Turkey

SUCCESSFUL TURKEY SEASONS START HERE.

The wild turkey is an elusive bird. To get the gobbler, get the know-how. Strategies, management and gear for the hunt can all be found right here.

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Public Land Turkey Hunting Etiquette

As a hunter of public land my entire life, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Every year I hear horror stories involving hunters that have set up on a gobbler and had someone slip in between him and the gobbler as the tom was approaching. Another is crowding areas that are obviously already filled with hunters. Inevitably it happens to me nearly every season. These are variables that you

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Firearm

Become a Better Turkey Hunter with the Help of Mentors

I was 10 years old the first year I won the NWTF Grand National Calling Championship in the Junior Division, and I met Nate Hosie who lives about 10 minutes from my house. Nate and I have been friends ever since I was really young. He's always helped me with my turkey calling, and I've bagged a couple of gobblers with Nate. He got me to the point that I had a pretty good calling

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession

The Best Time To Call For Turkeys: Making Gobblers Respond

Timing is important in so many things we do, from a musical beat to hitting a baseball to timing the stock market. The better you can anticipate the pulse, peak or sweet spot the better you’ll do. This holds true in turkey hunting, possibly more so than when hunting other game. From knowing when the gobblers will respond the best to your tactics, to knowing when to call on a specific hunt, as they say,

Turkey, How-To, Mossy Oak Gamekeepers

Getting Started as a Turkey Hunter and a Contest Caller

Twenty-year-old Hunter Wallis of Greenfield Township, Pennsylvania, started hunting turkeys when he was 4 years old and won the 2018 Intermediate Division of the National Wild Turkey Federation Grand National Calling Contest. This was the last year for him to compete in the Intermediate Division. He won the Intermediate Division four times, and the Junior Division three times in the Grand Nationals. He also won the Senior Division of the U.S. Open, the World Junior

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession

Coaching a New Turkey Hunter

Each year I take quite a few people hunting. Often my hunter is someone who has never killed a turkey before. One of the big problems that most seasoned turkey hunters have when they take a newbie hunting is the new hunter will spook a gobbler that’s coming in, but that rarely ever happens when I take a new turkey hunter.

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Firearm

Calling Other Birds to Locate a Turkey

Owl hooting is my locator call. I use an owl hooter in the morning at daybreak. I owl hoot in the middle of the day, and I use an owl hooter when I'm roosting birds in the evening. Occasionally, I’ll use a goose call. Every now and then I’ll use a crow call to locate turkeys. When I'm locating turkeys, I would say that 80 percent of the time I'm using a barred owl call.

Turkey, How-To

How to Locate Turkeys on Public Lands

I usually study maps of public lands before I hunt there. For instance, I've learned that in Florida turkeys like to roost and stay in cypress heads. So, when I'm going to hunt public lands in Florida, I pinpoint those cypress heads on a map, and that’s where I go to listen for turkeys. Most of the time, I’ll hear turkeys gobbling there. Other times, I’ll look for water, roost trees, fields and other places

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, How-To

Bowhunting Turkeys

Bowhunting turkeys is a test of all of your skills including mentally setting up a decoy scenario to fool the wariest of game. It’s also just a great excuse to enjoy spring after a long, cold winter. According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, the largest on record is a 37.6-pound goliath taken in Kentucky during the 2015 season. That’s a lot of turkey and the reason you need to have the right gear and

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, How-To, Bow

Keep Your Legs From Falling Asleep While Turkey Hunting

Holding still, ready for an opportunity to shoot as you enjoy his performance, you begin to feel a sharp pins and needles sensation increasing in your legs. This intensifies to a painful burn. Soon you realize that you are unable to move your legs. They are asleep. Paresthesia has set in. This is not an emergency, but sure can feel like it, especially if that tom turns and you need to scurry around like a

Turkey, How-To

Calling All Turkeys

Each year I hunt in about nine or 10 states. This season I have 10 states on my schedule. I produce a web show for Mossberg titled, “Calling All Turkeys.” The show has a quick turnaround. I have four cameras running at all times with multiple angles. So, during the season, you'll be able to follow me a week behind where I’ve been hunting. After we film a show, we head for the next state,

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession

A Self-Taught Turkey Hunter

I took my first turkey when I was 14. I was basically self-taught. No one ever took me turkey hunting. My dad didn’t hunt, so I always hunted by myself. My dad wanted to know that I knew how to handle a gun safely, then he more or less turned me loose in the woods to go find a turkey.

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession

Owl Hooting to Turkey Calling

When I first started turkey hunting, I played around with an owl hooter and got fairly good at using it. When I entered my first calling contest in 2009, I learned that the contest had an owl-hooting division. I quickly learned that my owl hooting was much better than my turkey calling, and I began winning owl-hooting contests and placing well in them. As I got better at owl hooting, my turkey calling got better

Turkey

Magic Legumes: Adding Nitrogen to the Soil

Legumes are referred to as nitrogen-fixing plants. Small nodules on their roots actually produce nitrogen and enrich the soil.

Deer, Turkey, Conservation, Land Management, How-To, Mossy Oak Gamekeepers

Be Prepared with Different Types of Turkey Calls

When I go into the woods, I’ll usually have one box call and two pot calls, either a glass and a slate or a slate and an aluminum. I want calls with different pitches, and I always carry about six mouth calls with me each day. I really love my mouth calls, but there are different times and various turkeys that won’t answer a mouth call that will answer a friction call.

Turkey

On rainy days, I’ll hunt just like I do on sunny days with the exception that I know I won’t be able to hear a turkey gobble from as far away as I ordinarily will. Too, that turkey won’t hear me as easily. But I’ve found turkeys are still as vocal in a rainstorm as they are on a sunny day.

Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Firearm