Turkey

SUCCESSFUL TURKEY SEASONS START HERE.

The wild turkey is an elusive bird. To get the gobbler, get the know-how. Strategies, management and gear for the hunt can all be found right here.

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Wild Turkey Predation: Cause, Effect & Solution

It is true that in some areas wild turkey numbers are either stable or increasing, but it’s also true that some local-level populations are in a decline. These are the statistics that have everyone from the biologist to the land steward to the hunter concerned. Predation has become an issue for wild turkeys, and when it comes to controlling that issue the debate between predator control versus habitat management begins.

Big Game, Small Game, Turkey, Predator, Mossy Oak Gamekeepers

Jack Lester’s Cedar Tree Bow Longbeard Turkey with Mossy Oak’s Mike Cockerham

A friend of mine who also is a Mossy Oak Pro Staffer, Jack Lester, always had wanted to shoot a turkey with a bow. I agreed to call to give him the opportunity. We got to a field where he’d been seeing turkeys and picked a spot close to the edge of the field where there were some cedar trees. Instead of using a blind, we cut off some limbs on the cedar tree, so

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Mossy Oak, Bow

ProStaffer Mike Cockerham Talks Turkeys

Until we can get inside a tom’s brain and read his mind, all we know is that this gobbler, for some reason, flew over the pine top. The gobbler looked down in the pine top to see what was there, but he didn’t see me because of my Mossy Oak camouflage.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Firearm

THUG Kevin Burleson's Most Memorable Turkey Hunt

They walked all around the bird, searching for the arrow. When my hunter finally walked up to his bird, he laid his bow on the ground to pick up the turkey. Suddenly the turkey’s head came up, and he took off running. Of course, that turkey could outrun the dad and the son, and I was trying to film all the action.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Bow

Why Rio Grande Gobblers Are Fun to Hunt

Many turkey hunters like to come to Texas and hunt Rio Grande gobblers, since these turkeys are much-more vocal than Eastern or Osceola turkeys. Most turkey hunters like calling to turkeys, and out here you can call a lot to a gobbler without spooking him.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak

Where to Shoot a Turkey with a Bow

Taking a turkey with a bow in our area of Texas is extremely difficult, especially if you don’t want to use a ground blind.

Turkey, How-To, Mossy Oak, Bow

Bowhunting for Rio Grande Gobblers with THUG Kevin Burleson

When we have bowhunters who want to take Rio Grande gobblers, we hunt out of a Mossy Oak pop-up ground blind. Most of our country is open, and you can’t come to full draw without a gobbler seeing you. So generally we try to run and gun and use a ground blind

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Bow

Bowhunting Rio Grande Gobblers

One of the things that makes Rio Grande turkeys in my section of the country near Brady, Texas, different from Eastern gobblers is that our turkeys don’t have specific trees they roost in every night. Our gobblers like to travel and tend to roost wherever they are when nightfall approaches.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak, Bow

The Gobbler That Charged and Flogged a Coyote

I heard a ruckus close to Jeff that I couldn’t figure out. I heard the turkey putting as he went past me. I couldn’t stand not being able to see what was happening, so I peeped over the creek bank. I couldn’t believe what I saw. This big gobbler was charging and flogging a coyote. In all my years of turkey hunting, I never had seen anything like this.

Big Game, Small Game, Turkey, Predator, Firearm

Double Gobble Turkey Call

Having a variety of calls in your vest is key, from mouth calls to friction calls to box calls or push-pull calls. One other call is a “gobble” call that is sometimes overlooked. A prevalent reason this call is overlooked is lacking confidence in producing a realistic sound of a gobbler.

Big Game, Turkey, Gear

A Real Mossy Oak Moment

I dared not blink while the poacher scanned the ridge for the source of the turkey sounds he had undoubtedly heard coming from my slate moments earlier. The scope on top of the 22 magnum looked ominous through the lens of my video camera, which was zoomed to 14 power. I managed to push the record button and capture the stealth moves of the trespasser as he worked his way closer to my set up.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Mossy Oak, Firearm

Bob Walker Tells Us about the Gobbler That Walked Under the Gun Barrel

I was hunting with my friend Randy Leath of Mississippi, who had been hunting with me at Bent Creek Lodge for several years. I always enjoyed hunting with him. I was planning to spend the night at Bent Creek Lodge that night, and on the way to the lodge, I went through the cut-over area where I planned to guide the next morning. I heard some gobblers flying up. I’ve been hunting turkeys for so

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Mossy Oak, Firearm

Bob Walker Knows When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them When Hunting Turkeys

After the bird was down, we hugged, high-fived and shot pictures. As we walked back toward the truck, Alice, said, “You know, it’s kind of early.” I knew what she meant. I said, “Okay, I know it’s still early. We’ll go look for a turkey for you to hunt.” We put McKenzie’s turkey in the back of the truck and moved to another place.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Obsession, Mossy Oak, Firearm

Turkey THUG Bob Walker and His 5 Day Gobbler

I can remember a gobbler that nearly drove me crazy. Everything that possibly could go wrong happened while I was trying to take this bird. He would come to me, and hens would intercept him. Then he would leave with the hens. I had him coming to me one morning when another tom gobbled. The two birds met in the road where I was set-up, just little bit too far away to shoot. They fought,

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Mossy Oak, Firearm

So if I had to draw up a paint-by-number turkey hunting place, what would it be? I would prefer a place with a 70-20-10 blend of timber, thickets/nesting areas, and fields/wildlife openings. Of the timber stands, I would have a moderate dose of old growth, bottomland hardwoods mixed in with massive pines with the majority being in various aged pine plantations.

Big Game, Small Game, Turkey, Predator, Conservation, Mossy Oak, Nativ Nurseries