John's Journal...


BOB WOZNIAK - A GREAT NORTHERN TURKEY HUNTER

Endure Pain And Don't Be A Copycat

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 areClick to enlarge having turkey seasons.

Regardless of the type of insect repellent you use, bugs always seem to aggravate you in the springtime when you've got a gobbler close to you. You'll find developing the ability to grin and bear bug bites a tremendous advantage to successful turkey hunting. "Even when you can't see the turkey but have a gobbler close, don't move," Wozniak cautioned. A few years ago, Wozniak and a friend had sat down next to a big tree with a gobbler about 75 yards in front of them out of sight. "When my hunting partner felt Click to enlargea bug chewing on his forehead, he reached up to swat it," Wozniak recalled. "He didn't realize a second very-big gobbler with a long beard was sneaking in to our left. But my friend spooked the gobbler he hadn't see when he swatted the mosquito. That bird gave an alarm putt and ran off, spooking the tom coming in to our calling out in front of us." Often when you sit down to call a turkey, you'll call in more than one gobbler. But once you've made the decision to call the bird to you, sit as still as possible. If the bugs start biting, just learn to grin and bear it.

Click to enlargeDon't Be A Copycat:

Wozniak has discovered that by changing calls he can bag more turkeys than if he uses the same type of call everyone else in an area does. "If everyone where I hunt uses a diaphragm call, I'll use a Quaker Boy Easy Yelper, a push-button call, a box call or a slate call," Wozniak commented. "I want to use a different call than the other hunters in the woods do. I really believe that gives me an advantage."

TOMORROW: KNOW WHICH TURKEYS TO GO TO

 

 

 

 

 

 


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 4