Outdoorsmen Adventures.com

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

It was almost daylight and the tukeys were still in the trees. Every few seconds one would gobble and this would set off the others.

Occasionally, I’d do a soft yelp and get the booming answers from the big toms.

I was so close I could hear them flying down from the tree limbs and they continued the gobbling and yelping.

But the sounds were fading as the whole bunch walked away.

More often than not, that’s how it is in today’s turkey woods. There are so many turkeys that it is a rare occasion when toms go to roost without hens.

And, come dawn, the toms go where the hens go and if you are not on that track, you will not bag a tom.

That’s why preseason scouting is so important.

We used to scout just to determine where the toms were roosting and then depend upon our calling to bring them in.

Now, however, you have to determine where those turkeys will go when they fly down and you must be set up on that track to even have a chance.

It is a fact that many of today’s turkey hunters no longer get up early to be in the woods at dawn.… Continue reading

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

When Duane Filsinger, Butte Nebraska and his son headed out on their spring turkey hunt last spring, the farthest thing from their mind was taking the highest scoring Merriam ever taken with a firearm that was recorded by the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).

Well that’s just what they did, putting Duane’s name at the top of the NWTF list for Merriam turkeys.

Like most of the state, Northeast Nebraska has as excellent turkey population, with the majority of the birds found in the area being Merriam.

Merriam turkeys are similar in many ways to the other species of turkeys such as the Eastern, Rio Grande and Osceola, which, all can be found in the United States.

Adult Merriam males are easily distinguished from these species, but closely resemble the Gould turkey of Mexico except that they have a blacker appearance with the lower back and tail margins on the Merriam are nearly white.

The Merriam’s original territory was Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, but through stocking programs the birds were stocked out of their original Rocky Mountain terrain.… 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

If you’re like other outdoorsmen and women you know that you need a lot of gear in order to have a successful trip into the outdoors.

I’m sure you’ve had it happen to you, it’s deer season and you haven’t looked at your deer hunting gear since last season, now when you need it, you’re going to have to waste time trying to find your hunter’s orange vest, cap, range finder, binoculars, back pack etc.

It never fails, when you really need you gear it’s hard to find because it’s usually buried or piled on top of.

Well the folks at Sydell Outdoors have come up with the perfect solution, there Outdoor. Storage Units.

These units are ideal for storing hunting/fishing gear or any other type of sporting equipment.… Continue reading

Game Camera Photo by Scott Ulrich

Game cameras are a great and invaluable tool for the hunter today. A hunter using a camera has several extra advantages giving the hunter clues that he wouldn’t have even if you are an avid woodsman.

Cameras give us that extra edge when were trying to figure out the deer herd or scouting for that trophy buck. Cameras give you the actual time an animal arrives at a certain spot as well as the date and temperature reading, giving the hunter the ability to hunt twenty-four hours a day seven days a week without having to be in the field.

Another thing the game camera can help you with is to show you the direction animal is traveling. This is especially true if you have know where the game trails are and what direction they are going.

In a short period of time, a game camera lets the hunter know if there’s a game in the area he plans on hunting.
They’ll tell us if there are trophy bucks in the area and give us an idea as to the number of deer that are using the area.

Lastly the camera can help person with a trained eye to determine the approximate age of the deer. Game Cameras are one of the greatest tools or innovations to come, helping deer hunters to become more successful.… Continue reading

In one of my last articles, I mentioned the Good, the Bad and the Ugly that I’ve experienced while turkey hunting.

This article will be about another of our spring turkey hunts. On this hunt, I was hoping that all of the bad luck was behind us, as this would be a brand new day and things just had to run smoother.

Day two of our “spring” turkey hunt at Antler Ridge Lodge www.antlerridgelodge.com couldn’t have started out any worse. When I woke up, I glanced out the window to see what appeared to be 6 to 8 inches of fresh wet snow.

This couldn’t be happening, I had to be half asleep, it had to be a bad dream, it was May when the May flowers were suppose to start appearing, not covered with snow.

“Rats” there goes Plan A again. Well we really didn’t have a choice; with only one day left to hunt, we had to go out no matter what the conditions.

Since I had tagged my two birds the day before, I’d be calling the birds for Tom Mitchell, KELO FM, Sioux Falls and with some luck our cameraman would be able to film the whole process.

WE set up our “brown” camo blind in the heavy wet snow adjacent to a shelterbelt were the birds were known to travel. The three of us climbed inside to begin what we hoped would be a successful day of turkey hunting.… Continue reading

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

There is always a tom turkey somewhere willing to respond to a well-tuned call.

If there’s a hen decoy, they’ll usually strut right in and with the release of an arrow or tripping of a trigger, your tag will be filled.

That happened rather quickly for Jim McDonnell, the guy we call the Fishing Professor, from Royal, Iowa.

The tom hung up about 30 yards out, way too far for a sure kill with a bow, but Jim gave out a quick “gobble” call and that sealed the deal.

The tom came right in and offered Jim and easy 15 yard shot through the legs.

“Shoot them through the legs and they are not going to get up and run away,” Jim said.

“I don’t even like to write about using a gobble call,” Jim said. “Chances are, if another hunter hears it, he will sneak right in and hunt you. But, if you are on private land and sure there are no other hunters around, it will often bring in a reluctant tom.

“It sealed the deal this time,” he smiled.

We were hunting on 370 acres of prime whitetail and turkey habitat owned by Paul and Sheila Thomsen, operators of the Inn Spiration Bed and Breakfast.

There are 220 acres of timber, 75 acres of CRP/WRP and 75 acres of corn, soybeans and food plots on the land. Paul also leases other nearby land for fall hunters.

We were guests at the B & B for three days and hunted turkeys hard. Jim, holding an archery tag, is allowed to take two toms anytime during the four seasons. I was holding a third season shotgun tag.

Morning of the opening of the third season, I set up at the edge of the timber looking out over a narrow strip of CRP with last year’s corn ground in the background. To my left was a well-used trail which came across the dam of a small pond, which held a pair of nesting Canada geese. The trail ducked under a single strand of barbed wire and led right to where I was sitting.

Paul said he has seen turkeys crossing here often.

But, not this day. I heard one gobble right at dawn far away to the southwest and not on our property.… Continue reading

Anyone who’s spent much time in the woods, setting and waiting for that big Tom or buck to appear knows the key to filling your permit is your ability to set still for long period of times.

Setting in one spot can be awfully hard on your posterior as well as being cold and damp.

On a recent turkey hunting trip, I had the opportunity to use the Air Saddle, a compact inflatable hunter’s seat that packs in and out easily. Since it doesn’t need to be inflated

until you reach your hunting spot, you aren’t lugging any extra weight.

Shaped like a saddle, this camouflaged seat, allows you to set for extended period of times… Continue reading

Before you can even have a chance at calling in a turkey, you have to locate them. Here are a few tips to help you locate turkeys.

Turkeys will usually roost in the same trees over and over until they are disturbed.
When scouting for turkeys look for feathers, dung, and scratchings.

A tom’s droppings will look like a “J” and the hens will look more round and circular.
Scratchings and loose feathers will tell you which way the birds are heading to their feeding and dusting areas. Leaves will be kicked back in the opposite direction than they are heading.

An owl call will usually get a turkey to reveal his position to you before daylight.

If you aren’t lucky enough to locate a gobbler… Continue reading