Catholic Hotdish

I took my son, William, out for the Wisconsin youth turkey hunt Saturday morning. A scouting trip to the farm near Ellsworth where we had permission to hunt revealed a good number of birds using the property.

I set up a blind near the center of the property and was confident we would have action on Saturday morning. In fact, it didn’t take long. We crawled into the blind about an hour before sunrise and within about 10 minutes, we heard the first gobble of the day. There were many more to follow.

Often, turkeys will gobble on the roost for 20 to 30 minutes before flying down. Not this time. These eager toms flew down quickly and continued gobbling on the ground. I made some hen yelps and they answered and started coming our way. But, they stopped about 75 yards away. Later, I found out why – there was a gate and barbed wire fence at the far end of the small clearing where we were set up. Sometimes, those obstacles will cause birds to stop and hang up.

That’s what happened here. The toms kept gobbling, then slowly started moving away. There were other birds gobbling, but all of them were on the opposite side of the fence.

A little while later, a bird gobbled up the hill from us and I thought we were in business. He answered my calls right away, but did not come down to us. Instead, he turned and went up the hill and into a field, where he continued to gobble.

Girl talk

Thus, I turned my attention back toward the other birds to the east. Mysteriously, the six or eight birds that had been gobbling all shut up at once. I wondered if a coyote or other predator had moved in and spooked them. But, a few minutes later, I heard a hen start yelping. I yelped back, and we talked to each other for a while, then she shut up, too.

A few minutes later, as I scanned through the brush behind the blind, I saw a turkey walking in the clearing toward us. I couldn’t tell if it was a hen or a tom, then I lost it in the brush.

I figured it might walk around the brush and reappear near our blind. But, I didn’t know if it would swing around to the north of the stand of brush or to the south. So, I kept scanning both ways.

Finally, it appeared to the south, which was to our left. It started clucking, and then walked behind a log. A second hen soon followed and they both walked behind the log, which I had identified with my rangefinder to be 30 yards from the blind.

Show time!

At long last, a tom appeared, walking behind the log in full strut. Then, another appeared, and, eventually, four birds came strutting behind the log. At that point, I did some soft calls to try and bring all of the birds to our set of two decoys, which were placed about 10 yards directly in front of the blind.

The hens did not turn, but these four toms eventually did. I opened a window on the left and had William kneel and poke his gun barrel out the window. While all of this was going on, another tom gobbled up the hill to our right and started moving toward us.

We were in the middle of all the action. But, these four young toms, called jakes, were already in gun range to our left, so I decided to ignore the other tom to the right. The four birds kept coming, and I could see they were well in front of the log, probably about 25 yards or so.

One of them took the lead and separated himself from the other three. Then, he stopped and ran his head up to look our way.

The time is now

This was the moment! I turned to William and told him to shoot. Problem was, he wasn’t ready, but tried to line up the shot quickly because I urged him on. Finally, he took a shot, and all four birds jumped. But, none of them dropped. So, I told him to shoot again, which he did. Again, the birds jumped, but none went down.

Two walked away from us, but two more kept walking from left to right. They veered away from us, but were still in range and still visible, though they now were in some brush. I instructed William to shoot again, after making sure another shell was in the chamber.

But, he did not pull the trigger a third time. The birds were moving and bobbing and they never gave him a clear shot that he felt comfortable taking.

Sad way to end

Thus, the agony began, both for him and for me. I realized I had rushed him to take the shot when he wasn’t ready. Had we just waited, the birds probably would have come closer and he likely would have had an easy shot. Plus, the other tom up the hill may have come in as well.

Sometimes, you have to react quickly when you are hunting because an animal that offers a shot may quickly change its course and move away without presenting another opportunity. That happened to me several times earlier in my hunting career, so I trained myself to react quickly.

But, William hasn’t had that kind of training. He just wasn’t ready to kneel down and shoot through a small window. Thus, I failed him, in much the same way that the Vikings coaches blew it in the NFC championship game two years ago against New Orleans when they sent 12 men on the field and got penalized.

Let me tell you, it’s a bad feeling. The look of disappointment on William’s face was not fun to see. We hunted for a little while longer, then went home. Yesterday was open for hunting, but it was Easter and we had plans for the day. So, we did not get back out.

It’s not over yet

The good news is, William’s tag is also good for Season D, which is May 2-8. I hope to take him out again for another try. I also will be hunting the same season, but my plan is to go out during the week and try to fill my two tags, then bring him out on the weekend.

I’m hoping things will be different next time. William is still trying for his first bird, and he’s learning how tough this sport can be. The truth is, every hunter misses at some point. My brother, Paul, missed a shot at 25 yards last year, and I missed twice in 2009. Fortunately, on one of those misses, I was able to take a second shot and bring down the bird.

Here’s hoping – and praying – William will get another chance at a tom this spring.

This year’s early and warm spring is mostly good. But, there is a downside, which I encountered about two weeks ago.

As I was walking around on a property where I got permission to hunt turkey and deer, I picked off a tick. These little buggers came early this year, and I was not pleased to find one so soon. With the Wisconsin youth turkey hunt coming this weekend, it’s time to find a solution.

Fortunately, that part is easy. I merely will put on my ElimTick clothing and not have a worry in the world. The product was developed by a company called Insect Shield, which owns the patent and manufactures clothing that repels ticks and other insects. Gamehide is a brand partner and incorporates the fabric developed by Insect Shield into its camouflage clothing. That makes it perfect for spring turkey hunting, which is when ticks are the worst.

I became aware of ElimiTick two years ago because my friend, Steve Huettl, is Gamehide’s general manager. The company has been selling it for three years, and Steve has been using it himself for four. The first time he tried it, he went out into the woods with another Gamehide employee who also was wearing ElimiTick, plus several others who weren’t. One was a youth who counted 58 ticks he pulled off that day.

I have used it for two full seasons, and only once did a tick get under the clothing and attach itself to my leg. I have been in the  worst places for ticks at the worst times, so I estimate the success rate is well above 90 percent, and actually pretty close to 100. I’ll take that any time. Steve said he has never had a tick bite him while wearing the clothing.

But, there are a few key points to know:

1. Ticks may crawl onto the surface of the garment at times, but they eventually drop off without biting. Somehow, the tick I discovered last year had crawled underneath the pants and up my leg.
2. The pants, especially the bottom, are critical. Buying them a little long can be helpful, and be careful whenever you sit down, as the pants can ride up your leg and expose your skin. That’s probably what happened to me, and made me vulnerable to ticks.
3. You can wash them as often as you want. They are said to be good through 70 washings, but Steve told me the tick repellent will last the life of the garment. In his words, “the garment will fall apart” before the repellent quits working.
4. It also repels mosquitos.

The good news for turkey hunters is the clothing is easy to find. You can buy it online directing from Gamehide, or check out these local retailers that carry it – Mills Fleet Farm, Joe’s Sporting Goods (St. Paul), Capra’s Sporting Goods (Blaine), Cabin Fever (Victoria) and All Seasons Sports (Delan0).

I just ordered a set for my son, William, who is going out turkey hunting this weekend. I want to know that both of us are protected. Ticks that get attached to your skin are bad enough, but what’s worse is the threat of Lyme Disease. I have talked to a few people recently who have had it, and it’s not something I ever want to get.

That’s why I’ll be wearing ElimiTick on my turkey hunts this spring. Then, instead of being distracted by ticks crawling all over me and trying to pick them off while staying still, I can focus on working a gobbler into shotgun range.

Lord knows, that’s hard enough!

Q: How much of a problem have ticks been for you?

The Big Green Egg on display at the Kitchen Window booth at the Northwest Sportshow.

Got a chance to check out the Northwest Sportshow Friday afternoon. It was about the only time I could make it, and I’m glad I did.

Though I only was able to spend about two hours, it was well worth the trip. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Re-connecting with old friends. Early on in my rounds, I bumped into pro bass fisherman Gary Lake. Years ago, while at Sun Newspapers in the western suburbs, I met Gary and wrote about him in my fishing column. I had the pleasure of fishing with him a few times, and I was able to learn some things from him. I hadn’t seen him in a long time, so it was good to run into him. We both agreed to get out on the water this summer. That will be fun!

I also saw Steve Carney, a fishing guide who also is from my days at the Sun. I have kept in touch with him, and I read his weekly columns in Outdoor News. He’s a straight shooter who tells it like it is. If he does well on the water or in the woods, he says so. If he doesn’t, he says that, too. I have always liked that about him, and respect him a great deal for it. He said he had his best ice fishing season ever this winter, which followed his worst bow hunting season ever in Wisconsin. I told him I might be able to help him with that. I suggested we talk more about it on the water sometime. I sure hope he takes me up on that!

2. Discovering the Big Green Egg. Recently, I had heard about a form of barbecue grill called the Big Green Egg. It has been around for while, but I only have heard of it recently. It’s a charcoal grill, but quite a step up from my Weber. For one thing, you can seal it tight so that the moisture stays inside. That means meat won’t dry out so fast. Second, it has a thermometer mounted in the lid so you always know what the temperature is. And, it’s easily regulated by adjusting the air vent on top. Finally, it uses real charcoal, which gives the meat better flavor.

I learned all of this from a booth run by a store that sells Green Eggs: Kitchen Window in Minneapolis at Calhoun Square. Not only does this store sell the Green Egg, but it also teaches people how to use it. The down side is that these are very spendy grills. There are four sizes, from small all the way to extra large. The large costs $800, which is mighty steep for a grill. I’m not really in a financial position to buy one now, but owning one is now a dream.

Getting a few fishing tips. I’m always on the lookout for tips that will help me put more fish in the boat. I talked with a guy from Pure Fishing and we got on the subject of swimbaits. I first heard about these from In-Fisherman Magazine a few years back. Basically, they are a soft plastic crank bait that you put onto a large jig head and reel in at a steady pace rather than lift and drop it from the bottom. According to editor Doug Stange, all species love these baits, especially walleyes. I have dabbled with them a few times and caught some fish, but always wanted to use them more.

Mike Baumgartner, a Pure Fishing rep, gave me a few tips on how to use them. Like Stange, he said swimbaits can be dynamite at times. He uses them throughout the summer and into the fall. He says once you are set up correctly, they are easy to fish. In fact, he often takes novices out fishing with them, and they catch as many fish as he does.

The key, he said, is to fish them in weeds. That is where they are most effective. And, that is where walleyes spend a surprising amount of their time. And, in many cases, these fish are untouched by other anglers, who frequent  rocks, sand and gravel. So, you’re getting unpressured fish that are in the weeds for one reason – to eat!

That short encounter made me really want to give them a try this summer. Mike has had success on Leech Lake, where there are lots of large cabbage beds. The nice thing about swimbaits is you can cover lots of water. But, there’s one important rigging tip – use a wire leader. Mike says pike love swimbaits, too, and you’ll get bit off many times and lose lots of baits unless you use a  wire leader. Amazingly, that piece of hardware does not scare off walleyes.

No turkey tips

Here’s the surprise of this year’s show – I did not get any turkey hunting tips. I always enjoyed visiting the AmmoCraft & Gobbler Specialties booth owned by Ron Becker, who has a store in Hopkins. But, he stopped coming several years ago. Fortunately, I was able to buy a call from him that is my No. 1 call for turkey hunting. It is made by Quaker Boy and is a very simple push-button call that has proven very effective for me. In fact, I called in two toms with it last spring. It’s called the Pro Push Pin Yelper and sells for about $20. For me, it has been worth every penney. It has brought in several birds to gun range, and it is very easy to use. That is very important when you have a gobbler closing in and are so nervous your hands are shaking.

That’s exactly what happened to me last spring when I called in a nice, double-bearded gobbler in Wisconsin. He responded to a yelp from my box call, then cut the distance in half minutes later and gobbled again. That’s when I pulled out my Pro Push Pin Yelper and hit him with some soft calls, clucks and purrs, which are feeding sounds. He gobbled immediately, then circled to my right and entered a field, where he gobbled again.

Knowing he was likely to keep coming and end up in shotgun range, I grabbed the call to give him one more hen vocalization. When I looked down at my hand, it was shaking. Still, I was able to work the call just fine, and gave him another brief series of clucks and purrs. He gobbled two or three times, and came right in. My shot was only 20 yards.

I shared this story with Ron, who got a kick out of it. With the Wisconsin youth season coming up this weekend, I hope that my son, William, will have a similar experience. He has yet to shoot a bird, but I’m hoping he’ll get his first one on Saturday.

Q: What’s your favorite turkey hunting story?

The annual Northwest Sportshow is going on now at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. Traditionally, it has been a don’t-miss event for me. I have been going off and on ever since I was in grade school.

I hope to make it again this year. Often, there is still snow on the ground, or it has just melted off. Not this year. The snow was gone by the end of the first week in March. But, that does not diminish my interest in the show. I realize I’ll have to act fast, as the show only goes through Sunday. Up until a few years ago, it used to run for nine days, and I would have plenty of time to go down.

For some reason, they squeezed it down to just five days. I have taken my dad a number of times, but not sure if that will work out this year. We have always enjoyed going together, but there’s so little time left that I have my doubts we can pull it off.

Still, even alone, I know I would enjoy it. I like seeing all of the booths for both fishing and hunting lodges, plus all of the gear. I’m not looking to make any major purchases, but it’s still fun to look. And, I may run into some of the people in the industry whom I have known for decades.

I’ll be curious to see if the early spring helps or hurts show attendance. After all, rather than just come to the show and talk about fishing and hunting, people actually can get out on the water or take a walk in the woods. Just this morning, I saw a big wild turkey tom displaying for a flock of hens. That gets my blood pumping for turkey hunting.

Going to the Sportshow will only make this disease worse!

Q: What do you enjoy most about the Sportshow?

For those interested in hunting wild turkeys in Wisconsin this spring, now’s the time to act. Surplus tags went on sale today and the information on availability is on Wisconsin’s DNR website. Beginning today, permits went on sale. Today is designated for Zone 1, tomorrow Zone 2, Wednesday Zone 3, Thursday Zone 4 and Friday Zones 5, 6 and 7. Then, on Saturday, tags in all seven zones will be available.

I got picked in the lottery for Zone 4, Season D. I bought my license over the weekend, and can buy more tags, which I did last  year. You are allowed one per day. I think I will buy a second license for Zone 4, Season D so I can take more than one bird during my season. Last year, I had two young toms come in together (called jakes), and I was able to take them both. The meat on these juvenile birds is delicious, so it was nice to take home two birds.

It’s a nice deal, as the nonresident bonus tags cost only $15 each. I bought my original tag for $65, so I can have two for $80. That’s a great deal in my book. Other states charge much more. I paid $175 in Missouri (where I got skunked several years ago), and Iowa is even more. I think the hunting is every bit as good in Wisconsin, plus it’s as shorter drive. Not only that, for less money, I can have more tags than either Iowa (limit of one tag) or Missouri (two).

So, for me, the choice is easy – I’ll be turkey in Wisconsin this spring. And, of course, I’ll be getting a tag in Minnesota, too. I will hunt Season E. And, for the first time, I’ll be able to get the tag for this season over the counter rather than through the lottery.

My only concern at this point is the ridiculously early spring, which could potentially move the breeding up on the calendar. This happened two years ago and, by mid May, the toms were fizzling out and much harder to call in. My Wisconsin season begins May 2, and I hope the gobblers will still be plenty active then.

All of the deer shown here were shot illegally and now reside on the Minnesota DNR's Wall of Shame.

For the first time in my life, I attended the Minnesota Deer Classic, which took place over the weekend at the State Fair Coliseum in St. Paul. Thought I could get some tips both for my upcoming wild turkey hunting seasons this spring and for deer hunting in the fall.

It wasn’t easy finding time to go. I spent most of Saturday at the state high school hockey tournament, taking photos at both the Class A and AA championship games. Then, I had two photo shoots on Sunday.

Fortunately, there was a window of about two hours to check out the show. What I noticed most inside the coliseum were antlers and lots of them – and very, very large. Seeing huge rack after huge rack made me ask myself a fundamental question: Why don’t I see any bucks like these when I’m in the woods?

I’m not sure why, but it’s nice to know they’re at least out there. Hopefully, with at least another decade of deer hunting left, I’ll encounter a trophy like these.

In the meantime, I’m looking for ways to improve my hunting skills. One way came via a product I discovered at the show. It’s called FireBUGS trail lights and will help me with a very annoying problem – finding my deer stand in the dark.

I started using trail tacks this year and they did work. However, you need to turn on some kind of light so they will illuminate in the dark as you’re making your way through the woods. That risks being seen by deer and spooking them. FireBUGS are small, battery-powered lights that are advertised to be visible for up to .8 of a mile away. They are dark during the day, then light up at night. They come in both red and green and are said not to spook game.

I got a nice deal at the show – six lights, plus 12 batteries for $15, half the price that they sell for online. They are supposed to last two weeks or more, so you can attach one to your stand and to key spots along the way a week before the season, and you’re good to go.

There is one stand I hunt out of during the gun season that has always been tricky to find in the dark. It’s only about 30 yards in the woods, and I can see it plainly in the daylight. But, darned if it doesn’t become very tough to find in the dark. I can remember two mornings in particular when I ended up wandering around looking for it in the dark. In one case, I thought it had been stolen.

The good news is, on both occasions, I eventually found the stand – and killed a buck from it both times.

This year, I had a little trouble finding it, but not so bad. And, after sitting in it for more than eight hours, I killed a nice 8-point buck on Opening Day of the gun season.

Another interesting booth was the Wall of Shame, put up by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. There were some impressive mounts (see photo above), plus the set of antlers from the now-famous Cannon Falls buck that was poached in the fall of 2009. It is believed by the DNR to be the highest scoring 8-point buck ever taken, with a net score of 185 inches. Most hunters will never even see a buck in their lifetime that would score that high, no matter how many points it has (generally, more points yield a higher score).

I’m glad I got to see the rack, and I’m really glad I bought a set of FireBUGS. I’m always happy to be able to find a good product at a low price.

Q: What is the best hunting product you’ve ever bought for under $20?

I was surprised to see some big changes in the Minnesota spring wild turkey hunt for 2012. First, DNR officials have consolidated zones statewide to create much larger ones. There now are only going to be 12 zones, as opposed to 81 last spring. Second, they are only going to do a lottery for the first four time periods, with the final four (E, F, G and H) available over the counter.

I have had to stop and think about whether the changes are a good idea. I know they were being proposed within the last few months, and the public was invited to give input to the DNR. But, I didn’t offer any feedback because I couldn’t make up my mind if I liked the new concept or not.

Two of my main concerns when it comes to turkey hunting are overall hunting pressure on the birds and hunter interference. I think the previous system was good at addressing both, and it remains to be seen what will happen going forward. Wisconsin did the same consolidation of its zones several years ago without any negative effects in either of the above-mentioned problem areas, so I’m cautiously optimistic.

Yet, I think a big reason for the lack of negative impact in Wisconsin is that the state is better overall for turkey hunting than Minnesota. There is lots more prime habitat and, therefore, more birds. So, even if the management is less than ideal, the strong bird population in Wisconsin can handle a little mismanagement.

I’m not sure the same is true in Minnesota. I don’t think there is as much prime habitat as there is in Wisconsin. That does two things. First, it means there can be pockets of good bird numbers, rather than good numbers spread across all of the habitat. Second, the hunters pick up on that, which can increase the pressure in areas with good bird numbers, leading to potential overharvest of birds in these areas.

I think this is something the DNR should monitor closely. There is nothing tougher when you’re turkey hunting than to show up during your season on land that has been pounded by other hunters. Or, worse yet, coming out to a piece of property and finding other hunters already on it, or on land right next to yours. That happened to me last spring, and I was very frustrated until I moved to the other end of the property and got a bird there.

In recent years, I have switched to hunting later seasons. I like the warmer weather, and the bird patterns tend to be more consistent. It was nice applying for Season E or F, which had fewer applicants and, therefore, a 100 percent chance of getting drawn.

Obviously, hunting those two seasons is a sure thing again this year under the new system. But, I wonder if that will also mean more hunters out in the woods at that time. I like how the old system limited the number of hunters in a given zone during a given five-day season. Now that this restriction has been removed, I have a worry that I’ll end up seeing more hunters than birds in the  woods this spring.

But, I’m going to try to withhold judgment until I have gone hunting. After all, I was against the four-point antles restriction for deer hunting that began in 2010. But, I shot a nice eight-point buck this year and my thinking has changed. I now have started dreaming about maybe shooting the biggest buck of my life. The new rule could help make that dream come true.

I think the key to successful hunting this spring will be flexibility and having more than one option in case things don’t pan out on one piece of property. My experience in turkey hunting has showed there are benefits to being flexible, and also benefits to being persistent.

When I encountered other hunters on the property I was on last spring — whom, I found out later, did not have permission to be there that day — I felt disgusted and wanted to leave the woods. But, I stayed and went to the other end of the property, where I had gotten a bird the previous year. I did some calling, and a hen came in followed by a young tom (called a jake). Amazingly, he left the hen and came over to check out the “new girl.” He offered me a perfect 30-yard shot, which I took and, thus, filled my Minnesota tag at about 7 a.m. on the first day of my season.

At the moment, I’m still basking in the glow of my successful deer hunts in November, but I guarantee that I will get fired up about spring turkey hunting as the winter progresses. It won’t be long before I break out my hen calls and start practicing!

On a day that seemed more suitable for fishing than hunting, I went afield for the annual Wisconsin youth deer hunt, which took place on Saturday and Sunday.

I led two young hunters in a quest for whitetails — my son, William, and Pete Thompson, son of Chris Thompson, academic dean at the St. Paul Seminary. A year ago, the four of us went to a nice piece of private land in Dunn County and William took his first deer ever. This year, we were all hoping Pete would do the same.

We hunted two ends of an L-shaped field of clover, which the deer love. The landowner had been seeing deer in the field all summer and fall, so we were optimistic.

In the heat of the day

We decided not to hunt in the morning, and go out in the afternoon instead. William isn’t a huge fan of getting up at 4 a.m. to drive an hour to our spot, then climb into a blind in the dark. Plus, we figured it was more likely that deer would visit the field in the evening, as they typically do.

We got to the property at about 3:30 p.m. and prepared to go to our separate blinds. The temperature was in the 80s, as it had been all week. I knew that would put a damper on deer movement, but was hoping at least one or two would move into the field before the end of legal shooting hours (about 7:05 p.m.).

William and I settled comfortably into our blind, then waited quietly. Within an hour or so, a group of wild turkeys came out into the field to our right, then turned and walked right in front of the blind. I used my rangefinder to measure the distance — 21 yards. I wish I would have had a turkey tag and my bow. It would have been a very makable shot, as I have been practicing at 20 yards for several months.

William did have a turkey tag, but we did not bring a shotgun to the blind. It didn’t matter. He didn’t want to shoot anyway because he didn’t want to risk spooking any deer that might be in the area. So, we enjoyed the show and watched them feed their way across the field and into the woods.

Approaching the magic hour

As we reached the final hour of legal shooting time, I started getting pumped up for a deer sighting. This is my favorite time of day to hunt deer, and I had a feeling something might show up. All was quiet until about 6:15 when I heard a shot ring out from the Thompson’s blind. After a brief pause, Pete’s 20-gauge shotgun boomed again. Then, one more time before falling silent.

We had agreed that, no matter what happened, we would all stay in our blinds until the end of legal shooting hours, so that the field would not be disturbed by human traffic. That way, more deer might eventually come out.

Thus, William and I waited until 7:05 before hustling over to the Thompsons. I was hoping they would say that a deer was down. But, no such news greeted my ears — only the heartache of Pete telling us that he fired three times and watched the deer walk away and into the woods on the far end of the field with no signs of being hit.

We searched for a while for blood on the ground, but found none. Thus, for the second year in a row, Pete shot at a deer but didn’t hit it.

Unfortunately, that was the only deer sighting of the weekend. The Thompsons went out Sunday morning and didn’t see anything, and we all went out that afternoon and didn’t see a deer. This year, we would return home without any venison.

A time for learning

I told Chris that it is not at all unusual for young hunters like Pete to miss. In fact, it’s more common for them to miss than to bring down a deer. My two oldest boys, Joe and Andy, did not harvest their first deer until they were 15. Both either missed deer altogether or had non-fatal wounding shots prior to that.

That being said, I also told Chris that it will be very important for Pete to do lots of practice shooting before next year’s hunt. I did that with William last year and I feel that is a big reason why he was able to make his shot. Pete only went to the shooting range once before this year’s hunt, and I don’t feel that’s enough. I will do what I can to make sure he gets more practice next year.

I felt bad that William didn’t even see a deer, but he has two chances left, in Minnesota and Montana. Minnesota has a youth deer hunt over MEA weekend, Thursday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 23. We have permission to hunt a piece of private land near Cannon Falls that weekend, so we’ll probably give it a try.

Then, we’re planning to go to Montana over Thanksgiving to visit Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sharon. We’ll buy whitetail doe tags, which are modestly priced. Plus, there are lots of does in the area we’ll be hunting near Great Falls. So, I’m confident William and I both will get some good chances.

I had a fun time in the studio at Relevant Radio this afternoon. Joining me for a show about the outdoors was Father Troy Przybilla, the vocations director for the archdiocese. The show airs tomorrow (Friday) morning at 9 a.m. and will last about 30 minutes.

He happens to be an avid outdoors enthusiast, and I knew he had some good stories to tell about his adventures. He did not disappoint. I got to hear about the 50-inch muskie he caught one year, plus he told stories about his turkey hunts in southeastern Minnesota. And, in the process, he was able to connect those tales with his calling to the priesthood.

It was fun to get a chance to sit down and talk with him about our mutual passion for the outdoors. As we parted ways, he said he’d like to go fishing with me on Lake Mille Lacs for smallmouth bass this summer. I gave him a simple answer:

I’m all in!

I have heard that male wild turkeys can have two beards or more, but I had never seen such a bird until yesterday. For the first time, I not only saw such a bird, but shot one.

It came after several hours of work trying to call in a tom in Wisconsin. After shooting three yearling toms (called jakes) in Minnesota and Wisconsin, I had one tag left to try for an adult tom (also called a longbeard, in reference to the longer beards adult gobblers have).

Fast start

I decided to hunt a 40-acre piece of property where my son, William, had shot his first deer last fall. Woods surround the property on three sides, with a small cluster of pine trees in the middle of a big field of clover.

Wouldn’t you know it? When I pulled up the long driveway and parked in front of the landowner’s garage, I heard a turkey gobble from that cluster of pines. I tried to figure out a way to get close without being seen. I decided to move away and try to circle around and get to the back corner of the property, which is where I thought this bird would go.

He went there after flying down, alright, but he got there long before I did, and then left the property soon after. Other birds were gobbling on the roost, but they shut up quickly after flying down, except one bird across the road that continued to gobble.

I moved to the woods closest to him on this property, and hoped to call him across the road and up the hill. But, this bird was stubborn and stayed on the other side. Eventually, he quit gobbling, and the woods fell silent.

Waiting game

So, I had to figure out what to do next. I decided to walk the perimeter of the property and listen for gobbles. I walked short distances, then sat down and called.

As I did so, I cleared out spots to sit later if I needed to. I used a small pair of clippers – a very important tool – to trim some brush and give me room to maneuver my gun.

Generally, I like to trim some of the brush, but not all. That way, there is still some left to offer concealment. I figured that if I had some spots cleared out, I could jump into them fast if I needed to later. Hopefully, this prep work would pay dividends.

After not hearing much for about an hour or so, I finally heard a gobble at about 8:30. I had reached the corner of the property and turned 90 degrees to follow the property line. Shortly after doing so, I heard a very raspy gobble down the hill and back in the woods. The brush looked very thick – just the kind of place an old gobbler would feel safe.

I found a small opening along the fence line and set up. I called for a while, but the bird never answered. Eventually, I gave up on him and started moving again.

The right time to move?

Sometimes, I like to sit in one spot and wait for the birds to move through. Other times, I move around a lot to try and find an active bird. Because I wasn’t familiar with this property, I decided to stay on the move. I just didn’t know what areas the turkeys liked to use.

After about 9 o’clock, I started hearing birds gobble again. At the same time, the clouds were beginning to thicken and I started hearing thunder close by. I wondered if I may have to make a quick exit from the field. But, there was only a little rain, not enough to chase me back to my car.

For some reason, the weather seemed to turn the turkeys on. Gobbling picked up, and so did my hopes. Problem was, the gobbling was sporadic and there were birds gobbling in several directions. Seems like I would move in the direction of one bird, set up, then the bird would stop gobbling. Then, I would hear a bird gobble near where I had just been, and I’d move back again.

This went on for about an hour. I was along the back edge of the property and heard a bird gobbling on the neighbor’s land not too far away. But, it didn’t seem to be interested in my calling. It never gobbled right after I called, and didn’t seem to be moving closer.

Costly mistake

Finally, I got tired of this bird and decided to move. I went back to the first fenceline I had hunted, which ran perpendicular to the fenceline I was on. I only went about 125 yards or so, and set up in a thin row of trees and brush between the landowner’s clover field and a picked corn field on the neighbor’s land. I figured the birds might move back and forth between these fields. And, it’s where the bird that was roosted in the cluster of pines went at dawn.

This move turned out to be a mistake. Even though I heard a bird gobble from somewhere on that picked corn field, I soon learned that I gave up too quickly on the last spot. Just minutes after sitting down, I heard a gobble from right where I had just been sitting. That is one of the most agonizing things a turkey hunter can experience.

The bird gobbled twice, and I knew it had come in looking for the “hen” that had been calling. Had I just had a little more patience, I might be putting my tag on that bird right then.

Redemption

Oh well, I thought. What can I do? Perhaps, I could call that bird over to me. Fortunately, while all this was happening, a gobbler sounded off back in the woods near where I was set up. After gobbling a ways off, it sounded like it was much closer. Now, I had two birds gobbing away!

Not a bad problem to have. I was optimistic that one of them would come in. Sure enough, just a few minutes later, I heard a gobble very close. The volume and clarity of the gobble told me the bird was out in the field. In fact, I was pretty sure he was standing in the corner where I had walked earlier. He couldn’t have been more than 50 yards away.

I turned my chair toward the bird and tucked in next to a big tree. There was a lot of brush in front of me now, as I hadn’t trimmed any in this direction earlier. But, there were some holes in the brush, which would give me a couple of small windows to shoot through.

Time for seduction

Sometimes, when birds come out like this, they will sit there strutting and gobbling, waiting for the hen to show up. My strategy at times like these is to hit them with the soft stuff – clucks and purrs that hens make where they’re content and are interested more in feeding than breeding. In other words, playing hard to get.

I pulled out a little push button call made by Quaker Boy called a Pro Push Pin Yelper, and made a short series of clucks and purrs. The bird gobbled with gusto to these sounds. I’m always amazed at how effective soft calling is at bringing in a gobbler those last precious yards into gun range – and equally amazed at how so many hunters fail to employ the “soft stuff” in their calling arsenal.

Within a minute or two, I saw the gobbler’s head bobbing through the brush. He passed through the first opening and was headed for the second. I quickly pointed my gun at the next opening and took the safety off. Within a few seconds, the bird’s head and neck appeared again, and I pulled the trigger.

The bird went down, and I felt both joy and relief. After making a mistake by moving at the wrong time, I still was able to bag a bird. This has happened before, and most turkey hunters will tell you that mistakes in the field are inevitable. You just have to keep at it. The lesson I have learned over and over again is to be persistent. You can fail nine times, and succeed on the 10^th try.

Big bird

This ended up being my nicest bird of the season. It was an adult tom that weighed 20 pounds. Sure, toms can get quite a bit bigger than that – up to 28 pounds. But, this bird was big enough for me.

And, it had an extra bonus – a double beard. That’s a first for me, and another great part of the story. It also had 1-inch, pointed spurs, which likely makes it a 3-year-old bird. The older a tom gets, the tougher he is to fool, so getting this older bird makes the hunt even more gratifying.

More about brush

Many hunters consider brush the enemy when it comes to turkey hunting. I’ve heard many stories about how toms have hung up behind brush and the hunter never could get a shot.

But, brush can be your friend, or, at least, it needn’t be the frustration that many make it out to be. For starters, it’s important to understand how turkeys react to brush.

Even though the toms are very interested in breeding right now, their number-one priority at all times is survival. That is why they are so wary and hard to call in.

And, it’s also why they will often come in through thick brush, even when a more open path is available. Because their eyesight is so keen, they can see through thick brush far better than we humans can. They also know that predators won’t be able to surprise them as easily when they have to move through brush.

That’s why so many hunters have birds come in behind some brush. It happened to my brother earlier this week, and to my son two years ago. My brother chose not to shoot, while my son did, but neither got the bird in the brush. Fortunately, in both cases, they later shot birds that came out into the open.

But, you can actually use a turkey’s affinity with brush to your advantage. I like to set up in some brush, so that the tom has to come in close to see through it, which will bring him into gun range. All I need to do is trim enough of it away for me to move my gun and have a few small openings.

That leads us to the problem of shooting through the brush when the moment of truth arrives. I think many hunters are scared to shoot through brush, and too many choose not to take what I would consider to be a makable shot.

A friend of mine helped me with this concept a number of years ago. He noted that every shell contains several hundred pellets, and that many of them get through the brush without hitting it. He said that, basically, if you can see the head and neck of the tom through the brush, and if the bird is in range, your pellets will bring it down.

That’s exactly what happened for me yesterday. In fact, I was amazed at how many pellets hit the bird. My shot was just a bit low, and I found quite a few pellets in the body of the bird when I was taking the breast out. That’s all the proof I needed that shooting though brush isn’t the vexing problem many hunters think it is. Just be sure that there are no thick branches between you and the bird. Those will, in fact, stop or deflect pellets.

Ending with gratitude

So, I finish my hunting season with all four of my tags filled. As always, I said a prayer of thanks to God in the field yesterday as I was carrying my bird out. The Lord has been good to me, and my prayers for successful hunts have been answered.

I just have one prayer left – for my son, William. He has a Wisconsin tag for this week as well, and I plan on taking him out Sunday morning. I tried helping him get a bird earlier this spring in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, but we couldn’t quite get it done. He did take a shot, but it was a long one and he missed. I’m hoping his next shot will be a lot closer!