Gobbler Nation

That camo stake out netting straight out of the package sticks out as totally unnatural in the woods if you don't do some modifications. First get some flat black Rust-Oleum paint and some camo tan and green paint and paint in vertical patterns to break up the shape/pattern of the netting. After you...

On windy days the birds are accustomed to seeing some movement and you usually can get by w/ slowly moving if you don't stick out and aren't too obvious. With that said, I've had birds pick me out in thick stuff where I thought I was invisible. Definitely get and work on calling w/ a diaphragm to mi...

Shoot it again at 25 yards to insure your adjustment was correct. Never assume anything w/ scopes, always verify any scope adjustment, since I've seen scopes of all makes and models do some truly irrational things on adjustment.

#9 Crystal

I've got a big box of assorted choke tubes, too numerous to list individually, most of which were only evaluated, some never shot. I've got tubes in the following configuration: 10 gauge Browning, 12 gauge Invector Plus, 12 gauge Invector, 20 gauge Invector Plus. PM me with what you are looking for ...

It's a suit worn only on religious holidays so that you will be sure to be noticed and your attendance noted accordingly. It's really not a look which I could pull off, but more power to him.

Several ER docs have advised me that a single 200 mg dose of doxycycline (a second dose 24 hrs later is even better) immediately after a tick bite is almost 100% effective in eliminating the bacterial pathogens carried by ticks. As one doctor put it, " With doxycycline it's like clubbing pups.&...

My uncle who was 85 when he died this past fall was a major league pitcher and had been instructed by Lucky McDaniel as part of Spring Training for hand-to-eye coordination for batting and throwing while playing baseball. My uncle always had a sightless BB gun on hand and up until his death could hi...

The hens are cruising the woods looking for snails (egg production) and turning leaves and the birds are already working fields for bugs and new clover and hitting low wet areas for grubs and worms.

If you treat your clothing and utilize DEET on bare skin and openings in your clothing the need to take doxycycline due to tick bites , should be minimized and 12-16 pills/caplets should be sufficient. As an aside, once you get an initial prescription with the appropriate rationale for having the dr...

I am not a fan of over utilization of antibiotics, but due to the increasing variety and spread of tick borne illnesses endorse the use of doxycycline (200 mg dose) after any tick bite. The growing list of bacterial tick borne infections include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme Disease, ehrlichios...

I've looked. but can't find any studies on the long term effect of permethrin on humans when applied to clothing. I once asked an acquaintance biologist/veterinarian about the use of 10% permethrin applied directly to dogs vs the recommendations for human use, and he just said, "How long do dog...

I use either Martin's or Duration and the .5% is 1 oz. of 10% to 19 oz. of water, but on the advice of some folks at a well known Southern Biological Station, I've gone to 1 oz. to 15 oz. for a 0.625% mix. I've used the stronger mix for several years and always spray a 35% DEET on exposed skin and o...

IMO, one of the hardest aspects of mentoring is, for the mentor or guide, to start kids out doing things which we find so elementary and basic and not even to the level of hunting or fishing. Just get kids into the woods and field and start out by teaching them how to build a fire and cook for them....

You kidding us? You've litterally thousands of acres of public land hunting opportunities around you. Get maps and hit the woods and don't count on others to point you in the right direction!

My primary turkey hunting partner that I introduced to the "disease" in 1998, gave me a Doug Herman horseshoe nail call last year. It's not like picking up a box or pot call, but the calls, pitches and sounds which can be made with practice are unbelievable and I'll guarantee that most bir...

Kansas Unit 3 is NE not NW, primarily Easterns w/ a few hybrids W of Topeka.

Colonial chokes makes a Tru-Choke style thin wall choke tube which is .795-44 tpi double lead threads, not to be confused w/ the Tru-Choke small diameter choke which is .775-44 tpi double lead threads. Over 40 years ago, I had a Remington 3200 O/U, 12 gauge, threaded for the thin wall Colonial choke...

2 3/4 or 3" chambers?

When you locate a WMA in the area where you were drawn make sure and view the area via Google Earth, Onx, etc for trees and streams on the area or on adjacent private lands because without those features the likelihood of turkeys is slim at best. A large portion of Kansas and the adjacent states hav...

I'm not an advocate of taking long shots at gobblers, but I firmly believe in total familiarity with the primary tools of the hunt ie., the shotgun and ammunition and its performance. I pattern my guns and loads at ranges from 10-60 yards and have a pretty good estimation of ranges based upon the re...

Steel shot in older shotguns, especially o/u and s/s wasn't recommended, but then it involved high volume shooting and large size shot which didn't compress and could cause barrel swelling and, in some cases, barrel separation on doubles. The heavier wads utilized with TSS, the small size shot and t...

Several years ago after over 40 years chasing gobblers, I instituted a "new" component, or actually removed an element from my hunt which has made my hunting much more enjoyable, relaxing and devoid of a serious hunting angst. I decided that in the morning prior to the hunt that I would no...

Yah! The beer can really throw off the age. A friend was drinking some of the "high octane" brews after a hunt and the computed age of the gobbler was 56. It's just a mathematical model which has a few flaws.

The best way to age a gobbler is by using the following mathematical model--- length of snood x circumference of skull at the eyes x combined length of spurs squared x the weight - beard length divided by the miles driven to the hunt location x hours of sleep the previous night + number pf beers con...