Hunting

I got excited the second I heard the gobbler answer my pot call from his pine tree roost. I scraped a couple of soft yelps on my slate, and he hammered back a response that sounded like "Let's meet up at sunrise.” He did everything you pray a gobbler will do. He flew down, cut the distance, and came...

Patience gets thrown around a lot in general hunting advice. Whether it’s pulling an all-day hunt during the whitetail rut or waiting another hour on that gobbler that went silent, patience usually pays off. You’ll punch a lot of tags if you learn to embrace patience. But sometimes you need to throw...

Nine millimeter semi-automatic handguns are the most popular type of firearm in the United States. You might not hunt deer with a Glock, but if you own a handgun for self-defense–as most gun owners do–it probably uses a detachable magazine and is chambered in 9mm Luger. Many hunters carry these...

Most turkey hunters love to watch longbeards put on “the show.” There’s nothing quite like a tom gobbling his head off as he struts all the way to your gun barrel with iridescent feathers gleaming in the sun. Unfortunately, that’s not the case most of the time. Even though I’ll hunt four states and...

I’d been having a back-and-forth with a bird since he flew down from the roost. I would stroke a few whispered yelps on my pot call, and he’d thunder back a response that echoed off the hardwoods. He was working his way toward me, but it was slow going. It was obvious he wanted the hen he thought I...

When the boys at Double Bull unleashed their first camouflage cubes on the turkey market, it wasn’t exactly a quick burn. Until then, most turkey hunters just put their backs to a tree and then went into statue mode to fool gobblers. Some hunters employed camo netting or stake-out style blinds, but...

This is going to be a sort of ridiculous apples-to-oranges analogy, but hear me out: You probably wouldn’t put out a thick-necked, ears-pinned, posturing buck decoy in the beginning of September. Sure, you might lure in a moody fighter to scrap, but mostly you wouldn’t because the timing wouldn’t be...

The waterhole ambush is a tried-and-true tactic for plenty of big game animals, like elk, pronghorn, and, of course, whitetails. But it's rarely discussed as a method for hunting America’s favorite game bird. News flash, turkeys drink water too. Turkeys need to consume about a quart of water every...

A strutting turkey is one of the most remarkable spectacles you can witness while hunting. His varied, iridescent feathers fanned out as he parades around with all the pomp and circumstance of spring. Those very feathers make each turkey slightly unique. Then there are those wild variations, like...

Two things taught me to be a much better turkey caller. The first was when I started to semi-regularly kill bucks by snort-wheezing at them. Now I know that might seem disconnected from turkey hunting, but hear me out. Most hunters look at the snort-wheeze call as a dominant buck vocalization that...

Few things are more deflating than missing a turkey. If you think successful hunts are unforgettable, misses will etch themselves into the part of your brain that handles long-term memory. Months later, when you think you’ve gotten over it, you’ll wake up from that nightmare, drenched in sweat and...

If you're trying to kill your first turkey, this guide covers everything you need: when seasons open, essential turkey hunting gear, how to find and pattern birds, and where to aim when that gobbler finally steps into range. I can't think of a more thrilling hunt than calling a strutting gobbler...