Year: 2024

Ethics are important for all hunters, but for turkey hunters, they can make the difference between a pleasurable outdoor experience and disaster.  If you don’t believe it, ask David Bozoian.

He was hunting on his land in Lewis County, Missouri, when two men who lacked ethics came onto his property.  The trespassers stalked close enough to Bozoian that he could hear their voices.  Instead of shouting to alert the trespassers to his presence, Bozoian sat quietly.  Moments later, two shots rang out and lead pellets hissed over his head.  The violation of trespass law and hunting ethics earned one of the shooters a $200 fine.  That wouldn’t have been much comfort to Bozoian if the shots had been a little lower.

Deficient hunting ethics play a role in about three-quarters of all spring turkey hunting accidents, according to statistics from the Missouri Department of Conservation.  That is the percentage of firearms-related turkey hunting accidents that involve a victim mistaken for game.  In these incidents, the shooters failed to observe the most basic rule of hunting safety – positively identifying their target.  Instead, they shot at a flash of color, a movement glimpsed through undergrowth or a sound they thought was a turkey.

Positive Identification

Positive identification requires waiting to see the entire animal.  Good hunting ethics also dictate waiting for a clear shot to ensure a clean kill. When you can see the whole turkey, in the open, inside your shotgun’s killing range, it’s pretty hard to mistake it for another hunter or a decoy.

Because safety is an integral part of hunting ethics, ethical hunters avoid actions that could put anyone – including themselves – in harm’s way.  For example, safe hunters don’t wear white, red or blue – colors associated with gobblers’ heads.  T-shirts, handkerchiefs and even socks in these colors have been cited as contributing to turkey hunting accidents.

Avoid Becoming a Target

Head-to-toe camouflage is another must for turkey hunters. More than one hunter has been injured when another hunter noticed an un-camouflaged hand moving while operating a turkey call.  Another way to avoid being shot is to hang a hunter-orange hat or vest in nearby vegetation before settling in to call.  Turkeys only associate orange with danger if it is on a moving hunter, so advertising your presence to other hunters won’t decrease your chances of tagging a gobbler.

Any turkey hunter who values his or her skin should bring hunter-orange clothing to the field and wear it when moving from place to place.  That is among the easiest ways to reduce the chances of being mistaken for game.

One sure way to attract the attention of every hunter in your area is to use a gobble call.  If you do, you should take extra precautions to avoid becoming a target.  For starters, always position yourself to minimize the chances of line-of-fire accidents.  Sitting with your back against a tree that’s wider than your shoulders eliminates the possibility of being shot from behind.  Also try to position yourself with substantial barriers, such as brush piles or hillsides, to your sides.

Decoys Work – Use Caution

The use of decoys requires extra safety awareness, particularly if you include a fake jake or gobbler. These look like targets to other hunters.  Even a hen can draw fire from an inexperienced or unethical hunter.

When using decoys, try to position them behind some visual screen so they would be invisible to hunters approaching from directly in front of you. This reduces the likelihood of line-of-fire injuries. Placing decoys in a spot lower than your calling position also helps keep you out of the line of fire.

Make sure decoys are completely hidden when moving between hunting spots. You don’t want another hunter to see a turkey’s head bobbing through the woods under your arm.

Never Stalk a Turkey

On the other side of the equation, your first thought when you hear a gobble should be whether it might be coming from another hunter.  Don’t be the one who puts others in danger.  It’s not a good idea to try to stalk within shooting distance of a gobbler.  For one thing, the odds are against you, because gobblers’ vision is much keener than yours.  More important, your stealthy movements could make another hunter think a tom is approaching, and you have made yourself a target.

Whenever possible, set up to call in spots that offer a clear field of view ahead and to your sides.  This way, it will be impossible for another hunter to approach unseen.  If you do see another hunter, shout to advertise your presence.  Yes, you will spoil your chances of shooting a turkey at that spot, but that probably was already ruined by the interloper.  Waving a camouflaged arm can make you look like something to shoot at.

Resist the temptation to split up when hunting with a partner.  The ease with which you can lose track of your buddy’s location is evident in hunting incident reports where friends or family members shoot one another.  It happens every year.

These defensive measures are particularly important when hunting public land, such as conservation areas or national forest.  But don’t be lulled into complacency if you are the only one with permission to hunt a particular spot.  Remember David Bozoian’s near miss and take every possible precaution to avoid being or creating a victim.

When the season’s is at 4^th and long most hunters punt, despite the multitude of great bucks still in the game. Here’s how to score in the final quarter, even on the last day.

“You guys can sleep in tomorrow if you want,” said guide Josh Cobb, my host on the eve of Iowa’s late muzzleloading season. “What???? After traveling half way across the country, I’m gonna sleep in on opening day.” As I would learn, winter hunting takes different tactics and strategies than early season. Then Cobb added, “I’ve been seeing a 200-inch buck recently.   If I can spot him, we’ll make a plan.”

The Iowa snow cover crunched with each step making a deer drive the best tactic for the morning. Cobb jumped several bucks on this drive, yet only one crossed my path within range. Ironically, two weeks later, a hunter would stand against the same tree and take a dandy 165-inch, 10-pointer. Right place, wrong time.

Second Season isn’t Second Best

“Clients from Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other high-pressure states think you must bag a deer in the first five minutes or the hunt is over,” said outfitter Jim Aller, only partially in jest. “Hunting the big farm country of Kansas and the Midwest is very different than back East. Personally, I think the second week of the season is the better week and that’s when we almost always kill our biggest bucks.”

After the shotgun season closes, Kansas offers a late archery season like many states across the country. “That’s the only chance the guides and I get to hunt and honestly, it’s a really good time,” says Aller. “The deer are bunched up near food and you can pattern them pretty darned well. The days are shorter, you don’t have to get up as early and you can virtually hunt a food plot all day long. The weather is cold, but not unbearable especially with the newer insulated clothes.”

Afternoon Delight

Phillip Vanderpool took a Boone & Crocket buck with a muzzleloading rifle in a second season and is quick to point out how to adapt to winter deer hunting. “If it’s second season, you want to concentrate on food sources right off the bat,” says the Hunters Specialties Pro Staff hunter. Interestingly, he prefers to hunt different areas in the morning and afternoon.

“Deer don’t move very much or very far in late season because they are conserving as much energy as they can,” Vanderpool says. “I try to catch deer moving from a bedding area to a food source but that’s difficult in the morning in crunchy snow or ice. Unless you can get to a morning stand without spooking deer, you are better off waiting until the afternoon.”

Expect the Unexpected

Second season bucks are motivated by conserving energy, food, and mating in that order. No one, (to my knowledge) has text messaged a survey to the herd asking, would you rather: A) Take a nap, B) Do lunch or C) Chase women? However, when a snow storm hits, deer are likely to just lay low initially and may “yard up” in the Northeast. A prolonged cold spell will bring deer into food plots and to other food sources if available.

Don’t forget the rut. “If you see a big buck in the open in late season, there’s usually an estrous doe involved,” says Josh Cobb, mentioned earlier. “After the bucks have been chased a while, they hang pretty close to cover.” A healthy deer population with an adequate food source will produce fawns that breed as yearlings. These youngsters come into heat in December, January, even February and may force a buck to get his A-B-C priorities out of order.

Successful second season hunters adapt strategies from the pre-rut and rut including rattling horns and deer calls. If you find fresh scrapes, rubs, and other rut signs, rattling and doe bleats can be extremely effective. Without signs of breeding activity, use them in moderation. Most importantly, be out there. As the late Yogi Berra once said, “It isn’t over until it’s over.”

Decades ago, squirrels were a very popular game species. I once flew to Mississippi to hunt squirrels with Mr. Fox, the patriarch of the Mossy Oak family, a hunt I’ll never forget. Mr. Fox belonged to a hunt club where members bagged a limit most days of the season and graced their tables several times a week.

Today, many youngsters don’t begin their hunting career trying to sneak within range of a wily grey or fox squirrel. Instead, young hunters take a deer as their first game animal, partially because of the excitement and abundance of the species. Squirrels teach woodsmanship and we’d all be better at our craft if we had to bag a limit at least once each year. The furry buggers have good hearing and eyesight, like wild turkeys, that make them difficult to stalk and their elusive tree-to-tree travel can leave a hunter sitting by one trunk as a sly squirrel sneaks away among the treetops.

Squirrel hunting is fun and challenging with one drawback. The rascals can be very difficult to skin unless you know a secret which I’ll get to in a moment. I’ve killed squirrels with bow and arrow, yet the equipment cost is significant and can reach $40 per pound. A shotgun is your best bet in which ever gauge you shoot well. My first animal was a squirrel taken with a .410, a memorable trophy. Because squirrels are elusive, you’ll need number 5 or 6 shot from a shotgun with a full choke. The wide pattern of the shotgun allows you to make moving or running shots as squirrels rarely stand still.

If you hunt in late muzzleloading seasons, don’t pass up a fat fox squirrel that’s foraging for nuts. Today’s in-line rifles are accurate enough to make a head shot which saves valuable venison. I once killed a doe in deep snow and as I field dressed the deer, a fox squirrel made the mistake of passing by. Each fell to a flintlock.

If a rifle is your choice, consider the .22 long rifle or the 17 HMR. You’ll need a good scope on par with a big game optic and a shooting sling for those times you can’t get a rest from a tree. Air guns are also an option and possibly allow you to hunt in urban areas where squirrels are often a pest, but be sure to check your local regulations.

From Tree to Table

Some states offer spring squirrel seasons that allow hunters to harvest the first batch of young born in the new year. Unlike deer, you don’t want the biggest beast in the woods as older, large bodied squirrels, can be tough and often require a pressure cooker to prepare well. Young squirrels, on the other hand, can be easier to stalk and make excellent table fare.

Skinning a squirrel is the down side of the sport. My father and I each killed a limit of squirrels and after returning home spent two hours skinning them. He vowed never to do that again. Once a squirrel is cold and stiff, skinning it is difficult, while if you skin them when first killed the skin comes off easily. Be sure to carry a knife and a few plastic quart-size freezer bags with you and you can return to your vehicle with game that’s ready to cook. The following video shows you how to skin a squirrel in about a minute and its even easier if the squirrel is still warm. Check out this video and get ready for a challenging hunt and great table fare: Click Here for Video