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June 28, 2009 by
As hardcore wild turkey hunters, we naturally worry some over this year’s hatch. Even puzzle over it a bit. As a hunting writer, I’m fortunate talk with and hear from the country’s top turkey biologists on a regular basis. Some of the facts might surprise you. Here’s what I’ve learned from them over the years:
Not all hens nest. Hatches in specific geographical regions don’t come off at the same time either.
In general, wild turkeys hatch in May and June down south, and June and July up north, with regional exceptions. Here in northern New England I saw and received reports on late May hatches. Had one person report in on seeing a Vermont hen with a dozen eggs in her nest in late April. Tend to see and hear that every year. Early. Late. Green Mountain State biologist Doug Blodgett tells me that’s to ensure turkeys in a region (any region around the country) has the potential for birds. Spread the odds. Nature’s way.
Young hens don’t always nest their first year.
There’s a reason for this. On average, studies show yearlings begin nesting later in the season than adult hens. If unsuccessful, they finish re-nesting attempts sooner. On a personal note, several times over the years while spring turkey hunting I’ve witnessed: (1) young hens squatting to be bred, and (2) adult gobblers ignoring that gesture, strutting nearby, with no other hens in sight. Let me know when you figure that one out! Young hens also lay fewer eggs than adult birds, which average 10-12 in a normal clutch. Eggs incubate roughly four weeks. Here in Maine I saw strutters with hens as late as the second week of June this year, a week after the season ended. Do the math on that potential brood.
Re-nesting attempts can number four or five times.
At least according to renowned turkey biologist Lovett E. Williams, Jr. This one definitely surprised me when I first heard it. Once, sure, but five times? Wow. Re-nesting efforts conclude by midsummer in the south, and late summer up north. I’ve personally seen nesting Maine hens in July many times. Once, I accidentally disturbed an August nester in the middle of a field of high grass. A week later I found her there dead, the victim of a predator kill if the scattered feathers were any indicator. Coyote scat sat nearby. Add your own expletive.
Predators influence turkey numbers.
Sure enough, the presence of predators sometimes indicates a healthy habitat. Nevertheless, winged and four-footed predators kill potential turkey hatches, by eating eggs in some cases (coon, crow, possum, fox, and skunks), and young birds in others (coyotes, feral dogs, hawks, big owls, and bobcats). BRBB has posted here on his predator control efforts. Do the rest of you guys do any of it? As always, keep us posted here at the SZ on what you’re seeing out there around turkey country.
[ Read Full Post ]June 24, 2009 by
“Who’d a thought you could even find a turkey during a dust storm with 40+ m.p.h winds?” Skipper Duncan said in his recent end-of-season report. “Here’s proof that even unfavorable weather can still produce results.”
It’s been a handful of years since I sat around the fire ring at Skipper’s place, but the following spur stats from a couple trophy turkeys don’t surprise me.
The spurs on this Texas longbeard shot by Tommy Odom of Georgetown, MS took top camp honors (pictured here). Duncan says both daggers were carefully taped to 1 and ¾ inches. Nice. Another one of the guys visiting Duncan’s Adobe Lodge (http://www.adobelodge.com/> ) nailed a gobbler with 1 and ½ inch stickers. Derek Amos of Reva, VA took that Rio Grande turkey.
Mr. Duncan also confirmed what many were thinking going into the Texas spring campaign: the jakes that swarmed us in 2008 were grown up two-year-olds this season. In the case of these two sharp-spurred turkeys, much older gobblers are out there too. All told, 41 hunters in his camp took 74 gobblers. Factor in 11 missed shots, and 105-degree weather at the wire as final tally challenges.
Any of you Strut Zoners kill turkeys in extreme weather conditions this season (or others) such as the dust storm or serious heat mentioned here? What about spurs that rivaled these?
[ Read Full Post ]June 21, 2009 by
Years ago, I used to spend my winters watching the weather and worrying about the wild turkey's ability to survive tough New England winters. Is the snow too deep? Have the temperatures been too cold for too long? Is there so much ice on so many limbs that turkeys can't get at food?
That was then, this is now. Thanks to many, many turkey survival studies, I rarely worry about the birds in winter any longer. In fact, increased logging activities and a preponderance of snow-machine trails have completely put my mind at ease—the wild turkey can pretty much survive anything.
Except cold, wet springs.
If you live in the Northeast, you know all about rain--it hasn't stopped in a month. Already concerned about the hatch, the two poult-less hens I watched in one of my hunting areas this past weekend brought the point home. It's the end of June. They should either have poults or (wishful thinking on my part) at least not be off the nest for very long. However, they were off their 'nest' for most of the day. My guess? Cold and wet kills poults. They lost their poults impacting future turkey seasons. Other New England sources (checked with 5 on Saturday evening) are reporting much of the same: hens with no poults.
Here's hoping that I'm wrong. Anyone have any poult reports to share? We'd love to hear them!
[ Read Full Post ]June 14, 2009 by
I’m not sure if this was the very last spring gobbler taken in turkey country this season, but it’s a contender.
My buddy Dan had 40 minutes left in his Maine season. He couldn't hunt the next day, June 6, the LAST day, with family (two young kids and his wife), and work obligations getting his attention. He had to get it done, right then and there.
Sure enough, he'd been in touch the day before, scouring the wild turkey network as we all have, trying to drum up a late spring gobbler to hunt. I offered moral support and word of some birds I knew about; a longbeard; a wad of tag-to-burn jakes. Cool thing is he got it done another way . . .
According to Dan, one of my fall honker chasing buds too, he got to watch three gobblers for awhile during his June 5 hunt. In a test of nerves, he waited on "the biggest of the trio" to swing into range. Ten yards. All this on the fifth day of June — no typo there by the way for you Southern Zoners reading this. Know you've been bass and bream fishing for weeks. Not us up north. Well not all of us. Some local guys aren’t caught up in this turkey business. Got their minds on New England saltwater striped bass and stocked trout. Fishing is overrated. I digress . . .
Until it all closed down, we were still turkey scouting for buddies, and if our single tags weren't filled (burned mine on the May 4 Maine opener when six kamikaze gobblers ran in, and five alarm putted in retreat), hunting them at the wire.
Here's the late-bird stats Dan provided: the longbeard was lean, at 18 pounds or so. The beard went 10 inches though, and had no amber in the tip (likely a three-year-old). The spurs? An inch long. No picture from Dan sorry to say. I asked. He mentioned something about the bird providing some good eating, which shows you where his mind was after the kill.
Maine's fall turkey (shotgun) season starts on October 17. The other two longbeards are still out there.
[ Read Full Post ]June 9, 2009 by
Okay, here’s the challenge Strut Zoners. You’re a hunting guide in two bordering states. Hunters have four weeks to spring turkey hunt in New Hampshire, and 30 to get it done in Maine. You do too, minus the 11 days you can’t due to your other job that doesn’t involve guiding. That gives you even fewer days to guide clients to gobblers, and to fill your two tags yourself (one for Maine; one for New Hampshire). Plus you’d like to put your two sons on longbeards, and good ones at that.
How many turkeys drop? In David R. Smith’s case, 15 — two for him (he filled both his ME & NH single tags), 12 for his clients, and one heckuva longbeard for his youngest son Jacob Henry Smith. They don’t call him “Big Daddy” for nothing.
The Knight & Hale Elite Pro Staffer and guide who calls Dover, New Hampshire home, gets it done. What’s his advice for guys just getting started in turkey hunting? “Never give up. Try to learn as much about the birds you’re hunting before, during and after you hunt them. Spend time in the woods.”
What’s his one essential gear item in the turkey woods?
“I’d rather go into the woods without my boots than without my binoculars,” says Smith.
What was this father’s most memorable hunt of this past ’09 spring season?
“It would have to be the Mother’s Day hunt with my son Jacob.”
On that day father and son got on a gobbler that had an 11-inch beard, and 1 1/2–inch spurs, pictured here.
“The gobbler’s wings touched the blind and it gobbled as it walked past us,” said Smith. “The guide went to pieces. The six-year-old sealed the deal at 15 yards.”
That New Hampshire tom went 23 pounds. In some ways it was Father’s Day too.
[ Read Full Post ]June 5, 2009 by
“Sir, what’s this feathery looking thing in your carry-on bag?” the TSA guy asked.
“A wild turkey tail,” I replied.
He laughed, nodded his head, and let me move on to my connecting flight.
Like many of you, I’ve traveled this spring with turkey parts. I’ve beards, fans and spurs drying down in my log home’s basement. Fiddling with turkey parts is a way to bring the spring turkey season to a close, at least for me.
A number of manufacturers cater to our needs in this department. Quaker Boy (quakerboygamecalls.com) has long produced a simple to use turkey fan mount, pictured here (I’ve several QB fan holders on my walls), while Midwest Turkey Call Supply (midwestturkeycall.com) offers the range of fan, beard and spur mounting products.
I can’t imagine living without this stuff on my cabin walls. The Eastern, Rio, Merriam’s and Osceola beards, fans and spurs surrounding me bring back memories of Missouri pastures, Texas ranches, the South Dakota Badlands, and gator-filled Florida swamps. Fortunately I’ve a wife and daughter who understand my need to reminisce about old hunts by remembering the bird with such mounts. Another non-hunting friend (yup, I’ve got a couple) has called my place a museum of dead stuff, like the Smithsonian.
What do you guys do to honor the greatest gamebird on the planet?
Mount the full fan? Hang just the beards, maybe one from the rear-view cab mirror of your truck? Wear those spurs around your neck at game dinners or NWTF banquets? Got any neat tricks for making use of the beards, fans and spurs Strut Zoners? Maybe you don’t keep anything but the memories?
[ Read Full Post ]
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