Tag: longbeard
Fat Lady Sings…. Hard Spring Turkey Season In New York
It all came down to the final days to get it done in New York. With a change in plans, I hunted solo the last few days of the season. The last Saturday of the season I called in a full fan Jake on public game land that would coarse yelp and strut at the calling but declined to gobble. Coming no closer than several hundred yards across a hay field, I re-positioned and twenty minutes later he decided to stop feeding long enough to walk within gun range. After hunting in the pouring rain on a morning that was predicted to be 5% chance of rain, it was a consolation to tote a turkey back to the truck. I have little faith in the weatherman or climate change experts as they cannot get it straight as to the weather on any opening day or any other day during turkey season. Not much better for deer season either.
Down to the last day, I woke up early to find it raining again and went back to bed. Without any birds roosted (which had been the story of the season,) I woke up in time for breakfast, then headed out to hunt the few remaining hours left in the season. It was bright and sunny out when I headed out the door. Not my usual “O-Dark Thirty” start on a spring turkey hunt
On such days that I enjoy an extended time afield, it has to be balanced with customer concerns, and results with me in the office until 9PM-10PM at night or working at home on the laptop. My wife and our two Weimaraner’s have their preferences of quality time together as well. On the days that I did manage to get out, it was something more akin to “Time Displacement” rather than time off. It is typical for those that own a business.
Back to the last day… I “ear and eye checked” a number of spots before heading to a secret, favorite state game land spot I’ll not disclose other than being located in Cortland County. With an hour and a half left in the season, I settled in. At 11AM sharp came three distinct “where are you clucks” somewhere very close in the pine woods. The turkey (unsure which variety) never appeared within my line of sight despite my prompt responses. Being very calm, and the bird very close made the clucks seem all the louder. Good fun as at least I was talking to a turkey. Twenty minutes later a series of yelps produced a gobble from across an old hay field. The bird gobbled one time, one time only. To my extreme pleasure, I saw the top of a fan pop up a hundred and fifty yards out. The gobbler wasted little time coming as once I saw the fan, he made steady progress towards my position. Without issuing another call, he came across and off the field into the pinewoods where I would finalize our chance encounter. 11:28AM I was done with a half hour to spare.
As with last spring season in New York where I had a much more bizarre circumstance with a last day, last hour gobbler, both gobblers had sustained serious injuries. Last day gobbler of Spring 2016 had been body shot, had many spur punctures to both breast areas leaving unhealed wounds, the bird was in advanced stages of gangrene, leaving the meat unfit to eat. It was surmised that the bird was ganged up on after the errant shooting and my deed put an end to the story at 11:02AM. Fast forward to yesterday, my late hour gobbler had broken tail feathers, a broken spur with one 1-1/4″ good spur remaining, and a beard that looked to have been subjected to a power tool. several strands remained attached stretching to 11″ Although not in the advanced stages of infection as the prior spring bird, this tough fellow had five spur puncture wounds to the breasts that appeared to be from recent encounters with a significant foe. I’d like to meet up with that gobbler. As before the meat had a foul smell and would defeat in part my plans for venison backstraps and wild turkey speedies/kabobs for the summer. It is not likely the gobbler would survive his injuries. A bittersweet end to the season.
June 1st, the fat lady has sung… Whatever grand schemes you may have had, master plans to win the game will have to wait until the fall season if you are like me, or if not, you have a longer wait until the next spring season.
My observations are that of Cortland and Madison Counties with a brief excursion to Cooperstown. Over the past twenty-five seasons like many of the enthusiastic turkey hunters out there, I have a bunch of hot spots and backup spots for finding gobblers to chase. It changes year to year sometimes. I have lost some prime spots due to changes in land owners, sales of farms, hunting partners, lease members dropping out, and so on. With a nearly even mix of private land vs state game lands, there are literally too many places to cover in a given season.
I’ll prefix my experiences this spring by saying that it comes down to location and timing. Right place, right time. My good friend Randy Russell Of Auburn NY was tagged out on day two. He had a hot gobbler the first day, a silent bird the second. I know of a few others that tagged out early. On a blue moon with a rare alignment of the stars, I have tagged out early in past seasons. Reports of hot gobbling birds were scattered, and the difficulty I experienced was shared by many.
With the exception of a very enthusiastic Jake running from place to place with sneakers on opening day, it was the only hot gobbling interlude of the season. To be fair my days afield were limited due to our family cancer scares, and work obligations. I got out a dozen mornings, most were until 7AM-9AM and off to the office or doctor visits.
A few of my fellow outdoor writers, Dan Ladd, Leo Maloney, Ed Noonan, my wife (Lee) and I got together at Leather Stocking Guide Service in Milford, NY for a weekend of turkey chasing, camaraderie and to attend to some business matters and meetings for the NYSOWA (New York State Outdoor Writers Assoc.). Leon Archer joined us for meetings on Friday after we came in from hunting. Bob Partridge and his crew made for a great weekend and set us out to our own devices on some of the nicest properties I have ever hunted in. We were in great turkey hunting territory, as good or arguably better than back home. With a possible future Spring Safari in Cooperstown, I’ll look forward to spending time there again. If you are a baseball fan it is a great destination stop. As you would expect it is easy to eat well there, and if you are a fan of craft beer, NY wines, or NY distilled spirits, there are several great stops to make all within short drives of each other. The gobbling activity was like we had going on back home, and despite the great weather, despite calling in one hen after another, no gobblers took the truck express back to camp.
Our season here in CNY started out with an early lull, followed by a mid-season lull, and cashed out with a late-season lull. Serious… Again, I know some hunters were right on top of gobbling birds. I was not one of them. The season started out cool and wet and it is thought the first nesting may have been affected. I personally found five different nests that were destroyed. Yet, my wife saw a hen with six poults in tow crossing the road onto our property last evening which is a welcomed sighting. More sightings will be even better.
Every season is a bit different in one way or another, for me it was nearly nonexistent for the traditional: “Bird gobbles, and you work him to the gun, gobbling on the way in.” I’ll gladly take what luck I did have with eventually filling both tags, and will enjoy the great memories of most excellent mornings in the Turkey Woods. The time to take in all that the turkey woods offers, to relax and collect one’s thoughts are all good times afield. Toting out a big gobbler after an epic battle is a grand time we all seek.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Turkey Hunters- We might just have a better take on things?
Once we get into the naturally percieved slowdown that occurs after Christmas and New Year’s holiday season, we turkey hunters are in military style planning for opening days, what states we’ll hunt, what new honey hole, which gun, new ammo, new calls, old favorite calls, new hunt surefire device, and so on… We have logistics to think about, which hunting buddies to catch up with, scouting, that nasty old bird that must die (which we’ll likely chase again another year), and all sorts of little details that occupy our preparation.
It got me to thinking as to the type of folks that seem to end up obsessed with chasing gobblers and why we have so much in common and yet squabble over the little details. We discuss and argue the various things that contribute to the hunt’s success or taking the shotgun for a walk back to the truck. This also includes methods, and the cargo bags of gear and gadgets, of course. Together we all know that we will have our days of being soundly defeated, and our butts handed to us no matter how well prepared or determined we may be. We’ll not let that gem of logic deter us.
It was this line of thinking that brings me to the thought to convey here. We as turkey hunters are active participants, keenly interested in cause and effect, and judge things mostly by what they do or how well they work. We immerse ourselves in the experience of the hunt, and should we win the day, we are elated. We do know that a pea brain sized bird can humiliated us in ways that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. It makes it no less of a great hunt. By nature we are conservative leaning, and that is not an absolute, but similar to the crowd of engineers I align myself as. In my perspective I identify myself as an engineer and a turkey hunter, and as a runner, triathlete as side interests. Of course this is behind the priorities of family, God and country in my view.
It is not to say all turkey hunters are conservative or republicans and I know many that lean just as far to the liberal side. I would not hesitate to share a hunt with them. Yet the things I now mention are the things that we share in common, and we get along fine. In part that we are about tangible things, factual findings, not emotional drivel, not political correctness, or chant of the day. As hunters we understand the cycle of life, our mortality as well as that of our quarry, We are studies of the natural world, and how things and or actions work or do not work. We see the value of conservation efforts that improve our forests, and quality of wildlife. We witness & participate in the comeback from market hunting to vastly improved wildlife populations. All of this in stark contrast to the anti-hunting rhetoric out there. It is these personal qualities that I believe we apply in our everyday lives.
Like many of you I suspect, find it nearly intolerable to watch the news, the racism narrative being vomited on us. The anti-gun this and that, anti-hunting, this or that. If you don’t believe in God, then no one else should either. If you don’t believe in my God, I’ll cleanse you by cutting off your head. Somehow everyone is offended or civil rights violated because of my white privilege, and the nonsense goes on and on. We witness senseless revenge killings of the police, yet disregard the actions of those that basically commit suicide by cop. As if criminal behavior should just be ignored and do as one dam well pleases. My rant stops here.
A facebook post caught my attention as it sums up my response to a lot of the foolishness that is reported in the news and exploited by our political leaders. The precepts here apply well to many things, including hunting. I’ll stick my neck out and claim that for the most part we as hunters are well aware that we own each and all of our decisions we make. In the woods, ill choices send us home empty handed in game and the grand experience anticipated. This precept also is handy when it comes to safety, and being ethical as hunters and as people. I’ll share the post here:
“Everything you do is based on your choices you make. It’s not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument / conflict, or your age that is to blame. You and you alone are responsible for every decision and choice you make. Period.’
My point which may seem a bit jumbled as I find current events beyond unreasonable and frustrating is that maybe the world would be better off if more people thought more like a hunter would. I will go as far as to say a turkey hunter’s perspective. Do any of us turkey hunters care if that great box call was crafted by a black (yellow, purple, green, whatever) man? A woman? A disable person? A (name religion) person? We care how much for the call, and is there any story or history that goes along with the call. Do any of us feel that white privilege (fill in whatever absurd idea applies) when a gobbler teases us for two hours at five yards past our range limit then walks away to one lone hen after you played the game the best you ever have? Would any of us not respect a land owner because of some discriminating factor? Tell me that any of us turkey slayers would not hunt a monster gobbler on a prime spot because the land owners were black, or a gay couple? We’ll give them the respect they deserve… Duh… Moving along… Not saying that we are perfect by any stretch, or that we don’t have racists in our ranks, but in our world, this foolishness has no place in our decision making, or in our treatment of others.
The silver lining in this rash of miserable news and currently sentiment is that for us as hunters it is an opportunity. We can go about our daily lives treating others well, and with the respect we would like for ourselves. The more folks recognize us as a group that treats people well, the better off we’ll be. Be an ambassador for our sport. Apply this generously with landowners that grant you access, and to those that don’t. Those folks will observe your actions and you can change hearts and minds by living well. It will be a better day when those that exploit any and all situations to win an argument, to get out of personal responsibility or not contribute to the common good, or to claim some perceived injustice, and get back to the type of thinking we do as hunters. Doing what it takes and making good choices to make a positive goal realized. It’s optimistic, but just the same a good way to be.
© 2015 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Old Memories, New Memories- Good Times: 2014 New York Spring Turkey Youth Hunt
What started out as a plan ‘B’ turned out to be a memorable hunt for a very nice young man and two of us old well seasoned hunters. It would be memorable for a host of reasons which I’ll explain further.Since the inception of the New York Spring Youth Turkey Hunt, there have been plenty of memories made, and lots of pictures of young adults with smiling faces. For my hunting partner Paul Walling and I this has been our experience, and something we look forward to. Although my children were grown adults before the inception of the special youth season, I would take out a young hunter as the opportunities presented themselves. Like many of you, we would take out young hunters in regular season as well.
For this particular hunt, Paul and I would be taking Keller Pai out for this morning’s hunt. Keller has taken several gobblers in prior hunts, and has a few seasons under his belt. As much as Paul and I enjoy each other’s company while hunting, we would agree that taking out a young hunter is the highlight of the season. Paul grew up learning how to hunt while taught by his father, and that is something I appreciate very much as I did not hunt until my mid 20″s. My father was an Adirondack deer hunter, but gave that up after joining the Navy. The experience for us to take out Keller is especially rewarding as the morning would be full of lessons of the turkey woods, and recounting of past experiences of our escapades and that of Paul and his father.
Our plan ‘A’ for the morning was to visit one of our favorite haunts that we affectionately call “Shorties.” There is a lengthy story behind the name, and technically there are two possibly three separate stories depending how one parses it. A chapter in my first book “Hills of Truxton” was dedicated to this “special” gobbler and so named. Disclosing the exact location is of course misleading on purpose but I can tell you that it is a piece of state game lands south of Cortland, or was that northeast of Truxton? I arrived ahead of Paul and Keller at 5:16AM, only to find another truck parked there, and they had already headed in. As good as the place is, we very seldom run into other hunters there. I let Paul know that we needed to go elsewhere as we would not intrude on purpose, and would give them the courtesy that is due. We would regroup and try our luck at another favored spot a little more than a mile from where we were. We would find our plan “B” choice to be unencumbered, and appeared to had little vehicle traffic nor any one parking there recently. As a side note, we saw no other vehicles parked at the side of the road or at trail heads the remainder of the morning. In some respects the 2nd location and the logging trail along the bottom of a hill would provide an area shielded from the predominate wind that morning, allowing us to hear a ways off. Rain had tapered off long before daylight, although cool temps greeted us, it was much more comfortable being out of the wind. The morning would remained overcast and cloudy, no bright sunny day to warm things up today. A base layer, and light hunting jacket would suffice.
We would slowly work our way into the woods as the regrouping had us going in as the sky began to change and was getting light out. Paul knew the traditional roosting areas very well,and we could cover some ground without disrupting the birds as they waited to fly down. We quickly called up an owl, which did elicit a gobble from parts unknown in distance and only a general direction. The owl favored Paul’s rendition of an owl more so this morning, and would occasionally answer my efforts. Paul and I learned long ago, that with two callers, favored responses will switch back and forth over the course of the morning. It mattered little, as long as we got a response. For the first 30 minutes we would occasionally hear a gobbler, not at all close but in a direction that we figured to be where Plan “A’ would have taken place. I personally thought we would hear a shot come from there. Something that we never heard during our time there this morning. A slow start to be sure.
We eventually got out to a spot that overlooked a large drop off along the state land border. A few calls got a round house of gobbling and hen talk from a flock we figured to be a good quarter mile or further down the bottom of the overlook on private property. We sat down and decided to see what if anything the flock would do. By auditory appearances my guess would be several mature gobblers, a few jakes and at least a hen or two willing to talk. Most likely more hens than what we would like. They would gobble at any call we made, so we decided to wait a bit, and see if their feet were moving or just their beaks. Probably less than ten minutes, I did a short sequence on a mouth call that Paul makes for me, and got an immediate response, not more than a few hundred yards below us. We got an answer we were happy about. Wasting no time I moved back and over some from Paul and Keller. A few calls later the gobbles in response to our calls ceased and I figure either they were coming or working out the steep bank. After making a call with no response, I decided to hold off and see what they do. Paul and I read each other’s next moves pretty well, and when he called shortly after I had stopped it surprised me, even more so, the call was a very soft first yelp and finished just as soft. That is when I notice Keller’s shoulders tighten up. The game was on and target was in sight. The gun came up, and a moment later it roared. I was far enough back that I could not see the approaching bird.
We all got up, with Keller reaching the bird in mere seconds. It was a good sized jake, and he had wasted no time coming up the steep bank to get to us. Paul’s last call turned the bird enough to bring his path in front of them and within 30 yards. With the woods wide open which is typical for early season, it was great to not have the bird hangup 50-60-70 yards below our location. After tagging the bird and taking pictures we walked back only a little faster than we came in, listening for other gobblers as any intel is welcomed for the opener on May 1st. We did hear a few gobbles, but nothing close. Given our location, we were surprised to hear no other shotgun blasts, although Keller thought he heard one, far off and early.
Keller got a quick lesson as to how fast things can go from a gobble way over yonder to fast action with an even faster conclusion that can occur in the turkey woods. Something Paul and I have experienced many times and I would suspect that goes the same for many of you.
We concluded the hunt with a great breakfast at the local diner (location not disclosed) and then parted ways, headed for home. A short nap later that morning was most welcomed. Big congrats to Keller and a big thank you to Paul for what continues to be one of many great and memorable hunts.
© 2014 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
New!! Joyner Outdoor Media website launch and contest
Launch Day! Rolling out the new Joyner Outdoor Media website! A new responsive style site. One by one the individual book sites will be updated. Current ongoing book project sites will be updated from a place holder or requests for info to full content websites as well.
We’ll be kicking the tries over next few weeks to correct any goofs or make improvements. As we grow so to will the main site. The online stores are just now up, and will be expanded shortly.
To celebrate the launch, we’ll be giving away a signed set of books “Hills of Truxton” and “Tales From The Turkey Woods” at 1000 likes, 2500 likes, 5000 likes, and 7500 likes. At 10,000 likes a lucky winner will be invited on an all expense paid hunt with author Mike Joyner and a story of the experience to be included in “Grand Days In The Turkey Woods” currently being written. The winner may choose New York, or winner’s home state, or possibly others. Winner responsible for travel to and from the event, and license. Further details on additional incentives will be forthcoming.
Winners will be pick at random, and announced on facebook. Hunt trip winner will also be announced on facebook, and the resulting story will be reviewed with the winner before publication
© 2014 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Early Season Hunting Tips
In most areas of the great Empire State, things appear to be running a little late as far as wild turkeys go. Flocks have splitt up only in past few weeks, which is what one would expect first week of April.
In Central New York from which I call my stomping grounds, the woods are wide open, affording little cover or concealment for positioning on gobblers. Expect to find sizable harems and a lot of areas with a boss bird keeping gobbling to a minimum.
Patience is key! There should be some satellite two & three year old gobblers that may peel off to come check you out. This means being in the game at all times, to and from your vehicle, and not fidgeting around when not much is happening.
These satellite gobblers are likely to come in silent, or only give you a single cluck. The 2010 spring hatch was spotty in many areas, and you may find only few jakes to stir up the action. Opportunities during early season are likely to happen quickly.
If you don’t have birds roosted, and are not waiting on them close and well before first light, you will have your work cut out for you. It will be a good week or more before there will be much green-up to conceal moving from spot to spot.
If you manage to get on to a bird early only to be defeated, it would be prudent to be back there again mid morning to see if he should return to check out that ‘mystery’ hen he heard sweet talking to him hours earlier.
With the woods being very open, there will be many spots so open, that decoys would be well advised. Just like open fields, a gobbler will come in just far enough to see what he wants to see. Open woods are no different.
As with any good set up, if you can position yourself so that the gobbler will appear at the same time within shotgun or bow range, your chances for success increase dramatically. If you are unable to judge distance, a ranger finder that archers use will help you to do this properly.
As always: safety first! Do not hide in cover, or position your decoys so that you may be compromised should an unethical hunter decide to stalk your position. Just as in defensive driving, take it upon yourself to avoid a potential mishap, and place your decoy 20-25 yards out, and where you can spot an incoming hunter. A good reminder to all: DO NOT STALK HEN CALLS!
For those that may use a gobble shaker, or other gobble call, do only in safe areas to do so. Same goes for gobbler decoys. While I am on my high horse, there is a product on the market that is essentially a decoy that mounts on your gun barrel for the purpose of stalking up on a bird. In many states the act of stalking a wild turkey while hunting is illegal. I cannot begin to describe how many safety issues and problems there are with using this product.
All I can say to those that would insist on legitimizing and using it: I would love to buy you an insurance policy with myself as the beneficiary.
Last but not least, move through your hunting grounds much like a hunter who still hunts for deer, especially with the lack of cover. Run and gun, may not be a great strategy the first week.
Another key to success during the opening week is active scouting while hunting. You may not get on to a gobbler first thing, but each bit of information, clues, and sign that you come across may be the ticket for putting a successful plan in place.
Be safe, shoot straight!
© 2011 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Last minute tips for 2011 New York Spring Turkey Season
In most areas of the great Empire State, things appear to be running a little late as far as wild turkeys go. Flocks have split up only in past few weeks, which is what one would expect first week of April. In Central New York from which I call my stomping grounds, the woods are wide open, affording little cover or concealment for positioning on gobblers. Expect to find sizable harems and a lot of areas with a boss bird keeping gobbling to a minimum. Patience is key! There should be some satellite two & three year old gobblers that may peel off to come check you out. This means being in the game at all times, to and from your vehicle, and not fidgeting around when not much is happening. These satellite gobblers are likely to come in silent, or only give you a single cluck. The 2010 spring hatch was spotty in many areas, and you may find only few jakes to stir up the action. Opportunities during early season are likely to happen quickly.
If you don’t have birds roosted, and are not waiting on them close and well before first light, you will have your work cut out for you. It will be a good week or more before there will be much green-up to conceal moving from spot to spot. If you manage to get on to a bird early only to be defeated, it would be prudent to be back there again mid morning to see if he should return to check out that ‘mystery’ hen he heard sweet talking to him hours earlier.
With the woods being very open, there will be many spots so open, that decoys would be well advised. Just like open fields, a gobbler will come in just far enough to see what he wants to see. Open woods are no different. As with any good set up, if you can position yourself so that the gobbler will appear at the same time within shotgun or bow range, your chances for success increase dramatically.
As always: safety first! Do not hide in cover, or position your decoys so that you may be compromised should an unethical hunter decide to stalk your position. Just as in defensive driving, take it upon yourself to avoid a potential mishap, and place your decoy 20-25 yards out, and where you can spot an incoming hunter. A good reminder to all: DO NOT STALK HEN CALLS! For those that may use a gobble shaker, or other gobble call, do only in safe areas to do so. Same goes for gobbler decoys.
While I am on my high horse, there is a product on the market that is essentially a decoy that mounts on your gun barrel for the purpose of stalking up on a bird. In many states the act of stalking a wild turkey while hunting is illegal. I cannot begin to describe how many safety issues and problems there are with using this product. All I can say to those that would insist on legitimizing and using it: I would love to buy you an insurance policy with myself as the beneficiary.
Last but not least, move through your hunting grounds much like a hunter who still hunts for deer, especially with the lack of cover. Run and gun, may not be a great strategy the first week. Another key to success during the opening week is active scouting while hunting. You may not get on to a gobbler first thing, but each bit of information, clues, and sign that you come across may be the ticket for putting a successful plan in place.
Be safe, shoot straight!
© 2011 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Record Book Boss gobbler tagged during 2010 Cortland Limb Hangers Chapter Annual Women’s Hunt
Truxton, New York, USA, Saturday, October 30th, 2010-– A New York record book gobbler was harvested by Jenifer Zolla of Truxton, New York, during the Annual Women In The Outdoors (WITO) hosted by the Cortland Limb Hangers NWTF Chapter & Rolling Ridges Guides & Outfitters. Jen’…s gobbler sported 1-3/8” & 1-1/4” spurs, swung a 9-15/16” beard, and weighed an even 19lbs. The gobbler scored 65.1250 as a typical bird using the NWTF scoring system. Jen’s bird ties for #5 typical harvest by a female hunter in New York.
Saturday morning hunt began with Jen accompanied by Bret Eccleston (current NWTF New York State chapter president, Owner of Rolling Ridges), and Mike Joyner (past NWTF New York State chapter president, Outdoor Writer & author). After a uneventful first set up, a group of gobblers (8) were spotted along a field edge bordering a creek. The gobblers were fighting and strutting, and carrying on as they might in the spring before season. Another small group of five hens and juveniles stood back 20-30 yards watching the show. A plan was made to make a big loop and come up thru a small stand of pines to gain position on the two flocks. While executing the plan, a third flock had already moved up into the pines and spotted the approaching huntress with guides in tow. A few kee-kees from Mike stopped a few of the retreating birds (out of range), but only temporarily. The third flock ran back away from the field and did so without alarming the other two flocks. A lucky break!
Continuing on, Bret & Mike got Jen up to where she needed to be, and the flock of gobblers were spotted still fighting and chasing each other out in the field. After what seemed to be very long few minutes, the gobblers closed to within range. Jen acquired target lock on the big boy (beard was swinging as he walked), and dropped the hammer. Mike then made a pro guide move. While reacting in a lightning fast dead run to reach the downed gobbler, ran straight into a barbed wire fence. After extending the fence 4-5ft, Mike was reacquainted with the laws of physics and abruptly returned to original point of contact. Jen (much smarter) decided to go over the fence and reached the gobbler first. Mike and Bret made it there shortly after once Mike was unfasten from the fence. A little humor for the event.
Once the team regrouped it was learned what a huge gobbler Jen had harvested. A dandy bird for spring or fall season! Jen had filled her first tag the day prior with guide Jeff Sayre, and was now tagged out for the season. A big congrats to Jen for her successful outing.
Each fall season the Cortland Limb Hangers NWTF Chapter and Rolling Ridges Guides & Outfitting service host the annual WITO event providing opportunities for women to try fall turkey, bow hunting, goose, pheasant and small game hunting. The event is conducted with a family atmosphere of good food, good friends, and guides throughout the weekend.
For information on 2011 event contact Trish or Bret on the following facebook links:
http://www.facebook.com/trish.kelsey?ref=mf
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001617934527&ref=mf
NY Wild Turkey Records
If you have harvested a legally tagged wild turkey gobbler in NY (registered or not registered w/NWTF records) with one or more of the following attributes and interested in being interviewed for a book project:
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 variations, Hens with spurs
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empire-State-Limb-Hangers/139342609441424?v=info
The Gobbler That Got Away
May 1st, 2010, is a day I will remember for some time.
For years to come I will recall the beautiful first day of the New York Spring Turkey season. For the opener we were greeted with a calm, sunny day that started out in the mid fifties. I will certainly remember being disappointed that I could not share the day with my wife Lee, whom I have spent nearly every opening day with since we first met over thirteen years ago. Lee had to work that day, and could not switch schedules. I will also remember sharing another fine day in the turkey woods with Paul Walling who I have spent many mornings with chasing gobblers. Last but not least, I will fret over and over for many years, the circumstances which left me bewildered, and a gobbler wounded, not harvested.
Opening morning, Paul and I managed to find a few vocal gobblers on one of our favorite state land spots first thing. As it happens so many times, the birds worked us over more than we worked them. We suspected an attractive hen took her boyfriends and exited stage left. Given the fact we had little luck roosting birds the prior evening, it was a good start.
With the first half of the morning behind us we headed over to another favorite state land location we affectionately call “Shorty’s.” Appropriately named after a nasty old gobbler we chased there for four seasons. The past two seasons we arrived late morning and raised gobblers that quickly came to the gun, well after 10am which made for a great late morning hunt. In both cases someone else had been there prior to our arrival. To our surprise, no tell tale signs of a car or truck in the usual parking spots which we thought was odd for the opener.
We had barely made our way down a logging road, when we raised a bird. With the way the land laid, it sounded as if the gobbler was across the road. Paul knew better from many years of hunting the location. As we got to a better listening spot along the top of the ridge, we were better able to pinpoint the gobbling bird, and quickly moved to setup. With late morning birds it pays to be decisive, and setup quickly as the birds are more likely to come in quicker than at other times. Paul suggested a staggered setup along the side bank just below the ridge top to cover two likely paths the bird would take. In less than fifteen minutes the bird closed the distance and was shook the woods when he gobbled. In fact the bird gobbled the entire way to our setup. The bird showed himself at less than fifty yards after an ear shattering gobble that just rattled the woods. His neon white head was the first ting to come into view. This was not just a big bird, it was a pig with wings. His fan was enormous, and I would figure him to be in the 22-23 lbs range. In retrospect, he was probably bigger given my tendency to be conservative in my estimates. He folded up, and walked to within 35 yards of my position, stopped and put his head straight up to take a look. With a clear path all the way to him, I settle the holosight just below his head and squeezed the trigger.
This is where the story goes downhill. The gobbler went down and backwards only to roll over and take flight. Paul came over asking what went wrong, and at that point I didn’t have a clue. Paul thought he might have come in closer. Looking back, I regret not waiting to find out. Given the circumstances I was comfortable with the shot, as it was the same scenario that has been repeated time and time again in the past (with more positive results). We went to look for the gobbler, only to flush him out of a tree down the hill. We still spent some time looking to double check, and in the end determined that it was the same bird that had flown back out of the tree as we started to look. Upon further inspection I found burnt cardboard pieces plugging up my ported choke tube and realized I had a bad shell. The shot sounded a bit off, and Paul thought it sounded not as loud as it should have. I opt to not name the manufacturer here, but I guarantee I’ll be having a discussion with them in the near future.
Humility and reality have come early this season. I spend a great deal of time to own and maintain firearms that get the job done, and are reliable. I pattern each gun, shot shell, and choke tube combination I care to use. I take the time to know each of my setups for their capabilities and limitations. This is something that most turkey hunters do to ensure a clean kill. My point of aim was not an issue, as I have gone to using holosights. My eyes are not what they use to be, and I am not willing to settle for close enough with a vent rib/bead. I have the benefit of being on target each and every time I place the circle and dot on a gobblers head. The point of all this is that despite my preparations, dedication to details, only taking a shot that meets my comfort & skill level. I still walked out of there with my tail between my legs, and the knowledge that I wounded a bird rather than harvested him. To add insult to injury, this was a very large bird, and we had caught up with him at the right place, and right time.
I am fortunate that I have only had this happen but a few times in the many seasons I have chased gobblers. I can recall at will, painful details of each of them, and it serves as a constant reminder that it’s not always a done deal nor a 100% guarantee, This also serves as a reason why I do no advocate longer shots, as the farther it is, the more likely that something will go wrong or be less than optimal. I rep for Hevi-Shot shells, and I bring this very point up in my seminars. In this case I was using another company’s shot shell which happens to pattern better in the shotgun I was using. Nevertheless, it is possible to get an errant shell from any brand or manufacture.
Without a doubt I will replay this in my head many times over, not to mention that I will go back throughout the season to try to determine if the gobbler survived his injuries, or not. I owe him that much at least.
Central NY Outdoor Author Live Interview
McGraw, NEW YORK – Joyner Outdoor Media announces mid winter live radio show
appearance for McGraw, New York Author: Mike Joyner
Live Radio Interview
Joyner will be live on “Outdoors Live with Tommy and Wanda” radio show Monday, March 16th, 2m -3pm EST, 1pm-2pm CST. the hour long interview will feature the Central New York author discussing his latest book: “Tales from the Turkey Woods.” Along with a discussion of the new book, the show will take calls from listeners, and give away copies of the book during the show
.More on Mike Joyner: www.turkeywoods.com www.joyneroutdoormedia.com
“Outdoors Live with Tommy and Wanda” -Join Tommy & his wife, Wanda every Monday on KKountry 95 Radio, 95.1 FM at 1 PM CST & get the latest tips & secrets from the
Pros and others in fishing and hunting! Listen live on the web at: www.kkountry.com More on Tommy & Wanda: www.tommyandwanda.com www.womenanglers.us
About the Author
Mike Joyner is a former president of the New York State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey
Federation. The author of Hills of Truxton, he is currently working on a collaboration with Paul
Walling entitled, Father and Son: A Life’s Journey Together in the Turkey Woods and a fourth
book entitled, Empire State Limb Hangers. He spends his spare time finishing a log home in
McGraw, New York, where he lives with his wife.
For more information, contact Mike Joyner at 607.753.8420 mjoyner@turkey-talk
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