shickoff

Hey Redbeard. Gobblers must be tearin' it up in Georgia . . .

Hey Strut10 and everyone else . . . We planned to mention your forums turkey contest with announcement of our Realtree Turkey Tips Contest (prizes too!) and the 2012 Strut Report. Challenge is, your Feb. 29 deadline comes the day before we'll likely run the RTTC and 2012 SR on March 1. Still a chance though. Stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to jump over to the Realtree Turkey Blog and post contest mention in the comments sections under our current content . . . we'd love to hear what you think of the NWTF Convention Coverage (videos/photo essay, etc.) as well as other stuff we've got up on the site. Thanks, Steve Steve Hickoff Realtree Turkey Hunting Editor

Photographer gets to keep the truck as payment! LOL.

Yep, looking forward to it. We'll see you there . . .

Hey guys, I'm with Rhino on slate calls, but use 'em all, depending. Love my custom boxes and certain "ghost cut" mouth calls . . . P.S. Strut10, etc. So you guys know, we'll post word on the Realtree forum turkey contest over in the Realtree turkey blog later this month. (At least before Florida starts, for sure.) Stay tuned. Off to the NWTF show later next week. Full coverage for Realtree & then we'll get a link to your announcement up there. Thanks. Steve Hickoff Realtree Turkey Hunting Editor

Nice. Thanks for sharing . . .

Good stuff. We hunt a bunch of fall turkey states each year, while the rest of my buds are working hard for my future gifted venison (LOL). (Btw, awesome bucks in your posts, guys. Sheesh.) Seriously, the gobbling we hear is often from super jakes (those 1 & 1/2 year-olds) and fall jakes, just 4-6 months old, birds that kee-kee-run and add a cracked grrobble on the end. Hey, they're all fun to hunt.

10-4. I especially like yelping with a mouth call then hammering back to my own vocalizations with a hand-operated gobble call. As mentioned in my gobble calls blog post follow-up comment, we use it on the tag end of a kee-kee-run in the fall too. True enough, I'd never think of doing it on some public lands. Other times, it seems like a good choice.

Hey everybody, I'm curious about your opinion on using gobble calls, spring or fall. Do you? Why or why not? I've just posted word on three new gobble calls for 2012 on the Realtree Turkey Blog: New Gobble Calls for Spring Turkey Hunting | Realtree ® Thanks, Steve

We caught up with some turkey pros and got their Super Bowl predictions: Turkey Pros Make Super Bowl Predictions | Realtree ® What are yours?

Hey, they're all good. Congratulations!

For sure. Good stuff, Strut10!

Need to reconsider ground blinds for spring gobbler hunting at some point (maybe), but like you dbHunterNY I like to stay on the move! :pop:

Love the hunt stories, guys. That's the best thing about turkey hunting: the tactics, especially if it involves calling. Nothing works all the time and sometimes something we try does. I killed a longbeard once after it (and a bull jake) hung up silently behind me for a long time . . . could hear them moving and almost feel them looking my way. Something made me try something different with these birds. I got up and hustled maybe 70-80 yds. down to the far pasture corner, hidden by the leafed-out woods between us. I caught my breath, called and dang if they didn't come running from right behind where I'd been, gobbling the whole way. Another time birds might have ignored me. That's why it's so satisfying when it works, eh.

I never use 'em in spring (fall, with turkey dogs, yes), but buddies do and they work. Ground blinds, as jesse8953 mentioned, are especially good for bowhunters chasing spring birds.

That longbeard was hot. Now he's not. We've all been there a time or two. What turkey hunting tactics would you use to close the deal on this bird? Turkey Hunting Tactics: What Would You do? | Realtree ® Thanks, Steve

Know what you mean . . . always watching fields or pulling over to glass them.

Just posted some thoughts on the subject over on the Realtree turkey blog: Wild Turkey Scouting | Realtree ®

Osceola always seems the toughest to add to the Slam for a couple reasons: one state only (Florida's a long way for some guys, eh), pricey outfitters overall (but not always) and public land challenges (like anywhere; though it can be done). I've hunted (and killed) Oscies over the years with good and "bad" results (kills and near-kills), and always tell guys who ask: do it now; never a better time. Land access issues aren't going away anytime soon. If you can hook up with a contact there, do it. It's a cool place to chase turkeys . . . gator-filled swamp birds might be among the toughest gobblers on the planet.

Yep . . . five out-of-state hunts and local action. Need a bigger wallet for my licenses and tags!

NWTF Convention coverage . . . Yep, I'll be there. Look for NWTF Convention coverage over on the Realtree turkey site, including the blog. We'll have a realtree.com turkey gear feature and other surprises down the road too. Looking forward to it. Steve

Turkey Motion Decoys Hey dbHunterNY. Good to hear from ya. It's definitely a tricky deal. Pushing the tactical envelope, for sure. And the safety issues are important to consider. How are your New York turkeys doing this winter? Thanks, Steve

Turkey Motion Decoys The video link at the bottom of our turkey blog post definitely demonstrates that if it fools real turkeys, the most paranoid birds on the planet, well . . . It's interesting how this gear trend has developed over the years: in waterfowl and turkey hunting. Some guys in wide-open places out West bellycrawl with a fan in front of them.

Just wondering what you Realtree forum turkey hunters think about the two new turkey motion decoys from MOJO: Turkey Motion Decoys | Realtree ® Thanks, Steve

Hey everybody, We're all pretty stoked about this. Here's a look at the new Realtree hunting blogs: Realtree Hunting Blogs | Realtree ® And no jokes about my mullet! Later and thanks for the time. Steve