The Turkey Hunter Podcast with Andy Gagliano & Cameron Weddington | Turkey Hunting Tips, Strategies, and Stories

Summer Turkey Soup

Andy and Cameron discuss concerns about a potentially poor turkey hatch in the Southeast due to rain, the impact of weather on past turkey seasons, and the resilience of turkey populations. They also highlighted the importance of turkey observation surveys and the increasing restrictions and pressure on public land hunting access, referencing Oklahoma's new regulations.

They also examined trends in turkey harvest numbers, changes in fall hunting regulations in states like New Jersey and Michigan, unusual coyote behavior during turkey season, predation on turkeys, Mississippi's new wild turkey stamp, hunting accidents and safety, proposed changes to Arkansas' turkey hunting zones and penalties, and the need to understand the drivers behind high harvest numbers. The favor of the week this week is to share predator stories from this spring's turkey season with Cameron and Andy. 

Listen in!

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Hunting Pressured Turkeys with Darrin Dawkins

Andy Gagliano and Cameron introduced Darrin Dawkins, who discussed hunting pressured turkeys, noting increased hunter pressure as a key factor impacting turkey behavior. Darrin Dawkins shared his experiences and observations on changes in South Carolina hunting regulations, the importance of hen imitation and using varied calls like trumpet calls, and aggressive hunting strategies for pressured birds, while Cameron and Darrin contributed insights on regulation changes, hunter behavior, and turkey population trends.

Darrin shares some incredible turkey hunting tactics. They also touched on the influence of social media on hunting and the call-making philosophy of Darrin Dawkins.

If you would like to purchase a call from Darrin, please reach out to him at 803-230-3085. The best way to purchase a call from Darrin is to stop by his booth at Unicoi in Georgia in January of 2026.

Listen in!

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

Hunting Osceola Turkeys from 2025 Unicoi Callmakers Show

This week, Cameron and Andy play the Hunting Osceola Turkeys roundtable discussion from the 2025 Unicoi Custom Callmakers Show that was held in January in Helen, Georgia.

The panel for the roundtable includes Darrin Dawkins, Lon Trice, Larry Stephens, Lamar Williams, and Mark Prudhomme. The panel discusses differences in Eastern and Osceola turkeys and the differences in hunting them as well. 

This is a great discussion, and one that even experienced turkey hunters can pick up some helpful hints by listening to. Listen in!

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

2025 Mid Season Update

Cameron and Andy are back after some unscheduled time off from the podcast. In this episode they explain what has been happening in their worlds that has kept them from posting shows regularly this spring and they share updates about their seasons.

Andy's spring season is over now, and Cameron is squeezing in one last hunting trip for the spring. But, what happened between preseason and now? Listen in and find out.

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

Join us this week as we dive into a successful turkey hunt that Cameron experienced earlier this season. We also discuss a few audio mishaps and fun memories in the turkey woods. 

Hopefully you can pick up an idea or two from this live hunt to help you on a future turkey hunt. 

Hunting Pressured Turkeys with Patrick Wightman

This week, Patrick Wightman, a research scientist with the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, joins Cameron and Andy this week to discuss what turkeys do when they get pressure put on them by hunters.

Patrick has done hours and hours of research on this topic, and he shares his insight with us in this interview. This is an interview that we feel everyone will glean some useful information from because private and public lands alike can receive a great deal of hunting pressure.

You'll want to grab a pen and piece of paper before you start listening to this one because there are some great nuggets to take away from this episode that will help you to find and harvest pressured turkeys.

Listen in!

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

Hunting Pressured Turkeys with Cameron and Andy

This week, Cameron and Andy take on the topic of hunting pressured turkeys. They share their approaches to hunting pressured turkeys, and talk about how some private ground is just as pressured as some public ground. They also share some stories of encountering pressured birds and what they learned from those encounters.

This is the first of a new series on the topic of hunting pressured turkeys. This is a very informative and fun episode. Listen in!

 Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

Turkey Hunting in New Zealand with Dink Watson

This week, Dink Watson with New Zealand Turkey Adventures joins Cameron and Andy this week to talk about turkey hunting down under.

This is an eye opening and fascinating episode that kind of makes you wonder what turkey populations might be like in the US without hunter or predator harvests and diseases. According to Dink, the numbers of wild turkeys in parts of New Zealand is absolutely mind boggling.

Cameron and Andy will be traveling to New Zealand to hunt turkeys in early September, and they wanted to learn a little more about what they can expect when they get to the ranch to hunt. 

Listen in!

Here is Dink Watson's contact information...

337-396-6547 Phone

dink@trophyhunting.co.nz

You can also find Dink on Facebook by searching New Zealand Turkey Adventures and Dink Watson

Here is the link to attend Dr. Lashley's and Dr. Gulsby's workshop on March 8 in Columbiana, AL... https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wild-turkey-management-academy-tickets-1200894139699?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=email&utm_medium=sparkpost&utm_campaign=postpublish

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

Putting Your Best You Forward with Landowners with Dr Jack Schafer

This week, Dr. Jack Schafer joins Cameron and Andy on the show to talk about an interesting topic of how to present your best you when approaching a landowner to gain access to his/her property for turkey hunting.

This episode is full of very interesting and useful verbal and nonverbal cues to look for when speaking with a landowner and also gestures and verbiage we can use to increase our odds of getting a "Yes" when we knock doors to ask permission. 

Also, in this episode, I have a brief discussion on the show with Dr's Marcus Lashley and Will Gulsby regarding an upcoming workshop they are putting on discussing techniques and considerations landowners should take to compile a habitat management plan for our properties. This should be an amazing workshop, and I encourage any landowners from around the southeast to attend.

Lots of great info in this episode, so listen in!

Here is the link to attend Dr. Lashley's and Dr. Gulsby's workshop on March 8 in Columbiana, AL... https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wild-turkey-management-academy-tickets-1200894139699?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_source=email&utm_medium=sparkpost&utm_campaign=postpublish

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80

Q&A with Mike Chamberlain and Patrick Wightman at NWTF Convention

This week, Cameron and Andy share the Q&A Seminar with Mike Chamberlain and Patrick Wightman from the NWTF Convention in Nashville last week while they are in South Texas enjoying turkey camp with the raffle winners.

This is a great episode with Mike and Patrick sharing their knowledge based on many studies completed from around the US. The questions from the audience range from topics like habitat to setting bag limits and season dates to predation.

You are sure to pick up something you did not know already by listening to this seminar by Mike and Patrick.

Buy some merch and great sounding The Turkey Hunter diaphragm turkey calls from our Shopify store by clicking here: https://theturkeyhunterpodcast.myshopify.com/

Join our Patreon group and get additional content, discounts on merch, and other great perks by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurkeyHunterPodcast80