Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Steve Hickoff is Realtree's Editorial Director and Turkey Hunting Editor. He’s been beaten by more birds than he can remember. Still he kills enough to eat well, and fool with beards, spurs and fans until the next season. Pennsylvania born and raised, Maine is his home base now. A full-time outdoor communicator with a couple university writing degrees, he chases spring gobblers and fall flocks around the country.

  • 5 Tips to Help Travel with Hunting Dogs

    July 18, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

    If you travel with hunting dogs as I do – any canine pet really – portable, cushioned beds are essential. Good food and fresh water, including a collapsible dish, are also mainstays. Over the past 20 years my English setters have put on many road miles with me. They’ve been...

  • 5 Tips to Keep Your Hunting Dog Happy

    July 4, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

    Between early September and late December, I'm on the road, most often in my pickup truck, hunting multiple states for fall turkey flocks. And ducks. And geese. And all those smaller upland birds. We get out plenty here at home as well. My English setter Luna, like my canine hunting...

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Iowa Turkey Hunters Killed Fewer Birds Than Last Spring

June 27, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, hunters killed nearly 11,800 Iowa birds this spring, roughly 400 birds fewer than 2016. Iowa's five spring turkey seasons kicked off April 8 with the youth season. The regular spring turkey season ended on May 21. On the upside, Iowa hunters purchased...

Maryland Turkey Hunters Set a Record This Spring

June 20, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Maryland rarely comes up in conversations about turkey hunting, but hunters there set a record for the state this past spring season. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has announced that hunters reported taking a record 4,175 wild turkeys during the 2017 regular spring and junior hunt turkey seasons...

Ohio Spring Turkey Season Kill Tops 21,000 Birds

June 13, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) shared some great news about this past spring turkey season: Ohio hunters checked a total of 21,015 wild turkeys during the combined 2017 spring wild turkey south zone hunting season; northeast zone hunting season; and the youth wild turkey hunting season, April 22-May...

5 Things to Do Since Turkey Hunting Season is Over

June 6, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

It's official. Turkey hunting season is over. Part of you feels a little sad it all ended, and part of you is probably relieved . You've been running for weeks, working hard to cover the monthly bills, trying to locate birds for the morning fly-down, roosting turkeys and surely getting...

Near Record for Virginia Spring Turkey Season

May 30, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Wind. Rain. Heat and cold. Forget about it. For some states, this past spring turkey season has been one of the best on record. First, we reported on the great news about Kentucky's spring turkey season . And now, word comes from the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries...

Great News About Kentucky's Spring Turkey Season

May 30, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

The news on Kentucky's spring turkey season from Kevin Kelly of the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources is great. His full report follows: Turkey hunters in Kentucky encountered wind, rain and wild temperature swings this past spring season but did not let factors out of their control keep...

Why You Love and Hate the End of Turkey Hunting Season

May 26, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Admit it, you both love and hate the end of turkey season. A few words follow on why. Early on, you love the early risings, driving through a sleeping town to an all-night gas station for early coffee and doughnuts, where you run into a few other camo-clad hunters and...

Realtree Pro Staffer Anthony Virga Kills No. 2 All-Time New Jersey Turkey

May 21, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Like all hunters, we spring gobbler chasers text each other during the season, often on a daily (and nightly) basis. My phone has been lighting up with messages since early March. One of the most recent, received last Friday, May 19, included this note from Realtree pro staffer Anthony Virga...

Video: Wild Turkey Hen Fakes Injury to Protect Her Young

May 17, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Wild turkey encounters can happen suddenly during late spring and summer days. You might be walking in the woods, or even in a suburban area where human habituation may have taken place. This time of the year, some hens are with poults, if they've bred successfully. Depending on where you...

DIY Turkey Call: Building a Bamboo Wingbone-Style Yelper

May 9, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

By the late 1800s, Charles L. Jordan (1841-1909) began publishing how-to articles on turkey hunting, and making calls from wingbone and cane. Sources indicate he may have crafted them for decades before. After Jordan’s murder by a poacher, his writing on wild turkey hunting was compiled by Edward A. McIlhenny...

5 Excuses for Why You Missed Turkeys This Spring (and the Truth)

May 8, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Missing turkeys is part of the game. All veteran turkey hunters have been there, and if you haven't yet, brace yourself. It hurts. Memories of that strutter stepping up into range – and the 10 inches of swinging beard running off after you pull your shotgun's trigger – will haunt...

Realtree Video: How to Shoot Better Photos with Your Spring Gobbler

May 2, 2017  |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Ever get tired of the same old poses with your spring gobbler? Rachelle Hedrick has some great tips to help you shoot better . . . photos. Go here for more Realtree turkey hunting . Follow us on Facebook .

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