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Bear Hunting Bargains

Posted on March 22, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Use These Six Tips to a Bargain Bear Hunt

By Bernie Barringer

Bears don’t care how much you paid for your hunt!

You’ve heard a lot of talk lately about the economy.”It’s a buyer’s market in housing,” and “Get in on growth stocks now!” Chances are you’ve experienced at least some effect of it yourself. Well how about this one? “Now is a great time to find a bargain on a hunting trip.”

Here we are – only a couple months from the spring bear seasons, and many outfitters still have spots open. The tough economy combined with the high cost of travel has left lots of outfitters hungry to book a last minute trip to keep their annual income from falling off the edge of the table. It’s a great time to get a deal on a great bear hunt.

No, I’m not suggesting that you kick a guy when he is down. But it is a good time to negotiate a great deal if you understand that the outfitter has bills to pay and shouldn’t be expected to work for free. By the same token, even a discounted hunt puts money in his pocket that he wouldn’t have if he sold no hunt at all. So, in a spirit of cooperation, you can help out the outfitter who really does need to get some last minute deals made by using these six tips for a great deal on a hunt.

1. Make an offer.

Sometimes you can get a deal just by asking. Times are tough for everyone and that may include you. If you tell the outfitter that you really want to come but simply cannot afford to pay full price, he may make you a deal. Ask for 20-25% off and see what happens. You might be surprised.

2. Offer to trade for labor.

Use These Six Tips to a Bargain Bear Hunt By Bernie Barringer Image 3 & 4

Sometimes you can get a discounted hunt by offering to help bait, clean up around camp or put up treestands.

Sometimes outfitters are short of help, and when they cannot pay for help, they might offer you a discounted hunt if you can help run bear baits, skin bears, take other hunters to their stands before getting in yours, clean up around camp, etc. You should have some experience before you make this offer, but if you have been around bear camps quite a bit; this one might work for you.

3. Ask for a second bear at no extra charge.

Some areas offer a two-bear limit, and you might get a second bear for no more than the price of the tag. You’ll already be in camp and it costs the outfitter very little to get you that second bear, but it makes a big difference to you.

4. Go with a buddy.

Offer to pay for one hunt full price if you can bring a buddy at half price. Then split it with him. A second hunter doesn’t cost the outfitter as much since you’ll probably be rooming with your friend. You’ll likely head out to the stands together so the outfitter has little increase in costs to get you back and forth. This also gives you and your buddy the chance to split the cost of gas if you are driving to the hunt. This strategy offers a lot of advantages to everyone involved.

5. Look for cancellations.

Often, people book hunts and something comes up – maybe a financial difficulty, a family emergency, or possibly a person just bit off more than he could chew financially or time-wise – and he has to cancel. The outfitter has this person’s deposit in his pocket and he is looking for another hunter to fill the spot. You could be that guy. Talk to the outfitter and see what kind of a deal you can make. A good place to start is to ask that the other hunter’s deposit be applied to your bill, and go from there.

6. Get a group or family discount.

Use These Six Tips to a Bargain Bear Hunt By Bernie Barringer-Image 3

It’s a great time to get kids on a bear hunt due to the possibility of getting a discount.

What a perfect time to get a couple kids on their first bear! If an outfitter has several tags available, how about bringing a church group, a handful of friends or an entire family along? If you are going as a family, ask that the non-hunters be allowed to tag along at no charge. This is a great opportunity to negotiate a great deal and put some youngsters on bears, kids who might not otherwise get to experience the adrenaline-charged atmosphere of a bear hunt.

Again, and I stress – don’t go about this with an attitude of trying to take advantage of someone in a difficult situation. Just try to negotiate a deal that makes it very attractive for you to go on the hunt, while still making sure that the outfitter benefits, too.

You’re looking for a win-win relationship where everyone is happy. Don’t beat the outfitter up or be abrasive. Even if you do strike a deal, you don’t want to go into a camp where the outfitter and guide already have a bad feeling about you. You may not get their full measure of effort.

Take advantage of this window of opportunity for a bargain bear hunt, and make a memory that will last a lifetime.

***

About Bernie Barringer:

Bernie Barringer hunts a variety of species in several states and Canadian provinces. He has published more than 400 articles in two dozen outdoor magazines and authored ten books on hunting, fishing and trapping. He is the managing editor of Bear Hunting Magazine, and blogs his hunts on his website www.bowhuntingroad.com.

Click here to read other articles by Bernie.

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How To Hunt Pressured Turkeys – Part 2

Posted on March 17, 2012 by HavalonKnives

The Bachelor Pad: How to Find Where Gobblers Die, Part 2

by Steve Sorensen

Have you ever found a gobbler’s bachelor pad? Lots of gobblers are killed at their bachelor pads – the place where they’re safe, want to be seen, and can be heard. You may have killed gobblers in places like that, even though you may not realize it. Here’s how I found three of them.

The “Come over here, honey” breeding bed – I know one spot that I feel owes me a gobbler, though I’ll probably never collect on it. I’ve called in several gobblers there, but made some critical mistakes. For several years I considered it my “Old Faithful” of turkey spots. It’s high on a hill, gobblers roosted just off the peak of the ridge, and their gobbles ring out across the hardwood ridge and down the hill.

On one opening day, I saw just how they used this spot. I arrived before daylight and waited for the game to begin. Turkeys started gobbling, flew off the roost, and marched to this spot, but I had set up wrong. Off to my left about 60 yards away, two mature gobblers and a hen began an affair to remember. I watched them carry on for an hour before they left.

After they were gone, I walked over there. Feathers were everywhere. It looked like those gobblers raked every feather off the back of that poor hen. I picked up 100 of them, and many more were still on the ground. Any time a gobbler wanted, he could say, “Come over here, Honey,” and a hen would cooperate.

I said I’ll probably never take a gobbler from that spot. The reason – it was loaded with tall, straight, black cherry trees. Chain saws have turned the spot into a timber slashing. Score one for the turkeys.

The “good old boys” ringside seat – It was late one Friday morning, and I heard a gobbler sound off not far away. I quickly set up and gave a call. He gobbled back, but ambled along as though he had all day. I guess he did. I finally had him within 35 yards, but he was screened by the top of a fallen tree so I had no shot. He finally strolled back to the spot where he started.

On Saturday I was back in that area, and heard him sound off at daylight down the hill. I set up where that fallen tree wouldn’t be a problem. Soon he was coming up the hill, but angled to my right and headed straight for the spot I had called him from the day before. I could see him over there, all fanned out, without a hen anywhere around.

Soon, I heard a yelp behind him, and two jakes walked over, circled around in front of him, and proceeded to beat the stuffing out of each other. That went on for 10 minutes. Finally they walked off, and the big gobbler followed.

I could hardly wait until Monday, but couldn’t get into the woods until 9:30 AM. This time, I inched my way to the spot where he watched the fight. At 10:00, I made a couple of calls. Again at 10:10, and at 10:20. I finally got an answer. He came in with three jakes in tow, and I shot him at 25 yards. This old boy never seemed interested in breeding. His bachelor pad was a spot where he’d watch the Saturday fights.

The “I’m not leaving until I’m carried out” hermit – This gobbler frustrated me for a week. I knew where he was, but there were other turkeys close to him and I couldn’t approach him without flushing them. Every day I’d hear him, sometimes I’d see him, and twice I called in other birds. But he wouldn’t budge from his spot.
This had to be a preferred bachelor pad – if only I didn’t have to worry about all his friends. Finally, the day came. All his younger buddies and girlfriends had abandoned him, but he stayed put. I sneaked in to about 50 yards of his roost tree, and he began gobbling his head off at 5:30 AM. He was frantic; no one would answer him until I gave him the softest call I could make at 5:45, and again at 5:55. He flew down at 6:00, and I was tagging him at 6:05. He wouldn’t leave unless someone carried him out. I obliged.

In all three of these cases, almost any turkey hunter could have killed these birds. It was a matter of being where they were most comfortable. And if you do everything else right, that’s where they die.

Want more Turkey Hunting Secrets of the Pros? Click Here:

Turkey Hunting Secrets You Must Know This Spring

About Steve Sorensen

Award-winning outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen loves the Havalon knife, and has been a fan of knives since he begged his dad for a hunting knife when he was six years old. His articles have been published in Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow his writing on his website, www.EverydayHunter.com.

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How To Hunt Pressured Turkeys – Part 1

Posted on March 15, 2012 by HavalonKnives

The Bachelor Pad: How to Find Where Gobblers Die, Part 1

by Steve Sorensen

Think gobblers are pressured where you hunt? Think about my home state of Pennsylvania, with nearly a million hunters. Not all of them go after spring gobblers, but many who do buy a second tag. That keeps pressure on the gobblers all season long, so they need a place where they can put up their spurs, relax, and entertain the ladies. They need a bachelor pad.

Hunters sometimes don’t realize it, but lots of gobblers are killed at their bachelor pads. That’s where a gobbler wants to be, and when you find that place, that’s where you kill him. This article will tell about the kinds of places where gobblers set up to meet the ladies. In Part 2, I’ll write about some practical applications – how it has worked out for me.

At least three factors play into how a gobbler selects his bachelor pad – the place where he meets the ladies. Look for it on the high ground…

1. Where he can be safe – Contrary to what many hunters think, the first priority of a gobbler in the springtime isn’t to breed. It’s to survive. Without safety, he won’t get to pass on his genes to a new generation.

Since all kinds of hunters want to eat them, turkeys must be masters of survival. (And by “hunters” I include not just the ones toting shotguns, but also natural predators like coyotes, foxes, owls – they all love fresh turkey meat.)

We’ve all heard that it’s more challenging (though not impossible) to call a turkey downhill. The reason is safety. If a turkey is going downhill, his risks are greater. If he turns around to run uphill he loses a precious second or two – enough for a fox or coyote to grab him. And if he meets a threat when he goes downhill, it might be easier to get airborne in that direction, but he’ll be heading right for the threat.

But if he’s going uphill, his best and fastest direction of escape is usually to turn around and flee downhill. After all, it was safe there just a second or two ago. This isn’t a conscious decision; it’s simply an outcome of natural selection. It’s was bred into him. When turkeys retreat downhill, they escape more often, and survive to breed and pass on that trait.

That’s one reason you’ll find more gobbler bachelor pads on high ground than anywhere else. Another reason is that’s the place…

2. Where he can be seen – Gobblers prefer a meeting spot where they’re visible. In hilly country, that’s usually on elevated ground. That doesn’t mean they’ll never choose low land, but if they choose low land it will be a place offering a fast and easy escape from the love nest.

Turkeys are not masters of camouflage like some prey animals. Being seen is important to in the bird kingdom where it’s always the male that is the pretty one. Males are colorful, females are drab. It’s the male that puts on a display to get the attention of females. That’s true of the birds at your feeder.

Face it, guys, in the bird kingdom, the girls ain’t the ones that are dolled up. And the gobblers are the ones who strutt their stuff. Sound familiar?

Another reason gobblers want to be seen is that in the world of turkeys, it’s the hen that comes to the gobbler. We’re trying to reverse that when we take up a stationary position and offer sweet, seductive calls. That’s one of the reasons gobblers sometimes hang up – they expect the girls to come to them.

So, a gobbler’s bachelor pad is a place where he can show of his beauty. Finally, it’s a place…

3. Where he can be heard – In hilly country, a hilltop or a side hill offers a place where their gobbles will carry. In fact, in the early spring before the tree canopy has sprouted leaves, on a calm day it’s possible for a lusty gobble to be heard a mile away.

That might seem surprising, but remember that bare tree trunks and limbs offer little to dampen and absorb sound. So, up high in the hardwoods, the acoustics are great for gobbles to reach out and touch the ears of lots of hens.

Late in the season, when trees are leafed out and hens begin sitting on their nests, gobblers get a little anxious about finding hens. So, they might leave their bachelor pads in search of a receptive hen. That means there’s an optimum time for finding bachelor pads, and for success at killing the gobbler that entertains the ladies there.

Next post, I’ll share some hunts that demonstrate the truth of what I’ve said here.

Want more Turkey Hunting Secrets of the Pros? Click Here:

Turkey Hunting Secrets You Must Know This Spring

About Steve Sorensen

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How To Hunt Turkey – Part 2

Posted on March 3, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Four Assumptions for Gobbler Success, Part 2

by Steve Sorensen

We’ve covered two assumptions you must make in the turkey woods. Those assumptions were about the gobbler. Now, here are two more. These assumptions are about you.

Assumption #3: You Can Outsmart The Smartest Gobbler

Back when turkey hunting started gaining in popularity, we heard phrases like “wise old gobbler” and “cagy old tom”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, they are masters at self-preservation, but it’s not because they’re smart.

Four Assumptions for Gobbler Success, Part 2 - Image 1

Sometimes gobblers can be outsmarted bywaiting for their company to leave them.

A gobbler’s survival smarts don’t come from PhD level courses in woods wisdom; they come from life experience. It might seem ironic, but his most effective survival technique comes from cutting classes, starting with Poult Survival 101. Whenever a turkey sees a threat anywhere nearby – and he thinks almost everything is a threat – he’s gone. His grade in Survival Class? He earns an A+ by cutting out.

Turkeys do not have the highest IQ in the woods. With a brain the size of a walnut, a turkey can’t be as smart as the animals that prey on him, including two-legged shotgun-toters. In fact, he might be one of the dumbest clucks of all.

Here’s a case where two negatives makes a positive. First, he lacks brains, so he’s not inquisitive like a whitetail. Second, he’s hopelessly neurotic, a bundle of nerves stretched tighter than a banjo string. For both reasons, when he sees something suspicious he doesn’t wait around to find out what it is. That’s what often saves his skinny, naked neck.

So don’t give that bundle of nerves and feathers anything to worry about. Let him mind his own business. What is his business? A hen turkey nearby minding her own business is his business, because it is the nature of turkeys to flock together.

A hunter sounding like a hen, just going about her business, is often the way to outsmart a gobbler.

Assumption #4: Your Calling Is Probably Good Enough

I’m no expert caller, but early in my turkey hunting career I thought I was. I remember the first time I tried a turkey diaphragm call. I bought a little record along with the call, listened to it for about a half hour, and went out into the turkey woods. That evening, four gobblers answered my first-ever yelp in the turkey woods, and I thought, “I’m gonna be good at this!”

Four Assumptions for Gobbler Success, Part 2 - Image 2

My calling, on my own homemade call, was plentygood enough for this gobbler.

The truth is that anyone within hearing distance of four turkeys in the right mood can do the same. That’s because more depends on the turkey than the caller. Almost any hunter can make acceptable calls. Even squeaky fence gates have made acceptable calls! Gone are the days when we thought we had to make three perfect yelps and shut up. Gone are the days when we thought one bad note would send a gobbler into the next state.

I’ve discovered two simple secrets to calling gobblers. One is to vary the rhythm and the number of notes, because that’s what I’ve heard real turkeys do.

The other secret is that it takes more than lyrical yelps to sound like a hen. If you’ve ever been close to a hen turkey, one that isn’t suspicious or spooked, you’ve heard sounds more varied than the evenly cadenced yelps hunters have been taught to perform. Use the yelps, but throw in a few brief hesitations. Sprinkle the calling with an occasional odd note. The vocal hen almost always seems to be talking to herself in quiet putts and purrs, right along with those pretty yelps.

Practicing your calls is worthwhile, but this isn’t a case where practice makes perfect. Practice for realism. Practice for confidence. Practice so that the sounds you make come easily. But don’t practice for perfection. Practice doesn’t make even real turkeys perfect. Every real turkey sounds unique.

My four assumptions won’t bring a turkey to your gun on every hunt. But the truth is that even hunters who tell you “Never assume nuthin’!” are making these assumptions. That’s one reason why they succeed the way they do. So, when the hunting is tough, these assumptions will help you remain confident – and when you’re confident, you carry more gobblers over your shoulder.

About Steve Sorensen:
Award-winning outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen loves the Havalon knife, and has been a fan of knives since he begged his dad for a hunting knife when he was six years old. His articles have been published inDeer & Deer Hunting Magazine, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow his writing on his website, www.EverydayHunter.com.

Click here to read more articles by Steve Sorensen.

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How To Hunt Turkey – Part 1

Posted on February 29, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Four Assumptions for Gobbler Success, Part 1

by Steve Sorensen

Old-timers in the turkey woods will tell you, “Never assume nuthin’!” I’m here to tell you not to take that advice, and you’ll get more gobblers.

“Gobblers are fickle!” “Gobblers will do the opposite of what you expect!” “Throw away the rulebook!” “Never assume nuthin’!” Yes, seasoned turkey hunting veterans who’ve had just about every possible gobbler hunting experience will preach it again and again.

But that doesn’t mean you have to take that advice. In fact, you’ll be better off if you don’t. The truth is even veterans make lots of assumptions, necessary ones, that give them an edge.

What are the assumptions a turkey hunter makes – in fact, must make – if he’s going to be successful? Even if gobblers are fickle. Even if they often do the opposite of what we expect. Even if the rule book is worthless. The expert turkey hunter makes some key assumptions, assumptions that are valid until the gobbler proves they aren’t.

Here are four assumptions you ought to be making in the turkey woods:

Assumption #1: A Gobbler is Nearby

A silent gobbler working his way through the timber.

I remember one big gobbler I hunted most of a season several years ago. He gobbled less and less every day, and after a few days of silence I had no idea where he was. I decided he had left for parts unknown, and I was yelping randomly as I trudged along the ridge late one morning.

When I rounded a bend in an old logging road, he almost ran over me. By the time I gathered my wits he was hoisting his landing gear. He rose above the treetops with the power and decibel level of something made by Lockheed.

He hadn’t gobbled all morning, yet he had been within a few hundred yards of me all the time. He definitely heard me, but he wasn’t going to come until he decided to come. My calls convinced him I was a hen he could have anytime he wanted – until he saw me walking his way.

Many hunters look for the hot turkey, the one gobbling his fool head off. But don’t overlook the silent ones. Lots of gobblers are tight-lipped. Other than muttering some soft purrs and clucks under their breath, they might not make a sound. They know they can have a hen any time they want.

Some gobblers are aggressive, but most gobblers aren’t dominant, and many hesitate to be vocal. They fear boss showing up to spur them and throw a few punches.

When you’re hunting gobblers, some are dominant, some are spooky, and some have moods. On some days they just don’t respond.

So, if you’ve heard gobblers in the vicinity before, if you see feathers, scratchings and droppings, there’s probably a gobbler nearby. Make that assumption every time you enter the spring woods, every time you yelp, cluck or purr. If you don’t, he’ll take you by surprise the way that long-bearded Lockheed surprised me.

Assumption #2: The Gobbler Wants Company

The frustration of waiting for a gobbler that alreadyhas the company he wants.

The poet Alfred Lord Tennyson said that in the springtime, “A young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love.” That applies to gobblers – even old gobblers. Few can resist a pretty little hen, but that’s not the only reason they come to your call.

The turkey hunter learns quickly that the young gobbler, the jake, is easy to call in. Like the human adolescent, he has little concept of danger and often lives with reckless abandon, acting as though he is immortal. At first he knows neither fear nor death. After a few close calls, most adolescents, whether they’re human or turkey, take stock and decide caution is in order.

Every predator out there loves the taste of turkey, so a springtime gobbler, even when romance is on his mind, faces countless perils. Gobblers that are desperados for love soon forfeit the opportunity to spread their genes. Those that survive for a couple of years are in no hurry, keep no schedule, and are no longer easily infatuated like a teenage lover.

But, even the survivors want the company of others. They just don’t necessarily insist on it now. They may not come to the call in order to breed, but sooner or later they’ll come to the call, because “birds of a feather flock together”. It’s a time-worn proverb because it’s true.

So, remember that when calling to a spring gobbler, he might be coming for any number of reasons. We tend to think of sex, but he might be thinking of anything from a knock-down, drag-out fight, to simple companionship. So, assume he wants company, but leave the reason up to him.

Coming Next: Two More Assumptions The Successful
Turkey Hunter Must Make.