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West Nile Virus detected in Wisconsin Ruffed Grouse

January 20, 2019 by Charlie Leave a Comment

The following is a news release regarding rugged grouse in Wisconsin.

MADISON — West Nile virus was detected in three of 16 ruffed grouse that were found sick or dead and submitted by the public to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource for testing from October through December 2018.

At this time, there is no evidence to confirm that West Nile virus or any other factor is having population-level impacts on ruffed grouse in Wisconsin. Ruffed grouse populations are known to rise and fall over a nine- to 11-year cycle, so declines are not unexpected, though the 2017 decline occurred before the cycle would typically predict.

Of these 16 birds, 10 were negative for any viral infection, three were positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, one was positive for WNV and two were positive for both EEEV and WNV. Of the six birds that tested positive for EEEV or WNV, three showed signs of clinical disease, which may or may not have eventually resulted in death.

These results are preliminary, and 238 hunter-harvested grouse samples remain to be tested from the first year of a three-year study of WNV in ruffed grouse across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Preliminary results for year one of this regional exposure study are tentatively anticipated to be available in mid-2019. Ultimately, the timeline for results will depend on the number of samples submitted by each state and the extent to which follow-up testing is required to differentiate between WNV or other similar viruses.

Anyone who finds a sick or dead ruffed grouse is encouraged to submit its carcass for disease sampling — sick or dead ruffed grouse carcasses can be submitted at any time. Observations can be also reported to local DNR Wildlife Management staff.

In addition to sick or dead submitted samples, DNR staff distributed 500 self-sampling kits to grouse hunters statewide with assistance from the Ruffed Grouse Society and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress as part of a multi-year regional study [PDF] with Minnesota and Michigan.

Both WNV and EEEV are mosquito-borne viruses that can affect humans, horses and certain species of birds. Clinical signs of WNV in birds are indistinguishable from those of EEEV and can include tremors, weakness and loss of coordination. WNV was first detected in the state in 2002 but only now has been detected in ruffed grouse. EEEV is considered a native virus and was first detected in Wisconsin’s grouse population in the late 1950s. This historical information suggests that the likelihood of EEEV having population-level impacts on grouse is low.

State wildlife officials say continued focus on habitat management for ruffed grouse is the best method to mitigate potential disease impacts on the population. Ruffed grouse are a short-lived species with only 30 percent of the average adult population surviving year to year. The Great Lakes region contains some of the most extensive early-successional forest habitat and healthiest ruffed grouse populations in the nation. DNR staff are currently working with partners to develop a long-term management strategy for ruffed grouse in Wisconsin.
WDNR News Release

A good friend told me he hoped West Nile virus would be found in Wisconsin grouse submitted by hunters for testing. Because that would prove the grouse can survive with the virus. However, these were grouse carcasses found dead in the woods. Does this mean the grouse will die when infected with WNV?

When the Deer Season Ends

January 20, 2019 by Charlie 1 Comment

Pig trapping by First Bubba

The days in the box blind on Red River were relatively sparse but productive; a doe in “Primitive Arms” season and a pretty nice buck in “Deer Gun” season.

Thankfully, the trail cam did not reveal any feral hogs in the food plot, until deer season was over. Then here they came! EGADS! Big ones, little ones, ugly ones, scary ones! One huge male is black and white mottled with the pronounced humpback, long snout and back mane announcing his decidedly Russian boar heritage. A smaller boar is jet black and another one red both with distinctive Russian traits.

While the landowner gave us his blessing to remove all we can from the farm, we have no interest in the bigger ones other than adding them to the “feral swine genocide” numbers. The landowner loaned us his trap. Our interest is the 15 odd piglets in the sounder weighing 20 to 30 pounds on the hoof. Tender, juicy and dress out just right to be grilled whole.

Saturday was gorgeous for Oklahoma in January, not a cloud in the sky, light breeze with temps in the high 60’s. Snow and rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday which left the ground soft but not bottomless. Chuck brought his small tractor, and we head out to move the trap to the food plot.

My Dodge 3500 can’t make it up the hill! Too slick!

Chuck’s Dodge 2500 4WD can’t get the tractor and trailer out of the low spot.

The little John Deere 3038E 4WD saves the day.

We get Chuck’s pickup, and trailer snaked onto higher ground and checked out the trap.

Mac has hay stored in a “trap.” A fenced off area that keeps it relatively safe from his livestock…but not from the feral hogs! We found five different trails the pigs use to get into the trap to root in the rotted hay at the bottom of the big round bales.

There were piles of hog scat that would make an elephant proud and tracks of all sizes!

We decided that the trap didn’t need to be moved; simply baited and set.

Trapping hogs is not a difficult endeavor. After building your trap, lock the trap door open, bait it and sit back for a few days. Once they get accustomed to the trap, rebait it, set the door, trigger, and wait.

The trash can atop the trap is a feeder that will help keep the trap baited and the hogs interested until the trigger and door can be set.

On Monday, the trap is re-baited. Wednesday, the bait is refreshed.

Friday, the bait will be refreshed again, however, THIS time, the door will be unlocked and the trigger set.

Saturday morning, “hopefully.” a trap full of piglets will be our reward!

After the Wednesday “re-bait,” I pulled the SD card from the trail cam to check for activity. There is no doubt the pigs have cleaned out the trap. The SD card contains no less than 1000 photos of pigs and a few shots of Mac’s market calves! The big ugly mottled boar from the food plot shows up.

Friday starts not with sunshine, but with raindrops, clouds, and wind. The hay and the trap are swamps! The rubber boots are heavy on my feet and I feel off balance. With a sigh of relief, I get to the trap, get it baited and the trigger set.

The trick now is, get back to the truck “without” falling into the muck and get the truck off this two-lane mud track and back on the pavement.

WHEW! We made it! I have one little track of mud on my right knee, but I’m still clean enough for our social function. LOL!

The weatherman says this rain will taper off tonight and tomorrow (Saturday) will be cooler and windy but clearing and dry. However, the weatherman spoke with forked tongue.

Chuck has invited me to a “Men’s Breakfast” at his church.

Rising when the coffee pot starts bubbling at 6 AM, raindrops on the tin roof and wind whistling around the house corners assaults my ears. It is so wet, getting out of my yard was questionable, but I persevered and made it to the highway in the pouring rain.

Chuck and I talk at breakfast. As nasty as the weather is, we still have to check the trap. I despise feral hogs, but I won’t let them languish in a trap. Despite how I feel, they ARE God’s creatures.

We get to the river about 10:15 AM.

The roads and hay trap are rivers of livestock muck and slimy Oklahoma red clay mud.

It HAS eventually quit raining, but a 20 mph north wind slices to the bone. Before unloading the tractor, we tentatively peek over the hill:

AHA. Pigs in the trap!

It takes a second once we approach the trap to figure out that there are two adult sows and four piglets of about 30 pounds each! Just what we were looking to trap.

The little ones will fit on my grill whole and will cook up awesomely (if that’s a word!) tender.

Completely dressed out, they weigh 12 and 15 pounds. PERFECT!

I’m gathering the smoking wood in my mind now!

First Bubba Chili Pucks

November 28, 2018 by Charlie 4 Comments

Cooking tip from First Bubba:

Your favorite chili recipe

Fill the muffin pan with chili

Freeze

Voila! First Bubba Chili pucks!

What the heck. First Bubba comes up with chili pucks, and you’d have thought an idea like this would have come from Canada. Oh, wait this may be a million dollar idea as the puck idea sweeps across Canada. And why not expand the horizon of pucks to include, stews, soups and a ton of desert pucks.

Put your favorite chili recipe or other puck ideas in the comments.

Sunrise on the Oklahoma Red River

November 25, 2018 by Charlie 10 Comments

The following is the account written by First Bubba detailing his effort to get a “cull buck” who earlier visited his trail camera.

Photo of First Bubba’s cull buck “My trail cam has revealed an older, heavy antlered buck that needs to be culled.”

First Bubba mentioned this buck in his comment on my deer post “My trail cam has revealed an older, heavy antlered buck that needs to be culled.”

Of course, I wished him luck with his cull operation. And here is what happens during First Bubba’s attempt at culling the big 10.

The sun is creeping up to the horizon on Red River of Oklahoma. A gorgeous morning!  Dead still, not a cloud in the sky and 30°F.  I took a 5-minute wait at the STOP sign on the highway to finally get my frosted windshield clear enough to continue.

I’m humming a tune, dreaming about the thermos of hot, black coffee and the biscuits in my pack. When I get settled into the blind and got the coffee and biscuits out, the eastern horizon is beginning its morning blush.  The food plot is dark, but I can see well enough to tell no deer are present.

The coffee and biscuits taste like heaven in the chilly gloom.  About 6:45a the biscuit is gone and the slow sipping of the coffee satisfies.

I glass the wheat pasture for movement… Nothing.

I go back to sipping the now cooling coffee… Glass again. Still nothing…Back to the coffee.
Just as I set the thermos down, the motion of a deer jumping the fence gets my attention.  I’m hoping for the big 10 point that’s on my trail camera; IT’S HIM!

7:00 AM Ruger No.1 .270 WinRedfield 4× standard
Sierra 110 grain SP
I forgot! 18.5″ outside spread.

I’m on the .270 and watching him through the scope, waiting, impatiently for him to give me a broadside.
He picks at the oats and slowly turns to offer his right shoulder…I slip the safety off, find the trigger and squeeze. He collapsed in his tracks! I never feel the recoil.

My scale only went to 160 pounds – He bottomed it out!  Field dressed, he weighed 135 pounds.
Nine points.

The Euro Mount

OOPS! Wrong buck, good luck getting the “right cull buck” next year Bubba. Or, what the heck, just keep shooting nine pointers!

Congratulations on a very nice deer.

Hunting Deer From the Ground in Wisconsin

November 6, 2018 by Charlie 5 Comments

The pungent smell of a buck drifted down on the morning thermals right when an urge to stretch crawled through my muscles. The yearn to stretch was mentally pushed aside, on a windless morning like this the smell of a deer this strong leaves me with no doubt a buck is close, very close. A glance at the winding string tied to my bow tip indicates the deer is uphill behind me 45 degrees to my right. Deer just like turkeys seem to always approach on my weak side. Many years of turkey hunting has taught me how to hide on the ground in plain sight and at moments like this, a hunter must be quiet and motionless. Everything in the woods has slowed to the speed of a molasses flow. My eyes have moved as far to the right side of my head as possible and strain to push further, there is no sound of a moving deer perhaps my nose mistook the odor. I slowly inhale, nope, there is no mistake a rutting buck is not far away. With a smell like that my bet is he is an elder carefully checking the safety of his next steps. My eyes shift to confirm the thermal’s direction. According to the frayed dental floss tied on my bow tip still shows the path of scent movement is in my favor.

Last week while sitting in a Gobbler Lounger a doe unexpectedly showed up standing right in front of me at ten yards. She busted me, stomped her foot, snorted and bounded away. After a few minutes, I bleated in the manner Ishi once upon a time would do to call deer for Pope and Young. After a short period of time, she came back, stopped at fifteen yards and bolted when my arrow passed through her engine room. I found her laying peacefully within forty yards of my shot.

Knowing that the buck uphill behind me could move off unseen in any number of directions, I decided to make the Ishi call. In this case, I did not dare touch the heel of hand to my lips. Instead, I pressed my lips tightly together as when I kee-kee on a wing bone. As I sucked air in through my lips, the desired soft bleat sounded. It worked, the buck begins quartering down the hill passing 6 feet to my right and continued angling down the slope toward the trail I had figured deer would walk along broadside past me.

Keeping an eye on the buck and the winding string on my bow I could anticipate the exact spot where the buck’s nose would intersect my scent line, much experience has taught me if there is going to be a fatal shot it must occur before that intersection. When his head went behind a tree I raised my bow, he never noticed and when his front leg extended out for his next step my arrow hit in the pocket with a hair cutting blood spraying thump. The surprised buck launched, scrambling/crashing away, all went quiet, after the saga of the buck trail last year I decided to wait 30 minutes before standing up to check anything out. Even though my broadhead was robust, sharp and the shot was good. Checked the time, 9:00 A, at 9:10A there was loud sounds of a falling deer sliding down a steep hill being cheered on by some startled squirrels. Not sure who made more noise the buck or the squirrels, this little puzzle kept me occupied for the next twenty minutes or so. Then that long-awaited stretch as I stood up felt so good.

After a rough slide down to the bottom, he lays with head resting on a rock.

Sure I had heard the buck drop I contained the urge to make haste to the place of that sound; it is always best to move with purpose along the trail without taking any shortcuts until you see the deer laying dead. At the point of the shot, there was lots of cut deer hair and foamy pink blood, but the amount of blood leading out from there was less than I like to see. However, with the large divets kicked up through the fallen leaves, there was no doubt which way the buck went. I advanced on high alert watching the trail well ahead for my deer after moving forty yards the edge of the deepest ravine on the property came into view, and few feet from the drop was a huge puddle of blood as if someone had just dumped it from a pail. Best of all 150 yards almost straight down, at the bottom of the ravine lay my buck.

Shorten WI 2018 Grouse Season? Let your voice be heard

September 6, 2018 by Charlie 5 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. Viewing 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 10 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 effort 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 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 to 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 every 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 forever 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 the 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 most extended 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 adequately 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.