So I’ve been absent from my blog posts for a while. Summer’s a tough time to talk turkey, deer or anything else, except for absurdly hot evenings hiding from the sun and weekends relaxing on the lake, neither of which have much relevance here.

In the hunting realm, my plots were planted long ago and it was up to God to make the rain happen. This summer, he came through. Everything’s growing fine. Now, we get to enjoy the benefits of our labors.

My dove fields did fine. In fact, we’re averaging seeing a couple hundred doves on a few acres each time we ride by to check the fields. The sunflowers have started dropping on their own, and I’ll probably bush hog the rest of them tomorrow evening to keep the doves interested until Saturday, our dove opener. My millet, another dove favorite, is doing great and the corn I planted came along fine.

Now, we are a few short days away from dove season. The unofficial beginning of fall, when we dust off the shotguns, pull out the grill and get together for a hunter’s feast following an opening afternoon in the sun. Just one or two more dove hunts will follow, then it’s deer season in upstate South Carolina, then a few short months later, it’s on to West Virginia for a Thanksgiving week deer season opening tradition with my family.

Speaking of West Virginia, I spent last weekend on my home farm and it was amazing. The hills are as green as I’ve ever seen them. We had a great turkey hatch this year and between three flocks we are seeing more than 45 poults! Incredible, it’s been 15 years since we had such an impressive hatch. I can’t wait until the spring after next, it should be amazing – so many two year old gobblers should put on a great show.

I also saw two very impressive bucks the morning before I left WV to drive back to SC. Both bucks are well above the average deer killed in that area, and dad told me he saw another this evening that was just as large. They’re dropping their velvet now, a sure sign that Fall is right around the corner.

All that being said, my inner hunter is restless. I can’t wait to start the hunting seasons and hope you all are feeling the same eagerness.

Let me know what the wildlife in your area is doing. How was your spring hatch? Are you seeing bachelor buck groups, or are they starting to break up? Happy hunting friends.

Brian

It’s that time of year in the Deep South when the thermometer surpasses, or at least threatens, more than 100 degree temps. When humidity seems to do the same, the days are super long and the nights are as thick as ice cream.

Here at NWTF headquarters, we’ve just gone through a couple of weeks of planning meetings for the coming year. Our staff was in town for nearly a week and we worked together to find how we can make our volunteers’ dollars go the furthest in the coming year, and how to make more dollars next year so we can improve as much habitat and do as many outreach events as possible.

All the while, there is a four-day gathering of North America’s most dedicated conservationists that has to be addressed. Last February, the NWTF welcomed over 45,000 people who care about conservation for its National Convention and Sport Show at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. We want to make this year’s event even more entertaining and try to beat last year’s record attendance.

I’d like to know what you think about our National Convention. If you’ve never been, let me know why and what it would take to get you to come for the show. We really try to give our attendees the best show possible, but we can’t do that without some feedback from YOU.

Drop me a line and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Have a great summer and stay cool

Brian

Brian Dowler (front), Squirrel (middle) and Chris Ellis fishing the New River in Fayetteville, W.Va.

I heard my father say when I was yet too young to understand that his favorite days of the year were the first and last days of turkey season. I now understand. It’s been a long and sometimes frustrating turkey season, but by taking some vacation days, I was able to salvage it with one of my most memorable seasons ever.

The last week of the West Virginia spring wild turkey hunting season allowed me to get close to doubling with my father, but things went wrong and the birds drifted off at 90 yards with a pair of hens. A couple days later I killed a mature bird on my Grandpa Dowler’s farm, the place where I learned what modest woods skills I possess. What a way to end the year, right? It gets better yet.

The day after that, I took my Pappaw Jack hunting on his farm. Sounds backward, right? He taught me to rabbit hunt when I was still shooting a break-open .410 shotgun. All these years later, I got to return the favor of a hunt by coaxing in a mature tom to 25 yards. Grandpa had never shot a turkey, and told me to shoot him several times while the bird strutted and gobbled into range. When his gun cracked, the bird flopped and emotions poured out. Mission accomplished, two successful hunts in my childhood hills, in a week where many considered turkey season to be “over,” the gobbling “through.”

To finish my trip to my mountain home state, I stopped to fish in Fayetteville with a friend, Chris Ellis of Ellis Communications. We set out with Mountain State Anglers to float the New River’s white water for smallmouth bass, a new adventure for me. I’d heard of the New’s magic to produce a lot of quality smallies all my life, but never taken the time to try it out. Let me tell you friends, even a no-fishing bum like me caught a ton of fish in a half-day trip.

Our guide was a Class-VI whitewater rapids guide, a bald-headed fellow named Squirrel, who normally totes thousands of screaming adventure seekers down the New and Gauley rivers’ rapids. But, he’s good friends with Ellis and decided he’d rather fish for the day. I’m glad he did. The area has an incredible amount of history, and Squirrel was good enough to impart some of it to me.

Last year, I spent much of my winter in W.Va., at Snowshoe Resort snow skiing, now I have another destination to mark during my spring and summer months. I will be back, and now I know the game.

This year’s spring turkey season is over for me, and soon will be for everyone in North America.

Remember, every one of us had someone who took us on our first trip. My Grandpa Dowler who spent countless hours following me in our “Squirrel Woods,” my Pappaw Jack who introduced me to hunting over rabbit hounds with some truly interesting characters, dad who let me screw up some of his well-deserved mornings in the turkey woods and a few of dad’s friends who taught me how to enjoy a mountain cabin hunting camp.

Be good enough to return the favor.

Wildlife needs proper habitat to thrive. As with any living creature, this is covered by three basic elements: shelter or cover, food and water. Food plots can provide two of the three basic elements in cover and food. Take a good hard look at your hunting haunts, if you’re lacking in game, you’re probably lacking in habitat. A simple way to help is by simply taking the time to make some wildlife openings and plant them into food plots. Your wildlife will appreciate it and you’ll have more quality hunts in the field.

Next on my list of food plots this year is our chufa patches. Turkey season goes out here Friday, May 1 and we’ll start planting shortly thereafter. If you aren’t familiar with Turkey Gold Chufa, click here. Turkey Gold Chufa is a great way to attract and keep wild turkeys on your property throughout the year.

Turkey Gold Chufa is an agricultural variety of the native nutsedge that matures in 90 to 110 days. Chufa produces underground tubers that turkeys relish. Turkeys begin scratching for chufa during the fall, after the foliage above ground has turned brown. The larger birds will continue to feed on chufa until it’s gone, which is usually late spring.

Chufa does best in areas with long growing seasons. In the South, chufa is planted from April through July; in colder climates, it is planted in April and May. It grows in a variety of soil types, but does best in moderately to well-drained sandy or loam soils.

To place an order or receive a free catalog, call 800-THE-NWTF. The NWTF’s Wildlife Bulletin No. 7 also features more in-depth information on chufa.

No, it’s not dove season already. But it is time to plant our dove fields and food plots. So last weekend I took full advantage of being an NWTF member and bought some very affordable seed for this year’s food plots and dove fields.

I purchased year-old Round Up Ready Corn and some sunflowers through the Conservation Seed Program for a fraction of what it would have cost me to purchase new seed from a feed store. Then, I planted what I hope to turn into a great dove field for this fall. The corn and sunflowers will provide food and cover for many different species of wildlife and will help draw birds into the field for dove season.

As dove season nears, I’ll mow strips of sunflower (after the seed matures) using a rotary mower to make the seed available to the birds. But, I’ll also leave some of the sunflowers standing to create late-winter food supplies for turkeys, dove and quail.

The Conservation Seed Program provides seed for planting for wildlife at a nominal price. As a benefit of your NWTF membership, you can purchase the seed for only a few dollars per bag. The seed is shipped by the tractor-trailer load and is handled through the state chapter system. For additional information on the program, contact your local NWTF chapter president or the NWTF’s conservation department.

Blog Note: Before planting and hunting over such fields, be sure to check both state and federal regulations to ensure your plans fall within legal guidelines. Some states do not permit the manipulation of crops in a manner inconsistent with that area’s standard agricultural practices solely for the purpose of attracting game.

We’ve all heard of a fisherman’s lucky hat. Many deer hunters have a pre-season ritual they never break for fear of a bum season. I have my own turkey hunting traditions that have brought favor to myself and my father when hunting our home farm over the years. I’m not going to share that tradition/superstition with you because it’s proven, and if I do, it might not work the next time.

These last few days of turkey hunting have been particularly tough in the Central Savannah River Region (CSRA) where I live. Not only for me, but for the dozens of guys I work with. I get a daily turkey report about many of my friends’ mornings — and across the board it’s been tough. Birds aren’t gobbling, and if they do it’s a courtesy gobble, then it’s right back to a state of tight-lipped paranoia.

To try to break the bad Voo Doo that seems to be looming over my morning hunts, I reverted to an old superstition. Today, I broke out and wore the set of camouflage I was wearing when I killed my last gobbler. Even to me this act of desperation seems silly. Does a turkey care which set of camo a hunter is wearing? Of course they don’t, but I thought it might give me some good karma.

Didn’t happen. Today’s pre-work expedition produced merely a short-lived fight between the boss hen and me, producing one courtesy gobble from Mr. Thunderchicken, then total silence in the wild turkey woods.

Are you stuck in a turkey hunting funk and reverting to superstitions? Is there a tradition or superstition you go through before a hunt? I’d like to hear about them.

Be safe in the woods, and happy hunting
Brian

Gary Mason, founder of the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame and Alex Rutledge of Hunter’s Specialties are hosting us in Big Sandy, Tenn. Hunter’s Specialties has been a great partner for years and I’ve worked often with Alex during our National Convention and Sport Show. I’ve also seen him work his wild turkey magic on the stage of the Wild Turkey Bourbon/NWTF Grand National Calling Championships. He’s a top notch NWTF volunteer, competition caller, woodsman and hunter, a good friend and a member of the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame.

About a month before our National Convention, Gary called and let me know the Legends of the Outdoors Board of Directors had selected NWTF to be awarded the prestigious American Outdoors Organization of the Year. Gary made the official announcement in Nashville during the Thursday Night Welcome Party. This is quite an honor for all of the NWTF’s dedicated volunteers.

The Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame Induction Banquet is August 22, 2009 at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville, Tenn. The Induction Banquet is open to the public, giving individuals the opportunity to meet many present and former inductees of the Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame and a host of outdoor and country music celebrities during the Meet and Greet portion of the event and to witness some of these outdoor icons being honored by their peers.

NWTF member Michael Mason, Gary’s son, put us on some great gobbling actoin this morning and Alex pulled a trio of longbeards into our setup using the HS Ring Zone friction calls and the company’s new Infinity Latex mouth calls. I was able to harvest my first bird of the year and the first I’ve even taken in Tennessee. The Hunter’s Specialties calls sound great and are extremely easy to operate. I even made some gobblers sound off with them this morning.

Stay tuned for more, and as always, let me know how your spring’s unfolding. Happy Hunting,

Brian

Happy Easter afternoon everyone. I just wanted to drop a quick line and let you know that improved wildlife habitat has again played a key role in a hunting success. My friend Harvey was fortunate enough to harvest his first gobbler Saturday morning. There’s nothing more exciting than experiencing someone’s first turkey, to say the least he was ecstatic.

I’ve seen a ton of turkeys this year on our hunting property, in fact, dozens more than the last four years. I attribute the increased turkey population to several land management practices we’ve implemented. During the last three years we’ve burned a third of the property per year and have started using aerial herbicides to kill off unwanted undergrowth the fires didn’t kill. We’ve also enlarged our wildlife openings, or food plots, to create more area where the birds can feel safe while they feed.

Life’s good, hope you’re having a great Easter Sunday and a wonderful spring.

Let me know what’s working for you in the woods, and stay safe.

Brian

I wanted to drop a line to everyone and say Happy Easter, I hope you have an opportunity to enjoy some beautiful spring weather with your family and remember the real reason we celebrate the holiday. It is a great time of year, my favorite!

I leave Monday to visit with my friends Alex Rutledge from Hunter Specialties and Gary Mason with the Legends of the Outdoors in Tennessee.

One thought for everyone, I’ve had a stellar spring and had some really good action and responsive birds at daylight. Dad and I were able to seal the deal opening week in SC, and we called several birds in for Chip’s son Matthew. How has the gobbling action been where you hunt?

Happy Easter everyone

Brian

After a great hunt with my dad on Friday, he and I struck out Saturday morning with my friend Chip and his 9 year old son Matthew on another property Chip has permission to hunt. The birds cooperated fully, well, almost.

At daylight we had a very vocal tom on the limb, but because of topography, had to set up about 200 yards away from him across a long pond. Dad and I were the callers, Chip and Matthew were set up below and in front of us so Matthew could shoot. Matthew killed a jake with his dad last year, and things were looking good for him killing his first longbeard during this hunt. All the bird had to do was walk up the hill, across the dam and he would be within the ethical range of Matthew’s 20 gauge.

Instead of following the script, the big longbeard flew 125 yards across the length of the pond and lit in a tree in front of dad and me. Turkeys just don’t do that (of course, I know they don’t have a script to follow.) After what seemed like an eternity, he flew down. We tried to entice him down to Chip and Matthew, then two more hens flew to him. Meanwhile, while he’s strutting in front of me, a jake walks within 15 yards in front on Matthew and two more jakes walk within 20 yards behind him. Matthew told his dad he wanted to wait on “Big Boy.” He gobbles dozens more times and eventually faded away with his hens.

Simply incredible. But… the kicker for me came on the ride home. Matthew told his mom on the phone that he had seen “the most awsome thing ever.” Priceless. That’s why we get up and take youth hunting. Remember, if you’re a hunter, someone took you on your first hunt and many thereafter. If you’re not a hunter, ask someone to take you. You won’t regret it.