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Gene Kroupa

Small parcels can yield big results for gobblers

Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

As the morning mist began to clear, a tom hammered from his roost. Perched on a large hackberry tree limb in a finger of woods running up into a cut cornfield, the big bird was content to wait for hens to come to him.
My blind was nestled against a wild plum thicket next to the property line. The hen and jake decoys were set out 30 yards at 10 o’clock beside it. Since I couldn’t shoot into the neighboring field, the tom would have to cross over to my side of the fence.

Small parcels can yield big results for gobblers Read More »

Limiting your chances of losing a deer starts with shot selection

Featured, Features, Hunting, National Hunting, Wisconsin /

The sickening sound of a “whop” that likely signifies a gut shot sticks with hunters who hear that sound for a long time, especially when the deer runs over the hill never to be seen again. You hope and pray that some other hunter will finish the job.
When a buck zips across the hayfield during a drive, it’s hard to not cut down on the runner and take a poke. But having heard that sobering sound just once will hopefully give hunters pause when that circumstance rises again.

Limiting your chances of losing a deer starts with shot selection Read More »

Jump and gun: A brisk squirrel hunting tactic for these cool November days

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting /

The acorn-toting gray squirrel squirted from cover and headed for an old oak 20 yards distant.  Soon it appeared on the trunk only a couple feet off the ground. My little single-shot .410 barked and the bushytail dropped.
Like with so many “jump and gun” hunts, it culminated with a candidate for slow cooking in my blackened iron skillet. As leaves start raining down from the trees and undergrowth bends to the will of fall’s frosts, this hunting tactic can pay big dividends.

Jump and gun: A brisk squirrel hunting tactic for these cool November days Read More »

A sweet-corn approach to mourning doves

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, National Hunting, Wisconsin /

As my hunting partner Jim Rundell, of Madison, Wis., and I walked across the field, dozens of mourning doves flew up from the flattened stalks in front of us. We were heading for our sitting spots on opening morning.
With swivel-seat stools slung over our shoulders, we were brimming with anticipation of plentiful pass shooting action in the dove fields. Now, if you thought we were crossing one of the 32 fields the Wisconsin DNR manages for the dove hunt, you would be mistaken.

A sweet-corn approach to mourning doves Read More »

Lessons learned from a master of squirrel hunting

Featured, Features, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting /

My friend Earl Jeter, of Champaign, Ill., was a master of squirrel hunting. But heart disease took Earl at the relatively young age of 56. We all have lost a friend, relative, or mentor like Earl.
But when the nights turn crisp and leaves blush color, memories of bygone experiences shared with Earl in the squirrel woods come flooding back to me.

Lessons learned from a master of squirrel hunting Read More »

At age 80, Gene Kroupa’s 50th gobbler caps off a fantastic spring

Featured, Features, Hunting, National Hunting, Wisconsin /

The 2023 spring turkey season started out with a challenge – tagging three toms in order to reach a lifetime total of 50 birds. That string started with a 22-pound bird way back in 1981 in Missouri.
Some of the intervening years were marked with unfilled tags or blanked seasons from not drawing one in the state’s lottery. My first Wisconsin gobbler hit the ground in 1983, the year of the state’s inaugural season, thanks to a stocking program started in the 1970s with birds from Missouri.

At age 80, Gene Kroupa’s 50th gobbler caps off a fantastic spring Read More »

Water holes as a turkey magnet? You bet

Featured, Featured, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

As the minutes passed, the talkative gobbler stood his ground 60 yards from the water hole. An hour had gone by before he finally decided to take a closer look at the “hens” getting a drink. He didn’t make it all the way there.
Chalk up another tom in the bag that came in to wet his whistle and check out the “girls” at his favorite watering hole.

Water holes as a turkey magnet? You bet Read More »

Wisconsin DNR game bird ecologist optimistic for 2023 turkey season

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, National Hunting, News, Wisconsin /

Only about 18% of the 2022 spring turkey permits issued by the Wisconsin DNR were filled during the past season, but that wasn’t due to a shortage of toms, so only poor weather could temper hunters’ optimism for the 2023 season, according to Taylor Finger, DNR game bird ecologist.
“The last two years we have had strong spring nesting seasons,” Finger said. “The
2021-22 winter was relatively mild and turkeys were able to get at food. The same situation existed this winter, so there should be plenty of carryover of mature toms and jakes.”

Wisconsin DNR game bird ecologist optimistic for 2023 turkey season Read More »

Avoid these unforced errors that lead to empty turkey tags

Featured, Features, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Sure, a turkey can be shot at any time during hunting hours, but there’s nothing quite like calling in a bird right off the roost. Getting to your spot even a few minutes late can make a big difference. On average, toms will start gobbling a half hour before sunrise and hit their peak about 10 to 15 minutes after first light.

Avoid these unforced errors that lead to empty turkey tags Read More »

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