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Gene Kroupa

Turkey hunting from a blind is not all about blind luck; here’s how to up your odds

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Like so many older turkey hunters, my days of wandering the woods trying to strike up a tom are mostly over. As a result, more time is spent patiently sitting in a blind waiting for Lady Luck to smile down on me. But getting a gobbler to come close enough for a killing shot requires more than luck.
There are three things that can help stack the odds in your favor.

Turkey hunting from a blind is not all about blind luck; here’s how to up your odds Read More »

Understand these signs to better gauge when and where to be in the turkey woods

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Hunters might argue that any day and all days are good days for getting outside and turkey hunting. I get that if a person is limited to one tag and seven days of hunting, but I figure there will be a few fabulous days and an equal number of stinky days with the vast majority of our opportunity falling in between.
There are clues to indicate which way the scale of success could tip.

Understand these signs to better gauge when and where to be in the turkey woods Read More »

Two tactics for outsmarting roaming toms after hens are on their nest

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When turkey hens are on the nest, it’s good to know how to take advantage of “Roaming Romeos” in search of love. Some mornings these gobblers will start early in checking their home territory. Other days, savvy toms won’t get moving until mid-morning or even later.

You’ll hear them gobbling as they circle around field edges, move from one end to the other of a woodlot, or trek along fencelines bordering pastures.
Here are a couple tactics I’ve used successfully to bag them.

Two tactics for outsmarting roaming toms after hens are on their nest Read More »

Knowing the right and wrong time to shoot is vital for turkey hunters

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As soon as I pulled the trigger on the head-bobbing tom, I knew I had missed – again! Over the years I’ve missed a total of five longbeards. Not bad for more than four decades of spring turkey hunting in the Midwest. But the sum of misses could have been zero if I had followed a few simple rules.
Take the head-bobber for example.

Knowing the right and wrong time to shoot is vital for turkey hunters Read More »

Don’t forget about puddle hopping for early-season geese

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Wisconsin’s early goose season, which runs Sept. 1-15, is ideally suited to puddle-hopping. All you need to do is find private or public ponds, sloughs, marshes, and small rivers that geese are using.
Locate these spots by following geese when they leave fields and return to rest or spend the evening. Check out fields of chopped corn, harvested wheat stubble, and cut alfalfa with fresh growth. Or, cruise quiet roads and look for flocks sitting on water.

Don’t forget about puddle hopping for early-season geese Read More »

Tips for squirrel hunters as opener nears in Illinois

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The telltale black stains around its mouth told me that the squirrel I had just shot was hitting the walnuts. Finding the motherload tree or stand can provide the lucky hunter with season-long action.
The Illinois squirrel season starts Aug. 1 and runs through Feb. 15, 2025, with some restrictions. Bag limits remain at a daily total of five gray and fox squirrels. Hungry bushytails will start working on the walnut’s green skins and dark hulls as soon as the meat inside is fit to eat.

Tips for squirrel hunters as opener nears in Illinois Read More »

Gene Kroupa: A heavy Iowa gobbler falls for some time-tested tactics

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High winds, heavy rainfall, and a few tornadoes peppered the spring turkey woods and fields the day before Iowa’s third season opener.
Better yet, hens were already on the nest, according to my landowner host in Iowa’s Delaware County. Both events promised a good hunt. Little did I know how good. As I staked out a jake and two hen decoys in the darkness, a throaty gobbler rattled from his roost 300 yards away. His confident invitation to any nearby hen went unanswered.

Gene Kroupa: A heavy Iowa gobbler falls for some time-tested tactics Read More »

Gene Kroupa: Jakes on the last day are sometimes too tempting to ignore

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Some turkey hunters have an aversion to shooting jakes – those yearling birds that sport stubby beards, but also boast tender roasting breasts.
I don’t suffer from that type of sickness, especially if it’s nearing Day Seven of the season and I still have an unfilled tag. However, pulling down on a jake has kept me from tagging a hard-hunted gobbler instead.

Gene Kroupa: Jakes on the last day are sometimes too tempting to ignore Read More »

Turkey poult survival focus of a new study in Wisconsin

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Having a handle on poult survival provides wildlife biologists with a solid indicator of which direction a turkey population is heading, so to that end a gang of researchers are afield now working on a poult survival project in Wisconsin.
It doesn’t take a ton of poult survival to maintain a population. The current metric, or benchmark used to measure flock health is to see at least two surviving poults per hen. Anything below that ratio indicates a declining flock like what is being experienced in some southeastern states.

Turkey poult survival focus of a new study in Wisconsin Read More »

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