Hunting Turkeys with an American Warrior

One of my favorite people to hunt with is Al Mattox of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I’ve known Mattox for more than two decades, and he’s the type of fellow you enjoy spending time with in the woods. Mattox and I strategize together when we hear a turkey gobble, and we’ll have a good time whether we take a turkey or not. But we’ll usually get our bird. Mattox just returned from Iraq where he ran the explosives lab that blew up IEDs (improvised explosive devices) discovered by the troops. Mattox explains, “We’d take the IEDs apart to look for fingerprints to try to determine who made the IED, and who placed it where our troops might encounter it.” Mattox’s first deployment in Iraq was after 9/11. His favorite thing to do is hunt wild turkeys.

Question: Al, tell us about the toughest turkey you’ve ever hunted.

Mattox: A henned-up turkey that won’t gobble and stays out in the field all day is hard to take.

Question: How do you take that turkey?

Mattox: You’ve got to learn the turkey’s daily routine. He’ll develop his pattern, depending on what those hens do every day. So, you have to determine what the hens will do, and then get to a place where you can call the hens to you. Wherever the hens go, that gobbler will follow. If you can get the hens to walk past you, they’ll drag that tough ol’ gobbler to you.

Question: What’s another turkey that’s tough for you to hunt?

Mattox: A turkey that lives on public land that’s been hunted by several different hunters.

Question: How do you take that turkey, Al?

Mattox: You can’t do a lot of calling. You have to first look for signs of that particular turkey where he’s scratched in the leaves or along the hillside. Find out where that turkey is gobbling. If he’s not gobbling once he hits the ground, learn where he’s roosting by going early in the morning and listening to him gobble or late in the afternoon and trying to hear him fly up to roost. Then when you decide to hunt that turkey, get him as close to you as you can without spooking him. Barely cluck, purr and scratch in the leaves like a hen that’s feeding near him. I’ve found that scratching in the leaves to sound like a feeding hen is one of the deadliest tactics and calls I can use.

Question: How long have you turkey hunted?

Mattox: I’ve hunted turkeys for 28 years.

Question: What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened when you were hunting with a client?

Mattox: A hunter from Birmingham, Alabama, hunted a gobbler with me at White Oak Plantation in Tuskegee, Ala. This gobbler with dark feathers had nine hens with him, and he was strutting just over a ridge from where the hunter and I was set up. He was out in the field, working his way toward the shade of the trees on the edge of the field, because those dark feathers soak up a lot of heat. We were sitting near the shade where the turkey was coming. My hunter would have had an easy shot in the shade. While we were waiting on the turkey to show up, a copperhead (snake) came into the sun to warm itself only a few feet from my hunter. Now, the turkey was coming, and we were within 5 minutes of shooting the gobbler. When my hunter saw the snake, he turned toward me and said, rather loudly, “That’s it. I’m going home.” That snake scared him, and he just got up and walked off.

For more turkey hunting tips, check out my interview with expert turkey caller Chris Parrish here. To read the second part of my interview with Al, click here.

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Yamaha Outdoors Tip of the Week: Sit Between the Gobbler and the Hens

It’s pretty simple on paper: Get between the dominant gobbler and hens and you can sometimes close the deal.

In this kind of situation, you need to rise earlier than ever, and slip into the woods toward roosted turkeys that you’ve located. You should know the number of hens and gobblers in the group if possible. You should know where they like to fly down before gathering and moving off. You should know where they are positioned the evening before the morning you hunt them.

Then get in tight, between the dominant spring gobbler and the hens, and let the show begin.

Sometimes you can time it so that you hear him gobble early—especially if the light is just coming on in the morning. If so, slowly rise, and ease in his direction, knowing you might be walking right past a hen or two.

Use terrain if it helps your approach, then sit tight: quietly waiting for the woods to wake up.

For tips on how to avoid hand movements and get the longbeard in range, please visit – http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/events/dynamicevent/2/1623/yamaha_outdoors_tips_-_sit_between_the_gobbler_and_hens.aspx. 

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Shed Hunting: Be a Year-Round Hunter

For some outdoorsmen and women, March can be a time of idleness and longing for the next deer season. Shed hunting is one way to get a deer hunting fix while you prepare for the next season – and it may be able to give you an edge over other hunters.

Well-known deer manager and writer, Bob Zaiglin of Houston, Texas, a certified wildlife biologist, has overseen numerous Texas ranches through the years. According to Zaiglin, hunting sheds helps you learn where deer are concentrated on any particular piece of property. The area where you find the most sheds will be the regions where you will discover the most deer. Also sportsmen can pinpoint the corridors deer are using to enter agricultural fields to feed, water and bed and the places where the deer are hiding from hunting pressure.

The outdoorsman who wants to become a trophy hunter and consistently take big deer must learn to hunt all year long and carry his gun into the woods only during hunting season. Not enough time is available during hunting season in most states for a trophy hunter to unravel the mysteries of the big bucks. Even if the sportsman does determine what the deer in his area are doing, the season may be over before he has a chance to intercept a buck in the woods. Although deer are not that smart, they have learned to avoid hunters.

Most always on any given piece of land, a few bucks will continuously escape hunters. These deer seem to have a sixth sense about how to avoid hunters. Unless a hunter is willing to hunt trophy bucks all year long, he not only never may find a trophy buck to hunt, but also he’ll never develop a strategy for taking that deer. If you truly want to hunt a trophy, the odds of bagging that trophy buck are best for the hunter who makes the commitment to hunt deer all year long. Shed hunting is an integral part of trophy buck hunting for outdoorsmen who understand what sheds mean, where to look for the sheds, and what to do after they find them.

Click here to read more of Zaiglin’s tips for shed hunting.

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Competitive Turkey Calling for Tough Turkeys with Chris Parrish

Chris Parrish of Centralia, Missouri, is a quiet, gentle fellow who doesn’t stand out in a crowd. But when he walks out on the stage of a turkey calling contest, he rules the roost. Parrish has won eight World Turkey Calling Championships and a number of other turkey calling contests. When Parrish walks in the door of a turkey calling contest, other callers will just drop their heads, because they know that they’re in the presence of one of the world’s turkey calling masters.

Question: Chris, what do you have to do to win a World Turkey Calling Contest?

Parrish: The most difficult ingredient required to win a World Turkey Calling Championship is finding the time needed to practice calling enough to be able to win. The second challenge is to realize that you’re going up against some of the greatest turkey callers the world ever has seen. Because they’re all good, any one of the top echelon callers can win on any given day.

Question: What do you think you do better than anybody else in a turkey calling contest?

Parrish: I’m a consistent caller. I always call clean and call the same every time I compete.

Question: What’s the difference between calling judges and calling turkeys?

Parrish: In a turkey calling contest, you have to be mistake-free, because a judge will count off for the least little mistake you make. But when you’re calling turkeys in the woods, making a mistake is no big deal. Rarely will you ever hear a hen in the woods call flawlessly. Hens don’t call perfectly, and turkey gobblers are much more forgiving than turkey calling judges. So, even if you can’t call perfectly, you still can call turkeys in the woods. Just listen to the turkeys out in the woods and try to imitate the rhythm and the cadence that they use when they call.

Question: What call do you recommend a beginning turkey hunter use?

Parrish: A first-time turkey caller needs to start with a simple call, like a push-pull or a box call. The sound is built into those types of call, so all the hunter has to do is learn the right rhythm, and he can call in a turkey. Once someone learns the rhythm of the call, I suggest he or she switch to a pot-type call (a slate or a glass friction call). When this person’s ready to start using a mouth call, I recommend starting with a straight double reed call, because that type of call will allow them to soft-talk to a gobbler when the turkey becomes accustomed to the hunter.

Question: What’s the hardest turkey for you to take?

Parrish: All turkeys at some time give me a problem. But if I have to pick one turkey that’s tough for me, it’s the Osceola gobbler. Finding a place to hunt that turkey can be more difficult than actually hunting the bird. When you have limited places and numbers of turkeys you can hunt, you can’t make a mistake and still take a tom. So, the Osceola is the toughest for me.

Question: How do you hunt the Osceola turkey?

Parrish: If you’re hunting a small tract of land, and there are very few turkeys to hunt, don’t call a lot, and don’t be aggressive. If you move around a lot, more than likely you’ll spook the gobbler you’re trying to call. If you don’t spook a gobbler today, you can hunt him again tomorrow. If you do spook him today, you may not be able to find him tomorrow. When I’m hunting the Osceola gobbler, I try to be extremely stealthy, sound like a turkey and stay far enough away from the turkeys that if I can’t call them in, I won’t run them off.

Question: What calls do you use other than the calls you buy in the store?

Parrish: I scratch in the leaves to sound like a turkey scratching in the leaves, looking for something to eat. I hit my hat against my leg to sound like a gobbler stretching his wings or flying down off the roost. Many times I’ll carry the tail feathers (a turkey fan) of a gobbler into the woods with me in the back of my hunting coat. You’ll be surprised at the type of response you’ll get from another gobbler when you flash a turkey fan at him. If you’ll be using this tactic, be careful, especially if you’re hunting on public land. If that turkey will come to a strutting gobbler decoy, he’ll come to that fan when he sees it. I try to break-up my profile when I use this tactic. That old gobbler will think there’s another gobbler strutting and will come running to you.

This article is part three of a series on how expert hunters take experienced turkeys. To read Harold Knight’s interview, click here. Click here to read my interview with veteran and expert turkey hunter Al Mattox.

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Yamaha Outdoors Tip of the Week: Make the Most of Spring Hunts

Turkey seasons are in full swing across much of the U.S. this month and many a dedicated turkey aficionado will be looking beyond the borders of their home state for more and different hunting opportunities. For some, turkey hunting alone is enough to justify a trip of several hundred, or over a thousand miles. Others might need a little more incentive. If you’re among the latter group, there are several options to sweeten the pot.

Hogs

Feral hogs are widespread over much of the southern half of the U.S.  They make for great sport and table fare, and can be a nice addition to, or integral part of a spring turkey hunting trip.

Conventional methods include spot-and-stalk or hunting over bait.  Because they are feral, and often considered a nuisance, many states allow hog hunting at night; so you can hunt turkeys during the day and hogs at night.

Popular night hunting methods involve running with dogs, or riding in trucks or ATVs and spotlighting agricultural fields – where hogs are considered vermin.

Exotics

Florida, Texas and other southwestern states have a variety of exotic species, like sika, axis and fallow deer, aoudad, blackbuck and even African plains game.  Because they’re not native game species, seasons and bag limits are much more liberal, and spring hunting is often allowed.  Methods vary with species and terrain.

For information on how bowfishing can be a different hunting opportunity as well, please visit – Make the Most of Spring Hunts on Yamaha.com.

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How To Set Up on a Gobbler Strutting in the Field

The gobbler strutting in the field is often the easiest turkey to find but can be one of the most difficult birds to set up on and call. Usually when a tom’s out in the field, he either has hens with him or is in a place where hens should come. The natural order of things is that when a hen sees a gobbler, she should go to him. There are three ways to set up and take this type of tom.

• A daylight field gobbler is a tom that flies from the roost at daylight, remains in a field all day long and then flies back to the roost at dark. He’s a difficult bird to kill. However, if the hunter reaches the field before daylight and takes a stand 10-15 yards in the woods off the edge of the field, he can confuse a gobbler and make him come to his call. Once the hunter has taken a stand, he can begin to call to the gobbler before daylight and before the tom has started gobbling or any other hens have awakened. The hunter should begin his calling just as light is beginning to glow in the east. When the bird wakes up and hears a hen calling to him from the field before fly-down time, he wonders if there’s a new hen moving into his area. He’ll often fly-down from the roost to meet her before the other hens wake-up.
• Hens will leave a gobbler by 10:00 am to return to their nests, especially late in the season, which leaves the gobbler all alone in the field. If the hunter takes a stand 30-40 yards off the field and begins calling and using light yelps, clucks and purrs, he can get the gobbler’s attention and make the tom believe there’s one hen left to breed before the day’s over.
• The hunter may have a chance to take a subordinate bird, if there are three or four gobblers in a field with a group of hens. Remember that since the boss gobbler claims the right to breed the hens, subordinate toms may not have had an opportunity to breed any of the hens in the field. Therefore, if you set-up fairly close to one of these subordinate gobblers that’s not strutting, you may be able to call him to your blind.

These tactics are just a sample of what you’ll learn in the new Kindle eBook, “Turkey Hunting Tactics” by John E. Phillips. Check out the book on Amazon by clicking here.

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Shed Hunting and Finding Locked Horns

For some outdoorsmen and women, March can be a time of idleness and longing for the next deer season. Shed hunting is one way to get a deer hunting fix while you prepare for the next season – and it may be able to give you an edge over other hunters.

Well-known deer manager and writer, Bob Zaiglin of Houston, Texas, a certified wildlife biologist, has overseen numerous Texas ranches through the years. According to Zaiglin, hunting sheds helps you learn where deer are concentrated on any particular piece of property. The area where you find the most sheds will be the regions where you will discover the most deer. Also sportsmen can pinpoint the corridors deer are using to enter agricultural fields to feed, water and bed and the places where the deer are hiding from hunting pressure.

Shed hunters also may find one of the most discouraging sights in all of nature – two bucks with antlers locked in combat, and both deer dead. When a hunter discovers two locked racks, the first thing he knows is that the sex ratio of the deer herd is probably approximately one buck for each doe, because bucks fight more and therefore lock horns more often when there are fewer does. Finding two bucks locked in combat was thought to be very uncommon in past years. However, one time, the ranch I managed had 15 bucks radio-collared. Out of those 15 bucks on the 100,000-acre ranch, one of those radio-collared bucks locked up with another deer. One year we found two sets or four bucks that locked antlers – one pair in December and the other in February. These bucks were a tremendous size. Two of these deer had racks that scored close to 170 points on Boone and Crockett. When you’re out hunting sheds, you may discover bucks with locked antlers.

Read more from Bob Zaiglin on using shed antlers to study deer by clicking here. To read the final part of this series on shed hunting with Bob Zaiglin, click here.

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Bird by Bow: Aiming Guide for Bow Hunting Turkeys

Avid feather collectors from across the country are buckling the locks to their shotgun case and shoving it back into their closet. Many hunters are looking for the ultimate bowhunting challenge – bird by bow.

Hunting turkey with a stick and string is a radically new undertaking that has grown to be a bird-busting bonanza. The turkey hunting population agrees that it’s a gobble of a good time and great chance to throw carbon into the vitals of a strutting tom.

Natural human instinct enjoys a fresh dare every now and then – an opportunity to defeat the odds, win big, and put a  checkmark on the to do list! Ultimately, accomplishment gives us a feeling of achievement, self-assurance, and triumph. Slicing an arrow through a collage of shimmering feathers and into the tiny vitals of a wild turkey will boost any hunter’s confidence and is sure to raise ego in the pecking order.

Typical turkey loads are made to splash a devastating face-wash full of BBs into a turkey’s head and neck area – however, bow hunting kill shots will change your aiming point drastically.

The heart and lung area on a turkey are no bigger than the size of your daughter’s softball. A tom’s sweet spot is buried beneath a ball of feathers in the vicinity of their core area. Often times, bow hunters are tossed a spur-ball when locating the vitals on a bird, considering that we are used to delivering arrows directly behind the shoulder on antlered critters.

Below you will find a few kill zone shots for turkey.

Broadside:

Shot placement for birds that are broadside should be focused on the wing-butt, which can be found by working your eyes up the wing to find a band of black feathers. Punching an arrow through the mid-section of the bird will result in a killer shot. You may also find that working your eyes up the legs toward the vertical center of the body will also lead to the same results.

Face-to-Face:

Pompous gobblers just can’t get enough strutting their stuff. Driven by ego, dominance, and adrenaline, it’s no different than you or I pushing out our chest before we walk into a room. This is the shot that will most likely be presented while the bird is on his way to your setup. During times when birds are facing your direction, set your pin above their beard and release. This will send an arrow into the vitals and possibly knockout the spine. Don’t get caught off guard. Birds have incredible vision, which makes pulling the bow back twice as hard.

Backside:

The deadliest shot for turkey is targeted where the tail feathers merge together – the turkey’s anus. Jamming an arrow into this portion of the bird will sever the spine and blow through the vitals like an exploding water balloon. This shot selection is significant for several reasons, due to a bird’s keen eyesight. There’s no better way to knock longbeard down when he’s facing away from you and his tail fan block’s his visual radar allowing you ample time to draw your bow back.

Essential Equipment:

We have been wired to shoot our bow for big game at high poundage, however, it’s important to back your bow down a bit. My G5 Prime is set to 50 pounds because there are situations that you may find yourself holding your bow back at full draw for a long period of time waiting for the turkey to close the distance or give you an ethical shot.

Your broadhead selection is another choice you must make. My preference is the G5 T3, which provides a devastating 1-1/2 inch cutting diameter. More of your arrow’s energy is transferred to the bird with mechanicals than fixed blades. Turkeys don’t have the bone mass as a deer, so extreme penetration is not as critical as tissue damage and accuracy.

Lastly, a ground blind is one of the most valuable assets to consider when plucking a bird with a bow. You will need a pop up ground blind that offers you space, shooting options, and portability. Eastman Outdoors offers the Gorilla LX5, which has 6’ shooting diameter and gives you the concealment that you’ll need when you have a bird within spitting distance.

I insist all bird hunters pick up a bow for a few days before breaking out the shotgun. Hunting turkey with a bow is a completely different style that begs for hunter error and failed opportunities. It’s a great way to test the hunter in you.

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Whitetail Food Plots: Honey Holes for All Acreage, Part 4

This is the final part in my ‘How To’ food plot Series, and I just want to mention a few additional things to you. My property is just over 13 acres, however the “block” I live on is about 1575+/- acres and is ringed with homes. It is comprised of woods, fields, ravines and even a major power line cutting through the middle of the block. The food plot I have planted is almost an acre (with irregular shapes – lots of corners). I also planted this micro plot honey hole in the middle of my woods. Like I mentioned before, I’ve found that the biggest bucks like the thickest areas, it’s security to them.

This year, I am going to expand with another ‘Micro Plot’, again in the woods , but at the top of the western bank of a stream that travels north and south as it runs through my property. This area has only provided limited trail cam photos in the past, but this year with the mild winter has proved differently. I’ve located a few very sizeable rubs on trees having diameters as big as 5”. That in and of itself warrants another look at putting in a small 60’ x 80’ plot near their travel corridor. Just in case you still doubt whether or not small food plots work, I have attached a few photos throughout this guide of some decent deer that have visited my food plot. Until next time, good planting, and may you harvest a great buck as a result of your dedicated efforts!

Again, I would like to mention, my seed of choice: INVITE X-Tream Wildlife System. Located in Ohio, this seed is developed by hunters for hunters. Check them out at : www.INVITEFPF.com. Any questions, E-mail me at whitetail-foodplots@roadrunner.com.  You can also find me on Twitter @foodplotsPaul. As a footnote, I want to let you know my website is under construction, but will be found at www.whitetail-foodplots.com. To go back to part 3, click here.

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Whitetail Food Plots: Honey Holes for All Acreage, Part 3

Let’s get right into it, and let me mention a little about putting down lime on your food plot. If you are new to all of this, then you probably think that lime is lime, no big deal. Well, FYI, there are three types of lime to consider for your plot.

• Agricultural lime. All powder. Agricultural lime gets into the soil fast, the wind will create a cloud and you’ll look like a ghost when you’re done putting it down.
• Granular lime. Some powder, but also has a ‘sandy quality’ to it. This is my choice because it gets into the soil almost as fast as agricultural lime, but it’s not as messy.
• And the last choice is pelletized lime. The best way to describe is by what it looks like: it’s like ice melt, or white beads, a little larger than bird seed. This takes a long time to get into your soil.

Pelletized lime is too slow-acting for this hunter. I often lime and then plant seed all in the same day. Remember, the amount of time you spend in your food plot is critical. The less time you’re out there, the better the odds are that the deer will move in.

Now, when to fertilize? You should already know what level (12-12-12 and so on) to use. This was accomplished by testing your soil and giving the results to the local feed/agriculture store. My first application (go lightly) is as soon as that nice ‘green carpet’ comes up. After that, I watch the Weather Channel and look for a few days of steady rain. I go out just before it rains, and again, fertilize sparingly. Come back a week or so after the rain and BAM! It’s like rapid grow. Your plants get a nice surge of growth. That helps them stay ahead of the weeds.   That’s another reason why you do all those steps to have a successful food plot. Do not leave out any of those steps.

What do you do with the information you’ve acquired up to this point? My suggestion is go to your nearest dollar store and pick up a pocket size ‘composition’ notebook and start a diary or journal about your food plot. In it, you will want to jot down the following:

• Make a sketch of your plot, or use Google Earth or Google Maps and print it out.
• Date you killed your weeds and which chemical you used.
• Your soil test results and how much lime and type of fertilizer you applied.
• Note what you plant, and what the season’s weather conditions were.
• What kind of activity you had in your plot (supplement with trail cam photos).
• And don’t forget: whether the deer liked (or didn’t like) what you planted.

And this goes without saying, but remember to document your success. Now, your journal becomes “the great equalizer”. You now have valuable information about the deer in your hunting area.

In part 4, I’ll just give a short overview. I’m sure I’ll hear from a lot of you out there. At least I hope so. Remember, what you do is your choice, this is what has worked for me over the years. I hope you all have the same luck as I did from my “Micro Food Plots” in the woods.

Again, I would like to mention my seed of choice: INVITE X-Tream Wildlife System. Located in Ohio, this seed is developed by hunters for hunters. Check them out at : www.INVITEFPF.com. Any questions, e-mail me at whitetail-foodplots@roadrunner.com. You can also find me on Twitter @foodplotsPaul. As a footnote, I want to let you know my website is under construction, but will be found at www.whitetail-foodplots.com. To go back to part 2, click here. To read the final part, click here.

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