Uncle Nicky

I don't think you want to dry out the casings, they are much easier to work with when they are wet & have been soaking a few days. Try stuffing the casings as full as possible without ripping them, and add some more pork fat to the mixture, and decrease the water (if you are adding it). Good luck!

Gotta agree with alloutddors, no real options since T & TH went out of print. Turkey Country seems mostly geared to guys from Dixie, and 1/2 the articles are about food plot & habitat (not bad things, but not a big interest here). There are internet forums geared to turkey hunting, most of the guys are pretty knowlegeable and low on the drama. Or read some books. Or better yet, hit some states that open in March or April & create your own stories!!

To each his own. I'd feel better carrying a snub-nose .357. In the house it's a double barrel and 2 loaded .357s.

I switched companies 2 years ago because they let me run out a couple times (on auto-deliver). Yesterday, my new company let us run out (auto-deliver), I discovered it at 5 AM, they showed about 4 PM. While it's bad customer service on their part, I guess I need to be a little more proactive in watching the tanks.

.380 is the bare minimum I'd want in a handgun. I'd opt for a little more firepower.

too many w's...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKio8sDpGOE

Some guys swear by them..I swear AT them. I've tried high-end & cheap decoys...not much luck with either. I do better setting up in the woods & have them come looking for me.

Thanks again Mike. I'm familiar with Pete Clare/Turkey Trot Acres, but I'm positive he has guides with trained dogs, I don't think he's a trainer himself. One reason I was thinking to have the dog trained for pheasants first was to get him familiar with live birds, flushing, commands, etc. I'm fairly confident once she's at this stage that I can finish training her on turkeys myself, I have a pretty good network of guys with turkey dogs that I can pick their brains if I run into trouble.

Adopted a Golden Retriever-spaniel pup yesterday, and trying to weigh the pros & cons of hiring a trainer vs. figuring it out myself. Can anyone recommend a trainer that specializes in flushing breeds? I'm mostly interested in training the dog for pheasants (and eventually turkeys). Doesn't necessarily have to be in NY, but I'd like to keep it within 300-400 miles. Thanks!

I like the first comment at the bottom of the page...."I saw a movie once where only the military and the police had guns, it was called Schindler's List".

Yes, but I forget the name. They keep it at the back of the video store, in a room that says "Under 18 Not Allowed".

Anybody else???

That would be true. The next poster is looking forward to turkey season.

Another slow day at the 9-5....this time, thought I would start a fun (hopefully) topic, rather than a controversial one. Let's see your hunting history/resume. I'll start: Grew up in SE PA, right outside Philadelphia. As a kid, this area was still mainly farms and woods, it's now 90% housing developments and industrial parks. My father was a hard-core small game hunter, grew up in the area, and knew all the hotspots; he always hunted with a 12 gauge side-by-side with wide open chokes, and this is what I learned to shoot with also. I got my license when I was 12, and tagged along with him. When he didn't have a dog, I was the dog, LOL. I liked squirrel hunting the best. He was also a dedicated deer hunter, who did everything "wrong", but still managed to kill a buck every year, through pure persistence. There were few deer in this area at that time, so most deer hunting was in the Poconos in PA. I hunted probably 5 years before I killed a deer, a button buck in the old 3-day PA doe season. He didn't fish much, but I had a few buddys growing up that liked to fish, so I also fished (and mostly drank beer) with them. We mostly just caught a buzz, LOL. After high school, went off to college, and went right to work....didn't really have a lot of time for hunting, but got away once in a while for deer hunting in the mountains...but, wasn't very dedicated...mostly shot spikers & 4-pointers. Still managed to fish pretty often, mostly ocean fishing charters. Since I went to school for food-service, I had some knowledge of meat cutting & butchering, and somehow wound up working as a butcher in a supermarket. I started a deer-processing business around 1985, and had even less time to hunt. Eventually, I got married, had kids, and went back to school. Once I was done college for the second time, I got an office job, and had a little more free time for family and "fun" (fishing & hunting). I gave up the deer processing business, and got back into hunting, this time with a serious passion; I also decided to teach myself how to bow hunt, along with trying to get both kids involved. I managed to find some decent spots locally, and bought a hunting camp in Allegany County, NY; the place was loaded with turkeys, so I decided I was going to teach myself how to turkey hunt also. The last 20 years has been pretty much a non-stop hunting & fishing trip, I either fish or hunt just about every chance I can find, as well as run a tax-preparation business to pay for all of this. I've hunted all over the U.S. and eastern Canada, and been on a number of fly-in fishing trips to Canada. Both of my kids have gone hunting, neither goes now, but they still like to target shoot at the range & skeet shoot, and the youngest fishes with me. I've also been blessed with a wife that understands my obsession, even though I complain about her (all in fun). No goals or "bucket list" left now, I've got a house full of trophies & made a bunch of friends all over the U.S. & Canada. I've lost a lot of the "killer" instinct I used to have, a lot of it now is about the friendship, socializing, etc. that goes with all of this. But, I usually have a freezer full of something from the woods, lake, or ocean. I've "guided" a lot of friends in my network to deer when they weren't having much luck, and called in a few turkeys for new guys. All in all, a great ride, with no immediate end in sight.

.300 Win Mag is a great caliber, might be a little overkill for whitetails, but you should be able to take anything that walks or crawls in North America with it. I've had my best luck with Remington rifles, but I've never owned a "high end" rifle. Anything in the Model 700 series should do the job, but brand new with a decent scope might take you over $1,000 (maybe consider used?). I own a Savage Model 111 in .300 Win Mag, and while it's a good gun, I don't get the consistent patterns with it at the range like I do with my Remington rifles, but it knocks 'em down.

Had a white skunk within 3 yards of me, I was on the ground turkey hunting. I didn't want to spook or surprise him, but I had the shotgun up; if I got sprayed, he was getting sprayed also. He finally figured out what the camo blob was & took off running. Another time I heard a "rock" come whistling through the trees about 30 yards in front of me, a millisecond later I heard the gunshot that sent the rock my way (was up in a treestand). Once saw what I thought was a coyote sneaking along the ground about 50 yards in front of me on all fours(I was turkey hunting in a tent blind). I looked through the shotgun scope, and the "coyote" was sitting up now, aiming at my jake decoy, if he shot we would have gotten peppered. My friend that was sitting with me went ballistic, came running out of the blind yelling "DON"T SHOOT!! DON'T SHOOT!". I seriously thought he was going to beat the guy, it turned out it was a local teenager whose cousin had gotten permission to hunt the property 3 owners ago. All in NY.

No doubt. I will say the guy is a good shot, especially with a slug gun. I couldn't picture myself doing this, he's got a lot of work ahead of him.... I did hunt with a guy years ago, felt sorry for him because it was late season, and he hadn't gotten a deer yet. I took him to one of my spots, walk-in access only. He knocked down 3 (doe & 2 fawns). It was too far to drag all these deer out, so I got a rowboat. Got the deer in the boat, 3 hunters, 3 deer, and only an electric trolling motor. We wound up rowing most of the way back, he didn't go back out the rest of that season, said his back was too sore, LOL.

Slow day at work....any opinions? This was filmed in Maryland, and I'm assuming all perfectly legal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99IzQhHs82k

First choice for plinking is a .22, but you said you plan to get one later. I'd go with a snub-nose .357, most can shoot 38 special ammo as well.

No need to spend $200-$300, unless you want to. They are all pretty much alike IMO. Just make sure it's roomy enough inside for 2, and is easy to take down & set up.

I used to, before I was aware of CWD. Very mild, just like calves brains.

I never set goals before the season...too many variables, and things I can't control. Plus, between fishing, turkey hunting, work, and life in general, I'm too busy to give deer hunting much thought, until October rolls around. A good season? Multiple deer sightings, at least 1 8-pointer, and a small buck, maybe a couple does (hunting PA, NY, & NJ). A bad season- a couple does, a small buck. 2013 I hunted in Texas and killed a very nice buck, killed a nice buck in NY, a nice buck in PA...so this has been a great season. And still have until the end of January, but motivation is way down at this point, just not in the mood to drag or process any more deer.

Only if you are William Tell. And he split an apple on his son's head with a crossbow.

I have a Cabela's turkey vest, can't remember the name though. I've had it for 6 years. I took a look on their website and can't find any vests....odd. Maybe they're overwhelmed with Christmas orders and can't maintain their website.... Anyway, I'd suggest something with a large, thick cushion, a large pocket to carry your bird out with, and a few other large pockets for calls & shells. The rest is just bells & whistles.