Adult Onset Hunting Archives

Grilled or pan fried? Doesn’t matter…whatever you choose, you can’t go wrong with Missouri turkey (VIDEO)

May 16, 2015 By Bill Pollock

Grilled or pan fried…doesn’t matter. Missouri turkey is delicious.

Hard to believe that after nearly ten months of planning, studying, practicing and hunting, my time with the Missouri Department of Conservation and my journey with my two mentors, Kyle Lairmore and Jim Low, is coming to an end.

You’ve followed my steps from hunter education through deer, duck and now turkey hunting and I hope we’ve provided good information along the way to help you get started.

The final step, now that I was able to harvest a turkey on my first hunt, is to show you how to prepare this delicious meat that is a great protein source.

On our final video (watch below), Kyle will walk you through a quick and easy, pan fry and bake recipe that goes great with rice and vegetables. Ever since we’ve hosted Thanksgiving at my house, I’ve prepared our bird on a charcoal grill. So I was really interested to see how a Missouri jake would turn out. I was very happy with the results as we used the grill meat to make a delicious muffaletta from a recipe straight out of the Cooking Wild in Missouri cookbook. Of course, turkey season isn’t complete without Morel mushrooms! Another great resource is to get a copy of the Missouri’s Wild Mushrooms book.

In fact, for being a faithful viewer and reader of my hunting journey, I want you to have an opportunity to win these great books. Click here to sign up to win.

After going through the process of each hunt, if I had to pick a favorite, I would choose turkey. I mentioned several reasons in my last story, but the final decision came down to how delicious the meat tasted. I had heard from multiple people, hunters and non-hunters who all told me the same thing…store bought turkey doesn’t even come close to the taste of a native Missouri gobbler. Man, they were right!

What I learned about hunting is that the whole experience isn’t just about whether or not you harvest an animal. The best part of this final video shoot was cooking the food, sitting down at the table and sharing a meal, great stories with plenty of laughs. That’s what truly completes the experience.

Here’s a post on the Department of Conservation’s Facebook page that I think sums up what hunting is all about. This comes from Randy H.

Can’t thank you guys enough for these blogs. I started turkey hunting at 40 and brought my son along for the first time about 5 or 6 years ago at the age of 12. We have been every year and have yet to bag a bird although we’ve been very close. You guys are absolutely correct that the adventure and the stories are sometimes better than a kill. At 18 now, he chose to go hunt by himself for the first time last weekend and had one within shooting distance but couldn’t take the shot through the brush in the woods. Just hearing his stories were really cool and I was extremely proud and happy for him. My hope is that we can both bag our first birds in the same morning while sitting together. He will be going off to college in the fall and our times together will be fewer but I will always have the memories in my mind and in my heart. We still have this weekend…

I know I started this post by saying that my journey was coming to an end, but that’s incorrect. It is really just beginning.

Before our turkey hunt, it’s important to make sure your equipment is ready to go. The importance of patterning (Google Hangout)

April 13, 2015 By Bill Pollock

Kyle Lairmore goes over my pattern as we prepare for this spring’s turkey hunt.

We’re closing in on the start of turkey hunting. Following this past youth weekend, the spring season begins on April 20th, and I am ready to embark on my first turkey adventure. Kyle Lairmore from the Missouri Department of Conservation will be my mentor again. Just a few final preparations that need to take place before we go out into the field.

The first and most important…Getting a good pattern on your shotgun.

It’s important to get comfortable with the firearm you’ll be using, finding what fits best, plus the load that works best out of your shotgun. Turkeys, for the most part are a still target, so its important to test the firearm you are working with and to try different loads to see what has the best pattern and best chance at harvesting the bird. If you don’t get a good pattern, you have the potential or missing or wounding the bird. The goal of hunting is to put food on the table and so avoiding the breast meat with your shot is important, so getting on the range before your hunt helps narrow in your pattern for success.

That’s what we talk about on this next Google Hangout that you can watch below.

Also, here are some basic rules for avoiding accidents:
-Identify a turkey’s head and beard before aiming.
-Never shoot at sound or movement. Assume it is another hunter until you can clearly see a turkey’s head or beard.
-Wear hunter orange when walking through the woods.
-Use hunter orange to identify your hunting location.
-Wrap a bagged turkey or decoy in hunter orange when transporting it.
-Dress defensively. Never wear red, white, blue or black while hunting turkey.
-Be sure of your target and what lies beyond.
-Never follow the sound of a gobbling turkey or attempt to sneak up on turkeys. Always call turkeys to you.
-Sit against a large tree or other natural barrier to shield yourself from hunters approaching from the rear.
-Shout “STOP” when another hunter approaches. Don’t move, wave, whistle, or make turkey calls to get their attention.

From the field to the table. Completing our Adult Onset Hunting journey with some great meals (VIDEO)

December 24, 2014 By Bill Pollock

I didn’t realize that perhaps the most fun I would have during my Adult Onset Hunting experience would be the last day…the cooking segment. At the beginning, I was just excited to become a licensed hunter and to be able to get some work done on the range.

I set a goal for myself to harvest a deer and a duck. While I only came through on 50% of that, (harvesting a doe), I was very satisfied with me overall performance.

Yet, the preparing, the cooking and then enjoying a meal that came from all my hard work was much more rewarding that I expected. This is what hunting is all about. Being able to provide food for family and friends and offer a healthy food alternative.

Bringing food from the field to the table completes the circle. I was fortunate to have two mentors who were able to take me every step of the way, including this final segment in the kitchen.

You’ll watch Jim Low and Kyle Lairmore as they show us some great recipes for duck and deer and how easy it is to prepare. Join us on the final Google Hangout of this series. For more additional information on the deer recipes, find the attachment below this Google Hangout.

Deer recipes

My first duck hunt and I froze. No, I was dressed warm. I meant I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger (Google Hangout)

December 18, 2014 By Bill Pollock

Here I am on my first duck hunt with Jim Low (L) and his retriever Willa

I was determined. My goal, when I set out to begin this series on Adult Onset Hunting with the Missouri Department of Conservation, was to get a deer and a duck on my first two hunts.

I came through on the first half, harvesting a doe. On the duck hunt? A different story. To my defense, the weather was warm and the conditions weren’t ideal to see many ducks, however, I had a chance…a great chance to reach my goal and I just watched as my mentor Jim Low did all the work.

It happens quite often with a new hunter. I wasn’t exactly sure what I would see or how I should react. While I thought everything was happening so fast, Jim actually told me this was an ideal situation for us. Shows you the difference between an experienced hunter and a newbie!

Enjoy our visit with Jim on this next Google Hangout as he describes the differences between duck and deer hunting and answers some questions most first time hunters have.

I finished the training, got my gear and permits, and now it’s time to hit the field for my first hunt (Google Hangout)

November 29, 2014 By Bill Pollock

Bill Pollock sets his sights on a potential harvest as sunset nears in Gasconade County.

It was “D-Day” for me…as in deer. After spending the last couple of months becoming a certified hunter through the Missouri Department of Conservation, and hitting the range for practice, I got my warm clothes and hunter orange, picked up my tags and now I’m finally ready for my first hunt.

I was joined by Kyle Lairmore, Hunting Education and Shooting Range Coordinator from the conservation department, as we headed out to Pigg Hollow Farms in Gasconade County.

We set out in the afternoon after lunch and got set up in our elevated blind just after 2 p.m. After we got settled into the blind, I tried to take in my surroundings, using landmarks, such as trees, or different shades of coloring in the field to help determine distances that I knew would be within my shooting range of 150 yards and closer.

Then I scanned the field looking for any deer movement and kept my own movements and talking to a minimum. In our third Google Hangout of this series on Adult Onset Hunting, you’ll hear Kyle and I talk about how perceptive deer are of their surroundings. When you enter their environment, they are very in tune with things around them.

The biggest question I was asked by my family and friends was if I was nervous when I set my sights on my first harvest.

Yeah, I was excited, but I have been waiting for this opportunity. For the last few weeks, I’ve visualized how I would approach my first attempt. Constantly reminding myself to stay calm, control my breathing and to remember the most important aspect of a hunt is to go for a quick, clean, harvest.

My biggest concern was that I didn’t want to rush a shot, or take a bad shot with a low success rate to where I would just wound the deer and that’s not what I wanted to do.

I was more excited seeing a buck through the brush and then when I saw three yearlings and a doe behind us, but once I decided to make an attempt, I actually felt calm and confident for my first harvest.

How would things actually workout? Watch our Hangout as we take your through my first day of hunting from start to finish.