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Turkey Hunting 101
February 25, 2019
The NWTF's Turkey Hunting 101 is considered the premier educational tool to learn everything you need to know about wild turkeys, their behavior and planning a successful hunt
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Making the Most of a Two-Week Turkey Vacation
Use these dos and don’ts to forge an efficient, successful spring gobbler road trip.
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Avoid post-season regret
Don’t end turkey season wishing you had planned better or hunted harder. Here’s how Slam king Jeff Budz squeezes every drop from his spring adventures.
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The loser
Gobblers that respond to calling but hang up out of range might be subordinate birds unwilling to risk an encounter with more dominant longbeards. Here’s how to deal with these frustrating turkeys.
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Should You Carry a Sidearm While Hunting?
To hunt with a sidearm or to hunt without one? Some could say there are pros and cons to both.
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Cleaning shooting optics
Knowing how to clean shooting optics properly is a must for all firearm shooters who use optics.
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The Joy and Predicament of New Dirt
Initial forays at properties you’ve never hunted can be tricky. Follow these steps to tackle the learning curve and find early success on fresh ground.
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Turkey calls you might not know much about
These old-school classics blend history and tradition, providing great alternatives to standard choices.
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Raising a brood: Get children traveling
Taking youngsters on the road requires substantial work, but the results are more than worthwhile.
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Nowhere to Hide: Bowhunting Turkeys Without a Blind
Pursuing gobblers with archery tackle is challenging. Doing so without a blind increases the difficulty exponentially. After completing a bowhunting Grand Slam in 2019, the author shares how he found success in the spring woods without using a pop-up hide.
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Fall Turkey Dogs: Starting the Canine Adventure
Autumn turkey dogging introduces hunters to new adventures and unique experiences in the woods.
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Mentoring Turkey Call Makers
A custom call-making legend relishes helping out a rising star.
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Dear Pops
I write this not only to say thank you but to also remind and encourage others to thank the mentors who sparked their passion for the outdoors.
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Top 4 Reasons Dad’s a Great Hunting Partner
For many of us, our fathers introduced us to and nurtured our passions for the outdoors and hunting.
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Five Ways Turkey Hunting is Different
No matter your hunting background, pursuing new game always comes with a learning curve. Here are five things to remember when hunting wild turkey:
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The diaphragm flip
Mouth calls offer more versatility than you might think, especially if you run one upside down to give gobblers another sound.
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Hunting- one more reason moms are special
So, what makes a mom an ideal hunting partner or mentor? The reasons are as diverse and plentiful as the moms themselves.
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Mother May I
As an adult-onset hunter who has only been hunting for a few years, I was afraid I did not have enough knowledge yet to pass along to a new hunter as a mentor. Then one of my adult daughters asked me to take her hunting.
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Engaging Youth and Fostering Sportsmanship
An fun and engaging activity designed to help young hunters build educational concepts, increase safety and awareness of safety and instill sportsmanship values.
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Fix Those Turkey Weather Worries
Tips to help you prepare for every other weather phenomenon to complete your spring mission.
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A volunteer’s heart to lead the way
New Mexico’s Helen Butt introduces women from all backgrounds to the outdoor lifestyle.
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The First
I was having real trouble conveying my love of turkey hunting to my buddy, Josh Kline.
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2020 Spring Hunt Guide
The spring 2020 turkey season is just a week away for some and not too much longer for the rest of us, and with that comes the opportunity to start anew.
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The Truth: Tips on What Not to do
NWTF Convention and Sport Show attendees were enthralled when they learned that Will Primos, Jimmy Primos, Troy Ruiz and the rest of Outdoor Channel’s beloved “The Truth About Hunting” cast were giving a seminar about how to bag more gobblers this spring; although, what the gang of hunter-slash-comedians really provided was a seminar with video evidence of what not to do.
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Making the Most of Your Mentored Hunt
“Be the mentor you needed when you first started hunting,” said Cristina McGannon Jones of Oxford, New Jersey. Cristina presented tips and advice for making the most out of a mentored hunt at NWTF’s Annual Convention and Sport Show during its National Leadership Conference.
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Outdoor Industry Jobs
If you are passionate about the outdoors, there are many opportunities to live your passion.
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Food for Thought — Recruiting Locavores
The term locavore is relatively new, and its popularity amongst adults has skyrocketed.
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Where there's a wheel there's a way!
Michigan’s outdoors should be accessible for all people to enjoy. All too often, that isn’t the case.
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Lessons Learned from Hunting with Kids
I enjoy the fresh air, time spent away from electronics and social media, and I want my kids to appreciate the outdoors as well.
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One Hunter's "GoWild" Journey
When Christopher Giummo of Sarasota, Florida, entered a sweepstakes for a guided Wisconsin turkey hunt as he downloaded the GoWild hunting app, he was taking a leap into the unknown.
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My Mentored Dove Hunt - David Gladkowski
Thanks to the NWTF’s adult mentored hunt, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on dove hunting.
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Outdoor Accounts to Follow
We want to help direct you to some outdoor content that is uplifting, engaging, entertaining or includes turkeys.
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Missouri Mentored Dove Hunts
NWTF Missouri chapters helped conduct 16 mentored dove hunts, introducing hunting to numerous area youth, men and women.
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Turkey Hunting 101
The NWTF's Turkey Hunting 101 is considered the premier educational tool to learn everything you need to know about wild turkeys, their behavior and planning a successful hunt
Read More
Brenda Valentine on "Why We Hunt"
During the 43rd annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show, NWTF spokesperson and long-time hunter Brenda Valentine gave a talk titled “Why We Hunt.” Valentine listed eight reasons why she engages in the great tradition of hunting to help give the audience a greater confidence in their own justifications for hunting.
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Arizona Youth Turkey Camps: A Partnership Success Model
In Arizona, strategic partnerships have been key to the success of the statewide hunter recruitment, retention and reactivation model.
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Woods to Stage: Calling Lessons from Top Pros
Competition callers started as hunters, and they translate turkey vocabulary smarts learned afield to the GNCC limelight and back to the woods.
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Ohio WITO coordinator welcomes the uninitiated
Whether its birdwatching, handgun shooting or turkey hunting, we all need a start in the outdoors. Amy McKenzie helps make the introduction in Ohio
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What interests you most about turkey hunting?
For turkey hunters, hearing that first gobble is likely the start to a lifelong obsession, at least it seems to have for our NWTF headquarter staff. Below are the responses from several staff on what interests them most about turkey hunting.
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Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue: “Be an Advocate” for Hunting Heritage
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue welcomed NWTF members, partners, friends and family during the NWTF’s Convention Welcome Dinner and again the next morning at the Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. Breakfast.
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Joining the Flock: Partners Help to Recruit, Retain and Reactivate Hunters
Partnerships are key to helping recruit, retain and reactivate hunters. Outdoor, shooting sports and hunting organizations joined together to create a national plan to tackle this mission: R3. During the Conservation Conference at the Annual Convention, industry leaders presented on success stories and best practices learned related to their R3 outreach efforts.
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To cutt or not to cutt?
Cutting often indicates aggression from a hen. A bird that responds to your calling by cutting might be looking for a fight. Copy her vocalizations to bring her — and hopefully a gobbler — into range.
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Ohio Scholar Hunt
Ohio’s NWTF State Chapter provides a unique hunting opportunity for statewide scholarship recipients.
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Best Turkey Hunter I Know
Becoming one with your surroundings, understanding and reacting to turkey behavior and habits: these are just a taste of the skills needed to match the abilities of this turkey hunter.
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Fostering a Passion in Others
Jennifer Foster, Kansas’ WITO coordinator, is spreading a contagious fever for hunting.
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Creating New Hunters
Aaron Warbritton talks with Scott Vance of the NWTF about possible threats to turkey hunting and tips on taking new hunters to the field.
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Massachusetts’ Learn to Turkey Hunt Initiative
First-time programs make long-time hunters.
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The Evolution of Turkey Hunting
How turkey hunting has changed through the eyes of hunting icons Harold Knight and David Hale.
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Hunting Trip Plan
Leave a hunting trip plan with a friend or family member to expect for the unexpected.
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Resources to Get Started
Not sure where to start? We provide contact information to people who can help!
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Tips for New Hunters
Keep these tips in mind come opening day.
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NWTF Learn to Hunt Series: 3 Turkeys You Can't Kill
Watch all three parts of this web series to learn insider knowledge on how you can harvest the birds you haven't been able to kill, until now.
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5 Turkey Hunting Lessons Learned
Take it from the pros so you don't have to learn the lessons the hard way.
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Become a Bed-and-Breakfast-Gobbler Hunter
Forget the traditional hunting madness and try a new method.
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Mentored Hunts Matter
Expose a friend or child to wild turkey hunting and mentor them along the way.
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10 Ways to Hook Kids on Hunting
A love for hunting begins with a love for the outdoors, get a child you know involved now!
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Latest Articles
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January 11, 2021
Benefitting Turkey Populations and Local Communities in Montana
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Fast 5: Mast trees that produce quickly
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Wild Turkey Leg Spinach-Artichoke Dip
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The People’s Tree: Taking Conservation to Capitol Hill
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Avoid post-season regret
December 28, 2020
Continuing Over 10 Years of Partnership in Vermont
December 28, 2020
NWTF Events
Learn to Hunt
  • Making the Most of a Two-Week Turkey Vacation
  • Avoid post-season regret
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  • Should You Carry a Sidearm While Hunting?
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