Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Tecomate Strut Report – TENNESSEE – May 6 – 10
This past weekend we made it back to Middle Tennessee with high hopes in finishing out our four-bird limits. We left my North Mississippi home at 2:00 am and arrived at the property we were going to start out hunting at 5:20 am. As soon as Chris and I stepped out of the truck a bird thundered off in the distance. It was like a shot of adrenalin into two sleep deprived zombies. With our renewed energy we quickly loaded our guns, gathered our hunting gear, and headed toward the gobbler. He was right on the edge of a clover field that sat on top of a big ridge. It wasn’t long after we sat down when a hen flew into the field. It was so dark we barley could see her and she was only 30 yards away. The gobbler continued to gobble in the tree as the hen feed away from us and out the other side of the field. I cranked up the calling a little to let the gobbler know that a hen was still there and he needed to come see her. At 5:45 am the bird flew down just outside the back edge of the food plot. He thundered off several times as if he was a royal monarch announcing his presence to the court. He then strutted his way into the field and through the carpet of crimson colored clover flowers. What a beautiful sight! Finally at 5:54 am Chris put the bird on his back with his Remington 870. This was the first bird I have seen harvested before 6:00 am since the new time changes years ago.
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Posted by
Mark Newell on 05/07 at 03:51 PM
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Monday, April 29, 2013
Tecomate Strut Report – ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI – Week of April 29 – May 3
As much as I hate to say it, this week marks the end of turkey season for the folks in Mississippi and Alabama. For Alabama Tuesday April 30th is the last day and for Mississippi Wednesday May 1st will the season ender. Due to the late spring in these states overall gobbling activity was definitely less than average. There were lots of turkeys this year just not as much gobbling. This made it a little harder for a lot of hunters to fill their harvest quotas for the season. However, there still were lots of gobblers that hit the ground in the Yellowhammer state as well as in the Magnolia state. I was fortunate enough to take a Mississippi limit as well as an Alabama limit this year. A lot of long morning and afternoon walks, long sits by a tree, lots of time running Reconyx cameras, and a whole lot of luck helped me be successful this year. This was true for many other hunters who track the hallowed hunting grounds of the Deep South.
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Posted by
Mark Newell on 04/29 at 11:52 AM
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Tecomate Strut Report – ALABAMA – April 22 – 26th
Looks like turkeys in the South are going through the mid-season lull here at the end of the season. It is hard to tell exactly why turkeys go through this stage, but they always go through a period of quietness sometime during the season. It may be due to hunting pressure and birds are becoming more call shy. It may be due to the sudden change in the foliage and they are adapting to the spring green up. It may be due the temperature change and the increased amounts of humidity. It may be due to the change in the current period or cycle that the turkeys are going through. Turkeys are doing lots of different things now than they were doing earlier in the year. Hens are acting differently and have changed their patterns due to nesting preferences. Jakes are getting older and starting to feel their oats. They often at this time will group up and tag team a mature gobbler. I witnessed this on two different occasions this past week. Whatever the reason is these lulls happen and it can be very discouraging. With the late spring this year it is happening later on in the season than normal.
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Posted by
Mark Newell on 04/23 at 11:57 AM
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2013 PA Mentored Youth Turkey Hunt
Saturday April 20th was mentored youth spring turkey hunt in Pennsylvania; one day only. My 6-year-old son, Grant Snavely, had been practicing with his new Remington 11-87 and was confident that he would tag a longbeard during his first spring gobbler hunt. We started off in the morning well before daylight and we were surprised at how quiet it was; not a single gobble on the roost. We decided to run and gun and approximately a quarter-mile into our trek my short series of cuts and yelps from my mouth call were immediately interrupted by several gobbles. As we scrambled for a tree to set up the turkeys continued to gobble aggressively on their own; closing the gap in a hurry.
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Monday, April 15, 2013
Tecomate Strut Report – MISSISSIPPI – April 15-19th
The dogwoods are in full bloom, temperatures are staying constantly above freezing, and finally turkeys are acting that way they suppose to. This has been the latest spring I have ever hunted in the Magnolia State with freezing temperatures extending into April. One of the things I always look for while turkey hunting in Mississippi is the beautiful blooming dogwoods. The onsite of these glowing white flowers usually announce to the world that spring is in the air, and for the hunter turkey season is here. Now dogwood blooms can be seen all over the state, and with that gobbling can be heard all over as well. It is like the turkeys said to themselves, “Look I see those white flowers again; it’s time to start gobbling.”
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Posted by
Mark Newell on 04/15 at 03:25 PM
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The Open Scriptures
It is amazing the things you can learn by simply reading information on a specific topic. If you are looking for hunting information, there are many sources you have today at your figure tips. From well illustrated books to the endless supply of hunting magazines and journals, one should have no problem finding some info on a desired subject. Not to mention all the different hunting related websites that are out there, such as Tecomate.com, that strive to share with you quality hunting and biological information. Furthermore, the online resources are endless. There are online hunting forums, specific hunting info from state agencies, and don’t forget about Google Earth and the info it has to offer. It is no doubt that all of this easily attainable hunting information has made all of us more successful in the field.
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Monday, April 08, 2013
Tecomate Sturt Report – TENNESSEE – April 8 – 12th
I just got back from a three-day hunt in two different Tennessee counties, two days in middle Tennessee and the other in the western part of the state. Birds were gobbling and strutting like crazy in both areas. It was one of the best hunts I have ever been on! In three days my friend, Chris and I killed five good long beards, heard over two hundred gobbles, and had over a dozen long beards strutting in front of us. Ever since I have been in the outdoor business I have heard this statement, “All you hunt is on private land, I never see y’all doing any shows on public land.”
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Posted by
Mark Newell on 04/08 at 11:52 AM
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2012 Osceola Spring Gobbler with Garry Adel
My 2012 Osceola Spring Gobbler season got off to a fast a furious start. I got the pressure off on the second morning. Nearly everyone I knew that hunted early had experienced success in Osceola-ville.
Now it was my friend Garry Adel`s turn. My old friend and turkey hunting buddy of many years has allowed me the honor of calling up big gobblers for him each spring for the last 15 years or so. Garry is perfectly willing to passively enjoy the spring hunting experience with me while also being enthusiastically prepared to unload a couple of ounces of shot in the face of the first big gobbler that dares to come into range. Garry and I do not often fail.
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Posted by
David Shashy on 04/08 at 11:49 AM
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