Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

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A Little more Frigid or Warm; What is better for Wildlife?

January 30, 2019 by Charlie 10 Comments

The wake-up temperature at my volunteer Wisconsin weather station this morning was -29.5F below zero and the windchill -52. While strolling around watching the sunrise, you could hear the freezing pop sounds inside the trees. Some of these trees will die from the damage. In the pole barn, some frozen mice were laying about on the floor, (no loss felt for them) victims of last night’s low temp. In the north country, it is no secret that cold kills. Throughout the woods and fields, there are most likely a variety of plants, animals, and birds that have perished in the first day of brutal cold.

29 below zero with -52 degree wind chill

As a young man during the early 70’s when fur prices were at their historic highs I ran trap lines in northern Minnesota. In those days there were very few passable remote roads in the winter if a trapper wanted access to prime fur they would snowshoe in with their packs full of equipment and live off the land for weeks. Living like this involved eating the flesh of the furbearers you caught, building a shelter from available materials, and keeping an adequate supply of firewood to make it through a few nights. There was no way to get a weather forecast so getting an unwelcome surprise, i.e. extended severe subzero temps and or blizzard was always possible.

In some ways, you’d hope for some, as it is called today “extreme weather”. Fifty years ago we called it weather and endeavored to survive it. Surviving is what the target animals were striving to do too. During these cold months, the animals are in search of food and shelter making them more responsive to trap sets using bait and/or shelter as a draw. In addition to the trapped critters there would be the occasional lucky finds of frozen animals that had apparently perished due to cold.

Much of my education of wild places took place by the example set by Aldo Leopold; daily observations. Now we have chattering class that constantly pontificates about the nature of things but clearly is unfamiliar with life in the wilds. So many make the claim we and the wild things are going to die by global warming. This hypothesis flys in the face of my half-century of observations. Warmer winter weather does not kill as many creatures as colder winters and the longer the cold lasts the more death results.

Back in the day, our elders taught us to be polite in conversations with strangers. We were instructed to never talk about politics or religion, so the weather was the safe topic. Fast forward to 2019, not so safe. I for one resent the politicization of the climate/weather. Perhaps it is getting warmer, or instead it’s getting colder on average,I do not know. What is very apparent to anyone who does even a little bit of observing of the wild ones, warmer rather than colder is better for survival.

Filed Under: Think Pieces / Opinion

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.

Filed Under: News, Think Pieces / Opinion, Upland Birds Tagged With: grouse, news, Wisconsin Grouse

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…”

 

Filed Under: News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: hunting stories, Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting story, wild turkey story, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Leupold LTO Thermal Tracker Viewer; User Review

August 16, 2017 by Charlie 6 Comments

A hunter who is planning to purchase a Leupold LTO thermal tracker to use for finding downed game–Save your money.  If you are thinking of using this unit for security, then it might be worth it.  The LTO works for seeing intruders outside in cleared areas around buildings if there is nothing in the way.  In other words, it can function as a limited night vision scope.

In July Cabelas gave me a special price, $499 plus free shipping.  I’d been reading the professional/celebrity hunter reviews regarding this tracker. Heck, sounded like the solution to those difficult tracking problems particularly during the early season bow hunts when the Wisconsin vegetation makes seeing a downed deer or bear nearly impossible until you bump into it.

Sadly, this does not perform well under field conditions.

For many years I’ve been a big fan of Leupold optics, so I expected this tracker to work as advertised.  Sadly, it does not live up to the hype.  Here the selling points:

  • Operating Temperature: -4F to 140F – The temps I used it ranged from 65F – 90F.  If anything was between the target and the tracker heat interference was so intense the target could not be discerned.
  • Detection Distance: 600 Yards- No way this thing can help you see anything at 600 yards distance.  In the dark, looking for some horses and cows standing 200 yards distance. Nope, could not identify them, they were just “heat lumps” mixed in with the heat rising from the pasture and fence posts.  If a deer had been down somewhere in that field, the hunter would have had to walk around checking out thousands of heat signatures.  My flashlight did a better job of locating the animals.
  • Six optional thermal palettes and adjustable reticle – Yes has these but they were not helpful dealing with any background or foreground heat signatures.  Heat from everything; trees, grass, brush and the gravel road showed up on the screen as blurry colored heat spots.
  • Find game using thermal imaging – The prime reason I purchased.  Wanted this LTO to work and I tried to find ways to make it work for finding downed game.  I killed a rabbit for some fresh animal blood to experiment with, not to worry we ate the rabbit meat.  I could not see the blood spots using the LTO during the day or in the dark. The rabbit lying dead in the lawn was obscured by background heat on the screen even though I could plainly see it.  It seemed like the rabbit’s fur blocked its body heat.  The only heat was on its nose and the openings of the ears.

Fur blocks body heat!?

Yes, it does.

My Siberian husky has a lot dense fur (as do deer), and only her nose and eyes showed up on the Leupold LTO.  My Vizsla has short hair; his body heat signature showed.  However, when he entered long wispy grass, he disappeared from the LTO screen.  It is puzzling that anyone who has sorted through a challenging trail would find this unit helpful. I suspect those reviewers who claim that the Leupold LTO is going to make hunters “lazy trackers” because it is so easy to find downed game have not used this product in the field or bothered to test it under any semblance of conditions on the ground.

I concluded, after using the Leupold thermal tracker under conditions commonly encountered while hunting that it will be more of a hindrance than a help.  There are no technological shortcuts to finding game animals.  Hunters must train themselves and continue to practice good woodsmanship.  Thankfully, I purchased it from Cabelas and was able to return it for a full refund.

Filed Under: News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: hunting, product review

Are Turkey Hunts like Chess Match or Card Game of Chance?

June 10, 2017 by Charlie 20 Comments

What do you think?  Is a wild turkey hunt more like a game chess in the woods or is it more like the card game solitaire?  

Something, perhaps mostly unknown about charlie elk is the fact it took him five wild turkey seasons before he finally killed a gobbler.

What took him so long?

After all, he helped Minnesota catch grouse for the Minnesota/Missouri turkey/grouse exchange release program so he should have learned something about turkeys during that long restoration period.  Well, not so fast.  Charlie was an accomplished big game hunter who frequently stalked within longbow range of bedded cervids across the North American Continent.  And then, in the early eighties along came the wild turkey opportunities.

After finally being drawn for a Minnesota turkey license in the zone where a band of turkey nuts, including Charlie had released turkeys from Missouri years before; the young, cocky, self-assured Charlie was humbled by a bird with a brain about the size of a walnut.  It is amazing how a feathered bird-brained creature could be so elusive.

He planned all his hunts so carefully, doing research to determine in advance where the turkeys roosted, where they would want to go from roost and how they would get there, all to no avail.  Then late one morning he saw a truck with plates from Missouri pull into the parking area, an elderly gentleman stepped out walked around surveying the area and then did some cutting on a long box call.  Answered by a robust gobble, not more than 100 yards down the trail Charlie had just walked back to camp.  The veteran hunter headed down the path and soon a there was a gunshot.   The fellow came walking back with a very nice turkey over his shoulder.

The mistake Charlie had been making, in his humble opinion was that he’d been hunting turkeys using many of same tactics as he used for hunting big game.  Big game animals do things for reasons that are quite apparent to an experienced hunter.  Whereas the wild turkey does things that are apparently done for well, maybe no clear reason at all.

A lot of turkey behavior, if not most, is random, much like the shuffling of a deck of cards.  For example, if a turkey is flushed and somewhere different with suitable habitat and maybe an available hen during the spring— that turkey is likely to be just as content in the new location as he was in the previous one, he’ll just roost in whatever tree is convenient as it gets dark. Once this randomness soaked into charlie’s sometimes, most times, dense head, he has killed a turkey in every season he has hunted over the last 40 years.

 

Filed Under: Spring Turkey, Stories, Think Pieces / Opinion, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting story, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Wisconsin Game Warden Invoked a Scare in Charlie

December 8, 2016 by Charlie 6 Comments

A few weeks ago Vic and I concluded a quick pheasant hunt and then decided to move to the end of a dead end road in hopes of finding some turkeys.  As we traveled down the road, a Wisconsin warden waved us down and immediately asked if I was Charlie Elk.  An ice chunk quickly knotted in my gut, oh no!; has something happened to Mrs. Elk?  Vic and I were out cell coverage for only a short time… The concern must have shown on my face because Warden Thiede quickly added he had run my plates on his way in, oh whew, I relaxed.  Mrs. Elk has been chronically ill, so we don’t leave her alone for any extended period of time.

Warden Thiede went on the ask about our hunting success, a standard tactical question for law enforcement to get a feel as to whether or not a subject is a possible violator who is worthy of additional scrutiny.  With all the changes Wisconsin has made to our licensing system, I returned a question for each of his questions to find out what exactly a law enforcement officer would know about me by only checking my vehicle plates.  Besides, many wardens are a wealth of information regarding hunting pressure and game sightings; you just have to spend some quality time visiting time with them.   Officer Thiede was no exception he had maps of hunting lands that are not available on the Wisconsin department’s website yet.  And best of all I did not know about WDNR recently purchasing these, nor do most other hunters.

Here’s what he knew about me by just running my vehicle’s license plate number before we started conversing:

  • How many licenses and tags for what species I’d bought this season and last season.
  • Of course my name, address, phone and Hunter I.D. number. Hunter numbers are now our WDNR identification.  Contrary to what many believed, the old back tag numbers never were quickly connected to a licensee.  If a back tag number was reported, it could take hours for a violator’s identity to be reported back to a field officer.
  • How many game registrations I have made, not only this year but every year since I have been hunting in Wisconsin. That’s 50+ years! An extensive list indeed.
  • He knew many of the public wildlife areas I have hunted this season and last season.  WDNR staff take pictures of license plates they encounter in parking zones. I assume they upload these to a database.

As Wisconsin moved towards the current online license system, many raised warnings and concerns about massive increases in poaching.  However, this is clearly a false assumption.  Game wardens and sheriff deputies now of instant access to real-time information.  There is no longer room for a bad hunter to play around with their tags, once registered it is virtually punched out.  If an officer hears about someone bagging a deer or turkey, he can quickly check a registration, if nothing is recorded the warden knows he or she is on the trail of a violator.   Our new license system here in Wisconsin is very good and Go Wild is easy to use.

Filed Under: Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: hunting, news

How to Ask for Hunting Permission

July 5, 2016 by Charlie 7 Comments

Photo sent with a letter requesting permission to hunt.

Photo sent with a letter requesting permission to hunt.

Oh no, the hunting seasons are closed now what is a hunter to do?

  1. Fish
  2. Hike
  3. Excercise
  4. Practice Shooting
  5. Get permission to hunt

All the above are good wholesome & entertaining.  Personally, I put #5 up to number one.  Even though I own land, I still continue securing permission to hunt on other parcels, sometimes I trade with another willing landowner.  Occasionally,  some high-quality ambitious hunters contact me for permission to access my land.  The initial contact varies from phone calls to stopping by the house.  Nine times out of 10 the unannounced house visit is the least likely to catch me home or with time to visit.  Those call first to arrange a visit generally get a more favorable response.  With the exception of turkey season, someone is hunting my property during all hunting seasons; bear, deer, squirrels, fox, coyotes and trappers.  But I digress, that is not the point of this post.

A party of hunters sent me the above picture of those who would like to hunt my land along with a well thought out letter to “sell” me on the idea.  Excerpt from the body of the letter.

Hello my name is Steve, my son, grandson and a family friend are looking for a place to hunt.  We are looking forsome quality deer hunting land, we practice quality deer management.  But  we are not just trophy hunters we love to ear venison and will harvest does if allowed.

We understand the need to keep the deer population at a reasonable level, to reduce crop damage an over browsing.  We are very safe and ethical  hunters who are looking to pass on those values to the next generation.  We always abide by state and federal regulations.  Safety is a major concern for us, we all wear safety belts.  We have liability insurance to protect you from any lawsuits, etc. We understand that your land is valuable and very important to you and your family, we will treat the land with the utmost respect, by not cutting down trees, erecting permanent stands, driving in fields causing ruts, leaving litter or any other debris.  In a nutshesll we leave  the property as we found it or better.

They continue by offering the possibility of a modest lease payment to offset taxes and being flexible to hunt around the time slots of my family members or friends who may be currently hunting, in closing, I am invited to call them.   In my nutshell, this is a very straightforward persuasive approach, and it’s the first I’ve ever received an introductory letter of this type.   The letter gives the impression of some top notch hunters, and I would have granted them permission to hunt this year had there been an opening.  Their contact information will be kept, and they’ll be contacted for a time to hunt.

Hunting Request Letter

Filed Under: Deer Hunting, Featured Story, Think Pieces / Opinion

Deer Can Hear Your Muscles Move?

June 26, 2016 by Charlie 3 Comments

Have you ever had a whitetail deer standing real close looking the other way while the wind is blowing from the deer towards you?  This deer appears to be totally unaware of the danger near him.  The draw is silent yet, suddenly for no apparent reason other than some dang sixth sense he tenses and bolts away out of range only to stiff leg around for a few minutes before fading off out of sight.

During my half-century of hunting a scenario like this has happened on more than one occasion.  I’ve sadly shaken my head in defeat while racking my brain trying to figure out went wrong at the moment of truth. And not just deer, other animals such as turkeys, elk, coyotes, fox, cats and bears at times have appeared to have that sixth sense warning of danger at the very last moment.  I have always thought something unnoticed went wrong, some movement, noise or scent and then redoubled my efforts to avoid making whatever mistake it was.  However, in March another possibility was unveiled to me.

Early this year the upper left side of my body seized into pain shooting down my left arm causing my hand to go numb to the point where a needle pushed through it did not produce any feeling or pain.   Needless to say, this is always a good reason to seek medical attention. Thankfully a heart attack and stroke were ruled out.  The doctors suspected nerve damage and referred me to the neurology department.

An MRI showed nerve damage at the base of my neck, so the Doctor ordered an EMG (electromyography) and this was when things got interesting as they relate to hunting.

Graph represents the noise made by contracting human muscles.

This EMG graph represents the noise made by contracting human muscles.

During the EMG I discovered when my muscles are moving and tensing they make noise, a lot of noise, the electrical static coming out of the EMG speakers was astounding. As soon as I heard that racket all those deer described earlier came to mind, and I remembered they came to attention just when my muscles were tensing for the draw or lifting the gun.  I immediately asked the doctor if any research has been done to determine if animals can hear all those sounds.  He was taken aback by that question; apparently, it had never occurred to anyone to consider the possibility.  Of course, my next request was when the test is complete could we experiment with different muscle moves.  He agreed.

I learned that if I quickly bunched up my bow pulling muscles,  the noise went off the chart and when I ever so slowly tensed those same muscles for a draw the sound produced was much more moderate, almost a flat-line.  We spent an additional 40 minutes as I experimented with different combinations of internal muscle movement while the doctor measured the sound levels and strength application.  We discovered I could apply the same pressure with and without noise.  Hmm…

Fewer deer escape me these days than did at the beginning of my hunting career.  Buck fever does not have much effect on me anymore, and I’m smoother during the seconds of shot preparation and shooting.  Perhaps there is no sixth sense, rather just a case of a very finely tuned sensory ability on the part of the prey.

Here’s a video of a basic EMG test.  Mine was much more extensive, as in a lot more needles were inserted into me but the principles were fairly close to the same as shown here.

Filed Under: Deer Hunting, Featured Story, News, Think Pieces / Opinion, Video Tagged With: deer, hunting, news

Charlie Elk’s Back, here’s what happen

April 18, 2016 by Charlie 2 Comments

Wolves onto a FightWolf hacktivists hacked my blog.  Apparently, they did not like the post Willowridge put up “Wisconsin Wolves Eat Black Bear,” about wolves eating his bear last fall before he could recover it.  Unfortunately, there are some who will not tolerate any dissension from the narrative, “wolves are friendly, totally nonviolent compassionate animals that never bother anyone” or whatever the wolf activists want to believe. Law enforcement is investigating.   We have a good idea of who was involved in the charlie hack.

charlie is back up, if you signed up to follow posts and comments here, please sign up again.  For security, that information is kept separate and was lost during the transition period due to operator error.  Not because hackers got any information.  They were more concerned about causing a denial of service, in an attempt to destroy my search engine rankings.

No one here “hates” wolves, most of us like and admire wolves.  My primary concern is that if we don’t hunt wolves, they will move into the vermin class rather than continuing to be considered a trophy class animal.  If those activists or if you prefer anti-hunters, thought their actions would censor me. Guess again.  I grew up around wolves in Northern MN, so tune in for wolf posts.

For now, it’s turkey season in Wisconsin.  Working a post about my grandson’s hunt during the youth season.  I start turkey hunting season B.  Good luck to everyone.

Filed Under: News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: hunting, predators, wolf, wolves

How I Kill Afternoon Gobblers, the lessons of many years

March 26, 2016 by Charlie Leave a Comment

The thing about afternoon turkey hunting that gives hunters fits is the lack of, or significantly reduced gobbling. Spring turkey hunters have a tendency to assume if they hear no gobbles, there are none in the area. I started regularly killing afternoon birds when I realized toms make other more subtle calls which I needed to be closer in order to hear.

After I spend a morning camped out on my rear, some 2015 first turkey at kill site (13) (640x469)afternoon strolling/trolling feels good. Fortunately, a walking turkey sounds very much like a walking human, so long as the human stops, pauses, slows down and does not walk in a straight line from here to there and if the person makes turkey sounds it becomes even more naturally convincing. Old-time hunters used to call this moseying, not run and gun.
In my area of west.central Wisconsin public land offers the most productive afternoon turkey hunting. The nesting habitat is better than private so hens will be more likely to be loafing, nesting, laying and uninterested in the toms.Nesting turkeys prefer more open, almost park-like woodlands for

Nesting turkeys prefer more open, almost park-like woodlands or edges of short grassy fields. Rarely will hens nest in brushy areas that diminish visibility.  The incredible eyesight of a  turkey is its number one defense. Clearly, it is not in their best interest to get into places of reduced visibility; this makes for ideal trolling conditions.

Trolling for turkeys involves moseying along making turkey calls. Think of it as if you were moving along searching for a buddy calling out their name occasionally.  In this case, we’re looking for a gobbler who in turn is looking for company. So the hunter should yelp (hey anyone here?), cluck (I’m here, where are you?) purr with leaf scratch (yum this is tasty, and I’m content).  Keep in mind the response may be a gobble, but more likely it will be a single course sounding yelp or cluck.  Hearing the quieter turkey sound indicates, of course, the turkey is probably close by, so setup immediately and try to engage in conversation with the bird. Don’t be afraid to call, err on the side of more calling rather than less.  Keep it soft and conversational matching the mood of the turkey with just a bit more urgency.

Another all too common springtime afternoon situation is the gobbler or gobblers strutting in a field with disinterested hens. The gobblers are openly competing for that lady’s attention, but well guys it can be frustrating, to say the least.  Like nearly every other hunter I’ve tried sneaking along an opposing edge of the field, setting up and calling to the gobblers as they get more excited with each of my calls.  Only to have those disinterested hens lead them off to parts unknown. Oh, well, what’s new in turkey hunting?

In this situation, I try, the edge set up and call first.  Not sure why, it rarely works, it’s just that starting with the least aggressive strategy first seems to make some sense.

My experiences continue to demonstrate the fall turkey hunting tactic of scattering or break up the birds usually works better.  Depending on the position of the field turkeys I wait for them to get into a position that gives me a chance of separating the hens and gobblers.  The goal is to get them to run or fly off in different directions.  Ideally, hens one way the gobblers go in another direction.   Most spring turkey hunting articles conclude when turkeys are bumped they leave the county, and the hunt is done there for the day or week, this is not true.  Years of fall turkey hunting have taught me flocked up turkeys rarely move off more than 300 yards and most of the time much less than that.

During my young hunter days, I would rush the flock by running, yelling and occasionally shooting just make more noise for a better scatter.  Somewhere along the line a little more wisdom developed in my head, my running skills declined or a combination thereof, not sure which.  Nowadays I “walk” the turkeys out of the field then setup to call the gobblers back.

How walking turkeys works.  The field hens are more alert to my approach so as soon as they detect me moving in, they start moving towards the cover.  The strutting gobblers are distracted competing with each other and ideally don’t notice the hens moving away at first.   When the gobblers are looking/facing away from the hen’s direction I then yell or whistle.  Toms then start of drift out of strut peri-scoping their heads up at this point it’s time to blow the whistle again in a solid, loud blast, wave and move directly to them.  Since turkeys are birds that don’t “think” more times than not they keep going the direction their body points. As soon as the birds are in the cover, I move in and setup. Wait about 20 minutes before calling.  If the turkeys start calling before that time, answer back.

Scattered turkeys will usually respond within about 45 minutes from the start of calling.  Spring gobblers are known to respond faster because they are more vocal and driven with urgency. Keep in mind the gobblers who walked into the cover at this point are eager to reunite with the hens they abandoned.

Good hunting.

Field Turkey

 

 

Filed Under: Featured Stories, Featured Story, Stories, Think Pieces / Opinion, Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting tip, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

What do Wild Turkeys Eat? Crops tell the story

January 17, 2016 by Charlie 5 Comments

turkeybywater

Turkeys have sometimes been referred to as feathered goats when it comes to their eating habits.  The wild turkey’s diet is very diverse.  It might be easier to list what they don’t eat rather than trying to come up with a list of things they do eat.

When I kill a turkey, I always inspect its crop contents. Sometimes referred to as the craw by our southern friends.  The crop clearly shows what turkeys are feeding in a given area.   The crop is an enlarged muscle area of the esophagus near the gullet or throat.. See #4 on A.E. Shipley’s diagram.

PigeonAnatomy

OK you’re on the ball the diagram is a pigeon, that’s fine because almost all birds have crops.  One exception that may be of interest to hunters are geese; they do not have a crop.  I continue to be surprised by the number of bird hunters I meet who do not regularly open the crops of harvested birds to determine what they are eating.

Images of wild turkey crops and their contents.

From one of the gobblers who was feeding on watercress in a creek.

From one of the gobblers who was feeding on watercress in a creek. Story here.

Same turkey crop as above cut open. All those roots are watercress and some grasses apparently from feeding on the prairie.

Same turkey crop as above cut open. All those roots are watercress and some grasses apparently from feeding on the prairie.

 

Bird of year. Soybeans and some grass. Grass is one of the wild turkey's staples. Courtesy of www.turkeydog .org

Bird of year. Soybeans and some grass. Blades of grass is one of the wild turkey’s staples. Courtesy of Jon Freis www.turkeydog .org

 

Jake crop Oct. 15 Full of grasshoppers and crickets along with a few berries.

Jake crop Oct. 15 Full of grasshoppers and crickets along with a few berries, waste corn kernels.

 

Jake of the year Sept. 18 a summer bird. Stuffed with clover and grass seeds.

Jake of the year Sept. 18 a summer bird. Stuffed with clover and grass seeds.

A lot of hunters assume turkeys eat primarily agricultural crops and focus their hunting efforts on these fields; this is understandable since field turkeys are the easiest to see. Unfortunately, hunters who primarily focus on fields are missing out on a lot good turkey hunting in all the other out of sight areas.

Many assume wild turkeys primarily eat agriculture crops.  They do, but it’s the waste they go after not the standing crops. Think feathered goat.

  • How can you say turkeys eat the waste grain when I see them feeding in fields before harvest?
Even when turkeys are feeding in green agriculture fields, they are feeding on waste from the previous season, or they’re eating insects.  Proof of this is in the crops of dead turkeys.  A few years ago WDNR with volunteers from NWTF tracked a brood flock of turkeys on a southern Wisconsin farm that had requested a turkey shooting permit to stop the depredation.  In other words, this farm believed the turkeys were eating their growing crops.  The volunteer shooters monitored the brood flock all day as they fed.  As the flock begins moving to roost the shooters moved in and killed the entire flock; this was in the name of science.  The turkey’s crops were then dissected to see what they had consumed all day.  All the crops contained primarily insects and small amounts of waste grain, and this affirms what I see in the crops of turkeys.  I have never shot a turkey that had any recently planted grain; this includes the turkeys I’ve killed on farms with WDNR shooting permits for depredation.

Filed Under: Think Pieces / Opinion, Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: Fall turkey, hunting, news, Turkey Hunting, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Preconceived Notions Hamper Turkey Hunt

March 29, 2015 by Charlie 1 Comment

Wisconsin turkeys laughing

Are these turkeys laughing or snickering?

A frequently asked question;  What is the one most important thing that makes a great turkey hunter?

I can’t speak to the great part, not sure what that exactly means.  Great is probably defined differently by each person.  Let’s assume great is not a video star; instead, they’re a successful turkey hunter who enjoys the hunt and bags some birds.

For most turkey hunters Preconceived Notions are the number one impediment to killing wild turkeys.

Pick up most any hunting magazine or read online articles this time of year and you’ll find a plethora of expert advice:

  • About where the turkeys will fly down to,
  • you must be there early, in the dark.
  • How they’ll travel certain routes,
  • respond to individual calls,
  • Only call once every 20 minutes or whatever period of time the author made up. All of these examples assume turkeys are creatures of habit that show up, fly down and act according to preset rules or as I’ve learned to understand this advice as Preconceived Notions.

When I started turkey hunting, I heard all the advice above and assumed it was correct.  After five turkey hunts during which I was out somewhere in the dark woods setup by a preselected tree in an area that should hold roosted turkeys.  Only to discover as the sun rose the gobbling turkeys were everywhere I was not.  There I would sit making a call every 20 minutes, after all, I surely did not want to make the turkeys call shy.  This setup had everything a turkey could want an open slightly elevated strutting area, with drag marks and scratchings all over, and this is a classic example of a preconceived notion.  This type of planning and setup works for deer, not usually turkeys.

The turkey hunting light bulb burst on in my head one day when my hunting partner was too sick to leave camp early in the morning.  Upon my return to camp, he told me about a hunter who drove into the parking area then just sat there until a turkey gobbled.  He slipped out in the turkey’s direction.  In short order, there was a shot, and this mystery hunter returned to his truck with a fine gobbler.  All of this happened while I was much further away in the dark at a preplanned location.  At that point, I was a lifelong deer hunter, and now the epiphany hit.  Turkeys are random in action.

The next morning found me on the ridge not far from camp listening with no intention of moving until the gobbling started.  When it did, I walked towards that area in the light after the turkeys had flown down.  My calls answered almost every sound the turkeys made.  Shortly a magnificent strutting turkey appeared.  My heart raced, and I forgot to shoot until he was down the ridge out of sight. Those iridescent feathers catching the multi colors of the sunrise mesmerized me, in all my years of hunting I’d never seen a more hypnotically beautiful display.  Without more thought, I propped the gun on my knee and called.  Nothing, call again, nothing called a lot, not loud just persistent and that Tom reappeared to become my first turkey.

There was no looking back since that time some 33 years ago I have filled a tag during every season.  Nowadays some hunting units allow more than one tag, in those cases, I have not always filled all the tags in my pocket but filling just one is perfect ably acceptable.

Some preconceived notions to avoid:

  • You must be somewhere in the woods before first light. Entering an unknown hunting area in the dark when you have not put a turkey to bed risks bumping the birds off their roosts before a hunter can set up.
  • Restraining your calling for fear of making turkeys call shy;   Experience teaches you when to call how much and at what volume — not an arbitrary rule established in advance of the real-life hunting situation.
  • Assuming a turkey will only travel through an area one way or that he must pass by a particular spot.  Remember turkeys have wings they can and do fly across the water, valleys and from tree to tree.  During late season hunts, gobblers have come into my calls using leafed out trees to find the hen/ me on the ground.
  • Believing turkeys have left the area due to hunting pressure, weather, etc. The turkeys are always there even when they can’t be seen or heard. Turkey dogging has taught me turkeys will lay on the ground unmoving and unseen as a hunter passes by.  However, a turkey dog finds those birds, and in the fall I’m shocked at how hard it is to see one laying on the leaf-strewn ground a few feet away.

Filed Under: Spring Turkey, Think Pieces / Opinion, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: hunting, Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting story, Wild Turkey

Real Traditional Bow Shooting

February 18, 2015 by Charlie 1 Comment

Centuries ago master archers were able to perform incredible feats of archery.  These skills have long been forgotten probably due to the invention of gun powder.  Danish archer Lars Anderson has studied and practiced these long forgotten archery skills.  If you have smallest interest in archery this is a must see video.

While watching take notice of smooth speed of shooting while moving with No Quiver – Lars holds all arrows in one hand while shooting.  He is right handed but shoots the arrow from the right side of the bow rather than the left.

Perhaps your interest in real traditional archery has be been peaked. For more reading visit The Archery Library  Book List to begin your own journey of archery discovery.

About this library

Old archery books still contain a lot of useful information. They are hard to find and often very expensive. This site is dedicated to preserving them by creating an online repository for the benefit of all archers and as a record of passed times of archery.

The library started when the maintainer thought it could be interesting to put some books from his collection online of which the copyright had expired.

The Library is a non-profit site. The proceedings from advertisement go towards purchase of new books and hosting costs.

Filed Under: Deer Hunting, News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: Archery, arrows, master archers, traditional bows

A Thought about Learning Turkey

September 29, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Learning about turkey hunting is not to know everything about turkeys – It’s to enjoy life more.

This popped into my head while turkey dogging the other day.  For those who don’t know about turkey dogging- that is when you hunt with a dog to flush and scatter flocks of turkeys in order to call them back.  Anyway,  I read and talk a lot about turkeys and their hunting so I’m not sure if this is something I read somewhere or an original  random thought that flowed in from the spirit of the hunt.  If someone knows who wrote or said that quote please leave a comment to credit them.  Good hunting.

Take your dog turkey hunting. You'll both be the better for it.

Take your dog turkey hunting. You’ll both be the better for it.

Filed Under: Fall Turkey, Think Pieces / Opinion, Turkey Hunting Tagged With: Turkey Hunting, Wild Turkey, wild turkey story

Turkey Dogs Don’t Ruin Deer Hunting Areas

June 26, 2014 by Charlie 1 Comment

The short answer is no.

Turkey-doggers and their dogs don’t usually interfere with bowhunters or ruin their deer hunting.  Turkey dogging is a late morning mid-day activity, and the vast majority of bowhunters have already left the field by the time we start;  although deer hunters should stay on their stands if they see or hear turkey doggers in the area.  Deer have a tendency to bed down during full daylight hours, and as long as the deer don’t move, a stand hunter has little chance of seeing them.  When mobile hunters such as turkey doggers, other small game or upland hunters enter an area, the deer will get up and move around.  Deer are territorial; they do not leave their home range unless there is a lot of disturbance.  If the deer leave, it is a short time before they will return, just like rabbits who circle the beagles and return to where they started.   I see more trophy bucks within easy bow range when Vic is with me than I do sitting on my butt during “prime time.”  Turkey dogs and other hunting dogs are trained not to chase deer.  The dog may occasionally bluff a deer to get it away from the bird hunting area, but they rarely chase the deer for long distances.  vic willow call turkey (640x505)

Some bowhunters get upset about anyone else doing anything else in the woods perhaps it’s they start to feel ownership of a spot after placing their stand.  Or more likely it’s because–
The scent control salespeople and inexperienced outdoor writers have convinced many deer hunters that leaving any scent in the woods will destroy the quality of the hunting area and all the deer will “blowout”.  So they think if anyone walks around without a has-mat suit on the area is contaminated making it impossible for them to kill a deer let alone a trophy.
Oh well, what can I say about these guys? Except you need to get off your stand and out more.  Come on think about it- If deer boogied out of all the areas with human, canine or a scent they don’t recognize, there would be no area holding any deer.  Some scent is everywhere.

Turkey hunters are arguably the most considerate,  sharing and easy to get along with hunters of them all. That goes double for turkey doggers.  If you are sitting on your stand, a turkey dogger comes by, wave, so they know you’re there, and they’ll move out.  Then stay alert, it’s likely a deer, possibly a trophy will be by soon.

Good hunting.

Filed Under: Deer Hunting, Fall Turkey, News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: deer, Fall turkey, Turkey Hunting

Tough to Hunt Gobbler Led to Ghillie Suited Grass Setup

June 1, 2014 by Charlie 2 Comments

You all know this gobbler or at least have met/heard him.  He sits on his roost proclaiming himself king for the day.  He wants all the other toms to back off and leave all the hens to him.  Because he is stuck on gobble every hunter in the areas thinks Mr. Loud Mouth will be an easy mark only to find out this bird is king of hunter avoiding strategies.  My advice is when you meet this turkey find another to hunt or you’ll find yourself addicted to killing this particular bird.  You find yourself getting up earlier and earlier in order to head him off while each time for some not so obvious reason or maybe an obvious reason you can’t figure out due to the additional sleep deprivation.

grass setup closeup (1024x766)

Ghillie Suit hides the human form.  Make sure it is made of natural materials they reflect less light.

Anyone who knows me, knows I can’t bring myself to give up, so my sound advice above goes right over my own head which leads me to unusual or some would say desperate tactics.  Such is the case in the following tale of the grass setup.

This turkey out gobbled every turkey in the valley making him impossible to ignore.  He seemed to have a easy pattern and at first glance I thought he would be wearing my tag in short order.  However, his habit of leaving the roost and walking to the upper field ended the first time I setup there; he walked down hill.  Must have seen or heard me, odd all the other turkeys flew or walked into the upper field.  Next morning I arrived earlier and snuck into woods middle ridge, it stayed quiet except for the wing beats landing in the field.  Then after my 2+ hour wait he started gobbling at 6 O’clock and stayed on roost until 7 before dropping the ground and sprinting up into the field gobbling all the way.  His zigging and my zagging went on for days.

Then I remembered my grass ghillie suit.  A disappointing apparel purchase mainly because it was very hard to move in.  It picked up every sticker and snagged on every piece of vegetation.  I realized that would not matter since the field was freshly planted and the 12 inch high grass strip would provide sufficient cover to lay in.  There was one particular fold in that field where the turkeys moved through out of range of any edge setup.  With only 2 days left to fill 2 tags I smirked at how well this idea would work.

grass setup 2 (1024x493)

View the approaching turkeys see.

Morning dawned on me lying on dew coated grass wearing an artificial grass boonie hat dressed in a grass suit with gun resting along my right side.  Sure glad only turkeys are out in those early mornings.  Someone from normal society might try and lockup a camo painted face grass clad hunter.  Some things are just too hard to explain to those outside the know.

The target turkey sounded off and stayed on roost while a hen moseyed along staring at me.  I had called on a tongue teaser call, she came to point of call.   She purred and stared looking for the turkey she had heard.  A hunting buddy had told me a story of how he moved while hiding in some logs during a fall hunt thinking he messed up his chances when all of sudden the flock of turkeys came over to investigate.  He figured they were expecting to see movement and his movement looked turkey like to them, he shot his bird.  So I moved my head and the hen immediately came within a few feet of me continuing to purr.  The two us played this game for at least a half hour.

The turkeys were within and never showed any concern as I laid still watching.

The turkeys were within feet and never showed any concern as I laid still watching. Bagged a second gobbler from this setup the next day.

He appeared without warning, I had been distracted playing with the hen and not paying attention of the gobbler’s approach.  The gobbler stood at attention staring at me and the fading away hen, she moved up the field past my head out of sight.

The gobbler moved to a 45 angle a few feet from my feet looking down at me.  My plan, as had happened on so many other open area setups was to wait for him to strut,  pirouette until his fan blocked his vision, rise up with gun pointed and shoot as he came out of strut.  Sounds easy, that is, until the gobbler is not in the mood to strut and looking down on you.  Come on, there is a hen please strut your stuff….

As the gobbler resumed stiff legging closer it was very apparent he was not going to strut.  My fingers found the shotgun’s grip, fumbled the safety off as the barrel aligned with his beak.  Pink mist filled the air with the headless turkey flopping on his back, he felt no pain.

Second Turkey using Grass Ghillie Suit.

Second Turkey using Grass Ghillie Suit.

History of Ghillie Suits

The word ghillie is an old Scottish term for a special kind of game warden. Ghillies were tasked with protecting the game on their Lord’s lands from poachers. From time to time, the ghillies would stalk the game by hiding in the grass and lying perfectly still. They would wait for unsuspecting deer to amble by and then leap out and grab it with their bare hands. Ghillies would then haul their prize back to the keep so the Lord could shoot it in the castle courtyard in a “mock hunt.”

 

Grass setups work to get tough gobblers in close.

Grass Ghillie Suit setups work to get tough gobblers in close.

 

Filed Under: Stories, Think Pieces / Opinion, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, wild turkey story, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Wisconsin 2014 Spring Turkey Hunt Forecast

March 29, 2014 by Charlie 18 Comments

Wisconsin is divided into 7 turkey management units.  Units 1,3, and 4 are covered in this post.  According to a  consensus of retired turkey biologists and dedicated hunters who are year round turkey observers Wisconsin has one of the largest turkey populations in the nation numbering in excess of 500,000+.  In spite of a severe winter across the

northern third of Wisconsin the turkeys seem to have survived intact.  There are some localized reports of dead turkeys being found and these may have started a perception of a higher than average die off.  Every winter results in the death of some individual turkeys due to disease or for whatever reason entering the winter in a weakened state.   In actuality Vic the turkey dog and I have not found any evidence of massive turkey die off nor have any of my fellow turkey hunting buddies.

 

2014 Spring Turkey Forecast for Wisconsin Turkey Management Unit 1, 3 & south unit 4

Turkey hunters  should expect to have solid turkey numbers.  The 2012 spring recruitment was excellent due to near perfect spring nesting conditions.  2012 Fall hunters regularly encountered large numbers of jakes of the year.   There is no reason to think many of these birds died off making them 2 year olds for spring 2014 hunt.  Also consider the spring 2013 weather was horrible keeping hunters on the sidelines staring out their windows in disbelieve of all the May snow.  2013 gobbler harvest was down 30%.  Most of these toms survived adding above normal 3 and 4 year old gobblers to the total 2014 spring population.

Bad news here is spring 2013 did not have good recruitment.  2013 Fall hunters encountered fewer birds of the year.

2014 Forecast summary for Wisconsin Spring Turkey Units 1, 3 and 4 –

2014 Wisconsin spring turkey hunters will find more 2-4 year old gobblers and fewer jakes than in past spring turkey hunts.  At the right times 2 year gobblers are the easiest

turkeys to call in, sometimes referred to as the bread and butter of spring turkey hunting. With more of those2 year old  turkeys available hunter success rates should increase significantly over spring 2013.  Perhaps there will be fewer hunters afield due to the perception of hard winter effects on turkeys.  Considering  the suppressive effect on hunter numbers due to the misguided WDNR reduction in unit 4 permits.  All of the negative news stories could take a toll on  hunter attitudes and  suppress their efforts.  For those hunters that do not let that negative narrative discourage them and go out hunting will find a spring woods with more mature gobblers than ever before.

At this time judging by the slow sale of OTC permits and the lackluster conversion of drawn permits into turkey license purchases;  Wisconsin’s spring 2014 turkey hunt will  see a higher population of gobblers with fewer hunters out chasing them.  What’s not to like?

The above forecast is based on my extensive 2014 field observations along with other hunters who have been putting on miles scouting turkeys.  All of us get out of your trucks to hike miles of turkey habitat, glassing distant ridges and fields while taking notes of our observations.  I digest all this “data” and come up with my gut instinct based on decades of turkey hunting and observations.

Feel free to get back to me with reports of your hunts and observation. Above all have fun and good hunting.

 

Filed Under: Spring Turkey, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, hunting, turkey forecast, Turkey Hunting, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Wild Turkeys Migrate

March 25, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Flying Turkey GobblerDo wild turkeys migrate?

Winter 2014 has been severe in most of Wisconsin.  Also the winter of 2013 was challenging for wildlife survival.

While snowshoeing across a hilltop field a flock of 30 – 40 turkeys flew in loose formation over head looking like they were on their way somewhere not near here.  They were a couple hundred yards in the air and until that moment I had never seen such a flock flying so high.  My first thought was they were migrating.

Posted here on March 7, 2014 Turkey Turkeys Everywhere .

Suddenly after being absent all winter except for a few dead ones here and there I feared the worst.  Then suddenly where there were no turkeys on the 6th come the 7th there were turkeys all over the area.  The appearance of turkeys struck me as similar with waterfowl, not there one day and then there the next.

On March 8 and 9 more turkeys showed up.  While out in unit 4 I saw turkeys circling overhead looking for a place to land.  Their heads turning side to side and the turkeys on the ground starting  purring & clucking at the flyers which seemed to encourage those in flight turkeys to come in and land.  Much in the manner waterfowl arrive in an area.

For the next couple of weeks these wild turkeys ate heartily of box elder seeds, fallen apples, wild grapes and other assorted berries.  The berries of course were dried looking very much like small raisins. There was much gobbling and yelping from one end of the valley to the other.

Then one morning it was silent.  As I explored the valley it was apparent to the most casual of observers all of the box elder seeds and grapes were stripped away, gone, all consumed.  Clearly the turkeys numbering in the hundreds, it was not possible to count them all, ate all the “easy” food and moved on.

Were these turkeys from the northern part of the state that had come south and now on their way back?  Or just wide ranging winter flocks?  I have observed turkeys in this particular area for 14 years and have never seen turkey movement and behavior like this before.

Migration may not be the right term but clearly this winter of 2014 caused some very different wild turkey movements.  Friends in southern Wisconsin unit 1 have told me about seeing more turkeys than ever before during the winter.  Now as March thankfully comes to end they are reporting significantly fewer turkey sightings.  Other buddies in the north are reporting turkey sightings after a long winter of no or few turkey sightings.

 

 

Filed Under: Think Pieces / Opinion, Turkey Hunting Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, hunting, Turkey Hunting, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Wind and Wild Turkey Hunting

March 1, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Many small things go into a successful turkey hunt.

Many small things go into a successful turkey hunt.

For the most part wild turkey hunters do not like windy days.  The wind makes it harder for hunters  to hear the turkeys and for the turkeys to hear the hunter’s calls.  Not sure about latter.  A turkey’s hearing is so fine tuned they can probably hear the hunter’s calls it’s just that the hunter who can’t hear the turkey’s response.  Blowing wind masks the sound of approaching turkeys perhaps causing a hunter to give up their setup prematurely in the mistaken belief there are no turkeys out and about.

Questions not usually considered or discussed much:

  • Does wind alter a turkey’s behavior?
  • If so how can a turkey hunter change strategies to bag a gobbler?

    Excellent article: Let the Wind Blow a Bird Your Way by Judd Cooney. Get a copy and enjoy.

    Excellent article: Let the Wind Blow a Bird Your Way by Judd Cooney. Get a copy and enjoy.

An article by Judd Cooney in the March 2014 Fur-Fish-Game titled Let the Wind Blow a Bird Your Way, Wild Turkey Tactics

This article got me thinking about wind and turkeys on a deeper level than in the past.

Mr. Cooney writes:

I speculate that turkeys, being heavy-weight gliders, have a tough time navigating on the wing through tree branches – as any hunter who has heard them going to coming from a roost in a thicket might attest. Flying into the wind gives them better control, much as a bush pilot always tries to land into the wind.  It also makes sense that turkeys  feel more comfortable feeding into the wind, when it is blowing with and not against the natural lay of their feathers.

Good observation there Mr. Cooney I too have noticed turkeys seem to prefer facing the wind.  This is why a setup with the wind on the hunter’s back usually works out better.  Not only will the wind carry the sound of your call more effectively… The turkeys are usually already pointed and upwind up wind.  As on longtime deer bowhunter having the wind at my back doesn’t fell quite right because deer will smell the hunter and be gone.  Fortunately, turkeys on the other hand have no sense of smell.   However, I had not considered the wind effect on determining a turkey’s fly down direction. As I think back over past hunts where the turkeys went the “wrong” way it was very likely that the wind had something to do with it.

There is more in Judd Cooney’s article explaining his observations and conclusions regarding wild turkey behavior in the wind.  Hunting turkeys on those particularly windy spring days is more challenging.  A hunter with a good understanding of all the things affecting turkey behavior is better able to tip the odds in their favor.  This is another tidbit of information to help in that quest.

Good hunting.

Also read tips in  How to Hunt Wild Turkeys in Wind & Rain

Filed Under: Think Pieces / Opinion, Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: Turkey Hunting, turkey hunting tip, Wild Turkey, wind

Is Quality Deer Management Theory Destroying Wisconsin’s Deer Herd?

February 25, 2014 by Charlie 1 Comment

Test results provide current snapshot of CWD in south-central Wisconsin

For 12 years WDNR has had ongoing CWD surveillance efforts, Department of Natural Resources officials maintain a current picture of trends and

To stop CWD should we focus on removing the older bucks?

To stop CWD should we focus on removing the older bucks?

prevalence of chronic wasting disease within the area previously known as the Wisconsin CWD zone map in the southern part of the state.

The Prevalence of CWD has increased in all categories- Based on 2013 test results for the western monitoring area, encompassing western Dane and Eastern Iowa counties where sampling has been occurring annually since the disease was discovered, current prevalence is:

  • 25 percent of adult male white-tailed deer
  • 10 percent of adult female deer
  • about 7 percent of yearling males
  • about 6 percent of yearling females

All the CWD research has shown, very clearly that adult bucks are more likely to be infected. WDNR’s 12 years of CWD surveillance proves this yet again.  CWD infects 1 out of 4 adult bucks and if yearling bucks are included 1 in every three bucks are infected compared to 1 out of 6 female deer are infected. The research demonstrates: If the goal is to reduce the incident of CWD adult bucks should be removed from the deer herd.  So instead of “earn a buck” there should have been “earn a doe”.   Is it time to target bucks for removal or is it too late?

A rational person could conclude quality deer management theory is destroying Wisconsin’s deer herd.  Why? The emphasis of quality deer management is on preserving bucks and letting them grow older to 3-6-year-olds before killing them.  These 3-6 years old bucks have a much greater chance of carrying CWD, and these are the deer that migrate into new territories spreading their CWD infection as they go.

Tami Ryan, DNR Wildlife Health section chief-

“Sampling deer from these areas where there has been long-term monitoring of disease patterns is important to understanding the dynamics of this disease,” . “Prevalence has been increasing as expected, and we continue to find that prevalence is higher in males than females and higher in adults than yearlings.”

In 2013, DNR staff tested deer from within and outside of the CWD-MZ in south central and southeastern Wisconsin. The sampling strategies were aimed at detecting changes in the location and trends in the prevalence of the disease. Monitoring plans focused surveillance on adult deer, which are most likely to have the disease.

Beginning in 2014, with the approval of the Deer Trustee Report rule package, DNR will have a new funding source available beginning this fall to provide hunter service testing statewide. The funding comes from having the authority to apply $5 from each additional antlerless deer permit sale in CWD-affected counties towards CWD testing and monitoring.

Tami Ryan, DNR Wildlife Health section chief-

“Prior to this change, DNR received no money from additional permits sales. We are pleased to now have a consistent funding stream for CWD testing and monitoring,”

Also emerging from the rule is the Deer Management Assistance Program and the formation of county deer committees, both of which give DNR flexibility to work locally to develop cooperative approaches to disease surveillance and management.

Tami Ryan, DNR Wildlife Health section chief-

“It’s important to be able to work cooperatively with hunters and landowners, as their participation is essential to CWD surveillance. It’s also very important that we connect with the local communities so they can stay informed on deer disease and DNR’s approach to monitoring. They are also the conduit for public sentiment, sharing information with us in addition to taking information back to their community.”

CWD-buckIn spite of the evidence, we are still going to target antlerless deer when the science proves; if the goal is to stop CWD, the population of male deer needs to be reduced. Perhaps this won’t help the deer in the CWD zones, but it sure would stop those wandering bucks from leaving the area and infecting the rest of Wisconsin’s deer.

Filed Under: News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: cwd, deer, deer hunting, WI deer hunting, Wisconsin deer

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Videos

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