Nothing better than teaching about turkey hunting

This Saturday, the Wisconsin Youth Turkey Hunt will kick off around here at 0536 in the morning. The air temperature is predicted to be cold, with a high temp of only in the mid 30’s for both days of the hunt.

The event will run Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17. Any youth hunters aged 15 and under are allowed to hunt these two days. There are several nice things about the youth hunt.

The hunters are able to hunt on any turkey tag for any time period, but they must hunt in the turkey management zone the tag is for. The hunters don’t need to have passed a Hunter Education course due to the Mentored Hunter Program in Wisconsin.

The birds have not been pressured this time of year yet. And since adults are not allowed to hunt during this season the focus is on the youth hunter. If the youth hunter did not apply for a turkey tag last December, a left over tag may be purchased either online or through a Wisconsin license retailer.

I have been asked recently if the youth hunters need to possess a turkey hunting license, and the answer is yes. Both resident and non-resident youth hunters must possess a current valid spring turkey license, stamp and turkey tag.

Hunting isn’t easy, and usually the weather during this youth turkey hunt is challenging. Rain, snow, wind and subzero temperatures have all occurred over the years.

Yet despite the challenges, many youth successfully bag their turkey each year. It’s a great time for all turkey hunters both adults and the youth hunters they take to the field. I was asked by a hunter with his child getting ready for their first turkey hunt how I dealt with the weather conditions when thing were challenging for my former youth hunters.

I use a variety of techniques. The traditional method of moving in on a tom while it gobbled from the roost in the morning or after roosting in the evening before the hunt and setting up for that bird.

Sometimes we set up along the edge of a known strutting location and called from there. And I always have a fail-safe location set up with a tent blind with chairs and a heater.

The traditional set ups are great when the weather conditions are conducive, but like I mentioned earlier, they usually have been challenging. The youth hunt only runs two days and I often had to work part of or both of those two days, so if you don’t hunt in bad weather you often don’t hunt. Some years I was teaching Hunters Ed on the Saturday of the hunt. The time on those days slips away quickly. What’s more, getting a young hunter up, to the woods, and ready to hunt by say 5:20 a.m. isn’t always fun for the youth hunter and even you, particularly on the second day. A tent blind with some comfortable chairs and shooting sticks makes it easier for both to enjoy the hunt more. The young hunter won’t get cold as fast as sitting on the ground leaning against a frozen tree trunk.

The tent blind conceals movement like taking a swig of water, eating a snack, stretching, or repositioning. The blind allows you to reposition the hunter when a bird starts working from the opposite direction you expected.

It makes it easier for you to coach the young hunter and point out the turkey when it’s farther away if needed. It keeps you dry and out of the wind. And on really cold days a small propane heater is golden. But my biggest advice to my friend was not to be too hung up on when you hunted. A lot of turkeys are shot during the youth season in the afternoon as they are in the morning.

If you see turkeys in the late afternoon while coming home from work every day in a certain spot, I would be there a bit before them and hunt there at that time of day. You hunt when you have time those days. Just keep the hunting fun for both of you.

I want to wish all the young hunters heading to the woods a lot of luck this weekend. Turkey hunting is incredibly exciting and every turkey you bag is special. But the only good hunt is a safe hunt, so remember, safe hunting is no accident!

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