hunting
Final Days 2021 Spring Turkey Season in NY
With three days left, the fat lady is suiting up for the final curtain call. Whatever the strategy you plan to roll out for the end of the 31 day war may be, I’ll throw in what experience has taught me to some measure of success. Over many seasons you can assume I learn the hard way first. Eventually I regroup and come around to getting it done.
What you have observed during the past 28 days is essential information as to locations to try, changes in strutting areas, what hens have left the playing field to sit on their nests. In any late season advice, and one that I have adopted; I will generally play it old school. We do want to send the fat lady packing before show time. With exceptions noted, late season is about conservative tactics, having very recent sightings, and locations of birds willing to talk or at least show themselves.
Gobblers here in Upstate New York are acting like mid May birds as full green up takes place. There are pockets of hens reported still tagging along with gobblers,. In the stomping grounds I check on frequently in Cortland County, I am seeing gobblers alone or with a few hens, and single hens out and about later morning grabbing a quick meal before returning to their nests. As green out is in full swing, gobbling in many places is painfully nonexistent. As learned over many seasons, if you get within a gobbler’s comfort zone, his “bubble” you can get a welcomed response.
Running and gunning has in my opinion schooled a lot of the birds. The tactic has been less fruitful for the past several decades as the population has undeniably declined to a mere fraction of the past decade, and alarmingly so compared to the peak in the 1990’s. It has been a quiet season in Cortland and many hunters get antsy and move often, when a little patience would make for less wary birds. If you follow my musings you know I like my gobblers without an advanced education. If I can locate the dumbest gobbler in the county, I am all over it. The blessings of a kamikaze bird is a stroke of luck we seldom get to enjoy. With the reduced populations such encounters are even more rare.
I’ll repeat most of this advice from prior posts- Confidence calling, feeding purrs, whips and whistles, light clucks, and very soft yelping if any. If you get a gobble in response to your calling, get ready as they may not gobble again and come in silent. It is good advice to assume a silent approach. Late season encounters often conclude in minutes not hours. Both of the two birds I won over last season started and finished this way with minimalist calling. The only clues I had one coming for my first tag this year on the 19th in NY was a series of light yelps from a hen twenty eight minutes prior, and a deep cluck moments before the gobbler appeared at thirty yards. After chasing him for three mornings, he gave me some hard lessons but also left invaluable clues for me to act upon. I cashed them in just before noon on the third morning.
Woodsmanship plays a big roll in late season success, the scouting you did last June may yield the clue that puts you in close to where bachelor groups hang. When chasing hens no longer overrides their need to eat and replenish their fat reserves you’ll find them at likely food sources. All the scouting you did in March and April gives you a database of choice roosting trees, dusting bowls, and strutting areas. Most of the seasoned hunters I know actively scout as they hunt through May. Weeks old Intel has limited use as they are either moving to find receptive hens or hanging with other gobblers. If you can sight a gobbler going to roost you have a crucial clue for the morning. I normally would say listen for gobbling on the evening roost. Although others report some roosting success, I have experienced none of that this season. I learned to roost birds decades ago,and still do, but it has been very poor in producing clues unless I manage to lay eyes on them before they roost.
If you do get a hen that challenges you, match her and if she goes all in, add one more note, it either escalates quickly or whimpers out. Girlfriend mouthing off gets the boyfriend in trouble far more often than not.
Turkeys have been chased for four weeks and any mistake you make will in most cases result in a hasty exit. Attention to details on anything you wear or carry that makes an unnatural sound, the way you walk through the woods, calling too loudly, snapping twigs underfoot, are all subject to the scrutiny of a very wary bird. It is this scrutiny that amplifies what you can employ to your advantage. Using your fingers to imitate scratching for food in the leaves, using the brim of your hat to imitate a hen stretching her wings and scratching it on the tree bark is a far more effective call than you might first think.
Should you get a bird to gobble it should be noted that what you thought was two hundred yards in the woods three weeks ago is well under a hundred yards and closing. They often won’t gobble until very close, nearly in range the last week of the season, and if you aren’t focused and ready you may miss the opportunity.
If you can get out and roost each night, it may be the final and most useful clue for the Memorial weekend. With the foliage fully out you can get in close but you’ll have to be there very early tomorrow morning. Hunt all the way to your spot, and all the way back to the truck, the entire hunt can turn around in seconds and the action can be fast and furious. Stay sharp, safe, and alert.
Best of luck the final remaining mornings of the season.
-MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
2021 NY Wild Turkey Records
The Empire State Limb Hangers book project has been a long time coming and is still an ongoing/active project. I have done what I can to gain interviews. Should you desire to be included I am more than happy to do so. Any new record entries would be invited to jump in. It’s that time of year here in New York as the season concludes. If you tag a gobbler that meets the criteria listed below near the end of this posting, I would love to interview you for inclusion in the project. Although your stories and photos will be captured for the book, you will retain rights to your photo’s and your story. Should you wish to have the story I write up used for other uses. Copyright permissions can be granted as needed.
The main issue with keeping it all legit for the project is typically weight as most of the small scales that are used to weigh fish can vary +/- 1 to 2 lbs or more. A weight coupon from a certified scale ensures accuracy and proof of measurement. Otherwise, it can be legitimately challenged. The scale should be suitable for products or goods for sale that are taxed in the state.
Pics with tape measurement in the pics are best to show scale for beards and spurs. There are several handy products to help measure spurs (including the curved outside edge) but as of this writing, none cover the spur measurements that have been described going back decades as published by the NWTF http://turkey-talk.com/scoresbpmeasure.html#spus
Anecdotal evidence unfortunately cannot be used to substantiate record book entries no matter how good the stories are. Best bet if you think you have one for the books: weigh the gobbler on a certified scale and be sure to get a weight coupon. Take plenty of photos. NWTF requires witness signatures that also have to be an NWTF member if you wish to participate in their records program. Safari Club also has a program but is not viewable unless a member. I may include them if details can be worked out in the future. I am accepting record entries not included in the NWTF system. You will note that the NWTF requires verifications that I have mentioned and will accept their determinations for the project. I do support their system and would encourage you to enter your submission with the NWTF as well. NWTF submissions are now accepted online: www.nwtf.org/hunt/records.
Scoring tabulations for the project will include the NWTF system, and the SBP weighted system. for more info on SBP http://turkey-talk.com/scoresbp.html
The book project has been on hiatus for a long period. Some things are getting normalized and now getting back to original efforts. For those that I have contacted or attempted to contact at the beginning of the project: Your stories will be available to review as I complete them.
If you haven’t been interviewed and would like to be included, please contact me, I would love to include as many as possible that met the original score criteria.
There will be future editions as records are broken and those I attempted to include, catch up with the project. The more hunters that come on board that I originally sought to interview, the better. Records are made to be broken, eclipsed, and is expected.
If you have harvested a legally tagged wild turkey with one or more of the following attributes in NY during the 2020-2021 spring/fall seasons, or years prior, registered or not registered w/NWTF records, We would love to talk to you about being included in the book!
Please contact mjoyner@joyneroutdoormedia.com
Note: Non registered birds- measurable attributes must be verified for consideration.
Typical score greater than 75.000 (weight x1 + beard x 2 + L & R spur x 10)
Non-Typical score greater than 105.000 (weight x1 + beard(s) x 2 + L & R spur x 10)
Weight greater than 26.5 lbs. (verifiable certified weight)
Beard Length greater than 12″ (verifiable length)
Spur Length greater than 1.625″ (verifiable length)
Color phase variations, Hens with spurs
http://empirestatelimbhangers.com/
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
. #turkeyhunting #nywildturkeyrecords #wildturkey #nyturkeyrecords #recordbookgobblers
Pixie Swatting Turkey’s, Extended Range, Extended Wounding?
While reveling in the success of outwitting a tough old state land gobbler yesterday, one that had eluded me for the better part of three mornings, I would come upon a rather unpleasant surprise. I was taken back when it came time to conclude the happy event and prepare the bird for the freezer. Setting upon the task of removing the breast and legs for a soon to be tasty meal, I was greeted with the foul stench from prior wounds. On the left side, the wing, the breast and the legs were shot with #9 pellets that I recognized as TSS shot. None of the shot penetrated the boiler room. Currently #9 shot is illegal to use on gobblers in NY.
This would be the fifth gobbler taken, and found to be uneatable in recent years, and yes, all were Pixie Swatted. One in 2016, one in 2017, and two in 2020. All late season public land birds. All but this one taken in the last days of the season. As much as I appreciate the trophy qualities of big old gobblers, the mental exercise of outwitting them, the desired purpose of hunting them is to enjoy the table fare that results from it.
In voicing this observation and learned opinion I am claimed by the peanut gallery to be biased, hateful, beneath my stature, along with the boorish and expected personalization common to the social media experience. As the heavier-than-lead proponents are hyper-sensitive to any criticism of their favored shot shells and particularly prone to assuming entire positions rather than what is actually voiced as an opinion, I’ll run thru the default clauses that I hold to be evident.
It is a clearly stated truism that TSS and similar shot composites are much denser than lead offerings, delivering the same or more energy in a smaller frontal profile that produces better penetration. The smaller shot that does not deform as it travels through the barrel results in significantly better than lead patterns when matched well with a proper choke tube. I found this to be true with Hevi-13’s once I got a good match with a choke tube. It is a godsend to use in 410’s, 20 gauges that have limited payload and performance with lead, copper/lead shotshells. At the nominal forty-yard range, the upgrade to tungsten loads in small shot sizes makes these smaller bores a pleasure to shoot and easily tuned to be on par with a 12 gauge at 40-yard ranges (I do own a Rem 870 equipped with an ATI reduction stock that would rival any 410 for felt recoil and all the benefits of a full bore 12ga.) In a 12 ga, it’s overkill at nominal ranges. The performance gain is noted for extended ranges for those that willingly accept that they cannot close the distance in our favored chess game. The risks of what can go astray at extended ranges come along with it. Are these products effective, an upgrade? Yes, when used sensibly, abet a rather expensive solution. Anytime you want to pattern a new shotgun with these products it’s a $50 proposition at a minimum. Far more if trying multiple loads and choke combinations. To be fair, at nominal ranges I appreciate the massive punch it delivers to the target.
It is an old-school mantra that requires no apology to work a gobbler on his terms, to make your hair part, and pants wave when he gobbles. It is a fool’s errand to mention that it is perfectly acceptable that a gobbler wins the day sometimes to the sniper crowd that subscribes to any means possible. In the concept of fair chase, of a gobbler outwitted by calling and woodsmanship, the insistence of acceptance of long-range shots is rejected by those that engage in a time-honored pursuit.
What I hold to be the source of my criticism of heavier-than-lead products is the marketing and promotion of extended-range, long-range shots. Equally culpable is the promotion of it among our ranks advocating 60-100 yard shots in commentary, and in videos. When it comes to misses, crippling, wounded birds, mum is the word, crickets.
Some are quick to assert it is only the hunter themselves that is responsible for it. As the last stop in the chain of decisions/actions taken, this is true; it is also a lame rebuttal that sidesteps an inconvenient truth. We are just as responsible to lead by example, to promote ethical methods, and expect the same from the hunting products industry and suppliers. We view with disdain “plausible deniability” when politicians assert this, are we to take refuge in this from ourselves, manufacturers, and suppliers?
Can one claim long shots, wounding birds were solely instigated by these products? Of course not… With the promotion of extended-range shooting by manufacturers, suppliers, among ourselves, one can reasonably call out the practice despite the assertions and snarky personal comments. Is the incidence of wounded birds on the rise? Anecdotally? Yes. As searches do not list research or peer-reviewed studies to assert wounding more birds at longer distances exacerbated by modern shotshell technology, proponents will claim no proof of it. My anecdotal yet direct experience suggests otherwise. Hence this is commentary, not a research paper. $2 and my opinion will get you a good cup of coffee at the diner. Be sure to bring $2 with you.
In any of these discussions does anyone care to mention how much the shot pattern drops over extended range? Would a foothold over a gobbler’s head at sixty yards suffice while bearing down on a bead that covers far more than the bird’s head? Do any of the advocates care to list the drop at 80? 100? It is surmised that the failure to properly compensate for the significant drop at extended ranges is a likely contributor for body shooting these birds. Add to the range estimation error that increases with distance, there is an accumulation of things that go wrong the farther one is willing to squeeze the trigger. Variance in shells is further revealed at longer distances, Having had underloaded shells in a batch from a major ammo company cost me some dandy long beards. A lesson learned the hard way.
There will be plenty that will not be feeling the love on this topic. In my perspective, it is not an issue of improving the product, but to rethink what we promote among ourselves and what we accept, reject or tolerate from suppliers of our hunting products.
I would appreciate if when you shoot a gobbler, you do so within your appreciable skills and equipment capabilities. We owe it to the quarry we pursue, and I would like to enjoy my bounty at the dinner table…
-MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
2018 Turkey Hunting Incident-Acquittal?
This Recent story came across my news feed today, and it just makes you shake your head… I’ll refer to it as “The Illusion Of The Mistaken Hand Turkey.”
According to the outcome of a two-day trial in Monroe Circuit Court a week prior, the defendant, Michael L. Nanny of Gosport, IN was acquitted on two felony counts of criminal recklessness. Nanny was convicted of “Use of private land without consent.” The third count levied as a misdemeanor punishable by 1 to 60 days in jail, and a maximum imposed fine of $500.
It is reported that the defendant was accused of shooting two hunters while trespassing and using a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot. The two hunters were sitting together in full camo at the base of a tree when one of them took off a glove to take a “selfie.” According to a Conservation Officer’s report- At a distance of ten feet, the defendant misidentified the uncovered hand as the head of a turkey. One of the victims sustained injuries to the face The other victim sustained injuries to the left hand. Sentencing and a pending civil case remain to be concluded.
Rather than embellish on an initial reaction, I’ll provide a link to the news story and just shake my head as to all the common sense questions that I would expect most of you will have. I’m still stuck on ten feet, and one nagging and the somewhat disturbing question-did they do the duck lips thing for the selfie? In all seriousness, the facts as reported are alarming as a collection of too many wrongs all perpetrated in one single near-fatal event…
Man acquitted in turkey hunting mishap By Laura Lane Hoosier Times
-MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Four More Turkey Hunting Incidents, One Fatality. Tracking Two more…
Sadly this is in addition to: “Spring 2021- Three Turkey Hunting Incidents, Two Fatalities.” We are into the final few weeks of the 2021 spring season, many southern states have seen their seasons completed. It is expected that we return home safely from a day afield. This season, three hunters will not return and three hunters and a hiker taken to local hospitals. The very low statistics does little to comfort their families, or to avoid the awful feeling in our guts when we think of it. A eighth and ninth turkey hunting incident victim is being researched for more info, and is lacking crucial details.
Arcadia man dies, Fall from hunting blind proves fatal
FOUNTAIN COUNTY, Ind. — Indiana Conservation Officers report an Arcadia man died in a hunting mishap in Fountain County.
Hunter wounded as shooter flees in Mason County incident
CHARLESTON. W.Va. — Investigators are looking for a shooter who remains at large in a hunting incident in Mason County.
Turkey hunter shot by another hunter in Pulaski County,
PULASKI COUNTY, Va. —The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources is requesting help from the public for any information on the hunting accident. Accident occurred in Pulaski County
Missouri hiker shot by turkey hunter
A hiker in was injured after being shot by a turkey hunter who mistook him for a turkey…
Please indulge me for repeating in my posts:
The following tips, good practices are well advised for your safety and that of others:
- Avoid wearing the bright colors of a gobbler’s head, red, white, or blue. Large areas of black may resemble the body of a turkey. These are turkey colors, and another hunter may mistake you for a bird.
- Be 100% sure of your target. Check your foreground and your background. Those extra seconds of making sure can save a life!
- Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Don’t rely on your gun’s safety. Treat every gun as loaded.
- If you see another hunter, don’t move- any motion can be mistaken for a turkey. Instead, call out to alert the other hunter that you are there. Do not wave or attempt to get up, or use a turkey call to alert the incoming hunter.
- Do not stalk turkey sounds; it could be another hunter. Find a good setup with your back to a tree, rock, or other large natural barriers wider than your shoulders. Then go about working to call the birds to you. Stalking is illegal in many states.
- You may consider placing a hunter orange ribbon high on a tree to help other hunters identify your location, or wear on your person entering or leaving. It is a legal requirement by some states, do not assume orange to be an end-all for safety. Always identify your quarry and what may be in front of, behind, or to either side. You have no guarantee that others are wearing orange…
- Reconsider the assumed risks of using “tail-fanning” or “reaping’ techniques (using gobbler decoys, a synthetic fan, or real tail feathers) out immediately in front of you, mounted on your gun barrel or a head/hat mounted product while crawling or stalking. A fan may be large enough to hide you from view from other hunters and you may falsely assume they will properly identify you vs. a real gobbler.
- Always let someone else know where you will be and when expected to be back via text, email, or phone message. In an emergency, precious minutes can make all the difference for someone to direct first responders to your location or for someone to know when you are late returning.
We owe it to ourselves and to each other to ensure we all get to come back home safely to our families and to return the next season to spend time in the great turkey woods.
I will update as more details are published. We pray for those injured, that have succumbed to their injuries and for their families. May those injured heal well, Godspeed.
-MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Good Luck To Youth Hunters- New York State 2021 Wild Turkey Youth Season
Good luck to all the youth hunters heading out for the 2021 Youth Spring Turkey Hunting Weekend. We hope you return safely from a great day chasing wild turkey gobblers that respond to your calls as loudly as your anticipation may allow. The sight of a strutting gobbler coming to your calls will be a lifelong memory. May you enjoy a memorable weekend afield with family and friends as each of you begin your journey of a life time of wonderful experiences in the great turkey woods of New York
Details: Spring Youth Hunt, April 24-25:
Accompanying adults must have a current hunting license and turkey permit. The adult may assist the youth hunter, including calling, but may not carry a firearm, bow, or crossbow or kill or attempt to kill a wild turkey during the youth hunt.
Youth hunters 12 to 15 years of age are eligible and must hold a hunting license and a turkey permit;
12 to 13 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or adult over 21 years of age with written permission from their parent or legal guardian. Youth 14 to 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or adult over 18 years of age with written permission from their parent or legal guardian.
Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to noon Saturday, an Sunday.
The youth turkey hunt is open in all parts of Upstate New York, north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary, and in Suffolk County.
The bag limit for the youth weekend is one bearded bird. This bird becomes part of the youth’s regular spring season bag limit of two bearded birds. A second bird may be taken only in Upstate New York, north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary, beginning May 1.
Crossbows may only be used by hunters 14 or older. In Suffolk and Westchester counties it is illegal to use a crossbow to hunt wild turkeys.
All other wild turkey hunting regulations remain in effect.
Successful youth hunters must report their harvest within seven days of taking a bird. Call 1-866-426-3778 (1-866 GAMERPT) or report harvest online at DEC’s Game Harvest Reporting website. https://decals.licensing.east.kalkomey.com/
For more information about youth turkey hunting in New York, see the 2020-2021 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide or visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27836.html
-MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
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Spring 2021- Three Turkey Hunting Incidents, Two Fatalities.
Half way thru the spring season in our nation, millions of turkey hunters have already worn out some serious boot leather across the southern zones of the USA. It is expected that we return home from a full day hunt or mid day to the local diner just in time for the firehouse siren at twelve sharp. This season, two hunters will not return and a third escorted to the local hospital. The very low statistics does little to comfort, or to avoid the lump in our throats when we think of it. A fourth victim is being tracked for more info, and is lacking crucial details.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky- One of those fatally shot was very young, 11 years old, reported as an accident, self inflicted.
Official: Boy fatally shot in apparent hunting accident
Shasta County, California- One adult hunter shot another, reported as a “sound shot.” Very few details as to how it came together. It is also reported alcohol is suspected to be involved and an investigation is on going. The wounded hunter was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center and is reported in critical condition.
Hunter Shot After Being Mistaken For Turkey
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/04/14/hunter-shot-after-being-mistaken-for-turkey/
Pierre, South Dakota- A father and son team bow hunting for turkeys has turned tragic, the father was struck by an arrow from his adult son’s bow, and further details have not been released. The father succumbed to his injuries and an investigation is on going.
South Dakota man fatally shot by son’s arrow in apparent hunting accident
Two and half million turkey hunters that engage in the outdoors each season. The incident rate is reported at 0.003% in an average year that an errant shooting occurs while afield. That is all well and good in the realm of actuaries and statisticians. The families and friends of these three hunters will find no comfort in it. We can do better.
Please indulge me for repeating in my posts:
The following tips, good practices are well advised for your safety and that of others:
- Avoid wearing the bright colors of a gobbler’s head, red, white, or blue. Large areas of black may resemble the body of a turkey. These are turkey colors, and another hunter may mistake you for a bird.
- Be 100% sure of your target. Check your foreground and your background. Those extra seconds of making sure can save a life!
- Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Don’t rely on your gun’s safety. Treat every gun as loaded.
- If you see another hunter, don’t move- any motion can be mistaken for a turkey. Instead, call out to alert the other hunter that you are there. Do not wave or attempt to get up, or use a turkey call to alert the incoming hunter.
- Do not stalk turkey sounds; it could be another hunter. Find a good setup with your back to a tree, rock, or other large natural barriers wider than your shoulders. Then go about working to call the birds to you. Stalking is illegal in many states.
- You may consider placing a hunter orange ribbon high on a tree to help other hunters identify your location, or wear on your person entering or leaving. It is a legal requirement by some states, do not assume orange to be an end-all for safety. Always identify your quarry and what may be in front of, behind, or to either side. You have no guarantee that others are wearing orange…
- Reconsider the assumed risks of using “tail-fanning” or “reaping’ techniques (using gobbler decoys, a synthetic fan, or real tail feathers) out immediately in front of you, mounted on your gun barrel or a head/hat mounted product while crawling or stalking. A fan may be large enough to hide you from view from other hunters and you may falsely assume they will properly identify you vs. a real gobbler.
- Always let someone else know where you will be and when expected to be back via text, email, or phone message. In an emergency, precious minutes can make all the difference for someone to direct first responders to your location or for someone to know when you are late returning.
We owe it to ourselves and to each other to act and hunt in a safe manner and promote the best practices to ensure we all get to come back the next season to spend time in the great turkey woods and with all of God’s creations.
I will update as more details are published. We pray for those injured, that have succumbed to their injuries and for their families. May they heal well Godspeed.
-MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
TSS, Reaping, Fanning VS Fishing with Dynamite
With the evolution of turkey hunting being as it is, one can draw many parallels to the human trait of wanting the next best mouse trap, the ultimate state of the art product, 100% guaranteed success method, and so on. The turkey hunting industry and the associated marketing of products thrives on this observation as it does for deer hunting and fishing. I’ll throw out the opinion that marketing methods are implemented equally, but I’ll temper that with what I’d expect will be strong opinions from the peanut gallery of each time honored pursuit and it’s enthusiastic participants.
With advancements in methods, product offerings we get a barrage of marketing campaigns, and the bible speak absolutes of hunters from the entire spectrum of abilities and experience levels. It is damn near impossible not to get caught up in it to some level. My weakness would be new calls and without naming names I would like my money back for my dog whistle and damn glad I got to hear the carbonator call in the hands of the maker first while I scoured the countryside trying to buy one. I digress…
Nearly thirty years since I tagged my first gobbler on my very first hunt, I can with the utmost humility claim that it was possible due to the fact I managed to find the most absolute dumbest gobbler in all of upstate NY on that fateful day. Despite walking in as it was getting light out, far too much movement, far too much noise, pulled out and overcalled with every call I had in my overstuffed vest, yet managed to shoot a kamikaze gobbler at sixteen paces that was roosted sixty yards in front of me. Never should have come together as it did whether you are of amateur or professional opinion. This is a stake in the ground to illustrate that any and especially poor methods on the right day, with the dumbest bird can get it done. As each season passed I learned, and more importantly learned not to continue with some foolishness I got lucky with.
With the popularity of hunting shows, and a golden age of turkey chasing that followed the explosion of turkey populations, the demand for instant results drives the market and attitudes of modern day turkey hunters. With the likes of Hevishot, TSS, came the “wisdom” of longer shots, smaller gauges. One can find prostaff on TV shows proclaiming 80-100 yard smack downs while sitting on big open fields, even out through a set of woods. Facebook experts claiming 60 yard shots with 410’s and recommend it to anyone willing to listen.
As a rep for hevishot for a number of years I came across many dedicated hunters that had hours of bench time honing their turkey rigs for the most consistent and tight patterns for every shotgun they owned. I have little doubt of the capability of the setups, and the perforated patterning targets backed up their claimed efforts. Yet most them were about massive knock down performance, not longer shots. I walked away from the gig when the campaign for 75+ yards came out. It was the wrong direction for my sensibilities. The wrong direction for having a turkey up close and nearly in your lap. I was in it to hunt turkeys. Not interested in gathering, sniping them. As I don’t fish with dynamite as a declaration behind this line of thinking, I was not about to go more overkill with TSS to pay $10 a shell at forty yards, when I thought hevishot was a bit much for the task as well. There is enough that can go wrong at forty yards, and having margin to cover range estimation error is reassuring, but that is as far as I’ll buy into it. As a clarification, I do like smaller gauge shotguns becoming more capable at the same close and personal distances as it makes for a good solution for those that can’t take the recoil of stout 12 or 10 gauge rounds.
I have written on reaping and fanning in the past and won’t dwell much on it here. If interested you can read them by clicking the links: reaping update to the original post. If your best setups, best calling, and best tried and true strategies leave you to wanting to dress up as the target of interest, then the term “turkey gathering” is a more accurate label for your activity. I’ll take sitting at an big old maple with a small rise thirty yards out between me and a gobbler all morning long.
While the push back is to label us old school turkey hunters as “boomers,” “elitists,” etc. it sidesteps the entire experience that made turkey hunting the glorious pursuit that is has been for generations. The sport of it is to fool the gobbler to forgo his defenses, have a great setup where he marchs in to appear well within a range that you can use an old shotgun with low brass 6’s to handedly get the job done. The art of woodsmanship, the collection of scouting details all make it routine and a consistent recipe for success. It does not guarantee it, but offers a sporting chance and a level playing field for the quarry at hand.
As turkey hunters do we need a tag filled on every trip afield, to be guaranteed that we would draw the equivalent to use dynamite to insure a legal limit of our catch?
MJ
© 2021
Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Turkey Hunter Ten Commandments
- Thou shalt have no other passions as thy days are in pursuit and tribute. Thy passions shall yield only to God, family, and service to thy country.
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of grouse, woodcock, pheasant, duck or goose. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them.
- Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain. Thy turkey hunter shall seek forgiveness in the transgressions they shall commit while in pursuit.
- Remember thy opening day, keep it above others. Observe the Lord’s day above all others. Four moons shall pass shalt thou scout, labour, and do all thy work of honing thy skills.
- Honor thy mentors, thy farmers, all those in aid of thy quest.
- Thou shalt not maim nor wound. Thou shall be swift and merciful.
- Thou shalt not permit gobblers to commit adulterous acts in thy presence.
- Thou shalt not commit sins of trespass against another turkey hunter.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy fellow hunter. It is honorable to aide in perpetuity a false tongue put forth by thee to preserve holy grounds, and secrets they may hold.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s gobbler, thy neighbour’s property, thy neighbour’s shotgun, thy neighbour’s turkey dog, thy neighbour’s ass, nor any possession that thy neighbor uses to fill his trophy room…
MJ
© 2021
Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Critical Intel For Northern 2021 Spring Turkey Seasons
While southern states have opened up, youth seasons that have come and gone or about to happen in the next week. Northern states have weeks yet to go before youth season commences and the regular season that typically opens up a week later. With a month to go here in New York an often overlooked period is the transition from winter to spring that is upon us. With wild turkey populations reported to be significantly reduced across the northeast, a time to gather critical Intel for your own personal assessments is readily at hand.
The last of the big winter flocks are into the weeks of fracturing into smaller groups as the fighting for dominance peaks for the rights of breeding. As I pen this, snow cover is nearly gone if not completely so. Food sources are now available that were not just a week or two ago. In short the flocks will be moving in mass or sizable sub groups into the well known historical strutting and roosting areas that we all become more familiar with after getting a few seasons under our belts. If you are taking out youths for the early season or will be hunting your regular season, the opener is less than a month a way and you’ll want to take advantage of this now.
This week and the next several weeks coming up are a perfect time to take a child to cruise your stomping grounds and the areas surrounding them to glass the fields and open areas for low impact scouting. Often you can cover lots of ground in the comfort of your vehicle and will only need to make the walk to hidden fields, otherwise not accessible from a roadside vantage point. Rainy days are excellent for finding flocks. Our family will cruise prospective areas often as a relaxing time to see what we may see. We do this a lot year round as countryside sightseeing was a fun time when the kids were young as it is now with a more determined purpose.
Scouting at this time will give you an overall sense of how big the local populations are, the makeup of gobblers vs jakes vs hens. Often you’ll find gobblers trailing the main flocks if they are not already strutting and fighting, doing their very best to impress the hens. It is often said during the late winter months that you’ll see all of them or none. It’s not the time to panic as large flocks have a uncanny ability to thwart our efforts to find them at times. If you have been following since the beginning of the year, you’ll have a hit list of likely places to check.
Whether you find them on properties you hunt, Murphy’s law says you’ll find them on properties you can’t. During this time, flocks you find a mile down the road on a property you don’t have access too, are just as likely to be front row and center come opening day. Over many seasons you’ll learn this first hand. I would stress that as you do your scouting it is to your advantage to not educate gobblers on your calling abilities long before the season starts. Gobblers will learn and pattern our actions every bit as much as whitetails do in my opinion. Personally I like my gobblers to be as dim witted as possible about what I’m looking to do. Unaware and unmolested by a parade of slamming truck doors, and voracious loud calling will do just nicely, thank you.
With wild turkey populations in reduced numbers compared to the last two decades many of us are mulling the decision as to whether or not to hunt specific stomping grounds at all, leave it be in the hopes of aiding a recovery in local populations. It is a personal decision, and I’ll state that we all act in good conscious and it is to our advantage to gather all the relevant Intel we can to decide wisely. In my little slice of gobbler utopia, I have a running list that I currently refrain from taking a fall bird of either sex and several former spring hot spots that I leave alone for the time being. Places that once held 10-15 long beards any given spring are now subject only to the occasional bird cruising through. We can agree that as sportsmen we can regulated ourselves well ahead of a government agency to restrict bag limits and not over hunt areas we know to be in decline.
I’ll wish each of you the best of luck in working up a grand plan for your spring season and if at all possible urge each of you to introduce a child or new hunter to a time honored tradition we have come to love and cherish.
MJ
© 2021
Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
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