Turkey Calling Competitions
January 27, 2009
By: Scott Ellis
The lure of a turkey gobbling in the spring can be quite infectious. There are millions of hunters taking to the woods each year in pursuit of a wily long beard. A few are great callers, some are decent callers but the majority is well below average. We all know it doesn’t take great calling to harvest a turkey. The question is will better calling increase your odds of bagging a tom? The answer is yes. Learning to sound like a turkey and not a turkey call will give an added advantage over other hunters in the woods. Combining good calling and good woodsmanship will put turkeys in your vest year in and year out. Read more
Wild Hogs And “Song Dogs”
September 24, 2008
By Scott Ellis
As the summer heat sets in and turkey season is a distant memory, thoughts of the upcoming seasons are definitely weighing on my mind. What is a hunter to do to pass the time? Well I’ve got just the solution to get you in the woods with your favorite rifle.
Wild hogs are legal game on any private land year round and can offer some exciting off season hunting. If you were raised in Florida, pigs have probably been a normal part of the scenery during the general hunting seasons. Some of us hunt them with dogs, some of us hunt them with guns and some of us don’t hunt them at all but, they can offer a challenge and the ability to polish your predatory skills as a well. Read more
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
