As I previously mentioned, turkey season begins in just about two months. For the seasonal turkey hunting veterans, that's plenty of time to prepare, as they likely already know how to call and possess at least some vague knowledge of where to find turkeys. If you're a newbie like myself two months is not a whole lot of time, and fitting all the pieces together (land ownership, scouting, turkey biology, calling tactics, rules and regulations) can be frustrating enough to make anyone swear off hunting for eternity.
So here is my list:
1) Learn how to produce various turkey sounds using a variety of calls.
2) Learn the fundamentals of turkey calling. What is the function of the cluck? Purr? Yelp? Etc? And when should I employ those sounds in the woods.
3) Find an area to hunt. For me, this will involve doing some internet research on local public hunting areas. I'll likely just draw a thirty mile or so radius around my place of residence (Ithaca, NY) to see how many public hunting areas fall within it and adjust it as necessary.
5) Find maps of the areas and try to narrow down where the turkeys might be, which is to say take a big long guess and cross my fingers.
6) Scout the areas that fall within that thirty mile radius. This step can take an infinite amount of time. Often, just finding routes in and out of the woods can take weeks. Finding turkeys at this stage is probably more a matter of luck.
7) More scouting.
8) More scouting.
9) More scouting.
10) Go hunting.
11) Repeat 7-10 in varying orders.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Let the Madness Begin
Took my friend to the Gander Mountain store in Binghamton the other day to buy a bow and came home with three new turkey calls. They are the mouth variety that utilizes a small sliver of stretched latex to mimic the high pitch clucks and yelps of the hen (female) turkeys. That same model of call is also used for elk due to the multitude of high pitch sounds produced by elk. The high pitch sound of the call tends to drive non-hunters (such as GF's and family members) a little crazy when practiced indoors. Three years ago, when I was first learning how to use the call in preparation for my first elk hunt, my girlfriend nearly left me. Yeah, seriously, it drove her that crazy.
So the other day, after I returned home from the store, I slipped the turkey call into my mouth and moseyed into the living room where my girlfriend was reading peacefully. When I let out a few clucks, she slowly raised her head, shot me that not-again look coupled with a straight frown, and stated flatly--Let the Madness Begin. Hopefully we're past the point where she would leave me over a simple little annoyance because my turkey calling skills are greatly lacking (I've never called turkey before) and I'll need plenty of practice before the season begins in about two months.
So the other day, after I returned home from the store, I slipped the turkey call into my mouth and moseyed into the living room where my girlfriend was reading peacefully. When I let out a few clucks, she slowly raised her head, shot me that not-again look coupled with a straight frown, and stated flatly--Let the Madness Begin. Hopefully we're past the point where she would leave me over a simple little annoyance because my turkey calling skills are greatly lacking (I've never called turkey before) and I'll need plenty of practice before the season begins in about two months.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Background
First Post! And it only took me a little over year to do so. I figure a little background info is in order just so people understand my points of reference.
I grew up in the farm country of eastern Ohio where the land is a mix of rolling farmlands and square woodlots. Pretty much spent my youth chasing critters around the woods, starting with grasshoppers and frogs before gradually progressing to larger game animals, such as deer and turkey. My father was an avid hunter and began taking me along at the age of five. In first grade, Santa brought me a 4-10 single-action shotgun (he was so much cooler back then) and by third grade I could actually hold the gun to my shoulder and fire it without injuring myself or others. In sixth grade, I took my first deer. By eighth grade, I was a whitetail hunting fanatic. By tenth grade, I was known as Daniel Boone (based off the popular Disney characterization of the real man, I assume) since I basically lived in the woods. In twelfth grade, the principal threatened to fail me if I missed anymore days of school just to go hunting. And at the age of twenty-one, after moving to Seattle, I became completely disillusioned with the sport and just stopped doing it. Nothing. Not even the thought of hunting entered my mind. And then three years ago, somewhat randomly, I decided to start hunting again. And now here I am. Still looking for my first big success. Humbled and Hungry.
I grew up in the farm country of eastern Ohio where the land is a mix of rolling farmlands and square woodlots. Pretty much spent my youth chasing critters around the woods, starting with grasshoppers and frogs before gradually progressing to larger game animals, such as deer and turkey. My father was an avid hunter and began taking me along at the age of five. In first grade, Santa brought me a 4-10 single-action shotgun (he was so much cooler back then) and by third grade I could actually hold the gun to my shoulder and fire it without injuring myself or others. In sixth grade, I took my first deer. By eighth grade, I was a whitetail hunting fanatic. By tenth grade, I was known as Daniel Boone (based off the popular Disney characterization of the real man, I assume) since I basically lived in the woods. In twelfth grade, the principal threatened to fail me if I missed anymore days of school just to go hunting. And at the age of twenty-one, after moving to Seattle, I became completely disillusioned with the sport and just stopped doing it. Nothing. Not even the thought of hunting entered my mind. And then three years ago, somewhat randomly, I decided to start hunting again. And now here I am. Still looking for my first big success. Humbled and Hungry.
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