Training Your Dog with an Electronic Collar

It wasn’t long ago that the mere thought of someone choosing to purposely ‘shock’ Man’s Best Friend into submission belonged in my brain’s “Unthinkable” category. Training your dog with an electronic collar held no interest for me. Then, in my efforts to live healthier and ‘get out’ more, I started walking in local parks and decided to take my loyal canine companion with me. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? The silhouette of a man and his dog walking through a tree lined park as the sun sets over Biscayne Bay, the dog dutifully trotting alongside his master, keeping in step. Yeah, well I think that was a commercial for the newest arthritic drug or something, because that wasn’t us! Dusty, my middle-aged red golden retriever, being just as spry as he was when he was just a pup, spends much of his day awaiting my return from the office, as many of our dogs do. Understandably so, when it’s time to get out for some fun in an open area, Dusty is the first to sign up! After more than just a few ‘lively’ encounters with Dusty living up to his name and literally “leaving me in the dust” as he ran off to chase a bird or a squirrel, I knew it was time to try something different. I wasn’t going to deprive him of his walks with me and the exercise he was clearly screaming for, but I couldn’t risk him getting hurt or lost, or me getting just plain hurt as the vision of me being dragged directly into the bay with reckless abandon flashed through my mind. It was at this point that I began listening to friends telling me to begin training your dog with an electronic collar.

I had seen other dog owners using the clicker method, retractable leashes, harnesses that made it near-impossible for them to gain leverage and pull you to the ground, and I’d also noticed that some people were training their dogs with an electronic collar. Not knowing much about them, I started doing some research and asking some friends how these “shock collars” work. Many of my friends are from the Midwest and use their dogs in hunting or just need to control them in large open areas.

After some comparison shopping, I settled on purchasing an electronic collar made by a company called “Sport Dog”. Since this electronic collar meant the difference between being successful at training Dusty and possibly hurting him (or me) if I did it wrong, I decided to do things exactly as suggested by the video that came with the collar. (yes, I’m one of those people who sometimes enjoys the challenge of figuring out gadgets as I go along rather than read the manual; in this case, don’t be stupid.. we’re talking your Best Friend here!) It is important to understand that before you begin training your dog with an electronic collar, your dog needs to be at least minimally trained in the fundamentals. That is, your pooch should know to sit, stay & come; the basics. If you are thinking about training your dog with a shock collar, and are concerned that it may hurt your four legged friend, let me tell you that I had the same concerns. Having these worries, I decided to test it out on myself first. While at first wondering if I should put it on my actual neck, as it will be on Dusty, I chuckled to myself and did a reality check, mustering all the nerve I could and placed the dial on a setting that might be normally used in the field and zapped myself on the forearm. Although this is not recommended, the shock I received was not much more severe than that of touching a doorknob after walking across a carpet. It was more annoying and scary than painful. I now felt more at ease about using this device on Dusty.

For about a week or so every time I took Dusty out I would put his bright orange training collar on, but leave the control handset in the house. We would go out and play and work on some basic commands. It got to the point that as soon as I reached for the collar, Dusty would get so excited and immediately jump on to his favorite cushion on the front porch and extend his neck for me to secure the electronic collar. Come to think of it, he does the same thing whenever I reach for the car keys. It also should be known that Dusty’s nickname is “the love puppy”, this dog actually gets free burgers at the local McDonalds when we go through the drive thru, and before they ask what I will be having you hear on the speakers, “Hi, Dusty!” and everyone comes to the second window to pet him. I can only hope they wash their hands before returning to their stations.

After a week, we progressed through our training and I took the transmitter with me. I began to nudge him with a slight shock if he did not obey a command quickly enough or disregarded me totally. It is important to note that before any shock was inflicted, I would hit the button that produces a tone from the collar; a ‘warning’, if you will. This way, Dusty would associate the tone with an upcoming unpleasant experience. When he obeyed the command he was rewarded with praise and or his chew toy. It was in a very short amount of time that I rarely had to give him a shock; the tone alone produced the desired affect! Soon, a leash was unnecessary, as the collar and my commands were enough to keep him under control. Whether the expected outcome of training your dog with an electronic collar is to keep him under control and within a safe range for hunting, or merely to enjoy his company in the park without a cumbersome leash, it is vital to practice in the steps provided in this article and to follow any accompanying literature upon buying one of these devices.

Finally, when I took Dusty to a trail that I like to hike, I determined a distance that I felt comfortable with, taking into account that he have plenty of space to turn to the wind, sniffing and frolicking to his hearts content, yet well within range of the transmitter so I could shut him down if a rabbit or other distraction caused him to go on the lam! Dusty now is familiar with our “safe distance” and if he gets too far ahead he will stop and turn around at about that distance and wait for me to catch up. I find that I very rarely, if ever, have to use more than the tone and my voice to get him to obey now. If you have similar success to what I’ve experienced, in training your dog with an electronic collar, you not only will have a much better trained animal, but your own stress levels will drop and you will more likely take your best friend out to explore new areas more often.

A Womans Perspective on Hunting and Fishing

If you’re an avid hunter or fisherman who happens to be a single guy, chances are, you’ve never given a second thought to what the modern day female perspective is on the whole “hunter/gatherer” thing or the increase in women hunters. That’s fine. If you’re a married sportsman, chances are you’ve heard just about all you care to hear as far as your spouse’s opinion goes. Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who have a wife that actually scours the internet and combs cookbooks in search of recipes for venison and wild game. If not, odds are pretty good that when you bring home a trophy buck, you hear things like “just don’t hang it in a tree where the neighbors can see it” and “no, I’m not coming out into the garage to oogle over you murdering a beautiful defenseless animal, no matter how many points he has on his head”. Remember, women hunters and women anglers are on the rise and your wife may turn out to be your best hunting or fishing buddy!

So while it may seem like there are two distinct camps of women; those ‘for’ and ‘against’ hunting and even fishing, I’m here to tell you there is yet a third type of woman out there.. the hybrid female. I consider myself a ‘hybrid’ when it comes to hunting and fishing season. Now before I go any further, let me first state that ‘yes, I have in fact gone hunting’ and ‘yes, I do love to fish’. When conducted in a sportsman-like manner, I can tolerate hunting; do I love the idea? No. But when I say ‘sportsman-like’, I mean, without the use of bait or dogs, without being outfitted with every advantage Dicks’ Sporting Goods and Cabella’s has to offer. Have you noticed that many of these super stores now have separate sections for women hunters? Any woman, if equipped with the patience to hear a man’s rationale on why they hunt, has the ability to empathize with the fact that there is a season on deer to prevent over population and to promote healthier herds. When you speak in terms of ‘positives’, we women can accept the fact that you want to go sit in a tree at the crack of dawn and wait for an animal that is depicted as tame and beautiful to come walking down the trail so you can put food on the family table.

What we are incapable of understanding are those hunters (I keep referring to men, when in fact there are plenty of very successful, well known female hunters out there, so excuse me if I’m being stereotypical) who hunt, and essentially, to use a harsher word, KILL, for the mere fun of the sport. Women, being nurturing, emotional souls, cannot agree with the idea of killing something, no matter if it be as small as a squirrel, just ‘for the fun of it’. There is an ecological balance to our planet and if we were meant to kill things for fun, we all would have been born with gun barrels on the tips of our fingers. I know there are many people that feel this way; not just women, so if you get anything at all out of this article, please only harvest what you will consume and/or use. If we could think like the primitive Native Americans, where no part of a deer or buffalo was wasted, we could probably do some good in the way of living greener as well, finding alternate uses for ALL parts of a creature that sacrificed its life to provide sustenance for you and your family.

The same mentality goes for fishing; while I know there are “plenty of fish in the sea”, it seems some sportsmen don’t feel the need to abide by catch limits or seasons on certain game fish. These rules all came to exist for a reason; to preserve the species, while allowing us to experience the thrill of the catch and enjoy the bounties of the ocean. I’ve been on chartered boats where people seem to think it’s all about how many coolers they fill to bring home and brag about. For me, and I’m sure for other women hunters or women anglers, it’s the thrill of the fight and finally, after a particularly tough battle with a big fish, bringing him to the surface and taking your photographs. Depending on the fish, I’m just as happy to let him go and see him swim away as I am to serve him up for dinner. It’s the personal challenge and satisfaction that will remain preserved in my photo album that I find satisfying, versus seeing an animal mounted on the wall.

So while hunters and fishermen (I feel like I should use fisher-people here) come in all shapes, sizes and genders, the main thing, from a woman’s perspective, is respect. Respect the environment, respect your fellow man and the various feelings they may have about your hobby, and don’t forget to pause a moment and respect the animal that you choose to harvest. Women hunters and women anglers are no different from the male counterparts, except that we maybe look a bit better in Cammo!

Fading Glory? Or Aging Gracefully?

Fading Glory? Or Aging Gracefully?

What a difference 25 years can make, in Fitness and Fashion!

 

Today’s essay is a bit different from anything I have written before.  Everything I write in this article has been kicking around the inside of my brain for weeks, months, dare I say a few years, and it’s not getting any better.  It is now that I look to you, my faithful blog followers, to please consider the following, feeling free to share similar experiences you may be going through as well. 

 

 

While it seems strange to write, and even more surreal to hear spoken out loud, I am in my late 40’s, and nearing 50.  Yes, 50 years old. Not 50 dollars, not 50 pounds, but I have spent nearly half a century on this Earth.  While the number itself does not bother me, as it does some, the transformations my body is going through is quite bothersome both mentally and physically.  From an early age, I was always very athletic, playing baseball and football on a both a collegiate and professional level, while taking pride in the shape I was in and the

strength, stamina and speed I had.  So far this sounds not so unusual, I know; we’ve all had our ‘hey day’ where we were at the top of our game and in the best shape of our lives. While many find that entering into middle age is the best time of their lives; a time to rejuvenate, focus on health and fitness in hopes of extending life expectancy, I find myself in a different category at the present time (but with any luck, you will see a post a few months from now where there has been progress and transformation taking place). 

 

After having suffered various athletic injuries and had a near-death car accident or two, I have now come this far to find myself lacking energy, struggling with chest pains (yes, they’ve been checked out and I was told it was stress) , stomach & digestive maladies, constantly tight, aching muscles, routine headaches…. I think you get the picture.  What I don’t ‘get’ is how I got this way.  I am someone who, just a decade or so ago was out to conquer the world… I was braving wild rapids, trekking across the globe to make it to Everest, spending much of my time as a dive master off the beautiful coral reefs in the state I call home. I love the water; being out on the open sea with the warm salt water spray leaving a trail behind me as I head to my favorite fishing grounds.  I am at total peace in the water.  When I’m diving, the problems of the world are left on the surface, with nothing but captivating creatures and awe-inspiring formations in an underwater world where time ceases to exist (well, okay… Keep an eye on the O2 left in the tank, for sure, but you know what I mean). 

 

Now that I am dealing with all these injuries and age-related consequences, I find myself depressed.  Depressed that I have weight to lose and it’s hard to come off at this age; particularly when I have the legs of a 20 year old but carry all my weight in my stomach.  I’m now very hesitant (I sometimes even use the word ‘scared’) to dive and do what I love most, for fear I could have a heart attack.  I can’t walk up a flight of stairs without feeling winded! 

 

 

I know all you fitness buffs out there will say “cut back on your portions, what are you eating, are you drinking lots of water, are you exercising….?”  The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “yes!” which is what makes this all so frustrating.  I like to walk; I load a book on tape onto the iPod and take walks along my favorite bays or a bike

through the Everglades. I bought a Wii Fit, a Wii Active; a recumbent bike for the road that I thought would put the least amount of stress on my injured neck/shoulder.  I’ve joined gyms; standard gyms, gyms that offer spinning classes, boxing gyms.  I love to turkey hunt and scout the woods prior to opening season, but now even that is something I won’t do alone, for fear I could experience problems in the woods. 

 

My question to everyone out there, and please DO reply to this post, is this: What have you done, or do you currently do to either deal with ‘old sports injuries’ / ‘old age’, or to KEEP yourself healthy and strong as you advance in years?  Do you know of anyone that has been an inspiration to you, who has helped you along the way? Please tell us your story, so we can ALL continue to be ‘out there’ doing what we love to do most… Spending time in the Great Outdoors and having a high quality of life.

How to take late season spring Turkeys

Eleventh Hour Toms

 

 Turkey hunters seem to have a love affair with being first – first to buy their license, first to try out the latest gee-whiz call or decoy, first one in the woods, and the biggest first of all – first crack at those “uneducated” gobblers each spring.  I suppose there is a certain amount of personal interest in that last one.  When the Wisconsin DNR opened up turkey hunting in my area of the state some 15+ years ago, I usually applied for the first available season in our 6 season lottery each spring.  It just made sense – the most birds, the fewest previous encounters with other hunters – what’s not to love?

 I did kill some early season birds in those first experiences, but that also included having to dust the snow off the decoys and deal with henned up gobblers that preferred the real thing to my futile impersonations.  I also got aced out in the lottery a couple times.  Sitting at home while everyone else has all the fun is, well, no fun.  After reading the season summary reports for how many tags were open in each management unit and how many people had applied for each time period it became clear that the numbers were much more in my favor if I applied for the later hunts.  It was a lesson I haven’t forgotten.

 Nowadays the bird numbers have flourished, tags are much easier to come by, and there are even leftover tags available in my home state (always for the later seasons) that can be bought over the counter or on the internet.  What all of that means is that I have more choices and opportunities to hunt than ever before.  It also means I can go play in the late season with high expectations of seeing and working a gobbler.

 Most people familiar with the turkey’s spring breeding ritual understand the basic stages they go through every spring, regardless of weather or latitude:  The gobblers make a lot of racket prior to the hens being receptive.  It’s a hormone thing, a pecking order thing, maybe even a howling-at-the-moon thing.  It’s rare that there’s an open hunting season, so you just have to sit back and watch and listen.  Eventually a few hens allow gobblers to tag along.  That shuts the big boys up big time.  They’ll happily gobble from the roost, but once they’re on the ground and in the presence of hens, there’s no need to be vocal anymore.  Now it’s all about strutting and drumming.  Hunters hate this period for 2 reasons – they’re competing with real hens in the calling contest, and with no reason to gobble on the ground, toms are hard to locate and keep track of.  Finally, after a few weeks of relative midday silence in the turkey world, the hens have been bred and may be sitting on their nests.  This is when the fun begins.

 

Gobblers have poor scheduling skills.  They don’t understand why the hens aren’t hanging out with them.  They only know that their hormones are still telling them to try to attract and breed hens.  It’s economics 101 – supply and demand.  There’s a shortage of interested hens so demand goes up.  You, the hunter, can take advantage by filling that void.

 

Pattern gobbler’s preferred roost areas and stick close by.  These last birds of the season may be call-wary because of their training by earlier hunters.  Tone down your approach and tactics.  Those long strings of lonely yelps are a thing of the past.  Very often gobblers will sound off mid-morning and go “trolling” by gobbling every few minutes as they search for hens.  Last week I followed one of the biggest gobblers I’ve ever seen on the hoof.  He left the woods and walked halfway across a newly planted cornfield.  I put my binocs on him and let out a modest sequence of yelps from 100 yards away.  He took one quick look in my direction and proceeded to rubber neck his way to the opposite side of the field, disappearing into the tree line.  A much more appropriate call would’ve been a simple cluck or two, maybe some scratching in the leaves to simulate a hen feeding.

 

I learned from that mistake and was prepared to do just that a couple days later when I stood at the base of the big guy’s preferred roosting ridge and listened to his pre-dawn gobbling.  There was only one problem – the finger ridge that was my usual path to the top was blocked by 2 other gobblers that were sounding off nearby.  With 2 tags in my pocket and only 2 days left of the WI turkey season this was no time to be a trophy hunting snob.  I decided to ignore the big bird’s calling and concentrate on what was right in my lap.

 

I heard the flydown followed by several minutes of silence, but the 2 birds started gobbling again from a saddle on that finger ridge that I knew was a good strutting zone.  I quietly snuck up the hill a short distance, using the late season foliage as cover, positioned myself at the base of a large oak, rested my feet on the Turkey Dave Footrest I always carry, and laid my gun across my knee.  The entire calling sequence consisted of 4 clucks on an aluminum pot and peg call, followed by a few scratchings in the dry leaves.  I wasn’t’ really trying to call the birds in, just make them aware of my presence.  It was up to them to figure out the rest of the equation and I wasn’t disappointed.  I could easily hear the low frequency drumming as they marched down that saddle and started up the hill to my little mesa.  When they came around a tree at 25 yards I put my sight on the lead bird and pulled the trigger.  I got lucky and ended up getting a clean kill on both birds with one shot (legal in WI).  One of the birds even sported a huge double beard.  I’m convinced that the subtle calling technique in late season is what did the trick.  Keep it low key and simple next spring when you’re faced with lonely late season birds and you might have the same luck I did.

How to call a Wild Turkey

No, “hey bartender” is not the correct answer to this question, but the actual answer to this question is really based on what you are trying to accomplish with the call. At its base, calling a gobbler in is the most rewarding part of the hunt with the exception of sitting around the table with all the family enjoying the harvested bird. It is also the most tried and true method among Turkey hunters and one in which skill with a turkey call becomes a vital part of the hunt.

 

Before we get into the types of calls used and the circumstances surrounding the use of the call, it is important to understand that calling poorly can be as detrimental to a hunt as walking through the field with your radio blasting an anthology of Van Halen tunes. The most adept of turkey hunters can easily move through the woods and take their share of Gobblers without the use of a call, so in addition to being proficient with the call, the hunter must all have an understanding of Wild Turkey habits and be a skilled woodsman as well.

 

The first part of Turkey hunting is finding the birds, and as so many of us begin our turkey hunting careers by sitting in a blind at some ungodly hour, we will start our discussion with locator calls. Locator calls are used to draw a response from a bird, thereby giving away his position, without alerting him to yours. Turkeys are known to respond to loud noises such as thunder or the noises made by other animals. I was once sitting in a blind in the dark on the edge of a southern Wisconsin field when a coyote began to howl. About a second or two later it seemed like the entire woods had become the Turkey boy choir as Tom’s began gobbling from every direction. Many calls on the market today are made to simulate other animals, such as crows, and owls, and even thunder has been know to cause the Turkey to respond. Wild Turkeys can hear your call a long way off and it’s important to keep your calls short, keep very quiet and immediately listen for even the faintest response. The response to this type of call is referred to as a “shock gobble” as it is a fear reflex.

 

 

 

 

I have had very good success the night before a hunt using an owl locator call and standing in an area where I have previously seen Turkeys late in the afternoon. If I can pinpoint a direction and distance to a response, I can set up a blind in an area that I feel the turkeys will fly down to or will want to pass during their morning habits. I my predictions are correct I can usually then wait for them to come or use another type of call to bring them into range.

 

Turkey Calls that are intended draw the little beasties into range may be in the form of what is called a friction call or a mouth call. Both are capable of simulating the various yelps, clucks purrs and putts that Turkeys use to communicate with one another. Friction calls are probably easier to use but both have their advantages or detractions. I have found that since I am probably the most tone deaf person around the box call works the best for me; however it requires a bit more movement in its use and then placing it down when a bird moves in. It is quite simple to use although some practice is required to properly make the variety of sounds used in various situations. There are numerous other types of friction turkey calls such as the slate and peg call and the push pull box. At some point it becomes a matter of preference and proficiency.

 

 

 

 

Diaphragm calls are another extremely popular call and are considered the most versatile of all Turkey calls. These types of calls are merely reeds strung across a frame shaped in a “U” and then placed in the mouth. Many hunters prefer this call as it is small, relatively inexpensive and can be used on an approaching bird with no visible movement. The only disadvantage for this type of Turkey call is it could be difficult to learn to use properly.  Many Diaphragm calls on the market today come with a CD that demonstrates the various sounds, which makes its mastery quite a bit easier.

 

Although there are many other types of excellent Turkey calls on the market, these are by far the most popular. I would suggest practice with these types of calls to get a good knowledge of not only what the sounds should be like, but also when to use them.  Again, a poor call can ruin a Wild Turkey Hunting experience.  It’s also important not to practice calling in those areas you or others wish to hunt as once again, poor calling and overcalling can have a negative effect.

Great Tips about Turkey Blinds and Decoys

Although using blinds and decoys are not essential in pursuit for the majority of turkey hunting, they do provide an incredible edge when used properly and in the right situations. They can in some instances be the added factor that will make a hunt successful and in other occasions be the factor that keeps a wary gobbler from coming into range. A blind is designed to conceal motion and is a great piece of equipment for those who plan on Turkey Hunting by sitting in one spot for prolonged periods of time.  It is also a great tool when teaching youngsters about turkey hunting or for those who may a bit fidgety or have trouble sitting still.

 

 

 

A Turkey blind need not be an elaborate piece of high tech equipment with all the bells and whistles of deer blinds.  It should be noted that if your blind is to do double duty as a blind in which you will be hunting animals with exceptional sense of smell such as deer or wild boar, you may want to consider upgrading to a blind that contains some manner of scent protection.  There are many wonderful blinds sold in all the best sporting goods stores and you need only think about where you will be doing a lot of your hunting to decide which may be best for you.  Take into consideration if you hunt alone, the ease of which you can maneuver your shotgun and the profile of the blind.  Also make sure that you have enough view to sides as it happens so often that as you are watching a Jake stroll in from the front, that a 4 year old gobbler is standing 15 yards to your side.  The Blind that I shot my first Wild Turkey from was merely a collection of branches and twigs laid out under a large tree, two feet inside from the edge of a large field.  The tree was big enough to provide support for myself and my friend who was calling for me, and had enough break up cover behind us for added camouflage.

 

The previously mentioned Turkey Blind is quite often constructed the evening before a hunt after gaining a good idea of where the birds might be roosting for the evening. This is accomplished by either visually seeing the birds entering the woods towards dusk or using Wild Turkey calls to try and elicit a response from an edgy gobbler, and then constructing some manner of Turkey Blind in a position that you feel the Birds will either fly down to, or need to travel in the course of their morning habits. When constructing this type of natural Wild Turkey blind you may also want to pace off about 20 yards in order to get a good idea of distance for when the birds come in. Do not forget to check any possible shooting lanes for obstructions, so bring along a pair of gardening shears to remove any small branches or weeds that may cost you a shot. You also need to make sure you mark the area in some way so you can find your Turkey blind easily and not tip off your presence.

 

 

 

In regards to the Wild Turkey Decoy, at the beginning stages of my Turkey hunting career I was  probably a bit too dependant on the use of decoys as I had little confidence in my own abilities. As time progressed and I understood how to hunt wild turkeys, I became less dependant on the decoys, and more on my understanding of how Wild Turkeys in various areas and hunting pressure may react.  It is important to understand why to use a decoy. Depending upon the terrain and your ability to call a turkey in, the gobbler may not come within range if he cannot identify a hen or other bird as the source of the call. If he can identify the bird making the sounds he may be more apt to come into range and begin his display. In some areas, as was the case during a few Missouri Turkey hunting trips, the birds are so heavily hunted that use of a decoy can be about as detrimental to your hunt as bad calling. When properly used the Turkey decoy can not only lure birds within range but keep them in the area longer, increasing the chances of a big gobbler strolling in. The key again is to know what a Wild Turkey is looking for at what time of the year. One fall Turkey hunting trip near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a friend and I sat in a small blind we had picked up at Gander Mountain that day and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee while several hens meandered around our other decoys and even took turns napping for about an hour.

 

Finally, when determining what type of decoy to purchase, your local sporting goods store can be a great source of information, but keep in mind what a Wild Turkey is best at, seeing motion, so in addition to buying a life like Turkey decoy, also try and find one that may have some natural motion when there is a bit of breeze or can be made to move by some other influence. Remember, that you will be carrying these decoys into the woods and perhaps for several miles so weight and ease of carrying should enter into your decision as well. There ya have it! Enough information to get you started on using blinds and decoys for this years Wild Turkey hunting experience.

 

 

How to Locate Spring Turkeys

Turkeys can see you coming from a long, long distance away, they also have incredibly sharp hearing, combine this with their natural instincts to be a bit cautious and you have a very formidable adversary. I have heard many hunters claim that if the wild turkey had the sense of smell of a deer, nobody would ever harvest one. Having said this,  turkey hunting is one of the most enjoyable challenges, and is actually fairly simple if you merely understand how a turkey thinks or acts, and why.

 

It seems like whenever you are driving along a country road looking into the fields and pastures there is never a shortage of wild turkeys mulling about, picking up pieces of grain and insects, yet walk around in the woods with your shotgun, and you would think that you are hunting on the moon. In order to successfully harvest the elusive wild turkey you must first locate potential wild turkey habitat.  I have on many occasions merely driven around in the early evening with my binoculars, and began by glassing various areas, or spent an hour or so on the edge of a forest just listening for the unmistakable sound of Wild Turkeys flying up to roost, or the tell tale gobble of a bird responding to an owl or some other locator call. This practice is called “Roosting” a bird or “putting a bird to bed”.  If you see a gobbler feeding in a field or parading around in the late afternoon and evening hours before your intended Wild Turkey hunt, you have a great indication that the bird will be somewhere in that general vicinity come first light, as these birds tend to feed in the evening near where they will be roosting.

 

After roosting a bird the night before, you will need to return to this general area before dawn (this means in the dark!) and situate yourself, well hidden at the base of a tree or other type of blind. Hopefully, the previous night you have already marked the location you wish to hunt and set up a bit of a blind. It is imperative to make no noise when returning in the dark, so marking a trail you can find is a good idea. If using decoys, it is also important to move slowly and silently so as not to give away your location.  Pace off the number of yards, to your decoys to give a good indication of incoming birds and your comfortable shooting range, you may also place a stick in the ground a bit further out so you know your maximum distance as well.

 

If you chose the right location these birds could fly down right in front of you, as Wild Turkeys prefer to fly down into open areas, making it a very short, but rewarding morning. If you have not heard the birds as darkness gives way to dawn, you might attempt to simulate a few tree yelps in the hope that a gobbler will reply, thus giving away his location. If you are not proficient with calling, “don’t”, as many novices tend to overcall or call badly, which can push birds further away.

 

It’s also important to remember that gobblers are hesitant to walk downhill to calls, so you want to try and be either slightly uphill of the birds or on level ground.  I was once hunting in Coulee country in Southern Wisconsin for spring Turkey and had snuck in about 30 yards above a strutting gobbler and had several Jakes walk in from my side to within several yards before I even noticed them.  If you had no luck on the morning fly down you can try to identify a gobbler’s strutting zones as they tend to prefer the same areas again and again to display for the hens. Don’t get too impatient if a gobbler responds to your calls but refuses to move in closer. Just remind him with subtle calls every now and then that you, or in better words…a hen is still in the area.

 

If the early morning hours are not productive, at some point it may be time to try other strategies and get on the move to locate the birds.  This technique is known as the run and gun method, and may work with seasoned turkey hunters and older birds. Moving to new areas and trying to locate birds, then employing a sit, wait and call method can sometimes lure in some Jakes and younger Toms. Either way, enjoying the great outdoors in pursuit of the Wild Turkey is an excellent way to spend a beautiful spring morning.

 

 

 

 

Pheasant Hunting in the Dakotas

 

Go Climb a Tree Stand!

This year I had the great opportunity to try my hand at deer hunting from a tree stand. Being new to the sport of bow hunting, I had spent the previous summer visiting friends in the area I was likely to hunt, where they were kind enough to enlighten in to the incredible adventure to come that fall. My coach for a large part of this ‘training’ was Dave Sumner, the inventor of the “Turkey Dave Footrest” and “FlirtyGirty” panfish jigs.  Dave is an accomplished hunter and would not let me place any tree stands until I had a better than average grasp of bow hunting. Dave and I walked the game trails each and every time I would visit Wisconsin from my home in Miami, Florida. He gave me excellent instruction on not only how to find well used deer trails but how to walk them without telegraphing to the deer that I had  been there.  My friend would give me what we called “Ishi” points for each task I performed correctly in my quest to become a bow hunter. Ishi was the name of the last Yana Indian, who was a legendary woodsman and hunter, he died in 1916. These tasks included, not only finding the deer sign and trails, but understanding why deer would be in this area and which way they may be coming from. I was also taught to understand the prevailing wind patterns for the seasons in determining where a tree stand should be placed.  In all honesty,  this education had been going on for nearly two years and I had promised not to draw my bow on an animal until I had accumulated a sufficient number of “Ishi” points to satisfy both Dave Sumner and another friend Dave Roll (the cameraman for Northland Adventures w/Dave Carlson). These guys are true woodsman and would actually ban me from hunting their land if I had ever attempted to use anything in addition to knowledge to harvest a deer.

 

After, what I considered a very lengthy education, I was taken into the woods on late summer day and was asked to point out any places I would consider placing a tree stand. If I found such as spot, I would then have to give a minimum of 6 reasons that I would consider placing a stand at that spot.  These reasons may have included, nearby food sources, scrapes, wind direction, water sources among many others. We then placed several stands that could be used depending on the direction of the wind.

 

That fall, I found myself preparing to sit in my tree and give my first crack at taking a deer with a bow, actually I had never taken a deer before so this was my initiation! After several unsuccessful journeys into the woods, I found myself sitting in my tree stand one late afternoon, trying to remember all the words to Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheese burger in paradise, when I heard the leaves crunching to my right.  A doe had come up the trail and was moving into range.  Being a left handed shooter this was a very good side for me but I had limited shooting alleys.  The deer mad a sharp left and I knew I would have one chance to stand and draw under cover of a large Oak tree. With my heart pounding, I stood and pulled back my bow, as the doe emerged from behind the tree I let my arrow fly. At first I wasn’t sure I had hit her as the doe took off like a bat out of hell and I saw my arrow stuck in the ground. The lack of foliage this time of year made it easy to watch the animal run about 75 yards turn around, wobble and lay down.

 

I wouldn’t say I panicked at that point as much as I was giddy with excitement, and this being my first deer I was a bit perplexed at what to do next. I remember my friends telling me not to chase the animal for about 30 minutes or more after the shot, ‘BUT THIS WAS MY FIRST DEER!!!!’ So I did what any city boy would do in this situation, I called Dave Roll and exclaimed, “I got one” and “I’m freaking out!” My buddy who has been in this situation very calmly said “ what stand are you in, I’ll be there in 30 minutes, stay in the stand till I get there”.  It didn’t matter that I could see the animal lying on the ground, I stayed in my stand.  Of course I called just about everyone I know from that stand, which led to my friends ridiculing me for taking my cell phone into the woods and calling without there being an emergency. The bottom line, I took a very nice doe at 34 yards, and have been hooked on bow hunting ever since, and boy do they taste great when you harvest venison yourself!

Spring Turkey is almost Here!

Spring Turkey hunting is just around the corner and in many states in the country there is a lottery drawing to determine who will receive the limited number of permits that will be available for specific areas. It is important for all you wild turkey hunters to decide if you want to put your name in for the drawing, but also to decide on what particular zones, (if your state uses zoning for permits) you wish to hunt. If you are on good terms with land owners of prime wild turkey habitat, you may want to check with them first to see if others have already requested hunting time on the in-demand area.

 

This is also a good time to get in touch with your state DNR (Department of Natural Resources) to ask questions as to what public lands you may be allowed to hunt on and what the Wild Turkey harvest has been in previous years. Some states have quotas as to the number of hunters and time periods that prime wildlife areas can be accessed for hunting, such as Florida, however there is enough public land to at least have a shot at taking one of these magnificent birds.  Hunting public land for the elusive Wild Turkey may have its added challenges, but just being out there at first light and hearing a gobbler calling is worth the effort. We encourage you to post your thoughts on accessible public land in your area or state, after all, not everyone has access to private land.

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