I grew up in north-central Pennsylvania at a time when fall turkey hunting was more popular than the spring tradition. Hunter participation numbers bore this claim out. Then, around the turn of the century, it changed. Spring turkey hunting edged past fall in my native state in terms of popularity...
When another hunter asks me if I've bowhunted much, I always reply: "Yep, for turkeys." A second or two passes, accompanied by a puzzled look, which prompts the next question: "Deer too?" "Nope, I've mostly concentrated on turkeys," is my grinning reply. And I've done much of it in fall...
Some states don't let you hunt fall turkeys. Many more do. Here's where you can't. Alaska I'm told by insiders wild turkeys live in southern Alaska. Still, no fall (or spring) turkey season is offered here. Plenty of other birds and animals to hunt though. Arkansas Back in 2009, the...
Find the flock, scatter them and then call them back. This time-tested technique for fall turkey hunting has been my favorite approach through the years and I have many fond memories of perfect scatters and classic call-ups. I still use this tactic when circumstances allow, those being big woods and...
The hunting tactic is simple: A trained dog follows fall turkey scent to find and then scatter autumn flocks. In states where it's legal — nearly 30 as of this writing — the hunter then gathers his or her canine, makes a setup much as he or she would in...
After the long summer of waiting, it’s finally fall. Orange, red and yellow leaves shimmer in the autumn morning sunlight. Crisp air revitalizes us after months of steaming days; reason enough to be out in the painted woods. For some of us, the shifting seasons mean one thing: fall turkey...
If you hunt autumn longbeards, super jakes and young gobblers of the year, you know these truisms out of experience. If you don't listen up. They Regroup Half-Truth : We sometimes hear fall gobblers, especially older ones, won’t regroup after a scatter for hours, even days. Scattering fall turkeys is...
You’ve called a strutting spring gobbler into range, aimed at his fist-sized head and fired. Problem is, the bird flopped then got up like a boxer in the ring with some fight left in him, and is running, or worse: flying off. It’s your move, now or never. Most of...
The alarm chimes as the clock strikes five in the morning. Before the big hand reaches five past the hour, I am pulling the last knot tight on my snake boots and walking across the creaking wood floor at my parent’s house to the door. It has become tradition for...
At first, it seems like a perfect hunting scenario: you find several gobblers or more running together. Not a single hen is yelping in hearing distance. And you haven't seen one in days. But wait. It’s late in the spring turkey season. Your hen clucks and yelps now echo along...
Turkey taxidermy is expensive. And it doesn’t take many full-body turkey mounts to fill a room. Yet, so many gobblers are worth remembering beyond a beard lost in the garage. Here are five cool DIY turkey taxidermy projects that are easy to make . . . and even easier on...
It's one of the first things we study on a wild turkey gobbler when we give thanks and reflect on the many powerful feelings we have after killing one. Often, as that bird struts toward us, wheels and turns, we catch a first glimpse of leg spurs on the bird...
As the saying goes, "If you haven't missed a turkey, you aren't hunting enough." I did plenty of research to write this piece – all of it unintentional. Lessons learned from such experiences follow here . . . 1. Shooting Too Fast The flock suddenly appeared, materializing on the high...
I don’t want to scare you or discourage you, and I am certainly not trying to talk you out of going turkey hunting, but Lyme disease is serious business. The reported cases are increasing at an alarming rate, up from 4,000 in 1994 to over 30,000 a year in 48...
Yep, spring turkey season is almost done in some parts of the country. In places like New England and even Nebraska, it runs until the end of May. Maine closes at the end of shooting hours on June second this year. But maybe you’ve hit a wall. You've sold those...
Belly-crawling turkeys has never been so popular. Fanning. Stalking. Repositioning. Reaping. Ambushing. Whatever you want to call it, turkey hunters are getting down in the dirt and grass and slinking like snakes to draw closer to strutting gobblers. And killing birds. And missing turkeys. And changing the tradition in the...
Our group was enjoying a midday break in Osceola hunting camp when a couple locals rolled in and struck up a conversation with the camp owner, barely within earshot. I paid little attention until I heard a name, then spun around and asked, “Marvin? Marvin Hartley?” At the same time...
