turkey hunting

Turkey Hunting Tips from Master Outdoorsman Jerome B. Robinson

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:00:00 -0400

Field Tested: Clean Slates

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 30 May 2006 17:00:00 -0400

The Test
A friction call needs to sound good at high volume for the days you have to beat them over the head and soft for the days when they need sweet-talking. I took my calls outside and tape-recorded them at a distance of 20 yards. Starting at the edges where the pitch is high and working my way to the lower-pitched center of the call, I made loud and soft calls, then played them back and rated their sound at low and high volumes. -Phil Bourjaily

Click on an image to see a full-size photo

Lohman Heirloom Slate ($23)

Description: Slate in an American ash pot with a purpleheart striker.
Sound: Fairly low and raspy, it's not as loud as some, but it's realistic.
Comments:: A traditional-style call that mimics turkeys especially well at lower volumes.
Hits: Very natural soft sounds.
Misses: You can't crank up the volume.
Contact: 877-956-5746; kolpin.com

Cody Drop Dead Woodsman ($75)

Description: Slate in a walnut pot with an oak bottom and a hickory striker.
Sound: Medium-high pitch, warm and realistic, with a good range from high to low.
Comments: The surface seems to grab the peg, making it easy to run quietly.
Hits: Looks good, makes a range of sounds.
Misses: The most expensive call of the bunch.
Contact: 717-362-8413; codyturkeycalls.com

M.A.D. Heavy Metal ($23)

Description: Aluminum pot, crystal surface, graphite and purpleheart strikers.
Sound: Very high pitched with wood striker, higher with graphite; raspy, almost shrill.
Comments: Loudness and high pitch means it can ach out and touch distant birds.
Hits: Great sounds at any volume.
Misses:: It's ugly; the metal glints in the sun.
Contact: 877-956-5746; kolpin.com

Primos Jackpot ($30)

Description: A smaller glass call set in a wooden pot with a hardwood striker.
Sound: Sharp, high pitched, with some rasp.
Comments: It's not as loud as the Heavy Metal, but you can feel pressure on your eardrums when you crank the volume.
Hits: Attractive, sounds as good as it looks.
Misses: I wish its volume setting went to 11.
Contact: 800-523-2395; primos.com

Roberts Brothers Hunter ($50)

Description: Glass call in a composite wooden pot with slate set in the bottom; hardwood, purpleheart, and aluminum strikers.
Sound: The glass makes very authentic turkey noises, and the slate makes softer tones.
Comments: It looks cool, and with its two surfaces and three strikers, it produces the widest range of turkey talk out of all the calls tested.
Hits: Gives you a flock of different birds.
Misses: Lacks a loud, grating sound.
Contact: 770-536-7374; robertsbrothersturkeycalls.com

H.S. Strut Double Strike ($29)

Description: Glass with a plastic pot and a rosewood striker.
Sound: High pitched and scratchy.
Comments: The Double Strike is loud and sharp enough to make you wince, which is what you want in a long-range call. It also soundss good at low volumes. I found it to be a very easy call to cluck and purr with.
Hits: Great for attracting distant toms.
Misses: The directional sound ports seem a little gimmicky.
Contact: 800-728-0321; hunterspec.com

Knight & Hale Pocket Puppy ($15)

Description: Ceramic "Sla-tek" surface and plastic pot, hickory striker with a plastic top.
Sound: High pitched and clear, with some raspy sweet spots.
Comments: The Pocket Puppy has the upper-level tone that turkeys often respond to, ranging from high to very high. It's a call to have when the turkeys want to hear a clear yelp.
Hits: Small and inexpensive but with excellent sound, this would make a great call for kids.
Misses: Not particularly versatile in its range.
Contact: 800-500-9357; www.knightandhale.com

Quaker Boy X-Pot ($22)

Description: Copper top with its center roughened over a plastic pot.
Sound: High and clear on the outside edges of the pot, raspier and deeper in the center.
Comments: Designed for beginners, the copper-topped, plastic-bottomed X-Pot has a textured area in the center. It made good, clear sounds with a little practice.
Hits: It produces a nice, high-low kee-yuk.
Misses:: There were definite dead spots.
Contact: 800-544-1600; quakerboygamecalls.com

ttle gimmicky.
Contact: 800-728-0321; hunterspec.com

Knight & Hale Pocket Puppy ($15)

Quaker Boy X-Pot ($22)

Red Alert: Philip Bourjaily Reviews Three Dot Sights for Turkeys

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 30 May 2006 16:00:00 -0400

A friend of mine always brings an Aimpoint-mounted Remington 11-87 to his turkey camp. When hunters can't hit gobblers, he lends them "Maggie." No one has ever missed a bird with Maggie.

Beads and iron sights simply aren't precise enough to consistently center the very tight patterns thrown by good turkey loads through X-Full chokes. You also have to block out the bottom half of the bird when aiming, increasing the temptation to raise your head for a better view. Do that when you pull the trigger and you'll get a good look at a turkey running away.

Peek through a red-dot sight like an Aimpoint and you'll understand why Maggie is batting a thousand. These sights don't project the dot onto the target but onto the front lens of a 1X scope. You just put the dot on a turkey's neck and shoot. Keep both eyes open; the dot appears to be floating in space, allowing you to view the whole bird. And red dots have unlimited eye relief. As long as you can see the dot, it doesn't matter where your head is.

Three new models represent the state of the red-dot art:

Bushnell Holosight A Holosight projects a hologram of a circle with a dot in its center onto a lens. In my opinion, it's the fastest of all the dot sights to use because to aim you simply put the bird's head inside the circle, which can be adjusted to 15 levels of brightness. The new low-profile XLP sits half an inch closer to the bore than did previous Holosights (many of which are currently on active military service), so you don't have to crane your neck off the stock to see the reticle.

The XLP runs for 100 hours on two AAA batteries. If battery strength falls to 20 percent, the reticle blinks for a few seconds after you turn it on. $299; 800-423-3537; bushnell.com

Aimpoint 9000SC The original red dots, Aimpoints were invented in 1975 in Sweden, where they're practically standard issue on moose rifles. They are the undisputed endurance champs of the red-dot world, running for literally thousands of hours on a single battery.

The military uses an Aimpoint designated the M68 Close Combat Optic. For turkey hunters, there's the 9000SC. It has a 30mm tube and is available in black with a choice of a two or a four MOA (minute of angle) dot, or in camo with a four MOA dot only. (I prefer the larger dot for turkey hunting because it makes for easier sight acquisition). There are 10 brightness settings. My only quibble is the red coating on the lens. It makes the dot brighter at the expense of showing you the woods with a faint bluish tinge. $359 in black; $379 in camo; 877-246-7646; aimpoint.com

Zeiss Z-Point At under 4 ounces, the Z-Point is about half the weight of an Aimpoint or Holosight. It's also the only one of the three with a self-regulating dot that automatically brightens on sunny days and dims on dark ones. Although the Z-Point requires a battery to turn on, its solar panel takes over to keep the dot burning without draining any more juice, greatly extending battery life. The Z-Point's sole drawback is its steep price, which is more than what any of my turkey guns cost. $489; 800-441-3005; www.zeiss.com

Mounting All three sights mount easily on one-piece Weaver-style bases. More and more shotguns come tapped for a scope mount. For untapped guns, add a B-Square ($62; 800-433-2909; b-square.com) or an AimTech ($41Â¿Â¿Â¿$75; 229-226-4313; aimtech-mounts.com) saddle mount. These fit most popular pumps and autos and install without gunnsmithing.

Red Alert: Philip Bourjaily Reviews Three Dot Sights for Turkeys

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 30 May 2006 16:00:00 -0400

A friend of mine always brings an Aimpoint-mounted Remington 11-87 to his turkey camp. When hunters can't hit gobblers, he lends them "Maggie." No one has ever missed a bird with Maggie.

Three new models represent the state of the red-dot art:

The XLP runs for 100 hours on two AAA batteries. If battery strength falls to 20 percent, the reticle blinks for a few seconds after you turn it on. $299; 800-423-3537; bushnell.com

Turkey in a Can: How to make a tube call

fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 12:10:00 -0400

What You Need

1 35mm film canister, pill bottle, or other plastic container with a lid
1 Unpowdered latex glove
1 Rubber band
Tools: Very sharp knife (or utility blade) and a sharp pair of fine scissors
Time: 10 minutes
Cost: Free, assuming you can find these items around your house

Step 1 Cut the bottom off a 35mm film can and cut a half circle out of the lid. Put the lid on the can.

Step 2 Cut a 2x3-inch rectangle out of a latex glove. Stretch the latex over the cutout in the lid of the can. Leave a Â¿Â¿-inch gap between the edge of the latex and the bottom of the half circle. Use a rubber band to hold the latex in place.

Step 3 To blow the call, put it to your mouth with the cutout facing up. Your bottom lip should touch the bottom edge of the latex, while your upper lip lies on the edge of the lid. To cluck, make a short tut sound. To yelp, make the same kee-yuk sound you would on a diaphragm call. With some practice you can make good purrs and kee kees as well. Tune the call by tightening or loosening the latex, or by increasing or decreasing the size of the gap between the edge of the latex and the bottom of the cutout.

Spring Gobbler Scouting Plan

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 04:20:00 -0500

Dawn Listen
Before you leave home, grab binoculars, a notebook, a topo map, and a GPS. Bring lunch too, since this is an all-day project. At dawn, drive the roads, periodically stopping to listen or to get out of the truck and walk to a high vantage point. Mark the roosted birds you hear on a map or with a GPS. If you hear a bird fly down, listen, or use a crow or owl call to keep him gobbling to learn what route he travels first thing in the morning.

Morning Look
Watch open areas like fields and pastures for strutting toms. In the woods, look for strutters along logging roads and ridgetops, on flats, or in bottomland timbers. Walk quietly in heavy woods, keep your eyes peeled, and stop often to blow an owl or crow call. In open country, try to watch from a distance with binoculars.

Mark any strutters you spot on your map, along with the time you see them. If you know when and where a gobbler struts, you can get there before he does for a midmorning hunt. Look for hens feeding in open fields, too. Gobblers shouldn't be far behind.

Afternoon Connect the Dots
Once you know where the turkeys are, get out and pinpoint roost trees. Look for feathers, droppings, and tracks that show you the exact route the birds take after flying down. If you know where a bird roosts and where he goes first thing, you've found a good spot for an early-morning hunt.

Search the timber flats and logging roads for strut zones, indicated by drag marks and figure-eight disturbances in the leaves.

Gobblers don't feed much in the spring, but they follow feeding hens. Look at scratches in the leaves. The V-shaped scratches point in the direction of travel. If you find an area where birds have dusted, mark it as a good place for a late-morning hunt.

The more you can learn about obstacles like creeks, fences, and bluffs, the better you'll be able to guess where turkeys will travel, and the better you'll be able to set up in a position where a gobbler can come easily to your call.

Evening Put Them to Bed
Watch to see which way the birds approach the roost as they finish feeding. Mark potential ambush spots on your map if afternoon hunts are legal. Toward sunset, listen again for gobbling from the roost. Blow an owl call or coyote howler.

Turkey Take Down

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 04:05:00 -0500

When there's more gobbler season behind you than in front of you, and you have yet to cut a feather, you have two choices: You can continue to hunt the way that you have been since the opener and hope that the birds will somehow change. Or, you can step up and make a change yourself by implementing a whole new turkey hunting strategy.

The three stories on the following pages detail the aggressive tactics employed by three highly successful gobbler hunters. So if you're ready to get out of your rut, read them. Then grab an extra cup of coffee and get out there.

Table of Contents
Strategy 1: Take a Hike
Strategy 2: Keep Talking
Strategy 3: Play Games

Exclusive Online Content Listen to Ray Eye demonstrate how to call aggresively

Click here to listen using Windows Media Player

This audio clip plays in Windows Media player only.
Click the icon to download Windows Media Player for PC and Mac:

[NEXT "Take A Hike: When time is running out, move in"]

Take A Hike When time is running out, move in.
The Expert: Andy Price

It was a typical late-season turkey hunting quandary. Two hundred yards away a tom and a hen fed along a field edge. Trying to call the tom in would have been difficult at best, and sneaking up on it would have been impossible-or so I thought.

"Want to kill that bird?" asked my host, Andy Price. He didn't wait for an answer. "Follow me. But I hope you don't mind if we get a little wet."

Price led me to a creek that snaked along the field edge. Twenty minutes later, we slipped out of the thigh-deep water and shimmied up the bank beneath a tree he had noted before our stalk. "When we raise up," he whispered, "that bird should be right in front of us." He was right-the tom was 30 yards away. Price had a clear shot, and the bird dropped.

Price has gained the reputation of a late-season savant in his hometown of Abbeville, South Carolina. "My phone usually starts ringing during the last two weeks," he says. "And it's always a friend asking if I can help put him on a bird he's having trouble killing."

To take birds with the clock winding down, Price abandons typical tactics for a more aggressive approach. Here's how to do it:

Be a field general. No matter the weather, says Price, birds will come to fields at some point in the day. Locate a few in your area and bounce from spot to spot. "I'll hunt if I know we're going to have thunderstorms," he says. "During the rain or just after, birds will be in fields preening."

Pattern birds. Turkeys will enter or exit fields from the same points, often along power lines, roads, or downed fencelines. Learn a bird's pattern and you'll know where to intercept him.

Carry few calls. At most, take a locator call and a mouth call, which is easy to carry and waterproof. "I rarely use a call unless I need a tom to lift its head before I shoot," says Price.

Take advantage of terrain. When you're sneaking up on birds, use knolls and ravines, follow creek beds, and keep to the shady side of fields. On private land, don't be afraid to belly crawl.

Know when to move. alking birds is a game of guts, and you have to listen when your gut says go. Make sure the bird has its head down, and move in concert with rustling leaves. "Don't get caught in a spot where you can't slink back to cover," says Price, "or that bird will bust you."

Get prone. "More than likely, you won't have your back against a tree when you shoot," says Price. "Being able to make the shot while lying down is essential to tagging a late-season tom this way." [NEXT "Keep Talking: Late in the season, don't let the conversation lag"]

Keep Talking Late in the season, don't let the conversation lag
The Expert: Ray Eye

"Yelp three times and shut up" is a classic formula for killing a turkey, but it no longer applies. Modern turkeys demand aggressive calling.

Ask Ray Eye, who has made his name bucking conventional turkey hunting wisdom. Eye, 53, of Dittmer, Missouri, began hunting turkeys in the Ozarks at the age of 9 with his father and grandfather. Since then, Eye has traveled the country, hunting turkeys and talking about it on radio and TV and to live audiences. Here's what Eye had to say to Field & Stream about aggressive calling.

F&S: How did you learn your aggressive calling technique?
Eye: One turkey season in the late 1960s, I came upon an article in an outdoor magazine in my grandparents' outhouse that told me what I was doing wrong. It said the only way to call in a gobbler was to yelp three times, wait 10 minutes by the watch, yelp three more times, then get your gun up and let him look for you. The next morning I slipped up to a ridge where I knew a gobbler roosted. At daybreak the tom gobbled. I carefully made three soft yelps. The tom gobbled back. I sat and stared at my borrowed pocket watch. As the tom gobbled again, I heard several yelps down the ridge.

After a long 10 minutes passed, I yelped three more times. The bird gobbled harder, but the yelps and cutts of a real hen turkey were much closer now. The more that hen called, the more the tom gobbled. The more the tom gobbled, the more excited she became. The tom flew from the roost and ran right to the hen. They met out in front of me just under the ridge, and that hen was still yelping as she ran away with my gobbler.

You can guess how much I called the next morning. I carried that big gobbler down the mountain and learned a lesson.

F&S: How do you define aggressive calling, and why does it work?
Eye: Aggressive calling means putting excitement into your calls like real turkeys do. With the success of the restoration programs, hunters have more real hens to compete with than ever. Three soft yelps rarely close the deal. From my experience, the aggressive hen gets the gobbler.

F&S: So how do you go about it?
Eye: I use a fast cadence of yelps, mixed with cutting. You don't have to call louder. Just put enough excitement into the calls to keep the bird focused on you. When a tom responds, I'll answer right back with even more excitement-with faster and higher-pitched cutting. My goal is to drive that gobbler into a frenzy. Once he answers me, I never give him a chance to change his mind. I'll cutt right up until I pull the trigger.

F&S: What kind of caller works the best for your style?
Eye: Box calls are great for aggressive cutting and yelping. I also like a "cutter" style diaphragm call that makes scratchy yelps.

F&S: Are there any situations where you call softly?
Eye: I can't think of any. At the peak of breeding, when gobblers are with hens, calling hunters hear toms gobble going away from them. They'll tell you those birds are call-shy and it's time to tone it down. The opposite is true: What's really happening is that hens are leading toms away from the sound of another hen. Challenge them and they'll come to you, bringing the gobbler along.

F&S: Why don't more hunters call aggressively?
Eye: People think it makes turkeys call-shy. That's ridiculous; turkeys communicate by making turkey noises. If they were afraid of turkey sounds, they would never mate. [NEXT "Play Games: Creative tactics for stubborn birds"]

Play Games Creative tactics for stubborn birds
Expert: Eddie Salter

Eddie Salter of Evergreen, Alabama, cuts a swath through the turkey woods. The prototypical run-and-gun hunter, Salter stays constantly on the move, looking for a bird he can work.

The proliferation of turkeys and turkey hunters is the main reason behind Salter's hurry-hurry approach. "I want to call that turkey in before I lose him to a hen or another hunter," says Salter of his aggressive style. A two-time world champion and four-time Alabama state turkey calling champion, Salter relies heavily on excited cutting to reel turkeys quickly into gun range.

When he does find a willing bird, Salter believes in getting as close as the terrain permits. "I always remember what Ben Rogers Lee--one of the granddaddies of modern turkey hunting--used to say in his seminars: Every step you take toward a turkey is one step he doesn't have to take to get to you."

But even Salter encounters tough turkeys that don't come running to the call. If he can't leave them for another bird, he gets creative. Here are three of Salter's aggressive solutions for problem turkeys:

Circle around. When a bird hangs up, gobbling excitedly but not coming into range, Salter says it may be time for the end run. "If he's answering your calls and cutting them off but not coming, maybe there's a stream or a ditch he doesn't want to cross. If you can't call that bird to you in 20 or 30 minutes, circle behind him."

Make a loop around the bird, keeping a prudent distance--200 yards or so--between you and the turkey. Use a crow call to make the bird gobble and to keep tabs on his location. Set up again, all the way behind the gobbler. "He's already traveled that route once and he's comfortable going back that way," says Salter. "Most of the time, if you can get behind a bird, you can kill him."

Scatter a flock. At some times during the season, a gobbler might spend the entire day with hens, often roosting with them in the evening. Some hunters spend morning after morning with those henned-up birds, patiently trying to pull them away from their harems.

Salter suggests taking the initiative. "Follow them to the roost at dusk, then charge in screaming and yelling to scatter the gobbler and his hens out of the trees. The next morning, when he wakes up, he won't have those hens sitting right there with him." Eager to find his hens, the tough turkey becomes very callable. "He'll act like a completely different bird," says Salter. "Most of the time when y

Play Games Creative tactics for stubborn birds
Expert: Eddie Salter

Eddie Salter of Evergreen, Alabama, cuts a swath through the turkey woods. The prototypical run-and-gun hunter, Salter stays constantly on the move, looking for a bird he can work.

Jerry's Tips: March 2006

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 04:15:00 -0500

Attract Shy Gobblers
Turkeys don't become decoy shy, but some toms do get "turkey shy" after they've lost a few fights. These subdominant birds are wary of any aggressive-looking rival and will avoid a decoy in the menacing strut or half-strut position. Instead, use a meek standing jake that appears too small to be dangerous. Combine it with a single hen, then use soft, seductive hen calls.

Keep Your Retriever Safe
Don't encourage your retriever to hit the water with the high-speed leaps you see at field trials. The leaps are impressive to watch, but in real hunting conditions, dogs that hit the water hard can get hurt by submerged rocks or logs. Instead, work your dog frequently where harmless but annoying underwater obstacles slow his entry. He will quickly learn to jump with caution.

Avoid Lightning Strikes
During thunderstorms, crouch on a foam mattress or pack of clothes to minimize your body footprint and to insulate your feet from the ground. Don't be the tallest thing around. Avoid high ground, clearings, large trees, and tent poles. In boats, lay fishing rods flat, lower radio antennae, keep feet and hands out of the water, sit low, and don't touch the radio or other metal objects.

Fish Smarter
Long casts are impressive, but you'll work more water and catch more fish if you start short and lengthen each subsequent cast by 10 feet. By varying the distance, you make your lure swing on a different arc with each retrieve. It will pass through more positions where fish may be holding. After you've covered all the water you can reach, change position and begin again.

Protect Trailer Lights
When boat-trailer lights fail, it's usually because corrosion has caused a defective ground. For a more durable connection, drill a hole in the trailer tongue to fit a stainless-steel screw. Size doesn't matter. Polish the area around the hole with sandpaper to expose new metal. Insert the screw through the end of the ground wire terminal and tighten it against the exposed metal.

How To: Trick Out Your ATV for Turkey Season

fieldandstream-editor — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 04:15:00 -0500

SO YOU WANT TO CREATE the best hunting quad money can buy, huh? No problem. We've equipped this 2006 Yamaha Kodiak 450 4x4 Auto with the pieces and parts that make this one tough hunter. This one will take you deep into the woods and haul your trophy back home!

1. Moose Camo Tape Kit A roll of camo tape can be invaluable for hunters. This kit by Moose allows users to add that extra bit of stealth to nearly any surface. A kit includes four rolls of cloth tape that are six inches wide by 12 feet long with adhesive backing. One kit will typically cover the bodywork on an ATV, or use it to disguise accessories. Kits are available in five popular camo patterns. ($62; www.mooseutilities.com)

2. Otter Outdoors Super X ST Trailer With this Super X ST trailer from Otter Outdoors, hunters don't have to worry about overloaded racks. The tilt bed makes loading and unloading a snap, and the olive drab color blends into the surroundings. With a cargo capacity of 1,500 pounds and 20 cubic feet of space, there is plenty of room for whatever you need to haul. ($445; www.otteroutdoors.com)

3. Benz Silent Rider Don't announce to your prey that you're coming. The Silent Rider exhaust can quiet muffler noise by as much as 60 percent without a significant power drop. Installation couldn't be simpler: remove the existing end cap, bolt on the flange, and then slip on the silencer. Hanger bars secure the exhaust to the rear rack. The entire process takes about five minutes. ($182 including bolt-on adaptor; www.atvsilencer.com)

4. Yamaha Gun Boot Yamaha's system is particularly easy to install and use. The plate mounts with three U-bolts. Once the mounting bracket is secure, the cradle position requires no tools to adjust. Upon reaching the desired hunting spot, a hunter can remove the entire hard case or simply carry a firearm with the slide-out soft liner. ($141; www.yamaha-outdoors.com)

5. Kolpin Seat Cover A little camouflage goes a long way, and the big, black seat on an ATV can really stand out. This Mossy Oak Break Up seat cover from Kolpin helps disguise an ATV sitting in the woods. As a bonus, it also provides some additional gel padding for those long treks deep into the field. It's elasticized around the entire opening and has hook-and-loop straps that secure it to the seat pan. One size fits most. ($23; www.kolpin.com)

6. RAM Mount GPS Mount As great as GPS is, it doesn't do much good if it's packed away in a cargo bag or pocket. This GPS mounting system from RAM clips to the handlebar of any ATV and provides limitless positioning possibilities. It holds tight, even over the roughest terrain. ($34 (varies by GPS model); www.rammount.com)

7. Garmin GPSMap60c Going deep into unfamiliar woods without a guide is dangerous. This Garmin GPS has a full color display and 50 megs of data storage in a rugged, waterproof case. The unit stores 1,000 waypoints, so hunters can mark all their favorite spots. It utilizes battery or 12v accessory socket power. ($450; www.garmin.com)

8. Kolpin ATV Pack Whether you're packing an expensive spotting scope or a case of ammunition, the Kolpin ATV Pack will keep it secure and dry. The bag has closed-cell foam padding inside and a waterrepellent exterior, along with Mud Guard zippers. Best of all, it clips off the front rack and convverts to a backpack for carrying to a treestand or hunting spot that can only be accessed on foot. The pack is available in Mossy Oak Break Up, Realtree Hardwoods, or black. ($138; www.kolpin.com)

9. Moose Hand-Held Spotlight There are lots of rackmounted spotlights, but this handheld model from Moose boasts 250,000 candlepower for tracking game in the early morning or late evening hours. It stows easily, and the 10-foot cord plugs into any 12v accessory outlet. ($30, plus $24 for a power port if your machine isn't equipped; www.mooseutilities.com)

10. Yamaha Overfenders Nobody wants to be wet and dirty when hunting. Overfenders help keep mud and water thrown up by the tires under the ATV, not on top of it or the operator. The fenders are molded to fit specific ATVs and install easily with hand tools. You will have to drill holes in the existing fenders to install them, however. ($110; www.yamaha-outdoors.com)

11. Warn 2.5ci Winch and Accessory Kit A good winch can be an indispensable tool in the woods: It can help hunters get over obstacles, move fallen trees or obstructions, and even lift game into a cargo trailer. This Warn 2.5ci winch has plenty of pulling power-it's rated at 2,500 pounds. The Winch accessory kit includes two shackles, a snatch block, and a pair of tree-trunk protectors, all in a black nylon case that straps to an ATV rack. We also keep Warn's synthetic rope on hand to extend the distance the winch can reach by 50 feet. (Winch $448, Accessory Kit $107, Rope $128; www.warn.com)

Field Test: The Stoeger P350 Shotgun

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 04:05:00 -0500

THE INSIDE STORY Stoeger's new P350 is a 3 Â¿Â¿-inch magnum pump made for duck blinds, goose pits, and the turkey woods. With its rotary bolt, extra-long forearm, tall vent rib, and grooved synthetic buttstock, it bears a strong resemblance to sister company Benelli's Nova pump. Made by Vursan in Turkey, the P350 carries a price tag so low that it reads like a typo.

With its turkey choke installed, the P350 handled Federal Heavyweights with aplomb, outshooting my pet Mossberg 835 turkey gun. The P350 put its pellets right where I pointed it, although the large orange bead is bigger than I would choose for accurate turkey shooting. When I covered up the head of a turkey target with that orange blob, scads of holes appeared in my paper gobbler's vitals after I pulled the mushy-but-not-too-heavy (about 5 pounds) trigger.

I tested a 26-inch barreled version, which was heavy enough to absorb the recoil of heavy waterfowl loads. Its weight-forward balance smoothed my swing when I shot clay targets. My first sample gun had magazine latch problems, which resulted in the occasional jam when I loaded three shells. I exchanged it for another, which functioned properly.

The alloy-receivered P350 comes apart easily for cleaning. Looking at its innards, I was impressed by the stoutness of the action bars, which can often bend and bind on pump guns. Now, for the nitpicking: The safety button is too small, the bead is too big, and it should come with a shim kit for those who would prefer less drop in the stock.

GAUGE 12, 3 1/2-inch magnum chamber

PRICE $329 in camo; $269 in black

WEIGHT 7 pounds 11 ounces with 26-inch barrel

BARREL 26-inch, vent rib (tested); 18 Â¿Â¿-, 24-, and 28-inch available; orange bead; comes with Cylinder, IC, M, F, and Turkey chokes

STOCK Synthetic, Advantage Timber HD camo (tested); also available in Max-4 and basic black

STOCK DIMENSIONS 1 5/8 inches at comb, 2 Â¿Â¿ inches at heel, 14 Â¿Â¿-inch length of pull

CONTACT stoegerindustries.com