Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

The Rain Bird

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The Rain Bird

by FirstBubba

It’s April 13th and so far, turkey season has been a bust! I’m seeing birds but my every attempt has been thwarted! Soooo…I’m up early this morning to try again!

A gusty north wind greets me at the door. Lightning to the northeast provides brief illumination as I scurry to the truck with my shotgun. I almost turn back, but forge ahead into the gloomy morning.

Parking at the gate, the one ton Dodge rocks and rolls as the blustery wind buffets it broadside!

Again I think, “Why don’t you just go home?”.

At 6:45 AM, daylight is breaking through the gloom. I gear up and head across the soggy pasture to my ” spot”. Thirty-knot wind gusts and 58°! It ain’t fittin’ weather fer man nor beast! After fiddling around a bit, I get my gear spread out and set up.

Buffing the surface of a slate call, I send a few yelps into the gale. That won’t be heard until it reaches the next county over! Oddly, I get a reply from across the creek to the east! Cross a creek? In a rain storm? R-I-G-H-T!

I settle back and wait.

The spot is comfortable, but the wind is miserable. Especially since it’s beginning to spit rain. “Just what I need!”

Lo and behold! Out of the storm, I see a jake cautiously approaching. I get my gun up but a small hackberry tree blocks my shot. A little shift and lean to the right and I get him lined up, but it also spooks him and he’s having none of it! He scurries off in a trot.

The rain picks up.

Minutes later, what appears to be a rain-soaked tom gingerly approaches from my left. I suppose it’s because of the rain, but this is one scroungy looking bird!

The rain picks up.

Approaching dead on, I’m having a hard time detecting any “tom” features like beard or fan. One or two tail feathers seem to be dragging the ground.

The bird finally turns far enough to his left that I can detect a decent beard through the rain, thunder, lightening and wind.

The safety snaps to the off position and he approaches dead on. At 20 yards, he stops and stares at me through the rain. (did I mention it was raining?) The recoil is unexpected and he collapses in a pile of soggy feathers.

FINALLY! This was my first bird since 2011!

I retrieve my bird and begin to pick up my gear as the cadence of the raindrops increases.

Two toms appear out of the storm from the east! They had to be the birds gobbling at me from across the creek earlier. I’m in a “2 Tom” county, but they’ve seen me move and all the soft clucks and purrs won’t bring them in. They skirt around me at 70 to 80 yards and head west across the rain-soaked pasture.

I get my gear picked up and reach over to a broken limb to grab my hanging camera. The two toms that came from the east are coming down the fence line from the west…..in the rain!

When I step out into the open, 8 to 10 birds gathered under the pecan trees scurry across the pasture and the two stragglers join them!

I’m covered up with birds! I’m soaked! I’m cold! I’m elated! I’m going home!

Old Rainy 22 lbs. 9-inch beard and .75 inch spurs

This bird only had 7 tail feathers! It appeared that maybe a predator had shredded his tail. Five feathers on the left. The two on the right hung loosely and drug the ground!

I tried several times to pose him for a picture or two. Nothing worked! I finally just snapped a picture of him lying in the mud! It WAS raining, you know!

As the diesel roared to life, I realized that water was still pouring out of my rain-soaked”Boonie” hat and had to laugh! My dad used to tell me, “Son! It was raining so hard, water quit running IN my boots and started running out!” I knew exactly what he was talking about!

Neon Tom – Gobbler Rumble End

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“Neon” Tom
by FirstBubba
The “Gobbler Rumble” ended when the six toms broke into smaller groups and headed to the field with the hens.
One of them, however, headed off on his own to the pecan grove to the east.
The grove has huge, old trees that have shaded out most undergrowth. As they leaf out, they also leave the ground under them in dark shadows.
This tom seemed to be on a mission. He never gobbled, yelped, spat or drummed. He simply walked into the dark shadows of the trees and began to strut proudly. I turned the video back on and began to track him. A few rays of the rising sun were stabbing through the timber east of the trees and provided perfect backlighting for his gaudy show!
I decided I wanted prints instead of video and switched the camera to “Smart Capture”, but alas, the show had ended! I did eventually get one nice photo of him (shot #3) as he strode off with a couple of hens that had arrived for the “Gala”!
As hard as I tried to make an 8×10, the “still from video” function just won’t allow a clear enlargement! Therefore, 4×6 is the best I can do! When we darken the room, his tail stands out in his framed photo like a curved beacon.
So, in all his “radiant glory”, these are the shots I call; “Neon Tom”!

Now is that a ” shiny hiney” or what?

Ending up Intoxicated on Wild Turkey in Colorado

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It sounded almost like a breeze moving dead leaves on the tree branches, but I don’t remember there being any leaves on the early spring cottonwoods. As another wave of the fluttering sound reached my ears I realized the sound was not the trees or any leaves; it was a flock of turkeys rustling their feathers, and there must be a lot them to make that much noise at little after 4:00 am.  A few minutes later the first yelps of the morning started.  Apparently, Colorado turkeys wake up much earlier than those sleepy eastern birds in Wisconsin. Sure enough by 4:30 the first crescendo of gobbling cascaded down from their roosts, each like a wave crashing on a rocky beach.  Each time the audio wave began it gained volume as if urging the sun to rise early. My shivering intensified, surprised I was that cold, then I became acutely aware it was maximum exhilaration that had no relationship to the temperature, this is what turkey nirvana is all about, like being drunk on wild turkey, the non-alcoholic kind.

Six years ago, on a now defunct turkey forum, Treerooster and charlie elk recognized each other as fellow turkey nerds.  We discussed things like the length of the turkey’s memory, how they find food, the effect of ground temperatures on behavior, what the snood means, why two- dimensional sight works, techniques for tree-roosting all night with turkeys; OK you get the idea.  Fortunately, the forum had a private message option allowing treerooster and charlie could make hunting plans.  And when charlie got enough preference points to draw a spring license he was on his way to treerooster’s hunting turf in Colorado.

Our optimism was high we waded across the dark river back to the truck. We had roosted at least 15 toms and jakes on this eve of Colorado’s opening day of spring wild turkey season.  Wake up was scheduled for 3:00 am to make sure we could take our place among the roosted turkeys well before sunrise.  A treerooster nugget of wisdom – “Turkey hunting extends your life, each day of turkey hunting is the equivalent of 2 or 3 days of “normal life.”

There’s something about 15 or so roosted gobblers that make the lack of sleep and morning grogginess recede into the background of one’s conscious mind.  Gazing up at a half dozen roosted turkeys highlighted against the moonlit sky I wanted to give treerooster

treerooster sometimes likes to spend the night in the roost trees.

 

two thumbs up for his accuracy last night casting the correct GPS  coordinates.  Clearly, he has done this many times, and that is why I told him that I would hunt the way he hunts.  And he is a one of a kind tree-roosting aficionado, sometimes he actually sleeps in the tree with the turkeys; Prefers to setup, not 200, 100 or even 50 yards from roosted birds, rather, right in the middle of them.

There was a certain surrealness sitting under roosted turkeys expecting the morning light to brighten and instead, it became quite dark after the moon set as we waited for the first glimmers of sunrise.  However, the turkeys had no inhibition and continued to call and gobble to each other.  They did not seem to care there were coyotes on the prowl, raccoons screaming out their mating calls; every sound caused all those anxious roosted birds to turn up the volume. Treerooster was supposed to do the calling but any calls we’d have made would be the equivalent of spitting in the ocean due to all the actual turkey noise.

Is there such a thing as sonic boom gobbling?  Had anyone asked me this question before my first-morning hunt in Colorado I would have thought them crazy.  But, not now. A couple of mallards came flying through the trees, and one of them quacked, this caused such loud gobbling that it caused the ducks so much turbulence they almost fell out of the air.  Laughter would have erupted from me had my ears not hurt so bad, never before did I wish to turn down or remove my hearing aids on a turkey hunt.  What had been 15 roosted gobblers was now apparently 50-70 raucous male turkeys surrounding us on all sides. In almost 40 years of turkey hunting, I have never experienced anything like this.

When the hens snuck up from behind on my five, I became concerned if I didn’t get a tom out this huge group I’d have egg on my face and some explaining to do. Hen turkeys are notorious for messing up a well-planned gobbler killing strategy. One of those hens got so close she could have rested her beak on my shoulder when she yelped.  I swear I felt her spittle on my cheek.  If she putted, no one here noticed and none of the turkeys noticed the deer that almost tripped over my boot.  Thankfully, the deer did not notice me, perhaps due to all the ruckus from turkeys.

 

Treerooster and charlie with Colorado opening day Rio wild turkey

More gobblers flew down; it was quickly getting crowded here on the ground. Finally, the one who had strutted back and forth from one end of the limb to the other launched and sailed in.  Lesser turkeys scrambled out of his way, for a brief moment he disappeared in the dawn’s light.  As his head came around the other side of some wispy brush I made a quick check for any other turkeys in the area, the roar of the Benelli caused a literal explosion of turkey wings clawing at the air and every sound these large birds can make filled the woods and the surrounding grassland.

In almost forty years of turkey hunting, I’d never experienced anything like that Colorado morning.  We ended the

charlie carrying Rio turkey from the kill site.

hunt intoxicated by overdosing on a whole lot of wild turkey. The non-alcoholic kind.

Hip boots are required for access.

 

Crossing the river with the turkey while using a  walking stick to stabilize footing on the shifting sands.

 

Pause to soak in the hunt and wide open scenery.

 

Treerooster’s very comfortable camp.  Where charlie managed to arrive the day before right after treerooster got is setup.

 

Hey treerooster, thanks for the best of the best turkey hunting experiences.

 

FirstBubba’s Gobbler Rumble

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Written and photographed by FirstBubba

Basically, this was my first attempt at “wild game photography”.

Armed with a Kodak Z5010 camera and a 21x zoom lens and my trusty Ruger 6.8mm Ranch rifle, (there’s lot’sa wild hogs in the area!) I set out about a week before season to locate and photograph turkeys…or what ever else may pop out.

Settling down in a gully behind a willow log in the gathering light, gobblers loudly greeting the dawn all around me and my heart goes into overdrive!

Wanting some action shots, I set the camera to “Video” and wait.

It doesn’t take long!

Two toms approach from the west, three from across the road behind me and two more from across the creek.

A “herd” of hens gather by twos, threes, and fours from all directions until I’m a nervous wreck!

I can’t track them ALL! …and don’t want one to “bust” me!

These six toms break off, cross under the fence and are joined by one stray hen who quickly scuttles away when the six square off.

I have trouble finding the birds on the screen!

RATS!

I finally get the camera recording, the raucous “fighting purrs” breaking the early dawn quiet and filling the bottom with sound.

Now if I can just keep them on screen…THAT didn’t happen!

With nearly 2 minutes of jittery video, at least the sound turned out good! LOL!

It was nearly 10 o’clock before all the turkeys left and I could escape unnoticed.

Only when I got home did it dawn on me that I only had video and no “pictures”.

The little camera, though inexpensive in the grand scheme of things, has a feature to make “stills” from videos!

That is what you see that Charlie has so beautifully “recreated” here!

Thanks, FirstBubba for these great pictures of Oklahoma gobblers getting ready to Rumble!  It’s not very often if ever turkey hunters get a front row seat to this sporting event.  Heck, how many hunters would take pictures or just watch before shooting one of these fine toms?

Thanks for sharing these with us Bubba, it is really appreciated.  Sure gets a turkey hunter’s blood pumping.

Be sure to check out our Turkey Sitrep and leave turkey stories and reports in your state.

Photo courtesy FirstBubba

Photo courtesy FirstBubba
Gobbler Rumble

Photo courtesy FirstBubba
Gobbler Rumble

 

Photo courtesy FirstBubba
Gobbler Rumble

Patterning Board Surprise!

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Yesterday evening while performing one of the most important spring rituals – patterning the turkey guns, three gobblers sounded off at each shot.  How is that for incentive?  Yes, I do the patterning ritual every year because there are always new turkey loads and a hunter can never get enough practice. Those loud-mouthed gobblers on the hillside who kept me entertained weren’t the biggest surprise of the evening.  It was the Improved Modified (IM) choke tube that performed better than the turkey full chokes.

The gobblers flew up to roost with a lot of shooting light left so; I assume they must have decided to study this situation more in-depth too.  As I continued firing away, checking and double checking the patterns on the targets at varying range, those toms would purr, cluck, yelp and gobble in apparent “turkey deep thought”.

A few years ago Federal Prairie Storm, and their Mag-Shok turkey loads, both use flightcontrol wads with copper coated lead got my attention because the good folks at Federal recommend using an improved cylinder (IC) choke. Using IC choke makes it easy to change from regular upland bird hunting and turkey hunting in the fall.  Patterns are very good for the specific game out my 20 or 12 gauges without needing to swap choke tubes.  These loads raised my awareness of using a more open choke for better performance and accuracy. Still, for spring gobbler hunting my head stayed stuck on a turkey full choke.

Last year a good friend gave me a case of Federal 3rd Degree shells, thank you very much, good friend.  This gift allowed me to test them without spending $4+ per shot.  While patterning the 3rd degree through a variety of chokes from cylinder to turkey full, I discovered the Benelli factory improved modified shot the best pattern from 10 – 50 yards.  The 3rd Degrees put the scatter back into scattergun.  A turkey will need to be standing by himself, at least two feet from another bird or there will be collateral taking involved.  At 50 yards it’s common for all shotshell patterns to be spread out.  The good thing about 3rd Degrees is they are consistently spread into a nice pattern all the way.  Nine to twelve pellets were delivered into the kill zone at 50 yards.  I might try these during this spring’s hunt.

Thinking about the difference in shot metallic hardness of heavy shot, steel, bismuth, copper plated lead and nickel plated lead a light came on regarding the choke effect on each shot type.

Vicker hardness of shotgun shell metals

  • Nickel 638
  • Copper 360
  • Iron 608
  • Tungsten 3500

For decades my turkey shell of choice has been Fiocchi nickel plated Golden Turkey because they pattern well, inexpensive and efficiently kill turkeys.  Plus with the moderate price a hunter can practice without breaking their wallet.  The thing is my head got stuck on the turkey full choke is the better concept and until now.

Nickel plated shot is almost twice as hard as copper, meaning the nickel should perform better out of a more open choke, in the same manner, steel shot does, this is why I was at the range yesterday with an audience of gobblers testing standard factory chokes from Remington V3 and Benelli M2.  With the V3 a modified choke shot best and the Benelli’s improve modified shot best, this was the patterning board surprise. Actually; the second surprise in that I should have thought of this a very long time ago.

 

Carlson Turkey Choke at 50 yards

 

 

IM choke Benelli 50 yards

 

IM Benelli choke 25 yards

I have no plans to shoot turkeys at 50 yards, my personal limit is 30-35 yards. It’s just more fun to call them in close.

As for the gobbling gobblers, well that is just pared for the course here in Wisconsin.  Heck, sometimes they have the audacity to walk in front of me while I’m shooting.  Not to worry, though, that reckless behavior ends come hunting season.

 

Wild Turkeys See In Color; But Will Pink Spook Them?

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New for the 2016 Wisconsin fall turkey season: A whole lot of gun deer hunting is going to be going on.  In my area, a month of the fall turkey season will feature a concurrent gun deer hunting season.   Wisconsin game regulations require all hunters and trappers to wear blaze orange or pink while afield during any open gun deer season.  Turkeys can easily see blaze orange and are spooked by this color, a serious problem for the state’s avid turkey hunters. But what about them seeing pink?

The eyesight of a turkey is nothing short of amazing.  Not only can turkeys see in detail that is equivalent to humans with eight-power binoculars their color vision is outstanding and includes the ability to see UVA light.

Turkey retinas have seven different types of photoreceptors.

Human retinas have only four different types of photoreceptors, 1 rod, and three single cones.

There is one well-known chink in the armor of a turkey’s eyesight, and that is it’s only two-dimensional sight, not the three-dimensional view humans have.  Turkeys compensate for this by consistently juking their heads to focus on objects at differing distances.  An example of a hunter exploiting this vulnerability, if you can call it that, occurs while setup calling from brushy fallen treetop.  The turkeys approach expecting to see movement, and a well-camouflaged human is only allowing a small portion of their figure to move tricking the turkeys into thinking there are more of them feeding in that hide away.

Back to; Can turkeys see fluorescent pink?  On the UVA spectrum, definitely.  Considering turkeys have six types of cones they can probably see pink.  However, pink is sort of present on their heads depending on a particular bird’s mood.  So if a turkey hunter is on a setup while wearing a pink camo vest only bits and pieces of pink are going to be seen by incoming turkeys who are expecting to see other turkeys.  Might just work out better to wear pink versus the orange.

I know, I know, we all laughed when Wisconsin became the first state to legalize the wearing of fluorescent pink.  As a matter of fact Wisconsin became and may still be the but of jokes in the national hunting community, and here I am thinking about this as a solution to replace wearing the ugly hunt messing up orange.  Is pink ugly?  Not on ladies but… Personally, I have lived with a pink allergy all my life mostly because I think of it as a girly color.   During the pink legalizing debate, the whole purpose was to make ladies more comfortable hunting by allowing them to wear pink; there was no talk of real men wearing these girly outfits.   Women felt this law was condescending, and men, for the most part, made jokes. Now in all seriousness, I am wondering if this is a viable solution for turkey hunting, where can a fluorescent pink camo vest be purchased and can I work past my pink phobia to become comfortable wearing one?

pink-hunting-vest

Wisconsin Hunting and Trapping Forecast

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Wisconsin DNR’s annual Wisconsin Hunting and Trapping Forecast is published and available.  

The downloadable PDF is here:

2016 Wisconsin Hunting and Trapping Forecast

Download Wisconsin 2016 Hunting & Trapping Forecast

Some of the highlights inside include

Find a place to hunt in Wisconsin

Pocket Ranger App has been downloaded 210,000 times for Apple and Android phones.

  • Places to hunt
  • Deer registration locations
  • Rules and regulations
  • License and permit information
  • Safety communication tool
  • Advanced GPS mapping features
  • Trophy Case, join a community of anglers and hunters
  • News and alert feature.

Public Access Lands (PAL) Atlas

Finding Open Lands – A mapping tool shows the approximate location of all MFL–Open and FCL lands in Wisconsin – here, you’ll find landowner info, acreage, and enrollment information.

Voluntary Public Access VPA and Habitat Incentive Programs HIP

Provides financial incentives to private landowners who open their property to public hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife observation and improve wildlife habitat.

FFlight the Fields and Forest Lands Interactive Gamebird Hunting Tool

Features available within the program will help hunters locate DNR public parking areas, overlay township descriptions, and provide access to maps and aerial photos of prospective hunting areas.

Deer District Forecasts

  • West Central
  • Northern
  • Northeast
  • Southern

Migratory Game Birds

  • Ducks
  • 2016 Changes
  • Canada Geese
  • Mourning Doves
  • Woodcock

Upland Game

  • Wild Turkey
  • Pheasant
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Sharp-tailed Grouse
  • Bobwhite Quail
  • Rabbits & Hares
  • Gray & Fox Squirrels

Furbearers

  • Raccoon
  • Coyotes
  • Gray and Red Fox
  • Beaver
  • River Otter, Muskrat, and Mink
  • Fisher
  • Bobcat

Black Bear Forecast

  • Northeast District
  • Northern District
  • West Central District

The folks at WDNR did an excellent job producing a thorough overview of the upcoming 2016 fall hunting and trapping seasons. I highly recommend you download this document; there is lots of useful information.  You will not be disappointed.  Good hunting.

Wisconsin 2016 Fall Turkey Permits are available

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As Monday, August 22, 2016, the Wisconsin fall wild turkey drawing is complete.  Turkey hunters must check their turkey permit status online; www.GoWild.wi.gov. At least that is the message on Go Wild, however, on the WDNR traditional website it still says-

 Successful applicants will be notified by mail the week of August 22, 2016

Last week, when I inquired about the fall turkey permits via phone, the DNR representative told me the usual postcard would be mailed to hunters the week of August 22.   Being a fellow who feels a sense of completeness when his license is in hand checked the new Go Wild site on Monday and found my turkey license waiting for me to print.

Come on fall! There has been enough video watching to this to last a lifetime.

Come on fall! There has been enough video watching to this to last a lifetime.

Where to find and buy a Wisconsin fall turkey license

  • After logging in at Go Wild and confirming your personal information, you will see your home page.
  • Select “Buy License.” Then the WDNR product catalog will appear.
  • Under the featured or Hunt/Trap tab “Awarded Fall Turkey Tag” line appears, select to bring up the Awarded Fall Turkey Tag screen.
  • The drawn tag is included with the purchase a fall turkey license at this time.
  • Conservation Patron license holders have the fall turkey license included.

Now don’t forget-

  • Remaining permits will go on sale beginning Saturday, August 27 at 10 a.m. Leftover permits will be issued on a one per-day basis.
  • Permits are $5.00 for 10 and 11 year olds, $10.00 for residents, and $15.00 for nonresidents.
  • One per day per customer, until they are sold out.

Please note that at the time you purchase your permit you will be required to purchase a fall turkey license. If you did not purchase a spring turkey license, you will also need to purchase a Wild Turkey Stamp.

Go here to review the leftover permits.

As usual, an internal review is being conducted to make sure the drawing was accurate.  The leftover turkey permits will be posted soon.

Update 9:20 pm August 23: The leftover permits are posted.  Here’s the chart of available over the counter turkey permits.

WDNR – Permit Availability

Zone Remaining Permits
FM 0
Zone 1 15,346
Zone 2 4,254
Zone 3 18,150
Zone 4 7,816
Zone 5 0
Zone 6 0
Zone 7 0

Best of luck turkey hunting and above all else have fun, enjoyable hunt.

Update August 24, 2016, WDNR mailed drawing notification postcards.  The cost of this mailing is about $17,789 including postage and the cost of printing the card and hunters still have to go online to buy their turkey license.  The game fund is operating in deficit; Why did they waste our money on this expense?

Velvet Trophy Shows His Stuff

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vic preparing for setup

Due to Vic’s training, he will not chase deer.

On Sunday, Vic and I were out for a woodland stroll during the lunch hour.  Of course, our ultimate goal is to locate turkeys and check on the local flock dynamics.  There are so many deer across the landscape these days that most of the time they just blend into the background, but then on occasion, a few standout.

You never know what you'll see on a summertime stroll in a Wisconsin Woodland

You never know what you’ll see on a summertime stroll in a Wisconsin Woodland.

This smallish velvet buck was eating small burning nettles, as Vic and I approached he lifted his head and walked over to get a better look at us.  Fortunately, I had my camera and was able to get out and turned on.

Deer, including trophy class bucks are not afraid of dogs.

Deer, including trophy class bucks, are not afraid of dogs.

As the deer approached, Vic sat near my left leg, so I was able to snap this picture of a beautiful public land buck.  After spending the better part of a half a century pursuing trophies like this, I marvel at how at home they are around dogs.  I wrote about deer and dogs here.   I know what some readers are thinking, “Oh, well, that’s just a summertime buck.”  Wrong, this happens in the fall while wild turkey hunting, pheasant, grouse, or woodcock hunting.  At that time of year, a shotgun is in my hands, and the camera is in a waterproof, cushioned pocket so getting a picture like this is more challenging.  Interestingly the deer will tolerate my dog even if he growls or barks at them, but they will not stand around when I start digging in my pockets.

My passion these days, fall turkey hunting, so now the question I ponder; Should I go out this season and take him or should I give the GPS coordinates to some other deserving hunter?

Deer can’t be reliably saved for future years because there are too many hazards in the wild that most likely will take their lives.  In Wisconsin, a buck deer like this has about a 50% CWD infection rate.  There is a 50/50 chance  that any buck you encounter will look like this next year.

Patrick Durkin wrote an excellent piece on CWD in WI.

Patrick Durkin wrote an excellent piece on CWD in WI.  His article should be mandatory reading for all hunters.

Somewhere along the line this fall I’ll meet a deerhunter who’d like a crack at a nice buck and I’ll give them the coordinates.  Perhaps, they’ll tip me off as to where all those turkeys I’ve been seeing went.

Reflecting at the End of Spring Turkey Season 2016

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The hen makes gentle clucks from a treetop behind me, odd perhaps, but this is one of the last days of the 2016 spring turkey season.  For the most part, the hens are now sitting to incubating their eggs.  The made morning rush is giving way to deliberate calm.  At least on the part of the hen, not so with gobbler booming in the morning to my front.  He is not in the mood to let go of his dominance or mating drive.

As the rays of sunlight begin piercing the woodland, my mind wanders over the passing days. Reminiscing about a turkey season before sunrise light shaftscompletion; who would think that is possible? This morning I’m having trouble shaking the feeling of melancholy, it’s typical at the end of a season to feel a certain reverence, but it’s not quite over yet.  As the rays of sunlight begin piercing the woodland, in spite of the hard gobbling tom, my mind wanders over the last passing days.

Gobble gobble at the hen’s soft clucks.

It all started by accompanying my grandson on his youth hunt, the memory of those seven long beards coming in while he caused and earthquake in the magnitude of 3.6. The moment of consternation when he missed one of the biggest turkeys I’d ever seen afield that quickly gave way to a warm, confident feeling he’s on the road to becoming a hunter.  He saw that insight that keeps us all hunting for just one more of those sights.

Gobble gobble the hen softly clucks.

My good friend Kody from Alberta, Canada, here on his first ever, heck he was the first Canadian ever to hunt spring turkeys in Wisconsin. Kody on set upOnly two days to hunt but we crammed a full array of turkey hunting experiences into those days.  This gobbler ushering the morning could very likely be one that Kody set up tight on; it’s in the same area.  If only Kody could have hunted one more day.  No one can predict the actions or behavior of turkeys; they are so random.  The melancholy feeling set in after Kody departed for the airport so I setup in the field point where we had a close call with several different turkeys.  I called a few times and let my mind wander savoring the memories of hunting with Kodyhunt’s highs.  Suddenly the sight of two toms walking towards the decoy jerks me back into focusing on the now.  With twotwoturkeys tags still open in my pocket, the last day of the fourth Wisconsin season, I realized the tom’s heads were going to intersect which would allow me to kill them both with one shot. A feeling of frustration enveloped me as stood over the two dead birds; why didn’t, couldn’t this have happened when Kody was here? No predicting turkeys.

The hen’s wings caress the air as she flys off roost to her nest, and I take over her clucking.  The tom does not seem to notice any difference and gobbled right back. 

Last week Rye, my Grandson from Texas came to visit, he’s seven and wants to hunt so bad.  With his help, we set up a pop-up blind, and then he had a blast randomly sticking out the decoys. He called his little heart out, dang, no turkeys showed up only some crows.  A couple of years ago I gave him a crow call to use on Texas crows, so I told him to order those crows to go away.  Well, I don’t know what he said in crow to make those crows go so wild. Whatever his calls meant to the crows remains a mystery, we were soon witnessing 25-30 crows darting about trees around us, screaming and diving at the blind.  Had it been crow season we’d have had to eat a bunch of crows.  As it was, he just blew that call with more urgency and laughing between breaths.  Oh yeah on the way back he begged to carry my gun, it’s all about fun, so he was my gun bearer.

Gobble, gobble, yelp, cluck.

Those last calls were a whole lot closer with some mind clearing directness bringing my attention fully back to the present, the shafts of sunlight are lighting the woods glistening through the rising mist. The canopy is thick late in the season limiting visibility for that turkey and me.  The early morning wet dampened the woods allowed me to move quietly and get real close to this gobbler, him and I have a little contest to settle.  The hen quietly flew off to her nest some time ago, so I took over her clucking without the old gobbler realizing the change.  His gobbles had an urgency to them now at times he sounded like he was moving away and the next sound like he was in range, but I had not heard him fly down yet.  Oh, of course, he is hopping from tree branch to branch trying see me through all the leaves.  The gobbling sounded closer and farther depending on which direction he pointed his beak during the gobble.

For a moment all went quiet and then the tell-tale thud, he is on the ground and my gun is pointed at exactly that location.  I cannot see him only his feathers are making noise as they shake and rattle with his movement.  The turkey is in range all I need to do is see him.  Tension has a way of building in these situations; I dare not move, or the turkey may periscope me and then fade away as he did on so many other turkeymornings this season.  The gun is comfortable on my knee as I grip the striker for one last cluck while hoping he is not looking directly at me.  There is no reaction to my cluck; all is quiet until that red, white and blue pulsing bulb of a head appears as if floating up a little draw in the hillside, it’s all I can see moving along.  The turkey’s body is not visible only the head; it’s in range… At the blast, the bright head disappears being replaced by a wing tip skidding down the draw.  I race to grab him to avoid joining his slide all the way to the bottom for retrieval.

A genuinely fine bird, double beard, 1 3/8” spurred gobbler.   Heck, they are all fine birds I just love turkey hunting.

spurs tongue teaser call

Turkeys are Hatching in West Central Wisconsin

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Turkeys are hatching in West Central Wisconsin

Turkeys are hatching in West Central Wisconsin

3 egg nest

This photo was taken one day before the next one which shows four eggs.

In spite of wet, chilly weather wild turkeys are hatching all across West Central Wisconsin. Ground temperatures are more important than the air temperature in determining the timing of laying, setting and hatching.   Recently hatched poults are being reported near their nests with the brood hen nearby watching over them.

Recently hatched wild turkey poults in West Central Wisconsin. June 11, 2016

Recently hatched wild turkey poults in West Central Wisconsin. June 11, 2016

Turkeys lay eggs one at a time, one per day in open woodlands or along the edges of fields.

Turkeys lay eggs one at a time, one per day in open woodlands or along the edges of fields.

 

 

 

 

Other broods that consist of fully feathered poults with limited flying skills have been seen along roadsides and in ditches feeding on insects.   Insects are the most important first food items for the newly hatched turkeys. These poults are roosting in trees at night; this provides them much more safety than huddling on the ground with their brood hen.

When poults are a few days old and flightless they remain frozen in place as their primary defense.

When poults are a few days old and flightless, they remain frozen in place as their primary defense.

Poults can be very hard to see in all the lush springtime growth. More than likely poults have been hatching since early May when ground temperatures rose to 50 degrees.

turkey poults 3

Three wild turkey poults in this picture. Notice how well they blend into their surroundings.

If a brood or nest is destroyed, hens will re-nest until late August to early September, and this is why hunters sometimes see grouse sized poults in October.

 

 

Hens store sperm for about 90 days to make re-nesting possible.  Gobblers can continue to breed hens through July; occasionally strutters will be spotted in fields during July with hens present.

Courtesy of D Gordon Robertson

Brood hen with poults. Courtesy of D Gordon Robertson

If you like what you see, I urge you to get out and see what is going on in your area and then let us know here in the comment section.  I really enjoy being out at all times of the year.

 

Wisconsin 2016 Spring Wild Turkey Beats 2015 Registrations

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WP_20160522_004Wisconsin’s spring 2016 wild turkey registration total is 11% higher than last year.  Preliminary total harvest has 45,496 turkeys registered spring 2016.

  • Unit 1 had the highest turkey harvest 13,862 for a 22% success rate.
  • Unit 2 registered 11,083 turkeys 23% success rate.
  • Unit 3 registered 10,348 birds 20% success rate.
  • Unit 4 registered 6,698 birds, success rate 21%
  • Unit 5 total 2,071
  • Unit 6 total 813
  • Unit 7 total 510
  • Fort McCoy checked in with 111

Total 2016 turkey permits issued 213,672 compared to 2015 issued permits 208,250. About 26,000 applicants who were drawn did not buy their license.

Keep in mind the number of turkey hunters is less than the number of issued permits because each hunter is allowed to buy more than one tag.  The total number of spring turkey hunting licenses sold each spring in Wisconsin ranges between 100,000 to 120,000.

How should hunter success rates be calculated?

Currently, WDNR calculates the state success rate using the total number of permits issued giving Wisconsin hunters a statewide success rate of 21.3%.  If the success rate calculation is done using the number of hunting licenses sold, which would accurately represent the number of individual hunters, the success rate is 41.36% assuming 110,000 spring hunting licenses were sold.

If the average hunter in Wisconsin buys two permits;  And that hunter shoots one turkey are they successful? Or do they need to fill both permits to be successful?

What about the obsessed turkey hunter who purchases at least one permit per weekly season, perhaps more than one permit in the later seasons, so they have 7 or more permits to hunt.   How many of those permits do they need to fill to be considered successful?

Other hunters buy extra permits in other units and time periods so that they can spend time hunting friends or family in those areas. Perhaps they only hunt a day for two or don’t hunt at all due to personal scheduling conflicts.

Bottom line. Does the success rate percentage really matter?

Hunters can apply now for their 2017 spring turkey tags.  Log into your account on www.GoWild.gov, “Buy permit application”, under application and points.  Applications can be changed anytime and as many times as needed until the December 10th deadline.

 

 

Grandson on The Wisconsin Youth Hunt

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“Grandpa I see turkeys coming.”

“Where son?”

“Coming down the hill behind us.” Boy, does he have a good game eye, a gaggle of turkeys was weaving its way downhill in our direction.

As excited as we were to get started turkey hunting on Saturday it seemed life was conspiring to keep us from it.  The game of turkey hunting is supposed to commence in the early morning dark and span the day, and that was not the way the 2016 Wisconsin spring wild turkey hunt began for us.

10:00- Found us set up in a small woodland bordered by some Ag fields. A lot of hunters would prefer setting up a blind and spread of decoys in an area like this. My grandson, like most young hunters, prefers to be outside a blind rather than in one.  Within a half hour, the craggy bark of that old tree bit into our backs making the idea of moving very appealing.  Or was it the lack of the turkeys? We moved, several miles away.

Nugget the turkey decoy. Keeps it interesting for the young ones.

Nugget the turkey decoy. Keeps it interesting for the young ones.

10:45- We left the parked truck to hike across a prickly pear littered sand barren field, clearly an area that did not look like it would hold any turkeys, at least to the casual passerby. Down an embankment along the edge of a swamp with too much water for easy walking we headed up to a hillside step and for no other reason than there were fresh turkey scratchings everywhere we setup Nugget, (yes, he named the new decoy).  We situated ourselves in a decaying blow down.  Walker on my left.

Walker turkey 04092016

A tom like this gets the most seasoned hunter’s heart beating overtime.

11:10- Walker’s picked those turkeys out, and he knew immediately they were gobblers with a gang of jakes bringing up the rear.  With all those turkeys meandering a line towards us his excitement was quite contagious.  I must admit my heart skipped a beat or two when it becomes clear exactly how big the lead gobbler was, and he was heading directly towards Nugget.

For some reason, turkey decoys don’t usually work for me.  In spite of all those past failures a few days ago I purchased a Scheel’s decoy that had been on sale for $17.89 figuring Walker would like it.  Apparently, the lead gobbler liked her too because his focus was on Nugget and seemed not to care in the least there was a trembling 13 year old trying to get a bead on his pulsing head only 12 yards away.

For me, it was an eternity from the time that old gobbler stopped, extended his head high to get a better look at Nugget and the roar of Walker’s 20 gauge.  Then inside the scream, NOOOOO… as those big wings clawed air carrying that very large turkey up above the trees and out of our lives. Shots at turkeys do not come much more perfect than that, how could he miss?  Outwardly, I whispered, “your turkey nuggets flew away, stay still and be ready.”

The following turkeys had scattered at the shot.  Turkeys have short memories and can’t rationalize what happens, they just react.  In short order, my calls calmed them down, and they started to stroll back to us.  Now you must understand the turkeys have calmed, but my grandson is still shaking from the first encounter, there is no doubt he is rationalizing the situation.

They're back...

They’re back…

Four turkeys move back into shooting range if Walker was shaking before; this time, it’s an earthquake allowing the turkeys to bust our position and retreat.  Again I call to them, for some reason, my turkey calling calms the turkeys but still does very little to calm Walker.  Six turkeys come back in range to mill around clucking and purring their contentment.  But as turkeys are prone to do given too much time they bust us and fade away again.  At this point I remind Walker about how much fun this is, he agrees grinning ear to ear.  I ask him if he is hungry for some turkey nuggets, of course, he replies.  Then let me know when you are calm, and I will call those turkeys back, again.

After about 15 minutes Walker assures me he is ready to try again.  Soft yelps and purrs waft thru the woodland soon the turkeys eagerly answer, and I amp up the calls causing the toms to do about faces and march in; who can blame a 13 old for all his excitement, we had no blind, so there was nothing between the turkeys and us.  We were sitting on the ground, so when those birds were in close, they looked down on us.  Heck, I know some veteran turkey hunters who’d crack too.

It was important to figure out why my grandson missed that first gobbler, so I measured the distance, exactly 12 yards.  Later at the gun range he never missed a turkey target at that range and then it occurred to me;  the target was just a turkey head, not the whole bird. I forgot to tell him to make sure he picks out only the head when he shoots at a live turkey.

Wisconsin 2016 Spring Turkey Hunt Forecast

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dreamstime_l_17622897

The following 2016 Wisconsin spring turkey hunt forecast or if you prefer “prediction” is based on observations reports from my network of year-round turkey hunters.  Not only do we hunt spring, summer, fall and winter; During the offseason, we explore all 7 of Wisconsin’s turkey units noting habitat condition, flock composition, and numbers. We get out from behind the windshield to hike and glass the areas.

Admittedly this preview is subject to a lot my perception based on the field reports, experiences and years of turkey hunting.  Before the 2014 Wisconsin spring turkey hunt, I wrote a forecast based on my hunter river turkeynetwork field reports.  At that time nearly everyone, including the current WDNR Wildlife managers were predicting a horrible spring hunt, it was supposed to be so bad they cut tags by 25%; this was the first time in state history the number of available turkey tags slashed. I stuck my neck out as a contrarian with a forecast of an above average hunt.  Wisconsin’s spring turkey harvest was the second highest in the nation.

2016 Wisconsin turkey habitat is about as full of turkeys as it can get.  No one “counts” turkeys in Wisconsin so it’s left to a variety of opinions.  I think a reasonable estimate of long snoodstatewide turkey numbers is around 600,000 birds perhaps approaching 650,000; this makes Wisconsin the number one turkey state in the nation based on population.
Wisconsin appears to be at carrying capacity statewide and is some southern areas turkeys may be over their carrying capacity.   Wisconsin has experienced back to back mild winters followed by excellent springtime nesting conditions making excellent recruitment.. 2015  fall turkey hunters found high numbers of bird groups with diverse age structures.

2016 Spring Turkey Forecast for Wisconsin Turkey Management Unit 1, 3 & 4

In particular, these units have abundant turkey populations.  With the exception of northern unit 4, turkeys numbers may be over carrying capacity.  Carrying capacity is the number of a species the habitat can support during worst case conditions. i.e. severe winter.

Active fall turkey hunters reported encountering unprecedented bird numbers.  Official WDNR kill stats show a decrease in the harvest.  I believe this is due to hunter effort.  The number of fall turkey hunters has been in steady decline for several years; perhaps there are only 27,000 fall turkey hunters statewide. My point is fall hunter harvest is not a reliable indicator of the turkey population.

2016 Spring Turkey Forecast for Wisconsin Turkey Management Unit 2

I have no experience hunting in unit 2.  Tags are limited there versus the population of turkey hunters, so I leave the available tags for those hunters.  The network reports nearly the same abundance as the 1,3, and Proud Gobbler4.  So it will be an excellent spring hunt in zone 2.

2016 Spring Turkey Forecast for Wisconsin Turkey Management Units 5,6, & 7

Again reports are indicating unprecedented high numbers of wild turkeys.  There are so few tags available in these units that I have not tried to get any. For the most part, it appears residents are the primary purchasers of these rare turkey tags.  Hunters should see excellent success this spring.

charlie elk’s 2016 Wisconsin Spring Wild Turkey Hunt Forecast Summary

Can’t wait to start hunting!  This spring 2016 is set to be a record-setting season.  Unless there is significantly bad spring weather that keeps hunters out the field, the total ’16 turkey harvest will exceed 51,000 turkeys.

If you’d like to join the  charlie elk turkey reporting network please fill out this form.  Even if you don’t want to join the network please leave a reply regarding your thoughts.

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2 year old turkeys are the bread and butter of spring hunting. There should be more of turkeys found this spring.

2 year old turkeys are the bread and butter of spring hunting. There should be more of these  turkeys found this spring.

How I Kill Afternoon Gobblers, the lessons of many years

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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

 

 

Wisconsin Go Wild; How to Buy License

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Link to new post, August 17, 2017, Wisconsin Collector Stamps; How to order

Update August 23/ 2016 – Wisconsin 2016 Fall Turkey Permits are available
Updated March 21, 2016, See here for how it worked on the first day of leftover turkey tag sales.

Wisconsin DNR has almost completed the testing on the new Go Wild site.  This is where we will be purchasing license and permits for the upcoming 2016 hunting and fishing seasons starting early next week.

Scroll down for previous  updates

Here’s what’s new

  • Deer and bear hunters will no longer be issued back tags.  Governor Walker signed the bill eliminating the back tag requirement.  It passed the legislature with over whelming bipartisan support.
  • All outdoor license and permits will be purchased via Go Wild.

License and permits

  • Stored on a Wisconsin driver license.  Accomplished automatically for online purchases.  License vendors will swipe the driver license to load your purchases onto your license.
  • Don’t want to use your driver license? Purchase the new $3.50 Conservation Card.  This card will be collectible with a new card gowild3each year.  Made of plastic like a credit card.
  • Keep copies of license on your smart phone.
  • Print paper copies either on your printer or at the license vendor.

Carcass tags will no longer be required to be attached to the harvested game.  We will keep the tags in our pocket.  After harvest, write the date and time on the tag.  If cell connection is available in the area you may immediately register your harvest. In any case, hunters are required to carry a hard copy of their license/tag.    Once registered a validated tag can be printed which will have the registration number on it and kept until all meat is consumed.

Update 3/16/16 – Some are concerned if you decide to carry your license on your cell phone and hand it to a warden or other law enforcement officer for license verification; they will be able to search it.  I posed this question to Administrative Warden  Matthew O’Brien.  Here is his reply;

In using the term “search”, I assume you are implying looking at things beyond the license documentation, such as photos or text messages.

A warden’s ability to conduct a 4th amendment search of an electronic device is the same now as it was before; absent consent, both substantive and procedural prongs of the constitutional protections would need to be satisfied before a search could lawfully occur.

So the mere fact that you are lawfully exhibiting your license on an electronic device will not automatically permit a search of your phone’s contents.  No different than exhibiting your driver’s license on a traffic stop does not permit an officer to automatically search the wallet from where the license emerged.

 

The convenience fee is now whatever the credit card company charge is, that should be less than the old $3.00 charge.  If you pay with the routing and account number of your checking account there is no fee.

License vendors will continue to receive 50 cents for each license they issue and 15 cents for each stamp sold.  The vendors rely on us to buy other things while purchasing our licenses.

go-wild-screen-shot

When the Go Wild system opens for business.  You will need to create an account with user name and password.  Once this is done you can log in without entering all of your personal data.

go-wild-sign-in

 

Update March  14, 2016, 9:38 pm: Go Wild site is still not up and running even though Secretary Stepp radio commercials were being broadcast on many AM stations today.  It’s critical the Go Wild site is flawlessly running by March 21st because this is the start of 2016 Spring Turkey OTC  Permits go on sale. First come first serve basis.

DNR personal have given me assurance that a backup plan is set just in case.  What is that plan entail?  Glad you asked.  Remember the old telephone call in system.  Yeah, the one where we call in repeatedly trying to get past the busy signal and when that’s accomplished wait on hold for your turn.  Ugh.  Make sure your phone battery is well charged.  In person, license vendors will not be sell permits unless the Go Wild system is up and running.

Update March 15, 2016, Wisconsin Go Wild site is not active yet. I found this page on WDNR. Just a little more information to study while we wait.  For those who plan to buy a leftover spring turkey permit understanding the new licensing process and navigation is paramount.

Go WildProve it

The new Go Wild system secures your license, permits, state stamps and hunter safety education information online which can be accessed through a variety of items including your original paper document, a paper reprint, an optional conservation card, your authenticated Wisconsin driver’s license, or a department-generated PDF displayed on your electronic device – no more worries about losing your one and only copy. Depending on which item you choose to use, you will have access to all of these records. Please note all forms of proof are NOT acceptable for all types of authorizations – see tables for details.

Update March 17, 2016, 8:00 AM: GoWild.wi.gov is up and looks good on my mobile device.  Will purchase conservation patron license later.

Update March 17, 2016, 10:56 AM:  Began the signup process.  Easy to follow the screens through the conservation patron license application for 2016 fall turkey, 2017 spring turkey, hip, goose, fisher, otter, &  sturgeon.

Antlerless tags did not display, nor did any of the stamps;  pheasant, turkey, trout.  This provided an opportunity to contact WDNR customer service.

Called the DNR service phone number and clicked for the chat, connected to a rep in about 6 minutes for the chat line and received answers to all my questions. There is no print selection on the chat box so if you want a transcript you’ll need to print screen.  The phone stayed on hold listening to music and WDNR promos for a little over 11 minutes.  The chat was significantly faster than the phone call.  For help during the spring turkey, OTC sale go for the chat.  Actually, I’d do both just in case.

Learned the antlerless tags will be mailed when they become available. This is different, in the past, those were printed at the time of CP purchase.   The conservation patron license includes all the stamps so they’re not printed out on the receipt separately. The conservation card does not come up as an option to buy until clicking the “featured product. If you desire the conservation card it can be purchased later.   If a resident all your purchases are automatically connected to your driver license.  NR will need to keep an e-copy or paper.

If speed is important at the start of the turkey OTC tag sales make sure you register in the new GoWild system and set up a username and password.  This takes a few extra minutes.

Using a credit card will cost 1.75% of total sale.  Conservation license card fee was $2.89 that’s a little less than the old $3 convenience.  The big saving will be for each OTC turkey tag, fee 18 cents for residents.  If you really want to save on the “conveniences” then use a checking account by providing the bank’s routing number and bank account number.

A hat tip to the WDNR on the new Go Wild system is intuitive and easy to understand.  It is hosted on the main Wisconsin state government computer system with, what appears to be the same payment process backbone as the state revenue department.   You actually leave the Go Wild side to make a payment.   I practiced navigating through the system a few times in order to be ready for the turkey sale.  Got to stay in shape you know.  Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments here.

Wisconsin 2016 Spring Turkey License Procedure is Changing

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Regular phone call will no longer work to purchase a license or permit from WDNR starting March 2016

Regular phone call will no longer work to purchase a license or permit from WDNR starting March 2016

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is changing the way hunters and all outdoor users buy their permits and licenses.  The first test of this new system Go Wild will debut for the 2016 spring turkey licenses.  Beware this includes the purchase of leftover over the counter tags which go on sale March 21, 2016 on a first come first serve basis.  Starting spring 2016 The leftover spring turkey tags and turkey license can only be purchased online or at license vendors.  Telephone sales are no longer available except via the phone app which provides online access for smart phones. All permits, licenses and tags must be purchased at the new gowild.wi.gov starting in March 2016.  The site is not active yet there is just a coming soon landing page.

License purchaseThe Go Wild system replaces the current Automated License Issuance System (ALIS) that has served Wisconsin’s outdoor enthusiasts since 1999.  As most longtime avid turkey hunters remember the ALIS system has not been perfect.  In its early days it crashed system wide during the over the counter turkey permits sale period.  The current system needs updating but it has been working well during spring turkey OTC sales.  So it would be nice, I think, to have waited until after the spring turkey permit sale.  Just call me paranoid.

There could be one advantage to the new Go Wild system for those who are very dedicated turkey hunters paying attention to any and all new developments.  A certain number of hunters will not be made aware of this change until they are on their computers scrambling to purchase a leftover permit.  Those precious seconds they spend trying find the new deal will give those in know a critical advantage to land one of the more hard to get permits. However, because there is a phone app available there could a lot more folks able to join the buying rush.  So who knows?

That assumes of course that this new Go Wild system works as advertised.  Sure hope it does. I will be testing it as soon as it opens on March 2.  I always purchase a Conservation Patron license and apply for my fall turkey license and spring 2017 license early March each year.  That prevents me from becoming busy thus forgetting to submit  application.  Once an application is submitted it can be edited up until the deadline has passed.

 

 

 

 

What do Wild Turkeys Eat? Crops tell the story

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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.

Pheasants to a Last Minute Gobbler on New Year Eve

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December 31, 2015, found Vic and I coursing through a likely pheasant field. Wild pheasants in Wisconsin can be very hard to find especially on the last day of the season. Most pheasant hunting here is a put and take proposition. The DNR’s yearly stocking is usually done by the 2nd week of December. The last pheasants released are anemic and short lived due to predators getting easy meals before the onset of severe winter.

Vic learned to hold turkeys by the neck so figures all birds should be held by the neck.

Vic learned to hold turkeys by the neck so figures all birds should be held by the neck.

Turkey dog Vic has turned out to be an accomplished upland game dog. He can change tactics to match the requirements of hunting conditions. For a couple of afternoon hours, Vic coursed around me in his effort to force a pheasant or 2 to rise at my feet. One rooster nearly ran into my legs before flushing a few yards in front. Pheasant number 1 of the 2 daily limit.

Tired and wind burn we headed back to the truck. There was a brush line containing some bulldozed brush piles. Vic earnestly began working a scent trail that I thought was the most likely rabbit. He came to a rigid point at one of those piles. He had worked hard so I thought I’d humor him by kicking the pile to flush the bunny.
Well, these “bunnies” had multicolored iridescent feathers, long tails and all 6 of them cackled as they broke off heading to different points of the compass. So startled was I target panic set in as I fired three rapid shots to no effect. “I can’t miss all these pheasants of last season flush” raced to my mind. “dang it, pick a target you fool!” Luckily I did and the biggest and final rooster of the year crashed to the ground. With a limit of pheasants in the bag, single digit temperature, a brisk wind, and an hour & half of daylight left I pondered whether or not to try for a turkey at the buzzer, and this was the first year in decades it looked like we were not going to get a Wisconsin Slam.

Super secret Wisconsin wild pheasant location

Super secret Wisconsin wild pheasant location

The Wisconsin Slam sounds easy, just get a turkey each season of the year; spring, summer, fall and winter. Due to mrs. elk’s chronic health condition my time afield was more limited than normal. And mrs. elk prefers eating pheasants, so we spent more time out pheasant hunting than turkey hunting.

On the way to our super secret pheasant field, a small pod of gobblers had crossed the road onto private land just before the old creek bridge. First time I’d seen turkeys in that area so what the heck, time to investigate. It was only a 5-minute drive back there.
As I drove slowly across the bridge, I scanned the fields, no turkeys, when I looked into the creek valley black blobs were moving in the water. What the heck?  I cursed myself for not having the binoculars in the truck. Stopped to study those blobs with squinted eyes. The blobs materialized into a flock of turkeys wading in the water. Not exactly where they’re expected to be.

Turned around to park the truck about a half mile at the public parking area. Vic and I dumped the orange to change into snow camo jackets, slipped on the turkey pack and headed towards the creek keeping Vic on a heel. A glance at my watch revealed about 45 minutes of 2015 season time left.

The turkeys were there, in the creek heads submerged much like feeding ducks. They do this in the spring to eat invertebrates, first time I’ve seen this behavior in the winter.

The 2015 turkey season continues ticking down as we stalk in closer. As Vic catches their scent as he becomes more eager by the second to do his job. On release, he tears down the ravine in a blur snow powder and yipping. The turkeys take to winged frenzy cackling and clucking as they go water drops are clearly visible dripping off their beards while others have icicles hanging causing a mirage of diamond spears protruding from their breasts.

The beard is ice covered from feeding in the creek.

The beard is ice covered from feeding in the creek.

This late in the day I feared the gobblers might just go to roost. However, in late season turkeys prefer roosting together and with toms on opposite sides of the creek, one group would most likely want to rejoin the other before roosting.

Half of the turkeys flushed out the creek

Half of the turkeys that flushed out the creek, the other half went the opposite way.

Picking a setup was tough, the wind was icy especially for Vic; he has very little hair, so something sheltered was a must. That put us below the field sitting against a tree on the slope towards the creek below. Visibility to see any incoming turkeys was more limited than I like.

After 5 minutes, of course, aggressive calling Vic started trembling. At first, I thought he was cold but no, he was on point, head laying across my lap staring intently to my right. Then I heard it- prrt putt, prrrrrt putt, if I can hear that sound the turkeys are close. Slowly I turn my head and came eyeball to eyeball with a frozen bearded gobbler. He backed away putting; his head darted behind a tree, and my body twists to get the gun on him just when another gobbler sticks his head up to see what all the putting was about- Boom!

Vic smelling success

 

Vic charges to our prize and flushes more previously unseen gobblers. It always surprises me when the gunshot does not scare them. About 15 minutes left of season 2015 so we reset to end the season with a nice gobbler in the bag, a leftover tag for tag soup and best of all memories of gobbling, yelping and roosting turkeys against the red sky sunset.

The last gobbler of season 2015 on Dec 3, 15 minutes before the buzzer.

The last gobbler of season 2015 on Dec 3, 15 minutes before the buzzer.