yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I'm working on the curriculum for a Turkey Hunting Skills Workshop. One of our local turkey hunting experts will be the class lead. It will be taught under the state Hunter Education program in VA. This is not the basic hunter safety class. I'm trying to set it up so that we can assess the experience level of the students that sign up and change the depth accordingly. While the outline and PowerPoint we plan to use is intended to be comprehensive, the plan is to cover some sections quickly and focus on others based on the class makeup. The workshop is for folks who have never hunted turkey but may or may not be experienced hunters as well as folks who have hunted turkey for a number of years but want to improve their skills. We plan to have a hands-on activity for calling and decoy setup. While we will have an agenda, I would like it to be student-driven with lots of Q&A. There is no test or certification. This idea is to give each class the information they want rather than have learning objectives.
I have a stating outline. I want to make sure I'm not missing any significant areas in it. Please review and let me know if I should add anything. Critique is welcome. Here is the outline:
Introduction
Facilities
Workshop Purpose
Instructor Introductions
Student experience assessment
General Turkey Information
Turkey sub-species
Identification
Head
Beard
Tail and other feathers
Legs
Life Cycle and Behavior
VA Annual Turkey Cycle
Roosting
Fighting
Mating
Brooding
Traveling
Feeding
Dusting, Sunning, and Preening
General Turkey Hunting Information
Virginia Hunting Seasons and Regs
General Summary
Point to Regs booklet for details
Turkey Hunting Ethics
What are ethics
Turkey Related Ethical Discussion Topics
Where to Hunt
Local
Overview
WMAs
State Forests
PALS
Military areas
Quantico MCB
Out of State
DIY
Guided
Turkey Hunting Safety
Blaze Orange
Colors to Avoid
Shoot-Don’t Shoot
Safe Decoy Setup
Turkey Hunting Equipment
Firearms
Industry Packages
DIY Combinations
Performance
Sighting devices
Chokes
Ammo
Key Factors
Options
Patterning for Turkey
Ranging
Archery
Bows
Compound/recurve
Crossbows
Speed vs silence
Shot Selection
Broadheads
Clothing
Blinds and Seating
Types of Calls
Decoys
Spring Hunting
Spring Scouting Techniques
Drive-by listen and mark
Listen and Follow
Scouting for sign
Morning
How close is too close
When to call and when to be quiet
Calling to gobblers or hens
Scratching in the leaves
Bumping Hens
Henned up Gobblers
When to wait and when to move
When gobbling stops
Strutting zones and loafing areas
Late Morning Gobbling
Setup – Using terrain and vegetation
Decoys or not. When and why.
Run and Gun Vs. Sit and Wait (Blinds) or split the difference.
Afternoon
Afternoon setups
Roosting Gobblers
Calling
The calls turkeys make and when/why they make them
ACTIVITY: Calling demonstration and hands-on practice
Techniques to avoid
Gobbling
Scoot and Shoot
Fall Hunting
Fall Scouting Techniques
Glassing fields
Fall Food Sources: Bugs to Acorns.
Archery Season Turkey Hunting
Calling in a family flock
Finding , Busting, and regroup calling
Hunting with dogs.
Wildlife Management
Restoration of the Wild Turkey
Managing land for Wild Turkey
After the hunt (Cleaning, mounting, cooking).
Thanks,
Jack
I have a stating outline. I want to make sure I'm not missing any significant areas in it. Please review and let me know if I should add anything. Critique is welcome. Here is the outline:
Introduction
Facilities
Workshop Purpose
Instructor Introductions
Student experience assessment
General Turkey Information
Turkey sub-species
Identification
Head
Beard
Tail and other feathers
Legs
Life Cycle and Behavior
VA Annual Turkey Cycle
Roosting
Fighting
Mating
Brooding
Traveling
Feeding
Dusting, Sunning, and Preening
General Turkey Hunting Information
Virginia Hunting Seasons and Regs
General Summary
Point to Regs booklet for details
Turkey Hunting Ethics
What are ethics
Turkey Related Ethical Discussion Topics
Where to Hunt
Local
Overview
WMAs
State Forests
PALS
Military areas
Quantico MCB
Out of State
DIY
Guided
Turkey Hunting Safety
Blaze Orange
Colors to Avoid
Shoot-Don’t Shoot
Safe Decoy Setup
Turkey Hunting Equipment
Firearms
Industry Packages
DIY Combinations
Performance
Sighting devices
Chokes
Ammo
Key Factors
Options
Patterning for Turkey
Ranging
Archery
Bows
Compound/recurve
Crossbows
Speed vs silence
Shot Selection
Broadheads
Clothing
Blinds and Seating
Types of Calls
Decoys
Spring Hunting
Spring Scouting Techniques
Drive-by listen and mark
Listen and Follow
Scouting for sign
Morning
How close is too close
When to call and when to be quiet
Calling to gobblers or hens
Scratching in the leaves
Bumping Hens
Henned up Gobblers
When to wait and when to move
When gobbling stops
Strutting zones and loafing areas
Late Morning Gobbling
Setup – Using terrain and vegetation
Decoys or not. When and why.
Run and Gun Vs. Sit and Wait (Blinds) or split the difference.
Afternoon
Afternoon setups
Roosting Gobblers
Calling
The calls turkeys make and when/why they make them
ACTIVITY: Calling demonstration and hands-on practice
Techniques to avoid
Gobbling
Scoot and Shoot
Fall Hunting
Fall Scouting Techniques
Glassing fields
Fall Food Sources: Bugs to Acorns.
Archery Season Turkey Hunting
Calling in a family flock
Finding , Busting, and regroup calling
Hunting with dogs.
Wildlife Management
Restoration of the Wild Turkey
Managing land for Wild Turkey
After the hunt (Cleaning, mounting, cooking).
Thanks,
Jack