A good set of decoys and and blind make bow hunting these birds a blast. You can get top pin close or more and have some great action. I usually like my standard 7 to 10 yard shot. This way if you are hunting wary birds and they hang up they are usually within 20 either way. They are way too small of a moving target to shoot much further than that, well at least for me.

This year I had tags for my home state of Montana as well as Idaho. The border is only 2 hours away and it offers some great turkey hunting. I like to try and hunt a few states and with it being so close I can give the birds a break and bounce back and forth. Even though you practice all year and would think that an opening morning 8 yards shot would be a slam dunk it is not! Well for me this year it was not. Who would think that such a little bird could get a grown man all flustered but it happens. A few days later I made good on my bird in Idaho.

The previous winter was rough for the turkeys in Montana and I was just not finding a good number of mature birds. The few that we had found this spring were already taken by my friends. I still head out every morning weather permitting to find a bird that wants to play the calling game. This weekend I found such a group of birds and was able to work them for over an hour. A little patience and subtle calling finally brought in this bird for another close up shot. I am tagged out for spring turkeys for this year.

But please don’t feel sorry for me because after turkeys are done I chase one of my favorite  animals, the bear. I am headed to Alberta Canada at the end of the week and look forward to finding a big mature boar. It is an excellent hunt and whether I am sitting in a stand over bait or spot and stalking I equally love to do them. Hopefully I will have some good stories and pictures of a big bear down in the next few weeks.

A big key to success is having the right set up and be in the right spot to get the birds into less than 10 yards. Here we had the 1 hen lying down and the other feeding. The Tom was facing us. It is important to face the tail towards the direction you think the Tom will come from. This bird was gobbling with a handful of hens and we got close and set up. He was down the hill behind the decoys and knew he had to come up the hill to see the set up. Most mature birds will come around and face the advisary and give you a great shot.

After a little calling the Tom could not resist coming up the hill to see if he could add these hens to his group. Once he crested the hill he saw the strutter and could not resist. He came right into the spread at full strut and Dave made a great shot. I captured the entire hunt on video for him.

That afternoon we hunted a different area and I was up to bat. We noticed that a Tom we were working was very hesitant about coming into our same spread. This bird must have had a few bad encounters with another Tom in the area and was very timid. We tried to take the strutter down after he left and call him back in but he had made his mind up not to take on another Tom. We roosted the birds and set the blind up that night in the dark. We were going to be close to their fly down zone and did not want to make any noise come morning.

The next morning we decided to only put out hens and not go with the strutting Tom. It is also very important to use very realistic decoys. I have these new hens I got and as always my strutter has a real fan in it. This added realism makes the difference no doubt. Dave even goes to the extreme of replacing the eyes on his decoys with real glass eyes from a taxidermist.

I put out the 2 hens and we nestled into the blind 30 minutes before the song birds started to wake up. The gobbling began and soon the birds hit the ground. It took a while for the group to make their way out into the green field we were sitting on. There was 4 hens 2 Jakes and the 1 Tom. The males responded to our calling a few times and at one point the 3 were less than 5 yards from the blind gobbling spitting and drumming. The problem was they were on the backside of the blind and behind the pine tree we used for cover. After about an hour the hens fed out into the field and brought the Tom with them. The Jakes kept hazing the strutting bird away from my hens as the so often do.

Patience and just some subtle calling brought the big bird closer to the hens. As he cleared the window in the blind I came to full draw and made sure the camera was rolling. After a nod from Dave I settled the Hoyt in and shot the bird broadside at under 15 yards. He went only 20 yards and never left the field.

You can also take this time to contact ranch owners and help out with their calving or fixing fences and it helps build a good relationship. I just came back from finding these sheds, running all over trying to get a big Tom in bow range and help the land owner brand calves. This little bit of work goes a long ways to keep your favorite hunting area “yours”.

Just make sure you check yourself for ticks as I pulled off 23 of the little heathens in just 1 day.

With the banquet scheduled for Saturday night, the teams split up Friday morning and settled into their blinds about 1 mile away from each other. At first light Trev and Grady, who were hunting some farm ground on the edge of a popular roosting area, had a bunch of turkeys fly into the field. After about an hour of watching the birds strut and loaf, along with some sweet alluring turkey calls, Trev arrowed a nice tom, captured for posterity and in vivid DSLR HD by Grady.

Adam and Kyle had no opportunities, and so that afternoon we switched things up. Trev was tagged out so he grabbed the camera and headed out with Kyle to try and video him take a turkey and Grady joined up with Adam. The payoff came on Saturday as Adam arrowed a nice mature tom on film literally in the nick of time, as the team had to head to McCook for their speaking engagement.

The banquet was awesome! Grady rolled camera and Adam and Trev entertained the crowd discussing the tactics of “Shadowing an Elk Herd” in order to successfully harvest trophy bulls. The response was great, along with the food (it was a wild game feast) and it was past midnight before the boys got back to the lodge to catch a few winks before the morning hunt.

In the meantime some terrible storms had moved into the area and tornado like winds were anticipated. Once again team OO split up into 2 teams (Trev/Kyle & Adam/Grady) and headed to the blinds before first light. Rockie Jacobsen, with Bugling Bull Game Calls, had called earlier in the week and asked Team OO if on this hunt, and they had a chance, they could knock a mature tom down with a shotgun on video as he needed the footage for a new commercial. Adam grabbed the bang stick and was happy to oblige.

Trev and Kyle had only hens come into range, but Adam and Grady had a mature tom bail out of the roost and strut right in front of the blind. With lightning flashing in the sky Adam waited for the tom to clear the hens and made a great shot, crumpling the big bird where he stood.

This trip was a great time and a great way to cap off our NE Turkey season. Now it’s time to get back to work preparing for the fall and continuing to finish the 4th season of production for the OO TV show

Team Outback Outdoors

This year, like in years past, I was excited to spend some time in the field calling into bow range what we like to call “feathered elk,” but this season it was going to be different because for the first time my wife Sandy and 6 year old daughter Avery were going to be joining me in the turkey blind at Swanson Lake Ranch (near Stratton, NE) for the opening day of the 2012 Nebraska turkey season.

Honestly I wasn’t sure how this hunt was going to play out, as I made the decision to NOT bring a cameraman along, but instead make this hunt a family affair. Wanting to still capture the adventure on film, I nominated my wife to be our official camera gal and gave her a quick overview on how to run the camera. Before we left I forced myself to make this hunt about the family and the outdoor experience and have the footage be secondary.

We loaded up and headed out late Friday and arrived at the SLR cabin ready for bed. The next morning I was up with the sunrise and after a quick scouting peek at a couple of spots to make sure the birds were still there, I made a hearty breakfast and we all got ready for a day of work in order to be ready for the bowhunt the next morning. Throughout the day Avery and I worked side by side gathering the decoys, delivering chairs for the blinds, and setting up another pop up blind in a great afternoon spot for the next afternoon. I went over and over the list of things that I wanted to have with us to “enhance the experience;” items like

• Fully Charged DVD player with headphones
• 4-5 DVD’s (Little House on the Prairie, Veggie Tales, and Annie to name a few)
• Heater body suit I had borrowed from my good friend Shawn Greathouse… I did NOT want Avery getting cold and uncomfortable on this first bowhunting adventure with Daddy!
• snack
• Hansens Soda
• Rambler – Avery’s favorite stuffed dog

After getting everything organized, including the special items for Avery, we headed to bed with the alarm set for O Dark Thirty.

It was quite an adventure sneaking into the bale blind with the family in the dark. This blind was set up on some farm ground about 150 yards from a row of big cottonwoods that was a primary roosting area. We were settled in and set up in plenty of time to hear the first turkeys start to wake up. It was awesome to watch Avery’s face as the birds started getting vocal. With 4 or 5 gobblers going nuts right in front of us, I had a good feeling about the morning. I had set up a jake and 4 hen decoys right by the blind and assumed we would be in a great position once the birds pitched out.

Right on time the birds flew down into the field. Soon we had two jakes heading our way and they came within 40 yards of the blind. Not being picky I got ready to whack the first jake as Sandy ran the camera. Honestly the shot was not a very difficult one and maybe I was overconfident and already imagining what a great hunter I would be in my daughter’s eyes when I shot this first bird. Regardless of the excuse, I missed. I shot back and just ruffled the feathers and the 2 jakes were gone. “You missed,” my wife said matter-of-factly. I couldn’t believe it. “Oh well” I responded trying to sound like I didn’t care, “That is why they call it hunting and not killing.” Knowing me all too well, she just smiled and we went back to watching the bigger flock that was still down the field edge to our right.

The larger flock headed out of the field never coming closer than a couple hundred yards and try as I might with my calling, I could not get them to head our way. Wondering if that was the end to our morning hunt, I called a few more times over the next half hour and soon I was answered by a gobble back in the trees. A lone tom stepped out into the field about 250 yards away and went into full strut. We were back in business!

45 minutes passed as I coaxed the lone gobbler in closer finally coming into 40 yards. Again Sandy started running the camera and Avery watched wide eyed as I came to full draw after ranging the Tom at 37 yards. The shot felt good and the bird was hit hard. With the arrow still in him he limped to the edge of the field and out of sight.

Normally I would wait a little while before going after a bird that I did not see go down, but with the family getting a little anxious we got out, and I picked up the trail. Avery and Sandy waited at the blind and I found the bird huddled up under a brush pile with the arrow still lodged in his side. He looked to be quite expired. “What a great opportunity!” I thought to myself to go get Sandy and Avery and film the whole recovery and teach her about properly recovering a shot animal. I headed back to the blind and we once again picked up the birds trail. Sandy hung back and ran camera as Avery and I lead the way and I explained every step including the importance of having an arrow nocked and ready in case I needed to shoot the bird again. We walked up to the turkey tucked under the brush and I asked Avery if she saw anything. After a few seconds of searching she spotted my bright orange fletching and pointed him out. “Do you want grab him?” I asked trying to see how hands-on she wanted to be. “No” she responded firmly and so I set my bow down and went to grab a leg on the Tom and drag him out of the brush pile.

An explosion of wings and broken branches startled me and I stepped back just as the turkey cleared the pile heading the other way. “What a moron!” I said under my breath as I beat myself up over not having checked before to make sure the bird was dead. With camera rolling on this whole debacle, I grabbed my bow and headed after the re-energized wounded tom.

I could not believe what had just happened, here I was trying to teach my daughter safety, good ethics, and the how-to’s of a turkey bowhunt and I had made every mistake in the book! I looked and looked for the bird but soon ran out of blood and lost the trail. I had lost my turkey and even more embarrassing and humiliating had done it in front of my family all captured on camera and in HD for posterity!

Dejected we loaded up our stuff and headed back to the cabin, at least we had a great spot for our afternoon hunt and hopefully a chance for me, my family’s supposed “great white” hunter, to redeem myself. That afternoon we got in the blind at 3:00pm and set up Avery’s DVD player to watch a show. It wasn’t long and 2 nice big jakes came cruising towards us. The birds started to circle our 3 hen decoys and then turned and headed off into the brush behind us. I gave a few soft yelps and a sensuous purr and the birds came right back out heading towards the decoys giving me a great 25 yard shot. This time I was determined to stop the turkey dead in its tracks and end this hunt on a high note.

Sandy got the birds in the camera and I took one last range on the larger one. I drew and settled my 20 yard pin a little high and let the arrow go. The bird immediately hit the ground and started flapping. I dove out of the blind and ran towards the downed bird. There was no way he was getting away this time! By the time I got to him he was dead and I had bagged my Nebraska turkey with my family.

I can’t express how awesome the whole hunt was having my family, especially my daughter, there in the blind with me for the whole thing. For the first time they got to experience the entire hunt in person, rather than watching it re-lived on TV. Avery jumped right in as we set the bird up for some pictures and filmed the recovery interview retelling our adventure for the camera. This was definitely the BESTEST TURKEY HUNT EVER!

I have had great luck over the last 5 years or so hunting elk during the mid day when they are in a set area and bedded. The wind and thermals are steady and the elk are more relaxed and stationary. If you can get in close to the herd and get within a bull’s comfort zone you have a good chance of calling him in. Those bulls will also get up often during the mid day and water, wallow or walk through their herd checking for estrous cows. This can be a deadly tactic on big herd bulls that you will have a hard time calling at any other time.

There were some great trophies brought in for display including a huge 193 inch ram, a 350 plus elk and several Pope and Young deer and antelope.After swapping hunting stories with a group of men and women and future hunters the kids we all enjoyed a great dinner. I was tasked with entertaining the group for 45 minutes with a speech. I chose to discuss the ever pressing issue of the wolves and the damage they have caused to our state as well as several others. It was a topic I take serious and have posted my opinions several times on different forums. With our state being so large there were many people who did not realize how bad it was.

Everyone had a great time and I look forward to speaking for them again and finishing the spring with a few more shows and seminars. Next up it will be the mountain chicken aka turkey and then the bears of the Canada.

This year I was invited to attend as a guest speaker and when I heard Adam was going to be free for the weekend I quickly roped him into helping me tag team my two seminars. Bowhunting legend M.R. James, founder of Bowhunter Magazine, was the featured speaker and the attendance was incredible. I love giving seminars but it was particularly fun in this environment as I feel as if it Outback Outdoors’ home bowhunting organization.

I started off the day with a seminar called “Shadowing an Elk Herd.” Bringing Adam into the mix we showcased some tips and tricks we use to successfully harvest bull elk, particularly herd bulls, with this technique. Using video is a great way to reinforce a point as you teach good information. Honestly who doesn’t like watching bugling bull elk? We also had a few awesome clips of Rockie Jacobsen (Bugling Bull Game Calls) as he, in detail, explained how he calls and moves to consistently kill bulls.

In the afternoon we switched gears to my “Being Prepared for the Backcountry” seminar. In this seminar I tapped into my experience as an athlete and brought in Andrew Munsell and Shawn Greathouse of Hamskea Archery to discuss equipment prep (particularly bow preparation and third axis). We also discussed being physically and mentally prepared for bowhunting and practical techniques to be ready.

Overall we had a great time, exposed a lot of people to Outback Outdoors, talked about the new TV show, and discussed the Full Draw Film Tour coming to Denver in June, I am already looking forward to next year!

Trev – Outback Outdoors

In part one I will cover the unguided route. To do this hunt properly you have to do a lot of preperation prior to the hunt even starting. You must first decide where you want to go and for what species you want to hunt.

Each state out West has very different regulations, deadlines and laws that you must be conscious of. Some of the applications resemble that of a 100 page novel. Make sure you study the booklets and call all of the fish and game offices to help fill out these properly. Deadlines vary from the end of January up to the end of May. Applications can also be very complicated as to having to pay a partial fee or the entire tag fee up front. Seek help from friends who have been through this process before or have hunted the same state that you are choosing. You want to make sure everything is filled out properly prior to sending it in. I once lost a years point in Arizona just because my check was not addressed properly.

Now that you have sent off your tags its time to research your hunting area. With the Internet now it is far easier to scout. Google earth, Topo maps and GPS devices make this a breeze. You can not do enough home work and the more you put in now the better your hunt will be when you arrive. Scout now and hunt more later is a good saying. Check with local fish and game offices, biologists as well as game wardens. Call local taxidermists and they usually have some good current information of your area. It is always best if you have a few partners who will go on the hunts with you. This way you can share the work load and compare notes. Give each friend a task or two to handle and the research goes a lot easier.

The West can be very hard for the average hunter especially if he or she is not in top shape. It amazes me how many people spend a bunch of time scouring hunting stats, working on getting their tags in and do not work on their fitness. I believe it is by far the number one factor why people are not successful on their Western adventure. You have no excuse to not hike or walk and do some type of weight training. Put a back pack on and start walking. Altitudes range from 3000 feet to well above 10,000 feet. You can’t adjust for the altitude when living out East but if your body is in shape you can acclimate much quicker. Work on this at least 3 times a week and you will be much happier when carrying out your elk quarter on your back.

Having the right gear is a very important aspect of your hunt. Will you be hunting out of your truck everyday or using atv’s or even on horse back. Now is the time to get your equipment dialed in and be familiar with it. Make sure everything is is running order and tuned up. If it is a motorized vehicle make sure you have the proper permits to drive on forest roads. Some areas only allow you to use them for recovery during the mid day hours. A simple registration sticker is all you need. In Montana however you must have a working light, horn and rear view mirror to drive on roads. Spare gas cans and tires are also important. Most areas will be far from a local fuel stop.

Will you be hunting from a camper everyday or using it as a base camp. Are you sleeping in a tent and cooking over a fire. Another popular way is the bivy style hunting where you carry everything on your back as you go along. All have their place and people will choose a variety of ways to hunt. It does not matter to me just get out there and hunt. The weather can change in a minute’s notice whether you are out West in August or November. Having a proper shelter can make a huge difference.

Hopefully by now the mail man would have brought you good news and a tag is in hand for one of the great Western states for a fall hunt. Do not be intimidated by the process and do yourself a favor by coming out West and try it and I guarantee you will not be disappointed whether you punch your tag or not.

We are also pleased to announce that not only will we be using the awesome BBGC products, but we are also going to implement the use of some of their exciting footage….. What a great way to make sure we are bringing the best western bowhunting/hunting action to our audiences!!

Team Outback Outdoors welcomes Rockie Jacobsen and the crew at BBGC’s and look for them in some of our upcoming shows!!

Trev – Team Outback Outdoors

2012 is proving to be a pivotal year for us at Outback Outdoors and if you’ve visited the OO website lately you will have noticed some changes. We started off with installing a new video player that is not only faster but gives you the option, depending on your internet speed, of watching Outback Outdoors in HD. We have also been working on the OO team store where you can get some great OO apparel and caps and should launch that in the next few weeks… but that is NOT the big news.

Starting April 1st Outback Outdoors can be seen on the local CBS affiliate for northern Colorado (NoCo Channel 5) at 10 pm Sunday Evenings with a second airing during the week (time still to be nailed down). We are excited to bring the action of the OO team to our own backyard and continue to expand the community of outdoorsmen that we started over 3 years ago.

Starting next week NoCo Channel 5 will also be airing our 30 second Promo spot to promote the show and as always we want you all to have the first preview. You can watch the promo on either Youtube or Vimeo and I will also embed it in this newsletter, but unfortunately some email programs will not show the embedded video so click on the above internet video host of your choice, let it load and enjoy!

We have also completed the new Outback Outdoors’ 2012 Intro and want to let you all have a sneak peak. You can watch this too on Youtube or Vimeo.

Featured Announcement: Outback Outdoors Introduces New Producer/Editor

Grady Rawls is no stranger to the outdoors. Since a young boy, his love for the mountains of his home state of Washington only slightly out weigh his passion to capture the adventure of the wild outback through the medium of cinematic video.

With a degree from Oregon State in New Media Communications – Film Option he has built up quite a resume in the outdoors. He has worked in conjunction with the Oregon Wolf Education Program and the legendary Marc Bales (of Pahsimeroi Pictures) on Wallowa County Wolves and OR-7.

Grady’s experience and creativity of using action packed hunting footage combined with gorgeous DSLR video, exquisite graphics, and extraordinary editing makes him the perfect fit to help Outback Outdoors take it to the next level!

If you liked Outback Outdoors before… You are going to love Outback Outdoors even more in 2012! We are thrilled to have him as the newest member of the Outback Outdoors’ team.

More Exciting News: Outback Outdoors Partners with the Full Draw Film Tour for the Denver Colorado Show, June 29th, 2012

In 2011 Outback Outdoors had their first taste of the Full Draw Film Tour as one of the featured producers. This year we will once again be one of the producers but Team OO will also be working even harder to host and promote this charitable event in our neck of the woods.

This is FDFT’s second year of bringing this tour to the west and this year they are expanding to even more western cities. Outback Outdoors is partnering up to bring this bowhunting adventure on “the Big Screen” to the Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado. If you live in Colorado save the date of Friday June 29th at 6pm on your calendar and come with us as we take this bowhunting cinema experience to the next level. Our primary goal is to unite bowhunters, fuel the outdoorsman and create excitement for all those passionate about Archery.

The FDFT Objective… “FDFT is a Non-Profit Organization dedicated to archery and the pursuit of compassion for those in need. Join us as we support this hunting related charity through the archery community by using the talents of independent bowhunting filmmakers and your support. By involving independent filmmakers, FDFT can capture the true essence of bowhunting in the west and provide a show that relates to the sportsman. There is no other hunting event like this!”

FDFT and Outback Outdoors want to partner up with you to elevate archery, the outdoors, and MOST importantly support Hunt Of A Lifetime. The FDFT tour will provide compassion and encouragement for challenged children with unfortunate health circumstances. It is their desire that all kids have a chance to pursue a hunting experience and adventure—Hunt Of A Lifetime makes that possible.

Sponsor Spotlight: Outback Outdoors Announces 3 year Partnership with S4 Gear

As most hunters know, the gear you use can mean the difference between success and eating “Tag Soup.” At Outback Outdoors we use only the best gear in the backcountry and that is why we are thrilled to announce a 3 year partnership between OO and S4 Gear.

With innovative products like the Lockdown and EVO it is a common sense partnership between Outback Outdoors and S4 Gear who make quality gear for the hardcore hunter that truly lives up to their motto; “Meeting the demands of nature and those who tame it.”

As always we encourage your input, email us at info@outbackoutdoors.net, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to an exciting 2012 and be ready for more adrenaline pumping action from the OO team soon at Outback Outdoors.

OO Shows Coming Soon – Spot and Stalk BC Bear Hunt with Jim Brennan, Eastern CO Muleys with Dave Beronio, KS, MO, and NE Whitetail with Adam Wells and Trevon Stoltzfus, and more…

Trevon Stoltzfus – Outback Outdoors