Field and Stream - How to Hunt Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Pheasants, and Quail RSS

Tommy Ladson: Basic Calling 101 for Beginner Turkey Hunters

colinkearns — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:08:41 -0400

Hey, guys. With turkey season almost here, I figured I'd give some pointers about turkey calls and calling for those of you who are going out for the first time this spring. There are tons of turkey calls out there, so I'll going to go over each type.

Nowk, I'm going to spare all of you from having to listen to me call, so I will let a friend, Steve Davis, give you some examples of how to use a diaphram call (see video below). Steve is a champion turkey caller, but for now we will get back to the basics.

How To Make A Turkey Fan Decoy

Online Editors — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:02:06 -0500

Strutting gobbler decoys are hot items now, and for good reason: They work. But they're also pricey and a pain to carry. A real gobbler fan costs nothing and packs easily—and can be as effective as the full-blown fake. Here's how to put a bird's tail feathers to work for you.

Nate Dean: The Best Offseason Wing-Shooting Practice? Crows!

colinkearns — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:44:31 -0500

Nate Dean, 17, lives in Eau Claire, Wis., and is a member of the Generation Wild Jr. Pro Staff.

My buddy Lucas and I recently went hunting for something we think is a blast to hunt, but others just look at us with a weird face and say, “What? Crow hunting!”

Yep. That’s right. Crowing hunting!

Why You Miss Ducks (And Other Insights From Our Waterfowl Guide Survey)

Online Editors — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:29:36 -0500

Your choke is too tight, you have trouble with left-to-right crossing shots, and you forget to bring gloves. How do I know? I have my eyes in the blind: 13 waterfowl guides who responded to my recent survey.

Contest: Translate Duck Speak, Win Decoys (and More!)

Online Editors — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:36:31 -0500

So you think you’re fluent in the language of duck? Well, my friends, here’s your chance to show us your stuff. We have a video (below) of World Champion caller Ryan Nolan letting loose with a comeback call. Your job is to watch the video then translate the call into English. Your answer can be long or short but make it creative—the more we laugh the better.

Bourjaily: Stop New-Shotgun Misfires with Break Free CLP

Online Editors — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:43:54 -0500

This really is about gun care, but I will begin by digressing: my 13 ½ year old English setter Ike (pictured here hard at work guarding my hunting clothes last year) went completely blind two weeks ago. When I go pheasant hunting, Ike still gets to ride in his crate to the field and back. I let him out to wander around sniffing things as I get ready, then I put Ike back in the box, get Jed out, and that’s the extent of Ike’s “hunt.”

In 12 full seasons Ike had a bunch of pheasants, a few quail, half a dozen woodcock and two Hungarian partridges and a snipe shot over his points. He has been a beloved house pet, too, and now is a blind, beloved house pet. I have few regrets about his life as my dog.

Bourjaily: Slow Down To Speed Up

Online Editors — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:05:43 -0400

Over the weekend I helped out at a Pheasants Forever Mentored Youth Hunt. PF, I should mention here, is my favorite of the single-species groups because they spend all their money locally, do good habitat work, and support youth hunting and shooting of all kinds. Anyway, it was my job to run three groups of kids through some shooting instruction before they went hunting. I’ve done this before, and I learn more from watching the kids shoot than they learn listening to me.

Senators Take Aim At Park Service Lead Ban

Online Editors — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:33:39 -0400

From a National Shooting Sports Foundation press release via PR Newswire:
A letter signed by [13 Republican] United States senators to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raising important questions about actions by the National Park Service (NPS) to ban the use of traditional ammunition in parks that allow hunting has drawn praise from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

read more

Hunting, Fishing, and Camping Tips from the Readers of Field & Stream

colinkearns — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:47:49 -0400
Here they are: the 34 best Reader Tips from the past two years.
read more

Make Swimming Duck Decoys By Adding A Keel

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:21:32 -0400
Make a swimming decoy by adding a keel
read more

Shotgun Shooting Advice For Dove Hunters

Online Editors — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:17:27 -0400
Want to kill more birds? Follow these dove-hunting tips from Gun Nut and Shotguns columnist Phil Bourjaily.
read more

Booth Babe Round-Up

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:28:00 -0400
Take a look at all the best "Booth Babe" photos from the last few years of the SHOT Show.

Petzal: Test Your Reaction Time

Online Editors — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:57:58 -0400

The essayist Roy Blount wrote back in the ‘70s that the difference between professional football players and other football players is Great Quick. I’m not sure how much good Great Quick does for rifle shooters, but it sure as hell helps shotgunners ...

read more

Siblings Get Life In “Hunting Accident” Murder

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:08:44 -0400

From GoErie.com:

A brother and sister were sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for the slaying of the sister's estranged husband at the victim's home near the Allegheny National Forest on Dec. 5. . . .
State police said [Cory] Altman and Susan Yeager conspired to kill Shawn Yeager and make it look like a hunting accident. . . .

read more

Chad Love: The Ultimate Scouting Resource?

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:17:22 -0400

One of the things that never fails to amaze me about anglers and hunters is the level of observational wisdom many of us possess, the kind of specialized natural history knowledge gained only through years of woods and water time. John Merwin's recent blog post is an excellent example of this connecting-the-natural-dots talent outdoorsmen possess.

read more

Discussion Topic: PA To Crack Down On Poachers

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:14:50 -0400

From the PR Newswire:

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today praised the House Game and Fisheries Committee and its chairmen. . . for its near unanimous approval of House Bill 97, which would increase penalties and fines for poaching. . . .

read more

Two Michigan Troopers May Be Fired For Poaching

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:12:36 -0400

Speaking of poaching, should the penalty be stiffer for police officers who do their poaching while on duty?

From the Cheboygan Daily Tribune:

Two Michigan State Troopers who served brief jail sentences and were reassigned after admitting to poaching deer while on duty have lost their jobs, pending an arbitration hearing. 

read more

Chad Love: Guns, Rods, and Bike Helmets

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:52:35 -0400

I started hunting and fishing with a mountain bike in college because I didn't have a car and I was young, fit and poor. I am now old, fat and regrettably still poor, but I still enjoy using a mountain bike to hunt and fish public land.

A good mountain bike is a surprisingly effective means of off-road transportation and I've always wondered why more hunters and anglers didn't utilize them, especially in areas closed to motor vehicles.

read more

Chad Love: Locked & Loaded in Parkland

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:28:51 -0400

There's already been a boatload of bloviation expressed on the recent reversal of the ban on loaded firearms in our national parks, some of it sensible but most of it (predictably) bordering on hysterics.

This column from the Huffington Post is a perfect example:

"In fact, the new rule is likely to make national park visitors less safe around wildlife. Packing heat could give some people a false sense of security and make them more likely to approach bison, elk, moose, and grizzly bears, rather than keep a safe distance which is better for both people and animals."

But the most certain outcome of this congressional action is that it will promote poaching. The National Park Service warned in its fiscal 2006 budget submission each year for the past several years ... The data suggests that there is a significant domestic as well as international trade for illegally taken plant and animal parts." Poaching, the agency said, "is suspected to be a factor in the decline of at least 29 species of wildlife and could cause the extirpation of 19 species from the parks."

read more

States Save Millions Swapping Fish And Ammo

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:58:26 -0400

From The New York Times:

read more

Chad Love: Six-Word Story Contest Winner

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:21:50 -0400

When I first thought up the idea for the six-word story contest I expected the usual response my blogs generate: a dozen or so comments, the obligatory question about which picture at the top is me (yes, sir, I am indeed the "slack-jawed hillbilly" on the left...) and that one guy who always chides me about my alleged bashing of the Dubya/Darth Cheney administration (Do you maybe have me confused with Bill Maher?).

read more

Bourjaily: Turkey Season Recap

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:11:49 -0400

Since turkey seasons are winding down all over the country, it’s time to post up your season highlights. I’ve already run the picture of me and my one turkey of the spring but I hadn’t told the story of the very brief and satisfying hunt:

As is my routine during turkey season, I dropped my younger son at school and got to the public area I hunt a little after 7:00 a.m. I drove around drinking coffee until I saw a glinting black spot in a freshly burned field. Although the area is billiard table-flat, there were enough willows to use as cover for my approach so I parked the jeep, pulled on my stuff, and snuck to within 125 yards or so of the bird. I saw him look around the first time

I yelped. Second time, he popped in and out of strut, then turned and walked my way. I never made another call after that.

He gobbled once coming in, and when he got to what I thought was 40 yards and change, he veered off course. I could call more to straighten him out and bring him closer or I could shoot. I shot.

read more

Chad Love: Separating Art from Idiocy

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:45:36 -0400

I'm feeling old today so here's a bit of flashback for anyone out there who came of age in the Eighties...

From the story:

Rocker Morrissey is adamant about performing in a meat-free environment — so much so that he regularly bans all food “that used to have a face” from concert halls. Case in point was his most recent gig at Webster Hall in NY this week. From the article,

read more

A Man's Grill

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:00 -0400

Bourjaily: My 20-Gauge Turkey Gun

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:27:25 -0400

A lot of experienced hunters have made the switch to 20 gauge youth guns lately. Up until now, I’ve always thought there was a certain ego-driven “look at me, I’m an expert, I don’t need a 12 gauge” factor in that choice. That is not me; I need all the help I can get. Even so, since 20s seems to be a trend, I decided to give my 835 the year off from turkey hunting in order to experiment with the smaller bore.

read more