Spring Turkey – Page 3

Dart Board Turkey

May 27, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Find Turkeys in the Late Spring Season

May 16, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

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

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

Regarding where to find them:

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

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

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

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

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

Regarding turkey behavior-

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

Wisconsin 2013 Spring Turkey Harvest – first 3 periods

May 8, 2013 by Charlie 2 Comments

Update May 28, 2013 Total 2013 Wisconsin spring turkey kill

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

How the spring turkey hunters faired?

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

Time Period A, 4/10 through 4/16

Zone Harvest

1 2,232

2 1,602

3 1,946

4 770

5 380

6 136

7 66

Total 7,132

Time Period B, 4/17 through 4/23

Zone Harvest

1 1,995

2 1,479

3 1,765

4 720

5 359

6 91

7 61

Total 6,470

Time Period C, 4/24 through 4/30

Zone Harvest

1 2,342

2 1,495

3 1,904

4 967

5 352

6 117

7 77

Total 5,544

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

When Do Turkeys Nest in Wisconsin?

April 23, 2013 by Charlie 13 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are Turkeys Responding to Calls In Wisconsin Spring 2013?

April 17, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

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

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

” Are the turkeys gobbling and responding to calls?”

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

A few more details are in order before answering definitively.

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

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

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

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

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

Turkeys are answering calls in the spring of 2013

Good hunting.

Double Beard Lightweight Turkey

April 10, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back at the hut the hot soup refurbished my resolve…

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

Picture taken from the turkey’s point of view.

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

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

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

An unusually small turkey considering he sports a double beard.

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

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

April 5, 2013 by Charlie 2 Comments

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

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

When to scare turkeys in the spring?

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

What to do now?

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

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

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

The Turkey’s Snood Knows

March 9, 2013 by Charlie 4 Comments

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

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

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

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

Dr. Buchholz continues

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

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

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

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

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

They alarmed the turkey becomes the shorter the snood becomes.

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

How to Legally Bait Wild Turkeys

March 3, 2013 by Charlie 1 Comment

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

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

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

Audio Baiting

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

How it works

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Update: Kirkland Warblers and Wild Turkeys audio baiting.

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

Wisconsin 2013 Spring Wild Turkey Permit Drawing Completed

January 15, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Great News–This is the earliest Wisconsin DNR has ever completed the wild turkey spring drawing. Kudos to those at WDNR for making this happen. Sure will make spring turkey hunt planning easier. You can check your spring turkey application results at Wisconsin’s Online Licensing Center.

Turkey licenses not claimed by drawing will be sold OTC. The availability of OTC 2013 spring turkey tags will announced later.

Good luck.

Update 12:50 1/15/2013 from WDNR press release today:

Leftover spring turkey permits go on sale March 18

The 99,612 remaining permits for the 2013 spring turkey hunting season will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis starting Monday, March 18 at 10 a.m. Leftover permits will be first issued for sale by zone, one zone per day, with each zone having a designated sales date.

Hunters should check the turkey zone map (PDF) to verify where they want to hunt and then check the turkey permit availability page to see if permits are available for the period and zone in which they wish to hunt.

The following zones have leftover permits, and the scheduled sales dates are as follows:

Zone 1 – Monday, March 18

Zone 2 – Tuesday, March 19

Zone 3 – Wednesday, March 20

Zone 4 – Thursday, March 21

Zones 5, 6 & 7 – Friday, March 22 (due to the low number of permits left in these units, sales have been combined into one day)

There are no leftover permits for time periods A or B in the regular turkey management zones listed above.

Wisconsin Mississippi River Backwaters Turkey Hunt

January 13, 2013 by Charlie Leave a Comment

At least they were there

2011 Spring, unit 1 Wisconsin Turkey Hunt somewhere north of La Crosse on the Mississippi River

Hunting some flat lowland was a treat after all the snowy, wet slippery hill climbing of season 2. I could only hunt the weekend of season 3 and still had the snow mixed with rain plus a little high wind just to keep things interesting. I found a sheltered area where the turkeys were hanging out in very good numbers and responded well to lost hen yelping. Truth be told I whiffed on a bunch of gobblers Saturday they just kept picking me out and walking off before I could shoot. Apparently I was wearing the wrong tree so I vowed to change camo for tomorrow’s hunt.
Even though I was damp and cold Saturday I stayed until a gobbler roosted, marked the spot on the GPS and arrived back at the boat landing just darkness settled in.

Oh dark something Sunday morning:

The choppy waves banging on the jon boat’s front made enough noise that I was sure would scare away all the turkeys before I setup. He flew down Sunday in the early dawn light at 5:30 gobbling like crazy in the 20+ mph wind and sleet. He circled to my right side within 6 ft where there was no way to shoot, then circled back around the fallen tree top to the front. At 8 feet he was head on gobbling at me non-stop for what seemed an entirety, my gun drooping from the sling hanging on my knee. He was so close turkey spit was soaking my headnet with each gobble. No chance to even blink. Finally he raised his head up turned it sideways with a branch blocking his eye, my gun was mounted as he juked his head for a better look; the wad never had a chance to open.

Sunrise in the Woods

June 18, 2012 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Sweat is trickling around on my skin with my breath coming in long steady gulps trying to satisfy the hungry lungs burning in my chest. False dawn provides a twilight feel as I rest, listening for the faintest hint of a turkey, rustling feathers or the scratch of feet shifting on the bark of massive oak limbs overhanging my steep hillside trail.

I am here due to a sudden change of plans, last night a good buddy called to report he heard a gobbler while fishing on the Mississippi River yesterday afternoon. He quit turkey hunting a few years ago, a situation I have failed to remedy. Being the kind of fellow who is always looking for a way help someone, he called knowing I would be interested even though that turkey was atop a heavily wooded cliff, which around this area is usually referred to simply as a bluff.
Since there had been no vocal birds anywhere else I’d been hunting; more than willing ears absorbed this hot turkey tip.

At 5:00 am I found myself at the base of a 500-foot bluff thinking just maybe my friend was playing with me, the mental picture of him holding his laughing stomach, face contorted in mirth caused a moment of hesitation every turkey hunter knows when he starts to think about being somewhere else.
There was no turkey talk going on, a beautiful but silent morning and I’m in an area my boots had never before trod. Up the old logging path, hooting and cawing.

At the top, the woods was open, 5:45 not so much as a cluck.
I set up on the most comfortable tree of the season the sun just a red glow peeking over the horizon at my back. Fighting off a bout of tree trunk narcolepsy I made my first calls – quiet yelps, rising to cackles. Nothing. Let out a series of lost yelps and kee-kees. Still and quiet.

About 6:10 red pinkish sunrise light is filtering thru the upper story leaves dancing and flickering a rainbow of colored bars all around throughout the woods; a gorgeous unbeatable morning, certainly worth the hike as my mind strains to absorb it all into the pages of my mind.

There – I know not, from where he came; the most outrageously beautiful strutting turkey I have ever seen; bathed in the glow of those multi-colored beams of sunrise. Irradiance feathers caught and shimmered those colored rays of light changing into little starbursts of color skittling across my glasses at me as he pirouetted on his toes in a manner that would make any ballerina jealous.

As I had many times in the past, I gazed intently over the gun barrel usually a natural thing at a time like this, but it seemed harsh and so out of place this morning. Tomorrow is another day.

Smitty’s Spring Turkey

June 10, 2012 by Charlie 5 Comments

My 2012 Spring Turkey

Written by Smitty, posted by charlie elk.

Slowly sneaking into position I question whether I made a good decision or not. I had been running late that morning so instead of going for a bird that I had roosted the night before, I headed towards a spot that I had seen one earlier in the year.

I am about 40 yards from my planned location when a gobble echoes through the pine swamp. Just as I had feared, the bird is already on the ground. Belly crawling to the field edge was my only hope for getting a shot. Soft yelps come from my dad as he sits back and watches my sneak. Once reaching the edge of the field, I try to stay still with all of the adrenalin flowing through my veins. He is close, maybe 60 yards, but I am still unable to see him. Both my dad and I begin calling frantically trying to work him into a frenzy. It works as the gobbler begins cutting and yelping back at us in between spells of triple and even quadruple gobbles. He refuses to come out into the field and into range. Then it all stops. Not another sound comes from the bird. After about 15 minutes I decide to sneak to the corner of the field to look down the wood-line. Just as I reach the corner, the tom lets loose another gobble.

Using a large pine as cover, we begin another sequence of calls. Again the bird refuses to come closer. The sounds of him digging in the leaves die off and he again slips away. I begin to look around and plan my next move when he appears in the field about 200 yards away. Then two hens come over a knoll in the field and begin taking him away from me. The next 5 minutes entailed near constant gobbling as we cut and yelp at him like mad. Finally he could take it no longer. The tom lets down his tail and begins a full out sprint straight for me. He gobbles a couple times on the run and then drops behind another knoll in the field. All is quite except for the slight ‘click’ of the safety on my Remington 11-87. Many times have I seen a gobbler quiet down as he enters the woods so I knew the crucial time was coming. From behind a blow down at 28 yards he appears. A light squeeze of the trigger and a load of #6 shot drops the bird dead. It took only one hour and fifteen minutes for me to kill my biggest turkey ever but the memories will last a lifetime.

He is double bearded with one measuring 10 1/4in and the other 6in with dual 7/8 inch spurs.

Late Spring Gobbler Tip

March 17, 2012 by Charlie 2 Comments

During the late spring seasons gobbler yelps get a better response than hen yelps. Breeding is winding down, hens are tending nests, the gobblers are losing testosterone and looking to reform into bachelor flocks (they hang in these all summer) in order to find each other they yelp and cluck. Not aggressively just in a where are you sort of way.
To locate toms in the late spring season many hunters make the mistake of listening for gobbles which are fewer, rather they should listen for the gobblers yelping and clucking to each other.
Bottom line during the last 2 seasons in WI most hens have been bred, the guys are tired of the woman talk and looking to start up the guy talk again.

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