Source: sunjournal.com

BUCKFIELD - A Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride to shake off winter's cabin fever took a serious turn for a Maine rider after he was knocked off his bike by a wild turkey.

Jeffrey Russell, 23, of Hartford, Maine, was being treated for a fractured collarbone Sunday night at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after the 4:25 p.m. accident.

He was traveling with a friend on Route 117 between South Paris and Buckfield in the area around Streaked Mountain when a wild turkey flew directly into his chest, knocking him backward off his Kawasaki motorcycle and rendering him unconscious.

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Can you feel it?

The days are longer, the air seems a bit warmer and your world is just a bit brighter. It's easy to see why. On March 7, spring gobbler seasons opened in Hawaii and Florida's Southern Zone.

And even if you're not hunting those warm destinations, simply knowing that turkey seasons are open there should be enough to see you through the remnants of winter.

Soon, hunters across Alabama, Mississippi and the Low Country of South Carolina will be afield. And before long, April will arrive, and seasons across much of the country will open.

So here's to our brethren in southern Florida and way out in the Pacific. May the birds gobble well and your aim be true. Soon, we'll all be immersed in our favorite activity.

Welcome, turkey season.

by Brian Lovett, editor

There’s nothing like some good ol’ Nashville music — turkey music, that is.

I just returned from the 2009 National Wild Turkey Federation Convention in Nashville, Tenn., and my ears are still ringing from all the sweet yelping, cutting, clucking and purring at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.



Legendary caller Eddie Salter of Hunter’s Specialties shows off the company’s new Ring Zone friction call at the 2009 NWTF Convention.

The show is a celebration of all things turkey, and from all indications, people were ready to celebrate. The floor was very busy Friday and jam-packed Saturday, as folks checked out all the great turkey gear available from the smallest custom call-makers to the largest manufacturers. The convention also featured awesome taxidermy displays, outfitters from across the country, calling and call-making contests, and seminars from the best-known turkey hunters in the industry.

Of course, many attendees enjoyed fellowship above all else. I was fortunate to spend some time with Turkey & Turkey Hunting contributors Jim Spencer, Ron Jolly, Tes Randle Jolly and Kathy Butt, and also managed to meet some of our regular T&TH forum users.



Mike Pentecost, founder and owner of Woodhaven Custom Calls, makes turkey music on a box call.

I missed the calling contests, but they were good ones. In the Senior Division of the NWTF/Wild Turkey Bourbon Grand National Calling Contest, Jim Pollard of Charleston, Ark., won an incredible fourth title by nipping two-time Grand National and two-time World Champion Chris Parrish Centralia, Mo., by one point.



Chris Kirby yelps on Quaker Boy’s new user-friendly Firebox box call.

Pollard won three straight Grand National titles — the top prize in competitive turkey calling — from 2002 through 2004. Only five-time champion Walter Parrott has more Grand National titles than Pollard.

The convention really got me fired up for spring, and with turkeys weighing so heavily on the brain, it will be tough to endure the final few weeks of winter.

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.

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