John's Journal...


BOB WOZNIAK - A GREAT NORTHERN TURKEY HUNTER

Hunt Near The Traffic And Walk Instead of Ride

Click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Bob Wozniak of Boston, New York, one of the true masters of the sport of turkey hunting in New York State and a member of the Quaker Boy Calls' Hunt Team, has hunted turkeys for more than 30 years. He's bagged a gobbler or called in a gobbler for someone to take every year that New York has had a turkey season. Let's look this week at some of Wozniak's best northern tactics for taking toms in the spring, since many northern states still are having turkey seasons.

Click to enlargeAlthough New York State may issue around 150,000 permits each year, sometimes hunters only will harvest 1,000 birds. According to Wozniak, "On many public-hunting areas in New York, the turkeys have to deal with a tremendous amount of hunting pressure," Wozniak explained. "But I've found very productive turkey hunting in the woodlots close to major highways and Interstates. I know you miss some of the beauty of the silent woods when a big 18-wheeler comes roaring by you, but that noise doesn't spook the turkeys. Most hunters won't hunt these places because they can't hear the turkeys gobble as well as they can further away from the Interstates. The longbeards that live close to the highways usually have experienced Click to enlargelittle or not hunting pressure. I've found these birds are easier to locate, to call in and to get them to come into the gun than the toms farther away from the highways."

Walk Instead of Ride:

In the past year, Wozniak hunted roads like most turkey hunters in New York. But in recent years he's found and bagged more gobblers by walking rather than riding the ridgetops. "When I start out in the morning, I try to get on the back side of a ridge close to a road that hunters use," Wozniak reported. "Or, I'll hunt the second ridge away from the road. I canClick to enlarge locate gobblers in these areas that the road hunters never will call to or hear. I also like to walk because I believe I'll have a better chance of calling turkeys the more mobile I am. Often the fastest way to get to a bird that gobbles in the morning is to go through the woods rather than by the road. If I'm in the woods hunting and you're on the road calling and a tom gobbles, more than likely I can get close to that bird and call him to me before you can drive near him, get out of the car, walk into the woods and begin to call."

TOMORROW: HUNT THE DRUMS AND DON'T DEPEND JUST ON YOUR CALLING

 

 

 


Check back each day this week for more about BOB WOZNIAK - A GREAT NORTHERN TURKEY HUNTER

Day 1: My Hunt With Wozniak
Day 2: Hunt Near The Traffic And Walk Instead of Ride
Day 3: Hunt The Drums And Don't Depend Just On Your Calling
Day 4: Endure Pain And Don't Be A Copycat
Day 5: Know Which Turkeys To Go To

 

 

Entry 298, Day 2