Sweltering heat waves, devastating droughts, extreme flooding, and destructive wildfires throughout the country could point to a brutal hunting forecast this fall. Mule deer, elk, wild turkey, and waterfowl hunters specifically could feel the impact ...
Turkey
TN Revamps Turkey Hunting Regs, States Adapting to Declining Numbers
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission recently took significant steps to reverse the downward trending turkey population in the state. In a decision that seems in step with national conservation momentum, the 2023 Tennessee turkey season will ...
Got a Few Million to Blow? Check Out These 7 Dream Hunting Properties
If you do any sort of hunting, the dream of owning a patch of wild game heaven has absolutely crossed your mind. Whether you’re a diehard whitetail hunter in the East or Midwest, if you chase elk and muleys in the West, or if you haunt cut corn and ...
U.S. Turkey Super Slam: How a Hunter Bagged Mature Toms in 49 States
Chip Davis hit the road in 1992 with the goal of bagging a mature tom in each of the 49 states that have a huntable turkey population. After 30 years of windshield time and a lot of patience, over Easter weekend this year, he punched a tag in West ...
Why Hunters Pattern Their Shotguns: Dialing-In Your Turkey Killer
Many hunters go their entire lives taking the just let ‘er eat approach to shotgunning. And they never truly know where their shot is flying. These are the hunters who routinely whiff on gobblers that go scuttling off to roost another night. Then ...
Modern Turkey Loads: Worth The Money, Maybe
Turkey hunting can be described in one of two ways: awesome or brutal. Sometimes you get a tom to commit, and the deal goes down just like you planned. No matter how great your hide or calls are, birds will come in and get hung up in thick ...
Hunting the Mountain-Dwelling Merriam Turkey
A nomadic wanderer with a beefy body and tail feathers with tips painted white, the Merriam turkey inhabits some of the most awe-inspiring places on earth and is a must-hunt wild turkey species. You’ve probably read or heard tales spun about ...
The Many Sounds of the North American Wild Turkey
While giving a seminar on public-land turkey hunting, a gentleman asked me, "What's so great about hunting a big, black-feathered bird? He'd never hunted turkeys before. The ivory on his necklace, ring, and belt buckle, along with a hat branded with ...
Getting Gobblers: Hunting the Rio Grande Turkey
The Rio Grande turkey is a hard-gobbling aggressive subspecies of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) that inhabits a wide range of habitats. If I had to choose one wild turkey subspecies to hunt for the rest of my days, the Rio Grande would top my ...
What Do Wild Turkeys Eat? Find the Food, Find the Birds
Every subspecies of wild turkey has different behaviors. They all populate a variety of landscapes, live in different weather, and are hunted by different predators — all of which shape their overall behavior. One thing every wild turkey has in ...
The Osceola Turkey: Only in Florida!
The Osceola turkey, also known as the Florida turkey, is unique, and that uniqueness isn’t due to coloration, build, or vocal nature. What makes the Osceola a super-special bird is its location. There are many go-to states for Merriam, Rio Grande, ...
Oklahoma Joins Other States in Tightening Spring Gobbler Regs
Spring gobbler seasons are right around the corner; the turkey hunting faithful are poring over their gear for the umpteenth time, torturing the family dog with clucks, purrs, and kee-kee runs in the garage and selling their plasma to buy a fresh box ...
Eastern Turkeys: The Loudest and Most Paranoid Birds of All
Other than the deep, guttural bugle of a bull elk, nothing rattles my bones and sends chills running up and down my spine like the gobble of Eastern turkeys. God gave these birds remarkable voice boxes, and they know how to use them. If you've been ...
Where The Light Shines In: A US Marine’s First Turkey Hunt in Montana
“Should we take the bird to the truck and start cleaning it; maybe get ready for the guys to return?” Andy asked me. “How about we just sit here and look at Montana,” I said. The thought of it being okay to be in the moment caused half a ...
Turkey Hunting Gear: New Stuff You Just Have to Have for the Spring
Turkey hunting is a gear-heavy habit, and I love it. Over the years, I’ve amassed more than enough turkey tackle to take on birds anywhere in North America. Each spring, however, I seem to find an item or three — new gear releases or old ones I ...
New SITKA Turkey Hunting Gear for 2022
SITKA Gear just released a long-awaited clothing system for turkey hunters: the brand new Equinox Turkey Collection. The new product line includes a minimalist vest for run-and-gun turkey hunters, plus a hoodie, pants, and gloves with built-in insect ...
Is There Still a Reason for the 10-Gauge Shotgun to Exist?
Everyone should get a 10-gauge shotgun before they’re gone. Well, not everyone. Let me qualify that a little bit. The following people should grab a 10-gauge: Waterfowl hunters should get one if they want to go after geese and swans at ...
The ‘Freakin’ 12-Gauge’: The Only Gauge You Really Need
Don: “Hey, Napoleon. What did you do last summer again?” Napoleon Dynamite: “I told you! I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!” Don: “What kind of gun did you use?” Napoleon: “A freakin’ 12-gauge! What do you ...
Escarole and Beans With Smoked Wild Turkey Wings
Italian greens and beans is a dish that feels like home. This hearty Italian dish is a soup of bitter greens, aka escarole or endive (think swiss chard), and white beans, mopped up with a good piece of bread, is exactly what I want in the ...
Ohio Turkey Hunters May See Major Cuts to 2022 Fall Season
Ohio turkey hunters could see a major cut to their 2022 fall season. At an Ohio Wildlife Council meeting on Jan. 12, wildlife biologists with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources recommended shortening the Buckeye State’s fall turkey ...
Poutine Recipe Twist: Use Wild Turkey Wing Meat and an Air Fryer
While french fries and hot gravy have been an American staple since at least the 1950s, it was our neighbors to the north who perfected it. French-Canadians began embellishing simple deep fried potatoes by adding not only gravy but also cheese curds ...
Wild Turkey Recipe: Buffalo-Style Smoked Wing Dip
Most turkey hunters don’t take the time to clean and cook the wings from a bird. Honestly, it's hard to blame them. Of all the potentially edible meat that is sometimes left in the woods, the meat on wild turkey wings is among the most forgivable ...
Are Regs To Blame for Plummeting Turkey Populations?
The Ohio DNR is ruffling some feathers with a recommended change to turkey hunting for 2022 due to dropping wild turkey populations. A proposal to decrease the spring gobbler bag limit from two toms to one is currently up for approval by the Ohio ...
Field to Table: Biscuits and Wild Turkey Gravy
Biscuits and wild turkey gravy opened my eyes to the possibilities of wild-game cooking. I shot a bird that morning, and I decided to cook it up for a staff meal at the restaurant where I worked. My not-so-outdoorsy co-workers hammered it, then ...
DIY Public Land .410 Turkey Slam in the First 2 Weeks of Turkey Season
Seth Gebo wasn’t planning to pull off one of the hardest things in turkey hunting. He connected with an Osceola in Florida on a buddy hunt a few days into the season. Then the lightbulb went off. With some last-minute plane tickets and a few hundred ...
Discover the Life-Altering, Mind-Melting Power of a Wild Turkey Cheesesteak
A good cheesesteak will make you question your whole life and then scoop another dollop of Cheez Whiz. It's like driving too fast or smoking a cigarette — part of the appeal is flirting with the inevitable. It’s not a matter of if it will kill you, ...
Wild Turkey Banh Mi: An Outdoorsy, American Spin on a Vietnamese Classic
When the French colonized Vietnam, they brought their food with them. The baguette, pâté, crème caramel (or flan), and other culinary staples found their way into Vietnamese kitchens and melded into the already vibrant food culture. The Vietnamese ...
Starter Kit: Gear Up for Turkey Season
Turkey season generally goes something like this: you find them, you call them, you shoot them. It's simple to turkey hunt—but it's not easy. Spring is most hunters’ favorite time to chase turkeys because the season plays on the one chink in a ...
Turkey Hunting the Pandemic, This Year and Last
“This corona deal sucks. Every parking lot is full and I heard four shots this a.m.” For once in my life as a turkey hunter, I could feel smug. The text came from a friend hunting the public area where I have chased spring gobblers for 30 years. ...
How to Prepare a Wild Turkey Thanksgiving
I was patiently sitting, hands nipped with cold, listening to my own breath and the occasional squeak sqwuak eek eek from Chad Mendes as he made turkey calls in the Kansas morning frost. We sat for hours, listening to the echoes of gobbles from ...
