Uncle Nicky

I've been out to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska a few times to hunt turkeys. I always either paid a nominal lease fee or banged on doors, most ranchers will let you go after turkeys if you ask nice. Just a tip, if you find a stream, you will find trees; find the trees, and turkeys won't be far away.

Congratulations to Bill, 2012 taco, and everyone else who killed a bird in the bottom of the 9th inning, quite a few guys & girls got one yesterday. I hunted this weekend at my camp in Allegany county, didn't hear a peep, I think they flew south, LOL. Now it's on to summer activities, fishing, home repair, cooking out, and planning for fall turkey trips. Counting down the days....

Can I come hunt with you next year? I saw almost the same picture yesterday, big recently plowed field, one strutter, 9 or 10 hens, around 7:30 AM, this was just east of Corning along route 86/17. No opinion on why they were all out there, I guess the hens are still hot, and the gobbler is taking advantage of a good thing? Maybe they lost their first nests or hatch of poults?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TRJUAaQ2WU

Just my $.02, but it sounds to me like the potential recruit is a winner, you will just need to break her of a bad habit or two. I tried training a rescue dog to hunt turkeys, it didn't work out so well, but that is my fault. I got her as a pup, and was told she was a Golden Retriever/Spaniel mix, I took their word for it, and once she got a little older it was obvious she was mostly a terrier. I should have known by the size of her feet, lesson learned. She actually was able to find birds and flush them, but she wore out after an hour or so in the woods.She's a great little house pet, and very low maintenance. The next dog I got was from a reputable breeder, and she is everything I ever wanted in a bird dog. Good luck with your decision!

I don't know how many shots the strings can last on a crossbow before they need replacing, but 100 sounds very low. Most guys don't need to practice much with a crossbow once they have it zeroed in, scope or sights should hold it's zero. I'm averaging 5 years (with a little preventative maintenance on mine). Much different than a compound or longbow, in needing to practice and perfect your form, with a crossbow you just aim and shoot (but you do need to know your "range", the same as you would with the pins on a compound bow). I'd be very surprised to hear of anyone who takes more than 50 shots before the season opens. It's not for everyone. But I will say a lot of guys who said "I'll never" wound up buying a crossbow once they became all-inclusive in other states. IMO it's a more efficient tool for the job, and admittedly, it does appeal to the lazier hunters who want to get into bowhunting.

I think you are missing the boat on this one. The whole tone of the original post sounds a little arrogant and elitist. If you make comments like this on a public message board, I don't know why you're acting so surprised that you get negative feedback....

Happens every year around Memorial Day. Does are alienating last year's fawns because they are getting ready to have a new set of fawns shortly.

I have never found any rhyme or reason to when they gobble, other than they seem to gobble more before the season opens, LOL. I've had groups of them gobbling hard on youth weekend with heavy snow falling, and have birds gobbling like mad on a near 90 degree Memorial Day. Just need to be out there when they do decide to sound off I suppose....

I'll throw this out there...I hunt a few states each year, and my observation is that gobbling in general is down overall in the last 10 years or so. I really believe this is starting to become a trend, the birds that do breed are passing this trait along to their offspring, and will continue to do so. As long as birds can mate without a lot of gobbling and attracting attention to themselves from humans and predators, why shouldn't they just remain quiet and stay safer? Hunters are becoming better at killing birds (hevi-shot, shotguns that kill out past 50 yards, better decoys and blinds to fool them), perhaps the birds are countering this by being less vocal? But this year, I'll agree with Pygmy's theory that the cold, wet May we've had are really putting a damper on things. Most of the guys I know who have killed birds this spring have set up on travel routes and either used decoys or got in front of birds and ambushed them. I guess we have to learn to adapt to outsmart the bird-brains, LOL.

You need a bird dog that likes to range big. You walk through an area that looks promising, and if the dog finds a flock, you let him/her scatter the birds (a good dog will bark on the break). You can USUALLY call the birds back from the break site.

It's beyond a passion at this point, and I get into fall turkey hunting with my dog as much as spring season. Why I like turkey hunting better than deer hunting: 1). Not everyone else does it 2). The challenge 3).Playing the interactive chess game with a mature tom and usually losing 4). Trying new tactics when the old don't work (it's been a tough spring, birds don't seem to want to gobble much) 5) You can turkey hunt multiple states without spending a lot of money, if you do your homework 6). Turkey tastes better than deer (at least, my family thinks so) 7). It can be as easy (hunt from a tent blind on a farm field with decoys) or as difficult (try to outwit a public land mountain bird) as you want it to be 8. The sound of a gobble NEVER gets old 9). You don't have to worry about falling out of a treestand 10). You probably won't get a heart attack dragging a turkey out of the woods 11). Most days you can grab a nap in the woods if it's sunny (Can't do this in a treestand) 12). Mastering all the different calls and cadences is cool I'm sure there are more, but that is my list. I'm on top of the world this morning, played hooky and killed this farm bird yesterday. Yeah, it's been a tough spring season this year!!

IMO part of turkey hunting is grabbing a nap in the woods, only a few things I can think of better than curling up under a big beech tree and catching a snooze on a sunny May morning. A gobbler sounding off makes a great alarm clock.

I believe the same thing. I had a deer blow at me the way Jonmp described last Saturday (and a couple times before). I was trying to turkey hunt, and the deer would not leave, just kept blowing and blowing. Finally after 10 minutes of this, I got up and threw a stick it's way until it took off. It still kept blowing, but wandered off in another direction.

Agreed. I don't have the luxury of hunting or scouting everyday, pretty busy with this thing called "life". But I can call them in and knock them down with the best of them when I do get a chance to get out, don't need to thump my chest on an internet forum to prove that. Not every bird is a slam dunk shot at 20 yards, but I will agree that the further out they are or if you have to take a shot from an awkward position, the chance of missing (or peppering them) increases.

LOL...God's gift.... Yes, I've missed a few over the years. Like Pygmy said, anyone who never missed probably never shot at all that many. I haven't missed in a couple years, but the last couple years I haven't taken all that many shots, either.

I'm looking into turkey hunting in McCarty Hill/Rock City state forests, the reason I picked these is I will be in the Bradford, PA/Allegheney Forest area, and wanted to get in a quick Sunday hunt (can't hunt Sundays in PA). Never stepped foot in the area, is it worth the trouble? (one of us is 65, with bad ankles). Anywhere else worth trying in the area? Thanks in advance-Uncle Nicky.

I have all the gear I need, I only replace what breaks or wears out, that includes boots & clothes. When I do replace gear now, I buy high-quality equipment, it lasts longer and performs better in the long haul. I hunt a few different states each year, so most of my expenses involve travel, licenses, real estate taxes and club/lease/outfiter fees.

I guess that the old adage "a sucker is born every minute" is true. $85k for an elk tag????????

I'm all for it. I've hunted in quite a few states that allow all-day hunting, not too many folks make a day out of it, most guys like to hunt the mornings because birds usually gobble harder right before fly-down. I've killed my share of birds in the afternoon, lots of times hens & gobblers will meet up in a field late afternoon before heading for the roost. You just have to be there when the birds show up.

I have a Knight & Hale Silver Hammer aluminum call, sounds great. I think they are discontinued, but you can pick one up for around $20 if you look around. It's one of the calls I make sure I never leave behind.

Crossbows became fully included in PA about 15 years ago. I put my compound away then and now I only take it out for giggles to take a few practice shots in the backyard.

Another vote for Hevi Shot Mag Blend, 3 1/2 shells. I know my gun will be able to throw a great pattern at 50 yards if I want to take it that far. I keep hearing great things about TSS shot, but at the time, it's only available to guys who handload (I don't).

Tonights dinner will be Salisbury steak, homemade mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and zucchini. I bought a side of beef (grass fed) a few weeks ago and butchered it myself, the ground meat actually tastes like steak.

Ribeye steak, baked potato, and bok choy. Mmm, mmm, good!