The Turkey Hunter Podcast With Andy Gagliano | Turkey Hunting Tips, Strategies, And Stories

2024 Unicoi Custom Call Makers Show Preview Show This week, Mark Sharpe joins Cameron and Andy on this week's episode to talk about the upcoming 2024 Unicoi Custom Call Makers Show. The show in 2024 will take place January 12 and January 13 in Helen, Georgia at Unicoi State Park. Mark shares who the new call makers attending the show will be at the upcoming show. He also shares what other products will be available for purchase at the show. He also tells us what is so special about the Unicoi show to him.  If you are a fan of turkey hunting and appreciate spending time with other turkey hunters, then you will want to attend the 2024 Unicoi Custom Call Makers Show. This is a fun episode, and you will want to listen in. Below is a list of the vendors who will be attending this year's show... Aj Hiner, Anthony Ellis, Billy McCallister (Jeffrey Thompson), Bob Harwell, Brian Lawter, Chad Scruggs, Daniel Harris, Darrin Dawkins (James Harrison), Dean Redbeard Mundhenke, Derek Fowler, Dickie Champion (Steve Fowler),

Turkey Talk with Adam Butler This week, Adam Butler, the Wild Turkey Program Coordinator with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, joins Cameron and Andy on the show. Adam discusses the state of the wild turkey within the state of Mississippi, recent regulation changes made in the state, and the history of the wild turkey within the state and how trap and transfer efforts helped to reintroduce turkeys in certain areas. Adam also talks about how flooding affects the turkey populations within the state a great deal since Mississippi is primarily low land state. This is a very interesting episode, even for those who have no intention of ever hunting in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi is making changes that could be implemented in any state in the country to minimize reduction of hunting opportunities while still protecting the wild turkeys. Listen in, and be sure to get your raffle tickets by using the link below... https://rafflecreator.com/pages/78793/wild-turkey-hunt-fundraiser

Home At Last Is The Hunter with Chip Gross This week Chip Gross joins Cameron and Andy on the show to talk about his book, Home At Last Is The Hunter. Chip is a former Wildlife Officer with the state of Ohio, and he is also the author of the book Poachers Were My Prey that is about RT Stewart's undercover Wildlife Officer work. (RT Stewart was on the show a few weeks ago talking about some of his undercover operations.) Chip shares some stories about how he came to write the book about RT, but mainly he shares the story behind the semi-fictional book, Home At Last Is The Hunter. Chip tells us how the book came to be and shares a very interesting fact about part of the book that involves the main character being involved in a hunting accident.  This is a great interview that you will not want to miss. Cameron also highly recommends both books to our listeners. Listen in to this episode to hear how you can buy an autographed copy of Home At Last Is The Hunter as well as Poachers Were My Prey by Chip Gross. You

The History of the Wild Turkey with Brent Rogers This week, Brent Rogers joins Cameron and Andy to discuss the history of the wild turkey in America. We talk about the role of the wild turkey in the lives of settlers of the US, the decline of wild turkeys due to subsistence before and during the Great Depression, relocation, restocking, and the boom of turkey populations. This is a fun episode with lots of discussion of historical accounts of wild turkey in America. Listen in! Don't forget to get your raffle tickets this week. Two lucky winners will join Cameron and Andy in South Texas in late February of 2024. Proceeds will be split between the NWTF and Turkeys for Tomorrow. Get your tickets here.

A Little Afternoon Delight This week, Cameron and Andy share one of Cameron's hunts from this past Spring season where Cameron was able to mark off another state from his list of states needed to complete his Super Slam. As you can probably tell by the title of the show, this is an afternoon hunt, and we all know those can be fast and furious. This is an exciting hunt with some really good audio and a great story of a great day. Listen in, and don't forget to buy your raffle tickets for a chance to hunt with Cameron and Andy in South TX in late February. Click this link to buy yours today.

Turkey Dogging with JT Byrne This week, Cameron and Andy have JT Byrne back on the show to talk about the unique form of turkey hunting called turkey dogging.  JT explains what turkey dogging is all about and talks about the "breed" of turkey dogs that his dad created several decades ago, which is the Appalachian Turkey Dog. In addition to that, he shares a few hunting stories with us as an example.  If you like to hunt behind dogs and you like to turkey hunt, you will not want to miss this episode. Listen in! Here is the link for the Rio Grande wild turkey hunt with Cameron and Andy being held in late February of 2024. www.tinyurl.com/55heeu99  

The Man Who Hunted Men This week, RT Stewart joins Cameron and Andy again to share several stories from his time being an undercover game warden, infiltrating poaching rings, and bringing the poachers to justice.  In this episode, we hear about the trial of the turkey and deer poachers from Operation Redbud as well as stories from bringing duck hunters to justice as well. This is another fascinating, and oftentimes hilarious, episode that you will not want to miss. So, listen in! Cameron and Andy also share more information about their late winter February Texas Rio hunt raffle for 2024. If you are interested in buying tickets for an opportunity to hunt with Cameron and Andy and to raise money for TFT and the NWTF, then you can buy tickets by going to https://tinyurl.com/55heeu99. You can also buy tickets by scanning the QR Code below. Buy early and buy often.  

The Man Who Hunted Men with RT Stewart - Part 1 This week, Cameron and Andy present you with part 1 of the fascinating interview with RT Stewart who is a retired conservation officer who went undercover to bust what was at the time the largest poaching ring ever busted. The bust resulted in 26 convictions of poachers who illegally killed wild turkeys and deer out of season, over the legal bag limit, at night, and just for kicks. RT was a pioneer in undercover work for the Ohio DNR, and he literally became a member of the community in which these poachers were living and put his own life at risk getting video evidence of these violations in the process. This is an interview you won't want to miss! Before the interview though, Cameron and Andy have a huge announcement for all of their friends of the show and for wild turkeys as well. They are raffling off two Rio Grande wild turkey hunts in late February for the opportunity to harvest two wild turkeys for each hunter who wins in the drawing. You'll want to list

The Slam of All Slams This week, Chip Davis joins Cameron and Andy to talk about completing the slam of all slams. Chip is the second person to complete the Grand Slam, US Super Slam, Royal Slam, World Slam, Canadian Slam, and Mexican Slam.  This process took Chip over 30 years to complete all of the slams, and his last turkey in Canada presented him an absolute fit. Chip shares that story with us as well as the feelings he experienced when he harvested that turkey and completed the slam. Chip is a great story teller. We think you'll enjoy this show. Listen in!

Check out this week's episode to hear an exciting hunt that Andy and Cameron shared together this past spring out West. Join us in Ponderosa Pine Country as we locate and make a move on a rowdy bunch of Merriams turkeys. After the hunt, stay tuned for one of the greatest recipe's the world has ever seen that was concocted on this trip.  Hope ya'll enjoy reliving a spring memory with your hosts. 

Early Fall Turkey Soup This week, Cameron and Andy cook up a little turkey soup to help warm you up with the first cool front of the Fall season rolling through most of the country. Wild turkey news articles from Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, California, and Tennessee are among the states covered in the articles and press releases in this episode. There are some great wild turkey research projects going on around the country right now that we are hopeful will shed some light on a few of the reasons for wild turkey declines. Of course, we love to throw in a weird wild turkey story into these soup episodes, so we share one this week of a wild turkey that has been misgendered... by Cameron. Listen in!

Fall Turkey Hunting with Roger Parks This week Cameron and Andy bring part 2 of the Fall Turkey Hunting episode with Roger Parks to you.  Roger shares a little bit about what a typical fall turkey hunting morning looks like for him. The guys talk some spring turkey hunting as well. And, yes, the answer to the million dollar question is... Roger shares his contact information with all of us.  Get your pen and paper ready. Grab the beverage of your choice. And, listen in!

Fall Turkey Hunting with Roger Parks - Part 1  This week, turkey call maker Roger Parks joins Cameron and Andy on the show to talk about fall turkey hunting, among other things. Roger makes one of the finest gobbler callers on the market today, and the guys talk about that call for a bit. Of course, there's lots of turkey call talk as well. I don't think it is possible to have a turkey call maker on the show and not talk about turkey calls. Roger shares a strategy for killing turkeys no matter whether he is hunting in the spring, fall, or winter. He also shares a few calling strategies and tips as well. This is a great episode with a guest who loves to share his knowledge with others. Maybe the best news of all is that there is more interview to share next week. Listen in!

The Monkey Off of the Back We are back! Today we have Scott McDonald joining us on the show to share a hunt in Tennessee that he enjoyed with Cameron.  This was Scott's third time to hunt in Tennessee. Even though he had some close encounters, he had not been able to mark the state off of his list in his pursuit of his super slam. Cameron offered to help Scott with a hunt to see if they could make it happen in the spring of 2023. This is a fun episode with Cameron and Scott sharing the hunt with Andy. Listen in to the hunt as there are multiple shots fired and a strange story shared in the show.

A Turkey Hunting Survey with Jay Cantrell This week Jay Cantrell with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources joins Cameron and Andy on the show to talk about recent public meetings and a survey for South Carolina turkey hunters. Over the course of the summer, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources held meetings across the state to talk about the declining wild turkey population in SC. These meetings came about because of the concern expressed to the SCDNR by licensed hunters in the state. As good as the in person meetings were, Jay and the SCDNR felt like they wanted more input from hunters within the state. So, Jay recorded his presentation and posted it on YouTube (click here to watch it). The state also posted their survey online for hunters to take, so that they can get more participation and input on possible solutions from the public. This is a great show, and Cameron and Andy's hope is that more states will take the initiative to hold similar meetings with their hunters as well

Season Recap and Turkey Talk with Preston Pittman This week turkey hunting legend Preston Pittman joins Cameron and Andy on the show to recount his 2023 spring turkey season. The show starts off with some fishing talk because Preston has just arrived home from a great fishing trip off of the gulf coast. After a bit of fishing talk the discussion turns to turkey hunting. A wide array of topics are discussed from call care and storage tips to whether or not to tree call to a roosted tom and everything in between. This is a great episode that we all can pick up a few tips from to make us better turkey hunters. Listen in!        

Mountain Pine Forest Turkey Hunt This week, Cameron and Andy share one of their turkey hunts with us. This hunt took place in the mountains of the western US in the spring of 2023. Cameron and Andy were together on this hunt, and it turned out to be a good one with some cat and mouse being played. Although there is not a whole lot of gobbling in the early stages of this hunt, patience, persistence, and the right turkey call paid off in the end. We think you'll enjoy sharing in this hunt with Cameron and Andy in the dog days of summer. Listen in!

2023 Season Recap and Turkey Talk with Donald Devereaux Jarrett This week, turkey hunting outfitter, guide, hunter, and author Donald Devereaux Jarrett (DJ) joins Cameron and Andy on the show to recap his 2023 season hunting Merriam's turkeys in South Dakota. DJ also shares his thoughts on the Merriam's turkey population in the part of South Dakota where he guides turkey hunts after the harsh 2022/2023 winter. DJ has high hopes for the Merriam's turkey population there after having a successful hunting season. DJ, Cameron, and Andy also talk a little about DJ's book, Compositions of a Sickness, and they share a few laughs as well. Listen in!

Season Recap and Turkey Talk with Jeff Budz This week wild turkey killer extraordinaire and guide, Jeff Budz, joins Cameron and Andy on the show to share how his season went both personally and professionally. Jeff's passions for the wild turkey and turkey hunting are obvious and show every time he speaks. Jeff shares his thoughts on the direction of the turkey populations in Florida as well as in the western US after the extreme snowfall and frigid temps they had there this past winter. Jeff is one who loves to push himself to extremes when it comes to turkey hunting, but he stops shy from telling us what his next big turkey hunting goal is. Maybe Cameron and Andy can get that from him the next time Jeff is on the show. Jeff is always an entertaining guest who is full of information. Listen in!

2023 Spring Turkey Season Recap Andy and Cameron are back this week to recap their 2023 spring turkey hunting season.  Both Andy and Cameron share three takeaways from the 2023 season. They discuss some of their experiences in their travels around the country and some of the interesting people they met along the way. Andy shares a story of hens with poults on the same piece of ground as henned up gobblers. They also share whether or not they achieved all of their season goals that they set for themselves early this year. You'll want to listen all the way through the end of the show for a big announcement about going to a bi-weekly podcast format through the summer months. This is a fun show, so be sure to listen in.