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I learned not to abandon birds that have henned up first thing in the morning.........an hour or two later they'll be out looking for more. I actually had more action between 8 and 12 than in any of the early morning hours.

I got a chance to finish up my 2014 turkey fan and wing display today! As you all probably know by now, I like my stuff looking a little rough and rustic instead of that fine finished look, so I decided to tear apart an old twisted stump for my plaque wood. The entire process went surprisingly smooth except for one accidental spill while the Borax was still drying things out. Had to make an emergency run for more but the best I could come up with was Boric Acid powder...... close enough,lol! Anyhow, here's what I came up with. The pot call and striker had nothing to do with killing this gobbler. I wasn't real happy with that call so I'm glad I found a use for it so I have an excuse to get a new one next spring!

Let's see how many debate the 'H' in the title of this thread.

I learned that I am a horrible turkey hunter

They don't want to see or read political posts, but they expect to repeal the SAFE Act. How cute.

I learned to stay put If I have a bird working and then he gets henned up. Several times this season, exactly that happened to me. The birds got henned up by 7 or 7:30 and they would move off for the morning. By staying put and being patient, I learned that often a tom will come back looking for you later in the morning after his girlfriends leave him. I think he remembers that there was another hen in the area (you). One time, the bird I was working got henned up and left the area, gobbling as he went. I moved about 80 yards towards where I last heard him, and set up to wait. At about 11, He started gobbling in the exact spot I had been calling from that morning. I didnt kill him, but he taught me a lot. I also learned that I think there are a lot more silent birds out there than I previously thought. The first bird I killed didnt gobble at all on the roost, even though there were several others going nuts. Only after fly down did he gobble, and even then, I think he only did it twice on his way in.

Well, since I'm out of this state now, and glad to be so, I really couldn't care less. And like most of your beliefs and observations bubba, way off target again.

I learned not to drink too much Tim Horton's coffee on the drive. Pee and get busted by silent bird strutting up to my deke. Depends adult diapers next year for me As mentioned, you learn something every year, every day you're out there. I'll second the patience thing. No run and gun again this year ( didn't bump any) and heard and saw birds all 7 days . Killed 2

Terry- I de-boned the wings and fleshed off as much of the fatty junk and leftover meat that I could. Then I hit the quill tips with a wire brush to remove more junk between them, and coated them with Borax/Boric Acid and got them pinned to a sheet of cardboard. You want to preserve the skin, not the meat and fat. I let it dry in the sun for a week or so before removing the pins and everything was dry and ready to rock and roll. The back isn't nearly as attractive as the front,lol You can see though where I sliced the wingbone along the feather quills.

Nice .... Good Job !

How did you preserve the wings?

Every year I learn something new about turkeys or hunting them, problem is by next year i forget it until it is too late. I admit I do have more patience as I get older, but the lose of my hearing is more frustrating than anything else. If you can not hear them they are much harder to hunt. The birds sound farther away to me now and I think i bump them trying to get a little closer. We are all creatures of habit and we tend to use the same calls and they same rhythm and patterns, its hard to break that pattern and try something different. I think we call too much and too loud, but when you aren't hearing gobbling you think I need to find 1 and out come the calls and up goes the volume.

That ship sailed the moment the announced the one in W NY. At least with one in Woodbury, you'll actually be able to visit the store.

This is terrible news! I drove past there every day on way home from work. Gonna be broke.

Well, looks like someone made a new friend!

As a kid I would see turtles in streams all the time. I caught and kept a small one that was smaller than the size of my hand. It had a spiked tail so I assume a snapper? Odd thing is that I has for like 5 years and it never grew and then I released it back to the wild. Wonder if it had some sort of health issue because it never grew. It was like a miniature turtle... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

we used to bowfish for them, had a neighbor that was from Louisiana that would cook them up a couple different ways , pretty good eating if done right.........

I actually stoped on I86 today to move one outta road but it had been hit looked alive at 60 but no good.... Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Not as dramatic but over last weekend while I was using the 885N w/bucket moving some #4 fill I had to stop the tractor twice and escort box turtles to the other side of the road. One of them sort of leaked water from all sides when I picked it up, thought it tried to wizz on me for a moment. I think they are nesting right about this time.

My grandfather would have snapper soup anytime one of buddies would catch one for him. That is one of the four harvested citters that he would have and I would not eat: snapping turtle, raw oysters, clams, soft-shell crabs. No problem eating some fried frog legs or steamed crab meat. Came across a snapper when heading out turkey hunting last year. It was in the middle of the state forest dirt road. Either way I tried to go around, it would and hiss at me. Gave him a wide berth. Yes he did stink really bad. Looked around for a dead animal because it smelled so bad.

Nice job Wooly. Stopped on the way home from turkey hunting last year to save one. It was strattling the double yellow lines like grinners never make it farther than. He had moss and leaves all over his shell. Quite the camo but boy did he stink !

I'll keep it simple. DO IT!!! NY sucks.

Looks freeze dried not stuffed... I have known Palmer for a while and wouldn't have him stuff a pillow for me...

Having hunted bear over bait in both Maine & Canada, I can personally attest that it's not the slam dunk that the OP thinks it is. It's more boring than anything else, a few sightings each week were the norm where I hunted. I don't know where the Youtube videos were filmed, but it doesn't sound very realistic. Baiting deer, hogs, bear...whatever, doesn't bother me. I've filled tags with and without bait, and will continue to do so. I had a chance to kill a bear last year while deer hunting (unbaited), I let him walk, just didn't want the meat or one more head hanging in the den. Sportsmen & gun owners need to stick together, rather than critique how others hunt or what the regs are in other states. Just my $.02.