Beard
A Grand Spring Turkey Season
With the final days of 2018 Spring Turkey season winding down, my season in NY in a quest to fill a tag concluded on the 18th. NY was a sleeper for me this year as my usual hot spots did not reveal gobbling toms at any of them. I had little hopes for prospects from all the scouting I did. With what scouting data I had, I decided not to hunt our place for the first time since we bought it in 2000. One bird gobbling on our place a week before season was as good as it got. There were years were 12-15 long beards would roost our property along with that many more jakes. Just as we deer hunt our place we would only fill a tag or two a season. It has steadily declined from a number of poor brooding seasons in succession. This spring looks to be favorable for a successful first nesting and hope we can string together a few more in a row in the coming years.
Both birds in NY were tagged on public game lands and excellent hunts. Great start in Texas and managed a double on three year old gobblers despite a massive cold front that shut things down. The season progressed to an eventful but no birds harvested the first full week in NY. Next stop was in Jackson, Ohio and had three days of hunting with David Christian. A dandy of a gobbler was taken on the last day. Super fun hunt and had a ball chasing birds there. Upon returning home, some very fun hunts in NY with a great bird tagged on mother’s day, and the second bird at the NYSOWA Safari in Oswego. Very different in NY for me this year as I parted ways with a longtime hunting partner and hunted all together differently than in past years. Far more patient style and it paid off handsomely as allowing the hunts to unfold rather than rush on to the next spot resulted in a far better outcome.
Last trip of the season was to Pittsfield, Maine with Dan Daman and we had a great time as we always do. Really enjoy returning there often. Great hunts that also took their time unfolding before us. Tagged out in one day with one bagged mid-morning and the second just about dinner time. The lay down breeding decoy did take some extreme sexual abuse, and have pics to prove it. Avian X decoys make one hell of a noise when the gobbler puts his back into it. Went out the second morning in the quest to get Dan’s wife Carrie a bird and we had a big show of gobbling first thing. Close, no cigar. We moved on and found a flock of big jakes that ended up minus one when all said and done.
My bride of nearly 18 years was not able to get out this season as she is convalescing from surgery in late April. Opening day couples date has been the norm for all these years. This fall we’ll get back out to hunt together on opening days as the seasons roll in, and as we have for so many years.
With the remaining days I have a few fellow hunters to put in front of a gobbler for their first ever birds. With a little luck and proper timing, hope to make it happen the final days before the fat lady sings Thursday at noon.
I wish all of you out in the last days of the season grand success and memorable hunts. It has been the best season for me for so many reasons, from great action packed days afield to peaceful times in the great turkey woods.
-MJ
© 2018 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
#turkeyhunting #oldturkeyhunter #wildturkey #turkeywoods #respect
2018 NY Wild Turkey Records
It’s that time of year here in New York, If you tag a gobbler that meets the criteria listed below, we would love to interview you for inclusion into the project. It has been a long time coming and in the works and still ongoing / active project.
The main issues with keeping it all legit is typically weight as most of the small scales are typically used to weigh fish can very +/- 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. Needs to be suitable for produce or goods for sale.
Pics with tape measurement in the pics are best to show scale for beards and spurs. 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, get a weight coupon, and take plenty of photos. NWTF requires witness signatures that also have to be a 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.
The book project has been on hiatus for a long period while I started a tech company. some things are getting normalized and now getting back to original efforts.
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 haven’t been interviewed and would like to be included, please contact me, I would love to include as many as possible that met the original score criteria. I am cutting off interviews this fall as it needs to get on a schedule for completion
The placings have shifted some, as the D.D. Adams biography will come out first, possible end of summer 2018, more news to come by the first week in July as to release date.
I am working toward a Fall winter 2018 book release. There will be future editions as records are broken and those I attempted to include, catch up with the project. The more hunters that come on board that I originally sought to interview, the better. Records are made to be broken and eclipsed and is expected.
If you have harvested a legally tagged wild turkey with one or more of the following attributes in NY during the 2017-2018 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
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empire-State-Limb-Hangers/139342609441424?v=info
http://empirestatelimbhangers.com/
© 2018 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
. #turkeyhunting #nywildturkeyrecords #wildturkey #nyturkeyrecords #recordbookgobblers
Turkey Hunter Courtesies, Ethics, Refresher Course 101
New York State spring turkey regular season opens in a little more than a week away. With nearly three quarters of a million turkey tags spoken for it is a large group from all walks of life, experiences, and wild turkey pursuing skill levels. It is prudent to review some of the most basic desirable courtesies, ethics and humanities towards fellow turkey hunters, land owners and the quarry we seek. My comments are from a perspective of a quarter century of fall and spring seasons, many states, many tags filled. I do not fret about harvest success as the hunt provides so much in so many ways, and manage well enough to find the most foolish and the least intelligent gobblers to be had. My friends will back me on this.
Turkey Hunter Courtesies
As a dedicated aficionado of the time honored pastime you may have spent the entire winter observing flocks, taking notes on monster gobblers. As the annual breeding ritual repeats itself as it has through the centuries, you may track with much due diligence. The miles of boot leather locating roost trees, strutting zones, travel patterns both feathered and human, have you well prepared to lay out the most well engineered strategy. Your foolproof plan has you back at the diner by 6:15 AM opening day with a tagged bird in the truck and a story to tell.
Opening day at 4:30 AM, Elmer Fudd who hunts this very spot every year carrying the oldest known working blunderbuss of questionable suitability is viewed leaving his 1985 Ranger and is 50 yards in, waltzing down the very trailhead you are set on to begin your assault. What do you do?
Do the phrases of “well it’s public land, he don’t own it, I can go wherever I wan’t,” “I have permission from the landowner, just as much as he does, I’ll park right behind him,” or “Screw him, I’ll sneak around and set up between him and the roost” come to you as plausible choices? Read on:
- An ethical and courteous hunter moves on to other hotspots to try. As a dedicated participant you have a long list of hot spots with known quantities of lusty gobblers with matching hen ratio. Pay it forward as you will benefit from the same courtesy. Your fellow brethren will have an unhindered set of circumstances to match wits with a gobbler. It is fair and reasonable to have the same for ourselves as we engage a mouthy gobbler.
- Revisit the same spot later in the morning, as the hunter may leave after a few hours. It is a productive strategy to arrive later after the gobblers are done with their hens and reviewing possibilities they heard earlier. Birds worked at first light can be very eager after being warmed up. Think of it as 1:55 AM at your favorite bar and it’s last call. If it is going to happen the gobbler will be in a hurry to get to you.
- Should you be of the persuasion that pulls up next to a truck already there and proceed to intrude on the hunter already set up you can rightfully be accused of unseemly poor behavior and lack common courtesy towards your fellow turkey hunting brethren. Over the years I have come across many exclaiming they will and can go anywhere they want to, period. On its face it is either ignorant or a form of harassment. If you find yourself at odds with this condemnation, during a much needed session of soul searching you seriously need to answer why your enjoyment of the turkeywoods should come at the expense of another.
- Accosting a hunter already in position working a gobbler or while intruding, attempting to out call, flank or simply bust the bird off of them is a deliberate act of contempt for a fellow hunter. If you find this to be judgemental, it is, no apologies
- There are times an unintended intrusion occurs from more than one way to enter a set of woods or from those that run the ridges and cover appreciable distances in a given morning. As a courteous turkey hunter when discovering you are intruding:
- Assume first that hen talk is from a hunter, pay heed and respect.
- Do not wave or issue turkey calls, assume motion or calling may be interpreted incorrectly, follow safety rules.
- Back out quietly if safe to do so and without further disturbing the hunt.
- If you cannot reasonably back out, stay your position and silently bear witness to the hunt in front of you.
Land Owner Courtesies
In a closely related topic, we as turkey hunters ought to be mindful of and respectful of the public grounds we are generously allowed to access as well as the private property of our friends, neighbors and of others with permissions to access their lands.
No signage is not a carte blanche invite with special privileges. If a posted sign or ask permission first sign reads as an invite to you, then my words are little more than annoying. Far too many land owners post their properties in response to those that disrespect their property rights. In New York you need to ask for landowner permission, whether signage is put up or not. Whether LEO’s or ECO’s will enforce the property rights laws on the books or whether a judge will toss it out, it is a breach of ethics. It may work as a loophole to get out of a fine, jail time or a difficult in your face encounter but you will leave making a bad impression on the land owner, and give us turkey hunter’s a black eye collectively. Personally, I never have enjoyed hearing someone denied permission with the land owner stating “You turkey hunters…”
- Visit prospective property owners off season, after season to gain permission, be courteous, be willing to help them out, volunteer to help with chores.
- Showing up the week of the opener may result in more no’s than yes’s and it makes a poor impression.
- Landowners want those they allow on their properties to be courteous and respectful of their lands during season and offseason. Building land owner relationships may result in a lifetime of access and opportunities that come from it. Make the effort. Taxes are very high in New York. Trust me, as a landowner, offers to help relieve any long list of chores are appreciated.
- What ever permission your 3rd, twice removed cousin or great great grandfather’s high school buddy had to a property has no relevance in law or ethical perspective of permissions to hunt. Unless you hold the title, pay the taxes, whatever anyone in your tribe may have done or had access to decades ago or over the many owners from changing hands is irrelevant, entirely moot.
- Leave gates as you find them, a farmer will more than appreciate it.
- Use common sense when using your truck, atv, utv as you’ll sour your privileges in a hurry if you tear up a clover field, or freshly planted cornfield.
- Treat others you come across (unless determine to be trespassing) as you would the landowner.
- You are being afforded access to tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of prime forests and fields. it is a generous privilege. Let that be the basis for any actions or thoughts you may entertain. On public ground it is the same, but overseen by those we elect to manage it. In New York we have access to thousands of acres of hunting lands and waterways to fish. Treat it as the great resource it is and that we all enjoy.
- If the way you treat other hunters or conduct yourself varies according to hunting private vs. public lands you may not have the best intentions. Ethics are not defined by any map program I am aware of.
- Diplomacy and good will is always warranted as you are a guest. It is essential even in the most difficult situations that arise from friends of the landowner, often times from loose definitions of family. Your ego or perceived rights are quickly refuted and revoked in a denial of permissions should you fail the wisdom in this. A landowner is not obligated to be a referee nor signed up to endure headaches over your privilege or that of others.
- On public grounds even the most difficult personalities merit diplomacy and effort to calm things down. If Illegal acts are involved an ECO can do the job required, if rude and inappropriate you may not persuade them to remorse and correction of their errant ways. You are not the Jackass whisperer, and it does you no good service if one cannot tell whom the jackass is during a dispute or altercation. Take the high road… Always.
Respect Of Your Quarry
What is sometimes very controversial is ethics of hunting methods. My intent here concerns a clean ethical kill/harvest, safety, care of table fare. Methods are varied in both ethical perceptions and legal and civil penalties by states, and regions. My negative opinion on reaping and fanning does not ring true for the massive open fields in the midwest, just as feeders in the regions of south Texas are not allowed up north. Unless you get off the keyboard, give your pro hunter rhetoric a break and lay down some boot leather in many of the places gobblers roam, you may find other perspectives to be foreign and difficult to comprehend much less understand.
As an observer of wildlife in a most inspired way, it is a respect for and in awe of all god’s creatures. As stewards of our lands, and our role in the natural order of living things I firmly assert that it is the time honored pursuit of hunting that dates further back than recorded history. It is a reverent respect that is appropriate. Our quarry perishes in that pursuit and becomes sustenance for our bodies, and in keeping with grand design as hunter gatherers. As ethical hunters we conduct ourselves in a sense of fair chase vs. filling a shopping cart at the local Piggly Wiggly, or up North at the local Wegmans or Price Chopper (no endorsements intended or implied)
Vegans claim that animals are not utilized or perish in their diets, but under a more thorough review the claim falls short when examining what wildlife habitat is altered/eliminated and what “pests” are exterminated to provide the gathering side of our diets. The equation is not so straight forward to produce consumables. The “Air Diet” has not gained that much in popularity.
As an ethical hunter and in the concepts of fair chase you owe it to the quarry you chase:
- Fully pattern your shotgun or dial in your archery tackle to produce a decisive clean kill at a known distance that you can reliably repeat.
- Expend any effort to reduce probability of equipment failure by maintenance, and routine pattern testing well before opening day.
- Acquaint yourself to become expert with distance estimation. Rangefinders are effective tools to reaffirm your estimates.
- Hail Mary or a golden BB as promoted by long shots and must kill by any means and all costs as a decision is a lack of respect and a willingness to gamble at far lesser odds that you will not maim, or mortally wound to die later. It is in many ways reprehensible and a confliction of misguided ego.
- Should you wound a gobbler which is not a desired event for any ethical hunter, you owe every effort to recover and bring a swift end to a less than decisively lethal shot if required.
- As an ethical hunter. legal hunting hours, applicable games laws, legal hunting methods, and safe weapon handling is followed and expected of others.
- A clean decisive kill requires clear sight picture of the head and neck, or commonly known as the boiler room containing vital organs of heart and lungs, Sight picture to also include a clear and safe foreground and background. You owe me that. I owe you the same.
- Sound or shadow shooting is in plain english unsafe, reckless and unethical. It is also an act of negligence.
- Take proper care of the game animal to produce the best possible table fare. as it is a precious resource.
- As a gobbler’s behavior is governed by thousands of years of honed instinct, a will to outwit all known predators, you will not win the day each time afield if measured by the kill. Over time, your reverence, your learned respect, it will be revealed the hunt itself is the reason you are there…
To hunt and fish in my home state of New York is a privilege that after all these years I am still in awe of. The perspective that I express here in reviewing some of the basics comes from many sunrises in the turkey woods. The hefty feathered carries over my shoulder while returning home, chasing turkeys in the snow over an excited weimaraner, and far too many days to count of just resting up against a towering maple, taking it all in, are all in part of being at peace with my surroundings. In that perspective, the reverence, respect and regard for the feathered monarchs of the turkeywoods and my fellow turkey hunters is a most natural thing.
-MJ
© 2018 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
. #turkeyhunting #oldturkeyhunter #wildturkey #turkeywoods #respect #ethics #courtesy
NY Southern Tier Fall Turkey Opener
Today marks the day of the Southern Tier opener for fall turkey hunting in the great Empire State. Although the afternoon is reported to be very warm, the morning greets us with abundant sunshine and crisp temperatures. The turkey woods I have had a few occasions to step foot in so far are loaded with acorns, beechnuts. The apple and fruit trees, berry bushes have bore fruit this year, maybe not as much as some years. Most likely they’ll forego the fields for acorns, and other nuts and seeds as grasshoppers and crickets are about done for the season. The reports of sightings so far have been very mixed from jakes and Jennies nearly the size of adult hens to the size of pheasants and yet again the size of ruffed grouse, A mix of first, second and third nestings. In my neck of the woods, the seven valleys of Cortland County, the numbers are still suppressed compared to five years ago, but I would submit a bit better than the prior two years, We have a way to go with warm dry springs and reduced bag limits to bring the flocks back up. Poaching remains as an issue and a scourge among our fraternity.
The past two fall reports show the reported takes are down which is the goal of the changes in the fall seasons. I am steadfast in the opinion that recommendations of gobblers only in the fall and restriction of taking turkeys from elevated platforms would further reduce the fall take while favoring the enjoyment of those who purposely wear a turkey vest in the fall and or engages in the time honored pastime of using turkey dogs to break the flocks. As a professed bowhunter I do understand the desire of incidental opportunities from a tree stand. However the numbers of those with the single minded purpose of pursuing turkeys in the fall are dwarfed by those that bag a turkey as happenstance while on deer watch. I find it ass-backwards that the seasons were not directly influenced/changed to suit fall turkey hunters, turkey doggers rather than the sidebar interests of deer hunters. It is still a bit disconcerting as to the decision making by our folks at the NYSDEC.
Opening day is of importance as given to national holidays and religious observances. This year finds me going into work to put in a 12-14 hour day and spending a little bit of the morning working on my laptop, with my bride and our two weimaraners. Despite long days, I do need to make a guest appearance at home from time to time. Although I might view not being afield a moral offense, I appreciate having gainful work and good customers which I’m smart enough to keep as customers.
Our beloved Jake who is turkey crazy and would love nothing more than to break a flock of turkeys. Actually he tries to catch them, not break them, it works. Yesterday he had surgery to remove what is believed to be a malignant skin growth (mass tumor) and will not be chasing much of anything until after the season has ended here. It is worrisome and we await to learn the prognosis. As in your homes, our weims are essential family members and we spoil them as you do yours. Abby, our female weim loves to chase turkeys, will bark at the break, but since having surgery seven years ago to remove a 10″ abscess, encapsulating a malignant tumor on her small intestine, her stamina has been reduced and does not range far or can go for more than short excursions.
With demands of my professional life, and not being able to bring along my favored turkey chaser with me, I’ll enjoy the stories I learn from your grand days afield later as the day marches on. I expect I will catch a few hours here and there over the two weeks of our season as a few hours in the turkey woods is a welcomed reprieve in what will be long days at work. There was a planned fall hunt in Maine that I looked forward too, but with the current demands of my tech company we’ll make the trip next spring.
From all of us at Joyner Outdoor Media we wish you a grand day in the turkey woods, full of adventures and memories to be had by all!
-MJ
© 2017 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
50/58 Year Anniversaries Of Wild Turkey Seasons In New York
As the New York Southern Tier wild turkey fall season is set to open on October 21st, it will mark the 58 year anniversary of the fall season going all the way back to 1959. The spring turkey season this past spring shares a 50 year milestone with the founding of the New York Outdoor Writers Association (NYSOWA) which was celebrated this past weekend in Lake George, New York.
The first fall season held in the fall of 1959 premiered as a three-day either-sex season, limited to two southern tier counties (Allegany and Cattaraugus.) It was reported that there were two hundred and fifty successful hunters in the inaugural modern day season.
The first modern day spring turkey season in New York premiered in 1968 and was held in five Southern Tier counties (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, and Steuben.) It was reported that there were one hundred and thirty five gobblers (males, bearded) successfully tagged in the inaugural modern day season.
The anniversaries are a significant marker in the historical timeline when reviewed against the backdrop of a grand conservation story of the wild turkey and its restoration from nearing the brink of extinction, from alarming low numbers. At the turn of the century (1900’s) the logging and farm practices of the day coupled with unrestricted harvesting for individual subsistence and market hunting wreaked havoc on wild turkey flocks. These practices reduced the populations to the point it was thought they were eradicated entirely from New York. Currently, the estimated population in New York would dwarf the estimated population of the entire Continental United States a hundred years ago, dipping as low as an estimated 30,000 birds.
As modern day sportsmen/wildlife conservation practices took hold, they were adopted by state wildlife agencies and implemented across the United States. In the early 1950’s efforts were made to introduce farm raised turkeys but with little to no success due to their inability to evade predators. With the adopting of live trapping, furthered by the use of net cannons, the process of trap and transfer began coincidentally in 1959. In the years leading up to these programs, wild turkeys established flourishing populations in Pennsylvania that expanded northward into southwestern New York prompting both a three day fall season and to kick off trap and transfer operations. Since the early trap and transfer program began in Allegheny State Park, turkeys have been reintroduced to nearly every county within the Empire State and reestablished themselves with these efforts, conservation practices, and ethical hunting by sportsmen. Flocks can be found across the entire state in nearly every county including feathered sightings in Manhattan, Staten Island and well established flocks out on Long Island. New York wild turkeys were also used to help restore populations in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and the Province of Ontario.
Although the estimated peak populations are reported to have occurred in the mid to late 1990’s with some northern counties peaking five to ten years later, the peak estimates of 250,000-300,000 birds during the golden age of restoration has pulled back to estimates of 160,000- 180,000 currently. As conservation efforts and research continues, weather impact on brooding success models, land use studies, landholding capacity models, and avian (and other) disease studies are put forth to provide scientific tools for wildlife agencies to help manage populations, set seasons and bag limits to maintain healthy and flourishing populations for many years to come.
We celebrate a grand milestone in the conservation success story of the wild turkey restoration and comeback in New York. The thousands of hours of efforts of wildlife professionals, conservationists, volunteers, modern day hunting practices of ethical sportsmen, funds raised from earmarked taxation of hunting and fishing equipment purchases along with funds raised by thousands of donations, superfund dollars and grants from the National Wild Turkey Federation have made this success story in New York possible.
-MJ
© 2017 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Jerry Antley- Legendary Call Maker Inducted In The Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame
Some time ago, in fact, a little over a year I was contacted by Peyton Mckinnie hailing from Marion, Louisiana about possibly doing a story on a gentleman from his home state known by many turkey hunters as Jerry Antley. As I lay out a few known facts attributed to Jerry you will come to a similar conclusion as I, that he is a family man, man of faith, an outdoorsman with a firm dedication to his passions and his craft. Steadfast is a term that came to me while reviewing and researching materials to write this story worthy of a man of his stature.
As I briefly review a partial list of Jerry’s history and noteworthy accomplishments, he will be newly inducted into The Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame, class of 2017.
A lifelong resident of Downsville, Louisiana Jerry continues to make calls at Cedar Hill Game Calls (which he founded) to this day. Although he does not publicly list his age, it is known he was married to Vicki Allen for nearly fifty four years until her passing in 2013. With four children now grown, along with nine grandchildren, and six great grandchildren it is a wonder when he has the time to make all these calls.
It is stated that he began hunting in 1963 for whitetails, and added turkey hunting to his pursuits in 1972. Nearing a hundred wild turkeys carried back home over his shoulder it is reported that the local bachelor groups of longbeards are plotting/planning for his early retirement from the sport. As you begin to notice, a pattern emerges as to his dedication to matters at hand. Jerry extended his passions for the forests of his home state, the pursuit of whitetails, wild turkeys and turned it to vibrant and healthy game call business. This would be the beginning of Cedar Hill Game Calls, LLC which he founded in 1981, He would later expand his company with the acquisition of CamoCord, LLC in 2003.
The most well known call that Jerry produces was also the first entry into the market. The Legendary “Little Scratch Box!”. They have sold over 50,000 all of which are hand-made here in the U.S.A.. Being constructed of cedar which is well known among turkey hunters and call makers alike to produce clucks, purrs, and yelps that not only please our calling sensibilities but more importantly fools a gobbler to take one step too many in your direction. With a little bit of instruction even I could have you clucking and purring before you left the room, yelping with a little bit of practice. The clucks are done the best on this cedar scratch box, more convincing than by use of other styles of calls in my opinion. You could close your eyes and swear you could hear the hen’s beak snapping shut as she clucked. Yes, it is that good in the turkey woods. The company also offers deer calls, duck calls, elk calls, predator calls. a variety of other turkey calls, and a host of hunter accessories that would be ‘must have’ for your trips afield.
Joining the NWTF in 1977, Jerry would become a charter member and served as president of the North Central Louisiana NWTF Chapter. He would later become a charter member of his local chapter , the Union Long Spurs, served as President for the first three years. Currently serving on the Board of Directors. His volunteer service has spanned so far an impressive thirty seven consecutive years. In that time Jerry would also serve as Louisiana State Chapter President, and VP, serving Louisiana State NWTF Board of Directors. for twelve years. Jerry was elected to the National Board of Directors for the NWTF in 1984 serving for six years,
Other notable history with the NWTF:
• Silver Life Member of NWTF •Runner-Up 1983 Louisiana State Turkey Calling Championship. •“Grand Champion” 1984 Louisiana State Turkey Calling Championship.
• Grand National Calling Contest Judge for NWTF the past 20 years.
Along with his call making business, and what has to be a busy time with family, Jerry is a Southern Baptist by faith, serving as a Deacon at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, Downsville, La. Since 1978. In addition to his role as Deacon, he has also served as Chairman of the Deacon Board for the past twenty years.
We congratulate Jerry on a stellar career, dedicated volunteer service, and a well deserved award of recognitions for all that you have done and contributed for our natural resources and to our greater benefit.
http://www.cedarhillgamecalls.com
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Trespass In NY- Turkey Hunter? Deer Hunter? Fisherman?
For those of you that are not familiar with the great Empire State, it is a very short drive from one of the largest cities in the world, even shorter drive from the lesser known cities to find yourself amongst the great farmlands, forests, mountains and fisheries of New York where I call home. Despite bizarre politics, stifling regulations, punitive taxation (#1, highest in the Nation) that has driven out industry and the prosperity that goes with it, it is one of the most resource diverse states when you come to appreciate the four million-plus acres of public lands, nearly another million more acres under conservation easements, the raw natural beauty, and recreational opportunities we have here. I reside with my bride in one of the seven valleys of Cortland County which I am more than fond of. The topic at hand actually applies across our great nation and not solely unique to New York. As I truly love what I have here as my little piece of paradise, I’ll refer to my beloved state as my frame of reference.
With such highly coveted resources, much of which is available to everyone as public lands and public waterways, the subject of trespass, destruction of property, theft and other criminal behavior appears to be more common even in the off seasons, despite numerous large tracts of state and federal lands for all to share. My comments are aimed specifically towards sportsmen and sportswomen. Criminals, common thieves, polluters are not likely to be moved or swayed by any opinions you, or I may have or convey. As a landowner and as a member on a hunting lease from time to time I have that set of perspectives. I also hunt and fish on a mix of state game lands, waterways, and a fair amount of private holdings that have granted me the right to spend time on and enjoy. I’ll break down my thoughts in lists for each viewpoint.
As a hunter:
- Do we show ourselves as being fortunate and privileged to be granted access to private lands that another pay taxes on, farms, maintain for their business or homestead, manages for wildlife? Do we show respect for them and their property? Do we fundamentally understand that landowner rights take priority over any right or desire we may feel to hunt or fish?
- On lands that are commonly known for open access do we make it a point to learn of the owner’s name as a courtesy to thank them or to learn of any concerns they may have? It helps to avoid future problems. Do we take for granted these lands and treat them as a free for all, our personal playgrounds?
- On state lands do we treat it as if we own it? In a roundabout reasoning we do via the income taxes that are paid. Being respectful, having regard for our resources should not be a conditional thought or action.
- Challenging a landowner or another hunter, in general, is not the smartest idea, nor a step in improving hunter/landowner relations. The exception is the arrogant slob hunter who is not authorized to patrol a property or trespassing themselves and falsely claiming a spot. Too many stories of others trying to throw people off that have permission including landowners off their own property.
- Items we may come across while hunting without regard to who owns the land, do we leave undisturbed, unmolested unless clearly lost (such as a jacket, wallet, personal camera, game call). Stealing or destroying treestands, game cameras, blinds, traps, etc. is a despicable, lowly act to inflict on a fellow hunter. Even when we find such items on our own places that are not supposed to be there, do we attempt to find out whom they belong to first and get the word out? If that fails to produce a result in instances I have come across, I bring it back to the house and attempt to find the owner while notifying the county Sheriff’s/ NYSDEC ECO, and they can retrieve their items after an intimate chat with law enforcement. Charges may apply if egregious, or not your first time trespassing. In principle do we take another’s property while not knowing fully the circumstances.?
- While being respectful of the lands hunted, it is good practice to extend that to fellow hunters. Having someone purposely interfering with your time in the woods is greatly unappreciated. A common occurrence with the mentality of having to get your gobbler or buck before the other hunter does. As sportsmen, sportswomen we are better than that.
- Access to hunting properties has dropped while the behavior of some fellow hunters deters hunter recruitment or makes the hunting experience on state lands or private lands less desirable for the recreational hunter, fisherman. The same foolishness, monkey business that is assumed all too common on public grounds in known to be just as much a problem on private holdings. Private land is not immune to breaches in ethical or sportsmanlike conduct. There is no legitimate excuse for treating fellow hunters and fishermen in a poor manner that occurs. Trespass shows disrespect for the landowners and fellow hunters alike
- Of our sport, the passions we so dearly love. are we humbled and appreciative of the great forests and waterways? Are we humbled and appreciative of our fellow hunters and fishermen that we share these great resources with?
As a landowner or lease/club member:
- Vast amounts of money are involved to purchase, pay county & school taxes, or fees to lease. Land taxes have risen well ahead of inflation to the tune of 2X-3X over other states in the union. It can be viewed as legalized theft in some lines of thought. As a landowner, it is a thought process quickly learned and a reality. Leases have risen due to taxes, and the popularity of outdoor-focused leasing /realty companies. The continual loss of farms and the increase in development further increase the cost and demand for recreational properties. Maintaining a property for wildlife involves plenty of funds and sweat equity.
- Because your past three generations of family hunted there, it does not trump or replace courtesy, respect, or asking permission. Your ignorant boasting of entitlement to hunt wherever you want is a false premise. It is all too common a complaint about local hunters. Your family or those that passed on are not maintaining, nor paying taxes on the property. You can easily change that, be a great neighbor.
- Fishermen do not get a pass on self-granted rights to trespass as access to private honey holes is not an entitled right of way. In New York, navigable waters have a separate set of laws that apply.
- Poor behavior, trespass, destruction of property, theft, infighting between hunting parties, poaching, ignoring specific instructions, or requests are all legitimate reasons why landowners say no or rescind your permissions. As a landowner saying no is their right that may or may not come with an explanation.
- It is a major irritation to expend time and money to thwart, report and or prosecute trespassers only to see them given a slap on the wrist or a minor fine. $50 to$250 fines are not enough to deter the disrespect, the ignorance that exists in the hunting community.
- How many of you visit to help a landowner in the offseason or in season, send thank you’s or visit to thank in person? Do you invite them for a home-cooked meal, or in general conduct yourself as a good neighbor, an ethical hunter that appreciates the privilege?
With the acceptance of game cams as scouting tools, it has become an additional season of installing and checking in the summer months. With the competitive nature of some in our ranks, the quest for boon’r buck or record setting long beard or the best fishing hole in the county causes some to steal memory cards, game cams, or destroy them and any stands or blinds they come across. In the past few years, the frequency of this type of criminal activity is increasing if judged by posts on social media. Whether there is increased trespass or that we now have better tools to capture it is made far worst that it is being done in many occurrences by fellow hunters. Clicking through the various hunting groups on social media it is astounding the number of reports of tree stands stolen or rendered unusable, deer cams broke or stolen, SD memory cards stolen.
In the following list are links to NYS sites that deal specifically with trespass, regulations, posting info, etc. I have included other useful links as well as one to a prior blog on game cam strategies.
- Public Fishing Rights and the Landowner -NYSDEC
- Posting Information for Landowners, Boaters, Fishermen and Hunters -NYSDEC
- Avoiding Conflicts Between Waterfowl Hunters and Waterfront Property Owners -NYSDEC
- ASK -NYSDEC
- Dealing with Trespassers -Cornell Univ
- Recreational access and owner liability -Cornell Univ
- Post Deer Season- Time to Implement a New Game Camera Strategy
As a landowner, I can tell you first hand you will quickly expand your fan base in a less than desirable way by wanting to control your property in any configuration. Some folks feel or even insist they have a right to your place. You and I may have an adverse response to such arrogant entitlement thinking. Trust me it is out there as many are not shy about it, in fact boastful.
Diligence and willingness to press charges does pay off as it eventually reduces trespass once they learn you have a spine and will do what is needed to fully enjoy your place as the owner of the property. I can tell you that sending a certified notice against trespass or having the local sheriff deliver it in person is an effective way to get your point across. Posting, maintaining signs, the expense of cameras, batteries,and other items just to secure your place takes away from time and money otherwise spent enjoying it.
Poor behavior is not a one-way street, as we all know that one special landowner that tries to claim rights to other properties, accosts anyone that comes near their boundary or travels an adjacent road along their place. It makes for hostile or worse interactions. I have been privy to one property owner near me that claimed to own the county road that dissected her place. Unnecessary conflict and bad relations for all involved.
It is my well-learned opinion that we New Yorkers have easy access to thousands upon thousands of the best public hunting grounds to be found in our great nation. Our waterways are world-renowned and something to cherish. As ethical sportsmen and sportswomen, criminal trespass is an abhorrent act towards each other and especially landowners. As hunters, as fishermen, as landowners, there is much room to improve relationships with only a little effort and a large dose of mutual respect. We all deserve this from each other.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Social Media A Great Tool For Hunters?
There are several ways one could hit the ground and run with this. Anti-hunting advocates vs hunters are one aspect of social media online to dive into. You might win the hearts and minds of non-hunters with principled ideas, rational behavior, any and all of the great things we love about our impassioned time-honored way of life. As to the anti-hunting crowd, you might find other more constructive things to do. Rational, sound logical reasoning falls on deaf ears of those unable to think beyond the propaganda, the overhyped irrational emotional responses. It is a telling picture to see such unhinged individuals crying and screaming in the streets. As a hunter, you can be assured of outbursts of pure rage against a legal activity, an instinctive natural way of eating and surviving as further back than biblical scholars can find as well as scientists who chronicle the story of evolution.
My thoughts for today’s wanderings lead me to social media vs hunters. A recent post concerning ‘real’ women hunters vs camo bikini-clad wanna-be female pro staffers gave me pause as to why with all the great attributes of instant communications do some within our hunting community subscribe to the worse attributes of social media that are typically displayed by our anti-hunting foes?
To those of us that lay claim to bearing some semblance of adult-like behavior, enjoy the company of fellow hunters, and not suffering sociopathic tendencies there is much to enjoy and take advantage of Facebook, Instagram, and any other of the choices of online communities to connect with each other.
I’ll lay claim that I barely squeak by in fitting it with the ‘normal, socially adjusted group.’ In doing so I will list what I think are the main positives associated with the online experience.
• With a little effort and time, online one can quickly seek and find like-minded hunters to any level of specialty that you want to hook up with. My passions are turkey hunting, and deer hunting, archery, rifle/shotgun/pistol shooting. Easy to find folks that share my interests. Many friends and friendly acquaintances can be made. If you singularly focus on hunting with 1800’s era flintlock firearms wearing only period-correct clothing you are in luck as you will find your tribe.
• As with news in general, anything outdoor-related, happening in the world down to your hometown can be learned that week, much of it the day that it occurs. New products, records broken, Changes in seasons and regulations, weather conditions.
• Sharing of stories, sharing or pictures afield soon after returning home or in the field as it happens. Facebook a post that you sunk your 4×4 to the axles while getting your elk out will rally the troops to your rescue. You can blame your truck and swear profusely on live Facebook for additional effect.
• Social media can be a great tool for researching your future hunts, outfitters, things to see and do on your next adventure. Personal contacts give you a much better insight.
Personally, I love having such great friends online (whom I have spent time with in hunt camp), to learn their stories, to share mine. Same with pics from successful hunts or the scenes so breathtaking you just have to capture it. Facebook has been great to meet up on hunts, meet up while traveling. I try to learn from what other successful hunters do and share amongst us. I enjoy seeing the pics, especially those that took the time to make a great pic in respect of their quarry. As much as I like the efficiency of the online experience and at any hour. It does not replace what you get from a phone call or time shared together. I view social media as a useful tool to embellish my experiences that I have with those I have had the privilege to spend time with but do not live close enough to see frequently.
What is it with some of our ranks that are compelled to eat our own? The downside of the social media experience is the emboldened behavior of keyboard trolls that lack social graces that help us all get along. I’m not going to distract with a lengthy discussion on sociopaths or anti-social behavior. Is it reasonable to put up with such ill-mannered, fragile egos or those bent on tearing other fellow hunters down? It takes only a single picture of a record book deer or a monster gobbler to attract the worse responses. Even pictures of kids after a successful hunt will gain uncivil responses. I expect that from the anti-hunting zealots, not fellow hunters.
I’ve been accused of “eating our own” by opposing turkey hunters over my position on reaping or fanning methods despite clear reasoning on safety issues and what I regard as unreasonable risks in many (not all) turkey hunting scenarios. Even after consistently acknowledging how exciting the method is, I am labeled an elitist for my opposition. There are many forms or styles of hunting that I do not participate in or find alluring. As such I read those stories and enjoy the after-hunt pictures like I do others. On matters of safety, I am not one to compromise. As to what bow you use, or what specific caliber bullet you shoot, whether you sit in a blind all day or hunt ridges as I may do, I don’t have the urge to criticize you because it may not be my preferred choice. Let’s skip that nonsense and tell me of your epic story.
With the prior blog posting I saw this morning concerning female hunters or huntresses as mentioned, it causes me to comment on where this comes from, the source if you will. The frustration that is becoming more visible within our ranks does come from the over marketing, the overzealous behavior of prostaff, huntresses, TV hunting shows, game call companies, and the list goes on at the irritation of the hunting community, a market segment they are hoping to gain an audience with.
As to huntresses, I have only a few brief observations. I know many women who hunt, have been for many years, and as hardcore as any male hunter, I have shared camp with. I find that female hunters, in general, to be more conscientious, more deliberate in their shooting, less likely to take risks. In that, they show the concept of huntress in a very good light. I am pleased to see more moms and their kids join our ranks as well as single women. Always welcomed in any camp I may attend. The whole thing with sex’d up camo pinup models that appear to be pampered, fully catered huntresses is to be expected in the old marketing model that sex sells just about anything. In my opinion, I think that once you take away all the pampering, the glamor shots you are left with little of the experience of being self-sufficient and being immersed in the turkey woods is lost in favor of a thong. Some of the same mentality applies to male celebrity hunters who are known to be lost themselves without a fully catered hunt.
It is nearly impossible to watch a thirty-minute hunting show without it being saturated with commercials and the storyline constantly pulled back at every turn to hawk a product. As a medium for hunters to learn from, to enjoy, it fails miserably as a nonstop infomercial in the guise of a hunting show. It is a business model that compromises the viewer’s enjoyment over ad space sold.
As with the over-marketing that is rampant with TV shows it is just as much a part of the dialog that occurs on Facebook, Instagram, and others. With that comes the emphasis of who has the most likes, the most Facebook friends. It has become so absurd, to the point it was posted on Facebook that a hunter made the claim that they were a better hunter because they had more likes? Difficult to wrap any logic around that. Having reached the 5K limit on Facebook, I have yet to enjoy that arousal of “better than thou hunter” that I am told about. I worked at it over a long period of time to broaden my base of possible readers of books I have published and will publish in the future. Efforts with my keyboard help make that happen, what abilities or skills I do have in the turkey woods are from lessons learned from time afield, from hunting with others, and for me, it has been many hours over many seasons.
The competitive nature of some of us produces an unhealthy interaction, focused on numbers, not people. I am concerned with being a ‘good hunter’ as I believe you are. I am also concerned with being a ‘better hunter’ when compared to myself five years ago. Whatever measure you wish. If we all strive to be good hunters then may our freezers be full. Is it not fair, a good thought that we all try each day to be better as people, as hunters?
What I see occurring in the realm of social media is the parallel, the concept of TV ratings becoming a parameter in which we measure ourselves on Facebook, Instagram, or any of the other social media offerings. Would I lose the love of family if my friends list shrunk or likes on my posts dwindled away?
There is the danger in that should you make a mistake, honest or deliberate, it is known in such a short time by all that is nearly unmeasurable. Bad news travels fast. Commit a game violation and your hunting buds will know more about your case than you do before you return home from your trip. Poach a record book elk and by tomorrow you may be a Facebook featured post!
For those that believe a picture is worth a thousand words, it is, for the most part, a truism until one pulls it up in photoshop, and modifies it to suit ego or other less than admirable purpose. A game contest is useful for exposing such less noble attributes in hunters that sport overblown egos. Posting on social media has taken these lesser ideals and supersized them as you might expect. I’ve seen lots of turkey hunters holding up their gobblers with a bent elbow and claim 25-28lbs all day long. I have witnessed far too many gobblers that weigh no more than the average 18-19 pounds to know what the girth of the bird appears as, and span of the wing butts to know that in only a few cases does the bird actually match the claimed weight. Only in a few select areas of the country, is the average weight much higher. Such heavyweights appear as if another subspecies in the turkey woods when accurate. Deer are often posed and angles chosen to appear much larger. Photoshopping antlers is not uncommon.
Other ill social media acts include ‘borrowing’ other hunter photos for product ads or photoshopping to appear taken by another hunter. Unless the deed is executed by a skilled person excelling in photography and lighting theory as a background it is all too easy to spot where edits were done. For the more sophisticated edits, a few applied filters and exposure adjustments reveal the modified pixels.
The sins of boasting, false storytelling (ok for fisherman though) hoax photos are an offering of the dark side of social media. In of itself, it is not new, but the modern-day equivalent is much faster in producing it. The false perceived pressure of having to achieve more friends, more likes, more hits, more web traffic comes at the expense of impressing profiles of people you have never hunted with, shared a beer with, or even met on the street. In the end to fall into that trap side steps real friendships, and causes one to miss the sheer joy of time spent in the hunting grounds of their choice.
My opinion is that social media is a great tool for hunters, especially for myself as an outdoor writer/author, as with all things it is neither perfect nor the end of all things in communicating with one another. To understand it and to use it at face value is a very useful way to keep track of and share with all those that you care to include. As we refute those with less than good intentions we make it a better space to share these bits and pieces of our daily lives.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Joyner Outdoor Media, State of the Union, Book Projects
Many projects on the back burner since the winter of 2012-2013 At the tender young age of 52, I found myself out on the street the 18th of December, making a worrisome Christmas. The company I was a founding partner in, later acquired and later sold to our VP of Sales. After a fourteen year stint, given the politics with the new owner, It was an impossibility to work together. Fate, Karma is a cruel master at times and there is a tragic story that follows. I’ll not divulge further. Only days after being put out to pasture I formed Town Line Technologies, LLC on what was a very quiet Sunday morning looking at office spaces. I had an offer for contract work for the US Navy through the old company, cashed in my 401K, no safety net, no benefits. Five years of working hard and still going. It is the primary reason why projects slowed, put on hold and accelerated my aging.
With some things freeing up, I am bringing to the fore front the existing on-going projects that I am all too happy to get back to. ‘Grand Days in the Turkey Woods’ was a bit of an unexpected event in my timeline as an author. As it is common for me to write up or at least outline memorable stories as they occur each season, I found back in 2014 that I have more than enough memories/stories stored off in a future projects file that I was able to quickly publish as a story book which is in keeping with ‘Hills of Truxton: Stories & Travels of a Turkey Hunter’, and ‘Tales from the Turkey Woods: Mornings of My Better Days’
I will update in order- books currently available, current projects, and intentions of future works which will not march full steam ahead until my current projects are out in print.
Books in print:
Hills of Truxton: Stories & Travels of a Turkey Hunter Currently available online at Amazon and other online book stores in paperback, hardcover, and kindle format. Hills Of Truxton Paperbacks and hardcovers are also available from me, signed with bookmarks and post cards tipped in. Author’s Online Store
A 2.0 version is coming with a new cover, a few updated pictures and the typical text corrections and small edits in the effort to follow in some semblance of the Queen’s English. A hardcover w/ dust cover will also follow in the 2.0 version and will mark the end of the laminated hardcover edition. Release of 2.0 will be announced later this summer
Tales from the Turkey Woods: Mornings of My Better Days Currently available online at Amazon and other online book stores in paperback, hardcover, and kindle format. Tales From The Turkey Woods Paperbacks and hardcovers are also available from me, signed with bookmarks and post cards tipped in. Author’s Online Store
A 2.0 version is also coming with a new cover, a few updated pictures and the typical text corrections and small edits as with my first title. A hardcover w/ dust cover will also follow in the 2.0 version Release of 2.0 will be announced later this fall.
Grand Days in the Turkey Woods: Currently available online at Amazon and other online book stores in paperback, hardcover, and kindle format. Grand Days In The Turkey Woods Paperbacks and hardcovers are also available from me, signed with bookmarks and post cards tipped in. Author’s Online Store
Current Book Projects:
D.D. Adams, Evolutionary Turkey Call Pioneer: For those that I have contacted or attempted to contact at the beginning of the project: I will complete interviews this summer. I have just a few very key interviews to complete so time is short as I need to commit to a writing schedule.
If you knew DD personally and have insights or a great story to share I would love to interview you for the project. I have a lot of pictures, more than enough to show a comprehensive view of his call creations.
Empire State Limb Hangers- New York Wild Turkey Records: 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 haven’t been interviewed and would like to be included, please contact me, I would love to include as many as possible that met the original score criteria. The placings have shifted some, however I am still going by my original list as what was unique and noteworthy then still is of course. There will be future editions as records are broken and those I attempted to include, catch up with the project. The more hunters that come on board that I originally sought to interview, the better.
Any record book gobblers bagged in NY during the 2016-2017 spring/fall seasons? or years prior? If your bird meets the following scoring criteria, I would love to talk to you about being included in the book!
Typical score > 75.0000 (weight x1 + beard x 2 + spur(s) x 10)
Non-Typical score > 105.0000 (weight x1 + beard(s) x 2 + spur(s) x 10)
Weight > 26.5000 lbs. (verified certified weight)
Beard > 12.0000″ (verified length)
Spurs> 1.6250″ (verified length)
Future Projects: Other than some very preliminary housekeeping, outlines etc, future projects are on low priority until completion of the current Que. In all fairness to the hunters I interviewed some time ago, my efforts are focused on completing these anticipated works. There are several ideas for a scifi novel and a hunting themed novel. Very far out there, but possibility’s for a time not as hectic at the moment.
Roost ‘n Time Tales: Will be a continuation of stories as told around camp, the local diners and the back of pickup trucks parked at the gate. It is expected to take any number of years, dependent on travel plans, funds, and a 55 gallon drum of good-luck and fortune to capture another memorable collection of experiences in the great turkey woods.
Old Turkey Tree: A collection of my favorite stories from current titles and future ones. Expect additional perspectives, additional photo’s and other surprises to those following my previous works. May include other unpublished stories worthy of inclusion with such grand memories.
Forever Roost: An introspective view of why I hunt, deeper meanings and how it is much more significant in modern times as well as my later years if a full and meaningful life.
I would be remiss if I neglected to appeal to those contemplating your own works as self published or assisted publishing. If interested in engaging Joyner Outdoor Media to help your project get off the ground or hire us to work up graphics, covers for your book give me a shout at: mjoyner@joyneroutdoormedia.com
I would also encourage you to check out the New York Outdoor Writer Association or on facebook as a writing professional or inspired up and coming author.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Mother’s Day hunt
With the very wet and cool weather it is not surprising in some respects and there are concerns on the success of first nesting’s this spring. I am hopeful that warmer and drier conditions lay ahead in Central New York and with that the gobbling to improve along with it.
We started out the morning on state lands located in Cortland County (I’ll not name the forest, but there are more than several to choose from.) We were greeted with moderate temperatures and no wind. You could hear for a country mile and then some. We were also greeted by patches of heavy fog and have experienced that in the past to go either way with turkeys. With only a few “I think it might be a gobble” that were far beyond our ability to judge miles in distance, we had no up front and blowing your hair back gobbling… anywhere.
In our travels this morning we passed by properties I have guided many years on for the annual ladies hunt in the fall as there are always birds to be found. I do love spotting them although I don’t hunt these places other than the annual hunt. Today’s travels produced plenty of strutting gobblers and hens that should be good news come the fall. A bit of eye candy is always good for the soul while chasing gobblers. We hunt public land nearly as much as private properties, some years even more. Within relatively short driving distances there are tens of thousands of acres near my home and surrounding Maddison and Thompkins Counties. As always we have a good time harassing gobblers or in the efforts to do so.
Our last stop of the day we found a trio of stutters and a single hen to pursue. After a very long walk we came up on three hens (only knew of the one) that did not appreciate our pleas for company and marched off (along with the gobblers) and more importantly away across the rolling terrain. We got close, but no free rides back to the truck for our feathered friends.
On a day that I intensely mourn my mother’s passing a year ago, an easy going hunt with an old friend was what was needed to ease my soul, come to grips with this day and enjoy/honor the very special women that I am so grateful to have as family.
-MJ
© 2017 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
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