njyelper

Usually, when I get back to my truck, I put the mouth call in a paper towel or tissue. Once home, I rinse it off and place in a small pyrex dish filled with water and store in the fridge. When taken back out, I rinse under the faucet and either place in mouth or a paper towel for pocket storage. I believe rinsing under the faucet should get the reeds unstuck with the force of the water spreading them apart.

Love using my Lynch's World Championship box call which is about 50 yrs. old. to call birds. But being old-fashioned and usually sitting against a tree (no blind), I realized birds could probably see my hands move about 100 yds away, so I needed to use a mouth call. Then, I also realized I was trying to stick the diaphragm too far back in my mouth. It works for me to wedge the flat end of the call against the side teeth in the front and get a good seal against the roof. Sometimes, I think I sound horrible but have managed to hold conversations with birds by just wailing away. Several years ago, I was hunting at the Berkshire Valley WMA and walked along a deer path to a tree slightly off the path. After getting all camo'd up and seated, a single deer came walking down the same trail and walked about 30 ft. away. As it went slightly downhill about 50 ft. away to browse, the idea came to me to see how it would react to my mouth call. I decided to just make a racket. Once I did, the deer didn't even bat an eye, just kept browsing. Only when the breeze brought my scent to it, did it get spooked. Sometimes, the old trial-and-error method works best.

Have used Sawyer treatment for years during turkey hunting in Morris, Warren and Hunterdon counties. In all that time, from sitting on the ground, have never found a tick on me or my clothes. Compare that to my wife and my neighbor who have both tested positive for Lyme from just working in their respective yards here in town. Because of that, I've been treating my yardwork clothing with either the Sawyer product or daily bug repellant spray these days.

TTT . . . price drop.

Push pole, three-piece to 12-foot length with attachment on end. Sold as is. Asking $25. Can meet up at reasonable distance. Located in Warren County.

Lightly used Frabill Power Catch Net - Hoop: 32" x 41", Handle: 48" and Net Depth: 42". Asking $140. Willing to meet up at reasonable distance. Located in Warren County.

Orange tint to the daylight here in Warren County.

Bring a reasonably accurate sample to a paint store and get them to match the color. Then just paint the patched areas. Sherwin-Williams did a good job matching the color of our vinyl siding for painting the concrete foundation.

In 2015, neither my dog(small) nor I heard the bear which walked up to us (about 6 feet) while we were on the sidewalk in town. A passing motorist had stopped to tell me that a bear was on the next street over. After a few seconds of thought, I decided to walk back to my house. Only got 3/4 of the way turned around and I was looking into two large, dark eyes. Figured I should move out of its way so it could cross the sidewalk. That bear had jumped over a little dog gate, walked on the concrete walkway next to my neighbor's porch and stopped where his lawn drops to the sidewalk. Never knew it was standing practically next to us in the broad daylight. As big as a bear is, they move quietly.

My main point would be that movement or lack thereof whether in a tree or at the bottom of one either alerts or doesn't alert turkeys. The WMA which I hunted Monday has a decent population of foxes and coyotes. I have seen & heard them while fishing and hunting. Therefor my observation for week A is that when the birds fly down, they get out in the open, but not too close to the brush line since that's a good hiding place for the canine predators. My observation for week B is after the birdshot starts flying, the birds change their behavior and get in the brush and though they respond to calling, they aren't coming out till a hen comes to them. New predators have moved into the area (hunters) and they adapt. I have to assume they have adapted to the increased presence of bald eagles and pay attention to overhead threats. A few years ago, while trout fishing in a nearby river to this WMA, I had three separate flyovers by a bald eagle while wading in the water. The first time, the eagle was probably only 20 to 25 feet over my head. I have to think the turkeys have adapted to eagles also, even if only when they are younger & thus smaller. Turkeys adapt quickly to all present dangers.

It was commendable to pass up a shot which you thought was questionable. Box calls are great. Your call is a lot more colorful than my close to 50-year-old Lynch's World Champion box. The box calls really project enough volume to get the bird's attention from afar.

There was later mention of safety issues and the sight ability of the birds. Elevated or ground hunting. The birds not noticing a hunter also means any hunters aren't going to see the hunter. Furthermore, if in a hilly area, would not a bird who is 30 feet above level ground see you move if your tree stand was thirty feet above level ground?

Always associated turkey hunting with finding a good tree with just the right lean to sit up against. Being comfortable helps to remain motionless as much as possible. Just my experience & opinion that turkeys can see your hand move at 100 yds. Whether elevated or on the ground, the key is no movement when birds are near. Being as I wear glasses, I wear a cap with an attached head net. Being camo'd up from head to toe, I know other hunters will usually never see me even in the daylight. What I noticed Monday on the local WMA was that a couple other hunters had their locations marked in the dark with small orange lights. Don't know if there is a specific light made for that, but it's helpful to know exactly where everyone is basically hidden.

Size 20 zebra midge and size 16 scud. Fish low & slow.

Centerfire, either indoors or outdoors: ear plugs and earmuffs Rimfire, either indoors or outdoors: ear plugs and earmuffs if a high volume of shooting but maybe only one or the other if shooting alone outside. Hunting: usually the soft ear plugs with the metal cylinder inside, also use these for concerts