Calling Them In?????

As most of you know myself and my partner in sika crime love pursuing stags on the ground and then trying to call them. This week we hit some of our regular spots in Dorchester and had a blast. It was at one of these spots that we got a stag to respond to a bugle at about 11:30. My partner worked around me bugling, splashing water and trying to get the stag to pass by me for a shot. He was behind me about 100 yards and let go with a great bugle. He immediately heard some commotion behind him and turned to see two "mighty stag hunters" trotting, bows in hand, right towards him. As they closed the distance they finally got close enough to see him. He gave them a big ole, toothy "Joe Biden" grin and they turned and disappeared pronto. He couldn't wait to tell me and the whole incident is still bringing us a barrel of laughs. They say laughter brings joy to the soul.

First Blood of the Season

Wow ... just realized I hadn't posted my first archery kill  last week on here. Conditions were good except for the high temp ... 80s. Hunted an evening spot where I could see whitetails and/or sikas. First deer seen was a doe fawn eating acorns then came to a small pond about 18 yards from the stand. She watered then fed away. 15 mins later I saw some deer on the ridge feeding on acorns as well. One big doe broke away from the rest and came to the waterhole. She was sleek and health looking. I took the shot and she fell about 50 yards away within 20 yards of the food plot for easy pick up. Upon field dressing, both lungs were scrambled. She dressed out at 92 lbs at the processor. Yum ... good eating. No hero pics ... you know what they look like.

Stick Bologna

Aftet shooting a few doves, the temps were kind of warm but headed for a sika stand anyways. The wind was right and darkness was setting in when I caught some motion. The binocs said sika hind and my mind said good eating. Ranged the animal, set the sight and waited for the right angle. Getting darker but figured a good shot and let fly. To my surprise, my arrow hit something which kicked it to the side to stick in the soil and the deer took off. Strange ??? .... got down and went to the arrow that showed no blood; no hair. Looked around and even walked where the deer exited ... no blood, hair etc. Went back and found the culprit ... the unseen limb. Moral to this story is don't think  sika tenderloin before its on the ground. Guess I'll order some "stick bologna".

Late Sept. Sika Hunt

A great view from a stand on a late September sika hunt. It was hot and the stag I heard cooling himself way out on the marsh never showed up in shooting light. More wallows are appearing - crank it up Mr. Stag.

Win a Custom Sika Seducer

Maryland's archery season has already started and the sika rut is starting to kick in. This 2012 - 2013 season I am going to give away a Sika Seducer (I will post a photo of the custom call when it comes in) made of a custom wood, not the standard walnut, complete with a lanyard and directional tube to a hunter who used the Seducer to call one in and kill it. The hunter must tell the story (a testimonial) of the kill by commenting to this post in the COMMENT SECTION. Along with the story, please leave your name and a way I can contact you if you win. I will draw a winner from those entered at the close of the season. Get those testimonies in and have a great season in the sika marsh.

The Sika Marsh - A New Season

It felt great to get out on the sika marsh again yesterday in Dorchester. Two things were missing which made it pleasant. All I could hear was wind; no constant buzzing attack by mosquitos; no need to fire up the ThermoCell. Also, a cool front pushed out the extreme heat  which brought out, big, puffy cumulous clouds in a deep blue sky and the need for a long sleeved shirt. Scouted enough to pick out a (hopefully) hot spot for some good animals. The sikas stayed out of range but it really didn't matter...one more season up in a stand. Heard the splashing ... can't wait to hear the bugles again.

Sika Seducer Call Sales Up.

The Doug Wigfield Sika Seducer call (including the instructional CD) can be purchased using a credit card or PayPal by ordering from my secure website www.dougwigfield.com or by calling me at 443-880-7847. You can also pick one up at the following stores:

• Angler's Sports Center, Annapolis
• Chesapeake Outdoors, Chester
• Shore Sportsman, Easton
• Chesapeake Classics, Cambridge
• Pioneer Sports, Woolford
• Winks Sporting Goods, Princess Anne

***If you would like to retail the Sika Seducer please call me at 443-880-7847

Sika deer are extremely vocal animals just like their cousins out west, the American elk. Sub species are found all over the world; here in the U.S. wild, free roaming sikas are found in Maryland, Virginia and Texas. They are also offered on game farms as well. Maryland's variety is the smallest of the sub species and originally comes from Yakushima Island in Japan.

Sika stags bugle and growl while both sexes, young and old communicate using chirps, mews, whines, subtle whistles and other sounds too complicated to describe. Especially during the rut, stags can be bugled in as they attempt to run aggressors out of their territories. The other sounds are effectively used to appeal to their sexual desires.

The Sika Seducer will make all of these vocalizations with the proper pitch, volume and clarity that is needed for hunting stags and hinds. It has been used successfully in Maryland, Virginia, Texas and a number of European countries. The Doug Wigfield Sika Seducer should be a tool in every sika hunters gear, especially if you are looking for every advantage.

 

Sept 1 - Hunting Season - Dove Hunts

   I can't think of a better way to open my season than a good ole dove hunt and thats what it was. A friend invited me over to his "dove field". This is the most well managed field of sunflowers I've ever hunted over. It was nothing but stalks of well formed, ripe sunflowers over bare dirt surrounded by an electric fence to keep the deer out of them. 10 of us surrounded the field at about 1:30 and the shooting commenced. Doves flew well and really turned on at about 3:30. After putting a decoy up on the wire I and my 20 ga. Benelli Montifeltro commenced into shooting mostly singles and pairs. Thanks to a friend whose dog retrieved a few of my birds that fell into the standing beans, I limited out (15 birds) at 4 pm; just after he limited out. Forgot to mention that there was a slight interruption in the fun as Md's NRP drove up and checked all the hunters. It was fairly pleasant for the ones who had the good looking female officer check them LOL. Two others got their limits; all killed birds and the most important we all had fun.
  Family members came in at 5 (when we quit shooting) and started fixing a feast out of this world.
After consuming crabs, burgers, grilled doves and all the "going with ems" and good fellowship and whopping stories my wife and headed home stuffed and tired.

   I was invited back to the same field yesterday and turned out to be the sole hunter. The wind at 2:30 was about 20 mph which made for some challenging shooting. Since no one else was gunning I posted up at one of the flyway entries to the field with the 20ga. except I changed from 8 shot to 7 1/2s because of the strong winds.. At 4:30 I racked up after putting 15 on the ground.
   Dove hunting is the way I've brought in the last 25 seasons. Its customary for me to pick up the first shot shell and take a big whiff of the burnt powder. I can't think of a better way to bring in the season. Thanks Mr. Landowner for opening up your property to me.

Are You Ready for Sikas

 

 Whether you started early in the summer or are just now getting out there the following are some tips that may be helpful in getting you “up-to-snuff”. I wrote this article last year and it pertains pre any start up. Good luck this season ... let me know if any of these "hints" helped you.  

·         Sikas leave lots of visible evidence that they are using the area. Stags mark areas with wallows; the equivalent of a whitetail’s scrape. They are normally found on islands, tumps, or fingers of land that are slightly elevated above the water covered part of their habitat. These muddy holes average one to two feet in diameter and stink as the stags often urinate in them then wallow or roll around in them just like bull elk do. During the heavy rut you can often smell the stags before you see them. They also thrash and rub bushes and pine saplings and break off common reed (phragmitis communis) stalks. Trails are fairly easy to find and follow in a marsh. As with other species check for trails and droppings. Of course, you can’t beat physical sightings. Trail cameras can tell you a lot about the sikas using your area. 

·         Identifying areas where bugling is occurring gives you great advantage in knowing where the stags like to hang out if trophy racks are your thing. The best times to listen are sunrise and sunset but that doesn’t mean you can’t hear them at any time during the day especially rut time. Make sure you arrive early and stay until the end of legal shooting time. The best stags I’ve taken have been cruising at mid day.  High temperatures will sometimes tend to shut them up.  

·         Make vocalizations as sikas are very vocal animals and you can call in males and females alike. In calling stags you appeal to 1) their dominance and 2) sex drive. Challenge a bugling stag with a bugle and/or growl and you’ll find out quickly if he thinks he’s the badest stag in the phrag. With hunting sikas through the years, I’ve found that you usually can’t call a stag 300 or 400 yards across a marsh. So, you need to move to the stag’s core area which, often times, is a thick phragmitis or briar bed. It’s important to be quiet and not blow the stag out of the area. Once you get set up close to his bedroom, a challenging bugle can get him to close the distance quickly looking to make contact with the intruding stag. Use some whines, soft whistles or chirps (hind/cow talk) and you may sweet-talk him in. Hinds and calves also respond to all of the sounds. You can team up with a friend; one calling with the other out front. Always be cognizant of wind direction when setting up. Distances can vary depending on the weapon used. The Sika Seducer is the premier call marketed and sold by myself and in stores in the area. Elk calls can be modified as well..

• When hunting the sika marshes it’s good to use a GPS or compass as the marshes all look similar at night and even sometimes during the day. I sometimes will tie a green or orange, six inch snap light or light stick (best time to find these are at Halloween) up in a tree. If I have to head out into the marsh to find a sika that’s been hit I can easily orient again. 
• Use Google Earth, Bing maps or a similar program to help in your quest for taking a sika. The satellite images available now are invaluable in helping you understand a lot about the vegetation features in the territory you are hunting in. Small islands of vegetation, phragmites beds, openings in heavy cover and mud flats will be very apparent. 

• You’ve seen the vegetation called phragmites ( sometimes called phrag or common reed) if you’ve been in sika territory. The leaves are about 2” wide and 20” long. In August and September  it develops a feathery-looking plume at the top of a stem which grows to a height of 10’ to 12’.  It normally grows in clumps or beds, often out-competing other marsh plants. It spreads by seed dispersal as well as by rhizomes or an under –the-surface root system. These dense beds provide travel corridors and protective cover that sikas absolutely love. Fight your way into one of these beds and you’ll see what I mean. Especially during the rut, stags love to cruise these beds in search for hinds in estrus. Find a climbable tree inside a bed and you’ll surely see deer although there are not many openings. Station yourself between two beds and you’ve found a great spot as they move from one bed to the other. 

• In typical wetland vegetation still hunting works well. Sneaking along quietly in heavy cover can put you face to face with sikas quite frequently. A subtle splash here and there along with some low-volume vocalizations sounds quite natural and can actually draw a deer to you. Make sure to move into the wind to avoid blowing your cover. They spend most of their lives not able to see more than 20 yards in front of them. You can definitely use this fact to your advantage. 

• The marshes that sika like so much are interlaced with rivers, creeks and guts. Shallow draft boats with Go-Devil motors, kayaks and canoes are ideal for getting into this favored habitat. Why not utilize a boat as they can get you into places that many hunters can’t get to. You can cover a lot of territory and see a lot of interesting things out there besides. This mode of travel might even help you find some great duck hunting spots as well. 

•  It’s important to pay attention to weather conditions as unusually high water levels will temporarily move sikas onto higher ground. Change your tactics and hunt the islands and higher ground in these conditions. Hurricane Irene may have done just this. Frozen marshes with a lot of ice will do the same. 

• Don’t neglect hunting natural foods that produce hard mast like acorns and soft mast like persimmons. Feeding or baiting works extremely well for sikas as well. Corn is the most popular draw followed by others like: sweet feeds, corn/soybean mixes, small grains like sorghum and pellets. Spin feeders, drop feeders and just plain ole spreading it on the ground will do the trick. Sikas love food plots and agricultural grain crops as well. Take note of any persimmon trees in your sika hunting area as sikas, like most other mammals, really love munching on them

• Sika decoys work in the right situations. Decoys need to be seen for a long distance like on the edge of a needle grass / short grass marsh or food plot. Sikas, especially stags, will come investigate them especially during the rut. Give them a try. 

• Storms and full moons have put water into places that rarely have water. With that comes mosquitoes; usually lots of them. Do yourself a favor and invest in a Thermo Cell. These devices will keep the mosquitoes off of you which will in turn keep you from making a lot of unnecessary motion. The light smell doesn’t seem to bother them. The next best thing is a bug suit that I often use; sometimes both. 

• Ground blinds for sikas?…they work well. Normal precautions using them must be taken however. Make sure they’re scent free and you place it downwind. Unlike with turkey hunting, it helps to have shoot- through netting covering the openings. It also helps to brush it up to blend in with existing vegetation and/or tuck it in some existing shrubs, needle rush or common reed. 

• Practice shooting often as these are small animals with small kill zones. The smallest whitetail target will make a large sika target. 

• The jury is out concerning scents and lures as I don’t think enough hunters have experimented enough with them to give a definitive thumbs up or down. If they have…no one is talking. One good sika hunter I know told me he once had sikas licking the leaves that he had sprayed an apple flavored foam on. Downwind Scents Foam has never scared them away for me. 

•  Knee or hip boots are advised depending on the water levels in your hunting area.  

·         Concerning the proper camo; if you’re hunting from the ground then it’s good to match the habitat. Otherwise being still, scent free and playing the wind is much more important

 

·         The peak of the rut occurs around the third week in October. I like to hunt late September and early October best as stag movement and bugling really increases then.

Getting Ready for Hunting Season

Been working on all kinds of hunting related activities:
 1)  getting hunting spots ready - treestand sites, herbicide trails, etc.
 2) watched deer coming out in the evening - about 30 each night with a couple of fairly nice 
     bucks 3 1/2 and 4 1/2.
 3) I've been working out since we came back from our cruise to boost my upper body strength.
     Am happy with progress and my will to stick to it. I wish my weight would go down as
     quickly. The upper body strength is more important to me right now.
 4) Re fletched some arrows and have been shooting the recurve quite a bit. Am pleased with
     that aspect.
 5) I was having trouble with my progressive lenses and seeing the 5 site pins on my compound.
     So, I purchased a single pin , movable sight and sold the other one. I've been shooting with 
     long -time friend Dennis and he had one of these sights and shot well with it. We got mine set
     up on our first meeting. Yesterday we shot again and tweeked settings. I ended the day 
     shooting a 24" group at 80 yards ( 80 is fun but I'd not try an animal that far). 

Dennis and I talked about our elk trip next year and finished by shooting an elk target at 50 yds.

A friend called and invited me for the first day of dove season. He said there are more doves so
far this season as hes ever seen. The sunflower field is in perfect condition. 

Stay tuned for a lot more with some great photos ...

Summer Travel Over - Hunting Season Next Week

My wife and I purposed to travel this summer. First on the agenda, after school ended, was to get to Atlanta and visit our daughter, her husband and our grandkids. What a great time we had. The kids had grown up alot since Christmas. We did some special things but the most important was to just play with the kids. Mission accomplished.

We were back a week and then left to celebrate 40 wonderful years of marriage. We flew into Montreal where we started our Holland America cruise out the St Larwrence stopping at all the great Canadian Ports and ending up in Boston where we stayed an extra day. A great trip indeed (except for Alice's knee).

After a few doctors visits and some quick scheduling, Alice had here knee operated on ... fixing a badly torn miniscus. After two weeks of recovery we took on phase #3 of our summer travel.

Our daughter Kelly and her two sons, Alice and I headed to Myrtle Beach for 4 days. The weather was great and we had a lot of fun. Alice and I survived some high pressure sales techniques trying to get us to buy a timeshare. They don't like to take NO for an answer. We left Myrtle and headed west to Atlanta where we all get to be together at Courtneys. We loved the Coke Museum and LeggoLand. Got home in good shape and Alice moved into "School Mode" The school year for kids starts this Monday.

Sales started picking up, as expected, for the Sika Seducer ... especially overseas. I spent the week putting packages together and getting them in all the stores and added a couple.

A great summer for sure .... thank you Lord for good health for all of us.

 

Season Guiding Summary

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you that booked a hunt with me this Spring. It was very productive ... with twelve bookings, 5 longbeards were taken home with two more that had shot opportunities that didn't take them. That is a pretty good percentage, but more importantly, we all had fun.  It was truly a pleasure sharing the "turkey woods" and my style of longbeard hunting with you. I enjoyed meeting you, your son and/or your dad and spending some quality time immersed in the sights and sounds of God's wonderful creation. I only wish every one of you could have gone home with a longbeard in your truck bed. I truly hope that, during our time together, lasting memories were made and that maybe you gleaned one technique that will improve your gobbler hunting for years to come. You all gave me some experiences that added prominently to the extreme pleasure and fun that I've enjoyed for forty nine Spring gobbler seasons. Doug

Recent Longbeard Hunt

The following was written by an acquaintance and client, Joe, about a hunt that occurred yesterday. We surely had a load of fun and experienced the "sizzle" of longbeard hunting.

 Doug is The Man ! I jumped at the chance when Doug Wigfield made the offer a few weeks ago, and I'm glad I did

I didn't even take my bow with me. I'd had only hunted turkey once before, so I figured I'd up my odds for #1 with the shotgun. So, the plan was to Run 'n Gun all day.

The turkeys were pretty vocal at daybreak and Doug moved us into a block of woods where we know we listened to 8-10 different gobblers. At one point we just knew one was coming in, and I held that gun up for a looong time. My shoulder was burning, my hand fell asleep, but I couldn't move because 2 hens moved in to the treetops right above us. Then a hawk swooped on those hens and broke that game up. We shifted slightly 3-4 times in that same area to set up for other birds gobbling, but nothing ever came of that.

We worked through that block of woods and were coming to a firetrail on the opposite side when one gobbled CLOSE. We backed off and set up, then Doug worked his magic on the slate call, and kicking his feet in the ground litter to make noise. It kept gobbling, I saw it coming, and it poked his head up between 2 small pine trees. Man, the shot felt good and the turkey dropped in his tracks. 10.5" beard, 1.25" spurs... High fives all around.

Thanks Doug ! Needless to say, I had a great time today (except for that brutal drive back home half asleep) I can't wait to do it again...


Attached Images:

My First Day

My 49th Spring opener in Maryland was pure excitement to say the least. The experience would have provided some incredible video...my only regret. The darkness turned into first light with very little gobbling; not usual for this farm. I elected to go to a bird which had the most mature gobble. Unfortunately that gobble was drowned out by way too many hens after hitting the ground. I marked the spot for a later visit and moved towards the area where the other gobbles occurred. It proved to be a good move.

I floated a few notes out on the trumpet and it elicited responses from toms in two different spots; a grassy road through mature hardwoods and an adjacent three year clearcut. I quickly set up at the end of the road giving me a 150 yard view. My 10x42s showed two blood red heads at the far end of the road. Switching to my favorite slate over glass pot, I sent out some clucks and some yelping. A hen materialized from the clearcut to my left and walked to within 6 yards; searching for me. Not finding the hen she walked past me clucking. Another hen followed her to me yelping like crazy which elicited gobbles; the two at the end were closing the distance. She walked behind me yelping loudly. Now gobblers, five longbeards, from the cut walked up onto the road between me and the closing two gobblers ... wait now four. Wow - the binocs showed 9 longbeards, some in strut, closing on yet another noisy hen not 25 yards from me. Nine longbeards gobbling in concert is music I can stand listening to anytime.

My quest now was trying to pick out the dominant gobbler and making sure that his head was the only one collecting the Hevi 13 payload when they got to me. Gun was up: the strutters were closing ... 40 yards, my heart pounding, 30 yards, his head cleared the others and at about 20 yards I pulled the trigger. In a split second the unbelievable scene turned into deafening silence and calm except for the death wing beats of the boss strutter. Once again the weight over my shoulder felt good as I walked towards the truck ... another incredible morning in the turkey woods. I've cherished every one of them.

Classic Roost Hunt

It was a pleasure taking Scott this morning. It was rainy and windy (would keep most in bed) but the birds still do what they do: eat and breed. Our hunt was a "classic off the roost hunt". We got in close to a gobbling bird. I let him know a hen was there and fired him up once he hit the ground. After sitting in the rain all night, this gobbler was more than ready to cuddle up to a hot hen. In he came... full strut. Bad news for him ... Scotts payload cuddled up to the strutters noggin. Lights out 6:28 am. We ate a nice breakfast and Scott headed home with his first longbeard and a great Spring morning memory.... Priceless This client had hunted but not killed a longbeard.

Big thanks to Doug Wigfield for making it look easy. It's been a long 5 years since I started turkey hunting and I finally scored. We got in early on some gobbling birds still in the roost. Doug clucked, purred and scratched leaves sparingly until the birds hit the ground. When they did he fired one up and he never stopped gobbling and strutted into range where i dropped him. I'm still stoked!!!!

Scott 

The Hardest of Turkey Hunting

Took Joe the other day and the weather couldn't have been worse...20-25 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 35 mph. We hunted hard until high noon. We saw birds but they did not want to play the game. The account below is what he posted after the hunt.

Well went on my first turkey hunt ....ever...with Mr. Doug Wigfield yesterday and it was just great. That man works hard for you and does not hold back at all on how much effort he puts forth to trying to find you a bird.

Wind was blowing very hard and we still go to see some birds but nothing came in close enough for a shot.

Learned a lot from Doug and would go again in an absolute minute.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to go hunting with you Doug.

Latest Gobbler Getter Experience

The account below was written by a hunting client who I took on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. It was a truly exciting hunt especially with the lightening cracking around us. I have to admit I was a little scared but figured if the good Lord put a gobbling tom in our path then He meant for us to take him to the truck with us.

I had the great pleasure today to hunt with Doug Wigfield and to say the very least it was an incredible experience and a very memorable hunt. We meet up just outside Salisbury MD and after getting my gun and gear in his vehicle off we go to one of his great turkey spots. On the drive to our hunting area of course we are talking about turkeys and memorable hunts we both have been on. You can't help but to like a fellow hunting addict like Doug and just talking to him and picking up some knowledge on turkey hunting, sika deer, whitetails and yes even bears for me was well worth any money I spent to have Doug take me on a guided hunt. Doug just knows wildlife and hunting enough said. We arrive at our hunting destination a good hour before sunrise, gear up and head out into the property to listen for any toms on the roost. WOW!! is all I can say about the property and it is extremely well managed for not only turkeys but deer also. I felt good about our chances on getting a shot at a tom and farther into the property we heard some distant gobbles and we both decided to move back into the property to get close to these birds before fly down. Off we go Doug leading the way and me following as quiet as I can be and soon we are set in the woods near a pretty good sized food plot and we have three toms gobbling within close range of us. One is really close to us and just to the left of our set and the other two are a bit farther back near a connecting road to another smaller food plot. Well we sit there until the sunrises and Doug is calling softly with some purrs, clucks and yelps but we get absolutely no response from the closer tom and some soft gobbles from the farther off toms. Doug recommends we change our spot to move closer to one of the farther off toms as he is gobbling good and steady. So we are on the move again and after taking it slow to glass some smaller food plots/connecting roads we find ourselves walking along a small connecting road between two food plots and we have that gobbler in front of sounding off with some loud gobbles. We close the distance to within 75 yards and then I get in front of Doug and move up slowly to with 20 yards of the field and get set up for Doug to do some soft calling at this tom. Let me tell you Doug can call to turkeys and within a couple of minutes the tom gobbles hard and is walking from my right to left, clears some thick brush in front of me and then heads away from us into the open field directly in front of me but just a bit to far to my left and my vision/shot is obscured by a couple of small tree's and thick brush. We wait a couple of minutes and Doug gives him a couple of soft purrs and now that tom moves just enough out to the right of those trees that I can see him clearly in the field but to be honest I am unsure of the distance from me to him and if my gun can reach out far enough to take this tom. I have my gun up and ready to shoot for a good 5 minutes but this tom isn't moving and even with Doug softly calling he just won't close the distance to us and give me a closer shot. He wasn't on alert and no way he saw us but he doesn't like something and I can see he is turning to walk away from us. I hate to admit this and it happens to everyone (if you turkey hunt and love it then you know how I feel) but I didn't listen to my own gut feeling and decide to shoot at this tom and yep a clear miss, not even really a miss I don't believe I even put a pellet in a tail feather on this bird and what I thought was a 40 yard shot was way off and was more like a 60 to 70 yard shot and way out of range for my gun and pattern. Well it happens and no one is more hard on myself then me when it comes to a miss and I turn to Doug, apologize for the miss (just educated one of Doug's tom so I am kicking myself in A$$ for doing that) and really feel bad as Doug got me that chance and I should have passed on that shot. Well let me tell you Doug is a professional and not a bad word or rebuke for my fool hardy display of marksmanship, nope he shrugs it off and we come up with another game plan and off we go after some more toms. We decide to work our way slowly back towards the front of the property and while we are walking slowly and listening for any gobbles the weather starts to turn on us and very quickly. It's starts to thunder of in the distance and a slight rain starts to fall but soon enough we have a gobbler sounding off to the lighting and off we go towards that tom. We slowly work our way towards the tom and now that weather front is moving in quickly, the rain is picking up but what really has us worried is that the lightning is getting loud and closer to us bye the minute. We close the distance to within 200 yards of this tom (he is gobbling loud now and is hot) and he is directly in line from where Doug parked his vehicle that morning. Only problem now is that it is pouring buckets of rain down on us and now the lightning is well within a mile of us and closing on us fast. Well to be 100% honest me and Doug look at each other and say this is crazy let's head back towards the truck and wait out this storm. We start moving quickly through the woods and when we get close to where we heard
that tom last gobble, he sounds off again and we are literally 35 yards from this tom, who is strutting down a road right in front of us. I look at Doug and he motions for me to snug up to a tree and get ready. I get down next to a tree, got a perfect shooting lane in front of me to the road and Doug pulls out a call I have never seen or used before ( a turkey trumpet call, his other calls are soaking wet and useless) and he starts giving some soft clucks to this tom and he sounds off close with a thunder gobble. Oh thunder gobble because by this time we get hit with a lighting strike I would say within a 150 yards of us, it shook the ground, puckered my you know what and I look back at Doug and he just shrugs his shoulders and continues calling to this hot tom. Well that pretty much told me I was there for the party so Doug is calling, lighting is striking, raining is pounding us and all the time I'm doing my best to watch for this tom to come out to give me a shot. Only problem now is the temperature has dropped, humidity is off the hook and my glasses are fogged (can't see a damn thing) and to add insult to injury so is my red dot scope on my gun. Well I'm sure Doug is still amused at my many attempts to clear both my glasses and scope but I do manage to quickly get them cleared enough with my shooting hand glove to barely see enough for a shot. Good thing because after some more sweet calling form Doug with that turkey trumpet call, that tom was insane with love and couldn't stand it anymore. Out he struts right in front of me at 35 yards in the open road , I take my time for the shot (no way I'm missing twice after all that hard work from Doug and the insanity of us being out in that weather) I see enough of my red dot at the base of his neck and squeeze the trigger and BAM!! down goes that tom. Me and Doug just stand up, look at each other and say together can you just believe that happened and let's get that tom and get the hell out of here back to the truck. I run out grab my Tom and we high tail it back to Doug's truck. We get back to the truck, put the gun, our gear and my tom in the back of his truck and jump in to let the storm pass through. Well 15 minutes later we have clearer skies, no thunder and we get out of Doug's' truck to check out my tom, take some pictures and celebrate one amazing turkey kill. What a great tom he is, 20 pounds, 10 1/2 inch beard and both spurs 1 1/4 inch. Just a great mature tom and just an insane hunt with not a guide anymore but a good friend. After some pictures and congratulations again between us off we are to get some breakfast and make a few phone calls to friends. For me this was just an insane and awesome hunt with Doug and certainly for me a great time spent in the woods. Doug can't thank you enough buddy and I gained some turkey knowledge from you, got one hell of a nice tom, and started out with a guide but parted ways with a friend. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maryland Junior Hunt Day

April 14 was deemed Marylands's Junior Hunt day and the weather was good except for a little wind at times. I met Jon and his 14 year old son John at the motel and proceeded to the hunting property. We started listening at 5:30 and heard a few within ten minutes. We made a play on the closest gobbling birds gettin within 75 yards of them and their girl friends. Seductive calling didn't keep them from pulling the gobblers away with them. We did see one of the hens at 50 yards. We tried to get in front of them but to no avail. By 9 am I decided to shift into a full blown run and gun operation. At about 10 am, while walking a road, I stopped 30 yards short of a road leading through a cleart cut to a wheat field. I mentioned to Jon and John that if one answers we do have trees to sit against so just get down near the ditch. Well, I called and a deep throated gooble hit us from about 50 yards away. Jon layed prone on the ground behind his son who was sitting in front leaning back on me. With gun across his knees trained 25 yards in front I whispered that the gobbler hopefully will cross the ditch and walk up on the road we were sitting along. We listened to the gobbler drum to the purrs I was emitting for 12 minutes, out of our sight, 25 yards from us. I've got to give it to John as he kept his cool and did all I asked...have patience. Finally, I caught some motion and whispered here comes your gobbler get ready. The bird crossed the ditch and walked up broadside to us looking our way. I whispered "kill him" and his father raised his head up just in time to see his son's load of Hev 13s knock the gobbler off his feet. Another gobbler that we didn't know was with the first exploded into the air at the shotgun,s report and flew away. As we high fived the smiles on both dad and sons faces were priceless. The weighed in at about 19 labs, sported about a 9" beard and had 1" spurs ... a fine gobbler for John's first turkey.

Thanks John and Jon for making my day so much fun. What a way to start off season #49 for me but so much more important for John and fine young man and, now, hopelessly hooked on gobblers. I wish you many more longbeards in the future.

Stay tuned for more adventures as we progrees through this Spring season

Guiding Turkey Hunts

Greetings:

 

   Those who know me well are aware of the love affair I've had with the wild turkey; as a former wildlife biologist pioneering the turkey restoration on the Eastern shore and as a long time hunter. This spring will be season #49 for me. I've managed to take gobblers across the country using just about all the legal weapons and have called many in for friends, acquaintences and kids alike.

 

   This year, for the first time, I have decided to take some hunters onto some of my favorite turkey honey holes in Maryland to hopefully kill some big hard-gobbling birds. I have scouted my properties on the lower shore this year and have seen excellent numbers of birds.

 

   If you are just starting and want to learn, don't have time for scouting and locating birds or just plain-ole want a change of scenery this year, I will provide guided, “one-on-one” per day hunts. Next year I may have lodging available to add as a package hunt ... no tiring, “middle of the night” drives. The fee for this spring is $125 per day; you choose your favorite weapon. I have taken quite a few birds with archery equipment so I understand the techniques and methods needed. If you want to run and gun or experience the thrill of

burying a broad-head in a long-spurred tom up close and personal out of a blind I can accommodate.

 

   I can't guarantee you a kill but I can guarantee a 110% effort from a veteran turkey hunter to put you on a gobbler in great turkey hunting territory. If you or someone you know desires to book a hunt, give me a call at 443-880-7847 to discuss the particulars (dates available, deposit, bag limit per day, area hotels, etc)