Category: Other Blog Posts By Dr. Grant Woods

By now many of you have tagged a tom! You may have already enjoyed a meal of fresh turkey! However, there’s more to a turkey than great meat. Turkey feathers are cool. Many Native American tribes prized turkey feathers for use in ceremonies and fletching for arrows. My daughters enjoy making jewelry and other items…Read MORE HERE

Hearing gobbling is a big reason why I enjoy turkey hunting! However, some mornings it seems most toms are silent. There are usually two reasons toms are quiet. Toms don’t gobble as much when it’s cloudy and higher than normal humidity. There’s nothing a hunter can do to change these conditions. Gobblers are also usually….Read MORE HERE

Watch this video. You’ve probably already seen it many times in your mind. Notice the time stamp on the video. It’s just after sunrise and this gobbler has already paired with a hen. This is very common for this time of year in the Midwest. When a tom is with a hen there are a…Read MORE HERE

Most turkey hunters focus on calling gobblers, but there are times when it will be helpful to call hens! During the early part of the breeding season hens will often remain in flocks. It’s common for a handful of gobblers to follow flocks of hens. Often the gobblers won’t be very vocal when following the…Read MORE HERE

Crank up the volume and listen to the gobblers. There’s a second tom gobbling in response to the bird in the video. During the early and mid breeding season mature toms will often gobble in response to other toms that are in strut areas. The tom in this video is in a known strut are…Read MORE HERE

In most states turkey season opens during the early portion of breeding season when gobblers are still very competitive. If there are plenty of mature toms around they will actively chase jakes (year old male turkeys) away from hens and/or the mature tom’s strut zones. I recently used a Reconyx UltraFire camera to monitor a….Read More HERE

Early season for gobblers depends on the location or latitude. For example, this year turkey season opens in Hawaii (there are lots of turkeys on the Hawaiian Islands!) March 1st and on May 4th in Maine. Wherever you plan to hunt during the “early season” one thing is for certain, you need to be close to an…Read MORE HERE

I really enjoy turkey hunting! I also enjoy eating wild turkey so I want to be successful! In addition to practicing calling, scouting, etc., there’s another critical step to be a successful turkey hunter. That’s patterning and practicing with a turkey gun! Turkey guns are usually 12 gauge shotguns with an extra full choke. Mine…Read MORE HERE

Ever wonder why deer in some areas paw through snow to find food and in other areas stay in winter deer yards? It has to do with the quality of food available and the amount of energy required getting the food. By placing collars on deer that have a GPS unit, researchers have learned that…Read MORE HERE

I enjoy following deer tracks in the snow. It’s a great way to learn where deer prefer to bed, eat, etc., during late winter conditions. I shared a picture of some deer tracks in snow on my Facebook page recently and someone commented that I was following a “big buck because of the feet drag…Read MORE HERE