September 2009 – Issue 27
The Last Resort
A common mistake that new turkey hunters make is calling too much and too loud. A loud yelp call is great for getting a bird to gobble, but it is not all that common in the woods, and more often than not will make a bird hang up. Real hens usually call softly, with clucks and purrs, and yelp most often when they fly down. You should think of a yelp as an assembly call that the boss hen uses when she flies down, to get the other birds, including the toms, to fly down and gather around.
Do wild turkeys belong in Northern Michigan?
This past winter an outdoors writer called and inquired that in light of the feeding ban on deer, what were we doing to insure Wild Turkey survival. During the course of our conversation he mentioned that there are DNR biologists that think that Wild Turkeys do not belong in northern Michigan. Occasionally the same issue appears in some of the sportsmen’s web sites. When he asked what our thoughts were on it, did I give that writer an earful!
What a difference a year makes
The month of March and half of April I spent sitting on my duff recuperating from surgery. My days were spent reading mystery novels, watching T.V. and staring out the window at the bird feeders. The only thing that saved me from a terminal case of cabin fever was the knowledge that, come May, I would be turkey hunting!
The future of hunting stopped by to say hello
This past January we were at our MWTHA booth at the Hunting Time Expo in Grand Rapids. A young lad and his father stepped out of the crowded isle. The boy was wearing a MWTHA hat. The previous year he had convinced his dad to buy the hat. He had brought several photos of the gobbler he had shot last year to show to us. He was holding the adult gobbler by the feet, it’s head on the ground and the fan appearing high on his chest.
2022 Turkey Hunting Patch Available
