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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The Joys of a Boy’s First Turkey Gobbler

My friend and Mossy Oak hunting buddy Jack Lester has an older son, John, who is now 14. I really enjoy hunting with Jack and his family, and I primarily hunt on Jack’s family farm, which is about 3,300 acres. Three years ago, Jack wanted John to have the opportunity to take his first turkey. He wanted to sit with John, while John took the shot, and he asked me to call for them. I

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Firearm

Take Care Of Your Turkey Nests

One of our primary responsibilities as a GameKeeper is to be conservationist and good wildlife managers. One of the most satisfying aspects in game management is maintaining a healthy crop of turkeys to hunt every year or bringing back a wild turkey population in an area where they have struggled in the past. A simple mistake we see made every year that can have a negative impact on your turkey numbers is the good old

Big Game, Turkey, Conservation, Mossy Oak Gamekeepers

Turkey Patterning 101: Bagging the Gobbler Begins Here

The shot is what must be improved in order to make sure those sad days become triumphant. Knowing the firearm, practicing on the range, picking the right ammo and choke tube combination - all of this must be done in order to know how your shotgun patterns to have a successful turkey hunt.

Big Game, Turkey, Firearm

The Making of a Turkey Hunter

One of my most-memorable hunts took place 2-years ago with Mossy Oak Pro Jack Lester and his 6-year-old son, Riley. I had roosted a gobbler on his farm. The next morning, we went in with Riley and set-up between the hens and the gobbler. Jack and Riley were sitting on the ground by a big oak tree with Riley sitting between Jack’s legs. Jack wanted him to see what hunting turkeys was like

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Firearm

The ABCs of Fertilizing Trees

When it comes to fertilizing trees, the ABC’s begin with knowing the N-P-K. Trees, like people, are unique, so taking the time to commit to learning about the species is the only way to keep the tree healthy - with the ability to produce shade, mast and beauty.

Big Game, Deer, Turkey, Conservation, BioLogic, Nativ Nurseries

Taking an After Lunch Osceola Gobbler with Mossy Oak’s Mike Cockerham

I really enjoy turkey hunting, but I don’t like to be limited by a bag limit, so I like to guide. When I guide, I get to control the turkey and the hunter. If I can put that turkey in front of my hunter’s gun barrel, I feel just as successful as I will if I’ve squeezed the trigger myself. If you really enjoy turkey hunting, and you want to hunt as much as you

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Mossy Oak, Firearm

Wild Turkey Predation: Cause, Effect & Solution

It is true that in some areas wild turkey numbers are either stable or increasing, but it’s also true that some local-level populations are in a decline. These are the statistics that have everyone from the biologist to the land steward to the hunter concerned. Predation has become an issue for wild turkeys, and when it comes to controlling that issue the debate between predator control versus habitat management begins.

Big Game, Small Game, Turkey, Predator, Mossy Oak Gamekeepers

Jack Lester’s Cedar Tree Bow Longbeard Turkey with Mossy Oak’s Mike Cockerham

A friend of mine who also is a Mossy Oak Pro Staffer, Jack Lester, always had wanted to shoot a turkey with a bow. I agreed to call to give him the opportunity. We got to a field where he’d been seeing turkeys and picked a spot close to the edge of the field where there were some cedar trees. Instead of using a blind, we cut off some limbs on the cedar tree, so

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Mossy Oak, Bow

ProStaffer Mike Cockerham Talks Turkeys

Until we can get inside a tom’s brain and read his mind, all we know is that this gobbler, for some reason, flew over the pine top. The gobbler looked down in the pine top to see what was there, but he didn’t see me because of my Mossy Oak camouflage.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Firearm

THUG Kevin Burleson's Most Memorable Turkey Hunt

They walked all around the bird, searching for the arrow. When my hunter finally walked up to his bird, he laid his bow on the ground to pick up the turkey. Suddenly the turkey’s head came up, and he took off running. Of course, that turkey could outrun the dad and the son, and I was trying to film all the action.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Bow

Why Rio Grande Gobblers Are Fun to Hunt

Many turkey hunters like to come to Texas and hunt Rio Grande gobblers, since these turkeys are much-more vocal than Eastern or Osceola turkeys. Most turkey hunters like calling to turkeys, and out here you can call a lot to a gobbler without spooking him.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak

Where to Shoot a Turkey with a Bow

Taking a turkey with a bow in our area of Texas is extremely difficult, especially if you don’t want to use a ground blind.

Turkey, How-To, Mossy Oak, Bow

Bowhunting for Rio Grande Gobblers with THUG Kevin Burleson

When we have bowhunters who want to take Rio Grande gobblers, we hunt out of a Mossy Oak pop-up ground blind. Most of our country is open, and you can’t come to full draw without a gobbler seeing you. So generally we try to run and gun and use a ground blind

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Bow

Bowhunting Rio Grande Gobblers

One of the things that makes Rio Grande turkeys in my section of the country near Brady, Texas, different from Eastern gobblers is that our turkeys don’t have specific trees they roost in every night. Our gobblers like to travel and tend to roost wherever they are when nightfall approaches.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Bow

The Gobbler That Charged and Flogged a Coyote

I heard a ruckus close to Jeff that I couldn’t figure out. I heard the turkey putting as he went past me. I couldn’t stand not being able to see what was happening, so I peeped over the creek bank. I couldn’t believe what I saw. This big gobbler was charging and flogging a coyote. In all my years of turkey hunting, I never had seen anything like this.

Big Game, Small Game, Turkey, Predator, Firearm