BowCast Blog

I have always said , "If you kill one turkey you found a dumb bird, if you kill two birds you are lucky but if you kill more than three birds you know what you are doing," Jason Z from Fargo, ND has turkey hunting down to a science. Below is his story, Great Job! - Jason

Stefen's Dad, Chris Gomes sent me this story. I it great to hear about a kid take his first animal. The best part is that Stefen really worked at it; he practiced, he put the time in and he made the shot. Stefen great job and thank your dad for taking you hunting. - Take Care Jason

Hey Everybody.

      I have attached a news release from NWTF announcing Rob Keck's Resignation.  He is truely a class act and he will be missed -- Jason

T minus 3 days.  I got out to the range a few times this weekend.  Friday I never even took my bow out of the case because when I got to the range and got out of my truck, the wind picked up and it was miserable.  Turned right around and headed back to take some shots in my basement range.

As many of you have heard me say on the show "Tactical Practice" is the best kind to get you ready for in the field encounters.  I have seen folks on the BowCast blog talk about different methods of "practice" and how to mix it up.  I believe in anyone's ala carte menu of different ways to practice (eyes closed, line exercises, vegas faces, 3d etc.), you should have an item to choose for tactical practice.  Often that involves a 3D target and shooting from various typical positions you might encounter in the field.

I have been blogging about these heads over the last couple of weeks in my Turkey Prep series.  Thought I would include a few pics for folks who have not seen them yet.  I am liking them more and more every time I shoot them.

In my past life I was a fly fishing guide at a pretty high-end fishing lodge in Northern New Mexico. We used to have a saying, “There are flies that catch fish and then there are flies that catch fishermen”. The call industry is very similar. Last night while digging thru my favorite mail order catalog I counted 267 different turkey calls but they all pretty much worked and perform the same way. You either rubbed two things together, you blow thru a reed or you flapped it to get a sound. So why so many calls? Well the real answer is because at one time or another they all work. When I am on the hunt, I carry at least 10 different calls with me, most are different kinds of diaphragm calls with different reed designs but unless I find the lucky one, I use them all. I can’t explain it but it always happens, I can be in a spot that I know holds turkeys but I can’t get them to gobble , then I switch calls and all hell breaks loose. For some reason some calls just seem to work better at certain times. I wish I could give you a formula but if you are not getting any action switch calls and see what happens, you might strike that magic note.

When I am trying to get a shock gobble I have had my best luck with a box call. I really like the fact that they are loud and are easy to use. Each manufacture will say there calls are “tuned” and give a reason why there calls are better and you will notice that each call might sound different but when it comes right down to it I don’t really think it matters what brand you choose; the turkeys will either like it or they won’t. The key is to make sure that your call is properly maintained. Make sure you clean the bottom of the lid and the rail and chalk them periodically. Regular black board chalk usually works best.

BOX CALL

For me Turkey Hunting never happens like the on the TV shows. I have been fortunate to take a number of birds but I have never had the classic setup and call'em in kill. I have had to put the "spot-n-stalk" on turkey, the roll-over and shoot them out of my sleeping bag bird, and then there was don't bug me I am eating lunch bird. When you are hunting big country killing a bird is a lot of luck and work. I think birds fall into two groups - they are either ready to work or they the ready to leave you in the dust.

You can either hunt the dumb birds or the smart birds, I prefer to clean the gene pool a little bit and hunt the dumb ones. For me that means finding a bird that is ready to work and leaving the tough ones for the road hunters to play with.

Folks,

The BowCast development team has been hard at work this weekend. I want to thank each and everyone on the team for pushing forward with the site technology and the content to truly make this the #1 archery resource out there!

The BowCast team will be posting a number of videos on BowCast.com dedicated to Turkey hunting - setups and equipment.  These are bonus videos and won't necessarily go to iTunes, so check the video section of BowCast.com frequently over the next several weeks to review these informational videos.  The first one is up there, and we cover ground blinds:

http://www.bowcast.com/content/blogcategory/22/61/

Gobble, Gobble, Gibble...I wish Turkey only cost a nickel!

Winter still has it's hold on us here in Colorado, but, that doesn't prevent me from thinking ahead to the spring Turkey seasons here in the west. Who is with me? I can't wait to pack up my blind, my bow, some new and cool broadheads for birds, and get out on the river bottom and chase those wiley creatures around!

I was dusting off some old video, and found this gem. I took this jake out of my double bull in Nebraska back in 2005. If you have never seen a flock of turkeys fighting to establish pecking order, this is a great view.