How To Hunt Turkey - Wild Turkey State Of The Union

Sportsmen's Empire - Whitetail Hunting

Sportsmen's Empire Outdoor Network

Hobbies, Leisure, Technology, Sports, Wilderness

4.8 • 615 Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Unlock the secrets behind wild turkey populations and find out how cutting-edge research is shaping the future of turkey hunting—and conservation. If you're a hunter, conservationist, or just fascinated by these iconic birds, this episode is your must-listen.Dan Johnson sits down with Patrick Wightman, the new National Director of Wild Turkey Research and Science at the NWTF, to dive into groundbreaking findings that could change the way you hunt and protect turkeys.

Discover the surprising role of habitat loss, predator control, and disease management—plus learn what recent scientific innovations reveal about turkey behavior and population trends.You'll learn about recent studies on predator impacts, GPS tracking of gobblers, and how technology like audio recorders is revolutionizing our understanding of turkey ecology. Patrick shares behind-the-scenes insights from research projects funded across 26 states, exploring how habitat restoration, disease monitoring, and predator trapping influence turkey numbers.Missing this knowledge could mean continuing declines in turkey populations or missed opportunities to enhance habitat and harvests. But armed with the latest science, hunters and land managers can make smarter decisions—building a future where wild turkeys thrive on our landscapes.Perfect for hunters seeking to deepen their understanding, conservation advocates, or anyone curious about the science behind their outdoor passions.

This episode offers a rare glimpse into the world of wild turkey research—crucial info for ensuring these birds stay plentiful for generations to come. Want to explore the science further? Visit nwtf.org for project updates, or check out the Wild Turkey Lab at uga for accessible research articles and expert breakdowns. Stay tuned as science advances, opening new doors for turkey conservation and hunting success.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of the sportsman's empire is brought to you by Interstate Batteries.
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0:27.3	repairs. Interstate batteries outrageously dependable. All right, everybody, this is the
0:35.5	How to Hunt Turkey Podcast. I'm your host, Dan Johnson. And today,
0:40.0	we are joined by a very special guest, a very knowledgeable guest, Mr. Patrick Whiteman, my man,
0:47.0	how are you doing today? Good, Dan. It's it's springtime. Turkeys are gobbling, and I've been in and out of
0:52.9	the woods. And so, yeah, life's good for me. That's good. Dude, have you had a, have you had good encounters? Have you pulled the trigger? What's the deal? Yeah. Yeah, so I've been fortunate enough to harvest two birds so far this spring. I kicked off my season in Florida. had a successful hunt myself and was a part of a couple other successful hunts while I was down there, came back.
1:17.7	I'm in, I live in Georgia, hunt mostly public land in Georgia.
1:21.5	I got my butt-wipped for the first couple weeks here in Georgia and then struck out with my dad and went to Indiana. Both of us
1:30.2	had successful hunts there. And yeah, I'm going to Wyoming next week. So that's kind of been my
1:36.6	season in a nutshell so far. You're going to eastern or western Wyoming?
1:42.0	Casper area. Okay. So is that Mariam country?
1:46.7	Yes.
1:47.3	Yeah, dude.
1:48.1	Like that's probably the, like I'm not, I don't know, I like turkey hunting.
1:55.7	I also am not into like the Grand Slam thing.
2:03.2	And like I don't have, someday it'd be nice to go do it I just it's not on a priority list of mine um the only thing that I want to do is get a
2:07.7	merriam and so I think that in the next handful of years I got an old high school buddy
2:13.4	I think we might try to pull the trigger on getting something set up to go out west and shoot a marium. Yeah, no, I totally get that. Now, I'm excited. I've never been out west, never harvested a merriam myself. I've only ever killed the Easterns up until this year. I was, you know, down in Florida, so got a Nassiola. And then maybe a mariums this year. but yeah, up until this point, I've been similar just on running up and down the East Coast.
	...

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