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10 days till turkey season!


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Hey guys, trail cams been out for a week, walked the property haven’t seen any turkey tracks. Went out Sunday when it was windy and cold… called. No roosted birds no gobbles. Trail cams been out with no sign of turkey. Let’s talk options. It’s not looking good so far. 

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33 minutes ago, Tyler0420 said:

I was up north on Wednesday and turkeys were out. 

I was going to ask how far north do turkeys live & asked Mrs. Google .

They are taking advantage of the 'climate' and heading to Alaska .

 

                     

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Bill, that map isn't fully accurate for their northernmost range in Ontario - they have ranged further north than that map indicates.  Back in 2007 we were moose hunting 1 hour north of Blind River, and one of our guys saw a hen turkey on a game trail in that area. There is an established flock on St Joseph Island, and many of these birds have been found north of the island on the mainland as well.  The bird our guy saw was probably a migrant from the St Jo flock.

 

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We have lots of birds in Astorville now. They are deffinitley pushing further north! Was scouting today in Caistor Centre. Seen a big gobbler on the prowl. Can't wait to get in the blind! Good luck Gentlemen! 

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I have seen turkeys around the Town of Southriver.  There were about 8 of them in one flock.  Been seeing them for the last 5 years in different locations in the area.  I'm sure there are at least 3 different flocks that I see.

Seems that they are thriving well in the area

 

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It's good to see they are surviving the colder northern regions of Ontario . About 25-30 yrs. ago I saw about 20 turkeys  in an open field near Frankford (north of Belleville) .

Astorville  is near Nosbonsing and close to moose hunting territory . We would have enjoyed  a turkey on our moose trips but the grouse were always easy available .

Our grandkids parents (Ryckman) have been living in South River for many years and a friend had a cottage at Eagle Lake where we caught small rainbow trout (canoe).

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Weather forecast is looking good for Thursday’s opener - sunny and clear.

However, it’s going to be a cold start to the morning (-3C) forecast, so I’ll be getting out the warm thermals to put on!

At least I won’t have to worry about taking the Thermacell for mosquitoes.

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I just want to see some dry weather because I hunt the family farm near Cayuga, and that Haldimand clay is a gooey, sticky mess to have to walk through when its wet!  When its wet I try to stick to the 3 hay fields on the farm just because its easier walking thru grass than muddy grain fields, but my favourite opening day spot is against a tree in a grain field south of the main bush roost trees.  And I have hunted them in all kinds of weather except thunderstorms.  More than once I have started a morning hunt, only to have to make a run for the car because it started thundering, and I’m carrying a nice steel “lightning rod” (gun)!!

 

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On 4/15/2024 at 3:23 PM, Markster said:

The blind is out and I’ve got my full bottle of mustard all ready to go!!

 

 

Planning on heading out for opener myself, gotta ask, what is the mustard for? Hotdogs? LOL

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On 4/19/2024 at 7:35 PM, Tinyboatcam said:

Hey guys, trail cams been out for a week, walked the property haven’t seen any turkey tracks. Went out Sunday when it was windy and cold… called. No roosted birds no gobbles. Trail cams been out with no sign of turkey. Let’s talk options. It’s not looking good so far. 

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Picture of property at first glance doesn't look overly promising, no turkey sign, no pictures, unless I'm missing something I'd say move on to greener pastures.

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Take your bird breast, marinate with mountain dew for 30-45 minutes, then liberally slather it with mustard. Put it on the bbq until you get the internal temp right and sit back with a cold one and enjoy. Lots of videos on youtube for this recipe. Heres one:

 

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Hmm mustard? My wife started putting that on spareribs before cooking and I thought she had gone crazy but turned out pretty good after basting after grilled with BBQ sauce. In the unlikely chance that I get a turkey this year I will likely deep fry it, but this recipe looks intriguing.

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Here is the jerky recipe I use - I got it from the OOD magazine web forum many years ago.

I have a 3-rack jerky tray set that I got from Cabela's, and I do it on my 4-burner BBQ (because my wife hates me smelling up the house doing it in the oven), with only one burner on low to medium - takes about 5-6 hours, and I rotate the racks 180 degrees, and bottom to top every 30 minutes to get consistent results.

 

Called T-birds jerky

Ingredients
- 4 pounds round steak (I do it with turkey or venison)
- 4 tablespoons onion powder 
- 1 1/3 teaspoons black pepper 
- 1 1/3 teaspoons garlic powder 
- 2 pinches salt 
- 1 teaspoon dry Italian-style salad dressing mix 
- 1 cup Worcestershire sauce 
- 1 cup soy sauce 
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 

Directions
1.    Cut meat into strips no thicker than 1/4 inch. In a large bowl, mix together onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, salt and Italian seasoning. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and pepper sauce. Place meat into a container, and combine with marinade. Cover, and refrigerate 24 hours. (i like marinating it for 2days).
2.    Place oven rack on the highest level. Place aluminum foil on bottom of oven to catch drips. Preheat oven to 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). 
3.    Insert round toothpicks through the tops of the strips of meat, and hang them from the oven rack. Bake in preheated oven for 4 hours, or until dried to desired consistency. 
 

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Happy turkey eve! What are you guys favorite tactics for opening morning. I try to get close to the roost tree, set up my hen decoy and call softly but not too much. Had this guy all fired up and he came right in less then 10 yds last year! 20220507072734_IMG_0142.JPG20220507072809_IMG_0146.JPG

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