Opening morning of Spring Turkey Season did not go as planned for me, but it started off like a typical opening morning.

The alarm went off at 4:16 a.m. and I was out the door by 4:45 a.m. By 5:00 a.m. I was at the turkey woods and sitting in my blind by 5:20 a.m. I was a little disappointed on my walk in as I didn't notice any turkeys up in the trees that they typically roost in, but you never know where they're going to come from.

As day began to break I let out some soft yelps and then did a fly down cackle while shaking my hat back and forth to sound like the wings of a turkey as it pitches off the roost. Following this, I let out some soft purrs and clucks and then shut up.

It wasn't until 6:00 a.m. that I finally caught some movement - however, it was not the movement I was looking for. As the doe cautiously approached the blind she gazed through the open windows with fright - deer don't like big black spaces in the woods and this one was pretty sure the blind wasn't there the last time she was in these parts.

When she got within 10 yards I took a perfect broadside snapshot with my iPhone. Just about that time she decided to bolt and run for her life, snorting all along the way just to make sure any animal within 100 yards of me would run for its life as well - silly deer, it's turkey season!

As the minutes passed and turned to hours I tried calling several more times. I did a few soft yelps with my mouth call, then a few loud yelps, then some soft turning loud yelps, a bit of cutting, some purring on the slate call and I even called with the mouth call and the slate call at the same time! I guess it wouldn't have mattered if I was a World Champion turkey caller at that point - you can't call them in if they're not there!

By now you're probably wondering how I ended up with a turkey when there were none - well, I didn't, that's my dad's turkey.

While I was hunting a spot with a known flock of 50+ birds that I saw several times in the fall, winter and even in late March, my father was at another spot where we used to see turkeys, but not much anymore.

His day started out somewhat like mine. He called. And called. And called some more. But no turkeys ever responded. After about an hour with no birds located he decided to set up against a big oak tree and set the decoys out. That's when he heard a gobble in the distance. Not being much of a patient man, he decided why wait for the bird to come to you when you can go to the bird - so off he went.

As he closed in on where he thought the bird might be he gave out another series of yelps and the gobbler responded. This, however, would be the last time the bird talked. Slowing down his pace, dad zeroed in on where the bird gobbled and finally saw the lone longbeard (well I guess it's a shortbeard in this case) walking along the creek.

One shot from the bangstick and the bird was down! So guess where I'll be tomorrow morning - you got it, hunting at dad's spot because there just might be one more lone turkey out there looking for love. See you in the morning Mr. Gobbler!

Long before I started bowhunting whitetails, I was a die hard turkey hunter. I would look forward to May 1st each year and get excited when opening day finally arrived anticipating that first gobble.

Dad and I would wake up at 3:00 a.m. get ready and make the hour long drive upstate to the turkey woods each morning. By the time we got to the woods, geared up and made it to the turkey tree the woods were just beginning to come alive with the sounds of turkeys. Dad would go one way and I'd head off in another direction in hopes we'd both score on a longbeard.

Heading out on my own at a young age forced me to learn how to call turkeys quick - after all, if I didn't do it on my own it wasn't getting done!

Learning how to call can be intimidating, but there's a few things you can do to make the learning process go smoothly. Before you can ever call a turkey in you need to understand how a turkey talks and what a turkey means when they call a certain way - it's almost like learning a second language.

To start I recommend visiting the National Wild Turkey Federation website and listening to the various recordings they have of live turkeys. They have everything from clucks and purrs to gobbles and fly down cackles: http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/calling_tips.html. The second part of that, understanding what a turkey means when they call a certain way, comes from experience in the turkey woods. When starting out, the best thing you can do if you hear another hen is mimic her - you might even get her mad enough to come in looking for a fight and bringing the longbeard along with her!

Once you understand how the turkeys talk it's time to pick up a call and start making some sounds. One of the easiest calls to start off with is the push button call. The push button call allows you to make putts, yelps, clucks and purrs all with the push of a finger. This is the easiest way to make some of the most basic turkey sounds and a great way to call in your first bird.

The downside to the push button call it's not hands free so you'll only have one hand on your gun or bow while you're calling. However, less is more in the turkey woods and over calling can hurt you. In most cases you'll use the call to make a few yelps and purrs and then set the call down to let the gobbler work its way in and search for the hen. Remember, in the turkey woods the hens seek out the gobblers, not the other way around. So if you call too much the gobbler is likely to stay put and wait for you, the hen, to come to him.

Another great call to start on is the box call. It's a loud call that's great for locating birds and it's very easy to make yelps and cut on. On double sided box calls you can even make gobbles. Personally, I prefer a single sided box call and find them great to use as a locater call after my first set up on a morning hunt.

One thing to note with box calls and push button calls is that not all calls are waterproof. Unless they have a special coating on them these calls will not work if they get wet during a rainy day hunt.

Friction calls and diaphragm calls are both a little harder to use, but in my opinion produce the most realistic turkey sounds and allow you to get creative with your calling. I actually use these calls together at the same time to sound like two hens. This helps get a gobbler excited and makes him want to come running in to find the ladies! For tips on using friction calls and diaphragm calls check out World Champion turkey caller Preston Pittman's website: http://www.pittmangamecalls.com/tips/.

After awhile you start to talk like a turkey and then you're ready for some advance calling. Check out this video of Preston Pittman in action:



Turkey hunting is incredibly challenging, but being able to speak to the birds and convince them you're just another turkey is one of the coolest experiences you can have as a hunter. You're heart starts racing, the adrenaline gets flowing and the woods come alive with the sounds of turkeys.

Earlier this year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (F&WS) officially connected Explore Bowhunting to the nation’s most reliable source for conservation education: The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. This program, which is funded by federal excise taxes (FET), is a longstanding source of revenue will now have a pipeline straight from the pockets of ATA manufacturers to an educational program with the potential to recruit bowhunters and archers.

Jay McAninch, CEO/president of the Archery Trade Association, considers the F&WS decision one of the two most important FET developments during his 10-plus years with ATA. The other important development in the last decade? The decision to allow Pittman-Robertson funds for the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). That decision was made by the F&WS about eight years ago.

“This funding is a big shot in the arm for Explore Bowhunting and the industry’s efforts to promote outdoor education and recruit more bowhunters,” McAninch said. “State agencies are strapped for money right now, but they can pursue Pittman-Robertson funding for approved education programs like NASP and Explore Bowhunting. That’s a tremendous resource for wildlife agencies trying to ensure the future of archery and bowhunting in their states.”

Spring turkey season is right around the corner and seems to have snuck up on me this year. Last night I headed down to Extreme Archery in Mamaroneck, NY to pick up my bow from the shop. During our last 3D shoot it was making some strange sounds so I left the bow with Tommy and he worked his magic on it - now it's back to busting X's.

After a flinging a few arrows at the range alongside some friendly local archers I headed to my parent's house to pick up my turkey gear and make sure all was in order. I loaded up the truck with my ground blind, calls, camo and decoys and took a mouth call with me in the truck to get some last minute practice in.

I've been hunting turkeys since I was 14 years old and have always called in my own birds, but even after 13 years of calling I don't think you can practice too much before the season and I wish I started a month ago - there's always something new to learn.

Last season I had the chance to hunt with several new turkey hunters and listen to a variety of calling styles. It really opened my eyes to the breadth of calls that can be made with a diaphragm call and how slight changes in air pressure and pitch can bring a call to life.

Later this week we'll share some turkey calling tactics to help give you an edge this spring. Opening day of spring turkey season is May 1st in New York and it will be here before you know it. So if you haven't done so already get your gear together, scout early mornings and evenings and bust out the turkey calls and practice!

I recently came across this interesting article on hunting camps in the Adirondacks on former timber lands in the norther and western Adirondacks.

From the story on North Country Public Radio:

(04/18/11) The Adirondack Park Agency voted on Friday to allow 220 traditional hunting clubs to keep their cabins on the former Champion timber lands in the northern and western Adirondacks.

That reverses a decade-old decision struck by state officials that would have evicted the clubs, some of them dating back generations.

As Brian Mann reports, the fate of the clubs has been a flashpoint in the Park for years.

In 1999 when the state of New York crafted a conservation deal on the vast Champion timber lands in Franklin, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, it protected some of the most cherished waterways in the Park, opening them to paddlers and anglers.

Rick Weber with the Adirondack Park Agency outlined some of the rivers involved in the deal during a meeting last week.

"Including the Deer River, the East and the Main branches of the St. Regis, the SOuth Branch of the Grasse, the West Branch of the Oswegatchie," he said.

It was a landmark project, covering some 110 thousand acres, and it set off a host of other mega-conservation deals that would follow over the next decade – including Domtar, IP and Finch Pruyn.

But in the fine print of that first deal was a provision that eliminated hundreds of traditional hunting clubs whose cabins had sat on timberland for generations.

"Most of these racks were here before I came," said Wilfred Proulz, speaking with NCPR in 1999.

He was a member of the Trailz End hunting club that had sat on the bank of the Oswegatchie River since 1944. Proulz himself joined in the early Seventies.

"They called it good fellowship. They used to come and they killed a few deers and they played penny-ante poker and nobody got hurt. That's gone."

In the years that followed, other conservation easements were drafted differently, so that the vast majority of hunting clubs in other parts of the Park haven’t been disrupted or evicted.

But the fate of the Champion hunting clubs, including the Trailz End, has remained a source of bitterness until now.

On Friday, the APA voted 8-to-1 to revise the land use permit for the private land portion of the deal, so that a total of 220 cabins will be allowed to remain as leaseholders.

"220 aces out of 110,000 that is being allocated for this licensees' exclusion zone," said the APA's Weber.

Each cabin will have a one-acre envelope. Motorized recreation on the easement lands will be limited, but club members will be allowed to drive in to their cabins.

In exchange, the owner of the timberland, a company called Heartwood Forestland, agreed to give New York state 2100 acres that will be added to the ‘forever wild’ state forest preserve.

Rob Davies, who heads the DEC’s Division of Lands and Forests, said it was a good deal for the state.

"That value was actually determined on an acre-by-acre basis, in terms of the value of the retention of the hunting camps and the value of the land that the state will be acquiring," he said.

Club members were mostly pleased by the decision.

"It's good that the state realizes that it's sort of a North Country heritage," said Dan McDonnell from Canton is part of the South Branch Camp.

"Deer camps are something that have been part of our culture for a long time."

The agreement with New York state does place sharp restrictions on ATV and other motorized recreation on the property – a provision that irked some club members.

APA commissioner Dede Scozzafava – who represented St. Lawrence County in the state assembly when the Champion deal was struck – said the change was the result of lengthy negotiations that began in 2005.

"I think it's a lot of people coming together to try to find a workable resolution," she said.

Not everyone was satisfied. Park commissioner Richard Boothe said he supported the idea of the hunting camps remaining, but he wanted a public hearing on the plan first.

"This is a process that's all behind closed doors. The public has not seen this process," he argued.

Environmental groups agreed. Dan Plumley, with the group Adirondack Wild, argued that there are still questions about how hunting clubs can use the land.

"You have one of the most significant historical conservation easements purchased with $24.9 million of taxpayer money being changed significantly over 110,000 acres with no public hearing. That, we don't feel, is good public policy."

One wrinkle here is that many of these clubs have struggled to find new members, especially members who are actually interested in hunting and fishing.

Phil Royce, another member of the South Branch Camp, says club culture has been evolving for a long time, as people put these traditional cabins to different uses.

"You know, in the past, it was really hunting and fishing and maybe some trapping. And then the snowmobiling has been going on for a long time also," Royce noted.

"The ATV use has been a new mixture in the use going on up there. But now, more recently, there's a lot of people go up there to cross-country ski, hike. People are mountain biking. There are people using horses now. I think it will open up sort of a multi-use dimension up there."

Not all the Champion hunting clubs were preserved by this deal. Some that were located on land purchased outright by the state were torn down and are gone for good. But this deal will allow as many as twelve new cabins to be rebuilt if clubs show interest.

The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky will host the largest archery event in the world in 2011. On May 13, 14,2011 teams from 34 states will compete for more than 300 teams and individual medals, trophies , banners, and plaques. Three hundred ninety three schools will fill more than 400 team slots with total participation eclipsing the 2010 world record attendance of 6784. With a few days to the close of registration on April 25, 6956 boys and girls from 4th-12th grades have registered. Every team registered for the tournament qualified for these NASP® Nationals at their state's tournament.

NASP® is a coed activity and this year 33% (2787) of the registered participants are girls. Teams and their parents, coaches, sponsors, and fans will fill local hotels and restaurants for several days. "Flights" of shooters will dominate the more than 1250 feet ( also a world record) target range inside the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center starting Friday morning, May 13, at 9:00 am. Competition will conclude on Saturday night, May 14 at about 6:00pm with the "Scholarship Shoot-Off" and awards ceremony.

The event is open to the public. Children over the age of 12 and adults are five dollars general admission and this provides access to more than 40 exhibitors on the show floor. Exhibits range from archery related businesses to " adventure tourism" activities. This year the exhibit floor and the tournament are co-sponsored by the Kentucky Tourism Development Cabinet and its Adventure Tourism section.

NASP® conducts this event with tremendous support from host partner the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. NASP® also partners with 47 state fish and wildlife agencies and the District of Columbia in this the 8th National tournament. NASP® sponsors, the National Field Archery Association and Morrell Manufacturing are providing much of the equipment and targets to build this mammoth indoor archery range. NASP® began with twenty one Kentucky middle schools in March 2002 and has grown to nearly 9000 schools and two million student archer athletes this school year. This year's tournament will be conducted with more than one hundred volunteers.

Another shed from this past weekend! After five hours of walking Mike and his dad Rich found this sole four point shed. This one marks Mike and Rich's 17th shed of the year.


A couple sheds were found in late February on a North slope where the bucks were digging in the snow for acorns. The majority of the other sheds we are finding on South-South East facing slopes.

There's still a few more weeks to get out there and find sheds before the woods green up. If you find any sheds email us and you could be the next post on NYBowhunter.com!

The shed hunting season is winding down, but that hasn't kept fellow NYB Reader Keith from looking. Keith recently emailed us and here's his story from his latest shed hunting trip:


Went walking on the 12th and 19th and found six sheds. One set, and one P&Y shed from a deer of which I have the '09 shed from.


The larger one in the pic with leaves on it scores 129” with an 18” spread. His '09 shed is actually bigger at 135”. Believe it or not, that one was actually a newer shed age wise. The deer probably would be 6 or 7 this year coming.