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Educational Segment

Fall turkey hunting

May 19, 2020
image of a hen turkey in an autumn field of grasses
Educational Moment

Sounds a turkey makes

Turkeys make a lot of different sounds, many of which are different in spring and fall. Though most hunters can routinely fill tags by using only two or three sounds, it’s good to know what other sounds turkeys make and why. The hen yelp and variations The most commonly heard sound in the turkey woods is made by the hen, and it’s called a yelp. Toms also yelp, but it’s louder, raspier and often more drawn-out than that of hens. The yelp is usually delivered in a series of one-note tunes. However, yelps can take on various forms. Specifically, there…
May 19, 2020
image of two tom turkeys talking trash
Educational Moment

Using a box call

A box calls is the most popular turkey call, and is a good choice for new turkey hunters. Box calls not only are easy to use, but they can sound very realistic. A box call can create a wide range of yelps, clucks, purrs, fighting purrs, cackles and gobbles. If you can get yelps, clucks and purrs to sound good on a box call, you’ll routinely bring in birds. Parts of a box call Box calls come in two parts – a narrow rectangular box with a paddle attached at one end. Attached with a single screw in the center…
May 19, 2020
image of a turkey box call
Educational Moment

Using a pot call

Pot calls, often called slate calls, are friction-style calls that are easy to use and produce a range of turkey sounds. Parts of a pot call A pot call consists of three parts: a pot, a calling surface and a striker. The pot holds the slate and acts as a sound chamber. There are holes drilled in the bottom for sound to escape. To keep from covering the holes, hold the pot with the tips of your fingers, keeping it away from the palm of your hand. Pot calls can be made to be all-weather, with the right striker. The…
May 19, 2020
image of a hunter striking a slate with the striker
Educational Moment

Using a mouth call

Mouth calls, also known as diaphragm calls, can seem intimidating but they have some advantages over other kinds of calls. Mouth calls are popular with Oregon turkey hunters because: They're easier to keep dry during wet, spring seasons than are box or slate calls. Since the the call is in your mouth, you can call in a turkey without moving and possible spooking the bird. With practice, they can produce very realistic turkey sounds. Parts of a mouth call There are four parts to a mouth call. Starting at the outside of the call there’s: The tape. The tape stops…
May 19, 2020
image of a hunter pulling a mouth call from his vest pocket
Educational Moment

Using a locator call

These calls have nothing to do with calling in turkeys, but everything to do with finding toms. Owl, crow, peacock, woodpecker and hawk sounds all can elicit a reactionary gobble from a tom – sometimes called a “shock gobble.” These calls are usually used when birds are on the roost early in the morning or late in the evening. Using a hen call to locate a tom can put the tom on the move before you’re ready to set up. If a tom comes in too quickly, it can mean a blown opportunity. Locator calls encourage toms to gobble without…
May 19, 2020
image of two hunters using a locator call to find turkeys
Educational Moment

Turkey sounds hunters should make

W hen it comes to calling turkeys in the spring , we ’re being a bit unnatural. In the turkey woods, toms gather on strutting grounds and try to call hens to them. Hunters are doing just the opposite: making hen sounds to bring toms to them. For this reason, it pays to develop confident turkey calling skills. Here ’s a look at the turkey sounds hunters will want to be able to make. Refer to the instructions for each kind of call to see how to mimic these sounds. The yelp is a basic turkey call and the easiest…
May 19, 2020
image of a hunter outside of a turkey ground blind
Educational Segment

Calling turkeys

May 19, 2020
image of a hunter striking a slate with the striker
Educational Moment

Shotgun shooting tips

Turkey hunters using a shotgun face a very small target – the head and neck of a turkey. Combine that with today’s specialized turkey loads shooting very tight patterns, and making a clean kill shot might depend on a steady shooting rest. Turkeys are nervous-looking birds that seem to never stop moving. Because of their monocular vision and eyes set on the side of their skull, turkeys are often moving and bobbing their heads to try to decipher what they’re seeing. Consider a shooting rest If you’ve got your gun in a ready position, and are waiting for a turkey…
May 19, 2020
image of a turkey hunter with his gun resting on his knee
Educational Moment

Timing your shot

Whether you ’re turkey hunting with a bow or shotgun, you’ll need to know when to take the shot. If you’re using a shotgun, the best shot will be at the head, preferably when it’s outstretched away from the bird’s body. Bowhunters will want to know something about turkey anatomy so they’ll recognize when they have a clear kill shot to a vital organ. Make sure it’s safe to shoot In addition to having a good shot at a bird, you’ll want to make sure there are no other hunters, livestock or other turkeys nearby that you could hit by…
May 19, 2020
image of turkey hunter taking aim at a turkey
Educational Moment

Bow shooting tips

Turkey anatomy plays a big part in determining shot placement with a bow. Knowing where vital organs like the heart and lungs are will help you make a clean shot. Sometime getting to the vital organs may mean going through bone. In fact, a shot to the spine will drop a turkey quickly. But turkey bones are very strong, despite being hollow. That’s why many experienced archers prefer shooting a bow with a heavy draw weight, often the same setup they use for deer and elk hunting. Head shots, the most popular turkey shot for shotgun hunters, should be avoided…
May 19, 2020
image of a successful bow hunter and his turkey
Educational Segment

Taking the shot

May 19, 2020
image of turkey hunter taking aim at a turkey
Educational Moment

After the shot

After the shot, don ’t take your eyes off the turkey. Quickly and safely get to the downed bird to make sure it’s dead, or to take a second shot if it’s not. Turkeys are high-strung birds that can move quickly. A lot can happen between when you take a shot and when your bullet or arrow hits the bird that can lead to a wounded bird. You’ll want to be ready to take a second before the bird can run or fly away. Follow up for shotgun hunters When turkey hunting with a shotgun, keep the gun in a…
May 19, 2020
image of turkey hunter taking aim at a turkey
Educational Moment

Approaching a downed turkey

When a turkey is shot in the head with a shotgun, death is usually instant. However, a turkey may flop on the ground for several seconds, even up to a minute, after it’s “dead.” In this case, the turkey isn’t going anywhere so simply wait for it to go still. If the bird is wounded and laying with its head up, you may need to shoot it again – in the head with a shotgun, or in the spine or vitals with an arrow. Don’t try to ring the neck of a bird that’s still alive but not going anywhere…
May 19, 2020
image of a hunter holding up a turkey
Educational Moment

Field dressing a turkey

Turkeys are some of the best tasting game birds we hunt. The key to eliminating any “gaminess” in the meat is to take proper care of it in the field. After your shot, you’ll want to field dress your bird as quickly as possible. The goal is to cool the bird down by removing its internal organs and allowing air to circulate in the body cavity. Gutting a turkey All you need to gut a turkey is a simple pocket knife. Cut through the thin skin of the stomach from the bottom of the breastbone to the anus. Keep your…
May 19, 2020
image of a hunter beginning to field dress a bird
Educational Moment

Caring for the meat

Wild turkeys can be eaten either fresh or aged. It all comes down to personal preference, and there are adherents on both sides. Why and how to age a turkey Aging is a process by which changes in muscle enzymes tenderize the meat, and concentrate the flavor. Many hunters prefer to age their meat – both big game and game birds. Others adhere to the motto “fresh birds are the best birds.” Aging is particularly helpful in tenderizing the meat of older toms. If you choose to age your bird, here are some tips: Wild turkey can be aged right…
May 19, 2020
image of a cook in the kitchen preparing turkey meat
Species and Subspecies

Sooty shearwater

This seabird, the most abundant in Oregon, has recently suffered severe declines or significant population shift in the eastern North Pacific. Similar in shape to thin, long-winged gulls, sooty shearwaters are dark sooty gray with limited amounts of white on the underwing coverts. They glide on wind currents along wave troughs on stiff wings. Gregarious, they form huge loose flocks in migration, often passing for hours within site of land-based observers. In Oregon, it is an abundant summer visitor and transient offshore on the inner shelf and is most numerous three to six miles offshore. Hear the call of the…

Sooty shearwater
Species and Subspecies

Short-tailed shearwater

These very abundant seabirds are uncommon off Oregon in winter. Their arrival coincides with some of the Pacific Northwest's stormiest weather. Complicating detection difficulties is their identification; they look very much like the abundant sooty shearwaters - all dark, but slightly smaller with shorter bills and tails. Studied on their Tasmanian breeding grounds continuously for over 45 years, once they leave for the open ocean little is known about them. Popularly know as "muttonbirds," they have been harvested as food for centuries on their southern seas breeding islands. Even today, up to 300,000 chicks are harvested in Tasmania each year…

short-tailed shearwater
Species and Subspecies

Fork-tailed storm-petrel

In Oregon, fork-tailed storm-petrels breed in numbers that are only a tiny fraction of those of Leach's storm petrels. This is the larger of the two storm-petrels breeding in Oregon and is gray in color. These birds leave and return to breeding colonies only at night, when they are best detected by their distinct raspy call. At sea, they are distinguished by quick, buoyant flight with short glides interspersed with wing fluttering to maintain their position at a food source. Fewer than 20 nests have been found in Oregon, all located in the same habitat as colonies of Leach's storm…

Fork-tailed storm petrel
Species and Subspecies

Leach's storm-petrel

Of Oregon's breeding seabirds, Leach's storm-petrel is the smallest, most pelagic, and flies the farthest offshore of any of Oregon's breeding seabirds to feed. It spends the non-breeding season in the subtropical and equatorial Pacific. It is the second most abundant breeding seabird in Oregon, and is rarely seen from land or close to shore. It comes to its breeding islands, where it nests in burrows, only under the cover of darkness. Its plumage is black and Oregon populations have a distinct white rump. Leach's storm-petrels are long lived birds characterized by long-term pair bonds and may breed yearly for…

Leache's storm petrel