Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

All measurements are taken in 1/16-inch increments and converted to decimal form. For conversion charts, go to the National Wild turkey Federation web page at: www.nwtf.org/for_hunters/how_to_score.html A current NWTF member or another licensed hunter from the state where the bird was harvested must verify all measurements.

Step 1: Weigh your bird in pounds and ounces and convert ounces to decimal form.

Step 2: Measure each spur. Spurs must be measured along the outside center, from the point at which the spur protrudes from the scaled leg skin to the tip of the spur. Add both spur measurements and multiply the combined length of the spurs by 10. This is the number of points you receive for the turkey’s spurs.

Step 3: Measure the beard length (a beard must be measured from the center point of the protrusion of the skin to the tip) and convert it to decimal form.

Next, multiply the beard length figure by 2; this is the number of points you receive for the beard length. If you have an atypical bird (multiple beards), measure each beard, convert them to a decimal number, then add those figures together and multiply by two. This is the number of points you receive for your turkey’s beards.

Step 4: Add together the weight, the points for spurs and points for beard(s): This is the score you receive for your turkey.

Listed below is the information on this years spring turkey season in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.… Continue reading

There’s nothing more exciting than calling predators as you never know what might come calling, as there are all types of predators out there.

That’s what we found out a couple of weeks ago when we called predators in the Sandhills near Mullen, NE.

The word predator is defined as: a carnivore, an animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals.

According to that definition, a predator can be any number of things.

When it gets right down to it, we humans are predators as are mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, fox, badgers as well as lions and tigers and bears “OH My”.

Depending on the location you’re doing the calling from, you might be surprised by what comes to the call.

Of course these aren’t the only critters that, once hearing the sound of distressed rabbit, fawn or other animal, will come running to investigate, taking advantage of another animals unfortunate situation.

It’s not unusual for deer, which are curious critters to come into a predator call as it has happened to us numerous times, especially when you’re in Mule Deer territory.

There are numerous other animals/birds out there that are opportunists and will eat what ever happens to be available.

Raccoons and skunks are a couple of the furry critters that will come in if they’re within hearing distance as well as hawks, eagles and owls, so you need to be ready for almost anything.… Continue reading

For those of you who haven’t heard of the SHOT Show, it’s “HUGE” with everything from airguns to military weapons and body armor.

If you hoped to cover all of the displays and booths at the four day show, you’d need to run through the show, so these items listed below are just a few of the hundreds of new items that we saw at the show.

Beretta

Beretta unveiled its new semi-auto shotgun, the A400 Xplor Unico, an extremely fast, light and easy to shoot shotgun.

Their upgraded recoil reduction system will reduce recoil by as much as 70 percent.

It features a shortened receiver, 3 inches instead of 3 1/2-inches decreasing the overall gun length.
Their patented Kick Off recoil-reduction system that houses two hydraulic dampeners, reducing recoil by up to 60 percent—was upgraded to “Kick Off Cubed,” which uses a third shock absorber in the stock bolt to further reduce recoil and mechanical stress when shooting the gun.

It also features their new Micro Core butt pad making the gun more comfortable to shoot which also helps the hunter to properly shoulder the shotgun.

For more information on the Beretta A-400 check out www.beretta.com

Last week, I attended the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Technology or  (SHOT) Show as it’s called which was held in Las Vegas.

This is on huge show where every manufacturer of anything and everything that has to do with shooting and hunting introduces their new products to dealers and the media.

Over the last several years, because of what’s happening in the world, there have been a lot of paramilitary dealers he show with all types of body armor, weapons, special ammunition, scopes and equipment made especially for Special Forces and SWAT units.

Prior to the opening of the show, we were given the opportunity to test fire many of the newest pistols, shotguns and rifles using the latest and greatest types of ammunition.

There were several things that caught my eye at the show including several new guns. Listed below are some of those that really caught my attention.… Continue reading

With the winter weather that we’ve gotten this year, hunters know that this is the ideal time to start calling predator.

I remember my first Nebraska predator-calling trip like it was yesterday.  A friend of mine from Omaha who works as a manufacturer’s representative for a call company was on his way north one afternoon and asked if I’d like to try calling coyotes.

I’m game for anything, so I told him why not. I figured we had a couple of hours of daylight left and with the new snow on the ground; we could easily spot the coyotes.

As the sun had just set he pulled into the driveway and I figured our hunting opportunity had just disappeared along with the sun.

Well, I was mistaken as he planned on hunting after “dark”, with the two of us sitting back to back on a snow covered hillside, calling and howling at the coyotes, using the light of the full moon to spot them as they came in.

Since I hadn’t gotten back from the military  all that long ago, I wasn’t too happy about sitting on a hillside in the dark, waiting for some outraged coyote to jump me.

Too make a long story short, on one of our first set ups, he howled in a “Pack” of coyotes, intent on kicking the heck out of whomever or whatever was making all that racket.… Continue reading

No matter what state you’re in, more than likely you’ll see deer, especially during the Rut when they’re mating which in our area is around the middle of November or this time of the year when deer herds yard up where they congregate near their feed source.

Because of the huge deer population, there are several seasons, giving hunters numerous opportunities to tag a deer, which helps to control the excess deer numbers.

In Nebraska, those hunters with the Landowner Youth or Season Choice deer seasons will have the opportunity to hunt until January 15.

In South Dakota, East and West River hunters who didn’t fill their “any deer” and “any whitetail antlerless tag as well as all unsold tags will be changed to antlerless tags. This season will re-open running from Dec 26 – Jan 3, 2010.

Other South Dakota deer seasons that will remain open through January 31st include: the Archery, Muzzleloader and the Youth season.… Continue reading

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

It was a quiet, late November afternoon when Ron Peterson, publisher of the Journal walked into my office in the newsroom.

He sat in the chair across from my desk where, as editor of the newspaper, I was scanning our news budget before heading up the meeting with the floor editors to decide what the next day’s paper would look like.

“What would you think of producing an outdoor tabloid which we distribute free throughout our area?” he asked.

As the paper’s outdoor writer since 1973, it didn’t take long for me to answer.

“I think it would be a great idea,” I said.

And so it started, a free tabloid devoted to teaching Siouxlanders more about hunting and fishing in our area and throughout the upper Midwest.

The first issue, one of six to be published each year, hit the streets in late January of 2004.

The cover photo was of Dave Genz, known as the father of modern day ice fishing. He was on the ice holding a walleye. I had taken that photo a year earlier on Devil’s Lake in North Dakota.

The whole issue was devoted to ice fishing .… Continue reading

As I sat on the porch at Big Blue Lodge, a full moon appeared on the horizon adding it’s  illumination to the light being dispersed by the millions of stars in the sky that night.

It was a stargazers dream, one that’s quite common in Nebraska and one that few people living in the large cities on either coast had ever had the opportunity to gaze upon.

As daybreak finally arrived and the sun popped up over the horizon, we were greeted by 50-degree temperatures with an afternoon forecast predicted to reach up into the 70’s.

And what’s so great about that? Well, we were about to head into the field to hunt pheasants at the Nebraska Governor’s Hunt in November, the time of the year when folks up north are usually wearing stocking caps, gloves and long johns were in order, not the short sleeve shirts and tee shirts that we were wearing.

It was a beautiful day to be outdoors, and the hunting only made it better. It was one of those perfect days in the outdoors, one of those days you’ve always dreamed about.

The Governor’s Pheasant Hunt is a team event with five members on a team.  It’s a one-box hunt, which means that each team receives 25 shells in order to bag their 15-bird limit.

Shells can be divided up amongst the team members any way that they wish and the team that checks in with the most birds shot using the least shells is declared the winner.

Teams are assigned a guide, scorer and are allowed to have two dogs on the ground at one time.… Continue reading

No doubt, you’ve heard of the Bermuda Triangle, strange things happen there and it’s one of those places you really don’t want to be.

Well there’s one “Triangle” that all outdoorsmen and women would love to be and that’s the Pheasant Triangle in South Dakota.

Located in South Central South Dakota, this area has the habitat and crops that make it a Mecca for not only pheasants, but also for deer, grouse and turkey.

Hamill, South Dakota is located right in the middle of the triangle where Steve and Donna Kubik own and operate Antler Ridge Lodge.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of hunting pheasants with the Kubik’s during the South Dakota Governor’s hunt and was really impressed by not only the pheasant hunting, but also the facilities and the area itself.

Last Spring, Team Outdoorsmen Adventures member Tom Mitchell and I had the privilege of hunting and filming a spring turkey hunt at Antler Ridge.

When we drove into the place, there were antelope along the road, pheasants everywhere as well as deer and turkeys, I just knew that this was a place that I wanted to be.… Continue reading

Looking out of the window at the buttes above the ranch, I found it hard to believe that we were in the heart of pheasant country in south central South Dakota.

The scenery was breathtaking as were the facilities and the pheasant hunting that we were about to experience.

Diamond A Ranch is located just down the road from Gregory and the habitat on the ranch is ideal not only pheasants, but also deer and turkey.

On this hunt Gary Kubicek and Bill McPherson from Consumer Supply, Sioux City, IA, joined us.

Consumer Supply is the manufacturers of the Country Vet Dog food a balanced nutritional dog food that we’ve been using for years.

Also joining us on this hunt would be my brother-in-law Tom Janssen and Dr. Ken Bird from Omaha.

Our first walk would be a milo field just down the road from the ranch and any one who’s ever hunted knows: milo is an excellent food source for pheasants.

Since it’s a short crop it’s easy to hunt, work dogs and since it produces such thick heavy over head cover it’s a great place for birds to feed and loaf while and not have to be concerned with the eagles and hawks flying over head searching for an easy meal.… Continue reading