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

Turkey Calling Lessons from a Legend with Preston Pittman This week Cameron and I have Preston Pittman with Pittman Game Calls on the show to talk all about diaphragm callers.  We discuss the different cuts and which ones are better for certain types of turkey calls. We also get some lessons to go with our education about diaphragm callers from someone who has been making callers for decades. Listen in for a very entertaining and informative episode from the legend himself, Preston Pittman.

2020 NWTF Convention and Sport Show Recap This week, Cameron and I have lots of clips from interviews and seminars from the 2020 NWTF Convention and Sport Show in Nashville.  We have interviews and seminars from a bunch of turkey hunting pros, like Will Primos, Jimmy Primos, Eddie Salter, Harold Knight, Jeff Budz, and representatives from outdoors companies, like OnX, LaCrosse, GoWild, Federal Premium, Apex, and many others. This a content filled episode that I think you will enjoy. Listen in!

Grand National Calling Champions Panel from 2019 NWTF Convention This week, I have a little Throwback Thursday for you guys. No, this is not a repeat episode, but it is the final seminar recorded at the 2019 NWTF Convention and Sport Show. This is a great seminar where 7 Grand National calling champions share their insights on callers, calling turkeys, and turkey call strategies. This week, you will get to hear from Steve Stoltz, Pat Strawser, Mark Prudhomme, Matt Morrett, Billy Yargus, Chris Parrish, and Mitchell Johnston. The amazing turkey call competitors share lots of great information and a few stories as well. This is an episode that will have you reaching for your turkey callers to try to imitate the masters of turkey talk. Listen in!  

Turkey Hunting Book & Filming Turkeys With Ron & Tes Jolly In this week's episode we talk to soon-to-be NWTF Hall of Fame inductee Ron Jolly and his wife Tes about his new book release.We also discuss many topics about photographing and videoing wild turkeys. In this episode you will learn many tips and tactics on capturing your interaction with turkeys as well as getting the perfect picture of your harvested bird. Listen in!

Hunting Runners with Scott Ellis In this episode we discuss a situation that happens to many of us while turkey hunting. We all have experienced a bird that gobbles good on the roost, but when he hits the ground, he is always on the move. We call those birds by many names - runners, vagabonds, nomads, circuit riders, etc. These can be some of the most frustrating turkeys to fall in behind, but can also be the most rewarding if you are able to outwit him.  Three-Time Grand National Turkey Calling Champion Scott Ellis joins us this week to give us several tactics and strategies to overcome the "running" gobbler. Also in this episode, Scott shares the subtle art of soft calling, jake/gobbler yelps, and using the kee kee run.  Listen In!

Introducing the New Turkey Hunter Podcast Co-Host This week, the new Turkey Hunter Podcast co-host is introduced and interviewed. We get to know the new co-host a little better and talk about where he is headed this coming spring on his quest for the US Super Slam as well as a little about some of the turkey hunting books that he has read in the recent past. Oh yeah, and you get to hear the story of how I heard my first gobbles of 2020 and saw my first strutting Toms of the year as well. Listen in!

The First Turkey Soup Episode of the New Year Listen in as I share turkey and turkey hunting news that you need to know this week.  In the news this week is Missouri, Iowa, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Maryland, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Wyoming, Minnesota, Tennessee, and probably one or two states that I can't remember right now. This is the time of year when permit applications open, quota hunt application periods open, and states release their turkey season dates and bag limits. There really is too much information in this episode to skip it, especially if you plan on a turkey hunting trip out of state.

2020 Unicoi Custom Turkey Call Makers Show Interviews This week is all about the 2020 Unicoi Custom Turkey Call Makers Show in Helen, GA. I walk you through my weekend at the show, and I run some of the turkey calls that I got while at Unicoi. I also have several interviews for you from some of the vendors at the show like Mark Prudhomme and Larry Proffitt, just to name a couple. Mark Sharpe and Russell Beard do a phenomenal job putting this show together, and I am pleased to bring a little piece of the show back home to play for you guys on this week's episode. Listen in!

2020 NWTF Convention and Sport Show Preview with Pete Muller This week I have Pete Muller with the NWTF on the show to speak about the upcoming NWTF Convention and Sport Show happening February 13 - February 15, 2020 in Nashville, TN.  Pete shares with us the huge change the NWTF has for this year's show regarding the dates of the show. He also lets us know about the details of the calling contests, the auctions, the dinners, the parties, and much more. If you plan on attending the 2020 NWTF Convention and Sport Show in Nashville in the next month or so, then you'll want to listen in.

2020 Goals and Listener Survey This week I reflect back on my 2019 turkey hunting goals and share my 2020 goals with you. I also share my goals about the podcast with you as well. My favor this week is to ask for your help giving me feedback on the show by taking the listener survey. Listen in!

Final 3 Interviews with Nominees for NWTF National Board of Directors This week I am bringing you the final 3 interviews with the nominees for the NWTF National Board of Directors. I interview Mike Evans from Oklahoma, Bryan Perry from North Carolina, and Parks Shackleford from Virginia on the show this week to find out more about them and why they are running for the national board of directors for the NWTF. Listen in and get your votes in before the January 3, 2020 deadline.

Interviews with 3 NWTF National Board of Directors Nominees This week I interview 3 of the nominees for the NWTF National Board of Directors. These 3 gentlemen have the opportunity to help plan out the course for the National Wild Turkey Federation for the next several years.  For those of us who are members of the NWTF, choosing the best board members is crucial to the mission, and success of, the NWTF. My first interview is with Joe Judd who is from Shelburne, Massachusetts. My second interview is with Joe Foster from McCammon, Idaho. And, my last interview is with Nelson Estess from Magnolia, Mississippi. Not only do I ask these guys why they are running for the board of directors, but I twist their arms into sharing a turkey hunting story with us as well. Listen in!

Bone Collectors Seminar from 2019 NWTF Convention This week I am playing the Bone Collectors seminar from the 2019 NWTF Convention and Sport Show in Nashville. Listen in!

Post Thanksgiving Turkey Soup This week, I have another turkey soup episode for you guys.  This is the time of year when spring turkey tag application periods open in some states, and knowing the dates of those application periods is important. So, this week we talk about a couple of those states where the period has opened, or will be opening soon. This is also the time of year when some states ask for input from hunters about proposed regulation changes regarding season dates and bag limits. If your state government is asking for your input, then by all means you should give it to them. Some states have already released their harvest statistics for their fall 2019 turkey seasons, and we will talk about the results of some of those seasons. Listen in!

Jeff Budz Traveling Seminar from 2019 NWTF Convention This week I am playing Jeff Budz seminar on traveling and turkey hunting from the 2019 NWTF Convention in Nashville this past February.  There is lots of great information in this seminar that anyone who travels to turkey hunt or wants to start traveling to turkey hunt can use.  Listen in!

2020 Unicoi Turkey Call Makers Show Preview This week, I have Mark Sharpe on the show to talk about the upcoming 2020 Unicoi Turkey Call Makers Show at the Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA. The show will be held January 10 - 11, 2020. Mark gives us a preview of the show so we will know what to expect when we get there. I can tell you that if the 2020 show is anything like the 2019 show, then it will be one you will not want to miss. Not only are there custom turkey calls everywhere in the room that you can pick up, run, and purchase to take home with you, but there are hundreds of like-minded turkey hunting fools in the group as well. This is a show that any die hard turkey hunter needs to attend at least once, and a trip to Unicoi will certainly be worth the time and effort to get there. Listen in to this week's show, and then come see me in Helen, GA in January of 2020.

More Shotgun Choke Talk with Mike Ponder This week I have Mike Ponder with Indian Creek Shooting Systems on the show so I can share with him the results of my time at the range before turkey season started this past spring. I switched over to an Indian Creek choke for my 12 gauge "Black Death" with TSS shells and improved not only my pattern but my point of impact as well. My pattern density improved by a whopping 50% with the Indian Creek choke. In my Remington 870 20 gauge with TSS shells, my pattern improved by 15%.  Listen in as I share my results with Mike and get his input on my results.

PreThanksgiving Turkey Soup This week, I have some wild turkey news for you. I have a bunch of news from Pennsylvania, and I have some news from Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland, and West Virginia. I also share part of an interesting article published on thespokesman.com website about the history of the wild turkey/human relationship, and I let you know how to find the entire article. It is a pretty fascinating read. I also tell the story about getting my new favorite turkey call in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and I give a shout out to our veterans. Listen in! 

Replay of Winter Turkey Hunting with Rob Keck This week, I am replaying the interview I did several years ago with Rob Keck about winter turkey hunting. When I ran into Rob at the ATA show in Louisville, KY, I asked him to come on the show, and I told him I would email him a few topics to choose from for our call. He said he didn't need any topics that he already knew what he wanted to talk about. That topic he wanted to talk about is late winter turkey hunting, and Rob has some amazing stories about his trips to Kansas for some winter turkey hunts. Listen in and see if you can pickup some tips that may help you to plan a successful trip for a winter turkey hunt.

Why We Hunt Seminar with Brenda Valentine This week, I'm playing the Why We Hunt seminar with Brenda Valentine from the 2019 NWTF Convention in Nashville. During the seminar Brenda recommends we hunters come up with a one word answer to offer people who ask why we hunt. If you think about it, the question is much harder to answer than it seems to be on the surface. I also read an article that covers the results of a recent studies about the acceptability of hunting for people. The study sheds some light on answers we can give that more people can relate to when we are asked the question why we hunt. Listen in!