So far in The Pawn Shop Shotgun storyline, the concept behind the 11-part video series was introduced. Jay Siske with Out Here Co. and Gary Stanton from Muscadine Bloodline picked out a rugged old pump action from a pawn shop. Siske then teamed up with Austin Sills from Spring Legion to get after some Alabama gobblers. The first shot in the entire journey of The Pawn Shop Shotgun was a miss, but hey that’s hunting. Ultimately though the hunt was a success and the pump action being passed around blasted its first turkey.
In Episode 2 the shotgun is in the hands of one of the most interesting names in the outdoor industry, Lake Pickle. Pickle handles multimedia marketing for one of the most high-tech brands in the outdoor industry, On X Hunt. It’s a comprehensive and amazingly detailed mapping program that helps hunters explore public land and scout and manage private lands with high-tech geodata. It’s the #1 hunting app in the world and an important and fun interactive tool that is helping modernize how hunters explore the woods. In this video, Lake Pickle details how you can use the app to locate crop stands and open fields in your hunting area. Focusing on areas like that where turkeys feed will help increase your chances of getting a gobbler.
The Pawn Shop Shotgun Goes Turkey Hunting With Lake Pickle
Prior to joining the team, Lake Pickle was with Primos Hunting, one of the premier manufacturers of turkey and other wild game calls in the country. He’s an experienced turkey hunter who has had several successful turkey hunts featured on television.
In Episode 2 of the Pawn Shop Shotgun, Jay Siske and Lake Pickle hit the woods in Mississippi in search of a gobbler to dirt nap. Unable to locate a bird off the roost at first light, they hit the woods running and turned up some birds. Though they connected on a calling cadence, they were unable to bring the turkeys into range. They then pop a squat on a log to discuss wild turkey conservation and how sometimes being unsuccessful on a hunt is part of the game.
On X Hunt Helping Revolutionize Wild Turkey Conservation
The high-tech mapping and land management features from On X Hunt aren’t just being utilized by hunters though, they’re also being utilized by scientists to help modernize how wildlife professionals manage and conserve species. Partnering with Turkeys for Tomorrow. to investigate why turkey populations are on the decline throughout much of the United States.
The research project is being led by Dr. Mike Chamberlain, the world’s most established scientific authority on wild turkey conservation and management. He recently shared his thoughts on what is likely to be driving those population declines:
“There’s a lot of factors driving these turkey declines,” says Dr. Chamberlain. “And what may be most influential in one part of the landscape may not be as influential in another part of the landscape. But if you boil the major players down we have a loss of habitat and we have a degradation of habitat.
We have lost acres and acres of turkey habitat in the last 20 years, and we see that what’s left is not as high quality as it was. We are also seeing predator communities that are at an all-time apex. In many ways, our landscapes are better predator habitats than they are turkey habitats. Then you factor in things that we don’t yet understand, like disease issues. Lastly, this is the only game bird in the lower 48 that we harvest during its breeding season. That matters.
You put all these things together and understand why we need the research to understand what’s at play, what can we manage, what can’t we manage, and what do we do today to make sure we can hunt this bird sustainably 50 years down the road.”
Episode Three Of The Pawn Shop Shotgun
The Pawnshop Shotgun stays in Mississippi for Episode 3 of the video series. Next up is a visit to the town of West Point and the Mossy Oak Headquarters and a hunt with Daniel Haas. He’s the son of Mossy Oak founder Toxey Haas and grandson of one of the most legendary turkey hunters of all time, Fox Haas. Tune in to see if he can put a little Mississippi magic into that old shotgun’s new hunting legacy. They also discuss wild turkey conservation, something Mossy Oak has a long history of involvement in. You’ll also notice at the beginning of this episode, each of the hunters are signing the stock of the gun with a sharpie to further add to its mystique and artifactual allure.
