Month: April 2019

Show Notes:

A turkey vest is not the type of gear that will make you a more successful hunting, but it can make you a more comfortable and a more organized hunter. On today’s episode I talk all about the features and benefits of turkey vests and my experience hunting with and without them.

Take Aways:

• Turkey vests encourage you to pack light, travel light, and ultimately carry less gear which means it is less taxing to hunt.
• They have lots of pockets specifically designed for the most common types of turkey calls.
• The better vests are engineered so you can access your regular calls and seat with little to no noise. They can very much help stealth.
• The ones worth buying have attached seats that flip down so you can setup anywhere and at any time.
• Nice features to look for are a built in orange flag you can deploy, padded back, fabric covered magnets to hold things closed and keep things quieter, padded shoulder straps, and a game pouch for game birds (or water, sandwiches, umbrellas, or extra clothes.)
• Here is the review I did on TideWe’s new turkey hunting vest, it has been working really well for me. 

A turkey hunting vest is a very important piece of gear for some hunters, it enables them to carry many small intricate things in an easy to access organized way. It is certainly not required, but if you enjoy them, you can really come to rely on how helpful they can be. I do not use one when hunting from a blind on small properties but if I am on the move, I am almost always wearing a vest and thankful that this tool exists.

They have become one of my favorite pieces of gear because of how easily the seat integrates in along with the cushion on the back. You can sit very comfortably for a long period of time and then just pick up and move quickly and easily.

Listen to the whole podcast episode for more information.

Show Notes:

No matter how you prefer to hunt turkeys, it is good to have options for when things end up being different from the ideal situation. On this episode I cover several advanced strategies for hunting spring gobblers. These are not strategies I recommend you lead with, but they are extra tools in your toolbox to help you up your game.

Take Aways:

• Roosting birds can be a great technique for hard to hunt gobblers, and/or when you have the time and knowledge of the landscape to keep tabs on where birds spend their time and where they fly up to sleep.
• Moving and calling can be a good way to shake things up when a bird gets stuck. Moving a little further and playing hard to get can be a great approach, as can moving side-to-side and calling.
• Decoys are often just as much liability as benefit, but in certain situations, like with picky toms, or outside of a blind at a fields edge they can be helpful for sealing the deal. Just make sure if you do get some, you get ones that really look like turkeys.
• Out calling hens is an approach where you try to beat the other hens in the woods at their own game by sounding like an entire flock of turkeys yourself. It’s risky but it can be a way to win a distracted gobblers attention.
• Ambush hunting involves using your knowledge of a toms habits or making the best use of the available terrain to out do a wary bird, or one that does not answer to any calls.

Show Notes:

Field dressing and preparing a turkey to cook is a fast and easy process, it is something that any beginner can do and there is lots of margin for error. On today’s episode I talk about the actual process, how you can overcome any “yuck” factor, and the best way for beginners to approach cleaning a turkey. You do not need any special tools or skills, once you’ve shot the turkey the hard part is over. 

Take Aways:

• Field dressing a is a misnomer, you do not need to do anything to a turkey in the field under normal circumstances.
• If it is very hot and you have a long way to go home, then you can remove the entrails, wash out the bird, and stuff it with ice. 
• Normally you can just take the bird home and prepare it there.
• It is popular to pluck a turkey and preserve the skin to cook it whole. That is a great approach, but beginners do not need to invest that kind of time unless you want to.
• The fastest way is to skin a turkey, then quarter it, and cook each quarter for separate meal. With this approach, you don’t even need to remove the guts.
• A turkey is just like a big chicken once you start to work on it, thinking about it like that can help you get past any yuck factor.
• Keep the beard and the fan, and use some borax and/or salt to dry out the little bit of skin still attached. 
• The beard is a nice trophy. The fan is also a good trophy and it’s something you can use to decorate future decoys.
• If you are a beginner then you do not need to keep the ends of the wings with the feathers, but some expert hunters do keep these to use for simulating turkey fly down sounds in the woods.

Field Dressing Videos:

Show Notes:

So much has been said and written about the best turkey hunting guns and shells that it can dizzy the head of anyone who hasn’t spent dozens of hours researching and experimenting.  On today’s episode I simplify things and focus in on the best shotguns and loads for beginners. You shouldn’t need a degree in turkey hunting firearms to get started with the sport, it’s a lot easier than most people make it sound.

Take Aways:

• The best shotgun for turkey hunting is the one you can shoot the best. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 410 or a 10 gauge, what you are the most comfortable and most consistent with is the gun you should use.
• The best place to start is with the shotgun you already have. Get into the woods and get some experience, that experience will guide you towards the shotgun that fits you best. Research cannot beat experience.
• If you need to buy something, the best shotgun is a the most cost effective used one you can find. Again, get started, and get experience. If you can find something for $100, get that and get started.
• Tried and true, cost effective, and mass produced pump shotguns are the Mossberg 500 and the Remington 870. You cannot go wrong with either.
• If you want a semi-automatic, I recommend the Mossberg 930. It’s cheap, easy to operate, rugged, and I’ve had 100% reliability. And no, Mossberg is not a sponsor of this podcast. 
• If you have a choice between a wood stock and synthetic stock, get the synthetic. It takes less maintenance, it is more rugged, and you won’t feel bad about scratching it. If you want a show gun or a target gun get wood. If you are a new hunter, plastic makes your life easier.
• You want a full choke for any shotgun you get. Extra full, or extra extra full can be helpful but you don’t need them to get started. They only provide incremental benefit over a regular full choke anyway.
• Ideal turkey hunting distance is 25-35 yards. Practice for that, get gear for that.
• It is very easy to underestimate range, if you practice for 50 yard shots you are likely to take 70 yard shots where there is almost no chance for success.
• Get a 12 gauge shotgun, between target loads and magnum loads you will find shells that are a good fit for you, whether you need light recoil or want high power.
• You want #6, #7, or #8 shot.  Bigger shot (smaller numbers) means there are fewer pellets in each shell, which means you have fewer chances to hit a turkey’s vitals.
• Regular, cheap, #7.5 target loads of 2 3/4″ is all you need. Some of the most seasoned turkey hunters on the planet shoot that. And at 35 yards, it’s great.
• If you want to go bigger, then #6 express loads that are 3″ are the biggest, most powerful that you need.
• Do not pay more than $1 per shell, you do not need anything more expensive to get started.
• More powerful shells create more recoil and more noise which means most hunters do not shoot them as accurately, consistently, or enjoyably. The benefits they provide are not worth trade off.
• You want a shotgun that you can shoot effectively and enjoyably, with affordable shells that use small shot, while hunting at reasonable distances. 
• Now get into the woods!

Show Notes:

Spring turkey hunting is an adrenaline filled game of skill and quick decisions. One thing every new hunter must have to play the game is a turkey call, and preferably more than one. On today’s episode I help you parse through the endless variety of turkey calls to settle on the best two options for new hunters. 

Take Aways:

• The more common types of calls include box calls, mouth calls, pot calls, push-pull calls, and wing bone calls. Each has a use and can be the right call in a particular circumstance.
• Each call is an instrument, some take more practice to get proficient with, and some can do things others can’t. 
• It is best to have at least two calls with you because not all birds will respond to every call, and some sounds are easier to make on certain calls.
• I recommend you start by getting a couple cheap calls, after you get your feet wet you will then be able to decide what you like and what fits your style and you can invest in better calls then. 
• The best call for beginners is the box call, I think it is the easiest call to make high quality turkey sounds at ideal volume levels.
  • Here is a sample of a beginners Box Call
• The second best call for beginners is the pot call. These come in slate, glass, crystal, aluminum, and probably more.
  • The simple slate is the cheapest and easiest for beginners to make a good turkey sound with. Here is a beginners Slate Call
• The third best call for beginners is the push-pull call. This is the easiest call to make turkey sounds with by far.
  • But often the volume isn’t high enough to reach birds that are far off and there is really no way to make it quieter or louder. That is the only real downside, without that one drawback this would be number one.
  • But for some people, this may be a better fit for your first call. Here is an example of a beginners Push-Pull Call
• A mouth call is perhaps the most difficult to master and I recommend beginners do not even touch one unless or until you get some real hunting experience and decide to pursue the sport.

Box Call Example Videos

Slate Call Example Videos

Push-Pull Call Example