In Search of the Perfect Turkey Hunting Grounds
by David Hawley

Ever since I was old enough for rational thought, I have wondered what Heaven would look like.  Would there be streets of gold leading up to a huge hilltop mansion?  While we can gain clues from reading the Bible, we really have no way of knowing exactly what our eternal home will look like.  Each person has their own opinion, typically formed in their imagination from a place or experience when they were at complete peace or in complete awe of the sheer beauty of their surroundings. So you might ask, “What is my opinion of Heaven?”  It’s simple… daybreak in late March in an Alabama swamp with five to ten gobbling turkeys surrounding me.  

I have long said that wild turkeys were our Creator’s finest work, besides humans of course.  What other animal evokes the plethora of emotions as does the wild turkey?  The wild turkey allows interaction, via calling.  He is a beautiful bird, has uncanny senses, and provides an adrenaline rush to those who pursue him unlike any other animal, besides dangerous game perhaps, or bowhunting whitetails.  Many people call wild turkeys stupid, but those same people likely haven’t hunted some of the “professors of hunter shame” I have hunted and probably hunt turkeys whose ancestors were not hunted at all.  Simply put, in the Deep South, the wild turkey is as noble an adversary for the turkey hunter as Erwin Rommel was in the eyes of General George S. Patton.

Four Keys to Successful Wood Duck Boxes
by Blake Hamilton Wildlife Biologist & Registered Forester

With the increase of urbanization and short-term timber harvesting natural wood duck nesting habitat is decreasing.  Most timber-stands are currently managed for the quickest return possible.  Therefore, old growth mature hardwoods, which provided cavities for nesting, are decreasing.  So what can we do about this decline…..install wood duck boxes!  

With the proper design and layout, man-made wood duck nesting structures, a.k.a. “boxes” can be a key asset to help preserve and enhance wood duck populations and habitat.  Understanding and implementing the importance of boxes reveals the true meaning of a Gamekeeper!  Wildlife requires three key elements for survival.  These elements are: food, cover, and water.  If a habitat is missing any of these pieces, the puzzle isn’t complete.  A proper box provides cover to ensure shelter and protection for eggs/ducklings when they are most vulnerable.  However, simply nailing a wood duck box to any random tree near your pond may do more harm than good. 

Taking “Let Him Walk” to the Next Level
by Austin Delano

It may not happen to everyone, but I believe sometime in a whitetail manger’s tenure, the satisfaction and enjoyment of growing bigger and healthier deer surpasses that of the actual hunt. I’m pretty sure I’ve reached that point. I guess now I’m as much a “Game Keeper” as I am a hunter. Make no mistake, I love to whack does with a bow and I still hold a deep passion for trying to find an old mature buck making a wrong move, but I’m truly obsessed with growing deer…big ones. For 10 years I have been managing a special piece of property. For the past four years it has been known as “The BioLogic Proving Grounds.”  It lies only a few minutes from the Tennessee River and consists of 1,500 acres of mixed hardwood timber and pines in the steep hills of Northwest Alabama. 

After years of very selective buck harvest, supplemental feeding, and an intense food plot program, I have grown a true “southern giant.” While we have been growing and killing above average deer for a long time (for the area), this particular buck was a “man among men.”