On the Hunt

When an opportunity arose to attend a WITO turkey hunt, I packed my bags and took to the woods.

Turkey Hunting Q&A with former MLS All-Star Brad Davis

In Texas, everything’s bigger, so when hunting the Lone Star State’s numerous large ranches, getting from camp to roost takes more than just a few minutes’ hike through the scrub.

When thinking of destinations for hunting Rio Grande wild turkeys, the states that often come to my mind are Kansas, Texas or even Nebraska, but never Oklahoma.

Earlier this turkey season, while filming an Osceola Hunt in Florida, we got a chance to sit down with country music artist Easton Corbin to learn more about his love for the outdoors.

An age group that so often receives a poor reputation showed enthusiasm that rivaled many of the seasoned turkey hunters I know.

Acorns and other tree mast attract turkeys and other wildlife year-round, especially in early fall as animals build their fat reserves leading up to winter.

For ease of calling, sheer numbers, and all-day strutting action, here is where you need to set your bead for next year's turkey season...

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.

One writer’s turkey hunting adventure into the North Carolina woods provided entertainment, as well as opportunities to bring home the birds.

Making multiple sounds with multiple calls can bring the gobblers right to your gun.

As you age, your mission in the turkey woods changes and evolves. Nothing gives a senior hunter more pleasure than guiding youngsters to their first turkeys.

When standard calling doesn’t get the job done, employing nonverbal sounds and vocalizations not normally used may be just the thing to tip the scales in your favor.

If the author’s fly-down hunt blows up, he typically stays put until about 9:30 a.m. Then, he’ll start slowly covering ground to locate a lonely gobbler. Almost 80 percent of the birds he’s killed the past few years have come after the first two hours of daylight, and more than half of those were taken from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.

This Kansas longbeard never gobbled during his approach, but drumming from behind the hunter gave him away. Paying attention to nonverbal clues can spell the difference between a successful day and a blown opportunity.

Today it is easier than ever to keep a journal. Smartphone technology teamed with specialized apps gives you a publishing company in the palm of your hands. Sure, you can keep a journal the Lewis and Clark way with handwritten notes, but smartphone portability gives you the freedom to take your journal right into the field.

Like you, turkeys follow a daily schedule. Decipher this schedule and you could be one step closer to turkey success this spring. Begin your clockwork strategy with a dawn assault.

Turkey hunters have relied on this proven technology for years. Now things have become a whole lot better.

Side-by-side UTVs are tops for hunting, and we’ve just tested what may be the most hunter-centric vehicle on the market today.

Hunting success can happen after bumping a bird.

Use these pro tips to overcome the human condition

Learn how to use terrain to conceal your movements and stay hidden from turkeys.

Placing decoys takes a little strategy but can boost success if done properly.

As the 2017 spring turkey hunting season nears, the NWTF offers up the annual Spring Hunt Guide as an overview of each state's up-coming wild turkey hunting season.

Missouri holds special memories for this turkey hunter.

Calling legend Preston Pittman believes when you mentally become a turkey during the spring, you better understand what drives the birds and increase your chances of success.

This common-sense decoy setup presents a natural scene that puts gobblers right where you want them

Ohio’s NWTF State Chapter provides a unique hunting opportunity for statewide scholarship recipients.

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.

I walked in darkness through a 20-year-old pine plantation. On the other side was a 3-acre pond and beyond it, my destination. The large steel building looming in the predawn light was where my friend Gary Ganas and his wife, Sandy, called home. No lights were visible.

From bushy-tails to white-tails, lessons learned hunting squirrels easily carry over into the deer stands and other hunting venues.

Learn how to turn lousy days into great ones when hunting for turkeys!

Learn how to give a gobbler what he wants to hear.

Use the following six rules to find a tree worthy of a long morning sit.

With a little luck, long-time NWTF member finds his fountain of youth.

If you locate hens, longbeards are sure to follow. Learn how.

Here are four ways to cope and compensate for missing a wild turkey.

Spend quality time out in the woods with a youth using these tips.

Learn how to adjust your approach to tag a bird in the afternoon.

Learn how to deal with unique situations in the turkey woods.

Make these three changes to adapt your early season strategy into a late season goldmine.

What it's like to hunt wild turkeys for the first time.

Use this list to help determine if you should, or shouldn't use a blind on your next hunt outing.

Adapt and overcome by switching your strategy. The results may surprise you.

Follow this four step plan to locate a roosted bird and set yourself up for success the next morning. Putting in the time after dark may just help you tag out at first light.

Use these high-impact preemptive tactics on hard to handle longbeards.

Boost your decoy game with fine-tuned approaches from the pros.

Get the lowdown on spring turkey hunting nationwide.

Improve your mouth calling game and make the birds come to you!

Produce a better, more realistic turkey call with these helpful hints.

Read about four "normal" hunting situations and how to adapt your calling techniques to get the bird.

Five tips to hunt both species without ruining your chances of success for the other.

Busting fall flocks sometimes goes wrong. Learn how to cope and turn it into success.

It's the most useful in fall, but you never know when an odd sound like that will work in your favor, even in spring.

Let decoys give you the advantage in the woods. They can act as a lure and serve as a distraction. Win-win.

Five tips to find and shoot your fall bird.

Are birds really call-shy?

There is no substitution for time spent in the woods, but these pointers will help you become a savvier, more successful fall hunter.

Find fall flocks by using specific gobbler or hen vocalizations. Learn these calls, use them and fool those turkeys into range.

Ultra-realistic, modern turkey decoys are the best ever produced. Use them properly to boost your chances of success.

Hunters often ignore this lowly single-note call, and that might be a mistake.

You may be making turkey sounds, but are you talking turkey?

Share our legacy and don't let hunters become extinct.

Are fencerows friend of fow?

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.

Warm temperatures aren’t enjoyable for turkeys or hunters. By adjusting your tactics, however, you can still punch a tag when the mercury rises.

Stray away from traditional calls and sound off with a shock call to get a bird to gobble.

Don't let the hype of the hunt control your mind. Don't mistake a hunter for game. Learn how to avoid the mistake.

We break down the steps on how to make the most realistic turkey sounds with a mouth call.

Take it from the pros so you don't have to learn the lessons the hard way.

Learn these 11 calls and you'll have the upper hand in the woods this spring.

Learn how to properly set up your decoys to correspond to each phase of the breeding season.

Use these old school tricks that work in the woods!

Take a little pot that makes a lot of noise with you to the woods!

Employ these decoying strategies and let the deeks do the work.

Learn new hunting strategies for an old bird!

Don't know what to do in certain situations? Let the pros help!

When the weather has you down, don't let your calls bring you down.

What puts the hunting lifestyle in danger, find out the top 10 factors now.