Around the Outdoors – April 3, 2008

Shortly after wolves were taken from the federal endangered species list, at least three were taken this weekend by Wyoming residents. According to Wyoming officials, all three of the confirmed kills came in the newly designated predator zone for wolves. Inside that zone, the animals can be shot on sight without limits, as long as the time, location and sex of the kill is reported to the Game and Fish Department within ten days.

On Friday, after the wolves were removed from the endangered species list, they fell under the control of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Under their guidelines, wolves in the state’s extreme northwest corner fall in the state’s trophy game zone and are afforded some protection. Outside that area, however, wolves are considered predators similar to coyotes.

A number of wildlife groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, have notified the federal government of their intent to sue over the wolf delisting, once a requisite sixty-day waiting period is up at the end of April. The groups have not ruled out seeking an emergency injunction under the Endangered Species Act to have the declaration voided.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi House of Representatives has passed a bill allowing hunting of deer over grain or other baits. Critics say it takes the sport out of hunting; others say it simply provides an additional way to help control the state’s growing deer population. While critics say it’s unethical, Mississippi House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Chairman Bo Taylor offered this solution: “It’s all about ethics. If you feel it’s unethical, then don’t do it.”

Under the bill, food must be placed in feeders or spin feeders.

The Idaho Game and Fish Department is offering a simple explanation for the deaths of 200,000 Chinook salmon smolts scheduled for release into the Lochsa River last Friday. The explanation? Cold weather and human error. Water flows to an acclimation pond were interrupted when a valve on an intake pipe froze. Hatchery attendants didn’t notice the valve.

In New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine’s proposed budget cuts are going to be closing nine state parks and cut services at three others. Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, representing Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, noted – correctly – that the majority of the parks set for closure are in Republican areas of the state. Corzine, as you know if you’ve read much about the continued battles between Corzine, the Department of Environmental Protection and conservationists, is a Democrat.

“It couldn’t be more clearer,” McHose says,“First he said he plans on eliminating the state’s Agriculture Department, which is one of the most efficiently run departments we have, and now he intends on closing down our state parks. How interesting that most of them are located in primarily Republican territory.

“New Jersey parks are not the cause of our state budget problems,” McHose, a member of the Assembly Budget Committee, continued, “a self-serving governor who is clearly out of touch with our residents is.”

She also called the governor a hypocrite for going after an entity that actually benefits the state’s economy. “These parks attract millions of recreational visitors and tourists each year that are a much needed boost to the state’s economy and the economies of the regions surrounding these parks,” she explained. “Mr. Corzine should spend his time battling the real problem – excessive government spending, waste and abuse – and not targeting our resources that actually benefit the state. He should take a long, hard look at the waste in so many of our school districts and the abuse in the state’s New Jersey Family Care program.”

Maybe so, but if history is any guide, Corzine will pretty much do what he wants as the director of the Environmental Protection agency has proven to be more interested in protecting her job than the environment.

So what’s new, right?

It may not be good news, but…we’ll keep you posted.

 

A Turkey Hunter’s Turkey Hunter

Incredibly, Tom Kelly is about to complete his 70th season in the Alabama turkey woods with no signs of slowing down.

Kelly, whom I consider the poet laureate of the turkey world although he is far too modest to suggest such, started his turkey hunting career as an 11-year-old under inauspicious conditions. During his turkey hunting career, he’s seen Alabama’s turkey population go from virtually nil to today’s half-million.

“I started turkey hunting in 1938,” said Kelly, who now lives in Spanish Fort. “And, of course, there weren’t enough turkeys to count. I can remember my grandfather telling my daddy that it was a pity to start it, because by the time he gets grown there ain’t gonna be any. It’s like telling a kid Santa Claus is going to die next week.

“In the beginning, good gosh, there was so little turkey hunting. In fact, I’ve got the November 1944 edition of Field and Stream. In it, they listed all of the hunting regulations for every state in the union and the Canadian provinces. There were also migratory bird regulations. All of that was on two pages. That year, 1944, there wasn’t but three states with a spring turkey season. I think it was nine or 10 states that had a turkey season, but only three with a spring season – Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas. And I don’t think the Mississippi and Arkansas seasons were but two weeks long.    I fiddled around with the number of licenses sold by counties. There were a few turkeys around here (southwest Alabama) and up around Talladega. In that year, in the entire United States, there wasn’t but 1,500 spring turkey hunters. It was only three states and the seasons were short. And now, you go to one banquet and there’ll be 1,500 folks.”

Not only was there few turkey hunters, the birds were few and far between back then. Kelly, who now has 10 books to his credit with the publication of last year’s “A Fork in the Road,” said successful turkey hunters were especially revered during his early hunting years.

“If a guy killed a turkey every year, people gathered around his doorsteps to worship him when he went out to get in his car,” he said. “If he killed two a year, you tried to get him in the Catholic Church so you could canonize him. And, anybody who killed three was cheating. He’s baiting them up. There ain’t nobody that good. It can’t be done. Just ain’t no way.

“I suspect in 1960 that two-thirds of the turkeys killed in this state were killed on deer drives, running in front of dogs. The guy running the hunt would stand up in front of the group and say, ‘We shoot buck deer, turkey gobblers and bobcats.’ And everybody on a stand had one barrel loaded with buckshot and one barrel loaded with No. 6. The first turkey I ever killed was looking back over his shoulder for the dog. Now, that ain’t the way we told it, but that’s the way it was. It’s something about turkeys that seems to make a guy lie, by nature a liar or not, he’s just gonna lie.”

Kelly, whose working career consisted of everything from cruising timber to running paper mills, considers the current environment the golden age of turkey hunting and beginners are able to take accelerated courses in hunting technique.

“I’ve said this for a long time – a kid starting now will see more turkeys and get to fool with more turkeys in the first five years than I did in the first 20 years,” he said. “The way to learn to do this is be stupid in front of turkeys. And now there are so many more turkeys to be stupid in front of than there used to be. In one respect, I think they might have been easier to kill in that you might be hearing the only turkey gobble you’re going to hear all week. But, on the other hand, he might be hearing the only hen he was going to hear in 10 days. Now with the competition – I’m talking about the hen competition – he gobbles four times and there’s six or seven hens under his tree. You’re dead. There ain’t nothing you can do except hope they walk your way when they leave.

“Now you didn’t hear as many turkeys when I started, but I think the ones you heard and got to were easier to work. He didn’t have the distractions. There are places now, especially that second week of the season, that it’s damn near hopeless. You yelp and he gobbles and there are hens under his tree almost instantly.”

When Kelly was a youth, he had free range over the countryside, although there was very little game, mainly rabbits and squirrel, as well as doves and quail. If you were lucky enough to live along the rivers and coast, you could add a few ducks to the bag.

“There weren’t any deer or turkeys, but you had squirrels and quail,” he said. “I think it’s a different stage in the succession of the timber. When you begin to get as much timber as we have in the state now, the quail just don’t do well. Turkeys began to come back as we began to have more and more timber. Plus, we don’t have poor devils out there trying to raise a family on 40 acres of Norfolk sand. He raises the family with his shotgun. Those guys killed a lot of turkeys, and deer, too.

“It is no longer socially acceptable to violate game laws. You will still hear guys in the midst of a cocktail party bragging about shooting 40 doves, but not much. It’s not socially acceptable to do it any more.”

Kelly, who runs a turkey hunting school at Westervelt Lodge each spring, said there was a noticeable difference in the number of turkeys and turkey hunters in the early ‘60s when an extensive trapping and relocation program by the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division (Game and Fish back then) was in full swing. The majority of turkeys were trapped in southwest Alabama and transplanted around the state. The relocation program has been so successful that with the addition of Morgan County next year every county in the state will have a turkey season.

Kelly said turkey biologists like Lovett Williams have revealed a great deal about turkeys that could only be realized with extensive research and the use of telemetry.

“Lovett Williams’ new book, “Turkey Hunting and Management,” is the finest thing that’s ever seen done,” Kelly said. “A guy like me, anything I know about turkeys I bootlegged by hunting turkeys, carrying a shotgun, on company time. Because of guys like Lovett, we know way more about turkeys than we did 50 years ago, and we’ve got way more timber.

“We’ve got some things happening now that if I was asked about it 30 years ago I wouldn’t have believed it. I was asked last year to go and hunt on a place within nine miles of where I live in Spanish Fort. The land used to belong to Scott Paper Company. It is a solid pine plantation. There is one knob on it with six or eight big live oak trees, and there are a couple of little creeks with nothing but black gum and sweet bay. It is so full of turkeys; they’re just everywhere you look. The guy told me he quit coming out there because he’d been out there with a turkey gobbling his brains out and he couldn’t see him. Now I don’t know what they’re eating, but I can assure you it’s not acorns. They may be getting on the telephone and having pizza sent out there, I don’t know. I killed a couple of turkeys out there and they were hog fat. So they’re eating something. People who say turkeys can’t live in pine plantations, that just ain’t so. Now, they ain’t nearly as much fun to hunt out there.”

Despite the encroaching human population, Kelly thinks Alabamians will be able to enjoy turkey hunting long after he’s gone.

“I think we’re going to be hunting turkeys 100 years from now,” he said. “Now we’re not going to be hunting them on Bienville Square or on the outskirts of Fairhope, like we used to do. But turkeys are adaptable creatures. I believe they could make it on the State Docks. I believe they could make it on the soybean that fell off the grain cars.”

Kelly considers right now the most productive time to be in the turkey woods.

“To me the last two weeks of the season are the best,” he said. “The hens are going to the nest earlier and staying on the nest a lot more. When the hens are staying on the nest, the turkeys begin to gobble again in the afternoon. When the hens are on the nest all the time, they quit gobbling on the roost because it doesn’t do any good anymore. Everybody says they’ve quit, they’ve gobbled out. It’s all over and done with, I’m sorry I ever took this thing up anyway. You can still make a turkey come to you. A turkey I hear on the roost that I go to and sit down, that gobbles after I sit down – which  means I haven’t screwed him up yet, but I’ve still plenty of opportunities for stupidity, but I ain’t done any yet – I will probably call up two-and-a-half out of 10. I won’t kill two-and-a-half out of 10 because I’ll still do some dumb things.

“Those turkeys you call to on the ground and he gobbles – the last two weeks you can call up six out of 10. The odds get that much better. Now you can still dumb it up. But that time of year, you’ve got to be careful because the leaves are getting thick. Anything you can do in a minute and a half, you’d better do it. And if all you’ve got to hide behind is a spruce pine cone and two blades of grass, you’d better take it. Some of those birds will come in in two or three minutes. You’d better be ready.”

Kelly also heard the tales that if a gobbler answers you, he’s going to come to that area at some time during the day. Kelly said he’s not sure if that’s true.

“My grandfather used to swear that if a turkey ever hears you yelp he will come there if it takes to 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” he said. “If he does, the heck with him because I’m gonna be gone. I ain’t mad at turkeys. No turkey has foreclosed a mortgage or insulted my daughter. I ain’t sitting there until 3 o’clock in the afternoon listening to blue jays. I give him a reasonable amount of time, but after that, the (heck) with him.

Despite all those years in the woods, Kelly still marvels at the wild turkey and its knack for making even the most seasoned hunter look like a novice.

“After 70 years, a turkey will still do things to me that I wonder, ‘how in the (heck) did he do it?’ ” Kelly said. “I think where the fascination lies is that every time you go something happens a little bit differently – every time. And they’ve got a genius for making you look stupid.”

 

In Range: Getting All the Elk Calling Secrets

Many years ago I watched an elk hunting video with Larry D. Jones and Dwight Schuh as they manipulated bulls with soft cow talk and harsh bugles.

I was captivated by all the elk bugling and excitement that these two generated, when in the woods.

At that time I was hunting elk in southern Oregon and had chased a few around but had never experienced the type of action that I was witnessing on the television.

I soon realized I didn’t know what I was doing when I entered the elk woods.

In fact, the more I learned about elk calling and herd talk, the more I realized how little I knew.

I immersed myself in every video and book I could lay my eyes on and studied and practiced calling techniques and tactics.

Now it’s a different story and I can honestly tell you that every year in the woods is comparable to living “Elk Fever.”

Knowing what to say and when to say it can easily bring a bull directly into bow range.

Granted, there are those lucky few who buy a cow call and seem to call in a decent 300-inch bull on their first try, but this is more a matter of being in the right place at the right time than skill and effort.

Unfortunately for them, getting another such bull may take a lifetime.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be lucky than good any day of the week too, but it just doesn’t work that way for me, so I am forced to climb into deep, bottomless holes and try to lure a bull into archery range with a variety of soft, seductive mews and calf talk coupled with an occasional bugle or two.

Sometimes it works, and when it does finally come together, you don’t even feel the earth under your feet.

Which is a nice feeling since you don’t notice the blisters on the bottom of your feet either.

I have had many days filled with trial and error — well, mostly error. These mistakes and rewards have taught me valuable lessons.

Here I will break down some of the calling tips and techniques that have brought others and myself success over the past decade.

Keep in mind these tips will work, but first you have to put yourself in a good hunting area. Your hunt is only going to be as good as your spot.

If you are not getting a response from the elk, then it may be time to try another location.

There are a few key things to take into consideration before you start calling. You need to be aware of your surroundings.

Mainly this applies to areas that are easily accessible to other hunters.

Once you get a bull fired up, you are inviting every hunter within earshot to your location. I have had many bulls blown out from under me due to this.

Elk like to move mainly from deep, mild temperature bedding grounds to open feeding areas in the late afternoon.

Once you locate the herd, run these questions through your head before you spring into action: How many hunters are in the area?

Have these elk been pressured and pushed here?

How many elk are in the herd and how many satellite bulls are roaming in the immediate area? What is their travel pattern looking like?

You want to cover all these basics before rushing into a calling situation.

If I know there are other hunters in the area, I am more likely to take it easy.

I don’t want to do any bugling that may invite a hunter to my location and have him walk through the herd and end my hunt early.

Elk that have been pressured by calling are not likely to answer a call.

If you do get a response, it might be as the bull rounds his cows up and moves them and himself out of the immediate area.

A herd that contains quite a few elk can be more of a problem than a bonus — more elk mean more eyes, ears and, even worse, noses.

As for calling techniques, let’s start with bugling. Every new elk hunter owns a bugle; whether or not they know how to use it properly is another thing.

Years ago, the bugle used to be a great way to bring elk in close.

Bulls were accustomed to other bulls “bugling” their way into the herd, and the herd bull would defend his cows and come after the intruder, often creating a shot for the hunter.

Now that every hunter owns a bugle, elk have grown accustomed to the instant onslaught of bugling and feverish cow calling that occurs when archery seasons open in late August and early September.

The rut usually peaks about the second week of September and finishes well after the archery season has closed.

Bugling activity from active bulls really starts to pick up during this time.

Activity in highly pressured areas may pick up more after dark as nocturnal herds spread out in the cool air to fight for breeding rights.

Using the bugle to your advantage

From a high vantage point, you can often lay out a long series of tones and pitches that simulate a mature bull seeking other elk.

This is not necessarily a call for a fight or to take over the herd, but basically as a way to say “Hello, where are you?”

Elk are social animals and are very communicative while keeping in touch with one another.

It is very common to get a response from a bull during early morning and late afternoons stretching into dusk.

During cooler weather when rutting and bugling activity is at its prime, calling can last all day.

The bugle can be used as an aggressive call, seductive or warning.

Usually what will bring a bull into a hunter’s call is curiosity to basically size up the competition.

If you ever watch a herd of elk, the smaller bulls are usually quiet and constantly sneaking their way around the herd to try and get a chance with a receptive cow.

Once the herd bull bugles, though, the smaller bulls will usually look in that direction and clear out before being seen. They are familiar with the herd bull.

Let your presence be known but don’t be overly aggressive with your calls.

A bull with a large herd which has been fighting satellite bulls all evening can easily push his cows out of the immediate area instead of respond.

A bull with a couple cows does not want to compete and chance losing his cows that he may have just gotten. More than likely he will leave too.

However, sometimes a bull has just lost his harem and is looking for a fight. If he keeps answering your bugle, keep bugling.

The only time you would need a cow call would be to stop the bull for a shot.

Take the bull’s “temperature.”

If he sounds big, try to tone it down a little and give him the feeling that you’re an easy target for punishment.

Couple this with a few soft cow calls, and the bull will think he can come in and take what’s his.

Cow calling

Everyone I know owns the Hyper Hot Cow Call by Woodswise.

While it is a great call and can be very deadly when used correctly, the key to any cow call is to be realistic and not too loud.

If you have a cow call that is slightly nasally, this is realistic to elk.

Once you’re in close to a herd, a cow call may not be much use.

A hyper cow call may create some excitement, but as soon as you begin to make some noise, you are going to have every eye looking in your direction.

Usually the lead cow (or sentry) will come in close to investigate; this may bring the bull in too. The cows control the herd and the bull.

Where the cows go, the bull follows. If the bull is unresponsive, then try to pull a cow to you with some soft cow calls.

Sometimes this will get a cow to feed or walk into your direction which may bring the bull in closer too.

Keep it soft and simple. Mimic whatever the cow does and all the herd talk might create some curiosity to bring the bull to within range.

If the bull hangs back and the cow comes within 30 yards, hit your bugle and make the bull think a smaller bull is in the herd.

Not being one to give up a cow, usually the bull will come charging in your direction in no time.

There are many different tactics, but if you are sensible about your approach your odds of calling in a bull greatly increase.

I suggest watching instructional videos.

You may need to go back a couple years to find a good one.

More of today’s elk hunting videos are made up of mostly kill shots with very little focus on the actual calling techniques that are used to bring an animal into range.

The main thing is to keep it simple and as real as possible. It’s not a bugling contest.

A loud bugle will shut every bull in the woods down for fear of both their lives and herds being taken from them.

Soft and seductive calling when you are in close will usually create a shot opportunity.

View the original article here

Create Opening Day Turkey Hunt Plans Now

Now’s the time to get in your preseason turkey scouting.

It may seem early, but before you know it, you’ll be walking out the door in your favorite camouflage. Heck, Hawaii’s season already has begun and Florida’s starts Saturday, with Alabama and South Carolina’s set to follow March 15.

Create a backup turkey-hunting plan now in case your first spot is already booked.

First things first, If you are interested in hunting a piece of private land that you have seen birds on, make your connections now.

Keep in contact with the property owner and offer to help around the property if needed.

Lots of people are resorting to hunting on private ground to avoid the masses who hit public land opening day.

If you hunt public land, get familiar with the area.

Nothing’s worse than going back to your favorite spot to find out it’s been logged or marked with fresh new “No Trespassing” signs.

Take the time to drive through your old haunts and look at the area.

Recent storms may have taken down the old roost tree you’re accustomed to and you may need to do some homework to find the new one.

Most of us have a favorite place we like to start the season. All of my favorite spots have become someone’s “new” spot.

And the new spot I discovered last year was at least six other guys’ “old” spot, even though I never saw a soul while scouting the area for the month prior to opening day.

I like to have at least three other spots I can go to without a lot of travel time in case one is overrun.

Develop plans A, B and C before you even make your first call.

This time of year turkeys are traveling in flocks and are fairly visible.

As we get closer to the rut, they will disband and the jakes or smaller toms will band together in bachelor groups.

Mature toms will gather a harem to begin breeding season and will stick with them.

If you’re seeing birds in a general area, mark it down. I like to drive around with a good topo map that I bought at G.I. Joe’s.

With this map I can use a highlighter to mark certain areas and then cross reference with public-lands maps.

Turkeys will travel when pressured, so if you are seeing them in an area, they will be close come opening day.

Use spot-and-stalk tactics when you’re out in the woods.

Calling to a tom now will only educate him to your calls, and if he sees you, he may go silent during the season.

If you must call, use shock-gobble calls such as crow, owl, coyote, woodpecker and others to pinpoint a bird’s location.

Along with your map, keep a small notepad and keep tabs on travel patterns of different flocks in your hot spots.

Turkeys like to keep a schedule and you can get a good clue of when they fly down and when they hit the strut zone by taking notes.

This will tell you when and where you need to be on opening morning.

View the original article here

Packing Effectively for Spring Turkey Hunts

by Wil Askew on September 27th, 2007 in Turkey Hunting

Many of us spend March practicing our turkey calls and scouting. We also pattern our guns, check our camo, but still manage to hit the woods unprepared.

That’s because spring is a volatile time in the weather world.

How many times have you left the truck with the stars shining overhead only to have a downpour or cold snow soak you to the bone?

Here’s what I bring to stay dry, comfortable and safe while turkey hunting:

Backpack: With a pack I can carry my decoys, extra calls, shells, hydration pack and strap my turkey seat to the back.

After bagging a bird, I drop it in the pack and walk out hands free.

Packable rain gear: While there are many good brands, I carry a packable set of Mad Dog rain gear.

The parka and pants fold up to nothing and are perfect for sudden rain storms.

First aid: It’s best to get a small kit that has a few items and add things as you see fit. Kits are available at most sporting goods stores.Area map: Many programs out on the market today can produce highly detailed topo maps of the area you plan to hunt.

I like to use a larger Zip-Loc bag to keep my maps dry and readable.

GPS: GPSs are capable of such accuracy that they’re worth their weight.

From basic to advanced they all do the same thing: mark your movement from point A to B, keeping track of you and keeping you safe to hunt another day.

Headlamp: Walking into the woods in the dark and being able to keep your hands warm is a great asset.

Many new headlamps use a LED lighting system that really disburses the light.

Hydration: I like to carry a 2-liter hydration pack which features a hose that wraps around to your chest and a mouthpiece you bite down on to suck water.

These packs come in different sizes, are very durable and can last for many years. Camelback and Platypus both make good hydration packs.

Boots/footwear: Make sure your pair is form-fitting, feels good while you’re putting on the miles and waterproof.

There is a big difference between waterproof and water-resistant; look for boots that offer Gore-Tex or Sympatex material.

Lug soles provide best traction and won’t clump in wet, muddy ground.

Optics: A good pair of binoculars can aid in determining the size of a trophy bird.

At a distance you can tell if the bird you’re watching is a tom or a hen and how many may be approaching you.

With a quick glance you can take a good look at the spurs and beard length.

Camera: Take the time to capture some great photos to share with friends and family. Always turn on your flash, even on sunny days. The flash acts as a fill, and will help delete unwanted shadows, especially under your hat.Clippers: These are great $5 tools to clip brush and debris from your set-up.

Collapsible turkey seat: You won’t believe how much comfort seats add, helping you sustain those long, agonizing waits for a turkey to come to the decoy.

They also get your body off the ground and help keep you warm.

View the original article here

9 to 5: Work Full Days for Turkeys

As I tried desperately to locate a tom willing to investigate my lustful yelps, a pleading hen yelp broke the mid-afternoon air.

Every now and then I would get the courtesy gobble as a tom would announce his presence and then follow his hen to abide by her wishes while moving out of earshot.

I was hunting an area that had produced many birds in the past.

I knew if I covered enough ground I would eventually find a bird willing to come to the call.

It was now roughly 2 p.m. as we headed up another hill, one more to add to an already long day of hunting the opening days of turkey season.

It took awhile before a distant gobble broke through the oaks, but when it did we sprung into action.

The tom would gobble repetitively and then move, the same as all the toms in the morning had done, but with different scenery.

Obviously this tom was with at least one hen that was not nesting, and she was keeping his full and undivided attention.

We advanced our position towards the gobbling tom and were greeted by a large black bear coming down a trail to investigate the source of the calling.

The curious bear circled us at a distance of less than 20 yards and desperately tried to pick apart the brush in search for the hen.

Waiting for the bear to move off was imperative, as we did not want him to run and spook our chance at this tom.

Crossing numerous ridges, I would call and then move along further to try another location.

I decided to give a quick cut on a diaphragm and was instantly greeted with a barrage of gobbling thunder.

My hunting partner excitedly pointed into the direction of the call, and I decided to reconfirm my suspicions with another call.

Sure enough, the gobbling was true and coming closer. We had to move quickly as we raced over to a tree on the edge of a small opening.

Not having much time to set up properly, I leaned against the tree with just enough time to raise the gun into shooting position.

I’d been chasing call-shy toms all day with barely a glimpse of something that would resemble a turkey. Finally the fruits of my labor were being rewarded.

The excited toms gobbled nonstop as they made their way closer. The first bird on the scene was a jake, then another.

I kept my cheek pressed firmly against my gun as I looked down my barrel, keeping the fluorescent bead securely locked on the neck of each bird that passed from left to right.

For a split second I was wondering if this was not just a band of smaller toms, and then realized we were in luck.

Bringing up the rear was a long beard in full strut, proudly displaying his beauty and dominance for the unseen hen.

As the tom strutted closer in all his pride, his efforts were rewarded at 25 yards with a single shot from my Benelli and a load of No. 5s.

I had just practiced what I’d been preaching at countless turkey hunting seminars; you can’t fill your tags if you’re not in the woods.

A quick glance at my watch informed me that it was just after 5 p.m. as we captured some photos and placed the tom in my backpack for the walk out.

This day had begun many hours earlier, with the warm spring sun breaking over the Cascades and greeting us with yet another day of turkey hunting.

It was the third day of the season, and of course the hunting was tough as the toms were being led in many different directions by lovesick hens.

One key factor that many hunters don’t realize is that toms and hens usually don’t hang together all day.

Toms will be heavily entangled in their daily mating rituals, but once the hens decide to nest, a lovesick tom will start seeking another companion.

I’ve become accustomed to the traditions of early season turkey hunting.

I knew this would be the toughest time of the season to hunt, but definitely the most rewarding as well.

With most hunters spending much time indoors through the winter months, we’re anxious to get back into the woods and hear the gobble of a mature tom, and I’m no exception.

Walking and calling was generating plenty of responses, but nothing willing to break away from an actual feathered girlfriend.

The only way to succeed in these tough conditions was to be willing to travel further, call more often and stay out longer.

Persistence is the name of the game when hunting these types of conditions.

I hunt primarily out of a backpack solely because I want to stay as long as possible in the turkey woods.

Having a full-time job and using vacation time to hunt really enforced the fact that I need to be persistent and give it 110 percent in the field.

Being prepared and having the ability to stay nourished and comfortable out in the field will more than double your chances of knocking down a mature tom when many hunters have thrown in the towel for the day.

Remember that tom I harvested earlier?

I didn’t mention that he was joined by six other toms, each one of them gobbling and racing to find the source of the calling.

I’ve managed to bag most of my birds between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. I really enjoy hunting this time of day for mainly one reason: no hunters.

Granted, I’ll get up at first light and head out to an area to either locate or work a bird in the roost tree.

When this plan produces no results, I know I have a pack that contains enough water and food to keep me in the field until dark if needed.

As a hunter you need to figure out the turkeys’ schedule to be successful.

This may take some time, but when you realize where they may be at certain times of day, you can eliminate much unneeded walking to unproductive areas.

Call loud, call often and let the toms know you’re still in the woods.

You can’t harvest what you can’t locate, and they don’t know that you’re there if you don’t broadcast your presence.

People may debate this fact, but I’ve found nothing but success while doing this.

If I hear nothing, then I keep moving until I get a response. When toms do respond during the middle of the day, usually they come on the run.

Spend more time in the field during the spring and more than likely you may find yourself purchasing more turkey tags in the future.

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Why and How to Hunt the Backcountry

Bending down to lift my pack, I could definitely feel the wear and tear of seven straight days in the wilderness.

Sore muscles, blistered feet and a sticky coating of sweat seemed to cover every inch of my body.

We were here by choice, though.

After years of hunting accessible lands that posed no difficulty for the average hunter, we had decided to head in a little further.

I hoisted the pack, scanned the area and then began the long walk out to the trailhead, a mere 6 miles off. Success was with us too: my partner and I were packing out our second elk.

As the hindquarter of the elk weighed heavy on my shoulders, I knew we had made the right decision to hunt deep in the backcountry.

I’d been fortunate enough to bag an elk on the first day of the hunt, and my partner had just sent an arrow to its mark two hours earlier.

It started a few years earlier on a finger ridge perched high in the Pacific Northwest’s Blue Mountains.

At sunrise, I gave a long locating bugle and got a response from a receptive bull.

Feverishly working our way towards the bugling bull, we cut the distance to a hundred yards.

Instantly everything came alive as the herd bull finally broke the morning air with a spine-tingling scream.

Peeking through a small opening I could see a handful of cows and a decent raghorn. The wind shifted slightly and the herd started to move deeper in the “hole” that lay below us.

I looked over at my hunting companion, Steve Scott of Medford, Ore., and without saying a word we picked our gear and jogged toward the sounds of the breaking brush.

We made our way down the center of the finger ridge.

A few hundred yards later we broke into an opening and that was when it all became crystal clear: After many years of chasing bulls we realized we had been hunting the wrong areas. It was like someone had just pulled a great curtain back and all the secrets of elk hunting lay before us.

We were standing in elk heaven! We had bulls to left and bulls to the right, bulls below us and bulls behind us. We worked four different bulls that morning and finally sat down by a stream around noon to grab some lunch before making the long trek back up the hill.

It would take us a solid two hours of climbing up a vertical ridge without stopping to reach the truck. As our quads burned from the climb, we made up our minds to get the gear we needed to be able to stay comfortably in the wilderness, and experience this type of elk hunting every day.

This is the only way we hunt for elk now, and many elk have fallen since that day. Just like the two mentioned above.

Getting away from roads and people will boost your odds of harvesting an animal with your bow or gun.

I can honestly say that every year we venture into the backcountry, we have an opportunity to harvest at least a cow almost every day. Most people are not willing to venture too far away from their comfort zone and will not walk more than a mile from their vehicle.

Many times when you commit to venturing into the great unknown, count on at least a 12-mile jaunt.

It sounds crazy until you experience the sights and sounds of being in elk everyday.

Having a mature bull come to your calls rather than turn away at the sound will get your blood pumping, and this kind of excitement will push you further than expected. Below are few items that have really turned my hunting around.

With these things, I can hunt long into the day while most other guys head back to camp.

Whoever said that hunting is the best in the morning and the evening never hunted the backcountry.

The hunting is good all day!

A good frame pack should be first on your list. Find one that fits your body.

Look for a snug waist belt that helps manage a heavy load, and comfortable straps to rest on your shoulders.

Personally, I like the moose type bag that I can fit an elk quarter into. These attach easily with some pins and can be rinsed out easily.

Alaska game bags are a must have. They’re light, compact and don’t take up much room.

Hunting with a buddy is a good idea. You can carry two game bags and your partner can carry two.

Carry a good knife and a stone. No reason for carrying three knives and a multi-tool, which may add unneeded weight.A hydration pack and a water filter can save weight too. Be sure never to drink from a stream no matter how clean it may look.

Unless I’m dying of thirst, I’ll use a filter.

If you do plan on drinking from a stream, Imodium AD is very lightweight and there are plenty of leaves to help clean up.

A Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad has been the best investment I’ve made for backcountry elk hunting.

It not only makes for a softer bed, but also keeps in much-needed body heat.

Another necessity is a quality sleeping bag. Look for something lightweight, 3 to 4 pounds.

A good mummy bag with a built-in hood is like a condominium in the wilderness. A good stocking cap will conserve body heat at night too.

A good windproof lighter can greatly increase your odds of making a fire.

Matches are good, but once they get wet, you’re gambling with your ability to survive.

I do carry a small pack of matches that I wrap in a Ziploc bag. A fire serves a dual purpose, warmth and security.

Cooking can be done easily with a small butane stove that lights easily and can boil a quart of water within a few minutes.

When hunting with a friend, one should carry the stove and the other a lantern that is also compatible with the fuel container.

A small water pot that will hold about a cup and a half of water is all the dishes I carry.

I can boil water for coffee singles and freeze-dried meals.

The meals are not the tastiest, but between those and MREs (Meal Ready to Eat), that’s about all you need.

No canned good — too heavy.

Hunting with camp on your back will keep you mobile and in the hunt if done correctly.

Don’t overdo it, however. Too much weight will ruin your hunt and make for a miserable time.

Find out what you can sacrifice to be comfortable and prepared. Granted, I know guys who are more serious than me.

They count the ounces of what goes into their packs, and I don’t blame them.

The first time I ventured into the wilderness to hunt from my pack, I was so overloaded I stopped and stripped it down to the bare minimum.

A well-equipped pack should weigh about 40 to 50 pounds. This will hold you over for two to three days. Remember, when you’re loading your pack to head into the woods, you only want it heavy on the trip out. The main benefit of backpack hunting in the wilderness is that you don’t have to hike in and out every day.

We get ourselves into a great area, move off a few hundred yards and settle down for the night and then in the morning, we are right in the middle of all the action.

Backcountry hunting is definitely not for every one, but for those who have thought about it, give it a try.

It’s a true hunting experience you’ll never forget.

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