whiskey

Congrats...again.

I have hear more gobbling this year than any other. <br /><br />I hunted this morning and they gobbled all morning, they just went the wrong way. <br /><br />It's normal for the gobblers to go quite when they hook up with the hens in the morning. They usually start back gobbling a little later in the morning after the hens go to nest. <br /><br />Still lots of hunting left.

I shoot a Matthews bow. They are top notch. Nothing wrong with bow-tech or Hoyt either. Most of the lower end stuff is very similar. Check into the Black Diamond line if you go new.

I walked around Saturday and didn't find any.

I have botched plenty of dead nuts shots due to buck fever. It has gotten better with age, but nothing like a head full of antlers to get the heart pumping. <br /><br />Good practice is running around the house and then taking a shot. Practice with your heart pumping.

I have had these made with wild duck breast, so figured they would be good with wild turkey breast. First go out and do this: Then do this: Mixed shredded cheddar and minced onion with the cream cheese stuffing. Also seasoned the breast slices with Everglades seasoning. Would have been good with a little BBQ sauce too. They were exceptional just the way they were too. I grilled them indirect heat for 25-30 mins, then put them direct to brown the bacon for a few minutes. I use a Weber Kettle with Charcoal.

Bowhunter’s are known for buying the latest and greatest every year. This means there are a lot of great deals on excellent bows on the used market. I would suggest buying a used bow from a dealer. A local dealer will help you more than anything. They will get the bow set up to your draw length, weight and dollar limits. Set a budget and get the best you can within that budget. A 10 year old model will kill just as well as a current model. Spend a little extra to get a good rest, sights and arrows. Stick with Carbon arrows, it’s cheaper in the long run. Start out light with your draw and work your way up.   There is tons of information about sighting in and tuning on the internet. Google is your friend.   Find a local bow range and go shoot with more experienced shooters. They will help you get better. They can check your form and help adjust your bow. I have always found bow shooters to be a friendly, helpful bunch. I have helped lots of new shooters on the range too.   Become a bow shooter before you consider becoming a bow hunter. IMHO, you should be able to hit a 1” dot 100% of the time at 10 yards, 80% of the time at 20 yards and more than 50% of the time at the maximum distance you plan to hunt, with no shots being more 2 inches off center. When I say hit the dot, breaking the edge counts. Some folks may think this is excessive and not needed for deer hunting, but I think that being a good shot with a bow take lots of practice and without that practice you are a menace in the woods, wounding deer and giving bow hunters a bad reputation.

Congrats, great looking bird

Bump for tick season

I posted a long thread last year about homemade permethrin. Be careful which brand you choose. http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/46881-permethrin-options/?hl=permethrin

I shot a turkey Friday morning at 12 yards with a 3.5" Hevi 13 #7. He didn't even kick. Too close for me, but at least I didn't miss. <br /><br />

My daughter killed her first Kentucky gobbler this morning. 2nd for the year. I killed a TN gobbler Friday morning in the fog.

Congrats. Hooked for sure now.

Nice bird. Way to slay them.

Congrats Shaun, nice bird. 

Sending luck your way Shaun.

My 14 year old busted this two year old in the face this morning. Mossberg Bantam 20ga with Undertaker choke, Burris FastFire II and Hevi Shot Mag Blends. Killed him at a full 40 yards and it looked like she had taken his head off. It was a little longer than I wanted her to shoot, but he wasn't going to get any closer and I whispered, "Aim top of his head." Bang, flop. 3rd bird in 3 years on the opening morning of the youth hunt.

Is everyone ready for the youth hunt this weekend? Better wrap up, it may be cold.

.640 is the tightest I have heard of. I run a .670 Pure Gold. Lots of guys are using that Indian Creek .665. I don't think you want to go much small than that with the HTL pellets. Sumtoy has a .650 lead choke. I am scared to run a super tight choke because I am afraid I will miss at 15 yards.

I drew a bow hunt over there a couple years ago, got the flu and couldn't go. Sorry, I wasn't much help. Hope you don't get the flu. :)   There may be a list of regs for the Chuck Swan forest on the TWRA website. 

  Possibly. Ideally the cost of the initial license would be lowered. If it was 20.00 for a hunt/fish combo. Then 25.00 for the deer stamp, which came with a buck tag and a doe tag. Then 25.00 if you want a second buck. 5.00 if you want another doe. Do away with the archery/muzzle loader/rifle just. Then if a hunter just wanted to hunt a couple times during deer season it wouldn't cost him as much. It would only cost the hunter that took more deer. I know guys that shoot so many deer they try to give them away and have a hard time because of all the deer they have already given away. Anyway, it's a pipe dream. No matter what they system is, someone won't be happy with it. 

I suspect this will lead to a few more folks extending the bag limit on bucks and turkey. I think once a guy has the game home, butchered and in the freezer, they will be less likely to "tag out" that final buck or turkey so they can continue to hunt. I think the punched tag help keep that minimized to the hardcore poachers. I wish we were a pay per tag state. 25.00 per buck after you use your first "included tag". Encourage meat hunters to shoot does. Make doe tags cheap. 5.00 each and buy all you want in unit L.

cool video

Ok, I know we have discussed this a little, but I thought it would be good to condense the new options into one post. Starting with Spring Turkey 2013, here are your options for checking in your big game kill.   You DO NOT have to have a kill tag attached to your kill.   You DO NOT have to have a kill tag filled out to transport your kill.    You MUST check in your kill THE SAME DAY, before midnight, on the day you kill the animal. This used to be within 24 hours. Now it is the SAME DAY!      Below was taken from a post by a TWRA agent on another site:     Yes, the regulations state that you are required to show them (TWRA officer) proof that the animal has been checked in on a TWRA approved form or on the mobile application. If you check in at a check station, the POS machine will generate such a document with the CONFIRMATION #. If you check in online, you will also have such a document to print. If you do not have printing capability, you can use a harvest log to record all of the information and especially the confirmation number. If you check in on the mobile app, then the system will automatically self-populate the check-in in the Hunter's Diary. That is sufficient to show the processor or taxidermist. If you think you may lose cell coverage, you can put the information on a harvest log as well. I think it will take about 25 seconds at most to put it on paper. The key information for processors and taxidermists will be the CONFIRMATION #.   Hopefully this will help everyone understand the new requirements.        

My wife, my daughter, my secretary, my dogs... They all hate the two months before turkey season. :)