its getting close to turkey season

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Matt Valinsky

April 21 for us.

Ever try deep frying the whole bird in peanut oil? It's pretty darn good, very moist and doesn't take long to cook.

This year going to use a Harrington & Richardson dbl. 10ga. that I bought last fall. Looking forward to chasing those critters this spring..................

Yeah, those deep fat turkey fryers were popular about five years ago, then people took up tipping them over by mistake which cooked them from the knee caps down. Lawsuits galore.

Next season I'm going to my property in Northern Calif, which is coated with Turkey. I'll shoot them with my GH...or maybe my Sterlingworth which has an extremely tight full choked barrel. Then I'll see if my wife can cook one. I'm a partner in 1300 acres...hard hunting tho...the place is covered with poison oak.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Steve McCarty

I'm a partner in 1300 acres...hard hunting tho...the place is covered with poison oak.

Last year, hunting turkeys at my cousin's farm in Ohio, a mature section of hardwoods we hunted had an carpet-like understory of poison ivy as far as we could see. When we were sitting in it calling and watching birds the poison ivy was almost up to our shoulders.

You go where the birds are!

Neither of us got 'the itch'... but we were very careful handling our hunting clothes when we came in.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Last year, hunting turkeys at my cousin's farm in Ohio, a mature section of hardwoods we hunted had an carpet-like understory of poison ivy as far as we could see. When we were sitting in it calling and watching birds the poison ivy was almost up to our shoulders.

You go where the birds are!

Neither of us got 'the itch'... but we were very careful handling our hunting clothes when we came in.

For my first 14 years my family lived in New York State. For 5 years in Westchester County. Good hunting. LOTS of poison ivy. Then my folks moved to Northern Calif and we had lots of poison oak. They are very different. One a vine the other a bush. The bushes can be 10' tall and cover acres! If you catch the stuff, as I do, you just cannot go into those bushes. If a quail falls into them, and you don't have a dog...well, it is a loss. Most of them fall into those bushes. Deer too. Little tiny black tail deer. Lots of them. Trouble is, in Northern Calif deer season is in September. The hottest month of the year. Shoot it, gut it, immediately bag it.

Step into the woods in Northern Calif and you are assaulted by divisions of ticks. They drop onto you from overhanging brush and cling to the tall grass. They like to hide and feed in warm wet places on your bod. Lime disease lurks. Lots of people have it. I no longer live in California and I love being shut of that state...still own some land tho.

I envy you gents in the east. Seems to me that the shooting/hunting/woods are better there that out west. There is some good hunting out here, but generally you have to pay for it. You pay through the nose. Most of my hunting is sage rat shooting, often free, and no, I do not eat them. It is fun tho.

[Double Lab]

Steve,
Here in the eastern woods we have plenty of poison ivy and oak, deer ticks and brown ticks. You are not alone.

[charlie cleveland]

your one lucky fella to have a lot of turkeys on his place..as you this is my favorite bird or game to hunt...the turkey as become a legend he is as sharp eyed as a eagle and can hear a pin drop..it has been sais if a turkey could smell as good as a deer it would be almost impossible to get...only 7 days left till i can chase this magnificent bird again...think i m gona tote a tite choked 12 for the first day too...charlie

[Mills]

We do a good bit of controlled burning in these parts which makes turkey hunting much more pleasant. No crackling of leaves, no poison ivy and fewer ticks and redbugs. The downside here is the land is flat and open and the turkeys can see for a long way around.

[Dean Romig]

WARNING:

DO NOT STAND DOWNWIND OF BURNING POISON IVY----- You WILL wind up in the hospital with SEVERE respiratory problems.

[Mills]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

WARNING:

DO NOT STAND DOWNWIND OF BURNING POISON IVY----- You WILL wind up in the hospital with SEVERE respiratory problems.

Geez. I sure hope you are not speaking from experience.

[Mills]

Yikes! That makes sense. I have not participated in controlled burning in years, but will remember that.

[Dean Romig]

Not my own experience, but that of a very close childhood friend who came very close to losing his life due to the severe inflamation, pus, and swelling in his lungs. He is still highly susceptible to pneumonia even today.