Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Realtree turkey hunting editor Steve Hickoff has chased gobblers all over the United States and Mexico. He was born and raised in northcentral Pennsylvania, and now makes his home in Maine. Hickoff was named the NWTF Tom Kelly Communicator of the Year for 2019, a prestigious award reflecting his longtime work promoting hunting and conservation as a turkey hunting writer, editor and book author.

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Fool a Field Turkey Without a Fan

May 3, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

One of the toughest turkeys is an old longbeard that spends a good portion of his day strutting out in the middle of a green field where he can see a country mile. As he spins and displays in his gaudy splendor, he’s telling hens in the area, “I’m the...

10 Ways to Sound Better on a Friction Call

April 26, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Mouth turkey calls are fun to yak on. So much so that most hunters yelp way too much and way too loud on a diaphragm. I’ll go out on a gobbler’s roost limb and say this: If we would keep our mouths shut and run a mix of box, slate,...

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How to Make a Deer Antler Turkey Tote

April 18, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

You’ve been after him since daylight. He flew down the wrong direction, avoided you on the next two sets, and finally committed the fourth time you got in front of him. Trouble is, you are now a mile or more from the truck. And this old gobbler is big. Really...

How to Triangulate a Roosted Turkey

April 12, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

In the dusky predawn one April morning, a turkey sounded off a mile away, his lonely gobble barely audible. I pumped my fist, pointed east and took off. But where was my hunting buddy? I looked back and he was pointing like mad and walking west in the opposite direction...

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Shot Placement for Turkey Hunting

April 12, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

This revised post is based on "Guns, Loads & Sights," written by Aaron Pass, and originally published in the Team Realtree Turkey Hunting Fieldbook (2001). Our post has two intentions: how-to instruction for where to aim your shotgun at a turkey, and to advise patterning your firearm and load for...

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Top 5 Merriam's Turkey Hunting States

April 12, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Some turkey hunters say Merriam's are easy. Not in my experience. Spring snows are often factors. High altitude. Dangerous cats. Birds that walk miles from the roost. Steep mountain climbs up skinny elk and deer trails. You earn it. Oh, you can arrange for easy hunts. Chip shots. Outfitters, eager...

Never Miss a Gobbler Again

April 6, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

A gobbler comes on a string, breaking a magnificent strut to run out his neck and rattle the foliage with a double gobble. You cluck. He stops and sticks up his red neck. You press the trigger. With improbable speed and grace for a gangly 20-pounder, the bird leaps into...

A Bunch of Wild Turkeys Later

March 25, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Loafing under a sky full of stars after a big meal of barbecue. Turkey camp, decades ago. A “writer’s hunt,” as they used to say, where media pros are invited to field-test the latest gear. And yeah, to network with the folks who write and assign the work. Realtree was...

Podcast: Should Turkey Hunters Worry About Gobbler Sperm Counts?

March 17, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Is knowing whether the gobbler you just shot had a viable sperm count important? Some leading turkey researchers think it might be. In this episode of Realtree's Outpost Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Will Gulsby, who is one of the lead researchers on a series of wild turkey studies...

Northeast Region Turkey Hunting Forecast

March 15, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Maine Eating steamed lobster with melted butter, trout fishing, and a menu of other recreational activities are bonuses here. That’s all a big upside for visiting hunters. And the cost of turkey hunting in Maine for both the resident and the nonresident is among the most affordable in the country,...

Podcast: What Hunters Should Know About Turkeys for Tomorrow

March 4, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Right now there’s a groundswell of southeastern hunters who are worried about the future of turkeys and turkey hunting. That was the impetus for the formation of the organization Turkeys for Tomorrow . On this episode of Realtree’s Outpost Podcast, host Will Brantley joined Ron Jolly, TFT co-chairman of the...

The Mid-South Turkey Hunting Forecast

March 2, 2022   |  Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

South Carolina Traditionally, South Carolina has a deep turkey hunting tradition and good numbers of birds in the right habitat areas. Unfortunately, estimates of South Carolina’s turkey population are down 20,000 birds from just a year ago, to 100,000 statewide. Numbers, officials say, have declined due to poor hatches over...

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