Generation Wild

The Winner of the Generation Wild Turkey Hunt Contest and His Prize Hunt

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:58:18 -0400

The essays were received, the votes were tallied and 18-year-old Torin Miller of State College, PA was declared the winner of the Generation Wild Turkey Hunt Contest. His prize was a spring turkey hunt at the Tamarack Preserve in Millbrook, NY with Field & Stream’s Video Editor, Mike Shea and guide Shane Odell. Check out the video of his hunt and Torin’s own thoughts on his experience.

By Torin Miller

Nothing says “Welcome to Upstate New York” like a mural of walleye and smallmouth bass. That’s exactly what greeted me at the gate of Albany International Airport. In the morning, I would be hunting eastern wild turkeys at Tamarack Preserve in Millbrook, N.Y. My excitement level couldn’t have been higher.

The alarm buzzed early in our motel room--3:30 a.m. early. It didn’t take me long to get into my gear, and I met Field & Stream’s Video Editor Mike Shea in the empty motel parking lot and we headed off to Tamarack.

We pulled into the Preserve’s parking lot and headed inside to meet our guide for the day, Shane Odell. Shane was much younger than I was expecting, but he sure knew his stuff. As he was roosting birds the night before, he was mock-charged by a black bear sow. He just laughed it off and then told us we were headed to that same spot for the morning hunt.

All the scouting Shane did paid off, and we were right under a roosted Tom. He gobbled his head off all morning.

“I’m not gonna call to him,” Shane says. “If he knows where we are, he will stay up in that tree all morning.”

Eventually the bird flew down and got quiet. About 10 minutes later, he gobbled right over a little hill. His head popped up, and he saw our decoys. He didn’t like something about the set and disappeared over the hill. He strutted and gobbled his way back up the ridge, but never presented a shot.

After he cleared off, Shane, Mike and I worked our way around the bottom of the ridge the bird had traveled. We kept a rocky ledge between the bird and us and located him a couple of times, but needed to get closer. We progressed the whole way around the base of the ridge and up a saddle to the top when we lost track of the Tom.

Shane made the decision to head back down the ridge to attempt to relocate the bird. Mike and I followed slowly behind. Shane stopped and let out a super-realistic owl call. Our Tom instantly answered, and so did another bird. That other bird was more vocal, so we decided to set up on him. We headed down the ridge and got in position. Shane made some yelps and the bird gobbled again. He was getting closer.

Not five minutes after we set up, two Jakes topped the little knoll in front of us. They worked their way in to about 15 yards and I took my shot at the lead bird. He wasn’t the biggest bird in the woods, but he and his partner ruled them. Shane explained that they probably were ganging up on the big Tom we had seen in the morning, and that’s why the Tom ran from our Jake decoys.

I had already considered the trip a complete success, and then Shane offered to take us fly-fishing. Mike and I headed into town to pick up my brother, Trey, who had flown to New York with me. We ate an awesome breakfast at a little upstate diner and headed back to the lodge. The fishing was just as good as the turkey hunting. We caught some great trout, and the scenery was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

Vote For Your Favorite Finalist in the Generation Wild Turkey Hunting Contest

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:33:26 -0500

Meet the finalists in the Generation Wild Turkey Hunt Contest. One of these young guns will win an all-expenses-paid Turkey hunt in upstate New York this spring. We had a bunch of entries, but these five impressed us most. And after you read the essays they wrote for their contest entries, you’ll understand why. Now that we’ve narrowed it down to these five, we need your help picking a winner.

After you read each finalist’s short essay, vote for the one you think should win the grand-prize turkey hunt. The F&S staff will take your votes into consideration when we select the Grand Prize winner.(Don’t worry: the other four finalists will be walking away with some cool prizes, too.) Vote as many times as you like. After the voting ends on Friday, March 4, we’ll announce the winner. Click Here To Vote!

Contest: Win a Guided Spring Turkey Hunt With a Field & Stream Editor

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:47:48 -0500

Attention young hunters (that is, those of you who’re 15 to 18 years old): Any interest in an all-expenses-paid turkey hunt in upstate New York next spring? Yep, that’s what we thought. Well, here’s your chance.

One lucky Generation Wild reader will get to join a Field & Stream editor for a guided spring turkey hunt in 2011. You can click here to enter. But first, here’s the gist of the contest:

For starters, you’ll need to tell us a bit about your hunting experience. We also want to see your best hunting photo—one of you with a gobbler, a whitetail, or any other critter after a successful hunt. And if you’ve got one, upload a hunting video that you filmed and edited on your own or with some friends. (The video isn’t a requirement for the contest, but let’s just say that those who include one will score some bonus points during the judging process.)

Finally, you’ve got to sell us on why you should win this contest with a good essay. In 300 words or less (no longer, we mean it!), tell us the story of “The Greatest Gobbler Hunt of My Life.” The essay could be about a turkey you shot, or one that got away. Just make it a really good story—one that will entertain us, and the readers of the Generation Wild blog, because that’s where we’ll publish the winning entry.

The deadline to enter the contest is on February 15, 2011. We’ll announce the winner in March 2011. Good luck!

Seven Questions with Delta Waterfowl’s Head Hunting Mentor

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:05:07 -0400

Generation Wild Junior Pro Staffer Nate Dean recently got to chat with Scott Terning, Director of Waterfowler Recruitment and Education at Delta Waterfowl, about hunting, conservation, and how Delta Waterfowl is working to get more kids interested in the outdoors with its First Hunt program.

Nate Dean: What is the greatest part about your job at Delta Waterfowl?
Scott Terning: I am surrounded by passionate staff, volunteers, and members. Working as Recruitment and Education Director brings many challenges, but also provides many rewards. With this position the rewards can be noticed first hand, but knowing this position will have impact for many—youth, adults, and first-time duck hunters—for years to come.

ND: What is Delta Waterfowl doing to get the younger generation of hunters, kids like myself, involved with conservation?
ST: Delta is providing experience for young hunters like you throughout local chapters—across the U.S. and Canada. Delta will be coming out with a youth participant manual, which will allow first-time hunters to gain a better understanding about the sport of ducks and duck hunting. We have also established our First Hunt page on Facebook to keep connected with mentors and participants. We’ll be putting together a DVD and will host a variety of videos on our website that will focus on safety, shooting, and cleaning and cooking waterfowl. And my position was created to better serve our mentors and, in the end, the participants who are attending field days, hunts, or other related activities.

ND: I hear you’re a big Canada goose hunter. What’s your favorite part about goose hunting?
ST: I am a big goose hunter—but also a duck hunter. I love the sport, and to tell you the truth it doesn’t matter what I am hunting. Being out in the outdoors and connecting with the land, landowners, and friends who I am hunting with really make the experience fun. If I am hunting geese or ducks it’s always fun when they are willing to work with you. I put a great amount of time into scouting and enjoy that part of the hunt, too. In short, I would say the best part about hunting for me is the full experience: scouting first and then the hunt.

ND: Who was your hunting mentor as a kid?
ST: My father was my first mentor and provided the foundation for me. The only problem I had with that he was a deer hunter and that was all he hunted. I wanted to hunt other species and had to find other mentors who were willing to help. My first duck mentor was, strange enough, myself. I had to take things into my own hands if I wanted to get involved with the sport. I would read books and magazines to educate myself and then found some fellow high-school friends who had access to some property. They gave me my first experience in the blind. I still keep in touch with them and continue to thank them.

ND: If you could hunt anywhere in the world and for anything what would it be?
ST: Good question and it’s tough. Right now at the stage I am in, I would say a flooded timber spot for ducks. I haven’t truly experienced a lot of ducks coming through the timber. This would be fun to see and experience as a hunter.

ND: What are personal goals regarding waterfowl conservation?
ST: 1) Establish Delta Waterfowl’s First Hunt program. 2) Continue to bring out new or old waterfowl hunters. 3) Continue to serve Delta Waterfowl as a valuable employee.

ND: What’s the best goose hunting tip you’d give to younger hunters?
ST: Scout. When you think you found a spot, work with the landowner to become familiar with the landscape and know where the birds are roosting. The other tip I could provide is to surround yourself with fellow friends who also enjoy hunting, fishing, or the great outdoors. These friendships will last a lifetime and can be very useful for years to come.

Project: How to Make a Whitetail Bow-and-Arrow Mount

Online Editors — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:33:32 -0400

Tyler Stefanelli was a member of the 2009 Generation Wild Pro Staff.

This the my bow and arrow rack that I designed and constructed in my Engineering class at Easton Area High School. I got the idea from doing some research online, then used my own ideas in a few drawings. The first step in making this rack was to create the shield. I did this by taking four pieces of oak approximately 1.5 feet x 3 feet and 3/4 inches thick, then glued them together side by side. I also did the same thing, but with smaller pieces of walnut for later pieces of the project. After the pieces had dried together, I took the huge slab of oak and traced a shield design on it using one of my drawing printouts. Next I used a band saw to cut out the shield, then I used the same process to create the smaller walnut pieces of the project, which include the bottom piece that holds the arrows and the middle piece that holds the skull.

After having all of the pieces cut out, I routed, sanded, and stained them appropriately. The only thing left to do was to drill holes in the bottom piece for the arrows, then attach the two walnut pieces to the oak shield. I did this by pre-drilling holes in the shield, then screwing in the walnut pieces from the back of the shield. Lastly, I mounted two small, rounded pieces of oak to the top left and top right of the shield, which the antlers sit on (also attached by screw).

My finished project holds one bow and six arrows, and will eventually be mounted up on a wall.

Nate Garrett: The Gobbler That Wouldn't Shut Up.

colinkearns — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:14:56 -0400

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Tamarack Preserve in upstate New York with the Generation Wild pro staffers. We were after New York gobblers. After arriving at the hotel I knew that I was going to be tired so I went ahead on to bed. After thinking I had set my alarm clock for 3:30 a.m., I went to bed. After just a few hours of sleep I suddenly woke up and not remembering the alarm going off. I looked at the clock…and it was 4:00 a.m. right on the money, which is when we were all supposed to meet at the hotel lobby. I knew someone wanted me up to go turkey hunting. So I scrambled around the room throwing clothes on and getting my turkey hunting stuff ready to hit the field.

Once we arrived at Tamarack we were assigned our guides, and I would hunt with F&S senior editor, Colin Kearns, and Tim Bontecou, of Tamarack. We quickly left for the woods, as the sun was rising fast. After we parked, we started walking and occasionally Tim would stop and make an owl call. The first few times we did not hear a gobble, but when we finally did it was about 300 yards away from the truck. So we headed back towards the truck.

The bird had probably gobbled 20 times before we had got very close to him. Tim decided to head up the hill to try and set up for the bird. This bird would not shut up. It gobbled constantly at anything and everything. As soon as we got set up with the decoys, the bird had traveled to left of us about 100 yards. Tim called some more, but the bird would not come down the hill and he still was to the left of us. So Time decided to move and set up right below the bird to try and get him to come down the hill. Once again, though, the bird moved. But it would not stop gobbling!

After hearing more and more gobbles, the bird wasn’t coming any closer. So we moved again. The bird was on the hill right above us gobbling his head off and not coming down. We decided to move up to close the distance. We set up again, but the bird just did not move. But he kept gobbling and gobbling. All of a sudden, we heard a hen. If the gobbler wasn’t going crazy before, he was now.

After 15 minutes of this, we moved up the hill some more. Tim told me to sneak up to a tree that was on the hill looking up to the top. And this bird had to be right over that hill line. After more and more gobbling and staying still, the bird finally gave up and slowly walked down the hill. I could not see him come over the hill because there was a big thorn bush in the way. I knew I could not move because his gobble sounded like it was literally right on top of me. And I did not know which way the bird was coming from so I just sat with my gun ready to go.

I heard some branches crack and leaves move and I knew this bird was close real close. But I could not see him. Finally, that bright head pops out to the left of me. I was pointing 90 degrees to the right, so I made a real quick move and shot.

I got up to go see the bird, and as soon as I saw him I could tell he was a nice one. He had about 9-inch beard, 7/8-inch spurs and weighed about 19 pounds. Which I thought was a good bird. Tim, Colin, and I talked about how awesome the hunt was and how we’d never heard a bird gobble so much. We estimated that he gobbled about 250 times in just a couple of hours. After taking pictures, we loaded up and headed back to the lodge to meet up with the rest of the staffers. We weighed and measured the tom and Tim was right on the money for everything. This was one of those hunts that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Nate Dean: Welcome to My Wisconsin Wild Turkey Heaven

colinkearns — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:30:13 -0400

I woke up at 3:30 a.m. from a “long” 4 hours of sleep filled with dreaming of big ol thunder chickens (a.k.a wild turkey) and what that first gobble off the roost is going to sound like at day break the next morning. Functioning on such little sleep was harder than I thought it would be, but going turkey hunting makes it all go away. I slowly get out of bed barely able to stand and reach for my camo pants. Within minutes I’m dressed and ready to hit the beautiful Wisconsin hardwoods in search of that big spring gobbler. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee fills the house, I inhale a bowl of Life cereal and head out the door.

It was an absolutely perfect morning for gobbling—a cool 32 degrees, clear sky, and very calm winds almost always means a pretty good morning filled with hot-headed thunder chickens gobbling on the roost to attract those very lively and picky hens. My dad and I load the car with everything we need for a day of hunting, and then we were off. I crank the country tunes, which pumps me up even more for the hunt. With a 20 minute ride till we get to the farm, I have plenty of time to wake up to some guitar-picking, drum-beating country music. A deer, a fisher, and a strong stench from a skunk that had been hit along side the highway was our entertainment on the way to the farm.

We finally arrive at the farm, and I immediately am so jacked for the morning hunt. The woods come alive and fill with gobbles echoing through the valley. Now my mission on this hunt was to shot my first gobbler with my sweet new bow—a Mission Eliminator II. But just in case a tom didn't come into bow range, I also had my trusty Benelli Nova 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 3 ½ inch Winchester supreme turkey loads just in case. I grab my bow, load my shotgun, and sling that over my shoulder and then we are off.

The dark and very quiet walk down the trail to my blind, where my dad and I will be sitting to start off the morning, seemed like it took forever to get to, but it was only 10 minutes. I was just that excited. I set out the decoys 15 yards from the front of the blind.

After getting the decoys put out, setting up the camera in the blind, and getting all situated, we are ready to start filling the valley with gobbles. After waiting about 20 minutes for the sun to start coming up over the horizon, like it does every morning, someone flips on a switch and the wood comes alive. We had gobbles coming from right over our heads, from the left, from the right, and pretty much 360 degrees around our blind. We were officially in turkey heaven.

As the sun rose higher into the morning sky, the gobbling continued until the time they flew off the roost, it was like that switch that was turned on at daybreak had just suddenly been turned off. The hotheaded Toms were no longer hot headed. We sat in total confusion, wondering why the heck they all just shut up and where the heck did all the toms go? We sat in the blind for about an hour after everything got quiet, and about the time we were going to get out and walk to the farm to see if we could get something to gobble, we saw why the Toms were no longer gobbling...they had no reason to gobble. The big boss gobbler on the farm came out with four hens, and as I called to him with some loud yelps he could have cared less about us. So we packed up the camera, decoys, and calls, and went to see if we could find a lone gobbler.

We just step out of the blind and take a few steps and, “gobble, gobble, gobble!” A Tom gobbled right behind us! We quickly get set up and he just keeps gobbling, I wouldn’t even call and he would gobble. But I messed up on this one. I thought he was somewhere where he wasn’t, and he ended up working right along the fence line up through the valley right in front of the blind. Darn. After sitting there for a little and watching this monster Tom strut up the valley, and shaking off the disappointment of setting up wrong on him we kept on walking to the fence line on the way back end of the farm, this always seems to be a hot spot for later in the morning gobbling. I stand right by the fence line and hammer on my mouth call, yelping my loudest yelps, when I hear, “gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.” Four different Toms answer my call!

My dad and I quick get set up, and set the decoys. Once set up I call to them again and they all fire there loudest gobble. “They are coming,” I turn and say to my dad with the camera in hand and ready.

We sat for about a half hour with nothing happening, I'd call and there would be no response. I couldn’t believe it.

“Well, dad, you want to head back to the car and go and get some breakfast?” I turn and ask my dad.

“Sure,” my dad responds.

We go out pick of the decoys, and right before we leave I tell my dad, “Listen I’m going to call one more time just to make sure.”

Well that one call got the attention of a tom responding at the top of his turkey lungs. He was no more than 100 yards away! My dad and I couldn’t believe it! My dad runs and sits by the tree quick as I throw the decoys out and run to my spot. I call again and he hammers back. This is the one, I say to myself in my head.

It wasn’t 5 minutes later when I hear the spitting and drumming. I look to my right and on the ridge I see a monster Wisconsin thunder chicken strutting on the ridge top. It looked like he had a light bulb behind his fan. The sun just lite it up and the iridescent on his feathers made him look green. His head was redder than a polished red corvette.

My heart was pounding, and my whole body was shaking like a leaf. I thought for sure he was going to see me, but he never did. He slowly strutted down to the decoys but he didn’t like what he saw. Finally, when he got in a clearing, BANG! He was big 20-pound Wisconsin thunder chicken, with a 10-inch beard and ¾-inch spurs. He never moved again. I stood up and let out a big: “YEAH! WE GOT HIM!” I was so excited, I couldn’t stop shaking.

Anytime I harvest an animal, no matter if it’s a big tom, a big freak-nasty whitetail, or a pheasant, my excitement is always the same. I am so grateful to be able to spend time in God's amazing woods and harvest some of the most amazing animals. There is nothing that can give you the excitement or adrenaline rush as a wild turkey coming in right to you. I encourage young hunter who has never turkey hunted to try it.

Tommy Ladson: How Was Your Trout Season Opener?

colinkearns — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:44:44 -0400

A couple of weeks ago, anglers everywhere (myself included) took to the lakes and streams of Pennsylvania for the opening day of trout season. If you have never been in Pennsylvania for the first day of trout season it is a sight to see. On nearly every road located within a mile of fishable water cars and trucks line up on both sides.

I started my day by waking up at 4:30 a.m. I got all my gear ready and went to my grandfather's house since it is an annual tradition. After a donut and milk, we headed to our favorite trout fishing spot. In Pennsylvania, trout season doesn't officially open until 8 a.m., but there are so many people fishing at this particular lake that it is often hard to get a spot, so we like to leave especially early to save ours. We arrived at the lake by 5:30 a.m. and picked out our spot.

After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally 8 a.m. and I already had my pole in the water. Barely 10 seconds had passed and I was already reeling in my first trout of the year, which was a 16-inch brooke trout. I was using green Power Bait and the fish couldn't get enough of it. It seemed like every time I would cast, I would have to quickly set the rod down to reel in another fish on another rod.

The first day of trout season is always my favorite trip of the year. I always catch my limit and it seems like the fish are always biting. After a quick 30 minutes of fishing I had caught my limit of five trout, and it was my personal best outing ever because every fish measured 16 inches or larger.

How about the rest of you? Did you have a successful trout opener this spring?

Tommy Ladson: How I Caught the Biggest Trout of My Life (Just Don't Tell My Teachers)

colinkearns — Fri, 07 May 2010 09:58:19 -0400

As a senior in high school, I thought I owed it to myself to take a "sick" day from school and do a little fishing this week. It was the best decision I ever made!

I woke up early and got all of my fishing gear packed and ready to go. I met my girlfriend, Alli, at her house, and we were on our way. I decided to go to an old fishing hole my grandfather showed me on the Lehigh River when I was a little boy. After what seemed like a 10-mile walk, we finally got to the spot, which was under an old bridge. Once we got there we came across an old man fishing with his fly rod. He said he was trying to catch a huge fish out in the deep hole of the river, but he couldn't get him to bite. I looked out into a deep swirling hole and that is where I saw him: a huge rainbow trout. At first glance it looked like it had to be at least 30 inches long, but when it comes to fish I always exaggerate. Who doesn't?

The old man told me to have a crack at it, so I did. I rigged my go-to bait, a green Power Bait, and cast the line a little up river from the trout. The bright, green ball slowly disappeared under the water heading directly to the trout. I felt a quick tug and my heart stopped. I jerked my rod fiercely in anticipation, hoping that I had the trout on the end of my line. I started to shout, " I got him!"

But as fast as I could yell the words, the old man pointed out that the fish was swimming on the other side of the river. My heart dropped because I knew I didn't have the trout on my line, and I now thought I was just snagged on a rock.

I was just about to cut the line and start getting a new hook ready when Alli said, "Your line is running up the river."

I immediately lifted the tip of my rod straight up into the air and felt another giant tug. I was excited once again, and my heart started to race faster then it did the first time. I loosened my drag and prepared for a big fight. I was using very light line so I didn't want to take a chance of the line breaking. I let the fish run with the line back and forth, over and over, until I finally tired him out. After a 15-minute fight, and a two-minute struggle to get him in the net, I finally got to lay eyes on my prize. I lifted my trout out of the net and stared with amazement.

In my hands I held the the biggest trout I had ever caught. It was an enormous rainbow trout that measured 21 3/4 inches and weighed 4 pounds. After looking over my trout for a few minutes I took some photos and went back to fishing. I didn't catch anymore trout that day, but I still feel like that was my luckiest day of fishing. On my first cast of the morning, I landed my biggest trout...ever!

Nate Garrett: This Is Why You Scout for Turkeys

colinkearns — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:32:29 -0400

It was a breezy, cool April morning. I was out looking for a long beard with three other hunters. With the strong wind, we were kind of skeptical about the turkeys gobbling or moving very much. But we went out anyway and all headed to our separate hunting spots.

I headed toward a big power line that ran down the middle of the property in a patch of chufa that we had planted for the turkeys. I set the decoy out and started calling. I never heard a gobble, but with the wind it was hard to hear really anything. Still, I was confident that I was going to at least see a turkey, because I had scouted hard and seen turkeys here for the last week. I stayed in this same spot for hour and a half before I decided to move on.

As I was walking around, off in the distance where Nelson MacCrea, one of the hunters in our group was, I heard, Boom-Boom. Sure enough, when I headed back to the camp, there was Nelson at the cleaning table with a nice tom. The bird had a 10-inch beard and 1 ½-inch spurs. We couldn’t weigh the bird because we didn’t have a scale, but it was a good gobbler.

Nelson said he was sitting there and never heard a gobble, and he started to give up. Then, out of the blue, three big toms appeared. He said they caught him off guard. He lifted his gun, aimed and shot…and hit a tree! He said the bird was running off, but he shot again, and this time he connected.

Now, that morning I was planning on hunting where Nelson killed the tom, but I wanted to hunt the power line because I had seen more turkeys there. The moral of this story: Always evaluate each spot and scout as much as you can, because these birds moved from one area to another in a half a day. And try to find out where the birds are roosting and feeding and where the trails they’re traveling. This will make you become a better and successful turkey hunter. And maybe you’ll be the one who shoots a bird, not another guy in your hunting party.