Charlie

Shorten WI 2018 Grouse Season? Let your voice be heard

September 6, 2018 by Charlie 3 Comments

Should Wisconsin close the 2018 Ruffed Grouse hunting season early? At the end of this post is a link to the WDNR public input survey about this early closure. I urge a no vote on the early grouse season closure.

Regarding the Closing of WI grouse season early. Nov 30, 2018:

This is a copy of my email exchange with a Wisconsin Dept. Natural Resource biologist.

CE – Biologically, does it make sense to shorten the season? The studies I have read over the years conclude that 80% of upland birds (includes turkeys) are dead within two years whether they are hunted or not?

Answer: From a biological standpoint, there is not much support in the literature for shortening the ruffed grouse season. These are short-lived birds with an annual mortality of 50-70%, so we as hunters are harvesting surplus birds which would likely die of other causes prior to the breeding season. As an example, if you have 100 chicks in a given year, only about 18 would make it to the first breeding season, and of those 18 survivors, only 8 would make it to their second year. So 92 out of 100 birds will die within their first two years, whether that is from a hunter, predator, disease, starvation, getting hit by a car, or any other source of mortality. Hunting has been shown to generally not impact those survival rates. There is some limited research which suggests late season harvest can have negative impacts on a population the closer you get to the breeding season.

CE – And if someone wanted to reduce the harvest it seems to me cutting the bag limit would be more effective.

Limiting bag limit generally does not provide benefits to the population according to the research, partly for the reasons I previously mentioned, but also because we know very few hunters typically harvest a full bag of grouse.

CE – Reading the press reports made it sound like you and your department had nothing to do with the decision.

This motion was ultimately recommended by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress to the Natural Resources Board independent of the department.

CE – Land use in some of the northern prime grouse habitat has been changing rapidly in the last five years. Many of the places we once hunted grouse have been plowed into corn or bean fields; plus the maturing of timber stands; these are more likely the cause of the decrease in grouse and woodcock. Whereas in these same areas the turkey population is on the rise big time.

Habitat and land use is certainly an issue for grouse throughout their range. Here in WI, the effects of forest aging on grouse have been especially prominent in southwestern WI. The driftless area used to host the best grouse hunting in the state, but as the timber industry in the south vanished and the land was parceled out and active management declined, our southwestern grouse population plummeted. Habitat can definitely explain long-term declines we’ve seen in many places throughout the grouse range.

The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS)

Appreciates the attention the Conservation Congress, NRB, and DNR are giving to this issue. While there was a decline in ruffed grouse drumming activity from 2017 to 2018 (despite the next anticipated peak cycle peak expected to occur around 2019-2021), such a decline during the increasing phase of a grouse population cycle is not unprecedented. Further, drumming increased in other parts of the state, and drumming was stable or increased on 22 of the 43 northern region survey routes. Finally, the number of ruffed grouse drums observed per survey stop in the northern forest region in 2018 were still within the historic range of variability on this survey.

Given the level of information available, RGS does not support the proposed emergency rule instating closure on November 30. RGS would support season changes if data suggested a pressing conservation need. We do not believe that is clearly the present case.

Public comments on the proposed early closure will be accepted now through 11:59 pm on September 12, 2018, via an Online Survey, Please see the video for background information relating to the proposed early closure.

Life Beyond a Screen

September 5, 2018 by Charlie 4 Comments

My rowboat slipped quietly to the dock, as usual, the dogs were excited to disembark and get about the most critical of dog business,

Sunrise on the lake is relaxing even for a husky.

checking to see who left new scents during their absence.

The husky, Jaz, whined while Vic snorted as they both scramble out onto the dock claws scratching on the dock boards as I held their leashes in check. The low water level makes it a bit of a challenge for me to get up on the dock and as I straighten up to look around for any incoming dog company, none to be seen so we start clomping down the galley-way only to pull up short to take in the weird sight confronting us. It appears time has stopped!

No one is moving at this ordinarily bustling village boat landing. There are tourists scattered about, but they are all frozen in place staring at these odd small rectangles held in the hands. Even their small designer dogs are stopped stiffly at leash end. Did I row us into another dimension or perhaps a Twilight Zone where time stands still? My head snaps a look back from where we came, and to my relief, all appears normal. The beautiful sunrise glistening on the rippling blue waves, gulls circling on the thermals, and pelicans are fishing. Other bird songs are dripping like jeweled droplets all around. Yet, all these folks appear oblivious to sights, smells and sounds all around them. Are all these folks unaware of the surrounding real world or is it distasteful causing the life in the screen to be more comfortable? I do not know, except to accept the old cliche “to each their own.”

During my youth before screens became so ubiquitous an old, philosophical sage warned that screens would become windows of reality to those who spend too much time looking through them. The human mind and eye would lose interest peering out of real windows. A few years ago I thought of him and his insight again while turkey hunting with a buddy. A blabbermouth gobbler was sounding off nonstop on his to our set up. As usual, the tom was coming into my calls from behind, but no problem, my buddy is sitting at the backside of the tree.

As the gobbles sent sparks of excitement deep into my hunting soul, surely a shot will ring out soon. The turkey was very close and moving around to my weak side, his head pulsing the colors of mating excitement. Still, no gunfire. What the heck, did my sidekick fall asleep, enjoying the moment or is he being generous, letting the shot come to me? OK, whatever I am ready. The strutter finally gets clear in front of my gun barrel. At the roar, in my peripheral vision, I see something odd flying in the air, and my fellow turkey hunter lets out a shriek. It turns out he had earbuds in while watching a turkey hunting video. He thought all the gobbling was from the video and never looked up from the screen. Watching a hunting video while hunting!? As I have come to understand watching a phone has become a standard hunting procedure.

“To each their own…”

Hasselback Wild Turkey

July 7, 2018 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Hasselback is a cooking term that originated in the 1700’s in a Stockholm, Sweden restaurant named Hasselbacken. Hasselback techniques are commonly used for cooking potatoes by cutting around as if an accordion, then infusing oil into the cuts this made the potatoes creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Now there are all sorts of dishes prepared using this process.

Here is a good way to make Hasselback Wild Turkey.

Split a wild turkey breast lengthwise leaving half the breastbone in each side. A mear clever works well for this process.

Slice cross-grain or against the bias down to the bone making each a half to one inch. Season in between cuts with salt and white pepper.

Prepare your favorite dressing/stuffing. My go to is a couple of carrots, onions, and sweet peppers chopped fine using a chef knife then cooked until soft; toss in a couple of cups of bread crumbs that have been processed fine in a food processor. Preferred seasonings salt, white pepper, sage and tarragon to taste. Work the dressing into each cut as pictured above. Bake on flat baking sheet bone side down at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until internal temperature of 155 degrees.

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Internal temp will rise another 10 to 15 degrees as the juices set up in the meat fibers.

Use a filet knife to cut the “steaks” away from the bone for serving. Please accept my apology for not having a picture of the turkey on the dinner plate; my guests were so excited to eat this the dinner plates were snapped up as fast as I could plate the meat. Hasselback turkey turns out very juicy and fork tender.

Wild Turkey Kiev – Recipe

July 6, 2018 by Charlie 2 Comments

One wild turkey tenderloin with tendons removed. Gently flatten with a smooth meat mallet.

Place in a bowl with 1 cup buttermilk and marinate overnight or for up to 2 days.

Remove from buttermilk and pat dry with paper towel. Season to taste with salt, ginger and sweet paprika.

This is good served over a bed of rice. Cook your choice of rice per the instructions for that rice. Wild rice is my preferred rice. While rice is cooking prepare the Kiev butter.

Kiev Butter

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

chives

dash of garlic powder

Melt butter then add cream and lemon juice stir and reheat. Add chives and garlic.

Melt a quarter cup of butter in a pan and add turkey to poach over low heat

When the turkey is done remove from the pan and place on top of rice. Pour the warm Kiev butter onto the turkey and rice. Enjoy!

Wild Turkey Burns

May 10, 2018 by Charlie 4 Comments

Two hens and three toms strutted about two hundred yards ahead. I had taken cover behind the charred remains of three oaks spaced like the legs of a three-legged stool. Other than these oaks it is wide open between the birds and me. “What to do?” Is the recurring question bouncing around in my head; with their focus on the hens it is unlikely the gobblers will pay any attention to my calls. Meaning the hens must go, only writers hunting on those protected game preserves call in hens who in turn lead the gobblers to the waiting gun. Wild turkeys in genuinely wild places do not act in this manner. Instead, the wild hens are jealous by nature and will try to lead the toms away rather than share. Without a turkey dog, a scatter will not likely be useful.

As the toms fans into the strut, they are all facing away from me, and the hens are looking in my direction; I stand up to make sure those girls see me and see they do as the scoot off into the brush line leaving the deflated gobs trying to figure out what just happened. Before they realize anything is amiss, I yammer out some forceful clucks and yelps on the slate which is the first call out of my vest, putting the birds back into a strut; Although they are standing their ground well out of range as I grab for the next call.

On my knees behind the oaks, hunched over in a semi-ball shape, boonie hat pulled low to the eyes I am hoping to appear like a turkey as the challenge yelps and clucks charge off the Tongue Teaser. I peek around, and through the blackened oaks, one of the toms is within 100 yards and closing fast, I start to shake, oh my! all this may work! How can the gun be brought to bear? As I pick up the little 20 gauge, I feel under gunned.

My poor planning has placed the gun on the left side of the trees, it would have been better on the right side, but in turkey hunting, you go with the situation. All three turkeys stop when I peek around for a look; gently I lay the gun down to pick up the call and striker. My striker’s hand is trembling with excitement to the point it’s sending out a morse code rather any sweet sounding turkey talk. I have to smirk; it’s what I love about turkey hunting, the excitement is still there.

I sway slightly side to side telling myself this is to glimpse the birds. However, it does wonders for the cramping muscles. Not only have I seen the birds, who have moved closer, one of which is now about 60 yards staring intently at the movement in the trio of burnt trees. The gun still lays near at the ready, and this is calming, I scratch the burnt ground with a stick and then make some clucks, exchange the call for the gun and lean to the left.

The nearest turkey is approaching in all his splendor head-on, the sound of his feathers is audible, he gobbles and the electricity of the moment envelopes all of us at this moment, in this burnt field. It is almost a shame the gunshot deflated the moment, but that is why we are called hunters, and that is what we hunt for time and time again.

What are the All Time Top Posts on charlie elk?

March 26, 2018 by Charlie 18 Comments

The other day over coffee, a magazine editor asked me; “With over two hundred posts,” – “Which have gotten the most traffic?” Off the top of my head, I knew the “How to Legally Bait Turkeys” is the most searched for: give it a try using bait turkeys or turkey bait. Other than that I suspected but did not know for sure. After doing some research here are the top eleven.

Wisconsin Turkey Hunt Forecast 2018 Spring

March 25, 2018 by Charlie 4 Comments

With a wild turkey population of 660,000+ birds, Wisconsin turkey hunting is easy to predict – very good to excellent every spring. The harvest each spring is controlled by the limited number of authorizations and hunter effort. Based on in the field observations and previous harvest data Wisconsin turkey hunters kill 43,000 gobblers if hunter effort remains about the same as in past seasons. If on the other hand spring hunters put in more time and effort during the 2018 spring season, Wisconsin could record more than 50,000 gobblers going into the cook stove.

I have personally been out extensively scouting zones 1,3,4, 6 and 7. Also, some volunteer folks regularly provide updates regarding what they have seen while hunting, trapping and fishing the more remote areas.

In zone one there is an abundance turkey reported during the fall hunting season continuing through spring 2018. During summer and fall, there were areas along streams and rivers that experienced flooding some of which was extensive. Most of this highwater happened after the nesting season, so the turkeys just flew out of danger and seemed to be returning late in fall and wintered over well.

Nice long beard called in a while scouting for spring 2018 turkey hunt.

All across zone one, more turkeys are present than in years past, and it appears there are slightly fewer jakes than usual, so this points to a spring harvest with more adult gobblers than jakes.

The zone 3 turkey population appears to be stable, about the same as last spring, although due to the large blocks of big timber isolated land it is harder to get a good handle on the turkey population here. Backcountry trappers and snowshoers report encountering more turkeys than usual with a decent mix of jakes and gobblers. On average this zone has a lot more room to roam than our other zones. Plus it is under hunted.

Zone 4 a mix of hardwood forest and agriculture maintains a high population of turkeys. This zone should have 25-30% more harvest authorization than it does. Many farmers would like to have more turkeys killed on their land; sadly there are not enough hunters available due to the limited issuance of permits. This fact will keep the turkey harvest equal to past years.

Zones 6 and 7 are the big surprise for this spring. These zones are the most northern turkey habitat in Wisconsin, and due to marginal habitat, no one thought turkeys could live here let alone prosper and prosper they have! So much so, the WDNR has issued some farms turkey shooting permits because the turkeys are too numerous and causing damage. On my trips through these zones, I saw large rafts of turkeys out and about. Apparently; the hunter harvest authorizations need increasing if farmers are granted permits to shoot wild turkeys outside of the season framework.

Zone 5, I don’t get there nor do I have any informants who are out during the offseason. Those whom I am familiar with always get their turkeys during spring, and they go fishing in the fall instead of turkey hunting. No accounting for tastes here.

Zone 2, is a mix of urban and farmlands with some woodland country. I tease my contacts here about how easy it is to shoot a turkey. Last fall while turkey dogging in the northern part of the zone Vic and I killed two birds in two days of hunting. But I must admit we hunted hard during those days. All indicators are for a great spring hunt in this unit.

2018 Wisconsin Elk Hunt

March 14, 2018 by Charlie 4 Comments

It’s true; elk hunting will start in Wisconsin this year, October 13 – November 11, 2018, and December 13-21, 2018. Bulls only, but which hunter of the lucky ten drawn in May would want to shoot a cow? In states with large elk populations, there is nothing wrong with taking a cow elk. However, Wisconsin does not have a significant population of elk. Hunting will be not allowed in the areas where Kentucky elk were released in 2015-2017. Only Wisconsin residents are eligible to draw a tag.

The area of the planned hunt is within the Clam Lake elk range of Sawyer, Bayfield, Ashland, and Price counties in far north-central Wisconsin. Original restoration efforts occurred within this range with the release of 25 elk from Michigan in 1995. This northern herd is projected to reach a population level of over 200 animals this year, including a high proportion of bulls.

Only 10 permits are available;

4 permits will be awarded to Wisconsin residents through a random drawing. Entry starts in May 2018.
One tag will be given to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation so they can raise funds by raffling the tag to a Wisconsin resident.
5 tags will be given to with the six Wisconsin Chippewa tribes to comply with the Federal Court order.

Wisconsin 2018 Fall Turkey Drawing – Canceled

March 11, 2018 by Charlie 14 Comments

Starting in 2018 the state of Wisconsin will no longer require hunters to enter a drawing for their fall turkey license. All fall turkey authorizations will be sold over the counter or more accurately via the internet at Go Wild.

I do not know when this decision was made or if there was a press release, I missed it. As new hunting seasons approach, I don’t feel complete until all my new licenses/tags/permits–no wait–the correct term is changed; license, tags, and permits have become authorizations.

When I purchased my Conservation Patron authorization, I always apply for all auths available this prevents forgetting to submit the applications later. Panic set in when the fall turkey auth was already part of my package! What happened to all the leftover auths we used to purchase.

A quick to Wisconsin DNR website and keyword search “turkey” provided the answer.

One fall turkey harvest authorization is included with each fall turkey or conservation patron license purchased. Customers will need to specify their zone of choice at the time of purchase. For select zones, bonus fall turkey harvest authorizations (formerly known as leftover tags) will be sold over the counter. Availability will be posted in the summer.

Whew, this means after the turkey committee meets we will be able to purchase more fall turkey harvest authorizations. Got a little nervous there that turkey dog Vic’s turkey hunting opportunities were being curtailed.

This is good news, it has been a waste of time and money conducting the fall turkey drawing because there are so few fall turkey hunters in WI nearly every unit has leftover authorizations. Now each hunter will receive an authorization with their fall turkey license. Previously, they would not get this if they had not applied for the drawing.

Vic and I will relax now.

Turkeys Gobbling Time To Scout

March 11, 2018 by Charlie 4 Comments

Start scouting now? It’s only March in Wisconsin! Turkeys are still in winter flocks; What possible reason is there to start scouting wild turkeys now? The birds are likely going to be in different woods and fields by the time my spring season opens.

Turkeys spend more time in trees than we realize

The number one reason: it is fun and educational to be out talking to actual wild turkeys anytime of the year, even

Sign turkeys have been around.

better when an upcoming season is only a few weeks from opening. Rarely does a “spring only turkey hunter” venture out to experience the pure yet complex world of wild turkeys. Those who are year-round hunters know the male turkeys gobble and strut at all times of the year. Meanwhile, the other turkey hunters are shocked when they hear fall turkeys gobbling their heads off.

Here’s a brief what should you look for:

Goes without saying, try to find birds they make it all the more fun. This time of year wild turkey flocks are getting a little frayed around their social edges but still spend the day and night in their winter flocks. Hens plus jennies and gobblers with jakes satelliting, when the opportunity presents a lone gobbler the jakes like to harass him. Jakes act like the teenage boys of the turkey world, full of energy and trying to be part of the turkey world.
Travel corridors, with snow or mud or just soft ground walking turkey leave tracks which are quite easy to see. You can also determine the number and sex of the turkeys traveling together.
Turkeys use their wings more than most hunters realize. When turkeys are fluttering and flying around the bare treetops, they are easy to spot. On many occasions, I have seen turkeys hovering, much like giant hummingbirds pecking the swelling tree buds, typical behavior when the ground is an icy snow sheet.
Sounds of wild turkeys. Many of the flock’s members are beginning to disagree with the hierarchy they agreed to last fall and getting noisy about it. Especially the gobblers, who, for the most part, have not talked to any of the ladies in the neighboring gaggle for quite some time.
Call to the turkeys. Yeah, I know, all the “expert” advice is you are not supposed to call outside before the season opens. I’ll go out on a limb here and admit a secret; I have practiced my spring time calling to real live wild turkeys for the last twenty years. And what is the worst thing that has happened? Wild turkeys have moved into areas I can hunt. That’s right turkeys are very social birds and regularly seek out those other unknown interlopers. Read about “audio baiting” here– How to Legally Bait Turkeys

An icy beard hanging as he flies to the trees.

Whenever you can get out–do it and enjoy. By the way, if you deer hunt, their trails, bedding

Frozen insects are high protein food for winter time turkeys.

and feeding areas will be very obvious. These are the same areas the deer frequent during WI firearm, muzzleloader and late archery season.

Best Coyote Call – – Turkey Yelps

January 7, 2018 by Charlie 11 Comments

If you are hunting coyotes in an area with turkeys and the coyotes are not responding to the rabbit, mouse, or fawn in distress calls; try talking turkey. As a long time year-round turkey hunter it is most annoying at how often coyotes come in and come in close looking for a turkey dinner. Coyotes have investigated turkey calling during all seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter.

On December 31st the last day of Wisconsin turkey fall season the sub-zero temperatures were too cold for Vic, the turkey dog to hunt. Sadly, he had to stay home while I went hunting. Setting up for cold calling takes on a whole new dimension.

After setting up, I started making lost turkey sounds; these are a series of loud yelps trailing off as if the voice was breaking at the end. Picture yourself yelling until your vocal chords become strained causing the sound to fade and crackle. That’s what a lonesome, lost turkey sounds like as it tries in vain to find a companion. A young bird of the year will throw in some Kee-kees.

Within 20 minutes this coyote made the mistake of thinking I was going be the turkey dinner. A Federal premium 3 inch, #5 Third Degree turkey shell dropped her in her tracks.

Coyote killed with a Federal third-degree turkey load. Coyote came in fast & close to my calls of the wild turkey.

Yes, coyotes prey on wild turkeys. Why would they not?

Coyote wild turkey kill. Coyote scat in the top of the picture. The scat contained what appear to be turkey feathers.

This coyote responded to turkey calls in November and was shot a few yards away with a shotgun using a turkey shotshell.

If you are a coyote hunter take a turkey call out with you and see what happens, you may just be pleasantly surprised. And we turkey hunters will be grateful one less coyote is looking for a turkey dinner. Good luck.

The Ten Minute Buck Leads Us to Next Day

January 6, 2018 by Charlie 6 Comments

Hunt date October 24, 2017

The buck stood just a mere 15 yards with one back leg lifted as if a dog on point. The setting sun’s glare was blinding as I settled into the stand, so I turned my back to it while waiting for its further descent to the horizon. The view on the other side of this short ladder-stand can be just as productive. Figures, just like turkeys, deer like to appear on your backside.

The first assumption is the buck has busted me in this seven-foot stand. However, buck’s eyes are focusing on something at ground level and not at my position. Apparently, this buck has come to find out what made the walking noise. Whenever approaching a deer stand it is best to walk in like a deer, the noises made must be natural sounding within the cadence of the deer’s world. In this case, instead of thinking a hunter had moved in this beautiful buck came to investigate a potential doe.

The temptation is to count points while waiting for a good shot; longtime experience has taught me not to do this, stop the one, two, three… immediately and focus on the task at hand. This evening’s thermal current is gently cascading downhill from the buck to me; there is plenty of time.

When deer are in close moments must be slowly deliberate so that they don’t catch the deer’s attention by sight or sound, including neurological background noise. Like the hands of a clock my lower torso shifts to align the bow when its time comes to rise. The front angle of the deer is too sharp for a shot; he needs to move down about eight feet for an arrow to hit the pocket behind the left shoulder and exit before the last rib on the opposite side.

Time seems to have stopped, I’m not sure if 54 years of deer hunting have numbed my excitement or if more concerning, shooting a buck no longer causes the fever. Sadly, I feel no excitement only intense concentration to not screw this up because no matter the experience level things can go wrong in a hurry.

The multipoint buck sniffs the thermals one more time before moving on the downhill trail, almost broadside he comes to a stop with his front shoulder extended forward. Perfect, the arrow is released. My buck bounds angle straight away uphill, stops, his antlers are above the brush then disappear while the sapling he was standing by vibrates as if life is leaving the deer or he is making a rub. It is time to wait at least a half hour; I give it 40 minutes even though my arrow is blood-soaked. Slowly descend to the ground all senses alert. Upon inspection, the blood on the arrow has bubbled up and down the shaft, indicate substantial lung penetration. There’s chest color hair on the ground and a good blood trail to follow. However, this deer should not have gone up any hill, which always makes me suspicious that things are not as they first appear.

It takes me at least 15 minutes to move 50 yards towards a dead buck, the sound of a deer bounding downhill freezes me, and more deer sound like they are walking away side-hilling. More time passes the sun is low, and light is fading fast as I reach the sapling. At the base of this little tree, an empty blood-soaked deer bed. Wait some more even though a substantial blood trail beckons me to follow.

Apparently a mortal hit. Air bubbles in blood pool indicate lungs are pierced. At this point I did not think the deer would go far.

The thick hillside brush makes moving sound like anything other than a human crashing their way ahead impossible. At any moment a carcass should be illuminated in my beam of light, depressingly, I find another bed, blood, and a good crimson trail leading off onto neighboring land. Time to seek permission.

The neighboring landowner was, perhaps, one of the most accommodating, he promptly granted permission to search. Shane with Calling all Turkeys was to arrive tonight so that we could video some fall turkey dogging. I called to let him know I’d likely be busy hauling a buck in, at that time my expectation was for a smooth recovery. This year Shane was training his 9-month-old Blue Tick hound, Callie, for deer recovery, a leashed tracking dog is legal in Wisconsin. I agreed and waited until Shane arrived with Callie before resuming the buck’s trail.

We were back at the point of shot five hours later. Callie easily picked up the trail as she started dragging Shane behind her. Large puddles of blood confirmed she was on the correct deer. With all Callie’s baying and commotion of us busting brush to keep we flushed several other deer on the way. In spite of the distractions of the deer, Callie stayed on the track. However, that gut feeling of something is not going right begin to seep into me. During my half-century-plus of deer hunting, I have been on hundreds of recovery trails, for many of those years I was on the tracker’s call list to help other hunters; something was not going right here. A deer who has lost this much blood and continued to do so, should not be leaving yet another bed.

After a couple of more hours, the blood on the ground started turning a grainy black color typical of deteriorating lungs and not a lot of it. According to Callie’s nose, the deer crossed an open grassy field that took us to another woodlot. We decided to wait until sunrise before going further. We all needed rest and a break from the inky black night. My sleep was not restful as the mind kept replaying all the events of the shot and track over and over looking for some details it might have missed.

As the sun rose it all its splendor, we were back sorting through the evidence to figure out where this buck went. At a planted food plot the deer was expected to cut across to the other side, wounded animals are known to take the path of least resistance. The buck did not do this.

Blood sign continues to be easy to follow.

Instead, he circled and bedded in the opposite side’s brush line. He bedded stretched out; the moist ground leaves

Charlie is pointing out the bucks outline where he laid stretched out.

held an imprint of his body. And he had moved out yet again! Tracks and small spots of blood led us downhill towards a paved county road and past a number of trail cameras. Shane suggested I contact the landowner for permission to pull the cards so that we could perhaps see the condition of the deer was. Yeah, I, of course, was having doubts about my shot placement too; to my pleasant surprise, the landowner allowed us to pull the camera cards.

As we ate lunch, we perused all of the camera pictures and were shocked there was no photo, not a single one of the buck! How could this be? The sign and Callie’s nose confirmed the buck had used the trails heading downhill.

After lunch and some rest, we replaced the camera cards. Unless this deer possesses powers from the gods not yet discovered by us mere mortals, there must be an earthly explanation. While Callie continued dragging Shane around in attempts to pick up the trail and that included attempting to take him for a walk along the busy county road, I started back trailing in an attempt to find the

Shane covered in burdock including some particles in his eyes. He trusts me to remove them from his eye.

“earthly” reason for no pictures.

This old buck apparently knew where the trail cameras were! Figured out he should let his picture get taken. He had left the trail to walk behind every one of the cameras! Never before had I encountered this kind of behavior from any deer. How could he possibly have figured out how hunters use and why hunters use cameras? Of course, my mind has worked on this quirky happening. The only thing that seems logical is the electronics in the camera make some noise that spooked a cautious buck; he did not like the sound or the flash causing him move around the camera.

By this point in the day, I’m feeling queasy, hate not doing my part well and losing a deer and, the thought of giving up bowhunting gnaws in my head. The trail is cold and the final option, grid searching appears to be it. There’s a long grass swamp at the hill’s base along the road; he must be in there. As we searched I lost track of the deer remains that we found, one a small buck died within a week, others large, literally mossy covered natural European mounts and some more recent. What we could not locate was our buck.

In what was to be the final loop along an old logging trail that would allow Callie to scent on the downwind side of the swamp. As we moved around the swamp getting close to the county road, I was ready to give up on the recovery of this buck. Or at least until the vultures and crows showed me where he was in a few days. The case could not be made that he’d be OK and alive. In situations like this I always consider my tag filled because clearly, I killed the animal.

Callie suddenly jerked Shane off the path into a thick bushy patch that lay between the trail and county road. Shane yelled I got something in my eye and need help. Earlier Callie had dragged him through dense patches of cockleburr, and I had to get him to hold still while pulling some fragments out of his eye. Oh no not again. But my partner needs my help so into the brush I go.

Shane had his camera pointed at me, his eye was ok and on the ground lays a large dead twelve point buck with a perfectly placed arrow wound. It’s about 3p, nearly 24 hours since the shot. Shane has a video of me he continues to laugh at–as my face from depression to ecstatic “Holy shit is that my buck?! I mean holy moly…” The back story there is Shane had made the reasonable request that I refrain from profanities during recordings.

We would not have recovered this deer without the aid of Callie the deer tracking hound. She had tried to take us along the buck’s trail along the shoulder of the road. We did not think a wounded deer would walk on the shoulder of a busy county road during daylight. Moral of this story, trust the dog. In this case, even if she is an inexperienced 9-month-old.

Shane has very good reason to be proud of Callie and training he as given her over the summer months.

Excitement might not have hit me way back at the shot, had the buck been recovered from his first bed, I’d have been thrilled. But after all

I will be ever so grateful for Callie’s excellent nose work. Notice where the arrow hit. This is a shot opportunity I would take every time it is presented.

that trailing and becoming ready to give up then finding him; well I was in touch with a lot of that old-time deer excitement. The buck’s meat is perfectly fine and delicious, weighed over 200 pounds field dressed.

Callie absorbing the hard found deer scent.

What went wrong? Why such a long trail?

This is an obvious question that all hunters think hard about, and the answer did not hit me until I was reading a piece by a chef regarding knife sharpening and proper knife selection for the task. The chef stated a knife cuts best by slicing not pushing. It is the length of the back and forth pulls causing the food to be sliced cleanly and not pressure pushing the blade down to get it through. Of course, I knew that! This year I had been convinced to use a different broadhead which has a wide stout blade. This head smashed its way into and out of the deer’s chest but did not do a good job cutting its way. Kind of like a hatchet would have performed.

An arrow kills by hemorrhage, which requires cutting like a knife, not a hatchet type whack. Broadheads that are wide, and short, even though they are sharp, are not as deadly as the longer knife like heads. A big wide broadhead causes entry damage, making for copious amounts of blood, however, internal cutting–hemorrhage may be minimal. Both lungs on this buck were penetrated, plus the edge of the liver. With my old Zwickey or Grizzly heads, he would have been dead within 60 yards with a hit like this.

Both lungs were hit and the liver which has a large wound. Notice the bruising and tearing. No evidence of the broadhead slicing.

Starting from left. QAD Exodus this is the broadhead I used this year, notice the short blades, they are not long enough to slice. The Grizzly has the longest cutting surface and slices it passes through a deer’s chest. The Zwickey operates similarly to the Grizzly head with slightly shorter cutting length. The last broadhead on the right cutting length is short due to notches at the rear so it too will tear rather than slice. Tearing does less tissue damage thus allowing game animals to live longer after a lethal hit.

In my experience, the Grizzly and Zwickey broadheads when properly placed have killed deer without fail to cause the deer to drop dead within 60-70 yards. After my experience with the QAD Exodus this season no one will talk me into using a broadhead that does not have enough cutting length to slice rather than tear its way through a chest cavity. Other broadhead designs may look “wicked” but no company has done a study that refutes the finding of Dr. Ashby’s study of arrow lethality on African game. I should have known better.

2018 Wisconsin Spring Wild Turkey Hunt Drawing Completed January 5, 2018

January 5, 2018 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Hat tip to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wild Turkey department for completing the 2018 spring wild turkey hunt authorizations. Starting in the fall of 2017 WI now refers to license permits or tags as authorizations.

Eventually, hunters will receive a notification postcard via snail mail, USPS. To check your success go to the Go Wild Site, Login, click on “Current Licenses,” if successful notice under “product name” click the “Spring Turkey Eligible” link, a message will say “Batch post to winners.” Spring turkey license can be purchased starting in March.

For the first time, both of my grandson and I have been selected for the second season, Yahoo! We get to hunt together. In the past, we were always drawn for different time periods.

Next step: Hunters will wait for the leftover authorizations posting which will go sale March 19, 2018. Spring turkey authorizations can be purchased one per day until sold out.

Sage Grouse in Decline? Hunt them to save them.

January 2, 2018 by Charlie 6 Comments

The long drive to Wyoming required at least a short nap, it was still dark, and the front seat of the Wrangler was not at all conducive to sleep. However, shear tiredness has a way of dropping one into a deep sleep. As my groggy vision begins to clear and the colorful sunrise comes into focus highlighting a sea of sagebrush extending all the way to the distant mountains; Where, exactly, are we going to start looking for sage grouse? Never in my wildest dreams did sage grouse pop up as something I needed to hunt. Heck, before the Federal Government proposed listing them as an endangered species, sage grouse were not on or in my mind. If a species might become endangered, but still has a hunting season for them; then what is the best thing to do? Hunt them, to save their population.

Time to wake the curled up lump in the passenger seat, my 14-year-old grandson, who will require food immediately. Vic is staring at us with the intensity he points a bird. He slept nearly the entire 1400 miles, so his energy level is quite apparent, and by the looks of this 100 square miles of sagebrush to search, he’ll need it.

My grandson was shooting a sage grouse, while Vic watches with anticipation.

Sagebrush turned out to be more agreeable to walk through than it first appeared at least during the first several miles then without a single sage grouse rising the brush seemed to require more effort. As the sun sank towards the horizon, Vic froze, pointing intently, his first point of the day, we circled to get in front of him in a feeble attempt to “pin” the subject of his attention. Vic charged ahead, racing between us as if he was going to scatter a turkey flock and then froze pointing 90 yards on the other side of the barbed wire. My grandson eagerly raced under the fence and was quickly alongside Vic trying to get a flush. I moved to and through the gate just as sage grouse started rising. The young one fired a couple of shots, but alas, target panic set in with all those big wings scooping air around him. One grouse circled back around me to become my first sage grouse. Vic’s eyes glittered his satisfaction as he grabbed that grouse for the retrieve, oh well won’t be mounting that boomer.

The Grandson and Vic head for the top of the hill to attempt a reflush while I stayed put directing my lungs to use the scarcely available oxygen available at 6,700-foot more efficiently. Shots ring out as another covey of

Beautiful pair of sage grouse.

grouse take to wing, and a lone bird glides downhill crumpling to my broadside shot.

The eastern sky shows off all the colors of the spectrum as the sun rises from behind the snow-covered mountains, a hot cup of coffee is at its best at these moments. This morning would be completely silent if not for the snoring of my hunt companions. Surprised they didn’t wake up when I smashed the ice in the water bucket for coffee making. It’s all good and puts a contented smile on my face.

Kids will be kids, even while hunting. My grandson has a powerful urge to get into the snow; he is an avid snowboarder, and thankfully we did not pack his snowboard. Being an easy touch grandpa, I readily agreed we need to take a trip up to the snow line after all its things like this I bought the Rubicon for. I had assured myself as I plopped down the cash for what was a shiny-new Wrangler that I had no intention of rock crawling with it. Not only did we crawl over stones we did several water crossings and wallowed our way through some of the stickiest mud the earth has to offer. It was all worth it.

As we hunted our way down the mountain, Vic pointed a covey of grouse that held tight as Walker moved around to the front of Vic. With the five birds pinned they exploded straight up above dog and kid whose shot was right on bringing to hand his first sage grouse.

Hunting was good even though we were not hunting in a sage grouse core area which of course caused us to wonder if grouse hunting would be any better in a core area so as in the old saying “Go West…” we packed up and headed further west. In hunting, the experience and adventure are just as relevant as bagging the game, maybe more important.

Tired and looking forward to a restful camp; we turn off the highway and spot Rick with his old reliable English pointer. So many times stories circulate about selfish, thoughtless hunters, I believe them to be mostly false narratives repeated again and again. Rick is a shining example of the many excellent hunters. Rather than tell us there were no grouse around he took us into his sage grouse tutelage. Enthusiastically explaining sage grouse is one of the last remaining old west experiences that may soon be coming to an end. He has been hunting them for a half a century.

Rick made sure a restful camp was not coming our way until well after sunset; he took us out grouse hunting all the while explaining the subtle difference in sagebrush along with the mix of terrain sage grouse require to prosper. We entered the brush with dogs locked on

Expert advice. If you do not find sage grouse droppings, you are not hunting in the right place.

hardpoints and coveys of grouse taking off in waves, a restful camp faded to a distant memory. After all, first things first, right? My grandson shot another grouse and then another to take his daily limit. We experienced an old Western hunt complete with the smell of sage, a peaceful sunset and that welcome feeling of tiredness at the end of a good day’s hunt. Our camp was set up after dark surrounded by stars that appeared to be a mere arm’s length away. I looked forward to what the morning sunrise would reveal.

Rick explained there is no reason to rise early for sage grouse; they roost on ridge tops and fly away as soon as they see danger coming. Then as the morning warms the grouse move down into the cuts and draws to start feeding where it is much easier to hunt them. Dogs will scent better, and the sage grouse tend to hold tighter at the dog’s point.

We spent several delightful days hunting and learning with Rick. All too soon we felt that melancholy of a season coming to a close. We bid farewell and headed off in opposite directions for our homes.

To me, this photo captures so much of what a hunt is all about.

Each day of hunting provided us delicious lunches of sage grouse, as much as we could eat. Contrary to what I’d heard sage grouse are excellent eating. They are dark-breasted birds so caution must be used in preparation not to overcook. The grouse meat is naturally seasoned with a mild taste of peppery sage.

Sage grouse do not have a significant following; this puts them in danger of remaining a low valued species. Low valued species have a long history of not being appreciated and when decisions about habitat are made those species with high value will always be taken care of first, i.e., antelope, deer, elk, etc.

We highly recommend you enjoy some sage grouse hunting.

When Do the Eggs of Hen Wild Turkey Start Developing?

January 2, 2018 by Charlie 2 Comments

On December 23, 2017, I shot a wild turkey hen. While dressing out the carcass, I found these tiny egg clusters that were attached to the inside of her lower backbone. Apparently, these are the beginning of egg formation.

Wild Turkey eggs recovered from a hen shot on December 23, 2017

Until I found these tiny egg packets the question of when eggs begin to develop in a wild turkey had never occurred to me. And since I usually try not to shoot adult hens during the fall hunt, this is the first December hen I have dressed out in preparation for the table.

Also, see When do Turkeys nest in Wisconsin?

It is legal to shoot any turkey during Wisconsin’s fall season so why do I try not to take a hen?

An adult hen (brood hen) is a proven breeder, so I choose to focus on the jakes and jennies, thinking turkey biology, they are the most likely members of a turkey flock not survive the long cold winters. In other words, they are more likely to perish so why not put those excellent eating turkeys on the table?

In December most turkeys are approaching the same size, except for some late in the season hatched chicks. Documented turkey nests with incubating eggs have been located as late as mid-August. Over the years, on three occasions, I have discovered broods of flightless poults at the end of August.

These eggs located in Wisconsin mid-March

Other interesting observations from the hen.

Pictured are the contents of a Dec 23rd hen’s crop. Temperatures were in the low teens and single digits.

This insect was found alive in the hen’s crop.

I do not know what kind of insect it is. Even when temps are subzero, these bugs can be found moving around at the base of trees and in the bark when the sun warms the south side.

Winter Turkey Hunt; makes for the seasonal slam completion

January 1, 2018 by Charlie 10 Comments

The first question; What is a seasonal wild turkey slam? It’s the taking a wild turkey during each season of the year; spring, summer, fall, and winter. Wisconsin turkey hunters are lucky to have a turkey season open during all yearly seasons. Usually, the most challenging bird to bag is the winter turkey. In 2017 the first day of winter was December 21, in Wisconsin, the turkey season closed December 31 this gives a hunter ten days to complete their seasonal slam. During winter visibility is excellent against the snowy white background, everything is frozen so that all things from the ground up to your equipment makes a lot of noise that is easily heard by the turkeys. Not to mention setting up for some “cold calling” takes on an entirely different dimension, if you are lucky some days may rise above zero with minimal wind.

Because the turkeys are in large 50+ member flocks, they can be hard to find but when located the excitement is such a hunter will forget about the cold, at least for a while. Vic the turkey dog and I searched many empty fields and woodlots with no success in locating the turkey flocks. Even after being invited on a “there are turkeys there for sure hunt,” we found no turkeys, lots of sign that they had been there.

During the next few days, we continued searching for turkeys, no success until, as usual, when, my attention started to wane as my mind

River’s current if flowing fast and icy.

wandered around random thoughts. As we trudged up an old logging trail along the river Vic begins sniffing and looking towards the river below. Some rabbit and squirrel tracks were leading into decaying treetops felled by a tornado a few years ago. I glanced down towards the ice chunked river and seeing no turkeys continued, leaving Vic to have some fun with the rabbits.

Suddenly the crystallized air exploded with the sounds of scattering turkeys. Earing aids under ear flaps make it very hard to hear directionally and the sounds of excited turkeys and Vic’s barks echoing off the hillsides all around… I tore off my hat; clearly, the commotion was coming from behind me and down towards the river. Hastily as I could with the heavy insulted boots clomping along, I headed back towards Vic just in time to watch perhaps seventy-five to a hundred turkeys rising above the standing timber then soaring off in all direction including some flying across the river. Stunned does not begin to describe how I felt about strolling past that many turkeys. What the heck?

All the years I have hunted this area and hiked this trail I did not know there was a nearly flat bench tucked in the hill out sight from the path. While above on the trail you can see the river just beyond what appears to be a very steep drop straight to it. The bench is not visible, and the turkeys were enjoying a smorgasbord of acorns. The snow cover on about five acres of ground was scratched away with all the leaves turned around and over.

Vic gave me the most exasperated look, after all the pheasant hunting we had been doing he, no doubt, expected to hear gunfire and watch some wild turkeys fall from the sky.

During Wisconsin gun deer season Vic and I frequently go pheasant hunting.

But he should know I am not real keen on shooting turkeys in flight; it’s time for us to setup and get-to calling some back before the sun sets. Vic chose a nicely sheltered setup area; I spread out his closed cell foam pad and insulated blanket for cover he snuggled close to my side as I leaned back on my new Alps Grand Slam turkey vest. (A very thoughtful friend gave it to me for Christmas) I love this vest.

When it gets cold friction calls do not seem to work as well, perhaps this is due to my stiff fingers, losing the feel through mitten covered hands or the snow dust that is attracted by the call’s surface. After sitting quietly for about 12 minutes, I begin sending out some inquiry yelps and kee-kees. Sometime later a distant yelp answered the trumpet which I quickly answered by series of loud yelps breaking a the end as if the turkey was losing its voice, that’s my best imitation of a lost turkey. I did that a few times and got no answer, except the 40-yard gobbler starring at us from our right and behind us. He had not made a sound and of course as it always seems to happen this bird came in from behind on my wrong side to shoot. When he moves behind a tree I cluck once and raise the gun while pushing Vic down, I hate to shoot this close over his head, so we wait as the tom moves parallel along the river below. Seems like forever before he steps into the shooting lane, at 45 yards the prototype number 9 Federal Premium TSS (tungsten super shot) dropped him dead. Vic is released to hold the gobbler down until I get there. No matter if the turkey does any moving or not that is one of Vic’s favorite part of the hunt.

There is still a half an hour before sunset, so we set back up to resume calling. Two turkeys fly back from across the river and land down along the bank a bit out of range. Vic sits up to see better; I have to pull him down and lean my body over him, the movement caused one of the turkeys to move closer in range, my last #9 TSS drops the bird. Incredibly at the shot, the second bird moves towards us into range, one of my regular turkey loads drops him flopping on the ground. I released Vic to race down on the flopping bird, and he gets on top it quickly holding it down until the first turkey starts twitching then he races onto that turkey. I am moving as fast as I can to help contain the turkeys. Before I can get there the turkey, Vic released flips over off the edge falling twelve feet down onto the river’s shelf ice, in slow motion slides off the ice shelf into the fast current and is swept away out of reach. I had to scream to stop Vic from attempting a retrieve in the icy river, we both hate losing birds.

Damn it; the other bird is not laying there! Where in the heck did it go? While trying to stop the flopper, the “dead” turkey slid off onto the ice shelf below. As insurance, I immediately shot this bird in the head again even though it showed no sign of life. No way are we going to lose two turkeys. It’s a beautiful hen lying dead on the ice sheet much too close to water’s edge. The bank is twelve feet straight down; I kept from falling by grabbing roots and rocks. Fortunately, there is a pebbled place to stand off the ice, the ice cracks as soon as I put any weight on it, the turkey is 17 feet out of reach. I climbed back up to find branch or sapling long enough to hook the turkey with to drag it within reach.

Winter hen and gobbler called in after an excellent scatter.

I can’t recall a time when having a turkey firmly in hand felt as good as this one did but I still have to climb back up which requires both hands. The bank was too high to throw the turkey up. No, of course, there was no rope handy, so I did the next best thing; slung the turkey over my shoulder and clamped the leg in my teeth. It worked.

Vic wanted a vanity shot of him with the hard-won wild turkeys.

Anyone who has hunted with me when the game requires follow up to retrieve knows I did not give up easily on the bird swept away in the river. Vic and I walked along downstream until the light of day gave way hoping to find the turkey pushed up somewhere we could retrieve it without risking life. We returned the next morning to resume searching further downstream; sadly we never saw that turkey again.

Oklahoma Fall Turkey Flock Finally Located

November 25, 2017 by Charlie 9 Comments

Submitted and Written By First Bubba

With nearly a week of “Fall Turkey Gun” season over, a flock of toms is finally located and patterned.

Zeroing in on where they pause to gather before crossing a creek, it’s time to set up an ambush site.

It was awesome this morning! Hard frost, no wind!

It didn’t feel that cold until I jumped in the truck and turned the wipers on. They just bumped over the dew on the windshield! It was frozen solid!

Limping off down the road, I’m hunkered down in the seat to see the way through the one little clear spot.

A dense fog kept me from making much speed, and I wandered from ditch to ditch until the windshield thawed. That didn’t make a lot of difference because of the fog! LOL! Missed my turn in the gloom and had to back up about 30 yards!

I got in my “ambush, ” and set up well before daylight, and a deer began snorting and blowing behind me, guess it spotted me setting up. That’s okay; I’m after turkeys today.

Lying on the tripod with the stock on my lap is the Winchester Model 12 16ga I bought many moons back. I’ve wanted to turkey hunt with it for a LONG time.

I hear birds back to the east. One gobbled and 2 or 3 more yelps and cluck, and then they fall silent …and I wait!

It’s 7 am, and the fog-shrouded bottom is eerily quiet. Big, pecan fattened red squirrels rip from tree to tree, barking and quarreling. The whistle of duck wings overhead is a welcome sound from my past. Seven thirty! Where the heck are the turkeys? …and I wait!

Nothing moves.

Wrens flit in and out of the weeds and limbs I used for cover.

A sudden rushing sound like an approaching flight of ducks and about 15 turkeys sprint by me and stop at the creek crossing 20 yards away. I wait until the last bird passes. Selecting one of the larger birds, the Win M12 comes up out of its rest and mounts easily.

The selected bird sees the motion and takes a step, telescoping his neck in alarm–TOO LATE! The one-ounce charge of 7 1/2’s found their mark! The smooth oily action of the M12 quickly reloads, and the shotgun covers the flopping bird.

There is an explosion of wings at the shot as the remaining birds scatter, leaving one of their numbers behind!

Oklahoma Fall Gobbler by First Bubba

It’s 8 o’clock sharp.

18 pounds, 8-inch beard, 3/4 inch spurs

Not a “trophy” bird, but a really nice fall bird! …AND…with my 16ga M12 Win!! I love it!

Vic and Charlie Turkey Dogging Video

November 17, 2017 by Charlie 19 Comments

Shane Simpson, Vic and I have been trying to get a turkey dogging episode completed for a few years. Either the weather, the turkeys or life’s turns have not worked out until now. Many times I’ve told Shane it is the jinx of the camera; seems like whenever a camera is on one of my hunts…Well, things don’t go as planned.

After several days of hunting, it finally came together.

Let us know what your thoughts are on this video. Visit Shane’s website Calling All Turkeys.

Wisconsin VPA Land Video Explains the Voluntary Public Access Program

October 9, 2017 by Charlie 6 Comments

In August I had the honor of participating in this Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources / USDA video production to promote Wisconsin’s Voluntary Public Access Program; or as most of us know it VPA lands.

My hope is this video will encourage outdoor enthusiasts, fishermen, and hunters to act like good mannered guests while enjoying these private lands. Even though landowners receive lease payments in exchange for allowing public access these landowners are unselfish and enjoy sharing their property.

Give it watch and post your comments.

Thanks.

Wisconsin Summer Hunting Season 2017

October 7, 2017 by Charlie 8 Comments

The opening day of hunting season always dawns with the excitement of high expectations and a healthy dose of optimism thrown in for good measure. More often than not reality begins to set in as the temperature steadily climbs to water gulping levels and all forms of flesh-eating insect life start its daily routine. As it was on the opening weekend of Wisconsin’s fall turkey season, sometimes this makes hunting feel more a slog than a fall hunt in the north country.

No matter, dedicated hunters do not quit over such trivial discomforts. Even with the success of the federal government’s efforts to increase the Massasauga Rattlesnake population; who the heck thinks that’s a good idea!? Vic the turkey dog and I continued hunting. Although, considering wild turkeys may be the snake’s number one predator I did consider pursuing something else. Nah.

We use ravines and dry washes to “sneak” on likely turkey locations.

After all the years of turkey hunting, one would think Charlie would be ready for the early fall birds who spend nearly all day in the treetops. These tree walking turkeys make it hard for a turkey dog to find and scatter and during a setup, it is tough to determine if an approaching turkey is on the ground or coming in via tree limbs. If they are in the full foliaged trees taking a clean shot is also problematic at best.

Over several days of hunting; burning high quantities of Therma Cell fuel, repellant pads, drenching the hunting clothes and Vic’s fur in permethrin. A healthy dose of deet applied around out face and ears; a few really close calls at getting a shot on a turkey, I started to wonder if a 2017 Wisconsin Slam was within reach. A Wisconsin Slam consists of killing at least one turkey during each season of the year; spring, summer, fall, and winter. Official autumn is September 22nd, so Vic and I had better figure out how to get our summer turkey of 2017 season.

Vic’s tongue was hanging to the ground and sweat pouring down my back we figured it was time for water and a rest. Vic had coursed 12 miles so far for the day while me, the lazy human only did about 4 miles. These are known distances thanks to the Garmin Astro 320 tracking GPS.

As the late morning was about to turn to afternoon, we sat together to refresh with water and perhaps a nap. As is my custom whenever there is a pause, I make some turkey noise on a wingbone to which a turkey promptly responded with a gobble! Not a full gobble, rather a jake of the year gobble and his gobble was answered by two more gobbles. A group of jakes is a fall turkey hunter’s dream because they are the easiest to birds to call in, and these birds were not an exception. They came trotting right to us in spite of me not having my face net down nor were my hands covered by gloves. There was a feeling of nakedness and exposure that would cause them to bust before coming into gun range. Must have been all the insects hovering between them and us.

A nice plump Wisconsin Summer jake of the year.

Happy turkey dog Vic on a hot summer day during Wisconsin fall turkey season in 2017.

Here is what this turkey was eating. Crops tell the story.