Bow Hunting for Turkey: 6 Items That Make It Easier

Posted on June 3, 2014 by HavalonKnives

By Tracy Breen

The right archery gear can make you a
successful turkey bowhunter.

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The author with a nice tom he killed with a bow.

If you’re a diehard turkey hunter AND a diehard bowhunter, you’ll eventually decide to chase longbeards with archery gear. Killing a tom with a gun can be tough; killing one with a bow can seem impossible. The truth is, although hunting longbeards with a bow can be extremely difficult, with the right gear you can consistently tag a tom with a stick and string. But you need to gear up for it. When bowhunting turkeys, here are the items I and many of my friends don’t leave home without.

1.  Pop-Up Blinds

Tagging a tom with a bow in the wide open without a blind is a low-odds proposition, but hunting from a pop-up ground blind increases your odds dramatically. Not only does it conceal all of your movement, a blind is lightweight and goes up quick. Most importantly, turkeys aren’t usually bothered by pop-up blinds – they’ll walk right into a decoy setup even with a blind twenty yards behind it. When hunting from a ground blind, have only a couple windows open to shoot from, and keep the back windows closed. This lets in very little light and keeps the interior of the blind black, concealing your movement.

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A blind is a must have when bowhunting longbeards, and you must keep it dark inside.

2.  Broadheads

Using the right broadhead is a necessity when bowhunting turkeys. You need a mechanical broadhead with a large cutting diameter. My favorite is the 3-blade Grim Reaper Whitetail Special. It has a 2-inch cutting diameter which really does the trick on a strutting tom. Other great turkey broadheads include the Rage, the Spitfire Gobbler Getter and the Magnus Bullhead. The vitals on a turkey are very small so having a head with a large cutting diameter is a little more forgiving if you don’t make a perfect hit.

grim reaper whitetail mechanical head 336x388

The author prefers a large mechanical head like a Grim Reaper.

3.  Decoys

Decoys are important when bowhunting turkeys for several reasons. First, they make a great yardage marker. I always place my decoys between 10 and 15 yards away from my blind. Then I know for sure that the tom is within range when he enters my decoy spread. I usually use three decoys or more – at least one Jake decoy and two hens. Lugging around three decoys can be a pain but is often worth the extra effort.

Cally Morris from Hazel Creek Decoys has killed dozens of toms with a bow.  He believes turkeys are claustrophobic and having the decoys set up just right is critical. “Many hunters place their decoys too close together. As a result, when a tom approaches the spread, he can’t easily get in between the Jake decoy and the hen,” said Morris. “This often spooks the tom and he starts to walk away. Leave several feet between the decoys so the real tom can come in and face the Jake decoy for a fight, which will provide a great shot opportunity.”

4.  Rangefinder

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This turkey target from Master Target shows the small vitals that you must hit when shooting a turkey
with a bow.

Another must-have piece of equipment is a rangefinder. Since a turkey’s vitals aren’t very big, misjudging distance even by a small amount can result in a wounded bird or a complete miss. When you are set up in the blind, range a few trees so you know the distance to a few landmarks. Range the decoys also so you know exactly how far away they are.

5.  3D Target

Practicing on an actual 3D turkey target is a great way to train for the hunt. The vitals for a turkey aren’t as pronounced as they are on some animals. When strutting, a tom looks like a large black ball. At the moment of truth, choosing a spot to aim can be difficult. Practicing on a 3D target helps take the guesswork out of it when hunting. If you’re unclear about where to aim, Master Target has a great target with the vitals clearly outlined. It’s a face target, so just put it over any archery target to stop your arrows.

Joel Maxfield from Mathews Archery has killed hundreds of turkeys with a bow. He prefers shooting a tom right above the drumsticks. “Shooting a tom above the drumsticks takes out the back of his vitals along with his legs so he won’t be able to run or fly away,” said Maxfield. Shooting them where the wing meets the body or right up the hind end are a couple other options to consider.

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Joel Maxfield of Mathews Archery with a nice tom.

6.  String Tracker

Finally, you may want to consider a string tracker. Turkeys are known to disappear after the shot. A string tracker will help with the recovery. Very few people use these anymore, but when your shot doesn’t disable the gobbler instantly, they are worth their weight in gold.

In many states, the success rate during the spring turkey season when using a bow is in the single digits, but with the right gadgets and with dedication, tagging a tom with a bow is doable.

***

tracy-breen-outdoor-writerAbout Tracy Breen

Tracy is a full-time outdoor writer and consultant in the outdoor industry. He works with a variety of television shows and outdoor brands including Havalon Knives. Learn more at www.tracybreen.com.

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7 Simple Turkey Calling Lessons for the Novice Hunter

Posted on May 20, 2014 by HavalonKnives

by Steve Sorensen

So You’re not a Great Caller? Doesn’t Really Matter!

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Offering sweet, low volume calls drove this gobbler crazy. And dead.
(Steve Sorensen photo)

Let’s be honest. Few admit it, but many spring turkey hunters worry about their calling. Is it good enough? Can I fool a wary gobbler? Am I a fool for trying? The fact is, new hunters have actually heard few live hens. Hen talk is usually quiet and subtle, and they rarely offer lessons to students in the primary school phase of spring gobbler hunting.

That results in two major temptations rookie turkey hunters sometimes face. The first is to quit. They decide it’s too frustrating. They decide to quit getting up so early because they have nothing to show for it. They hang their heads when their buddies tag out and brag about it. Why keep at it? Simple answer – because it’s fun, and there’s far more to enjoy than killing a gobbler.

Yet, killing a gobbler is what you’re out there to do, which causes some hunters to fall to the other temptation – to cheat. They move in on other hunters who are working a gobbler. They stalk the big birds. They shoot too soon and only wound the gobbler.

Let’s deal with cheating right now. Don’t. It’s dangerous, and it only shows you’re neither disciplined nor qualified. If you cheat, you might as well quit. Now, with that out of the way, let’s deal with the fact that you’re not a great caller – and let’s fix that problem so you don’t quit.

NWTF Identiflyer to learn turkey calls

The IdentiFlyer™ is a unique device that will help you learn to call turkeys like a pro. It lets you hear and mimic real turkey sounds and includes information about the meaning of each call, and how and when to use them – from the
National Wild Turkey Federation.

First of all, even if you could get lessons from the sexiest hen out there, understand this – she’s not that great a caller either, and many of her sisters are just horrible. I’ve heard hens that sound like barking dogs, and hens that sound like they were sired by a raven. Hunt for very long and you’ll hear hens make some pretty awful sounds, too.

Top-end turkey calling experts are actually better than the real hens, but the truth is you don’t need to be as good as real hens. So when it comes to your calling, don’t compare yourself with the real thing, and for heaven’s sake, don’t compare yourself with other hunters.

Second, get a recording of wild turkey sounds. Several good ones are on the market, but you can’t go wrong if you grab CDs made by Lovett Williams (www.LovettWilliams.com) or Brad Taylor (www.judgmentgamecalls.com). These are the best sources for real turkey sounds. But the handiest is the “NWTF Identiflyer”, a unique portable digital device that will help you learn to call turkeys like a pro. It lets you listen to the basic turkey sounds simply and easily.

Don’t think you have to master everything you hear on these recordings, but your experience level will take a big jump if you can learn to mimic a few of the sounds – the basic yelp, purr, and cluck. Get comfortable with those, and then add some cutting (fast, excited yelps) and you’ll have a working knowledge of the sounds that bring 95% of gobblers to the gun.

a turkey is roosted in trees 448x299

A gobbler is roosted in these trees. If you can get close, you cut down the chances he’ll be intercepted by a hen or a predator. And your sweet calls will be all he thinks about.
(Steve Sorensen photo)

Third, get into a conversation with a gobbler. Nothing beats talking to a real turkey who talks back. Even if you have to do it in the pre-season, do it. You don’t need to make a habit of it, but that’s when you can call without pressure, and see how a real gobbler reacts to your calling skills.

Fourth, don’t let the pressure get to you. You don’t have to kill a gobbler to prove anything. If he walks off, so what? He probably has brothers who are more earnest for a head full of lead. So, try again. Play the odds. The more turkeys you call to, the better the odds one will come to you.

Fifth, get close. That’s a risky proposition not everyone would recommend because it’s easy to bump him off his roosting limb, but I figure it this way. If you know where he is, getting close gives you two big advantages.

  • The first advantage – a lot less can go wrong if you’re 50 yards from him than if you’re 200 yards from him. The farther away he is, the more likely a real hen will move in, or a predator, or another hunter, or maybe he’ll just lose interest. So, know the territory, get in while it’s still dark, be careful, and take your chances. Hey – if you aren’t getting turkeys now, you have nothing to lose.
  • The second advantage – when you’re close you won’t need to do much calling. Give him a couple of very soft yelps, and maybe a quiet purr or two. He’ll hear you, and suddenly he’s the anxious one, not you. If he thinks a hen is close, that’s all he’ll think about. Odds are good that will be the last thing he thinks about.
hunting with a buddy helps 336x336

I learned a lot from Nathan DeGroot, who makes a terrific custom turkey call. It’s a unique and deadly long box called The Ruler. He called this gobbler off posted land. (Steve Sorensen photo.)

Sixth, hook up with a buddy who calls successfully. Don’t act like you’re desperate to get a gobbler; just say you want to see how someone else does it. Even if he doesn’t call a gobbler in the day you’re with him, you’ll learn something from him.

Seventh, most of all what you’ll get from that buddy hunt is confidence. You’re not that bad. And even if you’re not a great caller, confidence goes a long way to making a gobbler think you’re a real hen.

There you are – seven easy calling lessons that will get you a nice gobbler. When you do, blow his head off and send Havalon a picture.

***

About Steve Sorensen

hunter outdoor writer steve sorensenOutdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen is the author of Growing Up With Guns, writes an award-winning newspaper column called The Everyday Hunter®, and is the editor of the Havalon Sportsman’s Post. He has also published articles in Deer & Deer Hunting, Outdoor Life, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow him at www.EverydayHunter.com.

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4 Things Frustrated Turkey Hunters Need to Remember

Posted on May 9, 2014 by HavalonKnives

By Steve Sorensen

If you’re the only hunter in your peer group who hasn’t filled a tag, don’t feel like you’re a failure.

a gobbler over your shoulder is nice 337x336

Hoisting a nice gobbler over your shoulder puts a smile on your face, but killing the gobbler is not the only way for a turkey hunter to overcome frustration.

Turkey seasons begin in the deep south, and starting dates advance to northern states with the warming sun. That means as seasons are ending in the south, they’re just getting started in the north. It’s my observation that some turkey hunters often feel pressure to score on a gobbler. You don’t need the pressure, so this might be a good time to take a look at the frustrations turkey hunters experience, and how to cope with them.

1. Turkey hunting is not a competition.

If you’re about ready to make tag soup, and are jealous of friends and acquaintances who are posting their turkey kills on Facebook and emailing hero shots around the Internet, it might be time to stop and think about why you hit the woods in the wee hours day after day without success. Is it to show off a big gobbler? If it is, and your kills are few and far between, then you might as well stick those turkey calls into a drawer somewhere and find something else to do.

2. Understand what turkey time really means.

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For simple beauty, nothing beats the trillium.

Hunting turkeys is, after all, not as much about killing something as it is about matching wits with one of nature’s most suspicious, nervous creatures. You’re not the only one who likes a turkey dinner; every predator out there loves the succulent flesh of the big bearded bird. So, if you’re in competition, it’s not against other hunters as much as it is against the coyotes, foxes, fishers, and every other predator out there – and against the gobblers themselves. If you’re the only hunter in your peer group who hasn’t filled a tag, don’t feel like you’re a failure. There’s a lot more to hunting turkeys than a bang-flop on a spring gobbler.

3. Enjoy Mother Nature’s finest display.

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When turkey hunters enjoy the little things, unfilled tags are
a lot less frustrating.

Most people think of the brilliant fall colors as the time to enjoy the nature’s most dramatic spectacle, but when you stop to think about it, autumn is short and pretty one-dimensional. Spring is more dramatic, and it lasts a lot longer. For starters, snowcover melts to reveal mysteries of the winter activities of wildlife, and the newly leafed-out trees show a nearly infinite monochromatic variegated green palette. The deep greens of the hemlocks are now fresher, and rose-tipped buds merge into yellow-greens as every species leafs out at its own pace. Soon, mature leaves will be ready to do summer’s photosynthetic work. Bird life returns with gusto, doe deer eat for two, bucks drop and regrow antlers, snakes and turtles are emerging from hibernation, and insects hatch from recently frozen water and earth. The mystery of winter’s numbness and spring’s pulsating regeneration never fails to inspire awe. As a turkey hunter, if you can’t appreciate all the little things, you won’t appreciate harvesting a turkey.

4. The kill can overshadow the real purposes of hunting.

this deer is winter-worn 448x336

After a long, hard winter, deer can look pretty emaciated, but it won’t be long until a new summer coat and a new set of antlers will rejuvenate this young buck.

You may not think about this often, but as much as you might like turkey meat, you aren’t a subsistence hunter. We still have grocery stores, so your life doesn’t depend on what you kill and an empty tag doesn’t mean you go hungry. You can enjoy hunting whether or not you kill a turkey because you’re playing a role in the greatest wildlife conservation project the world has ever seen. Your license monies support your state’s game management programs. Some of the dollars you spend on guns and ammo finds its way into habitat conservation. The organizations you join, such as the National Wild Turkey Federation, are successfully contributing to a conservation model that makes wildlife in North America abundant and accessible to everyone. So, even if you end the frustration by putting your tag on a big spring gobbler, hunting him has been about much more than the kill.

Yes, day after day of waking up at 4:00 AM to pursue the wild turkey can drag you down, but if you view yourself as a participant in nature’s rebirth and realize the role you play in wildlife management, you’ll be much more likely to avoid frustration and return from your hunt with a smile on your face. After all, the real trophy is in the whole experience, not just the kill.

***

About Steve Sorensen

hunter outdoor writer steve sorensenOutdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen is the author of Growing Up With Guns, writes an award-winning newspaper column called The Everyday Hunter®, and is the editor of the Havalon Sportsman’s Post. He has also published articles in Deer & Deer Hunting, Outdoor Life, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow him at www.EverydayHunter.com.

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Gobbler Decoy Strategies – 5 Questions Answered

Posted on April 21, 2014 by HavalonKnives

By Tracy Breen

Turkey decoys have come a long way in the last decade.
But do you know how to use them?

Ever since turkey decoys were born (or were they hatched?), hunters using them have seen their success rates go up. Hen decoys work because lovesick gobblers are hoping to get a little more love. Jake and tom decoys bring gobblers in close because a dominant gobbler doesn’t want another tom or jake taking away his hens.

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Missouri is a state loaded with eastern wild turkeys. If you can’t go all the way west, it’s a great place for success.

OK, but isn’t one decoy as good as another?
Today’s decoys are better than ever. Not long ago, the only turkey decoy option out there was a cheap foam decoy that looked like it was half turkey, half rat. With today’s extreme realism in decoy technology, many turkey decoys are dead ringers for the real thing. The truth is hen decoys work, but a realistic tom or jake decoy in the right situation can be as effective, maybe even more effective.

Isn’t calling enough, without using decoys?
Sometimes you’ll run into a gobbler that takes you by surprise, and a deke can seal the deal. Last year while hunting in Kansas with Knight & Hale Pro-staff member Mick Bowman, I shot a longbeard that never responded to our calls. We had no idea he was in the area until he came on a dead run out of the thick timber with one goal—he wanted to kill our Pretty Boy strutting decoy. When he was only inches from giving the decoy a bad headache, I killed him. This was not an isolated incident, and if the Pretty Boy hadn’t been there to focus his attention, I probably could not have killed him.

Isn’t a decoy a way of cheating?
Hey, some people think using a shotgun is cheating! Look at it this way – the deck is stacked in favor of the turkey. A few years ago while hunting on the edge of a field late in the season, I killed a gobbler that I missed a few weeks before. He was understandably call shy and had changed his pattern considerably since being shot at. This made him harder to kill than ever. The thing that hadn’t changed was the fact that each day he headed to the same open field to strut. So I placed a quarter-strut jake decoy along with a couple hen decoys on the edge of the field.

I positioned them so that regardless of where the gobbler came into the field, he could see the decoys. But another hunter also had permission to hunt the same field, adding a new variable. Shortly after daylight, the gobbler approached the field edge only 60 or 70 yards from the other guy who was whispering sweet nothings to the gobbler. Instead of making the short walk to his setup, the gobbler saw my jake decoy several hundred yards away and raced across the field like an Olympic sprinter. When he got to about 75 yards, he stopped and strutted, then ran the rest of the way to show the jake decoy who was boss. My gun barked and the gobbler flopped.

Here’s another case when calling (no matter how good), wasn’t enough. It was a jake decoy and the ego of the real gobbler that helped me put another bird in the freezer.

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Print aerial photos of the places you plan to hunt, and take them with you.

Can’t decoys be counter-productive?
Yes, strutter and jake decoys can spook birds, but if you know when and how to use them they’ll help far more often than they hurt. When using a strutter decoy, use a jake tailfan if possible so real toms think the decoy is a smaller, sub-dominant bird. Many companies making strutter decoys design them smaller than a real bird so the decoy appears small to an approaching tom.

Here’s where the words “pecking order” really mean something. Birds have a pecking order and gobblers are constantly fighting and challenging the pecking order in the spring. Using tom and jake decoys can help any turkey hunter capitalize on this weakness.

One guy who regularly uses tom and jake decoys is Brett Berry from Zink Game Calls. “Jake and strutting tom decoys work well in the right situation at pulling in dominant toms,” says Berry. “The key is knowing the tom you are hunting is a dominant bird. Sometimes when a subdominant bird sees a strutting decoy, they will go the other way out of fear.” Berry often uses an Avian-X jake decoy. “I’ve had dominant birds attack my decoy and actually put holes in it. One time a tom wouldn’t stop attacking my decoy long enough for me to get a clear shot. I sat up and whistled at the bird several times before he raised his head.”

How can you be sure a gobbler sees your deke set-up?
Berry uses jake and strutter decoys on field edges to bring in birds that tend to hang up out of range. “When hunting open fields, I place a hen and a strutting decoy on top of a nob where a gobbler can see it from a long way off. Sometimes when calling and using a hen decoy, a tom won’t come all the way across a field to my set-up. When you add the quarter strut jake or a strutting decoy, they often come because they want to kick the tar out of the decoy. The key when using these decoys is having them in the open where a real bird can easily see the bright red head of the decoy.”

Need a new trick up your sleeve this spring? Use a realistic new jake or tom decoy to bring toms in close!

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A Colorado Merriam’s turkey and a mountain backdrop is a scene that’s dramatic and memorable.

If you’re looking for a way to make your decoy spread more realistic, check out Turkey Skinz from A-Way hunting products. Turkey Skinz is the actual skin of a turkey—feathers and all—that you wrap around a decoy to make it look more realistic. Using real feathers makes a painted decoy look like the real thing. Learn more at www.awayhunting.com.

tracy-breen-outdoor-writerAbout Tracy Breen

Tracy is a full-time outdoor writer and consultant in the outdoor industry. He works with a variety of television shows and outdoor brands including Havalon Knives. Learn more at www.tracybreen.com.

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Hunting Turkey Out Of State? 6 Steps to Success

Posted on April 11, 2014 by HavalonKnives

By Tracy Breen

For the traveling turkey hunter, hunting out-of-state equals extreme fun –  without breaking the bank!

I’ve never met a hunter who doesn’t dream of putting his familiar stomping ground in the rear view mirror and heading to a new state to hunt. Some dream of a whitetail adventure; others dream of bugling bulls or big bears. Of the critters I’ve chased in dozens of states, my favorite game to hunt away from home is the wild turkey.

breen with colorado merriam turkey 420x336

A Colorado Merriam’s turkey and a mountain backdrop is a scene that’s dramatic and memorable.

Don’t get me wrong; I love chasing elk, deer and other big game, but chasing turkeys is a ton of hot action. Translation – extreme fun!

Going on a low budget turkey hunt out of state is surprisingly easy to do. In most states nonresident turkey tags aren’t expensive and turkeys can easily be found on public ground. Most out of state turkey hunts can be done for $500 to $1000; often less if you are willing to stay in a camper or a tent.

1.  The first challenge in hunting away from home is figuring out where to hunt. When determining where to go, you must first determine your objective. Do you want to hunt another subspecies or just hunt another state? If you want to hunt another subspecies, you will likely have to travel several states away. When traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to hunt, I typically try to have at least a week to hunt. It’s best to have lots of time when going blind into anew area. It takes time to find a good place to hunt, locate birds and put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The more time you have, the better your odds will be of pulling the trigger.

2.  When planning to hunt in unfamiliar territory, contact a biologist in that state. A biologist or state habitat manager isn’t likely to give away his favorite hunting area, but it’s in his interest to give you some good hunting locations on public land. Many are not afraid to share information about large tracts of national forest or state land. I always start by asking about large tracts of land where there are plenty of birds. From there, I ask questions about their turkey population, what kind of winter they had, and how much pressure hunters put on the birds.

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Print aerial photos of the places you plan to hunt, and take them with you.

3.  Zero in on big properties. One of the main reasons I always ask about large tracts of public land is because large pieces of ground are a great place to locate birds even where the hunting pressure is high. Over the years, I’ve learned that most hunters never travel very far from any two-track road when hunting. As a result, birds that spend most of their life off the beaten path typically aren’t hunted as hard. Finding backwoods gobblers will take more work, but if you can find that needle in the haystack, odds are high you will be able to call him in.

4.  Continue research by downloading aerial photographs and maps of the area. After I’m armed with a little information about a certain area, I use aerial photos and topographic maps to locate ridge lines, river bottoms and places where I think birds may roost. I like to find several potential roosting areas before I leave home, and check them out when I get there.

5.  Plan for some time to scout. If you’re going for the season opener, arrive a day early to do some scouting. On any other day arrive early enough to look for roosting areas and strutting zones to hunt the next day. With advice from biologists and habitat managers, maps, aerial photos, and a good GPS, finding turkeys usually isn’t extremely difficult.

6.  Cover as much territory as possible. When hunting on public land, my goal is always the same: cover as much ground as possible. If I have never hunted in area and have very limited information about the state I’m hunting, the only way I will tag a bird is by hunting long and hard. Each day I start hunting at daylight and hunt until dark if it is legal. If I don’t tag a bird at first light, I run and gun the rest of the day. It is not uncommon to walk five or more miles a day in search of longbeards. I will typically walk and call, walk and call all day in hopes that eventually I will find a hot, talkative tom.

breen with missouri turkey 299x448

Missouri is a state loaded with eastern wild turkeys. If you can’t go all the way west, it’s a great place for success.

Finally, some personal comments. My favorite away-from-home turkey hunts are in the West. A backcountry do-it-yourself hunt is easy and inexpensive in places like Colorado, or any state where public land is abundant and hunting pressure is minimal. Colorado is home to the Merriam’s subspecies, which is a beautiful bird.

I’ve talked mostly about public land, but don’t overlook private land—gaining access there can be surprisingly easy for turkey hunters. Ranchers often consider turkeys a nuisance and will grant access to hunters who knock on their door and politely introduce themselves. States like Nebraska are typically overrun with turkeys.

Finding turkeys in a far off land isn’t as difficult as finding a trophy buck or bull—and that’s one of the many reasons I like turkey hunting across the country. With a little luck, some hard work and a week’s vacation, almost anyone who knows how to work a turkey call can fill a tag or two without breaking the bank.

***

tracy-breen-outdoor-writerAbout Tracy Breen

Tracy is a full-time outdoor writer and consultant in the outdoor industry. He works with a variety of television shows and outdoor brands including Havalon Knives. Learn more at www.tracybreen.com.

 

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