NWTF
A Gobbling Genetic Frontier
How the Wild Turkey DNA Project Is Rewriting the Story of America’s Bird
For generations, the story of the wild turkey has been told in feathers, tracks, and the thunder of a gobble rolling through hardwood ridges. Today, a new chapter is being written in code, genetic code, and it may reshape everything we know about the bird that has become a symbol of both all things wild and a grand conservation recovery story.
The WildTurkeyDNA project, launched in 2025, is an ambitious genetic study undertaken for the wild turkey genome. It is a collaboration between the Wild Turkey Lab, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, the University of Texas El Paso, and the Low Country Game Bird Foundation. Its mission is bold and far-reaching: Build the first continent-wide genetic map of wild turkeys using hunter-submitted DNA samples.
Hunters at the Center of the Story
- One of the most compelling aspects of the WildTurkeyDNA project is its reliance on hunters. The 2025 program asked turkey hunters to submit samples from birds with unusual plumage to help researchers understand the origins of these traits.
- For 2026, Hunters who harvest a bird with normal, or unusual plummage, typical or non-typical can request a kit, collect a small tissue sample, and mail it in. There is no cost to participate, thanks to funding from NWTF, DU, and other partners. NY NWTF has provided funding to cover up to 100 New York hunters that will be selected to participate, with some receiving kits and others mailed vials to put a sample in. Due to limited funds and resources, there is a selection process.
- This study connects turkey hunters in contributing directly to the science that will guide future management. It also strengthens the bond between hunters and the resource they care about, a flashback of hunters helping‑science tradition that helped restore wild turkeys in the first place.
How It Works (source:wildturkeyDNA) click here download
- Go to wildturkeyDNA.com and register to participate or use the QR code below.
- Those that register will get an email asking them which county/counties they hunt in
- Hunters who are selected will be mailed kits and asked to collect a sample from birds they harvest.
- For each sample, hunters will upload an image of the bird and other information through their online wildturkeyDNA account.
- Samples will be sent to UTEP via pre-paid mail for genetic analysis.
- Hunters that don’t receive kits but want to participate will be sent a vial to put a sample in and asked to mail it to UTEP.Hunters receive a certificate of pedigree for their harvested turkey
Use your smart phone camera to capture QR code below to access the signup directly!
This work is powered and funded in part by state chapters like the New York State NWTF, whose funding helps keep the program free for hunters and ensures researchers can analyze thousands of samples from across the country.
Wild turkeys have roamed North America for thousands of years, shaped by geography, climate, and isolation. Each subspecies carries its own genetic fingerprint, from the white-tipped tail fans of the Gould’s to the deep chestnut hues of the Eastern. Understanding how these genetic signatures vary, overlap, or blend is central to the project’s mission.
Researchers are using DNA to answer the following questions that field biologists have debated for decades:
- Are rare color phases: smoke, white, or mixed plumage, natural mutations, or signs of domestic ancestry?
Early results show many are fully wild, though some birds do show hybridization with domestic or heritage turkeys. - How genetically diverse are today’s populations?
Restoration efforts in the 20th century often moved small, related flocks into new areas. Scientists want to know whether history left some regions with narrower genetic baselines. What level of diversity exists, and what are the implications of determinations? - How distinct are the five subspecies at the DNA level?
The project’s next phase will analyze samples from across the entire range to map subspecies boundaries and identify areas of overlap.
This work builds on the model of DU’s DuckDNA program, which revealed widespread hybridization and genetic drift in waterfowl, findings that reshaped how wildlife managers think about long‑term species resilience.
The New York State Chapter of the NWTF is among the organizations helping fund the WildTurkeyDNA project. Their support ensures that the program remains free for hunters and that researchers can expand sampling, increase lab capacity, and accelerate analysis. The state chapter has a long history of supporting wild turkey research, habitat projects, and the restoration of the American Chestnut, which was once a primary food source for wildlife
For New York, where turkey populations have fluctuated in many counties across the state in a downward trend in recent decades, this investment is both pragmatic and symbolic. It reinforces the state’s long‑standing commitment to science-based management, wild turkey research, and positions New York hunters as key contributors to a national conservation effort.
This funding aligns with NWTF’s broader research strategy. In 2025 alone, the NWTF and its partners allocated more than $4.5 million to wild turkey research nationwide, bringing total investments since 2022 to over $22 million a scale of support unmatched in the organization’s history.
What Early Results Reveal
Although the project is still in its early stages, several patterns are emerging:
- Odd-colored birds are often 100% wild, confirming evidence that rare plumage variants do occur naturally.
- Hybridization with domestic turkeys does happen.
- Genetic diversity varies by region, prompting new questions about long-term population resilience.
- A continental genetic baseline is forming, something wildlife managers have never had before. A unified map of wild turkey DNA across North America that reveals how subspecies, regions, and restoration histories connect.
This emerging foundation gives wildlife scientists a powerful new tool to track genetic diversity, identify hidden vulnerabilities, and guide future management with unprecedented precision. As the dataset grows, researchers expect to uncover deeper insights into subspecies boundaries, historical movements, and the genetic health of local populations.
Why This Research Work Matters
Wild turkey restoration is one of America’s greatest conservation success stories. But success is not the end of the story. We cannot rest on our laurels as the wildlife ecosystem is ever-changing. Populations in some regions are declining, and managers need better tools to understand why.
Genetics offers answers that traditional field methods cannot:
- It reveals hidden patterns of ancestry and diversity.
- It identifies hybridization that is not easily identified in plumage.
- It helps managers make informed decisions about trap and transfer and habitat priorities.
- It provides a long-term roadmap for sustaining healthy, resilient turkey populations.
In short, genetics is becoming the next frontier in turkey conservation—and hunters are helping lead the way.
© 2026 Joyner Outdoor Media
9.11.2001 Temporary Lessons
Twenty four years have passed…
I digress for a moment to point out some repetition from recent years of commentary on 9/11
For the families, loved ones, and friends, the wounds of profound loss continue to be fresh for some. Life was changed forever for them, an unwelcomed new normal, and what changed for us in our reaction to the horror of that day has faded for far too many, judging by how we treat each other today.
It is hard to recognize the lessons learned on 9.12.2001 to where we are at now. For the days that followed, our politics did not matter, racism did not matter, we didn’t care what color you were, station in life did not matter. who we slept with did not matter, what set of sex organs we sported in our underwear did not matter, what God each other believed in, or what we commented in thought did not matter at all. We did not need pronouns, diversity training, reparations, cults of personality, or unhinged pundits to guide us in understanding what was in our hearts and what we felt in our guts -that we are Americans.
Twenty-four years ago, and one day later, with great cause, we rallied for each other and had each other’s backs. We demonstrated what is awesome about us, our country.
It can be claimed that we have forgotten who our family, friends, and neighbors are, what we actually mean to each other as Americans. Right now, we are failing at this. Too damn caught up in perceived racism, real or assumed inequities, mortally wounded by the infractions of the slightest language snafus. All fodder for justifying violence and abhorrent crimes. The social fires are fanned by our own elected officials who play us against each other in the manufactured chaos. It is a terrible way for those of us who live on, to honor those fallen on this fateful day.
Lessons learned twenty-four years ago need to be reinstated as a permanent staple of our society. How we treated each other back then, as we rallied for those lost and for justice to prevail, needs to be revisited in earnest.
In twenty-four years have not forgotten:
The memories and the feelings from that day have not faded, nor diminished. It was to be a perfect bluebird day in September.
The near-perfect September day morphed, shattered for thousands of victims in mere seconds for many, some in agonizing, terror-filled minutes, hours yet for others.
In the ripples of life, our greatest loss is to never know or benefit from what great deeds and accomplishments of all those lost.
That we came together as Americans. We were united as Americans. We still are Americans. Many have forgotten this very fact in recent times.
Those that perished on this fateful day of September 11th, 2001.
Those that gave all in order to save lives. Heroes that walk among us to this day.
Those who survived only succumbed to it days, months, and years later.
That we are all equal by way of our maker
This is republished each year as I find it so important to include:
On each anniversary of 9/11, my thoughts return to two fellow NWTF members Cynthia Giugliano & Walter Weaver that we lost that day. A memorial webpage can be found at http://www.turkey-talk.com/9_11_01_memorial.htm
I ask that each of you give thought to those that serve us in all vocations. In your travels, I ask that you take the time to thank those that serve us, and continue to support what they do for our country.
Along with counting your blessings, say a prayer for all innocent victims, and that you do something on your part to make the world just a little bit better for those around you. We can all benefit from random acts of kindness.
-MJ
© 2025 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Last Call in NY
Best wishes to my fellow turkey hunting brethren still in the chase to fill a tag- As you can see, Our Viking Diva is warming up on my shoulder. 11:59:59 AM, the reigning queen of the opera sings the last act tomorrow.
No pressure… hunt smart, and you’ll send her packing.
Gobblers here in CNY are far fewer in number than most of us old timers remember. With longbeards being of the strong and silent type, the best or worst among us hunters can’t buy a gobble in many anecdotal reports.
Run and gunning may leave you eating a tag this late in the season. Play it old school. Confidence calling, feeding purrs, whips, and whistles, light clucks, and very soft yelping. If one stomps your call with a voracious gobble, get ready as they’ll likely not gobble again and come in swift but silent. Exceptions duly noted. With four weeks of renewed education, errors on our part in the turkey woods during the final hours will not be forgiven with second chances.
With an abundant but unfortunate supply of wet, cool weather, many hens have come off the nests and we have a dating/mating reset with the clock running out. If a hen challenges you, then you have to answer her appropriately. Girlfriend gets the boyfriend in trouble every time, and you may find one not on her first nest yet if you had a very late second or third hatch from last year. Too young to mate, but he’ll follow her anyway.
If you go in loud, you’ll likely leave empty handed. They’ve been chased all season, and any mistake you make will be an exit stage left with an alarm putt if you get any indication at all that you messed up. The foliage is thick as ever, and when a gobbler is pursued by a variety of predators, there is no tolerance for a clumsy two-legged one either. However far you may think he gobbled from, it might be better to halve that estimation in the woods now.
As they are not talking much now, any sightings are key tactical data. If you can get out and roost tonight, it may be the final clue to the last day. Bring your binoculars and glass as much as you can. With the foliage fully out, you can get in close, but you’ll have to be there very early tomorrow morning. The forecast is for more rain tomorrow, the last day, yet this morning is a rather nice one.
Hunt all the way to your spot, and all the way back to the truck, the entire hunt can turn around in 30 seconds, and the action can be fast and furious. On State Game Lands this past Wednesday, I filled a second tag, less than 150 yards away from my truck as I hunted back to it. It took him a full 20 minutes to show after a half gobble/half yelp.
Stay sharp, safe, and alert.
Best of luck in the final remaining hours of the season. Now if we can get this lady off our damn shoulders…
© 2025 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Turning Wishing Into Fishing
I would like to introduce my readers to a fantastic organization- Chasing Dreams Charters. I came to know of them this past week at the 2025 NYSOWA Spring Conference in Lewiston, NY. I got to spend a little time with Ned Librock, Founder of Chasing Dreams Charters, and came away with a firm understanding of who they are and the good works they do. To meet Ned is to like him, and it is a short study to know what he brings to the table in helping children deal with the difficulties of cancer and subsequent treatments. A fun and relaxing time on the water fishing is therapeutic in as many ways as any of us can think of.
Ned has assembled a fantastic and capable team of charter boat captains and a solid board of directors. To support their mission, they work closely with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, coordinating programs with The Courage of Carly Fund and the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) program.
I borrow and repeat from their published mission and website, and I strongly recommend that if you can support them in their mission, it will be well worth your efforts.
Catching Dreams Charters, Inc. a 501(c)(3) not for profit, provides fishing adventures for children and young adults battling cancer! Fishing Therapy for Cancer Kids! Cancer at any age is terrifying. Our motto of “turning wishing into fishing” promotes fishing therapy as a psychosocial therapy for these young warriors.
If you would like to donate to the mission, or have resources that can help expand to more of New York and reach more afflicted children, Contact Ned at 716-870-5326
To learn more visit-
https://catchingdreamscharters.org https://www.facebook.com/catchingdreamscharters
Turkey Hunters’ Tall Tales?
Hmmm, heard this somewhere before. When it comes to measuring trophy aspects of our quarry, we might be outdone by fishermen, but there are doubts…
A prefix to this commentary: The subject of records, trophy aspects is one of a novelty, and excellent fodder for the diner, tailgate discussions, hunt clubs, and debate at hunt camps. The experience of the hunt itself, time spent with others, is most important in my view. Like antlers, spurs, and beards, they don’t eat well, unsuitable for soup stock.
As of late, the embellishments (or bending of the truth) appear to be heightened to a comical observation, although this commentary might ruffle some feathers and deflate a few claims. It is a foolhardy, harmless embellishment, unless someone’s forcefully claiming a record bird. In the end, your birthdays will remain unchanged, death and taxes will still prevail…
Noticeably increased observation of social media since the May 1st opener in New York reveals truly great gobblers, smiling hunters, which are the happy outcomes of a great day in the turkey woods. As an author and one who tracks records in the great Empire State, there are norms observed and expected, and it captures my interest when a gobbler exceeds in exceptional characteristics, as claimed.
Those of us with many seasons tucked away as fond memories will have more than a few gobblers encountered as hefty carries back to the truck. We’ll be able to eyeball rather quickly as to being of nominal expected size/weight, and lengths of beards and spurs, akin to deer hunters who can gauge racks and weights of whitetail bucks to within close to measured results. In the social media space, with a little lack of civility, opinions may vary.
Turkey hunters often exaggerate the weight of their gobblers due to a mix of tradition, pride, and some genuine confusion in measurement. Here’s why it happens:
1. Field Dressing Confusion: Turkeys are often weighed after being field-dressed (internal organs removed), but some hunters report the weight before. This can cause significant weight differences—up to a couple of pounds, depending on live weight. An 18-pound gobbler carries up to a pound and a half of entrails. These delta anecdotal differences are observed from involvement with spring and fall turkey contests for many years, in which rules dictated field-dressed for weight measure, and to cool the meat and mitigate spoilage, hopefully shortly after being tagged in the field.
2. Lack of Accurate Scales: Many hunters use inaccurate spring scales, cheap electronic scales of questionable accuracy and affected by battery strength, or just guess based on feel. In a turkey contest, you might be surprised how many soaking wet birds are brought in to measure/score on a perfectly sunny day. Sometimes hunters use a coveted measuring device: “SEF Weight Scale.” Surprisingly, the “Shoulder-Elbow-Forearm” weight measuring triangle is the ultimate weight scale device among some turkey hunters. One simple lift of the bird will result in a 25-pound estimate in an eager and optimistic view. Asking for a weight coupon or placing the bird on a verified, accurate scale will not gain you many friends in such situations. All humor aside, it is an observation of casual conversations.
3. Bragging Rights & Storytelling Culture: Hunting, especially turkey hunting, has a strong oral tradition. Telling stories of the “25-pounder” is part of the culture, even if that bird was the typical norm of 18-19 pounds.
4. Misjudging Size: Wild turkeys, in their appearance, look deceptively large due to their feathers. A 20-pound bird feels massive after carrying it through the woods, especially early in the morning.
5. True Big Birds Are Rare: A wild gobbler in New York over 25 pounds is genuinely rare. The average reported weight for an adult gobbler in New York runs 18-19 pounds. So when someone thinks they got a record book bird, they might lean into that claim, whether or not it’s verified. It’s all part of the mystique and fun of turkey hunting, though the conscientious, more serious hunters do strive for accurate records. A 22-pound or heavier gobbler coming at you in the turkey woods will appear as Gobzilla, and a world apart from the size of an 18-pound bird.
Turkey hunters often exaggerate the length of beards and spurs for similar reasons they exaggerate weight, but with a few unique twists tied to measurement error, ego, and tradition. Here’s why it happens:
1. Improper Measuring Technique: Beards should be measured from the skin (base) to the longest strand, pulled straight, not curved or fluffed. Spurs should be measured along the outside curve to the tip, not in a straight line from the middle to the tip. Some hunters measure around the spur or include feathers in beard length, which inflates the numbers.
2. No Standardization in the Field: Some hunters are using a tape measure incorrectly or, worse, eyeballing it. That leads to inconsistency and overestimation.
3. Ego and Bragging Rights: Long spurs and beards are often seen as signs of a mature, trophy gobbler. Hunters may stretch the truth—“That gobbler had a 12” beard!”—because it makes for a better story. We all know that 6” is sometimes expressed as 12”. We’ll stop there and keep it clean.
4. Beard Clumping Illusion: Some gobblers have multiple beards or thick, ropey beards that look longer than they are. Broken strands that haven’t dislodged. Been fooled a few times with that.
5. Curved Spurs or Fat Spurs Create Optical Illusions: Spurs with tight curves can look shorter than they measure along the curve. Wide or fat spurs can appear shorter compared to narrow, needle-like spurs.
© 2025 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
. #turkeyhunting #nywildturkeyrecords #wildturkey #nyturkeyrecords #recordbookgobblers
NY Turkey Records 2025
If you tag a gobbler that meets the criteria listed below near the end of this post or in future editions that are anticipated, I would love to interview you for inclusion in the Empire Limbhangers book project. Although your stories and photos will be captured for the book, you will retain rights to your photo’s and your story. Should you wish to have the story I write up used for other uses. Copyright permissions can be granted as needed.
The main issue with keeping it all legit for the project is typically weight as most of the small scales that are used to weigh fish can vary +/- 1 to 2 lbs or more. A weight coupon from a certified scale ensures accuracy and proof of measurement. Otherwise, it can be legitimately challenged. The scale should be suitable for products or goods for sale that are taxed in the state. I live in Cortland County and own several scales suitable for trade with a 25lb calibration weight with certification tracible to NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology, formerly National Bureau of Standards,) and can also provide a video of calibration and the actual weighing of your gobbler. I will be glad to do so, and there is no fee.
Pics with tape measurement in the pics are required to show scale and accuracy for beards and spurs. There are several handy products to help measure spurs (including the curved outside edge) but as of this writing, none aside from a tape measure cover the spur measurements that have been described going back decades as published by the NWTF http://turkey-talk.com/scoresbpmeasure.html#spus As the decades long description covers the entire exposed spur that can occur below the outer edge of the leg, it is more often that the exposed spur is even with the leg edge. Anecdotal, as such, the differences observed have not exceeded 1/8″. As the calculation is x10 or x32 for each spur it is a detail to be aware of.
Anecdotal evidence unfortunately cannot be used to substantiate record book entries no matter how good the stories are.
Best bet if you think you have one for the books: weigh the gobbler on a certified scale and be sure to get a weight coupon. Take plenty of photos including those with a tape measure. NWTF requires witness signatures that also have to be an NWTF member if you wish to participate in their records program. Safari Club also has a program but is not viewable unless a member. I may include them if details can be worked out in the future.
Record entries not included in the NWTF system once verified can be accepted. You will note that the NWTF requires verifications that I have mentioned and I will accept their determinations for the project. I do support their system and would encourage you to enter your submission with the NWTF as well. NWTF submissions are now accepted online: www.nwtf.org/hunt/records.
Scoring tabulations for the project will include the NWTF system, and the SBP weighted system. for more info on SBP http://turkey-talk.com/scoresbp.html
For those that I have contacted or attempted to contact at the beginning of the project: Your stories will be available to review as I complete them.
If you have harvested a legally tagged wild turkey with one or more of the following attributes in NY during the 2023-2024 spring/fall seasons, or years prior, registered or not registered w/NWTF records, We would love to talk to you about being included in the book!
Please contact mjoyner@joyneroutdoormedia.com
Note: Non registered birds- measurable attributes must be verified for consideration.
Typical score greater than 75.000 (weight x1 + beard x 2 + L & R spur x 10)
Non-Typical score greater than 105.000 (weight x1 + beard(s) x 2 + L & R spur x 10)
Weight greater than 26.5 lbs. (verifiable certified weight)
Beard Length greater than 12″ (verifiable length)
Spur Length greater than 1.625″ (verifiable length)
Color phase variations, Hens with spurs
http://empirestatelimbhangers.com/
© 2025 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
. #turkeyhunting #nywildturkeyrecords #wildturkey #nyturkeyrecords #recordbookgobblers
River Boating for Fall Turkeys
With a bit of back-and-forth scheduling changes with work contracts during the summer, a fall turkey hunt trip back to the great state of Maine would follow the annual NYSOWA Fall Safari at Peck Lake.
As always, every trip to Maine to hunt with Dan Daman would be somehow different if not unusual, and a new experience. For several weeks leading up to the trip, Dan would inform me, that we might be doing a boat trip for fall turkeys and they were using a favored roost consistently. Music to my ears and added to the anticipation. With all the corn still up and unharvested in the many places we scout, this was a tactical improvement in the odds of working a fall flock of turkeys.
The drive from Peck Lake to Maine was a scenic one as I chose to take the northern route to enjoy a beautiful drive. Leaving just as the sky began to change I enjoyed an inspiring sunrise as I headed towards Rutland, Vermont to cross over the mountain passes toward Route 2 in New Hampshire. Well worth the extra drive time versus taking the major highways. I would scout more intently as I crossed into Somerset County, Maine. No feathered sightings were made until I drove over to meet Dan for a bit of scouting for turkeys. I did find a flock of gobblers on the way over, but not on a property we had access to.
Easy decision to go after the river access to a flock that had revealed themselves routinely that week. We took a flat-bottom Johnboat up the river to reach them. It was eerily quiet, almost surreal with the cool dense fog and near-pin-drop quiet in the predawn darkness. An ultra-quiet electric troll motor made the trip effortless, and just as quiet as our surroundings. We secured the boat and made the short uphill climb to our first sit. Turns out we had closed within 50 yards of the boss hen. It was a late start as far as turkey talk went. Once the boss hen opened up, we had a “significant” conversation up until she pitched down in the adjoining field.
The hen gathered her flock shortly after and we could hear her give a soft cluck in response to Dan’s slate call. She happened to like that slate call a lot. It was interesting when she got fired up on the roost, she sounded more raspy like the mouth call I was using. Switching back and forth between Dan and I, got her issuing 19-20 note assembly yelps, and we would add one more in response to keep her intensity at a peak. Having gone quiet for thirty minutes since fly down, I got up and moved toward a corner to a vantage point. I never got there as the flock was slowly working their way around. In short order, I lined up and took two young jakes. Maine allows five birds per fall season in some counties, no more than two on a given day in the fall. It was my first riverboat trip hunt for me, and I enjoyed the added element to the hunt. A prior boat trip in Clayton, NY to Grindstone Island during a NYSOWA Spring Safari was to get to the dock and then transported by truck to our hunting spots on the island. We thought that was pretty cool as well.
We would load up the boat and take a tour further upstream. Awesome views from the boat. On the way back we watch the entire flock fly out across the river in full view and a spectacular sight to behold.
A fantastic experience and will be added to our repertoire of approaches in the years ahead!
-MJ
© 2024 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
A Grand Fall Safari at Peck Lake
Peck Lake, a gem of Fulton County, was the destination for the NYSOWA 2024 Fall Safari. It was a first for this writer to attend the event there. For years Dan Ladd had been telling me about this location, and I needed to make it to the next event there, he was not wrong! I have come to learn this about Dan, his descriptions are spot on.
To say we were welcomed by the Peck Family is to be well-understated! Our event was well organized, and it dovetailed perfectly with the beauty of Peck Lake and the throwback to an Adirondack-style experience. The cabins were comfortable with the basic necessities and well-kept. It didn’t hurt that we had incredible weather during our time there. Both fishing days were wonderful times on the water. I would spend my two mornings in the neighboring Great Sacandaga Lake. A great time was had with boat captains Steve George and Mike Hauser. The bite was light, however, a few walleye were caught, and the conversations among old friends were priceless.
During our time there we got a first-hand demonstration of SIONYX Marine Vision products. The Nightwave Marine Night Vision Camera would be of interest to any boat owner. As an engineer who designs Image Sensors, I can attest to the features and low-light-level performance they have achieved with their technology. Highly recommended. NYS Forest Owners Association gave us a thorough rundown on their organization and we’ll be working to cross-promote each other. The wildlife museum is a must-stop destination for everyone and has expanded in recent years. On Saturday evening, Assemblyman Robert Smullen of NY District 118 stopped by and met with many of us giving an open invitation to contact him directly on outdoor/sportsmen-related legislation and to help address any current or forthcoming concerns. We could use many more assemblymen of similar mindsets.
A big thank you goes out to Pecks Lake Resort, Peanut, the Peck Family, and their staff, Rogers Cideryard, SIONYX (Mike Hauser,) Franks Gun Shop, NYS Forest Owners Association, Fulton County Tourism, The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum, and Harnish Outdoor Supply for sponsoring events and meals. I would also like to thank our guides for a wonderful time on the lakes- John Dackhow, Tom Cascone, Steve George, and Mike Hauser!
Pecks Lake Resort is highly recommended, and a perfect setting to relax, decompress, and enjoy an Adirondack style retreat!
NYSOWA President Chris Paparo (Fish Guy Photos) captured several drone footage videos for a “bird’s eye” view of Pecks Lake Resort
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Robert-Smullen
-MJ
© 2024 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Bring Us Your Tired, Worn Out Anglers, and Turkey Hunters
If you happen to be an angler that is plum worm out reeling in those monster stripers, or any of the multitude of sport fish that will test the limits of your fitness, I might have a solution for you! Lets face it, a day of long retrieves can reality check the best of us crusty ol’ anglers. We know all to well what it is like for us cantankerous turkey hunters to carry out those monster gobblers miles back in from the truck. Guilty as charged…
During the 2024 New York Outdoor Writers Association Conference in Oswego, New York this past weekend, we were introduced to a new local business- Aqua Spa Float Center & Wellness Boutique. With an invite to try a few of their wellness services, I would visit along with my wife, Lee. We scheduled an afternoon visit after several days of outings during the conference. We were promptly greeted when we arrived and our first impression of a clean, warm and inviting facility was in keeping with what was described to us from Oswego County Tourism staff we met with at our meet and greet on Thursday evening.
The wellness and float offerings are robust and the customer can choose from recommended times for each. As expected they offer a variety of packaged offerings. The services offered include:
Float Therapy / Cryotherapy / Infrared Sauna / Salt Therapy / Oxygen Bar / OHCO M.8 Massage Chair
IV Nutrient Therapy / PBM Therapy / Aesthetics Services
The links embedded in each category of services will take you to a full description of each offering. The prices are affordable, and they have certified medical staff for treatments that you would expect certified professionals.
We both chose the massage chair and oxygen bar as an introduction to their services. The massage was fantastic, not just a simple vibrating chair. Very robust massage, firm enough to be very effective in easing those sore muscles from hauling in those big lakers. Your back and legs will thank you for it. You can also add heat to further enhance the therapeutic value. We did a 16 minute session and would be keen on longer sessions in future visits. The Oxygen Bar is a great experience as you can choose from the various infused scents and you will notice an immediate difference in relaxation, calming and mood. If we had more time the float tank is another offering we would have tried. We will try this in a future visit.
The staff is very friendly, attentive and professional. This adds to the inviting atmosphere, and it is the opinion of this ol’ crusty turkey hunter/fisherman that it is worthy of your time to pay a visit and sample what you might find to your liking and to be most beneficial to rejuvenate from a great day on the water or in your favored turkey woods. For those of you that regularly work out, you would definitely benefit from services offered here. You can learn more at: https://aquaspafloatcenter.com/
You can easily spend a half day or more with combined therapies and with a little planning, create a fantastic long weekend of fishing, of relaxing therapies, and return from a mini vacation rejuvenated and and with memories of great times on the water. Highly recommended!
© 2024 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Father and Son Top 10 NY Turkey Records
A query into the possible record book gobbler taken by Cullen Fennessy this past April during the youth spring turkey hunt would lead to the discovery of four more record book gobblers taken by Cullen’s father, Michael Fennessy. Unlike so many of the stories I cover, I would have the opportunity to visit Cullen and his father en route to a planned trip to Maine this past week.
I would travel north to St. Lawrence County on a beautiful spring day to meet with them, conduct interviews for the Empire Limb Hangers book project, have a look-see at the gobblers, and check measurements and confirm the scales. I would notice with great interest the walls of Mike’s massive garage lined with trophy displays of gobblers, With that, I knew I might be there for a while. I would confirm Cullen’s first gobbler along with four more that Mike presented to me. The tasks were made easier as both, the father and son were concise in their stories and recollection of details. Lots of pictures helped document and confirm the record book entries.
As there are several good stories of the hunts, and will be published in full in the book project, I will outline the top record entries first and continue from there.
Cullen’s gobbler taken in April 2024 during the special youth season, ties at #5 with NWTF Typical Score of 81.1250 (SBP Typical Score 172,2500) in New York. Weighing in at 26 lbs 12 oz. becomes the 11th heaviest bird, vetted, and recorded. The beard taped out at 11.8750 and ties with several others as 13th longest beard makes for a grand gobbler in the Empire State. There is a wonderful back story to the hunt, one of father and son, the help of Steve VanPatten , and the chance encounters of a red Cardinal with a heartwarming connection to his great-grandmother. With the backdrop of a warm and inviting experience of a North County hunt camp, it is the start of a lifetime of memories to be made. Given the impressive qualities as a young adult that I discovered in interviewing Cullen, and the mentorship he is receiving as a young hunter, It would be little surprise to see him make a father proud in a path well taken and have his own collection of memories of the great turkey woods.
Michael’s gobbler taken in May 2017 comes in at the new #6 with NWTF Typical Score of 80.8750 (SBP Typical Score 168,5000) in New York. Weighing in at 30 lbs. 0 oz. this boss gobbler becomes the new 1st heaviest bird, vetted, and recorded. Beard measured at 10.1250, and sported 1-9/16″ and 1-1/2″ spurs to complete a grand father-son entry in New York Wild Turkey Records. It is the first to have found where a father and son have pulled a hat trick in the record books.
Michael has also entered three additional gobblers that place:
@ 14th with a NWTF Typical Score of 76.1250, (SBP Typical Score 159,0000,) #10 for weight of 27.0000.
@ 28th with a NWTF Typical Score of 73.7500, (SBP Typical Score 155,0000,) #10 for weight of 27.0000.
@ 32nd with a NWTF Non-Typical Score of 91.1250, (SBP Non-Typical Score 185,0000,) #5 for weight of 28.0000.
Several potential records are being looked into and hopefully vetted. One in particular would topple #1 Typical in NY and one I hope to verify soon. A thank you goes out to Keven Lothridge for the heads up on coming across these incredible stories!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empire-State-Limb-Hangers/139342609441424?v=info
http://empirestatelimbhangers.com/
© 2024 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
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