Episodes
Thursday Aug 10, 2017
146P - Turkey Hunting Shotgun Modifications Revisited with Laurence Pylinski
Thursday Aug 10, 2017
Thursday Aug 10, 2017
Turkey Hunting Shotgun Modifications Revisited with Laurence Pylinski
In this episode I revisit the topic of turkey hunting shotgun modifications with Laurence Pylinski with Pylinski Arms. Laurence has been a gunsmith for 30 years, and he is very knowledgeable on modifications that can be made to shotguns by turkey hunters that may improve our pattern or accuracy.
Laurence and I discuss porting barrels, the benefits and detriments to porting, and the cost as well. We also discuss backboring shotguns, the benefits of backboring, what to be cautious of when backboring, and the cost of that modification. And, last but not least, Laurence and I talk about lengthening the forcing cones of shotguns, how that can improve our pattern, what to be cautious of when lenthening forcing cones, and the cost of that also.
A couple of these modifications have been widely adopted by gun manufacturers in the manufacturing of their product because they have seen the benefits of having these modifications done to the guns they made in years past. We discuss that as well as any other modifications that may be more worth the money we would invest in these three modifications.
Listen in and leave us a comment about this week's show.
Thursday Aug 03, 2017
145P - Turkey Hunting Solo
Thursday Aug 03, 2017
Thursday Aug 03, 2017
Turkey Hunting Solo
Turkey hunting solo can be a rather intimidating thought for newer turkey hunters who are afraid to fail in the turkey woods. Many new hunters will not take to the woods by themselves for fear of frustration of not knowing the sport.
Today, I tackle the subject of turkey hunting solo, and I offer a few helpful hints to newer turkey hunters to hopefully provide a little self confidence before they head to the woods alone.
The main takeaway from today's show is that new turkey hunters should get in the turkey woods, have fun, make smart decisions, embrace mistakes, and learn from those mistakes.
Thursday Jul 27, 2017
144P - Cooking Wild Turkey with Scott Leysath
Thursday Jul 27, 2017
Thursday Jul 27, 2017
Cooking Wild Turkey with Scott Leysath
This week I'm talking about cooking wild turkey with Scott Leysath, The Sporting Chef.
We discuss how to remove that tough silver sinew that surrounds each wild turkey breast. We talk about brining to enhance the flavor of any bird we want to cook, and how we can season our brine to add even more flavor to our turkeys.
Scott shares some recipes for preparing and cooking wild turkeys that will make your mouth water as well as which herbs and spices seem to always go well with wild turkey.
Scott also tells us the best way to prepare wild turkey thighs so that the meat falls off of the bone and is mouth watering tender after it is cooked. We talk about making stock with the legs, and we also talk about the goodness of bone broth.
Thursday Jul 20, 2017
143P - Getting Permission to Turkey Hunt Private Land
Thursday Jul 20, 2017
Thursday Jul 20, 2017
Getting Permission to Turkey Hunt Private Land
For those of us who only hunt public land, getting permission to turkey hunt private land can turn our success level around so that we are consistently filling tags each season because private land turkeys are often less pressured than public land wild turkeys are.
The problem with getting access to hunt private land is getting access to hunt private land. Most of us don't know where to start to gain access to some private land hunting honey holds.
That is exactly what we are talking about in this week's episode. I discuss how to find those private land parcels that will most likely give us the best opportunity for success, and I talk about some do's and don'ts when we approach the land owners to ask for access.
Listen in!
Thursday Jul 13, 2017
142P - Traveling with Your Own Firearm to Turkey Hunt
Thursday Jul 13, 2017
Thursday Jul 13, 2017
Traveling with Your Own Firearm to Turkey Hunt
Traveling and turkey hunting are both very exciting activities by themselves. However, when we combine those two activities into one, there are not many things we do that can rival the fun we can have while enjoying both at the same time.
Traveling with your own firearm to turkey hunt can make our travels a little bit more stressful than say a normal family vacation may be. There are so many rules and regulations of the travel carriers that we need to keep in mind when preparing for our trip as well as the laws and regulations governing firearms put in place by our local and state governments.
In today's episode of The Turkey Hunter, I cover some considerations we need to keep in mind when traveling with your own firearm to turkey hunt.
So, listen in as we talk about firearms and ammunition on planes, trains, and automobiles.
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150101/guide-to-the-interstate-transportation
https://www.amtrak.com/firearms-in-checked-baggage
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition
Thursday Jul 06, 2017
141P - What Makes a Shotgun a Turkey Hunting Shotgun
Thursday Jul 06, 2017
Thursday Jul 06, 2017
What Makes a Shotgun a Turkey Hunting Shotgun
This week, I'm discussing what makes a shotgun a "turkey hunting shotgun."
Any shotgun can kill a turkey when shooting the right shells, at the right point of aim, at a turkey at the proper distance. However, there are certain things that we need to know about guns in order for us to have any sort of success in the turkey woods.
To make any shotgun into a turkey hunting shotgun, there are certain things that we need to look for in a gun that we are going to use for hunting wild turkeys.
1. Bore or Gauge - we want to be sure we are shooting a gun that we can handle. Some gauges are just too heavy and have too much recoil for some shooters.
2. Chamber Length - having the proper chamber length for our gauge and what we intend to hunt with the turkeys is important to ensuring our success when the opportunity arises.
3. Action - the type of the action of the gun may seem insignificant, but shooting a gun with the type of action best suited for real life hunting scenarios is very important.
4. Fit - a gun that fits properly is a gun that will miss less frequently and will result in a much more happy hunting experience.
5. Length of the Barrel - Years ago, the thought process with shotgun barrels was the longer the barrel the better the shot and shotgun. That is not the case today. With today's aggressive choke tubes, a short barrel with the correct choke tube in it will shoot just as well as a long barrel shotgun.
6. Sights - Front bead, front and rear bead, Rifle Sights, holographic sights, and scopes are all sight options for our turkey hunting shotguns.
7. Recoil Pads - a great recoil pad on a turkey hunting shotgun can mean the difference in a lower recoil and fewer pulled shots and more accurate followup shots.
8. Gunsmithed Modifications - Back boring, Lengthening the bore, and porting are modifications that need to be made by a gunsmith to help our guns shoot better. But do those modifications really work that well?
9. Looks - The more camouflage we can make our guns the less chance we have of being seen by a wild turkey.
Listen in to this week's show to hear more about what makes a shotgun a turkey hunting shotgun.
Thursday Jun 29, 2017
140P - Interviewing a Turkey Hunting Outfitter
Thursday Jun 29, 2017
Thursday Jun 29, 2017
Interviewing a Turkey Hunting Outfitter
This week I interview a turkey hunting outfitter to question him about his services and accommodations.
This past spring, my turkey hunting buddies and I chose to hunt in Idaho and Washington for our 2018 out of state spring turkey hunt. We also decided that hunting with an outfitter is how we need to tackle the states that are so far from home due to time constraints and the fact that we need to kill 8 turkeys in approximately 6 days of hunting.
That is a tall enough task when a turkey hunter has an outfitter who knows where the birds are and what they do during the day, but it is an extremely tough task when trying to accomplish that feat on public land that turkey hunter has never been on before.
So, the process of interviewing outfitters started, and I've recorded one of those initial interviews that I had with an outfitter for today's show.
I don't get too terribly in depth with my questioning at this point in the process because I'm taking a list of about 10 outfitters and trying to weed that down to about 3 or 4 outfitters who will move on to the next round of interviewing.
The next round of interviewing is where I'll dig into more detail about hunting style as well as details about accommodations.
Listen in to this week's interview and see if there is any information you can gleen from it. Also, you will learn how to get my list of 45 questions to ask a turkey hunting outfitter at the end of the episode.
Thursday Jun 22, 2017
139P - Habitat Management for Wild Turkeys with Grant Woods
Thursday Jun 22, 2017
Thursday Jun 22, 2017
Habitat Management for Wild Turkeys with Grant Woods
This week I discuss habitat management for wild turkeys with Grant Woods with www.GrowingDeer.TV.
Grant is a wildlife biologist who specializes in habitat management planning for landowners around the US. He also hosts a weekly show on his website where he shares some of the management techniques that he uses on his own property, called The Proving Grounds.
Grant's videos are very well produced and put together and chocked full of great information that any turkey hunter can use to improve his/her hunting land - whether that is public hunting land or private ground.
Grant and I discuss what a wild turkey might consider to be the perfect blend of forest land and fields. We also talk about how much of those fields we need to turn into nesting habitat and brood rearing habitat.
We talk a good bit about how prescribed fire can be used to improve our hunting property and how Grant uses it to manage his nesting and brood rearing areas as well.
Finally, we talk about the best forage crops we can plant for our wild turkeys and Grant shares with us his secret about planting amazing food plots without using any fertilizer.
Listen in this week and let Grant help you with habitat management for wild turkeys on your property.
Thursday Jun 15, 2017
138P - Turkey Hunting Small Parcels
Thursday Jun 15, 2017
Thursday Jun 15, 2017
Turkey Hunting Small Parcels
In this week's episode, I discuss a few of the things that I learned turkey hunting small parcels of land this past turkey season.
I own almost 24 acres of land in central Alabama, and I spent several days turkey hunting that parcel this past season in search of a tom. I made several mistakes while hunting this small parcel, and I share those experiences so we can all learn from them.
Turkey hunting small parcels is a topic that was suggested by Tracy Long, a listener to the show.
Listen in to this week's episode!
Thursday Jun 08, 2017
137P - Protecting Your Public Land Access with Andrew Maxwell
Thursday Jun 08, 2017
Thursday Jun 08, 2017
Protecting Your Public Land Access
This week, I'm interviewing Andrew Maxwell regarding Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is a non profit organization which seeks to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands and waters.
Listen in and see if BHA may be an organization that you are interested in supporting.