Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Fred Lutger

Getting a grand slam of wild turkeys is quite an accomplishment. Doing it with a bow is an even greater challenge. Doing it with a bow in one season is a monumental task. But a double grand slam in one season with a bow is pretty ambitious to say the least. That was the challenge given to me by Robert Hoague. I was all for it.

Of course it all starts with Florida. If the two of us didn’t tag an Osceola apiece it just won’t happen because unlike the other 3 species there are no other states or seasons to hunt the Osceola. Our plans were made, we planned on hunting the earliest season in Florida. It opens first in south Florida. Our airline tickets were bought, car rented and I bought my 10 day non-resident hunting license and turkey permit online.

The night before our trip Robert called me. He was driving to Dallas for his early morning flight. He gave me the bad news. Our outfitter had changed his mind about the deal he previously offered us. His new deal wasn’t what was expected and wasn’t what we were told when we finalized the hunt. We mulled the situation over and decided not to go. A deal is a deal – Fred and I both agreed, a man is only as good as his word. We didn’t have a back up plan for the early season and got lucky on our first phone call.

Two weeks later Robert Hoague and I met at the Tampa airport and drove to Zolfo Springs, Florida to hunt with David Mills. Bowhunting wild turkeys, being what it is, is NEVER a slam dunk deal and I muffed my first close encounter. We were videoing. I had set our Double Bull blind up close to the decoys, too close. A big  Osceola gobbler came running in from my left but I didn’t see him until he was dead on the decoys, four steps from the blind. This was my first hunt of the year and I had been too sloppy with my setup. The Double Bull Matrix blind was opened too much. When I started my draw it immediately spooked the gobbler. It scurried off and got behind some orange trees and I never got a shot. I was disappointed but had plenty of days ahead to get the job done.

Wild Turkey Hunters go though 4 particular phases of the Turkey Season. The dates Matt Dale has selected depend on the region you hunt, so your dates may differ a little. Matt is going on historical data and many years of hunting wild turkeys in different states every spring. But this will give you a general ideal of what’s going on every spring, from the start to the finish. Check out other Dale Outdoor products at, https://teespring.com/stores/my-store…

    Dale Outdoors

I just discovered the YouTube channel Bow Only. Last week they were in Nebraska bowhunting Merriam’s wild turkeys. As you’ll see when you check out their video below, they definitely did good.

Bow Only Outdoors

Matt Gregory takes us Bowhunting In Iowa during late April and and switches from hunting a roost area during the early morning and late afternoon time frames to a Mid Day bowhunt.

The little known, but important FACTS that make a Turkey’s eyesight so incredibly good.

Joel Hayden

Getting a tom with a shotgun can be hard enough but when you decide to do it with your bow, the hunt becomes harder. In this article I address three common questions regarding hunting wild turkeys with a bow and arrow:

1. What is the best type of broadhead for bowhunting turkeys?

Broadhead choice is a matter of preference and individual performance. My preference is mechanical. They are easy to tune and they fly smoothly like field tips. I prefer a 3-blade head that make a Wide cut, such as the 2” Whitetail Special from Grim Reaper Broadheads. Another benefit of a “mechanical” is the blades expansion of  your broadhead usually causes it to stay with the turkey.

If your gobbler runs or flies after the shot, they rarely leave a good blood trail. The ideal shot is to accurately place an arrow that penetrates at least one wing butt, if not both, and hits the vitals. Done right, this results in a quick kill and also a bird that is unable to fly.

To me the best broadhead is the one you can confidently shoot into a gobblers smallish, vital area consistently. The last thing you want to wonder about is your arrow flight when a Longbeard is spitting and drumming 20 yards away.

The WHINE is a call that Hen’s make to Gobblers when they are ready to breed! Says Matt Dale, “I’ve been using this call for over 25 years and it’s proven to be one of the deadliest calls in the spring turkey woods

Ingredients

Yikes! Sometimes you take ‘a few more steps’ and, ouch, you see a Gobbler through the trees and underbrush and luckily he has not seen you. Yet! Other times you see ol’ longbeard stealthfully giving you the slip. Or else doing what around here we call, “Carrying The Mail.” as he rapidly adds trees and brush between him and you. And sometimes the worst thing of all happens and they FLY!

Over the years I’ve turkey hunted with lots of different people, ranging from greats to newbies. The most common reaction of the newbies and intermediates is to POINT and YELL-OUT or WHISPER LOUDLY “turkey.” The yelling and whispering reactions are no good.

Another common knee-jerk action is to stand up fully erect to get a better look at the fleeing or sneaking gobbler. That’s no good either.

It’s best to freeze in place and Shut Up.

It’s also common for newish hunters to yank out their turkey call and begin calling. That is a no-no too. It’s rIght up there with calling out of the pickup window when you see a gobbler.

Everyone loves photographs of wild animals and taking those photos can be as much fun, and for many, more fun, than having the photos. Getting great wildlife photos requires you to know where and when those animals will appear.

Some of the most-productive places to get the best photography of animals are at state parks and wildlife sanctuaries, where the animals aren’t concerned about humans. However, if you go to a wildlife sanctuary, you still won’t get those great pictures you want if you don’t know where and when animals are most likely to show up.

For instance, when a lady took her children to a picnic area at a wildlife sanctuary, she noticed that after lunch wild turkeys began coming into the picnic area to eat some of the food dropped and left behind by the picnickers. So the next day, she used her Alpen binoculars to see where the turkeys were entering the picnic area. Then she took a stand close to one of the picnic spots and observed the turkeys as they came into the picnic ground. Using a telephoto lens, she was able to get great pictures of wild turkeys in an almost-natural setting.

Many wildlife sanctuaries have excellent road systems running through them that enable visitors to observe the animals. Visitors then can leave their vehicles and take pictures of the animals. However, to maximize your time and get the best photos possible, carry your binoculars and spotting scopes with you.

Using binoculars such as Alpen binoculars, you often can spot animals in fields, along the edge of wood lines and pastures, near creeks and at other open places. You also can determine where the animals are eating and on what they’re feeding. If you mount an Alpen spotting scope on the window mount of your vehicle, you can use the spotting scope to determine the size and the quality of the Wild animal. To photograph the animal, take your camera and get as close as possible for magazine-quality photographs. Professional photographers all over the country use this strategy to take great pictures.

Billy Yargus been Wild Turkey hunting for 32 years and says he still enjoys it as much today as he did when he was a young boy. Billy has hunted them in many states and has accomplished the coveted Wild Turkey Grand Slam.

He is a competitive turkey caller, he has won many championships including the N.W.T.F. Grand National title, Mid America Open, U.S. Open, the Missouri State championship, World Championship titles in the Two Man Team Challenge, and many other titles since his first calling contest in 1996.

In the Video below Billy Yargus shows you some great tips to use this turkey season! These tips will help you call in a big Tom this and every upcoming turkey season!

How To Scout Wild Turkeys.

Almost every ‘scouting turkey’ article I’ve read over the years says that you must pre-season scout … and scout … and scout. Yikes! Believe me, there is an unwanted down side to scouting too much.

Frankly, I definitely want to spend as much time as possible scouting for wild turkeys. Alternatively, I make every effort to avoid being seen by, or spooking any wild turkeys. That includes single hens or Gobblers or Jakes or wild turkeys in a flock.

WHY? Wild Turkeys can SEE much farther than deer …  or us! They see the detail in those objects too, as well as color. And they pick up movement even better than deer do. A Gobbler or hen can spot you and me at 700-1,000 yards. Further if we are walking.

We stand erect so there is no doubt that we are a menacing human object.

The Scouting goal is to Learn Where Mature Gobblers And Jakes And Hens Are Showing Up At Certain Locations And At What Time.

Click the Go Video button and some wild turkeys take off right away. And as good as that is, it’s just the beginning.

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BACK TO PART #1

The “serpant” slithered across the leaves toward me. A few of the snakes in the Yucatan are lethal so I never moved.  The forest was nearly as hot as I was so I stood still as the snake slithered past my boot.  Not sensing my motionless body he gave me a pass.  Matia slightly laughed at me then refocused on the singing tom only a hundred yards ahead.

Light was building and as with most hunts for Oscillated turkeys we searched out a slight clearing in the jungle where we could call him into our trap.  The little clear area wouldn’t be considered back home but it was all we could hope for here in the jungle.

I took cover against a large Yaaxche tree while Matia slid off into the grey light behind me.  We then waited.  The rhythmic calls of the Oscillated tom picked up pace as the sun illuminated the jungle.  At last, I heard him fly down and land on the jungle floor.  Immediately, Matia made his first call behind me.

 His call sounded more like a chicken than a turkey, but the Oscillated tom answered Matia and began ‘pounding’ our way. Slowly the tom eased closer and began answering every call we offered.  My pulse quickened as I heard the Oscillated turkey’s footsteps.  He was coming my way but still behind a wall of foliage. 

HOLD STILL!!!  If you have ever tried to hunt turkeys with an arrow, you know how precisely you must aim.  The kill zone on a big gobbler is the size of your fist and half of your target is covered with feathers.  Hitting a small target is difficult, but hitting a moving target is nearly impossible.  How can you get these crazy birds to stand still?

Hunt From a Blind

The best way to get a patient shot on a gobbler is to hunt from an enclosed blind.  The blind won’t stop the turkey but you can use a rest for a crossbow and draw and let down repeatedly without being seen.  Additionally, you can see or hear the gobbler coming so that you can be ready well in advance.  You can’t open and close windows without being seen so anticipate where birds will approach and have your shooting windows ready.

Use a Jake Decoy

If you want the best chance of attracting turkeys, use a Jake decoy.  Be sure to deploy it where a hunter cannot shoot the decoy and hit you.  Good news: Wild Turkeys will attack your decoy.  Bad news: They will constantly be moving.  Eventually, they will beat on the turkey decoy and get tired or give up.  You need to concentrate on the gobbler you want and where you will aim.  When it stops, shoot.

Use a Hen Decoy

Gobblers will approach a hen decoy very differently than a Jake.  They may strut up to the hen and stand motionless, exactly what you want to happen.  However, some gobblers, especially longbeards may have been shot at over a decoy and they may run at first sight.  Also, hens often don’t like a stranger in their territory and will alarm putt, taking a trailing tom with the flock.

Cluck with a Diaphragm Call

When a turkey hears an alarm call, a putt, it usually raises its head and looks for danger.  Shotgun hunters use this technique once they have called a turkey into range so that the bird will raise its head and the shot pattern won’t ruin the meat.

I have no doubt the early Mayans had called Oscillated turkeys in close then shot them with long bows or blowguns.  Being a primitive hunter,  I consider myself fortunate to have such an encounter myself.  My recent trip to the Yucatan Peninsula was by far the most rewarding turkey hunt I have yet to experience. 

The Mayans were known as some of the greatest hunters to trek Mexico’s vast jungles and the Oscillated turkey played a roll in their long history of surviving in this harsh wilderness.  The Mayans are gone now and all that remains are the ruins of their great society that once ruled the Yucatan. 

I’ve always considered hunting near the Mayan ruins but avoided the trip up until now.  Primarily because the Oscillated turkeys were killed by shooting them off the roost or over bait.  I have nothing against these methods but if I were to travel the distance and endure the heat I’d rather do something a bit more challenging. 

By luck, I recently learned that these beautiful turkeys could be called within range.  Sergio Scarth with Balam Outfitters discovered the sounds that work well and luckily for me he invited me to try and be the first to actually call one in and arrow it on film.  So I booked a seven day hunt. 

Fast forward to early April, I was now deep in a hot humid jungle.

The author of the YouTube site “Death By Bungie” does an excellent job in his ‘show-and-tell’ of what your options are and where to aim with a crossbow when you take your shot on a gobbler. He shows you shot placement at various angles using both a decoy as well as video and pictures of real wild turkey gobblers.

The author of the YouTube site “Death By Bungie” tells us…

“I want to help make YouTube the #1 place for quality hunting entertainment. I want to help spread the hunting lifestyle. To do that, I set up this channel to showcase the crossbow and help others film their hunts and get those videos online. So, subscribe to this channel to be entertained and learn more about crossbows and filming in the outdoors.”

“This channel is about my love of the crossbow, hunting, and the outdoors. I hunt almost exclusively with the crossbow. I love it. Sure, like a lot of kids, I started hunting with a good ol’ Model ’94 Winchester 30-30 back in the 80’s, but drifted away from hunting when I went off to college, law school, and started a family. As my daughter got older, I regained my interest in the outdoors, and I consider myself lucky to hunt on the same property today that I hunted on as a kid. I got the Excalibur Axiom crossbow in 2010 and I haven’t looked back. This channel is the result of combining my interest in filming and hunting…”

    Death by Bunjie

Veteran wild turkey hunter Daniel E. Schmidt of Deer & Deer Hunting gets his turkey blind set up and readies his TenPoint Crossbow Technologies crossbow for the spring season. Daniel covers what he looks for to set a blind up and shows us how he prepares to hunt wild turkey gobblers in this episode.

Link: Ten Point & Wicked Ridge Crossbows

    Deer and Deer Hunting

Last year I was able to get all three of my grandchildren a shot at a turkey.  But wait, they are using shotguns and this is a bowhunting website.  What gives??? I chose this topic specifically because killing a longbeard, even a jake, with a bow is a tremendous challenge.  Each of my boys was successful, yet each one missed a turkey at 15 yards with a shotgun and a rest.  Point is, get them successful and excited and then ease them into the archery game.

Blind Are Wonderful-

I run and gun in the Great Plains each year and may put in 10 miles in a day.  That is fun, but I enjoy waiting, listening, and videoing turkeys on my small farm just as much.  I have my blind set up 10 days ahead and have it stocked with a chair asnd decoys prior to the opening day so that all I have to do is show up with my crossbow and rest.  Hearing shotguns boom in the distance makes me nervous, yet I’m confident that an old tom will come slipping by the blind.

Men in Black

I have some pretty cool camouflage that will blend with about any background or weather condition, like snow, yet the best color to wear in a blind is black.  You want your blind to be as dark as possible on the inside so that a gobbler can’t see inside.  Be extra careful with the new see-through models as they allow light to penetrate the blind and a gobbler can see any movement through your shooting window.

Make it a Picnic-

When I was a school principal, I never had a teacher’s meeting without donuts.  Even the grumpy ones smile with a snack in their fingers.  Kids are the same way.  If it’s cold, have a thermos of hot chocolate and bring hand warmers.  You want quiet snacks, not potato chips, but have lots of them and let them pick out their treats the night before.  You want them to be part of the plan.  If the day turns cold and rainy, head for a convenience store, warm up, and come back.

Use Decoys-

in six years, I’ve never had a turkey ignore this decoy.  Turkeys have been killed and missed while flogging it.  Jakes hate it, and Longbeards too.  The decoy allows me to have a small shooting window because I know where the turkey will be.  For youngsters, this allows you to set up a tripod rest with the crossbow or shotgun locked in.  In this way, the youngster can make a very accurate shot.  If the bird is strutting, use a diaphragm caller and make a “puck” which will cause the tom to raise its head.

With spring turkey season almost here, now is the perfect time to do double duty with your trip to the woods.  Since you probably hunt turkeys in the same areas you hunt deer, why not make a mineral lick?  The giant buck in the lead picture fell to the Eskers, identical twins who have developed their own specialized minerals.  They are amazingly successful and a mineral site is something every hunter should consider.

Big Tine Minerals-

Tractor Supply sells these blocks for $15 and I bought five last year.  During the season, deer consistently came to the site as I will show on my Vosker trail camera pictures.  I wrote a review of these cameras which got a great read from you.  Their benefit is solar power and I only change batteries once a year and get as many as 100 pictures per day.  That’s an amazing performance from a camera.

Late Season Miracle

I had given up on the Maryland season last winter when this nice deer showed up.  The late archery season was in and this deer was 20 yards from my tree stand.  However, I did something stupid.  Instead of sticking with minerals, I chose to bait the site with corn.  I got 250 pictures the first night of a dozen or more deer, but the site had so much activity, the buck stopped showing in daylight.  I really shot myself in the foot.

Long Lasting-

This huge bear has been captured on camera for at least five years.  It only passes my stand once or twice per year but here he is checking out my mineral block.  These blocks last between three and six months so that you can stay out of the woods while still attracting wildlife to your area.  I’ll turkey hunt there in early May and probably put out another block.

Yesterday’s Surprise-

This is the first time I’ve seen a bobcat at my Maryland stand, yet this is a big tom probably looking for a female.  I’m hoping he keeps moving because bobcats are a significant predator of deer and turkeys.  Mineral licks attract all kinds of wildlife and they will alert you to predators on your property, even if they don’t actually lick the lick.