wolc123

I usually grind everything but the tenderloins, back straps, and neck roasts on all deer that are 2-1/2 or older. It’s been a few years since I killed a 1-1/2, but I make some roasts from the hind quarters of those . I never add pork or beef fat to the grind, because that adversely effects the taste in proportion to how long it is kept in the freezer (fat is an oil that does not freeze). There is so much that can be done with straight ground venison. Tacos are our kids favorite, but I like stuffed cabbage best. We all like spaghetti with meat sauce. Goulash, lasagna, stuffed peppers, meatloaf, chile, and sloppy Joe’s are all great with it. On rare occasion, when I make burgers on the grill, I mix some raw egg with the grind as a binder and form the patties a few hours before grilling. They hold together very well that way. I don’t make any grind from 6 month old deer and we were blessed with two of those over the last year (the one from New Year’s Day would be closest to 7 months and the one from September would be closer to 5 months). There is no reason to grind something, that even the lesser cuts of, is so tender that it will melt in your mouth without chewing. I chunk up the “scraps” for soup/stew meat and make as many small roasts as possible. Last Thanksgiving was my all time favorite, thanks to a turkey stuffed with one of those 5 month old roasts. I did not have to eat any of that “dry cardboard” tasting bird like usual, and that little roast was done perfect all the way thru at 165 degrees F. I finally found a good use for a turkey.

We had our kids favorite tonight, venison tacos. This is the first grind we have had from last year’s wmu 9F 9-point. I was aching to try it, so I gave away our last few packs of wmu 6c doe grind. That was good, but this is a smidge better. It must be the corn diet that makes the difference.

Pm me, if you want to shoot it so bad that you would give up (10) 12 ga 2-3/4 in Hornady SST’s (currently available at Runnings in Lockport) for (20) of my 4/5 oz, 16 ga Remington sluggers.

So far my record on turkeys is one for one and I would like to keep that perfect record intact. As it have said repeatedly, I was not overly satisfied with the performance of my 12 ga. 3” #5 and extra-full choke on that one fall bird. It took two shots to finish her. She certainly would have expired from my first shot had I been a little more patient. When I was 15, I missed a big buck with the open sights on my Ithaca 37 and I have always blamed that on buck fever and not having a good sight picture when that buck was in close (about 20 yards). The same thing probably resulted in a less than perfect hit on the one and only turkey that I shot with my 12 ga 870 and single bead sight. Since I put that 1.5 Weaver on my Ithaca 16 ga pump, when I was 16, it has not failed to deliver on deer. last years in case you forgot: That is the primary reason I want to use it (with my modified choke barrel) on turkeys. I detest the thought of wounding any animal regardless of how awful it tastes to me. I will gladly choke down a couple of “feathered-rat” breasts if I have to, just for the sport, and to save a little corn for some tastier animals. I know now that I have to get those turkeys within 25 yards, to insure a clean kill, but I am very confident that will be the result if I have that Weaver’s crosshairs on their neck when I send out 1-1/8 oz of lead # 5’s. I would be thankful if I could the first forum member to kill a turkey with a 16 ga. It sounds like you and a few others have done ok with 20’s so it shouldn’t be that tough.

Not in effect yet but pending. There is a current proposal that would make # 9 shot legal starting in Fall, but you still need to stay with # 8 - # 2 in the spring. The math works out that a single # 9 TSS pellet has the same energy downrange as a # 5 lead due to its increased density and the cartridge has much better pattern density due to the smaller size and higher shot count. Maybe I will switch to my full choke .410 next spring if this goes thru. As far as the 16 gauge modified choke goes, Two springs ago I called a tom into about 10 yards of my truck cap blind at home. He came in silent and I wasn't ready with my 12 gauge full choke, so I never got a shot off. In that situation and at that range, a modified choke would have been better. I doubt I will get one within 25 yards this spring because they seem to have disappeared over at my folks place and I have not seen any at home in a over a year. I will keep trying, until the bugs get too bad anyhow.

Manner of Taking You must carry your hunting license and turkey permit while you hunt. You may hunt with a bow or crossbow. You may not hunt turkey with a crossbow in the fall in the Northern Zone if you are using dogs. You may hunt with a shotgun or handgun only when using shot no larger than #2 and no smaller than #8. -pasted from current NY state regs for those who are unsure of shot size etc and # 9 is smaller than # 8 regardless of what material it is made from.

The 16 ga #9 shot TSS ammo, that you just posted is not legal for turkey in NY, because the shot size is too small. You best brush up on the rules, before handing out “free” advice. Kind of like when you thought they changed the rules to require a blaze orange or pink hat AND vest for big game hunting last year, when it was really one “OR” the other. I suspect that the 1-1/8 oz 16 #4 Federal duck and pheasant loads that I will be using will get the job done just fine on a turkey, inside of 25 yards. It looks like most of the more experienced turkey hunters here concur. For someone complaining about my ethics, How “ethical” is it to go hunting without knowing the rules ?

I burned a tank of chainsaw gas in my parents woods today, clearing away a dying ash that was leaning over an atv trail, and chunking up a decent sized cherry that fell in an early winter wind storm, near my new deer/turkey blind. The base was rotted and I left the first couple chunks, but the rest was pretty solid. 4 trips back with dad’s Ranger made about half of a truck load. I have been burning mostly ash in our wood stove at home for about 10 years (since the ash borers started killing them). I can’t wait to burn this cherry. It makes more heat than ash, but the best part is, it does not leave lots of ashes in the stove for cleanup after burning like ash does. I probably won’t hit those woods again until Turkey season opens, but I will definitely be hauling back some more cherry and maple. That edge of the woods is high and dry. It will probably be months before I can get into my muddy woods at home, where all I have to cut is ash. I stopped at the Res for gas on the way home ($ 3.90 per gallon there today).

Pound salt.

Praying for your families quick recovery. 23 % of our workforce was out with it last week, which was by far the highest percentage that we have seen since the start. So far, my own family has not had any serious Covid troubles. My wife tested positive on a home test once, a couple months ago, but had no real visible symptoms. Our older daughter, who is away at college, supposedly had it before Christmas but had no symptoms. Our younger daughter had a high fever shortly after her sister came home for Christmas break and I had a cough, so we both went for PCR tests then, which came out negative. She got a high fever again in February, after my wife had her positive in-home test, and I had the cough again. We both went for PCR tests again then, which again came out negative. I missed just one day of work that last time, while I awaited PCR test results. We have all been vaccinated, but none of us are boosted. The only way that we will do that is if some travel restriction required it. It seems like most of those who have caught the latest variants are vaccinated and boosted. At least that is true with my coworkers and the patients and coworkers that my wife sees at the local doctors office where she works. The “boosters” seem to be a real bad joke. Thankfully, my parents (in their 80’s), and my wife’s parents (in their 70’s) have not had it, but most of each of our siblings families have had it with just minor symptoms.

Decoy at 15 it will be. I value your turkey advice Bill. I like the bigger shot also, mostly because it’s easier to pick out of the meat. I can’t imagine having to pick 7-1/2’s out of a turkey. 6’s probably wouldn’t be that bad, 5’s were ok when I had to do it one time.

It has been a few weeks since my parents have seen any turkeys feeding in the clover plot. Undeterred, I got my 16 gauge modified choke patterned today. Tasks remaining, before the May 1st turkey opener, include setting up my pop up blind over there and sighting in my smaller crossbow, to use in it. I need to use the crossbow because the planned pop up blind location is closer than 400 ft (but more than 250 ft) from a trailer park). I grabbed a bucket full of dirt from a pile on my way back from the range (plus had to go back for (3) more) to repair some winter lawn damage.

No, only a hen in the fall. I am not sure of the range, but I would guess about 35 yards. I was not impressed with the performance of my Remington 870 12 ga with extra full choke and 3” #5’ lead shot and single bead sight. She flew up into a tree, closer to me, after taking my first shot. I was 8 ft up in another tree, behind a 3 ft barnwood wall, much like I plan on using this spring for toms. She dropped out of that tree, after about a minute, into a ditch, probably due to a few pellet hits in the lungs. I shot her again in the head, from point blank range, because she was still flopping around in the water. I have had gobblers answer my calls in the spring and not come in, and I had one come into my call without gobbling. He got to within 15 yards, but caught me by surprise, and I wasn’t able to get a shot off. My first shot at a spring gobbler will most likely be with my 16 gauge. There is a slim chance it could be with my crossbow, because I have one blind location that is too close to a trailer park to use guns. I will probably do 6 or 7 turkey hunts this spring, because I am not planning any May fishing trips with my boat. Our freezer is still very well stocked with fish, and gas prices are astronomical. My plan is to hunt every early May Saturday morning till 11:30 or so at my parents place, where I have two shotgun tree blinds and a “trailer park” pop-up crossbow blind. There is a good population of turkeys over there. I will also hunt most early May Sunday mornings at home for an hour or two before church, where I have been seeing coyotes but no turkeys. Finally, I will bring along my 16 gauge Ithaca, hen decoy, calls, and pop up blind, when we visit the in-laws, at their Adirondack retirement home over Memorial Day weekend. I will only hunt there, if I hear turkeys gobbling while I am out on the lake fishing, in the mornings. On that fall hen, I never patterned the gun and I wasn’t sure of the range. That won’t be the case this spring. I know my limitations. Good luck filling your tags.

Keep pounding Jack.

It lacks a receiver mounted scope and that’s the deal breaker on that. No living thing has survived my Ithaca 16 gauge when my crosshairs were on it when I pull the trigger.

I expected more from the 6’s, but I am glad that the 4’s did better. All the 6’s that I used were Remingtons. That’s what I have always used for rabbits. They have worked very well for them with my side by side. Most shots at those are under 20 yards, and it is choked I/C and mod. Only the 7-1/2’s averaged more pellets in the 2-1/2” circle than the 4’s and just two more. Those are what I use for grouse from the side by side. I am glad that I won’t be wasting any of my good rabbit or grouse ammo on turkeys, because I actually like the taste of rabbits (not as much as squirrels), and grouse (by far my favorite bird). I’ll do my best to limit my range to 25 yards on a turkey with that gun. I will take my laser range finder and verify that my decoy is at 20 yards. And yes Bill, I will center the crosshairs on the neck instead of the head. At least those big #4’s will be easy to pick out of the breast, if any strike there. If I do any more “patterning”, it will be on “live targets” in May.

Pound salt, I’m going with what I got.

I guess we might find out after May 1st. I had to put two of those 3” 12’s into a hen to kill her a couple falls ago. I am think that the scoped 16 might be able to take out a tom this spring with one shot. Just a few more weeks to go and I am ready.

I sure as heck ain’t in it for the meat (even “farm raised” turkeys taste like dry cardboard to me) and I have already killed one with an extra full choke 12 ga & 3” #5 load, not finding much challenge in that. If I can punch one of my spring tags with that 16 gauge, then I will try for the other one with a crossbow. I am ok with limiting my maximum range to 25 yards. Part of the challenge is getting them in close. I think I did use that modified barrel for grouse one time, about 40 years ago, firing about 15 shots at about 10 birds and not so much as knocking a feather off of one of them. It is high time that I gave it another chance. The Weaver 1-1/2 power scope ought to help with a turkey. That gun, with it’s deerslayer barrel and that scope has never failed to put a deer that I have shot it at, into my freezer. All those missed grouse were with the bead sight on the modified barrel and one missed buck was with the open sights on the deerslayer barrel.

That is my plan.

I took the deck off the mower this morning and power washed the underside and removed the blades for sharpening. I will get the oil changed and get everything lubed up and ready if and when we get some rain. After lunch, I am going to try and patch up a few ruts, that I made with this bigger tractor when I moved snow piles off the end of the driveway that my daughter used last winter. I thought the ground was frozen, but apparently it was not. I picked up a bucket full of dirt from a pile, on my way back from the target range this morning. I will pack it into the ruts and throw down some grass seed. It looks like there is lots of rain in the forecast over the next week but none today or tomorrow.

I patterned the Ithaca 16 ga model 37 Featherlight with it’s modified choke barrel today. As far as I know, this may have been the first or second time that barrel was used. No scope adjustment was necessary, as the first few shots with big paper indicated that the shot pattern was well centered on the 1.5 Weaver scope’s point of aim at 25 yards. These Federal #4 high brass duck & pheasant loads came out on top, putting an average of 4 pellets into a 2.5” circle at that range, so they are what I am going with. There is (15) left in the box, so I should be good for a few years of turkey hunting. I will set my hen turkey decoy up about 20 yards from my blind and hope that a tom gets in closer than 25 yards. I tried various others including high and low brass Remington # 6’s, high brass Win #5’s, all of which averaged less pellets in the circle at that range. High brass # 7-1/2’s averaged 6 pellets in, but I don’t want to pick all them little lead pellets out of a turkey. Only the high brass Federal #2’s put no pellets in the circle at 25 yards. I will carry a few of those while hunting, in case a point blank “finisher” is needed.

I like that idea. I should have done it last year. It was dark, by the time I got the guts out of him, but I had half way decent snow. Back tracking would not have been overly difficult. Based on all the corn in his stomach, I have a pretty good idea of where he came from.

Your lacking the best one, an Ithaca model 37. Mine, in 16 ga weighs about 2/3 what my brothers 12 weighs and packs almost the same muzzle energy. That’s why it is such a hard kicker but you don’t even know you are carrying it most of the time. I like my dad’s Browning sweet 16 and it seems very well proportioned between a 12 and 20, much like my Ithaca pump. It might help explain why Remington went belly up if they made their 16 ga 870 weigh as much as their 12 ga.