Charlie

Crossbow Bill AB 194 Wisconsin Assembly Passes

June 7, 2013 by Charlie 8 Comments

Update 12/17/2013 Crossbows Now Legal in Wisconsin 2014

Wisconsin Crossbow bill AB 194 passes the Assembly and moves on to the Senate

On Thursday June 6, the Wisconsin Assembly passed AB 194, to create Crossbow Hunting Licenses –

AB 194
BY CZAJA
CREATE CROSSBOW HUNTING LICENSES
PASSAGE

AYES – 95 NAYS – 0 NOT VOTING – 4 PAIRED – 0

Wow, I did not expect a unanimous vote. Is this what happens when special interest groups stand down? The Wisconsin Bowhunters who were the opposition lobbyists and the NRA who are the proponents of hunter freedom and choice agreed to not lobby for or against crossbill bill 194, the Senate’s version or the Governor’s signature. So the legislators were left to hear from their constituents without any group lobbying. This demonstrates that there is widespread support for crossbow hunting that cuts across party lines all across the state of Wisconsin. It will be interesting to see the how the Senate vote goes.

The bowhunter’s crossbow

Assuming this crossbow bill AB 194 becomes law in Wisconsin bow hunters will have a chance to try a crossbow while deer hunting for their first time. They’ll find there is a “crossbow” learning curve. Hunting with a crossbow is the same yet different than a regular bow. Many bow hunters have heard the stories and claims made about crossbows being so much easier than current legal archery, it will be interesting to talk with those first time hunters about their perceptions verses actual experience. I for one can’t wait.

Wisconsin Crossbow Bill as Amended – May 29, 2013

June 6, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

The bowhunter’s crossbow

Update 12/17/2013 Crossbows are now Legal in Wisconsin 2014

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO ASSEMBLY BILL 194

Under current law, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issues hunting licenses and establishes open hunting seasons that allow the hunting of specified game animals. Among the licenses that DNR issues are resident and nonresident archer hunting licenses. An archer hunting license allows the holder to hunt all game, except bear, elk, wolf, and wild turkey, with a bow and arrow during the relevant open season established by DNR. An archer hunting license allows a person to hunt only with a bow and arrow and not with a crossbow unless the person is disabled and holds a permit from DNR that authorizes the use of a crossbow or unless the person is at least 65 years old. This substitute amendment eliminates the age and disability requirements for using a crossbow. Instead, the substitute amendment establishes a new resident crossbow hunting license and a new nonresident crossbow hunting license.

The crossbow hunting licenses established in this substitute amendment allow a license holder to use a crossbow to hunt the same game animals that may be hunted under current law with an archer hunting license. The substitute amendment also allows the holder of an archer hunting license to obtain a crossbow hunting license at a substantially reduced fee and allows the holder of a crossbow hunting license to obtain an archer hunting license at a substantially reduced fee. As with other hunting licenses under current law, a person may not obtain a crossbow hunting license unless the person completes a course of instruction in hunter education or bow hunter education.

Current law provides that if DNR establishes an open season for hunting deer, elk, small game, wild turkey, or bear with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, DNR may not open that season for hunting with a crossbow unless the hunter is at least 65 years old or is disabled and holds a permit from DNR. This substitute amendment provides that if DNR establishes an open season for hunting any of those animals with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, DNR must also establish a concurrent open season that allows a person to hunt the respective animal with a crossbow regardless of the age of the hunter or whether the hunter has a disability.

The substitute amendment also provides that if DNR requires a person who kills an animal to register the animal with DNR, then DNR must make a record of the type of weapon that was used to kill the animal.

2013 Wisconsin Spring Turkey Final Harvest Numbers

June 4, 2013 by Charlie 1 Comment

Not all hunters stayed home during Wisconsin 2013 spring turkey season. Many of those who endured the historically cold and snowy weather were rewarded with gobblers.

Historic Cold & Snowy spring results in drop in turkey hunting success

Wisconsin Hunters experienced bad weather during early time periods

WDNR Press Release

MADISON – Turkey hunters ran into poor hunting conditions during the first half of the spring turkey hunting season, resulting in a preliminary registration total of 37,804 turkeys, which according to Department of Natural Resources officials is an 11 percent decrease from the spring 2012 turkey season.

Unseasonably cold weather persisted into May throughout the state, with deep snow in the north and rain, snow, and wind throughout the early season in the south.

“It really was an amazing contrast, weather-wise, from 2012’s hunt,” said Scott Walter, upland wildlife ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources. “Last year, we were snow-free statewide by opening day, with winter flocks broken up and hens initiating nests. This year, spring didn’t arrive until mid-season, and hunters had to deal with some challenging conditions, especially in the northern zones where many hunters had to don snowshoes to get in the woods after a turkey.”

Colder than normal spring is causing to turkeys to feed in groups.

According to Scott Walter, the poor weather likely reduced hunter effort and made harvesting a bird more challenging because gobblers were still tied to winter flocks of hens.

“Hunters simply won’t spend as much time in the woods in inclement weather. The persistent winter weather therefore presented a double obstacle for hunters, and is the major reason we saw a drop in harvest and success,” said Walter.

Zone 1 again produced the highest overall turkey harvest at 11,054 birds, followed by zones 3 and 2, where hunters registered 9,468 and 8,955 turkeys, respectively. The highest hunter success was in zone 2 with a preliminary success rate of 21 percent, followed by zones 1 and 3 at 18 percent, and zone 5 at 17 percent. Success rates were between 12 percent and 15 percent for zones 4, 6, and 7. Overall, the statewide success rate was 18 percent, compared with 21 percent last year.

Though harvest was down, the number of permits issued for this year’s hunt increased by 5 percent, from 201,984 to 211,307.

“The increase in permits is likely due to hunters purchasing more leftover permits for the later time periods to take

advantage of better hunting weather,” said Walter. “Harvest during the first two time periods was down 34 percent statewide compared to 2012, yet we actually harvested more total birds during the last four time periods this year. It’s clear that hunters who were able to do so took advantage of over-the-counter permits to enjoy a later-season hunt with good weather conditions and turkeys that were finally engaged in normal breeding behavior.”

Telephone, online registration working well

This season was the second spring turkey hunt in which hunters could register turkeys through phone-line or online registration systems, first introduced with the fall 2011 turkey hunt and in place for all future spring and fall turkey seasons. No in-person registration will be available.

“Hunters seem to have transitioned to the new systems well,” said Krista McGinley, DNR assistant upland wildlife ecologist. “The majority of hunters have expressed satisfaction with the new systems, frequently citing their convenience. Quite a few hunters stated that they were able to register their turkey via cellphone right in the field.”

2013 fall season

Although the recent severe winter may have proven challenging for turkeys, biologists note there is reason for optimism regarding this fall’s hunt.

”We had a great hatch last year,” Walter said. “There was a large cohort of jakes headed into this spring’s hunt. With poor weather limiting hunter success this spring, hunters should see additional opportunity both this fall and next spring as these jakes mature into adult gobblers.”

However, the prolonged winter may have resulted in localized mortality, especially in the north.

“That’s something that’s very difficult to detect,” Walter added. “We know prolonged severe winter weather can reduce survival in northern turkey populations, especially where agricultural foods are not available. At this point, we haven’t heard solid evidence for any unusual mortality associated with the hard winter, but there are definitely folks who’ve been speculating about such an impact.”

A successful nesting and brood-rearing season propels turkey numbers upward. Generally speaking, dry conditions during June keep newly-hatched chicks from getting chilled and suffering from exposure, leading to good production in all upland game bird species, according to Walter.

“Things have been wet so far this year during the nesting season. However, most turkey nests hatch around the first of June in Wisconsin. Dry weather over the next month will help those chicks survive the critical first few weeks,” said Walter.

The fall 2013 wild turkey season will run from Sept. 14 through Nov. 21, with an extended season only in Turkey Management Zones 1 through 5, from Dec. 2 through Dec. 31. The deadline for applying for a fall permit through the lottery process is Aug. 1. Applications cost $3 and can be purchased through the Online Licensing Center, at license sales locations, or by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4263).

The 2013 Fall Turkey and 2014 Spring Turkey regulations are included in the 2013 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations pamphlet, available on the hunting regulations page of the DNR website and in hard copy at DNR service centers and license vendors. For more information, visit wi.dnr.gov, search keyword “turkey.”

Snowbound Turkeys & Hunter

May 30, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

This is a turkey tale during the May snow storm of 2013, the turkeys who lived in it and the hunter who hunted in it.

This adds a dimension of challenge I had never in my turkey hunting life dealt with.

I stepped out the door into knee deep snow, my first thought “Is it really May?” Yes it was May in Wisconsin and the 4th week of spring turkey season had begun with 20+ inches of grainy wet snow. The deafening sound of trees giving way under all the snow’s weight gave me pause; and I wisely chose to hunt the next day instead. In the old days we called those crashing trees and limbs widow makers. I don’t often change hunting plans but I have a lot of respect for widow makers.

The sun struggled even harder than me to get up the next morning and it, the sun, did not make it up. Well, it might have been up it’s just all the snowy drizzle clouds might have just been blocking my view.

Not a turkey could be heard so I setup for some cold calling. Ten minutes into my first set of lost yelping – a GOBBLE! But it sounded odd with a kind of deadening muffle to it. His red head stuck out harshly against the white landscape, something about his movements were very strange…

This gobbler could not walk on the snow either, he sunk right to his breast and this manned up turkey was not about to let a little snow get between him and a damsel, I mean hen in distress. Never before had I seen a turkey clawing the snow with their wings with move forward. It had to be tiring; soon his great wings lifted him up onto a large snow covered oak branch. He trudged back and forth causing the snow to fall off. Kind of like he was shoveling a strut zone and strut he did. I was not sure if his booming gobbles were causing the scattering of the snow on surrounding trees or if it was from a breeze up above.

This gobbler’s show was worthy of an Oscar as time slid by unnoticed. He gobbled, I yelped trying to sound as lonely and cold as I felt. We were a fine duo him and me. If he had not been out of range our song would have ended before all those other turkeys came flying in.

That’s right, more turkeys, 5 hens, a jake and 2 more gobblers flew in to apparently start up a choir. Snow scattered filtering its way to the ground. The turkeys fluttered from limb to limb cackling, clucking and gobbling to an unseen director. My numb hands could not keep up the right tempo on the crystal pot call. I could not get any of those turkeys to move a few more trees over towards me and since they were up above me I am quite sure they saw me; but they gave that no clue to that.

For over 3 hours or so it seemed; time was irrelevant, those turkeys entertained, taught and frustrated me. They had quieted down while feeding on the oak buds and blossoms eventually fluttering away to do whatever it is turkeys do on snowy May days.

Total Wisconsin Spring 2013 Turkey Harvest

May 28, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Here are the preliminary spring 2013 Wisconsin turkey kill/harvest stats.

This graph compares the daily 2012 kill to the daily 2013 kill.

2013 = RED

2012 = BLUE

Obviously the extreme historic spring weather made a big difference in Wisconsin’s spring wild turkey kill. Notice the decreased kill in 2013 compared to 2012 until the late seasons when 2013 kill increases substantially above the kill rate of 2012. Without the nonparticipant adjustment the success rate was only 18%, this will increase when the adjustment is made. The figures here are only preliminary. The final stats will be available in the coming weeks.

Here is a PDF of the turkey kill by unit and season in Wisconsin. Preliminary Spring 2013 Turkey Harvest 05282013

Please leave a comment about your thoughts or experience during the 2013 spring turkey season.

2013 Wisconsin Crossbow Bill – Upated May 30, 2013, June 6, 2013

May 28, 2013 by Charlie 25 Comments

Update – March 9, 2014 Wisconsin DNR Cancels Disabled Hunter Permits

Update September 18, 2013 Wisconsin Senate Passes Crossbow Bill

Update August 12, 2013 Wisconsin Senate schedules public hearing

Update June 6, 2013 Crossbow bill passes Assembly

Updated May 30, 2013

Wisconsin Assembly Bill 194, and Senate Bill 185 if passed in both houses and signed by the Governor would make it legal for anyone who has taken hunter education or bowhunter education to deer hunt with a crossbow or xbow as they are sometimes called.

Not all crossbows have cables and pulleys. A recurve crossbow is more challenging to hunt with than a modern compound bow.

Education is probably a good idea since many believe the myth that a crossbow is an all powerful weapon capable of shooting vast distances with very little marksmanship practice. (this is the argument made by those who oppose crossbows)

The bill would:

Eliminate the requirement a hunter be over 65 or disabled in order to use a crossbow.
Require a separate crossbow license but only allow one buck to be taken with a hunter’s choice of archery equipment. This license would allow the taking of all species as is currently the case with the archer’s license. For $2.25 more the license could also allow a bowhunter to use a longbow, recurve, modern compound or crossbow; making it a “bowhunter’s choice” license.
Hunters who choose the crossbow would be allowed to hunt during Wisconsin’s regular bow season from mid September thru the first week of January.

Sponsors of AB 194 are Representatives Czaja, Danou, A. Ott, August, Ballweg, Bewley, Born, Brooks, Endsley, Hesselbein, Jacque, Jagler, Kleefisch, Kuglitsch, T. Larson, Milroy, Murphy, Mursau, Murtha, Petryk, Smith, Spiros, Strachota, Swearingen, Tittl, Tranel, Vruwink and Wright. It was also cosponsored by Senators Farrow, L. Taylor, Lassa, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Lehman.

Crossbows kill with arrows making them no different than any other archery equipment.

Before anyone gets too excited about using a crossbow in 2013 be aware that as of this writing ~~there is no Senate version of AB194 and this point is crucial.~~ On a variety of issues in the past if there is no bill in both houses and only one passes a bill without a companion bill in the other house; in the end nothing happens and the process must start all over again in the next legislative session. So if you want this passed into law and effective for the fall of 2013 make sure you contact your state senator ~~to get a senate version introduced.~~

Update 5/30/13 Senate Bill 185 fiscal estimate from WDNR

SB185 opens any archery season to crossbows- Section 1. 29.014 (1m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB185,2,62 29.014 (1m) (b) If the department establishes an open season for hunting deer, elk, small game, wild turkey, or bear with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, the department shall also open that season for hunting with a crossbow.

Introduced by Senators Farrow, L. Taylor, Lassa, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany, Lehman, Olsen and Hansen, cosponsored by
Representatives Czaja, Danou, A. Ott, August, Ballweg, Bewley, Born, Brooks, Endsley, Hesselbein, Jacque, Jagler, Kleefisch, Kuglitsch, T. Larson, Milroy, Murphy, Mursau, Murtha, Petryk, Smith, Spiros, Strachota, Swearingen, Tittl, Tranel, Vruwink, Wright and Tauchen.

Dart Board Turkey

May 27, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Every year I throw a dart at a map to find a new place to hunt.

Due to all those unexpected things that come up in life Wisconsin’s 3rd spring turkey season did not start off as planned. I could not get out hunting during the morning, you all know how that feels when you have active tags in your pocket and the morning dawns with beautiful hunting weather.

Come noontime the distracting tasks were completed and I was finally free so I decided to head over to unit 3 to a place I had never before hunted. I like to hunt a new area every year without any extensive map studies or scouting. The area was picked by hanging a county forest map on a dart board and where the dart hit I headed to.

Hunting a different area completely cold is something I do at least once each spring and several times every fall. To me it is one of the ultimate challenges of turkey hunting and an excellent way to hunt without any preconceived notions about the lay of the land or the turkeys inhabiting said land. I find this concept keeps my skillset sharp and opens up more “known” hunting acres for me to consider each season. Without pre-scouting you must quickly get attuned to the new area by paying close attention to all the small details of sound and sign. So it was I found myself standing at the end of a county forest spur at 2:00 pm.

After enduring the horrible weather of season 1 this gorgeous day lent itself well to a beautiful walk in woods. Other than the sounds of the usual cardinals, orioles, Canadian sparrows and other assorted song birds punctuated by the occasional goose honk; it was a relaxing walk in the woods. That is, until 6p when the tell tale single yap of a gobbler pierced through my revelry to swiftly draw my attention to task at hand.

The woods was full 50 year old straight manicured oaks dotted with red pines making the selection of a doable setup quick and easy. I’d love to report a long battle of heavy back and forth calling and maneuvering but that would be an exaggeration. From my selected tree I made 2 yelps on a slate pot, heard a half gobble much like a jake and son of gun there he was standing at 20 yards.

But it was quite clear he was no jake perhaps just an experienced gobbler who knew he should not sound off too loudly but ended up vulnerable to a dart board.

How to Find Turkeys in the Late Spring Season

May 16, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

As turkey hunters are all to aware- Turkeys do not share our dinner plans.

The spring of 2013 in Wisconsin has been one of, if not the most challenging spring season in history. More late season tags have sold out this year than in previous years. Some of my buddies are asking where do we find the turkeys? How is their behavior different?

Regarding where to find them:

With the improving weather hens have begin laying. I’m finding turkey nests with 4-6 eggs along with the occasional “drop egg” laying by itself. In the next few days here in west central Wisconsin the hens should complete laying and start incubating. When the hens are incubating they will not roost at night. For a few days this will cause some angst among the gobblers resulting in more gobbling activity.

At first the hens will sound off from their nesting areas as their interest in the toms wanes. So a hunter should experience good luck if they can get in the travel corridor leading from the tom’s roost to nesting area. Once the hens are in the incubation process they are unlikely to run to the gobbler, leaving him “available”. At this point hen talk should work to get the gobbler in.

Watch for the formation of summer time wild turkey bachelor groups and change your calling to gobbler talk.

If this were a normal year or the nature of things “catches up” to normal the gobblers would be forming summer bachelor groups this 6th season. Gobbler talk would then be more effective calling. Each area of the state is different so watch for the signs of what to do from the turkeys.

Key in on insect production areas, new wild flower and woodland grass growth. Hens seem to like to nest in open woodland near these areas. Gobblers like to loaf and refurbish their bodies after the long breeding season. Particularly late in the afternoon and early evening. This is a good time for the audio baiting tactic described in “How to Legally Bait Turkey post” Make sure you take your gun I have killed 2 toms this year between 6-7 pm calling in these areas.

Regarding turkey behavior-

Turkeys behave like turkeys and they are out there even if you do not hear or see them. Turkey behavior changes throughout the seasons and a savvy hunter tries to learn as much as they can about turkeys and their changing flock structure from spring thru winter.

Wisconsin 2013 Spring Turkey Harvest – first 3 periods

May 8, 2013 by Charlie 2 Comments

Update May 28, 2013 Total 2013 Wisconsin spring turkey kill

Wisconsin’s 2013 spring turkey hunt has been one for the history books with all of the record setting cold and snow. Even during the first week of May we experienced an unprecedented, never before recorded May snowstorm that dumped 20+ inches in some areas. Over all it has been one tough hunt this year.

How the spring turkey hunters faired?

Here the preliminary turkey harvest numbers for the first 3 seasons.

Time Period A, 4/10 through 4/16

Zone Harvest

1 2,232

2 1,602

3 1,946

4 770

5 380

6 136

7 66

Total 7,132

Time Period B, 4/17 through 4/23

Zone Harvest

1 1,995

2 1,479

3 1,765

4 720

5 359

6 91

7 61

Total 6,470

Time Period C, 4/24 through 4/30

Zone Harvest

1 2,342

2 1,495

3 1,904

4 967

5 352

6 117

7 77

Total 5,544

Looks like Wisconsin’s wild turkey harvest is on track to be 30% lower than last year’s. We don’t have the registration for season D which will reflect May’s historic blizzard. Unless more hunters go afield during seasons E & F the kill could be down 45% or more from 2012. At least the hunter kill will be down. But what about those turkeys that nature killed? Most likely, as is usually the case more turkeys die of natural causes than by hunters. Hunter only harvest about 10% of the total turkey population each year.

When Do Turkeys Nest in Wisconsin?

April 23, 2013 by Charlie 13 Comments

Wild turkey nesting will most likely be very late this year.
Photo by charlie elk

When do Turkey’s nest in Wisconsin? One of the questions many hunters are asking, and you can understand why after the below average temperatures we’ve been having this spring many days of snowfall and freezing rain.

How will the weather affect the wild turkey’s nesting schedule?

Many studies have found wild turkey breeding depends on photoperiodism, the length of day. This year the wild turkeys have been mating as they usually do. However, most

Colder than normal spring is causing the turkeys to feed in groups.

hunters think breeding has not been taking place because the turkeys are still flocked up, and they have been quieter this spring. A lot less gobbling than usual. Perhaps the lack of turkeys calling is due to the turkeys feeding in close proximity to each other. There are fewer feeding areas this spring because of the snow and ice cover, meaning there is no need to call to each other when they can see each other; also makes the turkeys harder to call in using the traditional calling methods. (soft hen yelps)

Just because a hen has mated does not mean she is on a schedule to lay her eggs by any given date. When a gobbler mates with a hen his sperm travels into the hen’s oviduct and remains in there in the infundibulum, sometimes referred to as “sperm nests” areas that collect and store semen for later fertilization of the turkey’s eggs. Apparently, this a built in survival strategy to assure the production of a series of fertile hatching eggs even after the male is not available or lost interest. No one knows for sure how long the sperm remains viable, but it’s commonly thought it remains fertile for a couple of months or more providing the hen with ultimate control of the egg laying timing.

Traditionally, a spring with the typical weather, peak egg laying occurs the last week of April. However, in cold and wet years egg laying is delayed. But what is the trigger for egg laying? Light – certainly plays a role but no hen is going to make a snow nest. Research on this is not available anywhere I searched, even Google Scholar did find any studies on this. Perhaps someone has the answer buried in a dusty file somewhere. So, for now, I will speculate.

My good friend treerooster brought up an idea that very well could be the answer; that is, ground temperature. Farmers and gardeners use soil temps to determine when to plant what seed. It makes a lot of sense that certain wild plants will emerge at the correct soil temperatures. Are some of these emerging plants the trigger? Consider, those plants are known to provide the necessary food for the newly hatched poults. Are some springtime plants the signal of the next insect hatch? Does the hen turkey sense the temperature through her feet or body?

I could find no research done on this potential correlation. So we need to do some observing and recording to uncover the connection.

For what it’s worth my prediction – turkey nesting is going to be taking place much later this year. Mid May through June.

Are Turkeys Responding to Calls In Wisconsin Spring 2013?

April 17, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Turkeys and deer are having a tough time. Normal spring weather needs to arrive soon.

In West Central Wisconsin 2013 average spring temperatures have been running 15-20 degrees below normal with higher amounts of snow fall and rain. Causing many spring turkey hunters to ask-

” Are the turkeys gobbling and responding to calls?”

It has almost become a cliché “the turkeys are always there doing what turkeys do.” This is for the most part true but does little to reassure turkey hunters with upcoming valid tags as they look at weather forecasts predicting more of the same cold, rain, snow and wind.

A few more details are in order before answering definitively.

Reports from dedicated turkey hunters in northern unit 4 & 7 indicate turkeys are very hard to find in areas that have been traditionally good hunting early spring. Keep in mind at this writing only season A has been completed.
In unit 2 large flocks of turkeys have been reported leading many hunters to believe the winter turkey flocks have not broken up yet. Reports say turkeys are responding to aggressive gobbler calling. (challenging yelps, clucks and purrs)
Western unit 1 those hunter who ventured out in the wind, snow and rain have found scattered groups of turkeys which in some cases responded well to their calls. However, they usually had more than one turkey come in, jakes being very numerous.
Unit 3 about the same reports as unit 1 but typically turkeys in unit 3 are further apart and scattered.

Generally hunting pressure so far has been very light, many hunters choosing to stay home rather than bear the uncomfortable weather. Recently more late season OTC tags have been selling. Apparently some are deciding to forego hunting early season and try later. I have toured several public hunting areas in units 1,3 & 4 and found very few hunters or sign anyone had been there.

I hunted the morning of April 10 while a storm was moving through. The turkeys were not vocal until I gave them reason to be vocal and then they responded very well to my calls with full throated chain gobbling. I filled my tag before noon struck.

Colder than normal spring is causing to turkeys to feed in groups.

Because I am a total turkey addict and some would say nut I begin touring hunting areas. During these tours it was rare to hear a gobble that was not initiated by my calling. Where no one was hunting I moved through the areas mid day making turkey calls as I went. Turkeys did respond to me and many started to come in. So, I would say if you are in an area that holds turkeys and you call, they are responding. At this time don’t be surprised if the turkeys don’t sound of to tell you where they are before you give them a reason.

Turkeys are answering calls in the spring of 2013

Good hunting.

Wisconsin Woodcock Arrive in Large Numbers

April 14, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

The evening of April 8 was my first woodcock sightings. They were all along Highway 10 through the Clark County forest. Considering the horrible spring 2013 weather the number of woodcock is surprising. The ground snow covered and mostly frozen.

Since the 8th Vic and I have encounter large numbers of woodcock along brushy hillsides along the Mississippi River. The large numbers of woodcock are unusually in the areas I frequent.

Is it because the weather to north is worse and the migration flights are backing up

Large numbers of woodcock are back in Wisconsin April 8, 2013. Hopefully this bodes well for this fall’s hunt.

waiting for spring like weather?

Or is the population of woodcock experiencing a dramatic increase?

The weather is the prime suspect as the spring of 2013 has been averaging 15-20 degrees below normal.

2013 Wisconsin Spring Hearing Results

April 11, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

6096 attended the 2013 DNR Spring Rule Hearings – WCC County Meetings Summary of Results Statewide by Question are here 2013_StatewideResults

Remember the results of these meetings are advisory only and carry no other weight in the rule setting process other than the special interests will site the results favorable to their positions.

Very few outdoors men and women attend these hearings. It is time to allow votes via the internet. There is no reason we should not be able to enter our WDNR customer numbers and express our thoughts online. Certainly there would be more participation, but then, perhaps the special interests would have a harder time stacking the meetings with their supporters.

Double Beard Lightweight Turkey

April 10, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

On April 10th the opening day of Wisconsin’s 2013 wild turkey season I awoke to find the temperature at 21 degrees, 16 mph wind, snow covering the ground and sideways freezing whatever. Not exactly the kind of weather spring turkey hunters dream about.

So I did what any self respecting old turkey hunter does on days like this-

Enjoyed a pot of coffee
Chatted with Mrs. elk
Puttered around with stuff until I figured the turkeys were well off the roost.

My Reasoning– When there is no foliage the woods is naked and as was the case this morning it’s very easy to see anything against the white landscape. Roosted turkeys with their 8 power binocular eyesight would have spotted me in an instant. Best to wait until they are down on more equal footing.

Since I had no idea where exactly any turkeys were I setup cold on a windswept point over looking a 2 mile valley. I chose my Willow Ridge Death Wish pot and peg call to start and after 2 sets of calling to my utter surprise a group of gobblers across the valley enthusiastically chain gabbled back. I called more aggressively and they moved along their side until they were almost straight across from me. The sound of large wings lifting off brought a spark of hope as they pitched off and sailed to the bottom of the valley on my side. My plaintiff calling brought no more responses for an hour. I was iced over and soaked obviously under dressed for these spring time conditions.

My Reasoning– When the turkeys are not gobbling you must try and make things happen. I frequently setup on points where the sound of my calling will travel a great distance and in return I’ll have a better chance of hearing turkeys answer. Listen for turkey vocalizations other than gobbles. Toms will not always gobble an answer, many times they cluck or yelp back.

Back at the hut the hot soup refurbished my resolve…

Changing into more and dry snow camo I stuffed the snow net in my vest and headed down and circled around where I thought I had last seen the birds. Willow’s Death Wish call sang out and was promptly greeted by thunderous gobbles below and out of sight. I moved down the tight logging trail which offered no good setup locations. So I setup in a not so good spot, if the turkeys came they would be nearly in my lap with only the snow net between us.

Picture taken from the turkey’s point of view.

The first set of 3 came in, jakes, I thought about taking 1 to fill my tag because the forecast was full of bad weather for the next several days. There is no dishonor shooting a jake but I didn’t want my first turkey hunt of the year over so quickly. Instead of shooting I waved my gun barrel to scatter them out of the way. I was convinced a long beard lurked behind. The jakes flew up into the trees around me and they were worked into a frenzy; started loud angry purrs, clucks and putts. I yelped loudly back at them, one of the treed jakes caught my moment and he took to flight, in the same moment a thunderous gobble on the hill above snapped my head around. Yeah, I know, couldn’t help it, he startled me with his feathers rattling at the tail of each gobble. In spite of him obviously being in range, incredibly I couldn’t see him on that brush choked snowy hillside.

My Reasoning– In a tight spot like this the jakes needed to be cleared off the trail to make way for sir gobbler. If a gobbler is out numbered by jakes he rarely pushes his way in rather he finds another place. Since these turkeys were challenging each other I changed my calling accordingly.

More aggressive gravelly yelps from me; I don’t know how he got to standing on the trail but there he was gobbling hard at 16 feet with only the snow net separating us. In my early days of turkey hunting the turkey had the advantage during a stand off like this. Not so any more; as you can see he did not win the race.

An unusually small turkey considering he sports a double beard.

Nice double beard, 1/2″ blunt spurs and weighed only 14 lb. 12oz. I wonder if all the turkeys are going be small bodied this year? Aw, who cares, it’s all fun.

Scare Turkeys to Call Them In (an answer for Ray Eye)

April 5, 2013 by Charlie 2 Comments

In Ray Eye’s last book “The Turkey Hunter’s Bible” he wrote that he did not understand why anyone would scare a bunch of turkeys before attempting to call them back in. His reference was primarily regarding the common fall tactic of scattering a flock. Ray makes his point about this tactic being counter productive that it’s better to call undisturbed turkeys. Well, that works too, I’ve done it many times. But there are situations in spring and fall that scaring turkeys does increase your chances of calling them back in.

I must admit I feel a little apprehensive about disputing anything Ray says, after all I respect him as an expert turkey caller and hunter. Be that as it may I have had great success calling in scared turkeys and I will at times scare them on purpose.

When to scare turkeys in the spring?

You find a mixed a group of turkeys out in a field with the toms strutting for the hens who are not paying a lot of attention to the wannabe suitors. Most hunters setup, attempt to call and lure the turkeys over to them. In most cases these turkeys ignore the hunter’s overtures continuing to attend to the turkey business at hand. Think of these turkeys as comfortable turkeys. They are doing what they want to do in what they consider good company with no reason to go anywhere else.

What to do now?

As long as the turkeys are content they have no reason to investigate you or any other turkey that may desire to compete with them. Time to shake up their confidence. In this situation I sneak, as best I can as close as possible and then rush them in an attempt to send the hens one way the gobblers the other. Now you have turkeys that are no longer comfortable or complacent rather the turkeys are nervous and their ingrained behavior pattern urges them to regroup.

I move to where the hens were and setup, many times this requires hiding in plain sight. Wait about 10-15 minutes to begin calling. Usually the gobblers are back within 30 minutes of calling. Bang!

Ray’s book contains good advice and I recommend it. It’s just that unlike Ray Eye I am not an pro turkey caller so comfortable turkeys feel no reason to come on over to visit my calls. My tactic is to make them uncomfortable and vulnerable. Vulnerable turkeys are killable turkeys.

Can Turkeys Find Snow Insects?

March 17, 2013 by Charlie 4 Comments

Wild turkeys are amazing, they have proven to be tough survivors under harsh conditions. Sometimes they are referred to as goats with feathers because of their ability find and eat such a variety of food.

Earlier this winter I found a flock of turkeys scratching in deep snow powder but they appeared not to be scratching down through the snow as they would if they were exposing nuts or seeds. This got my curiosity going so I moved in to investigate what they were after.

Even in the dead of winter insects are available.

Insects take refuge in tree bark to wait out the winter and apparently after some high winds they blown out into the snow were they wait helplessly on the wild turkeys buffet.

Here is another iced insect, mosquito?

The Turkey’s Snood Knows

March 9, 2013 by Charlie 4 Comments

What is the purpose of a wild turkey’s snood?

According to research done by University of Mississippi Dr. Richard Buchholz

In addition to uncovering a non-sexual function for the brightly colored, bare head of the male wild turkey (which is crucial for maintaining sub-lethal body temperatures under warm ambient conditions and during physical exertion), my work also demonstrated that one aspect of male head ornamentation, the frontal process, or snood is subject to both inter-sexual and intrasexual selection. Captive female wild turkeys prefer to mate with long snooded males, and during dyadic interactions, male turkeys deferred to males with relatively longer snoods. These results were demonstrated using both live males and controlled artificial models of males.

So according to Dr. Buchholz research the hens prefer a long snood on their gobbler. But what is the genetic advantage of a long snood?

Dr. Buchholz continues

in the wild the long snooded males preferred by females and avoided by males seemed to be resistant to coccidia infection.

Very interesting I will be following the Doctor’s research.

As a hunter, I have noticed all turkeys snoods vary in length depending on their general state of alert or alarm.

When a turkey is relaxed and unalarmed, their snood is longer.

As a turkey becomes more alert to something out of place the snood begins to shorten.

They alarmed the turkey becomes the shorter the snood becomes.

Snood length gives the hunter an indication of the turkey’s mood or agitation. When the snood shortens you must make the decision- shoot or not shoot. Should the shot not be good you must be very still and quiet for any hope of the turkey settling back down. Most of the time a turkey who has suddenly shortened his snood is getting ready to leave the area.

How to Legally Bait Wild Turkeys

March 3, 2013 by Charlie 1 Comment

After aggressive calling the evening before. This public land wild turkey was waiting for me the next morning and came in without hesitation.

The baiting of wild turkeys with food is banned in all states with turkey populations unless you have a permit to capture and relocate turkeys or a depredation hunt.

However, what I have in mind and the method I use, particularly during the spring turkey hunt is audio baiting.

Audio Baiting

It’s no secret turkeys are attracted by “Turkey Talk”, the sounds made by other turkeys. After all, that is why most turkey hunters make or purchase several different styles of turkey calls. Some hunters have bought into the notion that turkeys become call shy, and you should not call when you are not hunting. Unless you are a terrible caller or cause a big human disturbance entering and leaving the hunting area, you will not scare or educate turkeys by making turkey sounds. By the way, some of the worst turkey calls I have ever heard came out of the beaks of turkeys.

How it works

The evening before your hunt decide where you would like a gobbler to be the next morning, the approximate area. The tom probably will not fly into the exact tree you desire, but he may get close to it. The goal is to pull a wandering gobbler or two into the area you can hunt come morning.

Locate a prominent open location where sounds you make will have the best chance of traveling the greatest distance possible. Trees, vegetation, and hills obstruct or absorb sound. Some unobstructed sound corridors are necessary. Another method is to move quietly along a trail audio trolling; picture floating a river casting in likely spots only you are using audio lures rather than fishing lures. Think of it as audio chumming.

If your season is open and it is legal to take your gun on this setup just in case a gobbler shows, after all, you are in a turkey woods that contains turkeys and you never know when one is going to show. At least one-third of all my spring turkeys are taken late afternoon/early evening.

After setting up start calling; using yelps, cackles, purrs, and clucks; increasing the volume and intensity as sunset approaches. Guide your calling by imagining a couple of hens sparring with each other over the best roost trees. Of course, as you call, listen for an answering gobbler and if you hear an answering gobble begin calling as you would during any other setup.

Assuming you heard no turkeys going to roost, understand, this does not mean there are not any turkeys in the immediate area. If you have no other “for sure spot” at which to start in the morning, arrive at the last evening’s calling location before gobbling time. Many times I hear the gobblers without doing anything else, so all that remains is to pick a good setup location and go about calling em in. If you don’t hear anything owl hoot or tree yelp and listen, then proceed with your hunt in the usual manner.

Late in Wisconsin’s 2012 spring turkey season a friend hunting in northern Wisconsin called me for advice about finding a turkey. He is a very experienced turkey hunter accustom to success all over the country. But he wanted to kill a turkey on his property, something that had eluded him for many years. He described gobblers roosting along the property line of his land but in the morning they promptly flew into the neighbor’s field, strutted and faded away.

I suggested that he should try audio baiting as previously described in order to pull the turkeys deeper into his land in the hopes of then setting up between the turkeys and field. My grateful buddy called the next day with the happy news it worked. He had killed his first ever gobbler on his property shortly after fly down and admitted he had thought I was crazy suggesting the audio baiting strategy.

Update: Kirkland Warblers and Wild Turkeys audio baiting.

The above-linked update article covers wild turkeys being motivated to move into new areas with the use of calling. Wildlife biologists are using audio baiting tactic to get Kirkland Warblers, sage grouse and prairie chickens onto actively managed habitat.

2013 Wisconsin Hunting Licenses

February 27, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

March 6th is the big day for those who can’t wait to purchase their new 2013 hunting licenses.

Diane Brookbank, DNR Customer Service Bureau Director said-

“We’ve had many people calling in asking us when they can buy their new licenses and that’s a great reflection on the fantastic fishing and hunting Wisconsin offers. We’re excited that they’re excited and we want to let anglers and hunters know they can purchase their new license starting next week.”

Why would anyone want to purchase a new license when the old ones are good until March 31st?

To be ready to hunt of course. Anyone who plans on hunting with charlie better have their license pre-purchased before the hunt. Nothing makes charlie angrier than when his partner says he has to stop and buy his license on the way to the hunt. This ex-pardner quickly finds himself dumped out along the roadside.

Three ways to purchase your license

Online Licensing Center on the DNR website
authorized license agents
DNR Service Centers (Hours for service centers vary; check the DNR website for service center days and hours of operation; DNR Service Centers are not open on Saturdays), or by calling toll-free 1-877-LICENSE (1-877-945-4236).

Fall Birds of the Year Called in with Specialized Pot and Peg Call

February 5, 2013 by Charlie 2 Comments

Willowridge Custom Calls makes this very specialized and unique call that is particularly effect for making kee-kees the many other bird of year calls. The striker is tapered to point. The pot wood with a crystal surface and has a single sound hole.

In the fall of 2012 I used this call bring several turkeys to gun after my turkey dog Vic had scattered them. The proof of a fine call is in the pictures.

« Previous Page

Historic Cold & Snowy spring results in drop in turkey hunting success

Wisconsin Hunters experienced bad weather during early time periods

Telephone, online registration working well

2013 fall season

Three ways to purchase your license

Online Licensing Center on the DNR website

authorized license agents