gift Turkeys in The Beak

April 27, 2014 by Charlie 4 Comments

The gobbles carried down to the valley floor as if the toms were spectators in a coliseum cheering on their favorite hunter. With an open tag in my pocket I found the sounds of those turkeys remarkably soothing. So it was on opening day 2014 of Wisconsin’s season B wild turkey season. To use a cliché “Let the games begin.”

Frequently I am asked “How can gobbling turkeys’ sooth and relax you?” There was a time in the beginning when those gobblers fired up my nerves and I would dash from gobble to gobble, seriously, running and gunning to the point of exhaustion by the quiet time of 8:30. I would collapse at the base a tree catching my breath and a bite to eat wondering what I did wrong. Early on a lot of turkeys I killed were more happenstance mainly because I stayed in the woods while most other hunters left for breakfast. Those were heady days of heart pumping adrenaline turkey hunts. But now I take things in more methodically, or at least think I do. I force myself to relax and think.

Somewhere along the line I came to realize there is no rush or at least not usually to get to the gobbler. Instead it is better to take a reflection moment to pause and analyze; where those turkeys are, which direction are they facing, how many are there and are they in the same tree or neighboring trees? Are there any soft clucks, ruffling feathers and wings of other turkeys between me and the noisy gobblers? All this helps determine the most approachable turkeys.

Decision made, I head to the west turkeys moving quietly keeping as many treetops as possible between us as possible. There are no leaves yet and roosted turkeys can see long distances very easily from their roosts. 5:30 finds me comfortably setup with 2 or 3 birds gobbling a welcome to the dawn just uphill about 150 yards. Let the conversation begin – my teaser call makes soft yelps and instantly gets the turkey’s attention. I hear them turn on roost, they are now facing me. The hunter’s life is good.

Should have called more aggressively a group of hens yelp from the field above my toms turn to face them. I call loud and hard they turn back my way making the hens madly vocal. Yelps and scrambling wing beats are answered by my frenzied calling then all is quiet. I could not tell where they flew the sounds echoed back and forth across the valley. Soon it was apparent they’re on

Fading away gobbler.

Fading away gobbler.

the ground at the top of hill. I put my Tongue Teaser into aggressive mode, chain gobbling erupted and started closing the distance. They were coming down hill fast hitting the logging trail drumming loudly. Red and blue heads passed by in range behind my bead. It was only about 6 on opening day with one tag in my pocket and good weather in the forecast the gun stayed silent as the gobblers faded away. I don’t usually look gift turkeys in the beak but after a long winter of anticipation it was just so early in my season. It felt good to hunt.

Years of wild turkey hunting will train your ears to hear all the subtle sounds of spring. Wild turkey hunters develop a deep appreciation for the season’s sing songs. However, when a deep throated gobble rumbles out and off a valley laser like focus hones in the source.

I crossed the valley ascending the other side as quietly as possible to within 70 yards of the hard gobbling turkey. He answered and moved towards my calls only to hang up. Then all went quiet.

My setup was not as good as I had thought, downright uncomfortable with some serious visibility issues. I noticed if I side-hilled about 50 yards visibility would be much better. Scoped out a course that would keep brush from scraping on my vest and “turkey walked” my way to a much better setup. Unless turkeys start making noise I’ve learned to always wait for the settle to take place after a move.

After a bit of trail breakfast I heard a distant gobble on land I can hunt, he gobbled a few more times as I considered whether or not to pursue. I cast out a long loud audio line to see if I could hook him…

The deep gobble erupted with authority close by from somewhere on my left – time to get ready for the shooting part. As is a common behavior the turkey appeared before I could get ready. A sight to behold as he strutted closer swinging his beard sunlight dancing on bronze feathers. No trees big enough to block his vision so no gun moves for me. Long delicious minutes passed as he strutted, drummed and shook to refresh his feathers for the next display.

While fanned out he turned away from me, the gun shouldered into position. Perhaps he heard something or maybe that 6th sense that speaks of things amiss. As his head rose out of strut a single shot ended my first of 2014 Wisconsin wild turkey season within 3 hours from its start.

first 2014 spring gobblerAs he lay still on the carpet of last fall’s leaves I sat by him slowly stroking those bronze iridescent feathers that even in death catch and bend the light. Appreciation and reflection is good for the soul. That being said–Never look a gift turkey in the beak and if you do – DO NOT do it twice in the same day.

Filed Under: Spring Turkey, Stories, Turkey Hunting Tagged With: 2014 WI turkey permit, featured posts, Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting story, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

De-Skunk Your Dog

April 7, 2014 by Charlie 4 Comments

dogspretty

The following mixture is the best way to remove skunk odor.  The skunks are out and about.  You never know when your dog is going to run into a skunk or for that matter when a skunk is going to find your dog.

For example one quiet afternoon mrs. elk and I were walking along a country road with our dogs checking things out like normal dogs are prone to do.  Enjoying the beautiful weather our situational awareness was not up to its usual high level.  Seemingly the skunk appeared from nowhere, sitting there in the middle of the road… All I could utter was UH-UH! mrs elk yelled something like OH-OH! EEK.  Fortunately, the dogs looked our way and trotted over to see what was wrong with the masters because OH! and UH! are not in the usual dog command repertoire.  Leashes clipped quickly to their collars in the nick of time, and an alternate route home saved the stinky mess that time.

Here is the recipe for DE- Skunking / removing skunk odor from human or dog.  Also, works to remove many other nasty odors such rolled in beach ripe fish or summer time fermented manure.

  • One gallon water
  • 1/2 cup hand dish soap
  • 16 oz. hydrogen peroxide
  • 3 oz. liquid deodorant containing aluminum zirconium

Mix all the above in a bucket or jug; if a jug is used decrease the water to allow enough space to shake the ingredients together.  Work the mixture into the dog’s fur. I like to wear rubber or latex gloves.  Rinse.  The odor will be completely gone.

Cut back to a tablespoon of dish soap and the above mixture will remove the human scent from hunting equipment.  These are the ingredients many of the commercial scent removers and blockers put in a spray bottle to apply to hunting gear.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: odor removal mix, skunk mixture, skunk odor removal, solution to skunk odor

After Melt Winter Kill Finds

April 7, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

A lot of questions are being asked about the extent of Wisconsin’s winter deer and turkey kill.  Of course it will vary by area.

All the reports coming in here concerning turkeys are indicating the population is strong and vibrant with strong gobbling reports coming from all across the state of Wisconsin.  So it is looking like as predicted Wisconsin’s 2014 spring wild turkey season is going be a good one.   Additionally the early reports are of strong gobbling all across northern Wisconsin including  units 4, 6, & 7 where WDNR needlessly cut the spring permits.  Apparently northern turkeys are either well adapted for survival during adverse conditions or they use their wings and sharp eyesight to find better areas of food and cover to move to.  Then return as temperatures become mild and  the snow melts.

Unfortunately deer become stranded in deep snow leaving them dependent on local food and shelter conditions.  This clearly has led to some die-off in areas exactly how extensive we don’t know yet.  Apparently all the monitoring takes place on computer screens these days rather then in the field.  In West Central Wisconsin I documented 31 winter killed deer in about a 1,000 acre area, additionally buddies reported more dead deer further north.  I reported my findings to the local WDNR manager, he did not inquire any further than expressing surprise at the high number.  Even with that overwinter kill deer sightings are very high this spring.  A lot of deer survived here in spite of the harsh winter.

WDNR does not have teams that go out and observe deer or turkeys across the state to assess the health of populations.  Many think they do but old fashion hands on wildlife management is rarely practiced any more.  This is true with the vast majority of game departments across the country.  For better or worse they rely on internet postings on social sites and blogs.

Not much happens if a hunter shoots an obliviously sick animal and takes it to a WDNR headquarters or sends pictures.  There is no tracking or analysis performed.   Hunters are left to their own to really figure out what has happened in their areas or what is happening.

Now is the time to get out to inspect your hunting area if you think there has been an overwinter kill. It’s easy to see the remains now.  Here are some pictures of what you may find.

Turkey feathers are well preserved during winter in Wisconsin.

Turkey feathers are well preserved during winter in Wisconsin.

Turkey feathers last a long time.

These feathers were left overwinter from a fall kill.

These feathers were left overwinter from a fall kill.

The feathers above are well preserved so if you scout your area evidence of winter kill will still there.

These turkey bones are from an owl kill about a year old.

These turkey bones are from an owl kill about a year old.

Carcass bones remain in the natural kill area longer than most people think.  Look for these and feathers as you scout your area.

This is a picture of deer I found in late January. Still easily identifiable after the spring thaw.

This is a picture of deer I found in late January. Still easily identifiable after the spring thaw.

Deer carcasses are easy to find especially if you hike with your dog.  It is natural for them to become curious and point the way to you.  This grizzly stuff to find but important in order to try and understand how a hunting area was affected by the severe winter.  If deer were stranded in a deer yard for the winter you will find several carcasses in the general vicinity.

If you do not find evidence of dead turkeys or deer as pictured above perhaps you can consider your hunting area in good shape. Be thankful.  Study what deer  and turkeys ate over the winter and work to increase the supply of those food items for the next severe winter.  This is how carrying capacity of the land can be increased.

 

 

Filed Under: Deer Hunting, News, Spring Turkey Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, deer, news, Turkey Hunting, WI deer hunting, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Woodcock Return to Wisconsin

April 1, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

March 29, 2014 first Woodcock.

After enduring a long cold hanger-on winter the twittering rise of 3 woodcocks was a pleasant surprise for  Vic and I.  This might be our earliest Wisconsin woodcock sighting.  I must admit before Vic the turkey dog entered my life there may have been woodcock about in March which I simply walked by.  Vic doesn’t miss much making him a special joy to hike around with.

 

Don L. Johnson writes in Summer’s Song Just Ask The Birds

“Men may believe that spring emerges from the earth, from bursting buds and flowing sap. Birds know the season is cupped in the sky.”

The birds are returning in earnest pushing back the silence of winter.

Woodcock have been residing in Wisconsin in much larger numbers.  Perhaps they are becoming summer residents and raising their young.  From mid September thru the end of November of 2013 woodcock were flushing out of every piece of cover from cornfield edges, brushy rows and swampy thickets.  The woodcock’s future is looking bright in Wisconsin.

Woodcock hunting should continue to be good.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: woodcock

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