Fall Turkeys: A Bird Of Another Feather
September 17, 2008
By Scott Ellis
With summer winding down the arrival of archery, muzzle loading , early duck , and dove season is greatly anticipated. People are tuning bows, sighting scopes and plowing fields. It could also be a great time to tune those turkey calls for the upcoming fall season. That’s what I said, “tune your turkey calls”. Most states offer turkey as fair game during archery and all but a few offer a fall turkey season. (check your local game laws to verify your season and what is legal to take, gobbler, hen or both) Fall turkey hunting can definitely put your turkey hunting skills to the test.
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 dinner, it allows you to learn more about turkeys and how they live throughout the year, not just during the mating season. This can benefit the spring turkey hunter as well. By having more knowledge of your quarry, such as their pecking order, how to find them and their language, you can add more to your bag of tricks. Fall hunting requires more woodsman ship than calling ability. Locating your fall birds can be a challenge in itself. Read more
The Opening Of Dove Season
September 10, 2008
By Scott Ellis
After a long day on the annual planting of our dove field, one can do nothing but stand back and have a sense of pride and accomplishment. That’s the beauty of planting a dove field, it’s not only a gathering of friends, it’s a time of sharing memories and bonding. Three of my closest friends, my father and my uncle joined together back in July to get our annual dose of farming. We started this endeavor five years ago. That was my first time planting. With my father and uncle, I grew up hunting millet fields the mines had planted for erosion purposes. We had some great shoots and it is where I learned to hone my wing shooting skills. But there is just something special about standing over 12 acres of freshly planted earth and knowing you’ve done it on your own. You really appreciate the shoot and the all the camaraderie that comes with it. Read more
Florida NWTF Turkey Calling Championship
July 27, 2008
Scott Ellis, a contributing writer for U.S. Hunting Today and Skinny Moose Media, will be participating in the 2008 Florida National Wild Turkey Federation Turkey Calling Championships in Orlando, Florida next month. Scott is a 5-time winner of turkey calling events in Florida and will be joining others for this event. Read more
A Tale Of Two Turkeys
June 16, 2008
By Scott Ellis
Turkey Tale Number one:
It was Thursday evening, April 3, 2006 at the Ellis’ household. My nine year old son Zachary and myself were headed turkey hunting the next morning. We were hunting with my protégé and good friend Aaron “Boomer” Walters. Boomer is a former Florida State Junior Calling Champion and a very accomplished turkey hunter. My wife Kim, Zachary and myself were hanging out on the back porch getting ready to fire up the grill when my phone rang. It was Boomer and he had been out trying to roost a bird that evening. I could tell by the excitement in his voice it was something good. Sure enough, he had put one to bed with his owl hooter that had gobbled some 100 times on the roost . I told Boomer “well at least if we don’t bag him we should have some fun in the morning“. We talked about the lay of the land and a little about a game plan for a set up the next morning. Read more
Scott Ellis 8th In U.S. Open Turkey Calling Championships
May 22, 2008
Scott Ellis, a contributing writer for U.S. Hunting Today, recently participated in the U.S. Open Turkey Calling Championships. He placed 8th. Our congratulations to Scott for his efforts.
1st- Matt VanCise
2nd Sadler McGraw
3rd Billy Yargus
4th James Harrison
5th Doug Bennefield
6th Chris Parrish
7th Mark Prudhomme
8th Scott Ellis
9th Walter Parrot
10th Mitchell Johnston
Should Employees Be Able To Keep Gun In Car At Work
March 21, 2008
We have heard this discussion often of late and in Florida once again they are debating a bill that would allow an employee to keep a gun in their car at work provided it is kept locked in the trunk or the glove compartment of their automobile.
News4JAX has a brief story about the proposed bill, SB1130, and quite interestingly they are running a poll to see what readers think of this bill. Here’s what the poll asks. Read more
Calling The Wild Turkey……..When And How Often??
March 6, 2008
By: Scott Ellis
2005,2006,2007 Florida State Turkey Calling Champion
2004, 2007 Florida State Gobbling Champion
Quaker Boy Game Calls Pro Staff
One of the most asked questions about hunting the wild turkey is “when do I call and how often?” I feel that there is an art to calling turkeys. It’s all based on feeling him out and knowing what he wants to hear. How do you know this? Well I think it will come to you the more you work gobblers in different scenarios. Right off the roost, mid morning with hens, with out hens, public land bird, private land bird. In my opinion, whether calling a hot to trot two year old or a four year old hard hunted public bird, it’s a matter of getting his attention and keeping his interest just enough to get him to investigate. If you over call him, he will stand his ground and wait for this hot hen to meet him for their rendezvous. If you under call him, he will move off to the next hot item. Read more
Preparations For Spring Turkey Season
March 6, 2008
By Scott Ellis
As the days start to grow longer and the fall hunting seasons have passed, our thoughts start wandering to the upcoming spring turkey season. If anyone out there is a quarter like I am, you are starting to prepare your “tools of the trade” for that glorious opening day.
Shotgun Patterning
Just a short time before writing this article, fellow Quaker Boy Pro Staffer Chad Hodge, his wife Jessica and myself; conducted an extensive patterning session. It was a blast and between us both we had numerous chokes and loads to test. Patterning your shotgun is something very important and is neglected by a large portion of the turkey hunting population. Read more
What Good Can Come From Legislating Fair Chase?
December 20, 2007
By Tom Remington
A nasty and heated debate has already begun in North Dakota over a proposed ballot initiative that is intended to put an end to high-fence hunting. The Attorney Generals office has yet to come up with a title for the initiative and the petition, which will need 12,844 legal signatures, hasn’t received a single signature yet. Read more
A Deer Population Under Control Is A Healthy Thing
December 20, 2007
By Tom Remington
There is a reason why state fish and game management sets goals for attaining and/or maintaining an ideal whitetail deer population. Some people, hunters and non-hunters alike, want to see deer everywhere. This is not practical nor is it healthy for deer and humans.
Most states, depending upon several factors, try to manage a deer population of somewhere around 15-20 +/- deer per square mile. Read more
