and a strong cup of coffee

I just have a feeling that this year will be my year and I will be bagging one of these birds. We moved our blind to a new spot this year and I am hopeful that it will put us closer to the birds than we have seen .  Dad, Hubby and I set it up and put a trail camera out to see if there are any birds around since last spring we saw everything but a turkey. A week later, we went back to tweak a few things and check the camera. On our drive in, two hens ran away from us and into the woods.  That was a good sign!  We parked and pulled everything out of the car and over to the blind and some newly transplanted trees.  I headed for the camera and SD card. I went through roughly 75 pictures of the trees before I came to the first of a handful of deer pictures. Unlike most springs, none of these deer were thin. The extra layer of fat that they put on in the fall was still visible and come hunting season, they should be in great shape and weight!  I kept flippi...

Here is how we got to this point. The two men did not seem to see is and Tim and I tried not to give ourselves away but we were on the edge of the field.  Tim tried calling the land owner because the property was posted and he was supposed to be the only one hunting.  No answer.  We stood there and listened as the two men began calling and waiting for a response.  They were much closer to those two birds who had just been calling back with us.  One gobble and those guys would be headed into the woods. Luckily, those stubborn birds kept quiet.  But the idea of hunters in the area made us question our decision to move on from a spot that we knew had active birds. Tim placing decoys in the field So we carefully crossed the field and got into position along the edge.  Tim called and we could hear the birds within 50 yards of us.  No matter what Tim did, they still did not want to move.  We changed tactics and I sat in the woods while Tim...

As you know, Dad and I saw way more deer than turkey when we attempted to turkey hunt for the third spring season in a row.  It is still a little surreal to think about because our first turkey season ended two weeks before I had O. My schedule was so busy that I had to cancel a turkey hunt with David Hodgkins of Blackfalcon Custom Calls and reworked my schedule to get a half day hunt in with Tim Cote of Cote and Son's Guide Service . I met Tim at 4am and we headed to a spot where he had been the night before.  He knew that there were toms around and he knew which spots they would be in.  It was a perfect set up. Come on turkeys! We sat just over a little knoll with a couple of chairs and bushes helping to keep us hidden.  Tim put out two decoys and we sat there in the earliest light of day and waited.  It did not take long before we heard the first gobble. Then another and another.  We had three or four birds calling before it was truly light eno...

Finally, after the cold winter it is time to be back in the woods.   I am eager to shake off the winter and get back into the sunshine, nicer temperatures and even play in the mud a little bit. This year spring means turkey hunting, fishing and looking for some sheds on the hunting property.    This will be my third turkey hunting season and I am hoping that the third time is the charm.   The first year, we called one tom and three jakes in but didn’t bring any meat home.   Last year, I went out with a guide and blew my shot by sitting in a spot that prevented me from shooting to my right.   I did get to see the tom drumming and strutting right towards me but I couldn’t finish the job.   This year will be different; I have all of my camo ready including gloves that I purchased this year, a ThermaCELL ready to go and a few different places and people that I will be going out with in hopes of bringing home one (or maybe two if I am really lucky) turk...

In search of our turkeys, we walked down this camp road.  It was around noon and there were some great spots to sit and call from along the way.  Right from the start we knew this was an animal haven!  The tracks and scat were all over the place.  Some of the tracks actually surprised us.  A fresh bear track. Check out those claws. Two bear tracks.  A better view of the palm of the paw. It was like Grand Central Station for turkey up and down both sides of the road. Turkey tracks and turkey scat. While we did not see any turkey that day, Brian did call in five Toms the next day.  The great thing about hunting and being outdoors is that you never know what sort of adventures you will have during the day.

I have been thinking about it since Friday.  The gobbling that just got closer and closer, seeing the quick movement in the dense trees and brush just in front of me, that black band across the top of those dark brown feathers and his white head stretching above the blow downs to find that purring hen that he was after.  I could hear the drumming and strutting as he got closer.  Finally, there he was in front of me.  He stepped out, his long neck leading his puffed out body into the slight clearing... The field where we started calling.  Dad and I woke up a little before 2:30am in order to have breakfast and meet our guide, Brian for our turkey hunt.   We got to these fields around 4:30am with just enough light coming up that we didnt need flashlights. Brian knew that there was a Tom around and that it would be a good place to start.   He brought along a blind for Dad and I.  It was raining a little as the first light of the day c...

On Thursday night, before our big outing with Brian , Dad and I sighted in our new shotgun.  We paced out 30 yards and started shooting at our make-shift turkey heads. Dad shooting at 30 yards. Dad's pattern. My pattern. My comment to Dad after I took two shots at this piece of paper: "As long as a turkey comes in from my left, I should be in good shape."  Oh the irony!  Dad and I were confident that as long as a turkey was within 30 yards, we would be in good shape.  I worked on setting the bead in the middle of the gun so that it would not pull to the left.   It was a new gun for us and long - 28 inches but it was comfortable and I was confident that I could shoot it. We went to bed around 8pm so that we wwould somewhat functional when the alarm went go off at 2:30am. What happened next has been playing over and over in my head ever since...

Here we go! Turkey season has kicked off in Maine and as Dad and I are getting ready to head out with my friend Brian , I can not help but think of where we were a year ago . I wanted to shoot a turkey while I was pregnant so that I could say that I got both a deer and turkey while waddling around in the woods.  It didn't happen but Dad and I learned a lot about this new critter that we were hunting, which is why I asked Brian to take us out for a day.  We need to learn how close they need to be to us in order to take a successful shot and we need to learn how to get them to come to us.  We were successful last year in having them call back to us, but we were not able to get them to come to us.  I think (hope) that is the missing piece. New this year, Mainers can hunt all day (instead of just the am) and can take two bearded birds.  We have SO many turkey here that this is necessary to keep the population somewhat under control.  Dad has been seeing ...

As I was driving to work today I had a thought; one of my biggest issues with transitioning to turkey hunting is the idea of aiming at the head and hoping enough pellets are close enough together to kill the bird.  What if I learned to bow hunt for turkey?  That would give me one arrow to aim (like one bullet) and I would have one target to hit instead of aiming in a general spot. For those of you avid turkey hunters, what is your thought on this?  I would not be able to do this until next year, but it is a tempting thought.  Will it work?

As I write this, I am almost 38 weeks pregnant.  I finished up my first season (more like sample) of turkey hunting with Dad and have found some things are vastly different than then were 22 weeks ago when I was deer hunting. For starters, Dad and I are novices when it comes to figuring out how turkeys operate.  Give me a rainy weekend and I can tell you the times of day that the deer will be moving and when they will bed down.  With these turkeys, that rule doesn't seem to apply; they are out in a complete downpour.  When I make noise by rattling antlers or using a bleet, I know if I am trying to imitate another buck or a doe.  I have no idea what sort of bird I sound like when I use my box call.  In the fall, I can sit in a tree for hours and as long as I dont move too much or make too much noise, I can shoot a deer from 30-100 yards away.  Dad and I learned this spring that not only do you have to be hidden, but you have to be close to those birds ...

Well, we know we are in a good area and that our calls work. We got into the woods by the Sky Condo a little earlier than we did on the first day.  The weather predicted rain so we wanted to get in as much time as possible.  We got to our ground blind, set up the decoys and settled in to start calling.  This morning though, we didn’t have to start anything.  We heard a gobble within five minutes of sitting down.  I got my box call out and called back.  He answered almost immediately.  We had a great conversation for a steady 30 minutes with him often double or triple gobbling.  Then the gobbles became more spaced apart but did not stop.  Dad decided that be would circle down to the power line where we were pretty sure the turkey was hanging out.  We hadn’t been able to get him any closer in the past hour and knowing the area as well as we do, if I could keep him gobbling, Dad could find him and get him. I kept using t...

It is hard to hunt anything when there are rain drops falling off the trees.  It is probably the worst during deer season when everything sounds like the snapping of a branch.  But, this was my first day of turkey hunting and having never been before, I had no idea what I should be listening for besides a gobble. Our turkey decoys Dad and I had two decoys set up about 15 yards away from us.  I had a slate call, a box call and my camo on.  It was starting to get light out when we reached the blind; that time of morning when you can not tell if you really are seeing something move or if it is just your eyes.  It was probably a little later than we should have been in the woods, but we are new and learning. About a half hour after we sat down, I saw a bird fly down.  There was still some ground fog so I could not tell if it was a jake or hen (or tom, but it seemed kinda small).  Dad couldn’t tell either.  I continued to cal...

For 10 years, I have been trained to look for that quarter-sized spot, half way down the crease of the shoulder. That is where I would set my cross hairs and shoot. That one small spot to ensure that the deer I was hunting would die a quick death. The idea that I would have many pellets in a shell and just sort of aim at what I was trying to kill is something I am trying to wrap my mind around. Hubby and I were up at Mom and Dad's for Easter weekend and decided to break out the guns on Saturday afternoon. We were using #6 and #8 shells (I apologize right now for any and all incorrect terminology that I am about to use! I will get it after a while) but will be hunting with #4. Dad has a pump 12 gauge and a break action 12 gauge. The neighbor stopped by to talk to Dad, found out I wanted to turkey hunt and brought over his 12 gauge for me to use. It is a Remington 1100 and probably the lightest gun I have ever held. But it is a semi-automatic and this girl is use to a shoo...

Last week, I posted the first part of my interview with Bryan White. Here is the rest of our interview. Enjoy! What do you think can be done to promote the outdoors to more people? To get kids interested in hunting and fishing? More government funded organizations with celebrity spokespersons that are actually involved. I feel that more celebrities need to be proud of continuing their heritage and make their love for the outdoors better known. Children and adults look up to these public figures and they can play a huge role in mainstreaming the outdoor lifestyle. What would you tell someone who wants to get into these sports? I’d tell them I’m excited for them and that they’re about to step into a world of awesome adventure…And hook them up with links, gear, and schedule a trip to start letting them get their feet wet. Experiencing what it is like to reel in your first fish or call in your first turkey, is amazing. You really can't describe it and people need to get o...

The ability to connect with others about hunting is constantly amazing me. It has led me to new friends, new experiences and it has given me the opportunity to talk with people I would have never had the chance to. I have been lucky enough to ask questions and learn about how others hunt, fish and interact with the outdoors. After my interview with the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, I was looking for other people to talk to about their experiences in the outdoors and started going through who I followed on Twitter. I wanted to find someone who was passionate about the outdoors and would be really cool to interview. I sent a message to Grammy-winning country music artist and songwriter, Bryan White. I explained that I wrote a small hunting blog and could I interview him about fishing. Within a few minutes, I got my response: “Yes”. I have been a fan of Bryan’s since the mid 90’s and had the opportunity to meet him when he played in my hometown. I was beyo...