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 Friday, February 06, 2009
Wisconsin Turkeys Intentionally Poisoned
Posted by Brian Lovett
Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are investigating the intentional poisoning of about 200 wild turkeys in a wooded area near a farm in Oconto County, in the northeastern portion of the state. Wardens found the dead turkeys after responding to a citizen tip to the agency’s hotline. “The responsible party has been identified and will be referred to the district attorney for charges once the investigation has been completed,” said Regional Warden Byron Goetsch. The suspect could face civil and criminal charges. Also, the court could assess statutory wildlife restitution surcharges of $175 per turkey. DNR officials said they believe the public, pets and the environment are not at further risk of exposure to the poisoned bait that was used. The substance is being confirmed by lab tests. “Once the substance is confirmed, we will make further evaluation and take appropriate steps,” Goetsch said. Preliminary indications are that numerous other surviving turkeys in the area were not exposed. The DNR has taken steps to protect the birds against further exposure. Aerial surveillance did not find other affected wildlife. The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the 24-hour DNR hotline at (800) 847-9367.
Friday, February 06, 2009 9:22:19 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Thursday, February 05, 2009
Deep Snow Hurts More than Cold Temps
Posted by TTH Staff
by Brian Lovett, editor Winter-weary Northern turkey hunters might be wondering how much their birds can stand. Turkeys are resilient, of course, but record snowfalls and weeks of frigid temperatures have many folks concerned about bird survival in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Here’s what Lovett E. Williams Jr., noted turkey biologist and contributing editor to Turkey & Turkey Hunting, had to say. “Prolonged deep snow the turkeys can’t scratch through is much worse than cold temperatures,” he said. “If they can get enough to eat, turkeys can stand extreme cold indefinitely. It’s when they can’t get to any carbohydrate foods that they die. Icy, crusty snow might prevent them from scratching through to the ground. In deep snow, turkeys sometimes congregate around spring seeps, if they can find one. “(Biologist) Wayne Bailey, when he was in West Virginia, was of the opinion that turkeys can endure four or five weeks of deep snow if they are able to obtain some food.” In agricultural areas of the Midwest and prairie states, turkeys often key on crops during winter. “Ag practices can help turkeys in deep snow, depending on what the practices are,” Williams said. “Grain farming and cattle — with grain coming through their feces — would be helpful.” Some research indicates how much turkeys can tolerate before they start to die. “There was a study … about starvation of game-farm turkeys,” Williams said. “Two birds, at 0 degrees with the wind at 5.8 mph, survived seven and nine days without food. They lost 25.75 percent of their body weight. Two other birds in a calm atmosphere at 0 degrees survived 11 and 16 days. Their loss of weight was 67.8 percent. The conclusion was that a turkey can endure a week of severely cold weather without food. “It points up the effect of wind. Evidently, the wind and cold had an independent effect that killed the turkeys before they actually starved to death.” Time will tell how Winter 2008-’09 affects Northern turkey populations. Hunters can take solace in the fact that the birds are tougher than most people believe. They just don’t want to see turkeys pushed to the limit.
Thursday, February 05, 2009 9:07:07 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Turkeys Frequent Bird Feeder
Posted by TTH Staff
Turkeys are opportunistic feeders, but this might be taking things to the extreme. We recently received an e-mail from Linda L. Bischoff of Grand Haven, Mich., who said the local turkeys took quite a liking to her back yard in October. “We have had quite a time lately with the turkeys visiting our bird feeder,” she wrote. “It is very funny to watch. A couple of them have figured it out, but most will fly up and not be able to get the sunflower seeds we keep in (the feeder). It’s just amazing to watch the 13 to 17 birds that mosey through our yard. We even have a short movie we filmed with them flying up to the feeder.” Thanks to Linda and her husband, Gary, who took these photos.   
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 3:23:07 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 03, 2009
New Products from the SHOT Show
Posted by TTH Staff
The 2009 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, which took place Jan. 15 through 18 in Orlando, Fla., featured plenty of great new turkey hunting gear. Here are some of the highlights.  Hunter’s Specialties introduced its new Ring Zone friction calls, which were tested with an oscilloscope so they match the pitch and frequency of a live hen. The calls have an outer ring that keeps your fingers off the surface to eliminate dampening sound. The Ring Zone comes in slate, ceramic and starfire crystal. It has 200 percent more resonating surface than most pot-and-peg calls. www.hunterspec.com  M.A.D. Calls added the Cherry Bomb pot call to its Bomb Squad line. It is custom-designed with a unique pot made of gunstock-grade cherry wood with unique sound ports designed to produce realistic yelps, cutting and purrs. It comes with a Dymondwood striker. www.flambeauoutdoors.com  Knight & Hale’s new Hammerhead box call has a sound board within the box, essentially creating a sound board within a sound board. The sound board system has raised ribs of specific length, height and width, as with the company’s Hammer Series friction calls. That softens the highs and lows, creating a more nasally tone similar to a live hen. www.knightandhale.com  Primos’ Box Cutter box call has thumb-hole grooves that positions the thumb so it acts as a spring, letting the user make sweet cutting. Also, the company offers the Box Cutter Lefty, designed for left-handed callers. The calls have a jatoba lid and solid mahogany box. www.primos.com  Quaker Boy’s new Firebox is custom-crafted from cherry and eucalyptus wood. The call is waterproof and features Curved Lid technology, which makes it easy to operate. www.quakerboy.com  TruGlo unveiled its Gobble Stopper sight, which can be used as a red-dot or green-dot. There’s an illuminated ring around the dot that represents 24 inches at 30 yards, which helps you judge whether a gobbler is in range. The Gobble Stopper is waterproof and fogproof. It comes with a camo or matte black finish. www.truglosights.com  Woods Wise introduced the Steel Wheel 2x2 Flipsider, a two-sided friction call. One side of the call is shrill stainless steel, and the other is raspy-shrill aluminum. The body is stainless. The 3-inch stainless steel top exceeds 15,000 hz for pitch and tone. The flip side 3-inch aluminum bottom plays a raspier shrill. Both sides are waterproof and play when wet. www.woodswise.com.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 4:33:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 26, 2009
Hawk Carries Away Dead Turkey
Posted by TTH Staff
A Cuddeback camera captured a hawk carrying away a dead turkey near Waupaca, Wis. Tom Mitchell said he found a dead turkey in the field behind his house. So he put a camera on the turkey. He thought he would get some pictures of coyotes. Along came a hawk instead.   
Monday, January 26, 2009 9:34:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, December 12, 2008
MN DNR to Shoot 100 Turkeys
Posted by TTH Staff
Reactions are mixed over a plan by the Minnesota DNR to kill 100 birds this winter across 18 north-central Minnesota counties. The turkeys are to be targeted for a DNR study that will analyze stomach and gizzard contents. The DNR plans to donate the meat. Commenting on the story, one reader was favorable to the plan, hoping the DNR would come to his house: “About 5 years ago it started with a dozen turkeys coming to the bird feeders then it was two dozen,” he wrote. “Last year it was 62 ... they are fun to watch but a group that big sure eats a lot.” But another reader had a different view. “Are these crazy guys planning another convention?” he wrote. “I agree this is cheaper -- but if you guys want to eat turkey, buy a license like everyone else.” What do you think about the MN DNR’s plan to shoot 100 turkeys? Source: startribune.com
Friday, December 12, 2008 3:30:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Giving One a Ride
Posted by Jim Schlender
I don't know who coined the phrase, "give him a ride in my truck," but Adam Fleck of Fort Atkinson, Wis., obviously knows what it means. Way to go, Adam! My friends Steve and Sherri Fleck take their son hunting whenever they can, and he was along on two of their successful trips last spring. Looks like Adam has a successful turkey hunting career ahead.
Friday, October 24, 2008 12:48:22 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, October 17, 2008
In Praise of Ugly Calls
Posted by Jim Schlender
In the Winter issue, Brian Lovett uses his new column, "The Complete
Caller," to tell about the merits of the often-overlooked tube call. We
needed photos to go with Brian's article, so he brought in his
10-year-old Perfection brand tube. Here it is on the left. It looks
like a couple scraps of PVC pipe jammed together, and the diaphragm
tucked into the small end is the only clue that it's a turkey call. It
won't win any call-making contests, but so what? When something works
you go with it, and Brian says that's why he still carries it.
That got me thinking about one of my go-to calls. The call on the right
is a crow call from Ben Lee Calls of Coffeeville, Alabama. The late Ben
Rodgers Lee gave it to me during a tour of his little manufacturing
facility in 1989. No, that's not a wooden barrel; it's wood-grain
plastic. And the sticker, what's left of it, further adds to the K-Mart
style. But wow! It blows deep and loud like few other crow imitators
I've heard.
I own several good locator calls, but every winter when I'm sorting
through my mountain of "stuff" in preparation for spring, Ben's call
always ends up in the must-have pile. And as long as it keeps on making
ear-splitting, irritating sounds, it will have a place. 
Friday, October 17, 2008 5:59:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, October 03, 2008
Another Tough Turkey
Posted by Jim Schlender
It's ironic that on the same day I was posting Lovett Williams' photo of the strutting hen (see Oct. 1 entry), Turkey & Turkey Hunting online editor Corey Graff was encountering a different hen that was full of herself. The next day he sent me this photo and story:  Turkey vs. Jeep Driving home from the F+W offices, I made a turn onto a lightly traveled country road and came face-to-face with a turkey defiantly standing her ground in the center of the road. I came to a stop. The turkey poked herhead up and seemed to be challenging me -- then ran to one side of the road, turned and then puffed up her chest and stared at my Jeep. As I began to pull forward, she ran back in front of me, so I stopped again. Suddenly the bird turned and ran away down the centerline, then stopped, turned around and again began defiantly posturing. She never strutted, but the display continued for several minutes -- long enough to pull out my camera and shoot a few photos throughthe bug-splattered windshield -- until eventually the bird stepped aside and allowed me to drive past. Even then, shen never ran off. Did this bold bird have little ones in the nearby brush it was protecting? Or did the turkey simply feel like playing chicken? If the latter was the case, the real question is: Who won?
Friday, October 03, 2008 7:26:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Cool Strutting Hen Photo
Posted by TTH Staff
Posted by Jim Schlender, Editor Lovett Williams Jr., a longtime contributing editor and Biology columnist just sent in his Q and A column for the March issue (yes, we are already thinking spring around here!). He included a photo of a strutting hen that I thought was so cool I wanted to give everyone a sneak peek.  Williams says that a hen briefly fanning her tail feathers while jousting with rival birds is pretty common, but a hen that is fully fanned and dragging her wing tips like a gobbler is extremely rare. During his countless hours of turkey observations over 50 years, Williams says he has seen this behavior only three times.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008 10:22:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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