Tag Archives: wild turkeys

Nebraska weather. Don’t like it? Wait a short while. It’ll change, maybe. Reality is rarely so kind. The Cornhusker State’s spring wild turkey hunting seasons are in full swing amid the ever-changing, ever-fluctuating, sometimes unpredictable weather patterns and conditions.  But one unfortunate thing has been fairly consistent this spring: Wind. And we’ve lots of it! Nevertheless, should we wait to turkey hunt until we have calm to no wind and those beautiful bluebird-like days with warm sunshine? If time is …

Noted turkey hunter and outdoor writer Tom Kelly once wrote, “I do not hunt turkeys because I want to. I hunt them because I have to. I would, really, rather not. But I am helpless in the grip of my compulsion.” I completely agree! Anyone who has ever spent a stunning Nebraska spring morning with their back leaning against the base of a mature hardwood tree or sitting in a camouflaged blind, using a call and decoys to lure a …

Don’t kid yourself, we are still in the icy, frigid grips of winter. However, the length of daylight is increasing. Deer have begun shedding their antlers. Some sandhill cranes have arrived already along the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. It is calving season on ranches in the Nebraska Sandhills. These are all indicators that spring is just around the bend. For those of us who spring wild turkey hunt, our thoughts are drifting to the woods where we stake our …

Noted turkey hunter and outdoor writer Tom Kelly once wrote, “I do not hunt turkeys because I want to. I hunt them because I have to. I would, really, rather not. But I am helpless in the grip of my compulsion.” I completely agree! Anyone who has ever spent a gorgeous Nebraska spring morning with their back leaning against the base of a mature hardwood tree or sitting in a camouflaged blind, using a call and decoys to lure a …

Don’t kid yourself, we are still in the icy, frigid grips of winter. However, the length of daylight is increasing. Deer have begun shedding their antlers. Some sandhill cranes have arrived already along the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. It is calving season on ranches in the Nebraska Sandhills. These are all indicators that spring is just around the bend. For those of us who spring wild turkey hunt, our thoughts are drifting to the woods where we stake our …

It is the primary reason I hunt wild turkeys in the spring. It invokes such strong feelings of excitement that it escapes words. It is a crazy sound in nature, really, perhaps even a bit comical. The sound, made by a wild bird and denoting spring, is actually a loud, shrill, descending, gurgling, throaty jumble of chords that lasts about 1-2 seconds. This is the gobble of a male wild turkey. Gil-obble-obble-obble. For those of us who enjoy being outdoors …

Nebraska’s spring wild turkey hunting is tough to beat. It really is. Trust me, I know from many years of firsthand experience hunting throughout the state! And, I continue to hunt wild turkeys in the springtime from the Missouri River bottom woodlands of Washington County all the way to Platte River bottom woodlands of Dawson County. We Nebraskans as well as our nonresident visitors have plenty of reasons,15 at least, to enjoy the state and take to the woods to call in a bearded bird this year. An adult …

I know, I know. There is nothing like spring wild turkey hunting in Nebraska, and the fall hunting season for wild turkeys, well, it just doesn’t rise to that level. Or, does it? Hmm. I don’t think you can call yourself a true turkey hunter until you have willingly and eagerly accepted the fun challenge and vivid excitement of hunting North America’s largest upland game bird during the fall season in Nebraska. Hunters who have never experienced fall hunting are …

It is spring and love is in the air for many of Nebraska’s creatures.  I have been in the field helping collect walleye eggs for our walleye stockings the past couple of weeks (Easter Egg Hunt), so I know it is time for the walleyes to be doing their “thing”.  I am also a bona fide spring turkey hunting addict and I am very aware that our turkeys are well into their mating season too–the toms are strutting!  In the …

Harvesting a wild turkey in the springtime is quite an accomplishment in the Nebraska hunting scene! When that gobbler, jake or bearded hen is down, there’s the high five with your hunting partner in the blind, along with an immediate cancelling of the tag on your turkey permit, plus the various photo ops with your bird, of course. After all of that takes place, the work begins on establishing the best-tasting wild turkey possible at the dinner table. Here are six steps to follow to a succulent spring turkey. Prompt …