Strut Zone

I'm off in Oklahoma right now trying to do a little bit of what I write about, so I thought it would be good to share this video tip from Moose at Lancaster Archery Supply in Pennsylvania on getting your bow ready before turkey, deer or any season for that matter.

Following the video tip are also some bow hunting tips from Hunter's Specialties Rick White and Phillip Vanderpool, two guys who have spent their fair share of time behind a bow chasing longbeards.

Click below for more bowhunting tips from Rick White and Phillip Vanderpool.

So you don't think you can call in a henned-up tom? Better guess again as this video shot by Matt Wettish in Connecticut proves. Wettish went out to a property where he does a lot of photography to test a new microphone. Joining him to get a little pre-season lesson was his friend Dave Griser and Griser's 12-year-old son, Colby.

Although the season remains more than a month away and turkeys are still gathered in winter flocks, Wettish hit this massive flock with some aggressive calls to play on the hens' curious—and often jealous—nature, and they came running in with the big boys in tow.

I can't hardly count the opening day gobblers I have pulled in on the heels of an angry cutting group of hens while the birds are still bunched up. Hit them hard with cutts and yelps to get the hens fired up, then sit back and sit TIGHT so that the girls don't make you before ol' Tom strolls inside the red zone!!

Thanks to Matt, Dave and Colby for sharing this video. Check it out.

Note: While this video provides a great lesson as to how early season flocks might behave to calls, I surely don't want to advocate going out to your lease or property and calling to birds before the season. Matt's situation is a little different as he has to test his equipment before the season starts. In most instances, a hunter will only go out and educate the birds he plans to hunt, making them call-shy by the time shooting time opens. I NEVER call to birds unless I am on the ground hunting them.

The other day Nelson posted a question at The Strut Zone wondering what broadhead was best for turkey hunting. The timing of his inquiry couldn't have been better as I was headed to Pennsylvania the next morning where Outdoor Life was going to be conducting our 2007 Bow Test at Lancaster Archery Supply. I figured who better to answer Nelson's question than Lancaster Archery owner Rob Kaufhold and five-time World 3-D Champion JoElla Bates, who is probably the only woman to have taken a Grand Slam with a bow. Here's their discussion on the topic via video:

Hope that helps, Nelson.

If you have a question, email me at [email protected] or just post your request at the end of a recent blog posting. I'll do my best to read and answer all of your questions.

After having several boxes of ammo hoisted from my bags by clueless TSA agents over the years and more recently, dealing with the hassles of traveling with tons of hunting gear and usually a firearm, I thought it was a good time to bring back this oldie, but goody from the NWTF.

If you plan to fly this season to hunt, check them out:

Be early - Airlines are telling the average flyer to arrive one to two hours before takeoff. If you are traveling with a firearm, it will be to your advantage to arrive sooner. When checking in, you will need to fill out a form declaring the firearm is unloaded. Gate agents will open your gun case for verification.

Call ahead - Rules concerning firearms can change quickly. Ask for the rules when you book your trip, and call back a few days before you leave to ensure nothing has changed.

Open your mouth - Declare the firearm to the first TSA representative you see. When you declare, call it a firearm, not a gun or weapon. Those words can cause unease, which may mean delays for you.

Use a hard case - Airlines require that firearms be transported in the original manufacturer's non-cardboard box or in an approved lockable hard case. Have the key ready since you will need to unlock and relock it during check-in.

Check the extras - Knives, ammunition and tools must be stored separate from the firearm and packed in checked luggage. Any sharp objects packed in checked luggage should be sheathed or securely wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and security screeners. Airlines have different regulations on how much ammunition can be carried and most require you to transport it in its original packaging. Any amount above the allotted weight will cost extra. Check with your airline for specific restrictions.

Know the laws - Before heading out, read up on the firearms laws for the area that you are traveling, especially if you plan to leave the country. Countries like Canada and Great Britain require documents months before entering the country with a firearm.

Be responsible - Every time you are out with a firearm, you become a representative of the shooting sports. Follow gun safety to the max and prove that responsible owners are a danger to no one.

If you want to know what a great yelp, cluck and cutt sounds like, check out this clip from former Grand National calling champion and Quaker Boy president Chris Kirby. Chris filmed these tips to run in conjunction with Steve Hickoff's "The Six Degrees of Mouth Calling," which appears in the March 2007 issue of OL.

Chris is one heck of a hunter and caller, and we appreciate him taking the time to film these tips for Strut Zone visitors. Hope his advice helps you out this spring.

Sometimes while hunting you can’t see an approaching turkey because low growing brush or a slight rise in the terrain obscures your visibility. This can be a particular problem along field edges where increased sunlight allows weeds and grass to grow tall just inside the woodline.

While hunting with guide Bo Pittman at White Oak Plantation in Alabama a few years back, we set up along a field edge to intercept a pair of gobblers working their way our direction. But when I sat down, a tangle of vines and grass blocked my view. Noting my problem, Pittman told me to stand tight next to the tree I had been using as a backrest and steady my gun against it. When one of the gobblers stepped in front of me, I aimed and fired.

Fall hunting with Alex Rutledge of Hunter’s Specialties awhile back, a flock of birds began yelping from just behind a slight hill. Instinctively I began to sit down against a tree. My butt hadn’t even hit the ground when Alex grabbed me and suggested I remain standing.

“Lean against the tree and keep your gun up,” Alex whispered. The move made total sense. Had the birds continued toward us, I would have been able to see them much earlier than I would have had I been sitting. Unfortunately, Alex’s watch alarm went off and the birds headed the other direction!!

It’s one of the most aggravating occurrences for a spring turkey hunter, and it seems to happen more often than not during the early weeks of the season when toms are surrounded by hens. You know what I’m talking about: a bird gobbles his head off from the roost then shuts up when he hits the ground. Here’s how to beat him.

First, you need to be able to pinpoint the tom’s roost and get there before daylight. Preseason scouting really pays off on these birds if you can identify where they spend the evening and in which direction they go once they’re on the ground.

At the very least, make sure you roost the gobbler the night before you plan to hunt. Ease as close to his roost tree as you dare in the approaching darkness and try to pinpoint where he is. Mark the spot with a GPS or count your steps out of the woods for at least 100 yards until you come to a prominent landmark such as a trail or fence line that you will be able to identify in the dark. You can’t afford to be traipsing around the woods near the bird the next morning unless you want to spook it.

Get there an hour before sunrise, take your time and east into the exact spot where you left the bird the night before. Realtree Road Trips host Michael Waddell suggests getting as close as you can to the roosted bird, within 50 yards if possible. “Stake a decoy near your setup to give him something to see as soon as it gets light,” he says. You and your decoy want to be the first hen this big boy sees and hears at daylight.

At dawn offer up a couple of soft calls just to let the gobbler know you’re there. Make sure you’re set up so you don’t need to move. With luck, he’ll pitch down in range of your shotgun.

Photo courtesy of NWTF

The camo hasn't even been washed from many hunters' final spring hunt (mine is still lying in a heap), but already thoughts are turning to fall turkey hunting. Just check out the story by Bobby Cleveland with Mississippi's Clarion Ledger by clicking here. Cleveland recounts his first turkey hunting experience--a fall hunt, not a spring one--and offers a little insight on how it's traditionally carried out. He also offers more tips in an additional article that you can read by clicking here.

Cleveland is far from alone in his anticipation for chasing cooler weather birds. The season wasn't even finished in Maine where outdoor writer Steve Hickoff lives, but already we were making plans to get together during his annual fall hunt. I looked at my calendar and had to shake my head...less than four months away. I have a lot of work to knock out between now and then.

When turkey hunting, one of the items I find myself reaching into my turkey vest for more and more (particularly as my eyes get more feeble with age!) are a pair of compact binoculars. Check out this short video in Outdoor Life's Video Gallery where I discuss what you should look for in a good pair, as well as why you should keep a pair close at hand. To view the video, click here.

It’s one of the most frustrating situations in all of hunting. You hear turkeys gobbling one day, but the next, silence. “Where did they go?” you ask yourself.

One Massachusetts hunter recently told me how he had noted at least 12 different toms hanging out in the area behind his home during the opening week of the season. A week later, he had to search high and low to hear a single gobble.

Ask Missouri hunter and Hunter’s Specialties pro staffer Ray Eye what’s going on and he’ll tell you, “They’re just being turkeys. They don’t follow our logic and they’re not on our schedule.”

That’s for sure as my hunt last weekend proved. In fact, sometimes it seems like the birds vanish in even less time. But as this hunt bore out, the birds, though silent, are never far away.

On this Virginia trip a group of us decided to set up before daylight along a field where Primos Hunting Calls’ Tommy Barham had spotted four gobblers two days before. The evening before, the same group had been spotted right across the street, so we were hopeful they were still nearby. With us was Gerber Blades’ Mark Schindel, Navy SEAL Jay Manty and Jay’s teenage son, Dylan.

We were in a large, irregularly shaped field with a lot of corners and points jutting into it. About 6:50, two, maybe three gobblers cranked up. Mark set up on a point near the tom closest to the road, while we set Jay and Dylan along another corner that put us directly across from the loudest and most frequently gobbling longbeard. It was near this gobbler that there may have been a second turkey that gobbled only once or twice. We couldn't be sure it wasn't just the loud one turning away from us on the limb.

I set up close behind Jay and Dylan so I could call and watch what was happening, while Tommy would set farther back, splitting the difference between our two groups of hunters in hopes of pulling one of the turkeys past a gun.It’s important when splitting hunters up like this that you keep them safely apart (our hunters were about 150 yards from each other and with a clear idea in which direction they could and couldn’t shoot.)