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Save the Poults!

Recent studies out of Tennessee indicate low nest success and poult survival as a result of predation.

Save the poults!

That is the new mission behind the movement to trap as many raccoons as possible. Trapping is a tool of conservation and it’s important for us to be good stewards of our natural resources. Trapping is also a great way for family to enjoy the outdoors together.

Trapping Raccoons

Raccoons are at the top of the list of most effective turkey nest predators. Now is the time to remove these egg-eating bandits from your landscape in order to help hen nesting efforts this spring.

If you are interested in managing your property for turkeys, you can have an impact on turkey nest success if you begin trapping mammalian nest predators. Mammals make up an average of around 60% in nest predation. Studies have shown tremendous increases in turkey numbers after trapping has taken place in an area

When you’re targeting raccoons, you want to get dog-proof traps. Dog-proof traps are efficient and easy to set. You will want to buy at least six traps if you are trapping on 50 acres or more. Your odds increase with the number of traps you put out.

At minimum you need your trapping license, traps, cable or chains to secure traps to trees, trap tags and bait.

For your all-in-one option, the North American Trapper Dog-Proof Raccoon Package has all the tools you need to successfully trap raccoons. This is the ultimate starter kit for a beginner in trapping.

The kit comes with the basic dog-proof equipment necessary to get those tight chains on the line. The NAT Dog-Proof Raccoon Package comes with six Duke Dog Proof Traps, six 3’ cable extensions with S-hooks, and six NAT Ground Talon SD Stakes.

The package also includes a wood handle trapper’s trowel, a trapper’s hammer, stake driver, S-hook tool, trapper gloves, water gauntlets and a pack of 25 trap tags.

Dispatch your nest raiders with the North American Trapper .177 Crosman Vantage edition. This .177 is powered by a nitro piston and reaches velocities up to 1,200 feet per second.

The Crosman Vantage is a break barrel single shot capacity using .177 pellet ammo and is touted as 70% quieter and 25% more accurate than other .177 options. North American Trapper’s logo is engraved into the wood stock, the Crosman Vantage is 45” long and weights about seven pounds.

Teaching the next generation to trap

Lewis Tandy, of Tandy’s Lures, has been doing his part to pass on the trapping tradition to the next generation of trappers.

Trapping is a pastime that has become less popular over the years, but it may be needed more now than ever before.

Recently, Tandy took Hershael York, a young man that he has been mentoring, out to check his traps.

They came back with one red fox and two grays, as seen below.

Tandy features a line of incredible lures that can be found on his website. For this set, Tandy the red fox was caught on Wolf Creek, Red End, and ST8, while the first gray fox was on Grubstaker, Toxic Purr, and Gunslinger. The second gray was caught in a blind set.

A big thanks to Tandy for letting us share his photos and story, and more importantly, for being willing to take a kid trapping!

Decoy Setups for This Turkey Season

Increase your turkey decoy effectiveness this spring by making sure you have specific decoys for scenarios you might encounter while hunting.

Decoys for the Leery Gobbler

The Avian-X LCD Feeder Hen will draw gobblers in close. This decoy is another great option that provides a relaxed and natural look to your setup. The LCD hen is 15% smaller than a real turkey and is easy to transport.

You can use a feeding hen decoy in any situation. Put it out by itself during late morning or midday hunts. Combine it with a strutting jake or half strut jake decoy and an upright hen. If you only have room to carry one decoy, take a feeding hen.

Decoys for Henned-Up Longbeards

The Avian-X Look-Out Hen’s raised height and posture is a decoy that helps in situations where tall grass is present. Use this decoy in late spring situations when vegetation is thicker.

Gobblers leave their morning hens after the first few hours of daylight. For late morning or early afternoon hunts, put this decoy out in a strut zone by itself and let her go to work for you. Call every 30 minutes. An unattended hen is exactly what a midday longbeard is looking for.

Killer Combos

If you like to hunt in blinds, if you have a youth hunter, or if you have a disability that doesn’t allow you to run and gun, take a combination of decoys to use on your hunt. 

A Jake and a hen, or a Jake and two hens are killer combinations to put out in front of the blind before daylight.

The pairing of a half strut Jake and upright hen can help you in several situations. The half strut Jake is going to appear more submissive to a dominant gobbler and the lookout hen is the boss hen that gobbler wants to take from the Jake decoy. 

If a real hen has a gobbler hung up at 80 yards, your upright hen might be a threat to the real hen. The real hen might come into your setup to challenge the decoy and in doing so, she unknowingly leads the longbeard to his impending demise.

Take At Least One Decoy

If you turkey hunt long enough without a decoy, you will encounter situations where a gobbler will come to your calling, but won’t come into range because he can’t see the hen that is calling to him. He has to have the visual. 

In most cases, you’re telling your buddies about a close encounter instead of sending grip ‘n’ grins.

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