We have a treat for you! We've included audio from our turkey hunt here in Missouri that took place during the last week of the season. These longbeards were fired up and responding to every sound in the timber. Yes, it was one of those hunts, nonstop gobbling until they strutted into 25 yards. 

The evening previous these same turkeys were gobbling on the limb after fly up, so we were able to make a firm plan for the morning's hunt. We knew we had to be on the same hardwood bench as them and that we needed to get as close as possible! We snuck to 100 yards from them on the limb and let the hunt unfold. 

Be sure to listen closely to the techniques, sounds, calls, and timing/usage of each of them. Talking turkey isn't always about making the perfect clean yelp. Turkeys make vocalizations as well as sounds as they move about the landscape. These tips will help you close the deal in the turkey woods! 

Sometimes we all gravitate toward the easy options or less complex issues at hand. However, if we want to understand turkeys and their reproductive cycles more, then we have to take a deep dive off the deep end into the reality of predation during nesting season. 

We chat with Dr. Colier in detail about the tendency for hunters to place trail cameras over turkey nests to attempt to document the events that will unfold, whether it be hatching or predation. However, this causes issues and drastically increases the chance of a nest being predated upon. In addition, we have to ask ourselves within the realm of predators is, who are the predators versus the scavengers in this equation? Are hens getting bumped off nests and then scavengers are taking eggs or is a hen predated and then scavengers will come and raid a nest that would fail regardless? This issue is complex, so we have to tackle it with opinions aside and let the facts speak for themselves. 

If you want a real conversation about the state of wild turkeys, then tune in! 
 

What is a Micro-Climate? Have you ever heard of that before? Did you know that you are likely impacting or creating a micro-climate right now as we speak? Better tune up to this podcast as we discuss the interworking of how vegetation, shade, humidity alters the future of the site drastically.  

This podcast will change the way you look at your land. This podcast is designed to connect you intimately with the vegetation growing on your property and the results of them. We are talking about soil temperatures, moistures levels, and species of vegetation present. Micro-climates will open your eyes to see more parts of your farm in greater detail. 

We hope you enjoy this podcast! Tune in next week for more land management content. 

First and foremost, we are talking about detail work this week! Yes, we are not talking just 80 grit management. This is the fine-tuning and finish work or perhaps the icing on the cake. We are talking about planting fruit trees and mast producers on recreational property. 

When you dig in and find a better mousetrap, you know you are on to something! Foraging swamping is a new term that we are bringing to the table regarding the placement, addition, and congregation of food resources in relation to bedding and other factors of the property. Fruit tree selection based should be relative to the area and the other supplemental forages in that area of the farm. We want to swamp the area with as many high-quality food resources as possible that all correlate to each other. 

To learn more of when, where, and how to plant soft and hard mast give this podcast a listen!  

The best turkey callers are not ones who sound the best throughout every yelping sequence or one that can make the most delicate turkey noises, it's those who know when and what to say based on a turkeys body language. 

Body posture, gobbling response time/intensity, strutting direction, and head color change, are all indicators we look very closely at when calling in a longbeard. These are telltale signs of when the next call needs to occur and the intensity in which you deliver it.  

During the opening day of Missouri's turkey season, Chainsaw Chad had a hunt that unfolded just 35 yards in front of him which provides you will some great insight on why this scenario worked on an early gobbler with hens. Follow along on this podcast to learn the details that matter when closing the deal wild turkeys. 

What is the purpose of land? Why would you wish you're hunting success on luck? 

We sit down with the Element guys this week to discuss hunting, fishing, and Christ. We cover a lot of topics so buckle up! 

During this week's podcast, Matt and Frank discuss the usage, application, and perspective that involve the four main types of habitat management tools. The four main types include prescribed fire, grazing, timber cutting/harvesting, and herbicide application.  

These tools and their usage fall along a wide spectrum of usage, on both ends of the spectrum, either overuse or no use of each tool is less than ideal. The middle ground is where you find our recommendations lie. There is a balance that all land managers must find when it comes to using these tools and getting the responses you want the most. Factors such as regions, vegetation types, and climate all impact what is proper usage for you in your situation, not someone on social media. 

It's time to use these tools appropriately to generate the response that will achieve your results. 

During the last few weeks of working across the country, we have seen successes and results around every corner. There is one theme however that rings true, the harder you push the envelope on habitat, the better you get. There is no dipping your toe in and finding incredible long-lasting success, it's full-on!

Follow along with us this week as we discuss the results from western Oklahoma, southern Florida, central Alabama, and central Pennsylvania. No matter where you go or what landscape you find yourself in, the results are there to be found if you don't get in the way. Sometimes the best thing to do is commit and implement. This sounds simple, but remember your results are waiting for you on the other side of the commitment. 

This week we're discussing a recent prescribed fire at "The Woodlands" and how each and every burn unit has the ability to provide different results from each burn year to the next. You know what they say "Fires are burning up the turkey nests!" Let's get real here, grassland fires are about the only fire that burns 95% of the burn units. Timber burns with much terrain will almost always have areas that didn't burn. 

We're also discussing the encounter Chad had the day after the burn with a lone hen. This strange encounter leads us to believe something else may be happening to our turkeys! #Forloveofhteland

How do you know when you've accomplished your goals? Is it the amount of deer you're seeing, the turkeys harvested, or the amount of money made on the farm? Whatever your goals are we can all agree that defining them is a must but sometimes it's hard to make those goals and we can get lost on the road. That road is without a destination but more just a direction to travel. This is where many are leading us in the direction of soil health. We're told we should be working to improve it, we're told to believe we can have amazing crops, and we're also told it could mean healthier animals, bigger bucks. Here's the problem, none of it can be proven and it all comes back to smoke and mirrors.