Adventures Archive

When gobbles ring out, Henry Haas never hears them. He can't hear much of anything really, so he sits in his blind with a turkey caller in hand and watches for birds rather than enjoying their morning music.

Whether you are improving turkey habitat on your own property, a hunting club, or if you are involved with a NWTF chapter project, now is the time to create openings or rejuvenate existing ones.

The best way for a switch hit hunter to make the most of his precious time afield is to make sure he is always scouting one species while hunting another.

Some things just go together naturally--like RC Cola and Moon Pies or biscuits and gravy. Whitetails with a bow, spiced with a little fall turkey hunting can please many a hunter's appetite for fall fun.

The day was already breaking outside the small gas station as I stared beneath the hood of my truck attempting my best impersonation of a mechanic. I tugged at spark plug wires, slid the battery around, then climbed behind the wheel for the umpteenth time and turned the key. A dull, rapid clicking was the truck's only response.

One of Florida’s greatest resources is its extensive system of public lands. Hunting public lands in many states can be daunting and downright frustrating, but due to Florida’s many tracts spread throughout the state, good hunting opportunities for Osceolas and Easterns can easily be found.

“Derecha,” commanded our guide from the dark of the backseat. The small blue pickup lurched through a dry streambed lined with large, rounded rocks, as the driver angled the truck to the right in response to Oscar’s sudden direction.

The art of wildlife and nature photography takes traditional photography to a higher level of skill and talent. Not only are wildlife photographers skilled with the camera and lens but also skilled woodsmen and women, who understand the habits and movements of wildlife and the temperaments of Mother Nature.

These days, it is hard to pick up an outdoor magazine without seeing some reference to chronic wasting disease. But that’s a concern for deer hunters, right? The answer is yes and no. As for turkey hunters, there is both good news and bad concerning CWD. The good news is there is no evidence, as of today, that the disease can be passed to either turkeys or humans. But, if the disease is not controlled and continues showing up in wild populations, it could change deer and elk management programs, and possibly turkey movement programs, in the future.

The NWTF's License Plate and Ugly Truck Contest was a big hit this year. We had a number of entries and decided to put some of the honorable mentions here. Check them out.

Ask anyone who hunted wild turkeys 40 years ago what has been the greatest change in the sport, and you’ll probably get the same answers I did when I recently called a few old pros and raised that question.

We hunters have an almost uncanny ability to draw the wildest conclusions from the most obscure observations. The wild turkey rumor mill is a result of this skill, fed by the creative imaginations of a few hunters and armchair outdoors people. Let’s take a look at some creative, but unfounded, wild turkey rumors I have heard over the years:

The rubble has been cleared from the plaza of the World Trade Center, and the gash in the Pentagon has been repaired. But though a year has nearly passed since the tragedies of Sept. 11, many families are still shouldering the burden of pain that comes with such a tremendous loss. For the Federation family, this loss has been felt no more strongly than in New York where two of the state’s volunteers perished.

A young boy brings a piece of hollowed bone to his pursed lips then carefully kisses the end. A familiar sound of the woods is emitted from the bone — the yelp of a wild turkey hen.

Thanks to the hard work of wildlife agencies and NWTF volunteers, and the resilience and adaptability of the species itself, the wild turkey population across North America stands at an estimated 5.6 million birds. This means more hunting opportunity and more chances for hunter success in every corner of the continent, spring and, of immediate interest, fall.

Before being stricken by a blight, early last century, chestnut trees were abundant. According to the American Chestnut Foundation, “… a count of trees [within its range] would have turned up one chestnut for every four oaks, birches, maples and other hardwoods.”

A long, patient wait and a very excited gobbler made for an unforgettable hunt at the oasis where Texas and Oklahoma meet.

"Take me back to Muhlenberg County," is the first line of the chorus of a song called Paradise, written by John Prine and named after the small town in Muhlenberg County that lies near the Ohio state line.

The landscape, sterile sand broken by ominous, gnarled lava flows and the occasional cactus, looked inhospitable to any kind of life.

I inched the car forward realizing at once that this was not going to be any ordinary hunting camp; at the top of the sprawling green slope stood a stately lodge constructed of wood and stone. Large windows reflected the morning sun and from the inside offered a clear view of the surrounding Pennsylvania mountains exploding with autumn reds, golds and oranges.

Just a couple of decades ago, wild turkeys were not nearly as common as they are today. Few states had enough birds to hunt and states that did have birds offered only limited seasons.

I recall a conversation a few years ago with a coworker who had never missed a turkey. No, he wasn't a rookie who had been lucky a couple of times in a row.

The late Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard, once suggested that the frustrations encountered playing golf would make a suitable punishment for prisoners.

A shotgun blast in semi-flooded woods has a sound of its own: it travels along the water's surface, racing in a large circle, loud at first, then soft and eventually returns louder than when it left.

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