www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDZnQUvWwg

The Good Lord gave me the gift of only going out twice, and saving gas….Two trips, two birds. First time I’ve ever done that! Also the first time gas was almost $4.00 a gallon…..

Please Click Image to Enlarge

Marion Hammer, former president of the National Rifle Association, has an OpEd in Tallahassee.com that explains why such required information is both dangerous and an intrusion into our privacy.

So, now the question becomes thus. If Florida or any other state should pass a law that prohibits medical personnel from logging information about gun ownership and Obamacare remains and becomes effective, will Florida’s statute have any push against Obama’s?

Tom Remington

BARTOW, Fla. – Adam Putnam continues to broaden the support of his campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture with the endorsement by the National Rifle Association and the Unified Sportsmen of Florida.

“Adam’s solid pro-sportsmen, pro-Second Amendment, pro-freedom record has earned him our endorsement and our gratitude,” said Marion Hammer, NRA Past President and Executive Director of Unified Sportsmen of Florida. “No other candidate in this race has the background of dedicated legislative service that he has demonstrated to the cause of freedom, the Second Amendment and protection of Constitutional rights. The citizens of Florida could have no better champion than Adam Putnam.”

The National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida represent six million gun owners in the state of Florida and work to protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens. “As a lifelong hunter and shooter and Life Member of the NRA, I am proud to receive the support and endorsement of the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida,” Putnam said. “I have always fought to protect the Second Amendment, the rights for self-defense and have sponsored anti-crime legislation throughout my career. As Commissioner, one of the most important responsibilities is protecting Floridian’s right to carry and I will ensure that eligible citizens who seek a Concealed Weapon License receive the most efficient service possible.”

“We are urging our members and all citizens who support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to put freedom first and work to elect Adam Putnam to the office of Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services,” Hammer concluded.

Adam Putnam is a Polk County citrus grower and cattleman who has represented the Twelfth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2001. He also served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1996 to 2000. Adam resides in his hometown of Bartow with his wife, Melissa, and their four children.

For more information about Adam Putnam, go to www.adamputnam.com or follow Adam on Twitter @adamputnam and Facebook www.facebook.com/adamputnam.

~~~~~

Click for a larger image

Click for a larger image

When most people hear turkey hunting they generally associate it with a strutting tom and the beautiful sound of a gobble during the spring. Learning the art of fall turkey hunting not only increases your chances of putting a bird in the freezer for Thanksgiving, it allows you to learn more about turkeys and how they live throughout the year, not solely during the mating season. This can benefit the spring turkey hunter as well. By having more knowledge of your quarry, such as their vernacular, social structure and how to locate them, you can add more to your book of strategies. Fall hunting requires more woodsmanship than calling ability. One of the most important tasks at hand is locating birds in the fall. They have a more broad range during this time of the year due to diminishing food sources.

The Basics:

There are two basic angles to hunting fall turkeys. Hunting bachelor flocks and hunting what I call brood flocks. Bachelor flocks consist of mature gobblers and brood flocks consist of the adult hens and their offspring. During the fall, a hunter has to realize that he is capitalizing on a turkey’s urge for companionship, their need to establish a pecking order and just overall curiosity. He is also putting his woods skills to the test by finding his birds. Finding a viable food source and water is essential to finding your birds. Patterning birds in the fall can be quite challenging but putting food and water on the top of your scouting list will pay dividends. Turkeys will continue to use a food source until it is exhausted and will water in the same areas if available. Use this to your advantage. Traditional roosting sites out west are a sure bet to finding your fall birds but, here in the southeast I don’t feel are as common. This is due to the variety of roosting areas that are available. Put your time in the woods scouting for sign very similar to the methods used in the spring. Look for tracks, dusting areas, and scratching. Keep in mind your more likely to find flocks of birds and not single birds, although finding a lone gobbler is not all that uncommon. More often when you find one, you will find multiple birds, whether bachelor flocks or brood flocks. Spend time in the woods and frequent areas that birds are likely to be feeding and you’ll find your turkeys. How many times have you heard deer hunters say “You should have seen all the turkeys I saw on the stand!!” Use this knowledge to your advantage.

Bachelor Flocks:

During the spring we all know that generally you’ll have your dominant gobbler and your subordinate gobblers in any given area that holds birds. During the fall, take away that breeding urge and your left with the same gobblers. These gobblers will often flock together, I feel for companionship. Do not be confused. There is still a pecking order established between these birds. Now once you’ve conducted reconnaissance on the birds in your area, your safest bet is to set up and blind call or move and call.

Blind calling is referred to as sitting in one area and just calling randomly, not engaged in a conversation with a bird. Use gobbler yelps and clucks and call sparingly, but with enough frequency for a bird to not pass your position without hearing your calling. Basically every 10 to 15 minutes. Gobbler yelping is very similar to hen yelping but with a slower rhythm and a deeper tone. On paper it would appear as “yawk”—-”yawk”—-”yawk”—-“yawk”—-”yawk”—-”yawk”. As opposed to hen yelping, yelp-yelp-yelp-yelp-yelp. Gobbler clucking again is similar to hens clucking but with a noticeably deeper tone. Throw in some deeper purring just to add realism. Once you get a response, call them just enough to pique there interest. Hopefully they will come to investigate the newcomer. Hunting these birds takes an enormous amount of patience. Its almost as if your still hunting but adding some vocalizations into the mix.

Running and gunning can be effective but, be mindful of your surroundings. Less foliage on the trees and the birds not being as vocally responsive can be a challenge. Without the birds giving away their location the chance of spooking them is much greater walking through the open timber. Remember patterning these birds and hunting near feeding areas is going to put you in their living room. You can even build a blind to gain comfort and conceal movement.

Brood Flocks:

These birds have a very tight knit social grouping. They live each day, all day together. You’re going to have to act upon this to bag your fall bird. Very similar to hunting bachelor flocks there are two basic methods. Blind calling and moving and calling. The type of calling employed is quite different than what is used to call bachelor flocks. While trying to locate or communicate with a brood flock, I’m going to conduct some assembly yelping , lost yelping and kee-kee running. Assembly or lost yelping is the same basic call. They are both 15-20 note yelps given with inflection. The assembly yelp is given by the brood hen when a flock is scattered. She emits these long series of yelps soon after the flock is broken apart. This is how she gathers her brood. The lost yelp, is when a bird is all alone by itself and is looking for companionship. I don’t feel a turkey is ever lost. I feel its more of a locating call. When giving these yelps just remember to visualize a turkey looking for company and pleading to gain there acquaintance. Kee-keeing is the whistle of the young birds. Long before a poult’s voice has developed enough to produce yelps, they can only whistle. As they become more mature their voice will allow them to yelp. They will then combine kee-keeing in conjunction with yelping, producing the kee-kee run. The kee-kee sounds like its spelled on paper. Kee kee kee—–kee kee kee kee. Kee kee running would appear as Kee kee kee —– kee kee kee kee – yelp yelp. Produce a series of this call ending with two to four yelps, with three or four complete sets in a series. Kee Keeing is best performed with a mouth call. For the beginner, I would highly suggest a Quaker Boy Kee Kee diaphragm. It is a clear call that has two thin reeds with no cut and will whistle with ease. For the more advanced caller I would prefer a World Champ mouth. You can attain the same realistic whistle with a raspy yelp.

When blind calling your trying to lure the birds in by piquing their curiosity. The flock will hopefully move into your position because they are investigating the new comer. Mix up your calling with several series of assembly/lost yelps starting each series with clucking and adding clucking in between your series. The next calling sequence, give a chorus of kee-kee runs. Call quite often and even call with multiple calls. Again, we’re trying to use a turkey’s curiosity and need for companionship to coax them into gun range.

Scattering the flocks:

This is an age old tradition when hunting fall turkeys. I feel this is definitely best accomplished by two hunters. Many times a hunter will get close enough to flush a flock only to have them fly off in the same direction and regroup before a hunter has a chance to set up and call them. If you’ve spotted a flock, have you and a buddy come in from different directions, then running in spooking them. Hopefully they will scatter in different directions. Once you’ve scattered a brood flock wait and quietly listen for them to start yelping and kee-keeing. If the birds did not flush too far from where you scattered them and you start hearing multiple birds, set up right there and begin your calling. Call very often. Assembly yelping and kee-kee running will be your best bet. At this point do not be afraid to call.

If the birds have flushed too far to set up where the flush occurred, then reposition to where the majority of the flock escaped your ambush and again wait and listen for them to start calling. Then begin your calling. In my opinion it is imperative that you do not start calling until the birds start calling. I feel this way you know the birds are calm enough to start the regrouping process.

If you’ve busted a bachelor flock, rely on your gobbler yelps and deep gobbler clucks, but calling more sparingly. A bachelor flock has much less urge to regroup than a brood flock. Many times the gobblers will not regroup, hence seeing lone long beards sometimes in the fall. But, its definitely worthy of a valiant effort.

Just remember scouting is going to be your main key to success. Fall turkey hunting can be productive with or without calling. You have to know where the turkeys are frequenting and put yourself in these areas. Many times I’ve had fall flocks never respond to a call, but my knowledge and patterning of the birds put me in a position to fill my tag. Other times the calling is what made the difference and definitely made the hunt more exciting. Fall turkey hunting generally doesn’t involve gobbling and strutting but hearing a bird kee-kee can be equally satisfying. It’s a sound that many hunters will never hear unless they put their time in the woods. Just know bagging a long beard, a jake, or even a hen in the fall is a great accomplishment. Many old timers will tell you spring hunting is great fun but the real test is harvesting a bird in the fall.

Scott Ellis
Woodhaven Custom Calls -Sting Team

Prostaff:
Tru-Glo Fiber Optics
Therma-Cell
Field Expert-Ol’ Tom Technical Gear

Member: Florida Outdoor Writer’s Assoc.