During the spring mating season, the gobbler will go with his hens to a favorite feeding and strutting area. The rest of the year, it's all about food---whatever is plentiful at the time, as they are opportunistic foragers.

First, they have to be in open land where you can watch them from a distance without spooking them, then you just watch to see where they go during the day. Woodland turkeys are more difficult and you pretty much have to try to figure out their movements by listening to them, which gets to be a challenge up in the day when they aren't very vocal.

"---possibly eat the squirrels". What's the point in killing squirrel unless you're going to eat them? The 20 ga. is an excellent choice, just don't shoot them at close range.

Charlie elk knows what he is talking about. Do as he suggests and good luck.

All things considered, cost, effort, hardiness, etc., I would go with cowpeas for the summer and an oat/clover mix for the fall and winter, depending on your latitude.

I expect the snow will be gone well before opening day and there will be a big change in range and behavior between now and then, anyhow.

I had a flying wall mount done last year for $250.00.

I heard one gobble in December and one in January, but none recently. Haven't been out in the early mornings yet---waiting for better weather---too d*mned cold yet when it's not too wet. Sounds like there's plenty of rain where you are, too. Captain, you sound like me when I fall down; the first thing I do is look around to see if anybody saw me, then I check to see if I'm hurt anywhere.

Those are the dates of turkey season here in Alabama. I'm worse than a kid waiting for Christmas. Where are you?

My current favorite is a Mossberg 835 shooting 3 1/2 inch mag. Federal Heavyweight #6 shot. It has kept my Rem. 11/87 SP in the gun cabinet for the past three seasons.

When you find one of those sheds, it means you are searching very thoroughly.

I don't know if you are asking about the best type of caller or the best sound to make. Jacy hit it pretty well---what ever kind you know how to use is the best one. The old stand by cluck and yelps are hard to beat for your basic calls. Just don't overdo the calling, after all, you don't hear wild turkeys running around the woods constantly calling. Good hunting to you.

Strange question for this website---must come from a strange person.

It is illegal, unethical and reprehensible. Kody, you brought back memories for me of riding in a jeep on a ranch in Florida shooting armadillos (with permission and encouragement, of course). They say you can always identify a truck hunter because the barrel of his gun is rusty from riding around with it stuck out the window on rainy days.

A plastic stick bait would be a good choice, too.

Yeah, I have both. Use another name on F&S.

We're having a pretty stretch of weather now, highs in the low sixties and lows in the high thirties, clear skies and mild breezes. Some plants are beginning to bud out.

I'll keep on using my bolt action rifles. There is one situation in which I'd want an AR and that's when I get into a bunch of feral hogs. That's when I agree with Lee Ermey (sp?), that happiness is a belt fed weapon.

Those saltwater hardhead cats are a real danger. Since they aren't considered good eating and are considered to be pests, many irresponsible anglers will toss them up on the beach after they take them off the hook and the fish will flop around and cover itself with sand, making it a booby trap for the barefoot beachgoers. Stepping on one involves lots of pain and a very real danger of a bad infection. Be careful of those fish---dead or alive.

In the Deep South, August is when many faawns are born. As SD-Whitetail said, the rut is much later than in the north.

Face paint works just fine. The Captain's application method sounds great---I've never taken that much care with the pattern. I prefer a face mask so that if I decide to go into town for a late breakfast I don't have to clean the paint off my face and reapply it when I go back for the mid-day hunt. As important is putting camo on you face is hiding your hands because they tend to be moved more than your face and can spook a gobbler at long distances. Gloves or paint work---gloves probably the best because the paint might wear off at an inconvenient time.

Kody, you are on the money about the premium bullets passing through the deer. I was trying to get max accuracy out of my new 7mm-08 and was handloading Nosler Accubond and got good accuracy, but shot two deer that took a lot of work to find because the bullet didn't make much of an exit wound. Shot placement was good but the bullets didn't do as much damage as they should. I changed immediately and had much better results. Those bullets are simply designed for heavier game than the whitetails where I live.

I've heard of such things, but never seen any. I would really enjoy watching somebody try to use something like that because the opportunities for them to get wet would be plentiful---better than watching the three stooges.

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it, too. You might consider a "cape" mount which is really good looking and takes up less space than the full mount. Basically, you just skin your turkey, keep the meat and take the necessary parts to the taxidermist. Ask him ahead of time what he needs.

To get rust stains out, use phosphoric acid (Ospho or Phospho) available at the hardware store. Just be sure to rinse everything off well after the stain is gone. For heavier rust, follow the directions on the bottle---it's great stuff. It is also sold under the name Naval Jelly.

Lots of people think of catfish as scavengers, but they are actually very efficient predators. If the food is on top of the water, they'll eat it even though that's not their preferred method. I once caught a nice mess of catfish along with bluegills during a willow fly hatch using a sponge spider on my fly rod.

In Alabama, not issuing buck tags---just requiring you to fill out some blanks on your license. Makes it nearly impossible to enforce limits.

Black marlin at the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. Striped marlin off Ecuador. Pacific sails in the South China Sea.

Let her use the 30-30 or borrow .243. She might not like the recoil of the '06, even in a reduced load, and the size of the gun might be an issue. Good luck to you both.

When a deer is staring right at you, he's already suspicious of something, so any blink or shift of your eye can be a giveaway. I've had it happen to me several times. When you look straight at a deer, it knows it has been spotted and this is its cue to bolt. On numerous occasions I've been walking and seen deer in the woods watching me. As long as I don't turn my head, they'll remain motionless, but look straight at them and they're gone----naturally this is during the off season.

Good comments. The Snake Charmer BigO mentioned is deadly on snakes but is unhandy to carry---I keep one in the boat. When it comes to snakes in the garden, my 80 year-old grandmother used to wield a common chopping hoe to great effect. She'd poke a snake until it uncoiled, then separate its head from the rest of it. No fuss, no racket.

Yes I do, but I don't think I should share them online.

Ditto bigjake. Using a centerfire, you would be less likely to wound a coyote. The object is to kill them, not make them suffer. The .22 will work if the conditions are just right, but you can do better. I once killed a 200+ lb. hog with a .22 by shooting it in the earhole at 30 yards, but it was the only gun I had with me and not one I'd choose for hog hunting.

Some infestations can absolutely devastate a deer herd.

I've never owned or shot a .280, but I really like my .270 and have killed dozens of deer and hogs with it. It's easy on my shoulder, hits where I point it and kills what I point it at---can't ask for more than that. Bo gave some great ballistic info, and you probably won't go wrong with either caliber. Good hunting.

I think most of the opposition to crossbows came from traditional archers who felt the skill level needed for crossbows was so much lower that it took out much of the challenge of bowhunting. There has been much argument both ways, but a lot of states hav included crossbows in their bow seasons.

If you would "swallow" that story, I have some Enron stock I'll sell you at a reasonable rate.

Not really. You can tell a large deer from a small one, but there's no definite way to determine sex.

If you smell the tarsal glands from a rutting buck you will understand why you should not let them contaminate the meat in any way, whether from direct transfer or indirectly as from hands or knife. If you get the scent on you, it is easy enough to wash it off, but don't let it get on your venison.

If the game can see your ring, it can see your whole hand, and your hands are one of the most visible part of your body since they are light colored (on us caucasians) and are moved to draw the bow or raise the gun. I'm not a bowhunter, but in spring turkey hunting, my camo gloves are a vital part of my equipment along with my face mask. I even carry a spare set. Seadog is right about banging the ring against something---I hadn't thought about that.

Keep up the good work, Kody. You have the correct handle on it.

Hear, hear!!

If the surgery is done correctly, it should improve your vision, thus improving your shooting. My cataract surgery improved my ability to see the target, but my groups stayed the same.

Get a 20 ga. Semi-automatic in whatever price range you can afford, but get the best your wallet will stand.

Thanks for pushing the question, Kody.

The same thing happens to me and I have no clue why.

I'm a big fan of the .270 myself and have killed lots of deer and hogs with it, one boar over 300lb. If you are recoil shy, like I am, you might want to put a Limbsaver recoil pad on your rifle. Another caliber to consider is the 7mm-08. It has good ballistics and puts a 140 grain bullet out there with mild recoil. I just bought one, but haven't hunted with it yet. Best of luck to you.

A three legged doe hung around our farm for four years and had a healthy fawn each year. Even though she looked awkward at times, the handicap never seemed to bother her too much.

I can't speak from personal experience, but I understand that pit vipers such as rattlers let go immediately after injecting venom. Coral snakes will chew on you since their fangs are located at the back of their mouths.

That's a new one on me. I've never seen mature toms have much of anything at all to do with hens in the fall

I have had hogs run deer off on many occasions. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a single instance where the deer hung around when the hogs show up. The hogs will out-compete deer for a food source if they can reach it---they'll out-compete any species for that matter and will wreck the ecosystem through their rooting. I really don't like feral hogs.

There have been a number of studies done on the ability of fish to see colors. I understand that they don't see them just the way we do and are able to see into the spectrum where we can't. You're right that the motion and shade has a lot to do with whether they bite.

I've never tried one for real---have put one in my ear for a few minutes---but my best hunting buddy tried hunting with one. He says he can hear better, but can't get any sense of direction from where the sounds are coming from. He gave it up in spite of the fact he can't hear well.

Deer aren't dumb, and they can figure out that you aren't a real danger to them. If you shot a couple, you'd wonder where they all went. They are also real good at patterning human activity and adapting their behavior to their advantage.

Check the prevailing wind. If you're in a hilly area, the wind might swirl around and put every deer in the vicinity on guard, so you'd need to practice strict scent control. Do you fidgit? I know I sometimes do, so a blind that hides movement is a big help. Best of luck to you, and be patient.

Ten percent is a good place to start. As to differences, judge how hard the guide worked for you, including how much he did before you got there.

I'm with you all the way, Louie. Where I hunt, the old does walk around like they expect somebody to goose them any second. When a buck shows up during daylight hours, he's usually acting like he's on his way somewhere and not nearly as nervous and alert as an old snake-necked sally.

Why don't you try it on the range? It's hard for me to imagine a real-life scenario in which the barrel would get hot enough to expand 1/16th. If it works there, it'll work in the field. Good hunting to you.

The gut pile will attract scavengers and predators that will spook the deer away. I always drag the whole deer to a place where I can drive a vehicle and load up and take it back to camp to do the cleaning. I'm fortunate to have access to these facilities and also a place to dispose of the offal. If the terrain between the kill site and the road involves to much vertical surface, I'll gut him before I drag him out and hunt somewhere else for a few days.

I'm a fan of the .270 for the simple reason that it gives me all the performance I want with less recoil than the '06. This might not matter to you but I have an aging shoulder to consider that doesn't handle abuse like it once did. I'd say that unless you were in elk and bear country, go with the .270---that'll give you a reason to get a new rifle at some point down the road.

Could it possibly be from her udder?

Right! Let's hear it for Outdoor Life---integrity is a vanishing commodity in our society. It seems that cash always trumps criticism, so it's always refreshing to see when an individual or organization has the goolies to stand up and be counted.

It's the brand of gun. Savage makes a good, dependable, accurate rifle that won't completely empty your pocketbook.

Depends on where you are. White clover is good and iron and clay peas are great (cowpeas).

Yes, I'd say some good brand of 12 ga. pump. You can get different barrels for different kinds of hunting and a good short barrel, open choke for home defense.

If it's a bolt action, you can pull the bolt and sight through the barrel at a target at short range, about 25 yds. (Obviously, the rifle is in a rest.) Adjust the scope until the crosshairs and the sight picture in the barrel agree and you are now fairly well bore sighted. Shoot a round at the close target to make sure you're O.K. Try a shot at 50 yds and adjust again, then move out to 100 yds, or whatever you desire for fine tuning. If you aren't familiar with scopes, be sure to read all the instructions that come with it.

Absolutely. The big boy will come looking anyhow, if he's interested.

The guns are the same as you would find anywhere else, but nobody at walmart knows diddley about the guns and you'll get no service after the sale.

I don't think it matters as long as you keep the proper angle between the blade and the stone. I learned to sharpen a knife using a circular motion and I can put a shaving edge on a knife that way, but it's still just a matter of maintaining a proper angle---around 15 degrees, I think---depending on how fine an edge you want. Use a firm pressure to begin with and a lighter touch as you finish up.

I just get up and go after a frantic search for the stuff I thought I had ready but didn't. I skip on the big breakfast preparation because I don't want the smell of frying bacon, etc., hanging around me when I'm in my stand. I'll chow down hard after I kill a deer or after dark, whichever comes first.

I think the single shot rifle companies are sponsoring the shows and providing the rifles for the hunters. I always have, and will continue to use my favorite bolt action rifles for deer. On a few occasions I've been able to kill a buck and a doe---bang,bang---and couldn't have done that with a single shot. (It's legal here.) As bigjake said, things happen in the woods and it's good to have that second or third shot quickly available.

I am conflicted on this issue. I strongly believe that the decision should be left up to the parents, but there are some parents out there who should not be running around with guns themselves. As with most things, I guess there is no perfect answer, but if I had to vote one way or the other, I'd say "No stinkin' rules!"

My first suggestion would be to send it back to the manufacturer, or at least give them a call and see what they have to say about the problem. I have a Remington 11-87 SP that shoots low. When I sent it back, they improved it but didn't solve the problem, so it now has a red dot scope on it and is used exclusively for turkey hunting since I was able to adjust the pattern impact with the sight. Best of luck to you.

Anyone who wants to take a deer or anything else with an atlatl has my admiration. Go for it. As has been stated, it's legal in some places.

For the past three years I've been using the department store stuff and it has worked fine for me...I've been able to fill the freezer and put racks on the wall each year. I watch the wind closely and don't move around. The unscented stuff is the olfactory equivilent of being as quiet as possible---I'll never be able to eliminate all sound or scent, but I'll reduce it as much as possible. Good hunting to you.

Good luck. I've never heard of having much success with breaking a dog of gun-shyness. Sounds like you would have an especially tough row to hoe. It would likely take a long period of gradually getting her to associate guns with things that aren't negative, such as letting her see a gun when you feed her. I'm sure there are some experts out there with good suggestions.

MOA is what makes MOP possible way out there. What happened? did you bore everybody to death over on that other web site?

Bill Heavy carries a lot of weight with me in my preferences. Pun intended.

I'm in agreement with "take the shot you've got". You never know when they will break off the fight and quickly leave the field. Take the first good shot on either one.

No bag limit, no closed season.