Hunting News | Kansas Spring Turkey Season

Hunt Spring Turkey In Kansas

Every spring residents and non residents flock to the wood to hunt wild turkeys. The state of Kansas is home to more than 500,000 Eastern and Rio-Grande wild turkeys. Unlike many other states Kansas hunters are allowed to hunt from 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset, basically all day. Most other states regulations allow spring turkey hunting from 1/2 hour before sunrise until 1:00 pm.

Youth and Disability Season: April 1 -April 12, 2011. for kids the age of 15 or less to try their luck at harvesting a bearded bird. The shotgun season opens this year on April 13 and runs through May 31, 2011

Archery Only Season: April 1 -April 12, 2011 Regular Season: April 13 -May 31, 2011

Kansas is home to 2 breeds of wild turkey, Eastern and Rio Grande. The Easterns are found in the eastern half of the state and pockets extending over the half way point in the state. The Eastern Wild Turkey population is the largest of the two in the state giving the eastern the bird of choice to hunt . The range of the Rio Grande is just the opposite with pockets extending from central to the east. Predominately the Eastern wild turkey is larger in size than the Rio Grande wild turkey. Not to say you won’t find a Rio That weighs more and has longer spurs than an Eastern but the average size is bigger. Check out Kansas turkey trophy records and see for yourself.

Go After “Eastern” or “Rio Grande” Long-beards!

The two breeds have very distinguishable color traits to identify each species. The Eastern has Chestnut brown-tipped tail feathers and dark-buff or chocolate-brown tail tips. The gobbler’s breast feathers are tipped in black, while other body feathers are colored with copper or bronze metallic iridescence. Rio Grande which is typically a very light to medium brown in color over the body. The feathers are tipped with a lighter color of buff or yellowish buff colors. The head of a Gobbler/Tom weather an eastern or a Rio is white and the waddle is very dark red and highly visible and has fleshy growths called “caruncles”. When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all rapidly fill with blood, almost concealing the eyes and bill. The long fleshy object over a male’s beak is called a snood. When a male turkey’s excited, its head turns blue; when ready to fight, it turns red.

More Gobbling activity in the Spring!

Turkeys are very “Vocal” during the spring of the year, why? It is breeding season! Why do they gobble? To show dominance for breeding rights and to attract females. That is what I love most about spring turkey hunting. The adult male turkey will start gobbling in the morning on the roost consistently around mid March in central US. Earlier south and later as you move north. The reason they gobble is to let the female “hen” know where he is located so she can find him to be breed. When the season opens the time usually gobbble while on the roost and quit gobbling shortly after hitting the ground. As the season progresses they will gobble longer after coming off their roost unless hens show up from the gobbling immediately. Hens will stay with a tom most of the day in the early part of the season until they start laying eggs Late morning then becomes the better time to call one in because the hen will leave and the gobbler gets lonesome and will respond better to hen calling.

Buy your Tags and “Get Out There” and Hunt!

Spring Turkey hunting in Kansas is challenging! It is also very exciting and fun. Getting outdoors to watch the sunrise and pinpoint and setup in a gobbling Tom to match wits with him and then wrap a tag on his leg and be able to say “Mission Accomplished!”

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Sport Knives | Functionality vs Style and Looks

Sports Knives – Making the Best Choice

There are a variety of sport knives available to the consumer today, and the first and foremost question to ask yourself is, “What do I plan on using this knife for?”

Is the “Hunting Knife” Best For you?

If you are a hunter, the logical choice is a hunting knife used to field dress game. For those hunters who travel off road on snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles, a solid, fixed blade hunting knife makes it possible to field dress an animal and bring it back. A gut hook is a common feature, although it does add bulkiness to the knife and some hunters dispute its usefulness.

Camp/ Utility Knives

If you are an outdoors man, such as a backpacker, hiker, or fisherman, but not a hunter, then a camp knife may best meet your needs. A camp knife can have a small blade or a very large blade and either style you choose will help you perform chores necessary for setting camp, such as chopping wood, cutting rope, and cutting meat for cooking. Another option for a Camp/ Utility knife is the lockback knife. It is compact to carry by means of a pocket clip, in your pocket or in a belt sheath. It is considerably less bulky than the fixed blade knife.

“Survival Knives” for wilderness trips

When you think of a survival knife, the one that first comes to mind just might be the “Rambo” knife. If you think of a knife as a tool, and the only thing standing between you and death in the wild, then a survival knife is your choice. Yet even an ordinary family can find themselves stranded and fighting to survive, such as the Kim family who took a wrong turn and were stuck in the Oregon wilderness for nine days. Desirable features in a survival knife may include a saw edge, a large blade suitable for chopping and cutting, and a fire starter or compartment for matches. The Bear Grylls knife, named after the renowned star of the Discovery Channel’s “Man vs. Wild” show, is a good example of this type of knife, with bright orange coloration, a pommel suitable for hammering, a built-in fire starter, and a lanyard.

“Self Defense” Knives

If you are more concerned with survival in the city than in the country, then tactical knives are what you need. “Tactical knives” is simply a term to describe a knife intended for self-defense. If you carry a knife for self-defense, you have a choice of a fixed blade knife or folding blade knife. The fixed blade is made to carry on your belt making it faster too grab in an attack. If considering the folding blade knife for self defense look at the assisted opening blade knife. This type of knife offers fast blade deployment. Carrying a folding knife is less conspicuous but also considered a concealed weapon. A sure grip handle and a strong blade are also necessary features when considering tactical knives, because a dropped knife or a broken blade can be fatal in an armed encounter.

Regardless of the types of sport knife you buy, always be mindful of the laws in your area affecting knife legality. When deciding on which type of Sport knife to buy keep in mind “How do I want to Carry this Knife”. I myself carry a mid-size lockback knife on my hunting trips. I use it as a general purpose knife around camp as well as field dressing smaller game.

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Hunting News | Huge Wild Boar Killed in Texas “Fact or Fiction!”

Where Was This Giant Boar Killed?

Rumor has it this wild boar was killed near the town of Cut-N-Shoot TX. Despite Internet rumors and widely circulated e-mails claiming a medical radiology worker shot a mammoth 1,800-pound wild boar on the eastern side Conroe, officials say it is not true. No valid reports can be produced to verify this animal was taken in the town of Conroe or the State of Texas for that matter. The Conroe Courier received an anonymous e-mail, with three photos attached – stating the huge wild boar was shot and killed near the Lone Star Executive Airport while on a Texas hog hunt. Montgomery County residents have reported wild boars destroying property and moving through high-traffic areas for years. But no one has ever sited or reported a giant wild boar like what the photographs show.

The Real Story ”If True” Has more Realistic Information!

According to a French hunting magazine published in 2005, the big boar was shot in July 2005 in the country of Turkey by hunters on an expedition hosted by Nature Tour Hunts. A 300 caliber magnum rifle was used to bring the huge wild boar down. This is the largest reported wild boar ever taken in Turkey, weighing around 781 pounds – the reporting magazine stated. The photos revealed “Nature Tours” logo on the side of a vehicle in one of the photos — indeed points to a Turkish hunting website on which the same images are displayed.

“Fact or Fiction!”

The story of this boar weighing in at over 1,800 lb. sounds a little far fetched. If killed by a medical radiology worker what is his name and where is this animal on display? I agree this wild boar is extremely huge but 1800lbs, I don’t think so! I don’t know for sure what I would do if I met an animal like this face to face. What would you do if this beast was coming at you? Run for dear life? I don’t thick you could outrun one of these big guys. The largest reported boars seen in Montgomery County weigh between 350 to 400 pounds, but that’s not to say “they can’t get bigger than that”!

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