Outdoorsmen Adventures.com

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

With many years of turkey hunting under my belt, I’ve probably ran into just about every hunting condition and or problem a turkey hunter might encounter

Many of these are things could have been taken care of before heading for the woods and a little time spent before the opener on these things would have helped to make several of my hunts more successful.

One thing that many turkey hunters take for granted is the gun and the ammunition they are shooting.

As most of us know, for some reason or another, there are certain ammunition brands and shot size that just seems to pattern better in certain shotgun/chokes than others.

This is why it’s a good idea to test fire or pattern your gun before heading out each season.

This year, I’ll be using my new Escort 12 gauge, so I’m going to have to try several chokes and different loads at several distances to see which of these patterns best.

As far as shell’s over the last several years, I’ve had excellent luck with Winchester Xtended Range 5 Shot and will start with that using a Full choke.

I’ll start out by test firing my shotgun at 25-30-40 yards using a Shoot•N•C turkey head targets, making sure that I get the tightest pattern at different distances.

Another problem that turkey hunters run into is rainy weather as this makes many of the old stand by turkey calls useless as when they get wet some of them just don’t work well.

There are a couple of calls that I’ve used that work very well no matter what the weather and they are glass/slate calls and the box calls that doesn’t need chalking.… Continue reading

Hunting spring turkey has become one of the fastest growing segments of the hunting industry and the reason for this is simple!

It’s exciting, challenging and an excellent way to start out the outdoor season after a long drawn out winter.

When I first started hunting turkeys in the 70’s it was difficult to locate information on turkey hunting, especially in our neck of the woods.

Back then, the calls in our area were hard to find and information on calling the birds in was even scarcer.

My first hunt was in north central Nebraska where we were required to carry a call. I had a diaphragm call, didn’t know how to use it, but I had one.

I saw a lot of birds, most of the time shortly after they spotted me and were beating feet

in the opposite direction. Still, I learned something from the trip that has helped me to become a successful hunter on future trips.

Turkeys are well equipped to survive, with hearing and vision that will pick up any sound or the slightest amount of movement. They have the ability to out run danger, having been clocked at speeds up to 12 miles per hour and can reach speeds up to 35 miles per hour in the air.

Over the years, I’ve tagged over 80 turkeys and since my first trip into the woods, turkey hunting has changed, now there’s a lot of information available on the sport and the equipment has really advanced, giving the hunters a wide variety of gear to choose from.

Since the birds have such great eyesight, camouflaging yourself and your equipment is a must. You’ll want to wear camo clothing, camo gloves, facemask and use a bow or shotgun that’s camo or has a dull finish.

Other equipment that will come in handy is a good back pack or vest as turkey hunters generally carry a lot of equipment with them into the woods.

You’re also going to need something soft to set on and to insulate you from the cold ground as you may be setting there for quite awhile before the bird comes into range.… Continue reading

Turkey season is just around the corner, plan now

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

It’s not too early to begin thinking about spring turkey season.

April, after all, is just around the corner and the first of Iowa’s four seasons will be here before you know it.

If you would have told me 25 years ago that I would become a “dyed in the wool” turkey hunter, I would have laughed. The following year, however, found me in the woods chasing the big birds and I haven’t missed a season yet.

Most years, in fact, I hunt turkeys in three states. That’s just how hard I have been hooked.

I’ll confess that climbing around those timbered hills that turkeys like so much is… Continue reading