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

Preston Pittman with Pittman Game Calls and Longleaf Camo joins me today to discuss pre season scouting for wild turkeys.

We talk about when we need to start our pre season scouting for wild turkeys, what we need to be looking for when we scout, when we should stop our scouting for turkeys, and some of the most common mistakes we make when scouting.

In addition to learning some tips to scout your hunting property before turkey season starts, we also get to hear some great turkey hunting stories from Preston as well.

I received a show suggestion from Friend of the Show, Griff Baute, to do a show on turkey hunting gear, so today I'm sharing with you what I carry in my turkey hunting vest.

I'm going to give you the list of what I keep in my turkey hunting vest 24/7, what I rotate in and out of my turkey hunting vest, and what I need to put in my turkey hunting vest before this season starts.

After listening to the show, send me an email with the 1 thing that you will not go into the turkey woods without being in your vest.

Join me as I interview Tim Knight and Corey New about bowhunting turkeys without a blind.

A wild turkey's eyesight is undoubtedly the best of any big game species in North America. They have an uncanny ability to pick out any type of movement or something that is just not right in the woods.

Because of their incredible eyesight, bowhunting turkeys without a blind may seem like it is an impossible feat, but it is not.

As of today's date, Tim Knight has killed 84 turkeys with a bow and without a blind, and in this episode I pick his brain about how he is so successful doing it.

We talk bow setup, shot placement, camouflage, decoys, and ideal range for a bow shot.  In addition, we share some hunting stories, and Tim even shares a recipe or three with us.

This episode is a new one on my favorite episode list because I got so much more out of Tim than I had planned and because I had a great time conducting the interview.

Be sure to listen in to this episode to learn all you can about bowhunting turkeys without a blind, hear some great hunting stories, and laugh along with us as well.

Join Pete Muller, Public Relations Specialist with the National Wild Turkey Federation, and I as we talk about the upcoming NWTF Convention and Sports Show in Nashville. 

The NWTF Convention and Sports Show is the premiere turkey hunting and outdoor show held in the Southeast. The show consist of over 600 exhibitors, taxidermy contests, turkey call contests, turkey calling contests, seminars, live auctions, parties, and live entertainment.

This year's show will be held at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville in February, and it truly is an event that you won't want to miss.

Listen in to this week's episode to learn more about the 2017 NWTF Convention and Sports Show.

In this episode, I share a conversation that I had with Josh Pollock, who is a wildlife biologist in Utah, where I discuss turkey populations and my best chance for success on my upcoming hunt there.

I want to be sure I am setting myself and my hunting buddies up for the best chance for success, especially when preparing for a public land hunt. One of the best ways to do that is to ask the people who know the most about the land you'll be hunting where you can find huntable birds. 

That is exactly what I do in this week's episode. Early in the conversation with Josh Pollock, I ask what the chances of success are in Southern Utah, and the next thing I know he is telling me exactly where I should start in my search for birds. This type of assistance is exactly what we all are looking for when we are preparing for a public land hunt.

Listen in to hear some of the questions I ask Josh so you can write them down and ask the biologist or game warden who is over your favorite public hunting lands the same questions.

I also briefly discuss the upcoming NWTF Convention and Sports Show and my request for show topic ideas as well as the ongoing listener survey.

In this episode, I ask you to help me help you be a better turkey hunter in 2017. 

You can help me help you in 2 ways.

First, email me at andy at iamturkeyhunting with one idea or suggestion for a show topic. Your suggestion can be very specific or very general.  It doesn't matter.  Your suggestion should be what you want or need help with or want to learn more about that will help you to be a better turkey hunter this coming season.

The second favor is to complete a short survey for me. You can access the survey by texting "helpandy" to 44222. Once you do this, you will receive a text asking you to reply with only your email address. After you reply with your email address, you will receive an email from me containing the link to the survey. Answer the quick 10 question survey, and then you are done.

The survey will help me to get to know you better by asking what I can do to help you more and to improve the show as well.  Your participation in the survey will be greatly appreciated.

The only other thing I ask of you in this week's episode is to have a safe and happy New Year! 

This week, I have another followup interview with a guest who has been on the show before.

Jenna Barron joins us to give us an update on how her fall turkey season went and an update on Ms. Jeffrey, her farm turkey who had quite the following on Facebook.

Jenna shares a story on how she was able to acquire access to some private property for turkey hunting and that the opportunity to hunt that property really paid off for her and her husband.

Some interviews that I do spark quite a few questions by listeners, and I thought that doing follow-up interviews with those same guests would be a great idea.

This week, I have the first follow-up interview for you guys, and it is with Dave Owens who you probably recognize from Episode 053 where we talked about how to choose public land hunting spots.

Dave is back on this week to answer some of the questions you guys have asked me about him and to give us an update on the status of his US Super Slam.

Roger Shields with the Florida Fish and Wild Game Conservation Commission is on the show to talk about Osceola wild turkeys.

The Osceola wild turkey is great fun to hunt. Their habitat is some of the harshest in the country, and Osceola's have an amazing ability to disappear into nowhere.

With plenty of public and private land to hunt in Osceola range, there are no shortages of opportunities to harvest an Osceola wild turkey to complete your Grand Slam.

In this week's episode, an experienced hunter shares the story of his recent hunting accident and shares a gun safety reminder with us.

Most of us, at one time or another, have a lapse of judgement when handling a firearm. Fortunately, most of the time, nothing bad or harmful happens and we often don't even realize what we just got away with because nothing negative happened.

A friend of mine recently shot himself in the hand while hunting because he committed two firearm safety sins on one hunt. Today, he shares the story of how the accident happened as a reminder for us to slow down and think before we make a big mistake when handling guns.