Chat with Mark Strand

[MarkStrand]

Hello Charlie!

You'll have to teach me how to get the previously posted material to show up in the cool colored box. Very slick.
* No, my dad never called in a turkey with the pen that I remember for sure. I believe he told me that he finished one off with the straw one time, though.
He used to do lots of things just to bug me, and it was always my opinion that he should primarily use his slate call, because that's what he could really call well with. He also used to do other things to bug me, including bringing a stainless flask for his water bottle, and holding it up, letting the sun glint off of it. You would have to know him, because he was a deadly serious hunter in a lot of situations, but never passed up a chance to see if he could get me going.
That would have been cool, had he called you up with his pen trick in a restaurant... and yes, we would have shared a round of victory pancakes, for sure...
* Excited to see the video. Good thing Mrs. Elk is around to head up the IT department... let us know when it's available for viewing.
* Plus, as an added bonus, once you get the uploading thing down, I think you should produce another video with you doing the Snoopy dance...
* On the "hard pressed to stop you" front, you sound exactly like my dad... you guys woulda gotten along great.
* The older I get, the more I just wear drab colored clothing for turkey hunting, so it was fun to read your account of the details surrounding the ball-point pen hunt! I bet you could have gotten by without the dirt on your face, too...

[MarkStrand]

Hey Turkey Junky...
I started laughing out loud while reading the stuff about your first turkey gun... reminded me of something I will never live down.
When I was a kid, I slipped quietly into good position on some roosted birds, in the dark, and waited until they started gobbling before calling... a lone tom, that was roosted a fair distance from the group, was first to hit the ground and he came flashing that gunslinger display, where his wings look like he's getting ready to draw a pair of revolvers... puffed up looking shoulders, like he's wearing shoulder pads, and the tail half fanned, flashing open and closed. You guys know the look, I'm sure... I had my gun in good position, the bird was coming directly at me, he wasn't going anywhere, he would have walked up to my boots, but I decided to take him when he was about 35 yards out.
Booom!! goes the gun, and the turkey doesn't do anything except start putting and walking briskly away... Booom!@ goes the gun again, and now he flies up into a tree.

Back at camp, my dad didn't even need to hear the whole story. He said something like, "it sounded good when I heard that first shot. Not so good when I heard the second shot."

Here's the good part: I had shot a few turkeys with this thing in the past, because they were closer. It's an old 870 (that I still have) opened up to cylinder bore by a gunsmith. I still use it for pheasants sometimes, just for fun, but after that day I never used it for turkeys again. I was getting serious about it, and knew I needed a proper firearm. So I can totally relate to how you felt when a good shooting opportunity went for nothing. I'm glad that we can step in there ahead of time and fix up most newcomers with a good turkey weapon for their first outing these days. When it comes to turkey guns and ammo, these are the good days.

[Treerooster]

You'll have to teach me how to get the previously posted material to show up in the cool colored box. Very slick.

When you want to quote someone just hit the QUOTE button at the top of the post you want to be quoting. It will automatically take you to a reply with that poster's content in it. Then you can delete out any inpertinent info as I did above. You can preview your post to make sure it all comes out OK.

If you want to quote more than one poster in a single post, then the only way I know how to do that is open another browser and hit the quote button in the post you want quoted then copy and paste into a single post in the other browser. If that makes sense. There may be a better way to quote more than one poster in a single post that I am not aware of though.


Speaking of your dad...I read the story about him in your "Turkey Camp" book where he put the bag over his head and said that he shot jakes. That picture of him in the book has just stuck in my head. Made me laugh when I read it and while out hunting this spring, during a lull, I thought of that again and it brought a smile to my face once more. Of course I never saw him do that and don't even know what the routine was, but I could imagine it and I am sure it was pretty funny.

[Gopherlongbeards]

I think i share Mark's sentiments on this forum helping me get over the fact that the season's over. Only 10 months till next spring seasons tarts up! Plus this year I plan on giving fall hunting a serious go, with WI and all its extra tags so close...

[MarkStrand]

Speaking of your dad...I read the story about him in your "Turkey Camp" book where he put the bag over his head and said that he shot jakes. That picture of him in the book has just stuck in my head. Made me laugh when I read it and while out hunting this spring, during a lull, I thought of that again and it brought a smile to my face once more. Of course I never saw him do that and don't even know what the routine was, but I could imagine it and I am sure it was pretty funny.

[/quote]

Thanks for the formatting lesson, Tree!
And thanks for making my dad part of this discussion. He was one of those classic outdoorsmen who loved to hunt and fish and shoot, changing over to various pursuits as the seasons changed, and reading outdoor magazines and books. He was always planning the next adventure or going on it, and because he read so much, he had been interested in wild turkey hunting for a long time before they announced that there would be the first modern Minnesota season in the spring of 1978. That's why he was prepared to apply for one of the permits, and got his best friend, Gus Stoesz, to do the same. They were drawn for tags, and I hung with them as they were planning and practicing calling, etc., but was so busy that I couldn't be part of the hunt. (Fixed that the next year, tho.)
He shot a turkey that spring, a Merriam's, back when they populated southeastern Minnesota. And he got so hooked that we all followed him into the sport, and it became the favorite hunting sport for me and him. My dad was not a trophy hunter when it came to turkeys, taking the first good shot that presented itself on every trip, partly so he could relax around camp a bit more after that, something that he enjoyed as much as the hunting itself. Long after he had killed some impressive mature toms, he would still fire at a jake if a jake came in, and as he began to take a little bit of heat for that, he started doing the Jakes Anonymous routine. That one night on the Niobrara River in Nebraska, he took a paper bag and put it over his head and started clowning around, saying, "my name is Dick, and I shoot jakes," and laughing at his own joke, louder every time. Among a million other things, it's a good memory for me.
Here is the picture that appears in the book...

[MarkStrand]

Hey Gopher...
I think you are going to love fall turkey hunting. The calling is different (toms are not interested in getting together with hens), but no less exciting. Like many aspects of turkey hunting, I have Ray Eye to thank for showing me what it's like to target fall gobblers and call them in, without scattering them, and it's an amazing experience. When you are gobbler yelping and cutting at them and they are doing it right back, and gobbling, and strutting, and running right at you, it's a show all its own and something to look forward to. I love bird hunting with my dogs and make time to do plenty of that, but the fall turkey season is right up there with it these days.

[turkey junky]

love the pic mark that is priceless!!! my old man still gets the itchy trigger finger & will not think twice about pop n a jake!!! yeah i still wish we had merriams sub species here in SE MN so much more beautiful then easterns to me... my old man was in on the 2nd ever season in the whitewater area... 1979 825 hunters think 1978 was 425 hunters??? your dads season...


yes i still have and use my old 870 express 3 inch magnum but now with a tru glo gobble stopper choke tube!!! i also had to camo tape it up i will now have to get it dipped in camo paint by next season tired of the tape peeling off after a rain!!! i was going to retire the old heavy peace of metal after i took my 20th gobbler was kinda a goal of mine & i kinda want a nice small camo auto-loader 4 both upland game & spring turkey season but im still using my old 870... my old man used his old model 37 ithaca 2 3/4 inch shot gun for everything including turkey for years & tagged most his gobblers with it... a few yrs ago after a pacemaker & defibulator we put into the old man we got em a beretta auto-loader to take some of the impact out of the shot... i have been thinking of take n the old camo ithaca out for turkey next season to give a 2 3/4 incher a try for turkey i did roll a merriams with it 1 time while out west we swopped guns & that saved that turkeys life!!! with the new heavy shot out i think i could take birds clean with the 2 3/4 inch as long as there in range!!! lol charlie elk still use a trusty 2 3/4 gun & takes plenty of birds...

mark i missed a stud rio grande gobbler this season at a all time best of 14 steps!
still dont know what the hell happened that bird was bullet proof!!!??? lol it was bad so i feel the pain of watch n a big ol gobbler just run/fly off un touched!!! the oklahoma rio i got this season came in on a string damn near at fly up time he was at 25-27 steps i pulled the trigger & he answered the gun shot with a gobble write in my face i was shocked but cool enuff to just rack another shell & put the bead on his waddles he went down with the 2nd shot!!! 29 steps!!!

i have never gave or even thought about fall turkey hunting so i guess i am missing out??? i am get n a new hunting dog june 6 so i may have to try to train my dog to be a fall turkey dog like charlie elk has!!! vic!!! there just is tons of things to chase here in MN in the fall & my calender is full most of the time so fall turkeys seem to take a back seat to all the upland game we chase each fall... ruffed grouse,spruce grouse,sharptail grouse,prairie chicken,pheasant,hungarian partridge
,& a little waterfowl from time to time... the deer hunting in MN dose not interest me any longer we just dont see the deer any longer so skip it i will most likely be pheasant hunting someplace either out in western MN or maybe KS this season they open there pheasant season around our 2-3 wk-ends of MN deer so??? i can tag deer with my bow & arrow around my home if i want a deer that bad & it would be better eating & bigger in size then the deer we do manage to kill up near tamarack/mcgregor MN much better bird hunting then deer... but i did see 2 jakes on the forest road our hunting cabin is on last season that was a trip!!! hope they populate the area i would fall hunt turkeys up there as there is NO HUNTING PRESURE for turkeys up there!!!

[Gopherlongbeards]

there just is tons of things to chase here in MN in the fall & my calender is full most of the time so fall turkeys seem to take a back seat to all the upland game we chase each fall...

I hear you TJ, I spend quite a bit of time waterfowling and chasing grouse in the fall as well. Although the fall turkey seasons are much longer than those in spring, kind of looking forward to that more relaxing pace.

Mark, Your dad seems like a real character. I'm sure I would have enjoyed sharing a camp with him!

[charlie elk]

Sorry for the delay getting back, my internet ha d been malfunctioning all week and the tech finally got it fully operational today.

* Excited to see the video. Good thing Mrs. Elk is around to head up the IT department... let us know when it's available for viewing.

Apparently video cannot be uploaded to T&TH so here is a link to my personal site where you can view charlie making what he hopes are turkey sounds on the barrel of an ink pen- http://www.charlieelk.com/?p=170

* Plus, as an added bonus, once you get the uploading thing down, I think you should produce another video with you doing the Snoopy dance...

Only those who hunt with me get to see the dance. Some hunting buddies enjoy others give me that sideways look.

I bet you could have gotten by without the dirt on your face, too...

Maybe but you know sometimes a guy just likes to get down and dirty. But your Dad's bag idea would have been a good substitute. BTW, I see nothing wrong with killing a jake so I am glad to see I have the good company of your Dad. Perhaps if we meet up someday in the Happy Hunting Grounds we'll the "Jake Snoopy Dance" around the campfire.

[MarkStrand]

Charlie!

I must say, you have a touch with the pen... good sounds comin' off that little barrel!
I can't remember which call maker said it, but on an old audio tape I had way back when, one of the experts was describing how to make turkey sounds on a wingbone call and said it was "like kissin' a blonde." My dad used to use that line about 10 times a year, when talking to people about using wingbones... Is that what it feels like to you?
(Might want to look around to see if Mrs. Elk is watching when you answer, in the event that she is not a blonde.)

I've decided to press on in the Snoopy Dance request. My next move is going to be to get it entered as an official category at calling contests... you know how they have owl hooting, the actual turkey calling, then they often toss in the gobbling competition, where the contestants also strut around on stage for the entertainment of the audience. I say we get Snoopy Dancing installed as part of the festivities, with you acting as sole judge at the World Championships. A video clip of you doing the dance in an actual hunting situation could be played on three giant screens, the Charlie Brown movie theme blasting out of huge speakers, just prior to the first contestant coming out, to get the crowd pumped up, and to remind everybody where this whole thing came from.