Turkey Dog News Stories

100 YEARS IN AMERICA
...and still the National Champion of Quality

"The excitement of seeing a bird explode out of the underbrush... the thrill of watching a well-executed retrieve... these things never change for the true hunting enthusiast."

Guess what American adult beverage company celebrated 100 years with this advertisement depicting a turkey dog hunt in the October 1955 issue of Outdoor Life?

Hint: Brewed in Milwaukee. Click on picture to find out.

"Here's my dog 'Gia' as a pup, a little older, and with my first fall bird. She's a John Byrnes Appalachian Turkey Dog.

american wild turkey hunting dog john byrnes

I use a Garmin Astro 220 GPS that tells me what she's doing when she gets far away." Gary Bunofsky - Struthers, OH

"My new Boytel turkey dog pup 'Heidi'. October 2007."

Steve Turpin - Turpin Custom Game Calls

Little Belle - Kentucky turkey dog of the year

I'm glad to finally find a website and information regarding fall turkey hunting with a dog. It seems not many people in Kentucky know anything about turkey dogs, or want to learn. I am the only turkey dog owner/hunter I know in Kentucky. My dog Belle is half Gordon and half English Setter, and just turned 3 on July 4, 2007. She came to me through a turkey dog man from Virginia. It started with a conversation with my brothers buddy, who talked to several other guys, that led me to these fellers in Virginia with flight pens and everything. It took a lot of talk to convince them to sell me a dog. They breed for black or liver color, and would never share a word about their dogs secret pedigrees. They're what you'd call 'old school', if you know what I mean. If you're ever in Central Kentucky during the fall season, look me up. Eddie Williams - Harrodsburg, Kentucky

Here's some pictures of our new turkey dog. The name is Remington Hazelwood Jake, born 17 April 06. My grandaughter who is 5 years old and I got brainwashed with the wild turkey and hunting, she came up with the name of Jake since she said boy baby turkey's are jakes. Comes from a great line of Brittany's. Right now for only 3 months old the dog has mastered sit, lay, stay, fetch, and is showing signs of barking at a turkey wing I saved from the spring season. Showing a little sign of blind trailing after I drag it in the yard and then let him out. I have had him out back in the pastures were he sees deer and has not showed much interest in them, seems more scared of them right now. Earl Sechrist - Midland, Virginia. August 6, 2006
The dog is doing well, but he is getting a little hardheaded, my wife says like his master. Started shooting the grandaughters BB gun off by him. Thanks again for the tips. Earl

11/8/07 started out a cold day. Left the truck it was 31. Heard some birds about 150-200 yards from us at first light. Took the dog on a lead towards the birds and found where they were scratching since fly down. Put the dog on them and again he followed for a short time and then broke off. (since my other dog died he has not been the same, he is only a year old and I think I ran him to much with the other one). Anyway, the birds were headed towards a road. I then put the lead back on him and went down and around and hit the road. Once at the road I walked up it to get in front of the birds. I went about 150 yards when I seen a couple birds cross the road about 60 yards in front of me. I turned Jake loose and he made a bee line for them. He got over a little rise in the road and started to bark. Turkeys all over the place and air. The first 8 birds flew off together, the other 10 or 12 was a good scatter. I then got the dog and set up about 20 yards in the woods. The dog would not sit still so I took him back to the truck, which was only about 200 yards away. Got back and set up. 5 min. went by and I heard some key-en and yelp-en. Started to do likewise in return. They were answering great to the wingbone and Steve's x-trm Kee. I had one in front of me and 2 to the left coming in Keeing and Kalking. It was a little noisy, I could hear about 100 yards from me one of the brood hens giving the assembly call. When the one to my front got to about 15 yards I let him have it with Grandfathers old Fox double, Win 2 3/4", 1 1/4 oz. #4's. 9 3/4 lb. Jake. Earl

john james audubon wild turkey gobbler drawing

"I did get lucky and was drawn to hunt on the Caswell Game Lands this year. This is a limited permit hunt on NC state game lands. Due to the fact that it was open only Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I got to hunt only one day and did not get a bird. But I did get to get my turkey dogs out for a good day in the woods. Talked to a biologist that day and he said I was the only one using turkey dogs. I also hunt near Appomattox, VA, along the Blue Ridge Mountains. This year my buddy and I each killed one each using our turkey dogs, so all was well. My dogs are german shorthair pointers that I use strictly for turkeys. Just got 2 new pups from a friend 1/2 german shorthair, 1/2 brittany spaniel." E. Jones - NC. January 2006

john james audubon hen and poult drawing

“Over the years I've had a lot of hounds. I had one redtick hound about 7 or 8 years ago that would strike turkeys from the pickup box. If I let her loose, she’d take the track and run it baying just like she was on a fox, a coyote, or a bear, up until the birds took off. Then she’d bay yet for a while, until I’d go get her. She’s deceased now, but I have one of her pups. That hound sure liked turkeys. I’ve often bred two dogs that love the same game, and of all the puppies, one prefers fox, one likes bear, one likes cat, and one likes turkey, etc. Just because the parents like one game, doesn’t guarantee the pups will. Each dog turns out to be an individual, and will prefer their own game." R.B. Sturgeon Bay, WI January 2006

"I went grouse hunting on the public hunting grounds in Green County, WI where it backs up to Dane County with my english setter, Rebel. There was a wide field between the woods, and his first point was on a big ol' tom turkey. Reb was up on his tip-toes, and leaning ahead as if to try and see what that bird was.
At first I wondered what he had. Reb never acted like that on a pheasant or a chukar, so I knew it wasn’t that. When the bird took off and its' wings made that whoosh whoosh whoosh sound, Reb's eyes got big as saucers. After that first one I could always tell when Reb had a turkey, because he acted so different, up on his tip-toes and leaning ahead, he liked turkeys so much.
It was tempting to shoot, since I had a turkey permit in my pocket. But at that time you couldn’t be in possession of a turkey and a dog. The fourth or fifth turkey Reb pointed that day was an adult hen. When it took off she flew right into a hunter (who was not with our party) that had been standing nearby. He broke several ribs, either from the hen, when he hit the ground, or both.
Another time Reb pointed two turkeys on a field trial grounds.
I think Reb wanted to point turkeys better than anything else. He liked the helicopter-like sound of them flushing, and then he’d stand there watching them until they were out of site. Reb was one dog in ten thousand.
Reb proved that pointing dogs can point a turkey just as well as a flushing dog can flush them. I buried Reb five years ago, right where we hunt turkey every spring and fall." James Gleash - Madison. VP - WI Association of Field Trial Clubs 2006

"I had never seen a wild turkey till I moved here, now I look for them everywhere. Sometimes I feel like the

scene in Jurassic Park, where they see the dinosaur for the first time... I've had Irish Water Spaniels for 20 years and did some hunt test stuff with my first one. He had never seen a bird and at age 5 knowing nothing about bird dogs I started him myself. He turned out to be surprisingly good, and sired some good bird dogs too (as well as the foo foo show dogs). I used to do dog shows, 30 years ago, then did a little obedience and greyhound racing; now I can barely stand to watch a dog show, it's the real life use of the dog's natural ability and drive that gets my pulse racing! Thanks so much for letting me know about turkey dogs, maybe that is a future dog for me!! The other thought I have had about turkeys are their metallic colors, once I saw some in the sunshine and they looked like jewelled robots to me. When I was driving west to Minnesota along Hwy 21, west of Oshkosh, along a stretch of RR track that is up above the road, I saw what had to be about 50 of them, strung along the tracks, looking for bugs in the gravel, or maybe grit for their crop. Then a couple hours later, heading home the same way, there they still were!" Dana K. Vaughan, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

The bloodhound is the only animal in the world whose evidence is admissable in court.

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Listen to samples of authentic wild turkey calls recorded in the fall and winter woods at