Last article we talked about the importance of sighting in our shotguns. This week let’s talk about what gear you’ll need to increase your chances of killing a turkey.

You don’t need every little $100 gizmo out there, but there are some items that will increase your chances of succeeding. Here are a few that I like, including some new ones for 2018.

Decoys: I use Montana Decoys because they’re lightweight. After a set-up, it’s easy to throw them in my backpack and take off to the next spot. They’re two-dimensional so I always use at least two and have them turned different ways, so no matter which direction they come in from, they’ll see them. This year they came out with the Miss Purr-fect 3D Hen decoy.

Backpack: You may think it’s strange that I list a backpack as a necessary item but hear me out. When turkey hunting, you’ll be carrying decoys, calls, shells and water. You need a pack. I love the Alps Mountaineering NTWF Grand Slam pack. To list all of the features would be a whole product review in and of itself. It doesn’t just have shoulder straps, but it also has a front like a hunting vest with numerous pockets for all manner of calls, a compartment to carry your decoys and a foam pad to sit on. The pack has legs so you can flip it around and set on the pad and have a back to lean against. If you’re sitting on rocks and not comfortable when calling, you’re going to be fidgeting around, and as we all know, turkeys have impeccable eyesight and will bust you in a hot second.

Calls: I use Quaker Boy calls. OK, I’m old school. I still like a wood box. I use their Hurricane box call but they also make slate plates, reeds and push boxes. I like their reeds and use them for turkeys as well as varmints, elk and everything else.

Shotgun: Turkeys are tough so you’ll want a shotgun with a 3-inch chamber. I had to have a 3 1/2-inch but Hevi Shot shells kick so bad I just shoot 3-inch. Sorry, I’m a lightweight. I like semi-autos but a lot of people favor pumps. Nothing magical. Use whatever flavor you’re comfortable with.

Scopes/sights: For shooting long distances, you need a better sight system than just a single bead. I don’t use scopes or sights but a lot of people do and some day I’m sure I’ll make the change.

Shells: There are a lot of turkey loads available but Hevi Shot owns the market. You may balk at the price but remember, it’ll only take one shot. And while on shooting, I like to use Birchwood Casey targets to sight in my shotgun. I love their splattering targets. They’re a great visual.

Camo: All the manufacturers want me to adamantly declare that you have to wear their perfectly matched camo to be successful, but I wear a mismatch assortment of clothing. I wear Army wool gloves, a cheap ghillie top and face mask, and none of it matches. Nothing in the woods matches, does it? There’s a splash of green pine limbs, a splash of brilliantly colored brush leaves, green grass, grayish sagebrush with lime-colored leaves and so the assortment of colors goes. So don’t feel like you have to have an all-matching $300 set.

Boots: I am going to be hiking hard so I want some good boots. For this year, I just got a pair of Irish Setter Drifter hiking boots. I’m ready to burn up the mountains.

Knives: Almost any knife will do if you’re going to clean your turkey and smoke it. But to bone out the breast for jerky, check out the Bear & Son Cutlery Stag Delrin Ergonomic Caper. With its small blade you can efficiently remove the breast and cut off the legs to smoke.

Cooking your bird: I love to smoke my wild turkeys but I also like making turkey jerky. Check out the Hi-Mountain jerky seasonings. I like their Hickory Blend, Hunter’s Choice or Cracked Pepper packages.

Safety: I’m not sure I understand why, but it seems like there are more shooting accidents in the turkey hunting world than all other seasons combined. I’ve had three buddies tell me of someone they knew that shot someone or has been shot. That’d devastate you. Check out the SafeShoot system.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.

CHEYENNE, Wyoming (AP) — Wyoming is estimated to have at least 347 wolves roaming within its borders after the state regained management of the animals and allowed limited hunting of wolves, according to an annual report by state wildlife managers.

The number of wolves counted by state game managers at the end of 2017 is down from about 380 estimated the year before.

State Game and Fish Department officials say the wolf population level continues to be healthy and exceeds all criteria established to show that the species is recovered.

“It is significant that today we are now managing recovered and healthy populations of all of Wyoming’s native large carnivores,” Dan Thompson, large carnivore section supervisor, said in a statement Wednesday.

But a wildlife advocate decried the drop in wolf numbers.

“Wolves won’t persist outside Yellowstone National Park if Wyoming continues to eradicate them at this appalling pace,” Andrea Santarsiere, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said.

Wolves in Yellowstone and on the Wind River Indian Reservation remain under federal protection.

The state report released Wednesday said 43 wolves were legally hunted last year in the state outside Yellowstone and the reservation. It was the first time since 2013 that the state held a wolf hunt after the federal government allowed the state to resume management of the wolves last year.

According to the report, wolves killed 191 livestock outside Yellowstone and the reservation in 2017. That’s down from 243 in 2016.

And the number of wolves removed separately from the legal hunting season for conflicts with livestock fell from 113 in 2016 to 61 last year, the report said.

A federal appeals court in early 2017 lifted endangered species protection for wolves in Wyoming, allowing the state to take over management of the animals. Wolves were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies, including Idaho and Montana, in the mid-1990s.

The Westside Ranger District will be conducting fuels reduction/prescribed burns in the Scout Mountain Campground area and along the Crystal/Elk Meadows road over the next 3-4 weeks.Piles of vegetation that were created from fuel breaks cut last summer…

CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk says he’s looking forward to learning more about Wyoming’s initiative to collect a fee at Yellowstone to fund wildlife conservation efforts in the states surrounding the park.

Wenk tells the Powell Tribune he has many questions about the resolution and he’s concerned about adding to the overall cost park visitors must pay.

The Wyoming Legislature this year approved a resolution that seeks an agreement with U.S. Interior Department and National Park Service on collecting a fee at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Proponents say the idea is to generate money for Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to deal with issues like wildlife collisions, disease and migration routes.

The Wyoming resolution doesn’t specify how the fee would be assessed or what the amount would be.

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Information from: Powell (Wyo.) Tribune, http://www.powelltribune.com

IDAHO FALLS — An additional 60 geese have been found dead after being struck by lighting in Idaho Falls on Saturday.

Initial reports indicated that only 51 geese had been killed at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Those birds were found at a conjoined parking lot near the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls.

But now, the Associated Press confirmed that 60 additional dead geese were recovered from the roof of a nearby warehouse.

In total, more than 100 geese were struck by lightning and fell dead, all landing within a 200-yard radius of each other.

The geese that were killed were snow geese and Ross’s geese.

“Several of them had ruptured stomachs,” Jacob Berl, a conservation officer for Idaho Falls Fish and Game, told the Journal earlier this week. “Their internal organs had ruptured. … So that more than likely happened from the lightning itself or potentially from the impact of the crash. These geese are migrating at several thousand feet in the air, so if they’re falling out of the sky and hitting pavement, you can imagine what that does to a goose’s body.”

Berl said that any other cause of death is unlikely and that if it were the hail that killed them or influenza, they would’ve landed more spread out.

“It is common for diseases like influenza or other sorts of bird-borne diseases to cause mass die-offs of birds, but not for them to just fall out of the sky and land within a hundred yards of each other like that,” Berl said.

According to the Associated Press, some of the geese carcasses have been taken to a wildlife health lab in Caldwell for a necropsy.

Chuck Trost, a retired Idaho State University professor who taught ornithology and animal behavior, called this incident “bizarre.”

There was a lightning storm in the region the night the geese fell, with winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour and a small tornado that touched down three miles southeast of Atomic City.

There was minimal damage reported from the tornado, but golf ball-sized hail did some damage to Idaho Falls structures.

TWIN FALLS — Shoshone Falls is roaring back to life again, thanks to a large water release by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The water at the 212-foot Shoshone Falls, nicknamed the “Niagara of the West,” is currently flowing at about 15,000 cubic feet per second, which is equatable to last spring when the size of the waterfall attracted a large number of visitors.

According to a news release from Southern Idaho Tourism, the deep snowpack right now is currently at 130 percent of the normal range in the Upper Snake River Basin, and the Bureau of Reclamation is releasing large amounts of water for flood control.

This means that visitors to the waterfall in Twin Falls could be in for a spectacular show in April and May.

Last spring, there was so much water flowing over Shoshone Falls that the viewing area was inundated with visitors, with reports of cars lining outside the canyon. If the work schedule allows, tourism officials recommend visiting Shoshone Falls on a weekday because the next few weekends could see large crowds.

Shoshone Falls, which is 45 feet higher than Niagara Falls, can be seen from two viewing decks. During sunny days, a rainbow can be seen near the cascading waters. 

The area can be accessed from Pocatello by taking Exit 182 on Interstate 84 and following the signs to the waterfall.

The park entrance fee is $3 per vehicle.

The application period for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat controlled hunts runs April 1 to 30, and applications can be made at any Fish and Game office, license vendor, by telephone or online. Telephone applications may be made at 800-554-8685. All mailed applications must be postmarked no later than April 30.

At its March meeting, Fish and Game Commission made changes to 2018 mountain goat and bighorn sheep hunts, including:

n Eliminating the two tags in mountain goat controlled hunt 6005 in Unit 10-3 because the goats appear to have moved out of the hunt area.

n Eliminating bighorn sheep hunt 7007 in Unit 46-2, which would have offered two tags, and extended hunt 7006 in Hunt Area 46-1 to close Oct. 8 instead of Sept. 14. Biologists are concerned that a disease event may have reduced the number of harvestable rams, so an adjustment in tags was needed.

To apply for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunts, each applicant must possess a valid 2018 Idaho hunting or combination license.

Application fees increased for 2018, and prices are $16.75 for residents and $41.75 for nonresidents. Those fees are nonrefundable.

Moose, goat and sheep hunt applicants must pay the tag fee along with the application fee when they apply.

n Fees for residents under “Price Lock” are $183.50.

n Residents who are not price locked pay $216.50.

n Nonresidents pay $2,143.50 to apply.

Moose, sheep and goat drawing results will be online in early June. Tag fees will be refunded to those who do not draw.

People who apply for moose, sheep and goat hunts are ineligible for many deer, elk and pronghorn controlled hunt drawings. To see details, go to page 37 of rules booklet.

For more information, review the 2017 & 2018 Moose, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Seasons and Rules brochure available at all license vendors.

Moose, sheep and goat tags are among Idaho’s most coveted hunts, and also among the most successful for harvest.

In 2017, hunter success was:

n Moose: 68 percent

n Sheep: 64 percent

n Goat: 68 percent

There are a lot of shooting aids, including monopods, bipods, spotting scopes, sandbags, gun cradles, rangefinders, GPS, etc.

With the number of aids and gadgets available, many old-time hunters believe we are raising a new generation who have lost many of the essential skills that sportsmen need because they can’t function effectively in the field without their aids and gadgets. Some products are not necessary while others are a boon to the modern hunter, but none of them can really replace the woodscraft that our ancestors tried to hand down to us.

First of all, the basic shooting positions of standing, off-hand, kneeling, sitting and prone should still be mastered by anyone who wants to be successful at hunting. I have used all the positions in the field at one time or another as I tried to get into the most stable position circumstances would allow.

Scouting for game and determining how the game is moving through the area is essential if we want to have a good chance of finding game when we hunt.

The ability to navigate using a map of the area and a compass, or orienteering skills, are essential to keeping track of where we are in relation to where we determined during scouting trips where we could find game. Orienteering skills then let us determine the best way to get back to our vehicles with our game.

Many people each year get lost because everything looks the same after several hours in the backcountry, and they don’t have orienteering skills or didn’t bring a map and compass with them. Some compensate by having a GPS. However, a GPS costs quite a bit, and batteries can fail. It would be better to take both on your hunting trip and know how to use both methods.

Reading signs is another essential skill needed for hunting or just recognizing what is walking around the backcountry in the same area you are visiting. You can start by getting a book on animal and bird tracks, which will also probably show you how to recognize various wildlife by their scat. However, nothing can take the place of going into the backcountry with an experienced outdoorsman and have him point out what he looks for when reading signs. There is just so much trail cameras don’t tell you. They do take pictures though, if that is all you really wanted.

If you are planning to stay overnight in the wilderness, in addition to warm clothes, food and shelter, you should know at least three different ways to start a fire. You don’t need to leave the lighter at home, but you should know how to gather tinder, start a fire with one or two matches, know how to use common flashlight batteries to start a fire, use flint and steel and possibly learn to use a metal match. When you start to feel cold or if you become wet, knowing several ways to start a fire can keep you comfortable.

Why spend $270 to $700 on a rangefinder when you can be a rangefinder and fairly accurately determine the distance to a distant object or game if you are hunting? One of the first skills my father and uncles tried to teach me was estimating the range to my target. It takes some practice, but it is really fairly simple in theory. Besides, as a hunter you may not have time to use a rangefinder before game is gone. Carry a rangefinder if you want, but learn to quickly estimate range to take advantage of the small window you may have to get the shot off. Remember, batteries in rangefinders can become depleted, too.

I admit it, I love the telescopic sights on my .30-06 and .300 Weatherby rifles. But just in case, I take a rifle with iron sights with me on most hunting trips. Some telescopic sights have range-finding capability but are not as rugged as iron sights.

After a season of hunting, telescopic sights usually need to be re-sighted in due to being bounced around over jeep trails, hung on pack horses or simply losing one’s footing and falling as one hikes around the woods carrying a rifle.

Because sighting in again in the field will probably send game out of the area, I can at least go back to camp and retrieve my rifle with iron sights and meet up with the group and have a rifle I can use effectively out to 200 or 300 yards. However, it is essential to have the iron sights sighted in and know the ballistic characteristics of its cartridge. My .30-06 still retains it’s original iron sights, so if something happens to the telescopic sight, I can remove it and use the iron sights.

A knowledge of the essential old skills needed in the backcountry will make you more self-sufficient and will boost your confidence when you realize that no matter what obstacles you encounter, you will feel right at home.

Smokey Merkley was raised in Idaho and has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He was a member of the faculty of Texas A&M University for 25 years. There he taught orienteering, marksmanship, self-defense, fencing, scuba diving and boxing. He was among the first DPS-certified Texas Concealed Handgun Instructors. He can be contacted at mokeydo41245@hotmail.com.

With the grizzly bear population in eastern Idaho fully recovered and removed from federal protection, Idaho Fish and Game will host meetings in Idaho Falls and Boise regarding a proposed fall hunting season.

Idaho Falls

• April 17, 6:30 p.m., College of Eastern Idaho, 1600 South 2500 East, John Christofferson Multi-Purpose Building Cafeteria, Building #3

Boise

• April 19, 6:30 p.m., Riverside Hotel, 2900 W. Chinden Blvd

The current proposal is to offer a tag for one grizzly bear for the fall season of 2018. The meetings will be held to discuss the proposal and gather public input. They will involve a presentation and then an open house format to gather information and take comment. Comments will be gathered at the meeting, and also online at idfg.idaho.gov starting on April 16.

Hunting is part of the grizzly bear conservation strategy and consistent with the management of bears in the greater Yellowstone area outside of the park and in eastern Idaho. Grizzlies in north Idaho remain under federal protection.

Fish and Game is managing grizzly bears and proposing a hunting season based on an agreement with Montana and Wyoming. Idaho has the smallest portion of land in the grizzly’s range outside of Yellowstone National Park, and the hunting opportunity will always be relatively small compared to the other states.

The Fish and Game Commission has directed department staff to include public involvement for grizzly bear hunting proposal.

With the grizzly bear population in Eastern Idaho removed from federal protection, Idaho Fish and Game will host meetings in Idaho Falls and Boise regarding a proposed fall hunting season.

Idaho Falls

• April 17, 6:30 p.m.
• College of Eastern Idaho
• 1600 S. 2500 E.
• John Christofferson Multi-Purpose Building Cafeteria, Building #3

Boise

• April 19, 6:30 p.m.
• Riverside Hotel
• 2900 W. Chinden Blvd.

The current proposal is to offer a single tag for one grizzly bear for the fall season of 2018. The meetings will be held to discuss the proposal and gather public input. They will involve a presentation and then an open house format to gather information and take comment. Comments will be gathered at the meeting and also online at idfg.idaho.gov starting April 16.

Hunting is part of the grizzly bear conservation strategy and consistent with the management of bears in the greater Yellowstone area outside of the park and in eastern Idaho. Grizzlies in north Idaho remain under federal protection.

Fish and Game is managing grizzly bears and proposing a hunting season based on an agreement with Montana and Wyoming. Idaho has the smallest portion of land in the grizzly’s range outside of Yellowstone National Park, and the hunting opportunity will always relatively small compared to the other states.

The Fish and Game Commission has directed department staff to include public involvement for grizzly bear hunting proposal.