Scott Croner "The Nebraska Turkey Interceptor "

Scott hunts turkey like a Nebraska lawman hot on the trail of a escaped convict !!! I arrived at 12:30 p.m.on Friday, with cloudy sky's and winds blowing in excess of 20 mph which are not ideal hunting conditions. I was back at the lodge with 2 long beards by 5:00p.m.

The next morning Scott set me up on a location he had scouted early in the season. Needless to say, I took care of business at 10 yards with my third Merriam at 7:30 a.m. I called Scott to come pick me up and when he arrived, the back of his Suburban was stacked with gobblers harvested by three of his repeat hunters that he guided on a hunt that morning. I've hunted with so called guides in Kansas and Alabama, but Nebraska Hunting Co. is the real deal. I will be back next year with several of my clients. ( 5) Stars*****

P.S. be sure and tip the cook-best prime rib west of the Mississippi!

Greg Hill
El Dorado
Arkansas

Jay Jones And Kraig Dean Harvest 5 Gobblers In 24 Hours

Kraig harvested all 3 of his gobblers in one day of hunting. Jay harvested 2 of his gobblers along with Kraig and 1 the night before.

Barbecued Wild Turkey

Ingredients

One stick (1/2 cup) margarine
1/2 cup chopped green onions or chives
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. thyme and savory, mixed
1 cup broth
3 Tbsp. parsley

Directions.



Cut turkey into pieces across the grain. Cook onions until tender in butter, add other ingredients. Bring to a full boil. Cover each piece of turkey with this mixture. Baste often on grill. Cook 45 to 55 minutes or until done.


Guided Merriam's Turkey Hunts - Nebraska Hunting Company

Wild Turkey - Making a Turkey Cape

Making a Turkey Cape

Although there are several ways to display your trophy tom, one of the easiest and least-expensive ways is by caping your turkey.

Caping is inexpensive, easy to do, and extremely satisfying. Simply skinning your turkey from head to tail, cleaning and boraxing the skin and pinning it to a flat piece of cardboard is all that's involved.

Follow the simple instructions below for a good looking and simple way to capture the memory of a special hunt:

•To begin, hang your tom by the head.

•With a sharp knife, cut the skin where the feathers on the neck meet the skin of the head.

•Continuing down the center of the back and toward the tail, remove the skin in an approximate two-inch wide strip. You will notice that the feathers attach to the skin in rows and the narrow strip of skin actually holds a much wider angular blanket of feathers.

•Remove the skin to and including the tail skin.

•With knife and spoon, remove the fat and flesh.

•Cover wet skin in Borax.

•Lay Borax covered skin on large piece of flat corrugated cardboard.

•With straight pins, pin the head end to cardboard.

•Fan tail, spread to the desired width and pin each feather in place.

•With a pocket knife, lay each feather in place.

•Let dry three to four weeks.

•Remove pins, shake loose Borax and hang.

•You may wish to mount the cape on a piece of wood cut to fit the cape.

Cleaning Your Wild Turkey

If you're a turkey hunter, you're used to making decisions. And, after choosing the right turkey loads, camouflage, decoys and calls before entering the spring woods, it's a relief when the final decision of the hunt is how to care for and cook your bird. Cleaning your turkey is the first step, and regardless of whether you plan to skin, pluck or breast out and cut up your bird, doing it properly is both quick and easy. Just follow these simple steps.

1. If you don't plan to cook your bird whole, start by laying the turkey on it's back. Remove just enough breast feathers so as to expose the skin.

2. To remove the breast filets, pull or cut the skin back from the breast. Make cuts along each side of the breastbone as well as on the inside of both wings or the clavicle. To save the wings, peel the skin back and remove the wings from the cavity by cutting through the joint.

3. Find the breastbone and make an incision down each side of the breastbone to loosen the breast filet from the bone. Work from the rear of the breast forward, fileting off the breast by pulling the filet and using the knife as needed. Repeat this for the other side of the breast.

4. To remove the thigh and leg, cut through the thigh muscle where it attaches to the back. Then grab the thigh or leg and pull up until you can feel the joint pop loose. Keep cutting through the thigh until it comes free from the turkey's body.

Considered the traditional style of cleaning a wild turkey, plucking is a perfect way to prepare your bird to be roasted, smoked or whole deep-fried. Before you remove the entrails or field dress the turkey pluck the turkey's feathers to help keep the moisture in the turkey while cooking it whole. Remove the feathers after dipping the bird in hot water. Some people use boiling water but it has been said that 140-degree water is optimal for plucking a bird. Plucking does take time and produces more of a mess than does skinning; however, the taste of deep-fried or roasted turkey skin is worth the effort.


Plucking vs. Skinning

Many of today's turkey hunters prefer skinning to plucking. Skinning a turkey allows you to cook the bird by frying or grilling the pieces of meat. You can skin and fillet the turkey breasts, and slice as much meat from the legs and wings as necessary. Make a cut just along one side of the breastbone. Then, it's just a matter of working the skin off the breast halves, down the back and over each of the legs. In some states it's illegal to only fillet the breast out, leaving the rest of the carcass behind. Always check your state's hunt regulations, and make sure your turkey is properly tagged for transportation.

Field Dressing

In hot weather hunting conditions, field dressing your bird is a good idea before you clean it for the table. If you decide to field dress your bird, start by placing the turkey on its back. Find the bottom of the breast plate and insert your knife, making a cut to the anal vent. Remove the entrails from this opening and then reach into the cavity to sever the windpipe, heart and lungs. Cool the cavity by placing ice inside the chest.

Cleaning & Preping Your Wild Turkey

Cleaning Your Wild Turkey If you're a turkey hunter, you're used to making decisions. And, after choosing the right turkey loads, camouflage, decoys and calls before entering the spring woods, it's a relief when the final decision of the hunt is how to care for and cook your bird. Cleaning your turkey is the first step, and regardless of whether you plan to skin, pluck or breast out and cut up your bird, doing it properly is both quick and easy. Just follow these simple steps. 1. If you don't plan to cook your bird whole, start by laying the turkey on it's back. Remove just enough breast feathers so as to expose the skin.

How to Score Your Wild Turkey - Easterns, Rios, Merriams and Osceolas

How to Score Your Wild Turkey You can calculate the score of your turkey with our scoring calculator. Before you begin to score your turkey, be sure to note that all measurements are taken in 1/16-inch increments and converted to decimal form. A current NWTF member or another licensed hunter from the state where the bird was harvested must verify all measurements. A conversion chart for measurements is located at the bottom of this page.

Step 1: Weigh your bird in pounds and ounces and convert ounces to decimal form.

Step 2: Measure each spur. Spurs must be measured along the outside center, from the point at which the spur protrudes from the scaled leg skin to the tip of the spur. Add both spur measurements and multiply the combined length of the spurs by 10. This is the number of points you receive for the turkey’s spurs.

Step 3: Measure the beard length (a beard must be measured from the center point of the protrusion of the skin to the tip) and convert it to decimal form.Next, multiply the beard length figure by 2; this is the number of points you receive for the beard length. If you have an atypical bird (multiple beards), measure each beard, convert them to a decimal number, then add those figures together and multiply by two. This is the number of points you receive for your turkey’s beards.

Step 4: Measure the beard length (a beard must be measured from the center point of the protrusion of the skin to the tip) and convert it to decimal form.Next, multiply the beard length figure by 2; this is the number of points you receive for the beard length. If you have an atypical bird (multiple beards), measure each beard, convert them to a decimal number, then add those figures together and multiply by two. This is the number of points you receive for your turkey’s beards.

Conversion Chart

1/8 Measurements 1/8 = .1250 2/8 = .2500 3/8 = .3750 4/8 = .5000 5/8 = .6250 6/8 = .7500 7/8 = .8750

1/16 Measurements 1/16 = .0625 2/16 = .1250 3/16 = .1875 4/16 = .2500 5/16 = .3125 6/16 = .3750 7/16 = .4375 8/16 = .5000 9/16 = .5625 10/16 = .6250 11/16 = .6875 12/16 = .7500 13/16 = .8125 14/16 = .8750 15/16 = .9375

Weight 1 OZ. = .0625 2 OZ. = .1250 3 OZ. = .1875 4 OZ. = .2500 5 OZ. = .3125 6 OZ. = .3750 7 OZ. = .4375 8 OZ. = .5000 9 OZ. = .5625 10 OZ. = .6250 11 OZ. = .6875 12 OZ. = .7500 13 OZ. = .8125 14 OZ. = .8750 15 OZ. = .9375

Merriam's Turkey Hunting - Simply The Best!

"Some of the Best turkey hunting I have had in my life. I saw over 30 turkeys a day and we harvested our 4 tom turkeys in 20 hours. Turkey hunting unlike anywhere in the United States."

Wallace Fennell Camillus Knifes - Rock hill, North Carolina

"The mixture of rolling hills, wide open terrain and dense cover of central Nebraska, provides a truly unique Turkey hunting experience. If your in search of the Turkey hunting experience of a lifetime, your search has ended. I highly recommend Scott Croner and his associates at the Nebraska Hunting Company.

Rob Swords - Plant Manager Worthington Steel - Columbus, Ohio

Spring Turkey Season Only Two Weeks Away - April 16,2011

Merriam's Spring Turkey Hunt

3 days / 3 nights per hunter: $ 1295.00 Archery / Shotgun Package includes: * 2 Tom Turkeys (third turkey $300.00) * Lodging and meals * Transportation once your arrive at NHC, Inc. Lodge in Brewster, NE

Spring Turkey Season Only Two Weeks Away - April 16,2011

Merriam's Spring Turkey Hunt 3 days / 3 nights per hunter: $ 1295.00 Archery / Shotgun Package includes: * 2 Tom Turkeys (third turkey $300.00) * Lodging and meals * Transportation once your arrive at NHC, Inc. Lodge in Brewster, NE

Merriam's Spring Shotgun Season Starts April 16, 2011 - Checklist

Equipment:
Shotgun
Turkey loads
Turkey choke tube
Patterning targets
Camo blind — where legal
Seat, cushioned stool
Shotgun sling
Turkey decoys
Camera Lo Boy
Lite Chair
Monopod gun rest
ThermaCELL
Compass Maps
Knife
Ratchet cutters
Insect repellent
Flashlight
Trail ribbon
Binoculars
Camo tape
Cooler
Water bottle
First aid kit

Clothes:
Camo gloves
Camo facenet
Camo paint
Camo make-up
Camo shirt
Camo pants
Camo jacket
Camo turkey vest or pack
Camo cap
Camo socks
Camo undershirts
Rain suit
Calls:
Box call
Diaphragm calls
Slate or glass pot & peg call
Glass call
Gobble call
Tube call
Push-pin call
Turpin/wingbone call
Crow/locator call
Owl hooter call locator calls

Call Accessories:
Box call chalk
Sandpaper
Call lanyard
Box call holster

Archery gear:
Bow (camouflaged)
Broadheads
3-D Camo clothes
3-D targets

To Do:
Get license/turkey tags
Pattern shotgun

Merriam's Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriami)

Complete your "Grand Slam" with a Merriam's Turkey Hunt, Contact Scott Croner at 402-304-1192

Physical Description
Although approximately the same size as the Eastern, the Merriam has different coloration. It is black with blue, purple and bronze reflections. White feathers on the lower back and tail feather margins distinguish the Merriam from other subspecies of turkey. The margins have a dull white appearance. Merriam’s appear to have a white rump due to pinkish buff, or whitish tail coverts and tips. The tail feathers are very conspicuous when the gobbler struts against a dark background. Toms have black-tipped breast feathers, while the hens exhibit buff tips. Hens have a more extensive white area on the wings giving a whiter appearance when the wings are folded.


Average Weight Range
Mature Merriam wild turkeys weigh from eight to over 20 pounds.

Reproduction
Breeding occurs during the spring and summer months (May through August). The increase of daylight hours in spring triggers hormonal changes. Gobbling is used to attract receptive females for mating in late February to early March. Males exhibit both gobbling and strutting to attract females. Gobbling attracts the hen to the male, who then courts the female by strutting. If the gobbler is successful, the female will crouch to signal the male to begin copulation. The first peak time for gobbling occurs at the beginning of breeding season when gobblers are searching for hens. The second peak begins a few weeks later, when most hens begin incubation. Gobblers mate with several hens, and it is generally the adult males who do most of the mating. Hens lay anywhere from 8 to 12 eggs per clutch, averaging about 28 days for incubation.

Food Usage/Selection
Wild turkeys are omnivores, eating a variety of plant and animal matter wherever and whenever available. Poults, or young turkey, eat large quantities of insects and other animal matter to get needed protein for development. As turkeys age, plant matter becomes the primary food source with about 90 percent of the mature turkey’s diet including the green foliage of grasses, vines, forbs, acorns, buds, seeds and various fruits.

Range
The Merriam is found in the ponderosa pine forests of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and the rest of the Rocky Mountain range, and has been transplanted to Nebraska, Washington, California, Oregon, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Manitoba.

Habitat
Merriam’s wild turkeys inhabit ponderosa pine forests, western mountainous regions of the United States and the woodland prairies. Merriam’s tend to live in regions that receive annual rainfall of 15 to 23 inches.

Common Hunting Methods
The shotgun, bow and arrow, and black powder are all used to hunt turkey. To attract turkey, hunters use a wide range of calls to lure them or to induce gobblers to a fight. Calling has become so popular that contests are held each year so experts and novices alike can fine-tune their skills.

Hunting Challenges/Values
With their excellent eyesight and well-developed sense of hearing, the turkey can sometimes outsmart decoys used by hunters as they become more and more sensitized to their presence. Wild turkeys are very good to eat and can be smoked, fried or baked. Many hunters proudly display their colorful capes, beards or full-bodied mounts.

Interesting Tidbits
Turkeys will answer thunder from an approaching storm with calls of their own.
Turkey hunting is one of the most popular forms of hunting.
Hens produce droppings in shapes like a mound, and the gobbler’s droppings are in a straight line or resemble the letter “J.”

Named for C. Hart Merriam, who was the first chief of the U. S. Biological Survey.

Nebraska Merriam's Mania With Scott Croner and The Nebraska Hunting Company By Brandon, Wikman

Realtree: Community: Nebraska Merriam's Mania: "Nebraska Merriam's Mania

By Brandon Wikman, Bass Pro NGX Team

The rumors tucked away in the Sand Hills of central Nebraska hold more truth than told. Deep in this picturesque valley of cedars, sand and lofty hills, is a sought after secret of the mystical Merriam’s turkey.

Plenty of the country hunted was open, but the birds have a propensity to find and use available cover to their advantage.
The time-crazy world hasn't changed the background of the old ranch town I stayed at. As I passed through the hundred yard main street strip of not-a-whole-lot, I soon became familiarized of what the little town was known for from the camouflage jackets and cowboy hats worn by the locals. I marveled at cattle ranchers stringing barbed-wire fence by hand for miles, while others admired their massive prairie burns. I felt as if I were taken back to the cowboy days and imagined the covered wagons trekking across the desolate land. Sod houses from the 1800's still stood amongst the canyons and withheld their enduring beauty throughout years of erosion.
THE GRAND QUEST
Although, the scenery and generalization of the Sand Hills inspired my historic inner-feelings, I was there to conquer the last species of turkey for my Grand Slam quest and face the secrets head-to-head with Nebraska Hunting Company, a nationally acclaimed outfitter from the heart of Nebraska."

Read More

Tom Thrasher Enjoys Chasing Gobbler's With Nebraska Hunting Company

Tom Thrasher
14466 Sherwood Ave
Omaha, NE
402-493-6424
402-740-5811
May 2, 2007

Scott Croner
President
Nebraska Hunting Outfitters Company
Lincoln, NE

Hi Scott,
We just arrived home from our turkey hunt and had an easy drive. It only took us 4 hours
with a short stop for a sandwich and we wanted to let you know that Monty and I had a great time. The hunt was all together different than I expected which was a good thing. My only other hunt involved setting up a blind in the woods and calling birds for 3 days without success. I was expecting the same process with only different results this time. As it turned out, the entire hunt was different. I’m not one to sit still for several hours so your hunt was a perfect fit. It offered lots of variety and action with excellent results. It was like elk hunting for turkey! There was lots of activity and exercise which really made the hunt fun.

We were both impressed with your bird calling ability and George also did a very nice job. You made us both feel very comfortable and I appreciated your constant concern about how we were doing physically during the hunt. You know that we retired folks aren’t always in the best of shape. I believe we would both like to repeat this hunt and I’d like very much to talk to you about a deer hunt this fall. Thanks again for a great time and I look forward to receiving the pictures.

Best regards,

Tom Thrasher

Preseason Scouting for Spring Turkey 2011

Well after trip to the woods on the first warm day here in Nebraska it didn't take long to figure out that even the turkey were ready to feel the warm sun on the coal black feathers. I ventured into two alfalfa fields this afternoon to look for any sign that the turkeys had decided that winter might be coming to an end and sure enough something provoke on of the toms to shock gobble down in the timber. Maybe we shouldn’t' rely on a ground hog to predict weather winter will be over sooner than later.

Determine a Turkey's Age by its Spurs | The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles

Turkey Hunters! My friend Albert Rasch of Florida has put together a great article on ageing turkeys by their spurs.

Read more at:
Determine a Turkey's Age by its Spurs The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles

All the best!
Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting

Ron's Trophy Merriam's Turkey - How Many Beards?

Scott, I want to thank you once again for your very first "handicap" hunt. Hopefully I can get this straightened out for a return trip. Also the final tally on the number of beards is.
9"-7 1/2"-7 1/2"-5 1/2"-4" on the beards.
Ron

© 2011 Scott Croner and
Nebraska Hunting Company™

LINCOLN, Neb. – Spring turkey hunting permits will be available from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission starting at 1 p.m. Central Time on Jan. 10.


The archery and youth archery hunting seasons are March 25-May 31. The youth shotgun season is April 9-May 31 and the regular shotgun season is April 16-May 31.


The 2011 permit prices, not including issuing fees, are: resident turkey, $23; nonresident turkey, $90; and resident and nonresident youth turkey, $5. Youth permits are for hunters who are under age 16 on the opening day of the youth archery season. All turkey hunters, except residents under age 16, require a Nebraska Habitat Stamp.


A spring turkey permit, as well as a spring youth turkey permit, allows a hunter to take turkeys with bow and arrow in the archery season and a shotgun in the shotgun season. A person may have up to three spring turkey permits. The bag limit is one male or bearded female turkey per permit.

Merriam's Spring Turkey Hunting Brochure

Visit OutdoorNebraska.org or Game and Parks permitting offices to purchase permits.

Best to you,
Scott Croner
Nebraska Hunting Company

Guided Merriam's Spring Turkey Hunts - Scott Croner - 402-304-1192

Merriam's Spring Turkey Hunting Guides