I woke early the next morning and was greeted at the river by a man clearly in his 80’s with a corduroy brown jacket, proper green vest, hip waders, and cap. I couldn’t wait to show him my beautiful fly selection! After a few pleasantries I reached into my vest and pulled out Box 1 of 5 chock full of the best flies and asked “so which one should I use?” he looked right at me and said, “the one that will catch fish” My heart sunk and I remember thinking “really”? I just spen $400.00 on freaking flies! Was he kidding? As he leaped from rock to rock with the agility and precision of a twenty year old I thought that this day, at the very least, would be a very interesting day.

So how is this little story related to turkey hunting and camouflage? Well after some lengthy discussions he shared his philosophy with me. The point Mr. Adams was trying to make was that to be successful in hooking a salmon, I had to blend into the river, be one with the river, its natural surroundings, and its biology. Meld into it. Fish like a fish. Be both the hunter and the prey. You can apply this same philosophy to turkey hunting.

Blend:

I am always asked if I prefer one pattern or another or “is there one best camo “pattern of what seems to be 230,000 patterns out there? The answer is no. But soon the latest real tree mossy oak AGP turbo platinum double secret super probation 4D leafy pro pattern will be released and it will also guarantee your success…….Nonsense. Here’s a better tip. Look carefully where you live/hunt and try to pick up the colors and hues of your terrain. In general you want a wide variety of colors in the pattern you select as you may be hunting the edge of wetlands in the morning or maybe in an old oak grove the next day.

Do you need one of those 3D leafy or gillie suits? Nope! I’ve been hunting turkeys long before the advent of the 3D leafy suits and a military grade heavy and hot gillie suit weighing me down also wasn’t in the cards, and I did just fine. The good news is that there are some real bargains around in 3D leafy suits and they are an excellent tool for blend and break up.

You want something light that you can slip over some neutral colored clothes. One thing not to forget is to cover you face, hands and gun. Facemasks and gloves are inexpensive and easy to find. Want to be different? Buy some camo face paint and have some fun with patterns. Don’t have a camo gun? No worries. You can buy a slip-on universal sock that will break up the outline of your gun.

Breakup:

The other main objective of using camouflage is to break up the human form. You can also use the cover you’re in to blend into the environment. Use your surroundings to naturally camouflage yourself.  Use some pine boughs stuck in the ground in front of you to break up your pattern, throw some leaves/ferns/whatever naturally occurs around you on your legs or on top of your cap. Weave a branch or two into the webbing of your vest or backpack. Anything you can do to distort the human form will help. My Great-Uncle Art Crelan, a master hunter/trapper was an expert at both blend and break up, didn’t use modern camouflage and always came home with the game.

Next post…..Scouting!

Gobble Gobble,

Ringo

The beautiful weather has moved everything up a month  or more including the beginning of our season.

Welcome to my “Top Ten Spring Turkey Hunting Tips”! With the season approaching fast, I’ll be posting these tips every couple of days. My goal here is to give you the best possible opportunity for success at taking one of the most challenging game animals in the woods! Have a question, comment, concern, tip or trick? Email me at jlongo@kettlebottom.com

It’s important to understand the capabilities of your shotgun at varying distances BEFORE you enter the field in search of that big gobbler and it doesn’t need to be as complicated of a process as you might think.

Here’s what you’ll need, get to a range* on a nice, non-windy day and bring the following;

1. Your favorite 12 gauge
2. Targets. Turkey targets are cheap enough at about $3.00 for twelve. You’ll need 10-15 of them. You can also go to http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/downloads/paper-target-downloads.aspx and print your own.
3. At least a full choke but hopefully something a bit better. These days there are a dizzying array of extended turkey chokes on the market, some optimized for specific shot types (lead vs. Hevi Shot), and shot sizes, and all based on gun manufacturer. Most shotgun manufacturers offer their own turkey chokes as well. The important thing to remember here is to match the choke you’re interested in to the manufacturer of your gun and shot you will be using! It is extremely dangerous for example to use a choke made for a Remington shotgun in a Winchester shotgun. These chokes can really provide extremely tight patterns at longer distances.
4. Turkey loads, (20 rounds), in the appropriate gauge and length for your gun. Be careful to check what your gun supports! If your 12 gauge is only capable of taking 2 ¾ inch shells, that’s fine! 3 inch or 3.5 inch shells will give you more distance and knock down power. As far as shot size, start out with number 4’s at a minimum. Be sure to check local regulations on what is legal to use in your area.
5. Eye and hearing protection
6. A table and sandbags or appropriate gun rest
7. Range finder and 3 locations 15, 25, and 40 yards.
8. Staple gun/tacks/tape and a pencil.

* If you don’t have a table/range you can go to, pick a safe legal spot with a good safe backstop and get your hands on three 1×4, 4 foot wood spikes. Hammer them into the ground and staple your targets to it with the bulls-eye 2 ½ feet off the ground. You can use a shooting stick for a rest while sitting.

What we’re doing here in general is aiming for the middle of the neck of the turkey as illustrated below with the goal of penetrating the bony skull and vertebrae with at least 6 pellets which will immobilize and/or kill the bird. NEVER aim at the head, if you do half of your pattern will pass above the bird! NEVER shoot a turkey in the body. You’ll usually roll them and they will fly or run off maybe injured, maybe not but you’ll never find him and you’ll be kicking yourself and end up with TNS, (turkey nightmare syndrome!). A true sportsman never shoots at anything unless they are sure it will be a humane kill.

Get your table, (or sitting position), at 15 yards level with the target. Remember that in the field you’ll be sitting down taking your shot and an average turkey is about 2 ½ to 3 feet tall. Load a single shell, and get your gun steady on the rest. Aim the BB at the top of your barrel to the red dot indicated in the figure above and fire. Repeat on a clean target. Make sure your gun is unloaded and is safe and collect your targets.

You should see a pattern that is somewhat consistent between the shots/targets. At 15 yards you should be seeing a pretty tight pattern. ALL guns pattern differently, some high or low, some left or right. The idea here is to understand what your particular gun/choke and your specific loads will do. This is so important to know especially when you’re in the field and taking aim at that gobbler in front of you. For example, if you find that your gun is patterning right, on the next test shot move the red dot in the diagram over to the left and take the shot and see what your gun is doing. Bottom line is you want at least 6 pellets hitting the vital areas! The more shot in the vital areas the better. Personally I like 9.

If you’re not getting 6 pellets in the vital areas, you may want to consider going with a smaller shot size maybe number 5 or 6. The larger the shot size the more pellets you get. The only downside to smaller shot is that you may have to be closer to the bird when taking the shot to ensure lethal penetration to the vital areas!

Different loads from different vendors with different chokes and different guns will all pattern differently. My Beretta 12 gauge, 28” barrel with a 2’ super full extended turkey choke, with number 5 lead, 3 inch Winchester Turkey Supreme loads gives me excellent, consistent patterns up to 40 yards. The same combination in your gun could be completely different.

Now continue shooting at the remaining two yardage points. Again pay attention to how your pattern is appearing and make mental note of it.

If you pattern your gun properly you’ll have more confidence in your gun and shot and increase your chances to bring home the smartest bird in the woods!

Gobble Gobble,

Ringo

From there I headed off to Rhode Island. Yes I know what you’re thinking! Rhode Island for turkey? You bet. There is some fantastic turkey hunting opportunities in this tiny state on both private and public land. I was about to do both.

My first morning was on private land with my good pal and fellow Kettlebottom Crew member Robb Roach. I took Robb on his first turkey hunting trip many years ago and well…he’s caught the bug hard. Robb had done some extensive scouting prior to the season and had these birds located. I had hunted this land before and it is just perfect turkey habitat.

Well it didn’t take long at all. We walked in under a full moon with some early morning dew fog in the field. I had the gobblers cranked up at first light with one call just to make sure they were there. There was no need for locate calling. Robb had done the scouting. We focused on getting setup in our spots and waited. I could’ve sneezed and these birds would’ve gobbled. There were at least 3 gobblers calling in the roost at about 75 yards and one way off joining the song! We were filming this hunt for an episode of Kettlebottom Outdoor Pursuits. Robb was directly on my left, video camera in hand and Ty Leger was 20 yards on my right. I was careful not to overcall, these birds knew exactly where I was and I just had to be patient. I also didn’t want to have them come in too soon or the camera footage would be too dark. Once the light broke a couple of soft yelps and here he comes in full strut. I could see him coming steadily from my right. How he didn’t see Ty still confounds me. He was still gobbling and doing the classic strut. In a matter of 15 seconds he was 10 yards right in front of me. I raised my gun and fired just at the same moment he let out a gobble. I hit him right on the top of his head. Be sure you check out the slow motion footage of the shot Robb took! It’s awesome! With 3 inch number 5’s and a super full extended turkey choke I was almost shooting a bullet at that distance. He was a beauty, 22 pounds, 11 inch beard…. Another nice bird!
In some ways the hunt seemed too easy. Total time elapsed from walk in to bird on the ground? Maybe 30 minutes!!

The next day we were joined by another pal and member of the Kettlebottom Crew, Ralph Perna. I have hunted just about everything with Ralph and he really loves hunting turkey. As with Robb, I took Ralph many many years ago on his first turkey hunting trip. He shot a beautiful bird and now has the turkey hunting disease!

Robb had scouted a small piece of public land that was kind of land locked in a way. It was longer of a hike in, some railroad tracks bordered one side of the property, rolling hills and some water. It was clear and warm, and we were going in late morning. It was later in the Rhode Island season so I brought a couple of decoys in. If these birds had been called a lot, a confidence decoy might be the key to having the bird come into shooting range. I stopped every 10 minutes or so and let out a soft yelp and heard nothing back. With four guys in the woods and the radar like hearing and pinpoint capability of these amazing birds, we made our way in as quiet as possible. To mask our noise as I sometimes do even hunting by myself, I cluck softly as I move. Turkeys can be silent as ghosts when they walk or as noisy as a human. Hearing some noise with soft clucks and purrs won’t usually scare birds away.

Towards the middle of the piece, I let out a loud locating yelp and way off, I mean like 500 yards way off, the return sound of a gobble, ever so faint. The plan was to cut the distance in half ourselves, and to use the terrain to keep us hidden while we make the approach to a suitable spot. Now normally when I’m taking somebody turkey hunting I need only worry about where I am going to put the shooter. I try to position myself using the natural terrain in a way that will bring the bird past the shooter. I now had to find someplace where I could setup Robb and Ty so they could capture some footage. We came over a tiny rise and there was a spot that seemed suitable. It had an old stone wall with breaks along its façade, hardwoods, acorns, and a decent trail. Beyond the stone wall was some thicker brush which should provide enough cover to have the bird feel confident coming to any calling. I put Ralph in front of me 25 yards facing the stone wall. He had great visibility no matter which way the bird came in. Robb was to his left and back 30 yards and Ty was behind me and to my left 20 yards. It was the best we could come up with on short notice. I didn’t know this piece at all but all the right elements were there. The decoys were placed on higher ground so that an approaching bird could see them.

Some soft yelps were returned but I wouldn’t say this bird was hot, but he was definitely interested and curious. He was coming, ever so slowly, but he was coming. Robb also gave a few yelps on his box and the bird seemed to respond to his call better than mine. At one point the bird seemed to shut down but I had a feeling that he was very close. The last gobble was beyond the stone wall at maybe 50 yards. Only Robb and Ralph had a clear view beyond the stone wall. I was hoping he’d stand right up on it! I’ve seen it before. All eyes were peeled looking for this red head and the silence turned into airborne anticipation! If you’ve hunted turkey you know their ability to disappear into the ether without a trace! Robb let out another call and I joined him and we should have been able to see him! He was off to Ralph’s right and going away. I saw him for only a second between trees. He had already had found a break in the stone wall. What I saw next was Ralph turn his body, take aim and fire. The report of the big 12 gauge echoed and I rose to see the bird dead on the floor. Ralph made a fantastic shot. A real marksman, he took this bird at over 40 yards through trees, brush and bramble. What a shot!

There was only a few days left to the spring season in Connecticut and I was planning on meeting another good friend of mine, Dr. Dave Geeter for a day of fly fishing on Monday. I was planning on meeting him at 9:00am and I had a thought late Sunday afternoon that Maybe I could get there super early and try to get a few hours in turkey hunting!

Late season hunts can be more difficult. The birds have wised up to incessant calling, the cover is much thicker so spotting them is harder, and they just seem to be less apt to gobble. Now this being said, if you want to test your skills, a late season hunt will do just that and as you will see, it can be very rewarding!

It was a typical late spring morning. Cool but not cold, clear, no wind, and dry. I always get in the woods very early when I’m hunting turkey, much to the surprise of those I take with me. I call it “waking up with the woods”. If you’re already in your spot, ready to go, you will hear and see things that you won’t if you come in during daylight. I truly believe you become part of the woods when you arrive in the dark. You can close your eyes and just listen to the sounds of everything around you. It’s a symphony if you really focus on listening. It also gives you a better understanding of how the woods wake up. What birds come out first, how the owl hoots which is useful for perfecting your locating call skills, and the crows helping you to wake up those toms! If you’re lucky you just might get to see a Fischer run across a stone wall, or a Coyote on his way, or have a Squirrel or Chipmunk run over your legs! I’ve even had song birds land on my barrel and deer feeding 10 feet from me! Full camouflage is awesome!

Once it was legal shooting time, I gave my first soft yelp. Nobody home but that’s not so unusual. Fifteen minutes later, another soft yelp and nothing. I changed up my diaphragm call to a double reed, waited and let out a louder yelp. Was that a gobble way, way off? I was pretty sure it was so I waited only a few minutes and called again using a loud locator yelp. The return gobble was instantaneous but he was 500 yards plus away. I played with this bird for almost an hour, back calling to give him the impression I was leaving, simulating a feeding flock of hens with two push pin calls and a diaphragm, scratching the ground, even a jake gobble, anything to wake up this bird. At one point I felt he was closer, but he may have been facing me more directly when he gobbled. At this point I classified this bird as “hung up”. I decided to make a move, grab my decoys, hug the field and move up 100 yards. Maybe if he thought I was coming to him I’d get him excited. I’ve used this technique before successfully. Little did I know that I was setting myself up for a shot at the biggest bird I’ve ever seen!

Now moving up on a bird is usually a mistake for most turkey hunters. Turkeys have unbelievable hearing paired with radar like abilities to pinpoint within less than a meter the origin of a sound from 100 yards away. Only if you are certain you can do it “low and slow”, make literally no noise walking, and be certain you cannot be seen, should you even try. Off I went, found a nice place to hunker into on a small island of brush that connected two large fields, waited a few minutes, called………. And nothing!!!!

Did I get busted? I was certain I was ninja silent, and I knew the terrain in front of me and there was no way he saw me unless he was Superman or had infrared, heat seeking vision! Was this a Seal Team 6 gobbler? My brain tried to process what to do next. I decided to chill out, wait a few minutes and gave a soft yelp. The return gobble was only 200 yards away! My heart started beating faster as I knew it was game time. This chess game was on! The next gobble came without a request, he was 100 yards and closing but he was breaking left into the woods. I knew I could get to the stone wall 15 yards from me at the edge of the field so I did, army crawl style. I figured he was going to hug the field or go below the stone wall. Either way I should get a look at him. If he went too far left however, I might not. I decided to back call him and it worked. He double gobbled and it went right through me. He was hugging the stone wall to my left I was certain. Why couldn’t I see him? I knew if he popped his head over the rise to find me I’d have to shoot quickly. All I saw was his neck and head as he slowly came over the rise. I squeezed the trigger and he rolled and flopped. I got up quickly and he was dead by the time I got to him.

What a great looking bird. I knew he was 22 pounds or better, had an 11 inch beard, and ¾ inch sharp spurs. This was a mature gobbler and I was looking forward to honoring him on my table for dinner. It was 8:20 and I had a ten minute walk to the Jeep. I went over to grab my decoys, unfurl my orange back vest from my turkey vest and to this day I’m not sure why I did this, but I threw my diaphragm call in my mouth and let out a yelp. 200 yards away, from my original setup location another gobble? Did I have time? I remember saying to myself, “oh what the hell, I’ll just work him for 10-15 minutes and then I’ll leave to meet my friend” I dropped the decoys, left the bird where he died, and hugged the field up to the corner and got on one knee.

I made a soft clucking call and man, this bird was on top of me, he went from 200 yards to 50-60 yards in 45 seconds! I couldn’t see him but I could tell he was hugging the edge of the open field. I decided to stop calling altogether. I didn’t need to, this bird was screaming at me, double gobbling and getting closer. I decided to peek around the corner ever so slowly and see if I could see him. There he was at about 20 yards in full strut doing circles! Or so I thought! I aimed and fired. He started flopping around doing his death dance and I stood up. I realized immediately that he was somewhat of an optical illusion. He was so big that it only seemed he was 20 yards away. When I walked it off, I shot him at approximately 40 yards! Before I reached him he had expired and he just got bigger and bigger the closer I got. I knew this was just a monster bird, a real boss gobbler. He had one inch spurs sharp as an arrowhead, his beard was 12 inches all day and his body was humongous! My biggest bird to date had been a 27 pounder which I had mounted in full strut and lives in my office. I knew this guy was bigger.

The 30 Pounder

The 24 Pounder

After a few minutes of rejoicing on a magical morning of turkey hunting I took a look at my watch and it was 8:50! I had ten minutes before I was meeting my friend, I was at least 10 minute hike away from my Jeep, I had at least 50 pounds of turkeys to carry, three decoys, and my shotgun! I think I mostly floated to the Jeep. I don’t recall the birds weighing me down at all.

I met the good doctor at our designated meeting spot and he thought my camouflage outfit was a bit extreme for fly fishing until he saw the birds and the plastered grin on my face…. We took them to the shed, zeroed in the game scale and weighed them, 24 and 30……….my two new favorite numbers.

Yes that’s a 55 gallon drum behind him!

I can’t wait for this year!

Gobble Gobble…….

Ringo

Crowds of people came to our booth to sign up for the free HONDA outboard raffle sponsored by Kettlebottom and Conanicut Marine Services.  We will be raffling off the outboard to those who signed up at the show and our Facebook fans on April 13, 2012.  So there is still time to “like” Kettlebottom on Facebook or you can still sign up at the Conanicut Marina Store in Jamestown, RI.

We are in total edit mode at KB making sure the new season of Kettlebottom Outdoor Pursuits will be our best ever! This season will include a Costa Rica Fishing Expedition, Rhode Island Turkey Hunts, Narragansett Bay Seaduck Hunting, Pheasant and Tautog all in the same day, a Maine Moose Hunt and much, much more!

In other news we just got finished filming our second annual Brand Jam at Jam Stage in Pawtucket, RI!  Brand Jam features local bands from the New England Region whose music will be used to drive our extreme sports videos and programs.  Keep an eye out for Music Video teases of all the bands from last night at our YouTube page KettlebottomCrew! Bands include: Sienna, Legendary BSE, The Down and Outs, and Ioneye.

We also are starting up our 2012 shooting schedule for both “Kettlebottom Outdoor Pursuits” and “Brand X” and this year’s shows are going to be AWESOME!!!  We have shoots planned on Ice Climbing with The Rock Gym Climbers, Snowboarding down Jay Peak to the brand new Wave Pool for a Surf session, a Late Season Arkansas Snow Goose Hunt, and Fur Trapping in Rhode Island, showing the lost Art of Trapping!!  If you have ideas for other great shows please write us and let us know!!

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and check out our YouTube page KettlebottomCrew!  We have some great new edits of “Extras,” “Cooking the Catch,” and “How To” videos for you to view every Friday on Upload Fridays!  Don’t forget to check out our page sponsors and visit their sites for great gear and products!

On other fronts check out our newest uploads every Friday on “Upload
Fridays” only on www.kettlebottom.com! We feature “Shop Talks” to “Cooking
the Catch” footage not seen on our shows “KETTLEBOTTOM OUTDOOR PURSUITS”
and “BRAND X“!

As we go into a new year our editors are half way thru the first 6 shows for
Aprils Premiere of “KETTLEBOTTOM OUTDOOR PURSUITS” This 2012 season should
be thrilling with trips to Costa Rica and Extreme Sea Duck hunting right in
our own back yard! Stay tuned to www.kettlebottom.com for the exclusive
video trailer for the 2012 season!