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Use It Or Lose IT
Right now, you Strut Zoners are probably in your best physical shape of the year outside of spring turkey season. You’ve been hiking hills, climbing treestands, and on occasion, you’ve dragged a deer out of the woods. You’ve put on drives (where legal), and maybe even hunted a wild turkey or two. Spring gobbler season is coming before you know it. Here are some ways to stay in playing shape, and even to keep what you’ve earned over the years while doing it.
Hunt Small Game: Many “second seasons” are offered for rabbits and upland birds around the country, including wild turkeys and even deer way down south. Ducks. Geese. Don’t stop. Keep at it. Spring turkey will follow all the fun, and it will make winter pass that much faster.
Move That Body, Part II: Don’t care to hunt small game following deer and fall turkey seasons? Join a recreational hoops league (I play weekly in one with several fellow hunters on my team). Indoors, you can also lift weights. Do pushups. Swim. Stay active. Outdoors, you can ice fish. Take up snowshoeing, which is a great way to scout, and even to check out access for new hunting areas. Get out there. You guys down south basically keep going until you hunt that first gobbler. It's tougher up north in the Snow Belt.
Secure Landowner Permission: If you’ve hunted land this fall and want to keep it, make sure you thank the landowner now. Send a holiday greeting. Drop by his house for a friendly post-season chat. Make an effort to expand your hunting areas too. Sometimes contacting the person who posts his land now will let you hunt gobblers in a few months all by yourself. Permission granted.
I recently talked to a Maine farmer who said, “I need all the help I can get with the wild turkeys. There are just too dang many of them!” This morning, as snowflakes fell, I walked his land these many months before spring turkey season to get a feel for it, and found all sorts of turkey sign. Not that these particular birds will stay, but that’s the fun. Do it. Like me, you’ll have a jump-start next year, and something to look forward to.
What do you guys do in the off-season to make sure you’re in shape for next year? Do you have any special tricks for keeping landowner permission, or getting new land to hunt?— Steve Hickoff
Not sure if it's the same where you guys live, but around here (the Northeast in general; Maine/NH border locations specifically), some farmers regard wild turkeys as pests. Ditto for whitetails and Canada geese.
Go figure. Is it that way where you SZers hunt?
It's a great thing to hear from landowners when you seek hunting permission, I'll tell ya.
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hickoff | December 08, 2008 at 03:55 PM
Steve, here in SE Oklahoma, a bunch of us hunters stay in shape by hunting feral hogs and coyotes between deer and turkey season. We can't shoot enough of these varmints as they are populating faster than we can control them. Some of the guys even chase, corner, catch and tie up the feral hogs instead of shooting them, it is fast and furious action. But it is very necessary to control these varmints as they kill many young polts as well as destroy the nest sites.
Hear a jake gobble this past weekend while on a deerstand, boy did it make the blood boil as visions of this spring pasted in front of me. Can hardly wait to match wits with the old longbeards in the area.
We also will be walking many miles soon as we search for sheds in the next few months before the spring growth. Lots of things to do outdoors instead of watch the boob tube, like move stands to new sites, prep planting areas for spring turkeys, update logbooks, school and prep youth hunters for early spring turkey youth weekend, etc,etc....
Posted by: Donald Parker | December 09, 2008 at 10:53 AM
After small game seasons close to when spring turkey starts I like to shed hunt/scout for the spring season. Or at least that's what I call it, I look for antlers, mushrooms, and/or turkey sign depending on the time of year, but mostly it's long walks in the woods with the dog. Something about getting out even when there's not hunting involved seems to be good for the mind, plus one day I'll find a spot where I can find birds and be able to hunt with her so I like to keep her in shape. Then there's fishing, as long as the lakes aren't frozen, once again, it's really more about getting out as I don't really catch much.
Posted by: Levi | December 09, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Hey Steve, I don't really have a comment about the post but rather the cost of turkey permits in the state of Maine. Personally I feel that the price is a little high considering you can get an expanded archery doe tag for nearly half the price of a turkey tag. I actually don't buy a fall turkey tag because I don't want to shell out that much money when I can be chasing deer. What do you think?
Posted by: Josh N. | December 09, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Donald,
Sounds like you guys keep pretty busy down in Oklahoma between the turkey seasons!
That feral hog chasing sounds like it would keep you in playing shape, for sure. (Certainly equivalent to my men's league full-court hoops.)
Let me ask you, did you see a lot of jakes this past spring? I hunted Texas hill country, and surely did, and every one of my contacts in the region there saw many, many shortbeards.
Should be a great '09 spring turkey season . . .
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hickoff | December 09, 2008 at 02:04 PM
Hey Levi,
I'm with ya. Man, I love those long walks in the woods with the dog(s) too.
Great stuff getting out like that. Great way to scout 365 days a year.
Thanks,
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hickoff | December 09, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Hey Josh,
The Maine expanded archery tag will definitely offer you more time in the woods if you don't fill it, for sure. I love those fall turkeys though . . .
This year I ponied up $21 for my 2008 ME resident hunting license, plus $20 for the spring turkey tag (filled it in less than an hour), and $20 more for the six-day fall turkey season (I hunt Zone 3/gun & bow/& I was out all six days), plus my waterfowl permit ($7 & change), plus my Federal waterfowl stamp (more $).
That's just one state, and I hunt a bunch.
I also border hop to New Hampshire where I spent $31 for a turkey permit and $73 extra for the nonresident archery license, with the combo license in hand. Also dropped $16 more for the pheasants . . . and I'm real close to buying a NH waterfowl ticket (the cost of a Big Mac, fries & a drink) since the coastal duck/goose season extends longer over there . . .
You get the idea.
I guess in the end I pay to play. I will agree most definitely that many guys have to make some hard decisions regarding value of the hunt. They want to do a few things more, but maybe don't with the extra cost and all.
Thanks for checking in here at the SZ.
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hickoff | December 09, 2008 at 02:24 PM
Ya its just funny because I know a lot of people that wont even get into spring turkey hunting in Maine because they feel that the permits are too expensive for the amount of meat they get out of the deal. That is until I take them out on a spring hunt and then they usually feel differently. As for the fall permit I can see it being even more difficult to get someone to shell out the money. Especially since I like to hunt turkeys and I find it hard to buy a fall permit.
Posted by: Josh N. | December 09, 2008 at 06:25 PM
Hey Steve! I used to really be into ice fishing during the winter months, but the last five or six years it's been scouting for me. I love exploring new places and discovering new things in familiar places. The bad thing is that it's dark when I head to work and dark when I get home so it's just weekends for me. That men's league is definitely a great way to stay in shape during the winter since it gets dark so early.
I actually got started Sunday. Was planning to head out in NH to try and fill my unused deer tag (last day). Well, I was at my parents and as I was lacing up my boots, Lucy, their labadoodle was giving me the "sad eyes", whimpering and lots of "muzzle nudges". Well, long story short, I left the Encore behind and Lucy and I went for a long scouting trip in Maine. Best part was on the way back to the truck, we were walking a tote road and we came across some gobbler tracks in the little snow that had collected.
A few years back, I purchased a couple of game cameras that I put out from December to April. It's fun anticipating what they capture during the week and then sharing the pics with family and friends.
Can't wait until March to start listening for those early morning gobbles...........
James
Posted by: James | December 09, 2008 at 07:59 PM
Hey Steve! I used to really be into ice fishing during the winter months, but the last five or six years it's been scouting for me. I love exploring new places and discovering new things in familiar places. The bad thing is that it's dark when I head to work and dark when I get home so it's just weekends for me. That men's league is definitely a great way to stay in shape during the winter since it gets dark so early.
I actually got started Sunday. Was planning to head out in NH to try and fill my unused deer tag (last day). Well, I was at my parents and as I was lacing up my boots, Lucy, their labadoodle was giving me the "sad eyes", whimpering and lots of "muzzle nudges". Well, long story short, I left the Encore behind and Lucy and I went for a long scouting trip in Maine. Best part was on the way back to the truck, we were walking a tote road and we came across some gobbler tracks in the little snow that had collected.
A few years back, I purchased a couple of game cameras that I put out from December to April. It's fun anticipating what they capture during the week and then sharing the pics with family and friends.
Can't wait until March to start listening for those early morning gobbles...........
James
Posted by: James | December 09, 2008 at 08:03 PM
P.S. Just a note about landowner permission. I procured permission from the owner a few years ago on the property I scouted Sunday. They own lots of land. I had an hour or so before dark so I drove to a few of the places where you can park to gain access to their property and picked up all the trash I could find. Sadly, I ended up with more than half a truck load, but I know it will be much appreciated by the owners and it's a great way to keep that permission granted.
Take Care,
James
Posted by: James | December 09, 2008 at 08:10 PM
Hey James,
Thanks for checking in. Yeah, I've gone that route myself at access spots--picking up cans, wrappers, and the like. Good habit for everyone to get into, for sure. Tends to balance out the trash folks leave there.
I agree with you, this is really a super time to get out there and scout, especially in terms of finding new spots with spring turkey in mind. Lots of folks have traded treestands for couches . . .
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hickoff | December 09, 2008 at 08:53 PM
Steve,
We saw quite a few jakes this spring and my granddaughter harvested her first bird, a jake this past spring. We are watching the birds each time we go out and are trying to get a count on the gobblers, jakes and hens for the coming season. Still am hoping to get my fall season bird before the season ends in January (archery).
A little more info on the hog chasing, they are aided by a pack of good dogs and sturdy hill country horses or mules. The excitement is when they dismount to actually catch and tie the hog. Better be quick!!!!
We have also had some fee increases but when compared to other things like concert tickets, sport venue tickets and eating out, it still is one of the best bargains a person can buy for the overall satisfaction that one gets from the experience of being in our great outdoors. My THANKS to all the sportmen who have made this possible.
Donald
Posted by: Donald Parker | December 10, 2008 at 02:02 PM
Absolutely true Donald.
Sounds like you had a great time getting out with your granddaughter this past spring.
Good luck with the bow turkeys on that end.
Keep us posted on the SZ.
Thanks,
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hickoff | December 11, 2008 at 09:40 AM