From the Field

by Ryan Fair

It was a cool crisp April morning last year as I watched the sun break over the horizon to a frosted over landscape. I sat comfortably in my ground blind and watched the sun as it illuminated my full strut tom decoy, I could hear some tom’s gobbling off in the distance. As the excitement began to build knowing a turkey could appear almost out of the blue at any time, it reminded me how different and fun turkey hunting is. Unlike whitetails who live and die by their nose, turkeys rely on spotting danger. So, you need to adapt your tactics with that in mind. 

Turkeys have excellent vision and can see 270 degrees since their eyes are on the sides of their heads. This allows them to pick up movement and identify when things are out of the ordinary and then process it a lot faster than humans. Not only that but it is said that a turkey’s vision is 3 times sharper than ours as well. For this reason, as hunters, we must conceal ourselves the best we can. While camo has come a long way over the years, unless I’m forced to sit out in the open, you almost always can find me in a ground blind or behind a panel blind. With that in mind let’s dive into the benefits of a ground blinds, some of the top blinds, and must haves for blind hunting.

 

The Benefits

I could type a whole blog post on the benefits of hunting from a ground blind, especially when it comes to turkey hunting but we only have a short time so let’s cover the main ones. The first and probably biggest benefit to ground blinds is the ability they have to conceal movement. With right clothing, usually something black or a darker color, and a few windows up anyone can vanish into the ground blind. This is great for allowing you to call with any type of call, then have time to get your weapon of choice up for a shot. It is also great for taking kids and new hunters out to teach them the sport. Anybody that has taken an 8-year-old out to hunt knows what I mean. 

Next is the ability to shield you from the elements. Nothing ruins a hunt faster than soaking wet clothes or cold feet. When hunting from a ground blind you can pack in a small buddy heater that puts off just enough heat to keep you comfortable and when it’s raining the shell of the ground blind keeps you dry the whole hunt. 

Lastly, ground blinds allow you to take products like a Final Rest tripod or camera gear into the hunt with you. I find myself preferring to use a rest any time I can, they keep me rock solid for perfect shots. When hunting from a ground blind, filming isn't as difficult than when exposed on the ground. 

 

The Blinds 

When it comes to blinds the first company that comes to mind is Barronett Blinds. They are quality built and made to last. With several different options to choose from you should be able to find exactly what you are looking for. There are a few main blinds that stand out for turkey hunting and those are the Ox 5 and Face Off. The Ox 5 is my go-to hub blind for the turkey woods for several reasons but the main one is the amount of space the blind offers. It can easily fit me and a hunting buddy and all are gear we pack into the blind. It also offers silent slide windows and a door allowing me to sneak in and out undetected. When it comes to brushing in the blind it has built in brush holders that make concealing the blind simple and fast. Lastly, it is made up of 2 layers of fabric that is waterproof and reduces glare. 

For those of you that like to run and gun hunt or feel that sitting in a ground blind is not for you. Let me introduce you to the Face Off. This panel blind changed the way I run and gun hunt. Gone are the days of sitting up against a tree as still as I can be with my shotgun at the ready at all times. This panel blind allows me to set up anywhere I want and stay concealed behind it. It has one way mesh windows that keep me concealed while using my Esh Custom Calls pot call while working a tom into my decoy spread. Then when the times right, they open with ease for the perfect shot. These blinds are lightweight and fully adjustable, they are a must for any run and gun turkey hunter for sure. 

 

The Must Haves

When it comes to ground blind hunting for turkeys there are a few must haves in my opinion. The first is a comfortable chair. I prefer a large swivel chair like the 360 chairs from Barronett blinds but any style of chair will do if it is comfortable. Keep in mind you may spend 4+ hours in that chair waiting out a gobbler so don’t skimp on comfort. Next up is a good rest. Our go to rest here at Working Class Hunter is anything from Final Rest. Some of us prefer a tripod while others like to use a mono pod. It all comes down to personal preference. The main thing is that you use a quality rest for the perfect shot, and that is why we use Final Rest. Lastly, a good turkey call. With the thousands of turkey calls on the market today it can be hard to decided what to get. We have tried several different brands of calls among the team and have all agreed that Esh Custom Calls are the way to go. They offer mouth calls, box calls, and my personal favorite pot calls. Their glass over slate pot call is what I have use to call several toms in the last few years. 

 

by Ryan Fair

 

Any diehard whitetail hunter will tell you deer season never ends; it just starts over every year. Truer words have never been spoken. I'm sure many of you already know this but if you're new to hunting, our seasons never end.  They just start over the day after the previous season ends. You can break down what needs to be done with the flip of a calendar. You have food plots to plant, tree stands to prep, scouting, and one of my personal favorites, shed season. That’s the season I want to cover today. Lets breakdown when to find sheds, where to find sheds, and some tips and tactics from the Working Class Hunter team. 

When to find sheds 

This is a highly debatable topic among hunters for several different reasons which we will cover shortly, but a general date to start looking for sheds is March 1st. The main reason to try to avoid shed hunting till then is that you want to keep the bucks on your property until they have shed their antlers. The risk of them running 3 properties over isn’t worth getting in there early, especially since they have been pressured for the last 4 months repeatedly from hunters and predators. That date can fluctuate from year to year so it's best to monitor what is going on with your local herd as well. We like to scout deer on preferred food sources from a distance with our Vortex Optics. This is a great way to identify if most bucks in your area have shed or not. Another great way is to let your trail cameras tell you. We rely on our Tactacam Revels to keep us clued into what is going on, especially on the farms that are a few hours away. 

Where to find sheds

In short, the answer is any area that a whitetail inhabits. Now I know that’s not the answer you are looking for.  I tell you this because I don’t want you to write off an area just because. I have found sheds driving down the road, laying in the middle of access roads, and even hanging in a bush up by a house once. But as a shed hunter there are some higher potential areas to find sheds once you start to look. The first, as mentioned above, is a preferred food source.  Bucks will frequent these areas as they are still feeding heavily. We like to use Vortex Optics binoculars to scan fields because they allow us to cover lots of ground fast. Another good place, especially when you have really cold spells toward the end of winter is south facing slopes. These slopes receive the most sunlight each day so whitetail will bed in these locations to stay warm. Minerals sites can be another great place to look for sheds especially if bucks are carrying antlers longer into the year on more mild winters. Lastly, heavily used trails and bedding areas. I like to avoid these areas as much as possible so as to not pressure the deer. I typically shed hunt these areas when I have more than one reason to be there like hang a camera, move a tree stand, or freshen up a community scrape. While on the topic of where to find sheds the best conditions for shed hunting are overcast cloudy days. The reason being is that the white of the shed really pops in contrast to the dark ground when it's not as sunny.  However,  any day shed hunting is better than not going at all. 

Some tips from Working Class Hunter

I have shared a lot of my tips on shed hunting above but I also thought it would be a great idea to hear from some of the other guys as well. I asked a handful of the Working Class Hunter team members if they had any tips they would like to share and here is what they had to say:

 

Cliff Canter said he has always had his best luck on south facing slopes this time of year because it is the warmest location. He also has had great luck on the edges of major food sources. His last tip was to not overlook water sources this time of year as they can be another great location. 

 

Seth Stouffer's biggest tip was miles equal piles. Meaning the more miles you walk this time of year the more sheds you will more than likely find. 

 

Steven Marshall said so far this year they have had luck finding most of their sheds in bedding areas, travel corridors, and in the timber. As far as tips goes he said he has had his best luck on overcast days and in shady areas. The reason being is sheds stand out better in darker areas. 

 

Brandon Anderson had several more tips to offer that were different than any of the above tips. He recommends taking the family along with you. It's great bonding time and gets more eyes out to help look. Next he says walk slow, look back, and put in plenty of miles. He said to keep in mind that bucks patterns this time of year are different then summer and fall so you need to be where the bucks want to be to find sheds. If it’s a wetter year look in higher ground areas and if it's windy and cold look for thermal cover areas such as clusters of pines.

by Ryan Fair  2/11/2024

Every year as the calendar inches closer to spring many outdoorsmen are busting at the seams to head to the woods. We have been couped up inside since the end of deer season resting up for all the spring has to offer. Here at Working Class Hunter, we have a laundry list of thigs to do, shed hunting, chasing the first fish of the year, and of course hunting long beards. While all that is fun there are still some whitetail chores that need to be done this time of year and at the top of that list is getting out our spring mineral sites. We like to get our Trophy Rock mineral sites out as early as possible so the whitetail can reap all the benefits they have to offer. Let’s cover some of the main reasons you should put a mineral site out as well. 

Using Scents should be a part of every whitetail hunters strategy, especially if you are a bowhunter. Getting that trophy buck within bow range can be tricky and you need every advantage possible if you hope to consistently harvest mature whitetails. The use of scents is one of those strategies that can tip the scale in your favor. As with every strategy, sometimes they work better in combination with other strategies. I want to talk about my overall scent strategy starting at the beginning of the season all the way to the end.

The Learn more details about the importance of wildlife foot plot here.importance of planning wildlife plots cannot be over emphasized. Careful planning can be the difference between successful plantings that provide quality nutrition and survival to wildlife in comparison to plots that offer very little or no benefit. Maximum production is not the top priority of food plots; therefore, variety selection is not critical. What is very important, however, is proper fertilization and weed control. The presence of some weeds actually benefits wildlife by providing additional cover and food, but too many weeds create excessive competition.

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