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Oklahoma Turkey 2013

FLGRooney — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:25:07 +0000

Turkey season 2013 in Oklahoma was tough. Thanks to the up and down weather and the fluctuating temps, it seemed like the birds just didn’t gobble as well. The number of birds seemed to be down as well, blame the last year’s drought or the hog invasion. Later in the season after a 5 hour trek through the woods, an extremely experienced turkey hunting friend of mind thought that with the drought and the weather, the birds were more than likely congregated around large standing bodies of water. The problem was getting to those public land areas because a lot of them were closed for various reasons.

I did however manage to strike once on some public land with a good friend. It was a tough morning, lots of gobbling, but the birds didn’t want to work well. After getting busted and watching a tom perch on a tree limb and gobble at us for an hour, we managed to get some takers at about 10am. 1 yelp, a gobble back, set up, yelp again, and he came in on a rope from about 150 yards out. Held up at about 47 yards and then it was lights out. 23 pounds, 1″ spurs and 10″ beard.

As tough as the season was, it was still great to be in the outdoors and have fun with friends and chase these gobblers through the woods.

Thanks for reading,

Lincoln “Angry Andy” Anderson

Slammin Turkeys Out West

admin — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:22:51 +0000

It’s the first day of turkey hunting out west and we are putting a hurt on some turkeys.

The hunting is tough but after hiking 10 miles this morning we finally got on a hot bird that wasn’t henned up. The gobbler committed perfectly and I dropped him at 30 yards.

Kirt dropped one on a solo mission earlier in the morning and we are on cloud 9.

Stay tuned for some more action coming soon. I’m hopping behind the camera to get you guys some Meriams action.

Shoot straight,

Opie

Michigan Turkey Season Opening Day

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:53:33 +0000

Well I hit the woods with Chef Dave and his young daughter Emma for the Michigan Spring Turkey Opener. The forecast for opening morning was calling for cold temperatures and heavy snowfall. The weather was very nasty and the birds were holding tight and not vocalizing much at all.

We did get one nice tom turkey to come in close to us but soon after he noticed the decoys, he turned and ran off the other way scared. Chef Dave’s 10 year old daughter Emma was really excited for this hunt as she was doing all the calling, she did a great job and impressed the heck out of me. We had a really cool encounter with a coyote at about 30 yards first thing in the morning, that kinda made up for not having much good action the rest of the day!

Check out the video below from opening morning and stay tuned for more hard hitting turkey hunting action coming soon! We are hunting long and hard this turkey season because “That’s What We Do!”

Tex

Scouting for Spring Thunderchickens

admin — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:23:20 +0000

Well the Michigan Spring turkey season is about ready to kick off and us guys here at First Light Gear are getting excited. We have all been able to get out to several of our properties and locate some amazing birds this Spring.

The weather for opening week here in Michigan is looking like it’s going to be in the 50′s with a slight chance of rain on several of the days. This inclement weather isn’t going to stop us from venturing out into the woods after some monster thunder chickens. Turkey hunting season is one of my favorite times of year with the woods waking up after a long winter and all the amazing birds singing their tunes.

Check out the video below as I hit the woods for a scouting trip with the master Chef Dave. Stay tuned for some amazing turkey hunting action and as always, thanks for joining us on all of our adventures.

Tex

Tips For Taking Spring Toms With Your Bow

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:30:14 +0000

Well the flowers are popping up between clumps of snow and air is warmer, it can only mean one thing. Spring is here! We all know what that means, turkey time. This spring thousands of hunters will dust off their shotguns and head out into the woods in search of an old long beard. As you gather your calls and camo may I make one suggestion? Forget the shotgun and grab your bow case. I know all the guys at FLG have all been shooting in leagues and basements all winter to be ready for this very moment. I agree going after a turkey with archery tackle is a challenge, but thats what makes getting a bird all the more rewarding.

Several tips when taking a bow out after turkeys.

1. Shot placement is critical, shooting turkeys with a bow is made difficult by their small vitals and body shape pulling your shots away from where they should be. Turkey’s vital organs are higher on their back then they should be, if the bird is broadside a line drawn horizontally from the top of the beard should intersect a line drawn vertically from the legs right at the vitals. This can be made more difficult when a Tom is in full strut. Here are some good shot placement diagrams. As you can see the vitals are higher in the body then what feels correct.

Vital Areas on Silhouetted Turkeys

2. Unlike with deer it is beneficial to have the arrow stay in the bird. A pass through is not a good thing, turkeys are taken down with shock as much as they are with hemorrhaging. Couple of reasons, one, turkeys are difficult to blood trail so the wound channel doesn’t really matter. Two, if the arrow stays in the bird it is much more difficult for the bird to run away if the hit isn’t ideal. There are several tactics you can use to slow the arrow quickly in the bird. Several companies make turkey specific broadheads, NAP, American Broadhead Company, and Trophy Ridge Rocket Heads to name a few. The Magnus bullhead and Gobbler Guillotine are made specifically for head and neck shots. They are known to cut the heads of turkey clean off but can be difficult to use. Pictured below is the American Broadhead Company’s Turkey Tearror. You can also add a claw behind your broadhead made by Neet Archery.

American Broadhead Company's Turkey Tearror

3. A ground blind isn’t essential but it can increase your chances of being succesful by ten fold. Drawing your bow while a tom wanders into range can be almost impossible. Turkeys see so well and pick up moment in ways we could only dream of. While in the darkness of your ground blind you can draw completely hidden from the view of the turkey.

Using these tips in combination with your current turkey knowledge and skills will give you a good chance of harvesting a big old tom turkey this spring with archery tackle.

Happy Hunting,

Rocket