Where and When to Spring Turkey Hunt

Spring Turkey Hunting

The spring time can mean warmer weather, fresh growth, and longer days. For serious hunters the spring time can also mean that it’s time to gear up for turkey hunting. This additive hunt can be challenging, and requires the best practices and equipment. 

This is due to the fact that wild turkey’s senses are extremely keen. They have been known to have the best eyesight and hearing the woods, and hunters are no exception. Turkey will flee the scene at the slightest hint of danger and utilizing patience and expertise is crucial. However these challenging aspects are what make spring turkey hunting a favorite amongst avid hunters.

Following an American tradition, spring turkey hunting can be discovered across the United States. For more information about your state’s exact season, rules, and regulation check with your states official fish and wildlife service. Be sure specifically check the dates and permits involved in the opening turkey hunting season.  

Below is a list of the top states for spring turkey hunting and their 2013 seasons. Don’t live in these areas? Check out the guided hunts available in each state to plan your hunting getaway.

Top States for Spring Turkey Hunting (2013 Open Seasons):

• Missouri: April 15th  -May 5th, 2013
• Tennessee: March 30 - May 12, 2013
• South Dakota: April 13 - May 19, 2013
• Florida: March 2nd– April 21st
• Kansas:  April 10 - May 31, 2013 (regular season)
• Oklahoma: April 6 - May 6, 2013
• Pennsylvania: April 27-May 31, 2013
• Texas: Apr. 15-May 14, 2013
• Wisconsin: April 10th – May 21st (Periods A-F)
• Alabama: March 15 – April 30

For junior seasons, bag limits, and specific zone dates check with each states fish and wildlife advisory committee.

As with any hunting season be sure to practice the best safety precautions; this includes your hearing. Having the proper fitting and functioning hearing protection while shooting can make a big difference when on a challenging hunt. Check out ESP America’s line of electronic hearing protection for hunters to complete your safety checklist today!

The rise in firearm sales

The Second Amendment to the Constitution gives us the right to bear arms. However, in recent months, gun owners are getting increasingly worried that their right will be reined in.

The heightened tension that people might lose the right to purchase a gun has led to a shockingly number of gun permit applications across the country. According to NBC, in 2011, "there was a prompting a record 16.4 million instant criminal background checks of potential owners, up 14.2 percent from 2010, according to FBI figures."

Connecticut based company and gun maker, Sturm, Roger, & Co. had such a rapid increase of sales that they had to suspend new order requests because they just couldn't keep up. In 2012, the company received over 1 million orders for wholesale.  The gun manufacturer shipped a staggering 1.1 million firearms all over the country last year as well.

Ginger Colbrun, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms states that "a rise was seen in all four primary categories: pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns."

If you've recently purchased a new firearm or are contemplating the purchase, make sure you have a set of ESP's digital in-ear hearing protection plugs. Risking your hearing is not worth it because it limits your ability to hunt and perform law enforcement jobs.

Our digital ear plugs are revolutionary and allow you to get the best of both worlds, the ability to hear sounds around you and protect your ears from the deafening noise a firearm makes.

(Source NBC News http://m.nbcnews.com/business/gun-sales-soaring-boosted-gun-laws-concerns-about-obama-532154)

Superior Ear Plugs

You ever “hear” of the expression, “you get what you pay for?”

Well, you might not be able to hear that expression if you just buy cheap, toss-away ear plugs.

These ESP Silencers are the premier, non-electronic in ear hearing protection ear plugs on the market. With a custom molding designed specifically for your ear and a mass of steel shot embedded into the silicone, these plugs offer superior protection over any other plug on the market.

The steel mass acts as a protector against noise, deflecting loud and harmful sounds away from your ears and the custom moulding keeps your ears comfortable. These plugs have a noise reduction rating of +/- 26. 

At $220, these plugs will not only last season after season, year after year, but you can ensure maximum hearing protection no matter what the use is.

Guns aren’t the only things that are loud

Gun shots are loud, we know. They can reach decibels of over 140, which are louder than a jet engine, and to unprotected ears that can result in a lot of damage.

But what about other things that are loud? Like a rock concert, or furthermore, even band practice -- high school band practice.

In a medical study by Harvard published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, one in five teens may be suffering from hearing loss so severe that it may be permanent. Some teens attend concerts, which can typically range in from the 90-110 decibel range for more than three hours that can lead to damage.

But furthermore, more teens, especially younger teens, participate in band practice at their own high schools.  A high school newspaper, The Lance of Linganore High School in Maryland, recently conducted a study to see how loud a typical band practice is. Their results found at full volume, musicians were exposed to decibel levels ranging from 90-100, and at times over 100.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides guidelines to workplaces that are exposed to high volumes of noise. Any workplace that reaches over 85 decibels is required to wear hearing protection.

So what about band practice or musicians? Well ESP’s dynamic will provide in-ear protection to musicians who are exposed to hours and hours’ worth of loud noise over a long period of time. Musicians young and old can protect their ears while still being able to hear at a safe volume. 

Here's another story on hearing protection too from KABC-7 in LA.

Target practice plugs

It happens to the best of us.

You go out to camp, get in your stand, and have a big ol’ buck lined up. You spot it through your scope and BOOM!

You miss. And that big trophy goes scampering into the woods.

It happens to the best of us and our buddies our buddies can usually relate and tell their stories of this monster that they missed too. But before you go out into the woods, it’s always good to get some practice in at the range or with targets.

ESP has plugs specifically designed for target shooting ear plugs. From the ESP Elite Classic to the ESP Dynamic – Digital shooters, ESP has five ear plugs specifically designed for target and gun range shooting. All five offer superior protection, with the Stealth and Dynamic being two of the best in ear hearing protection devices in the planet. Remember, we offer customizable ear pieces too, because no ear is made the same.

And, oh yeah, don’t forget to sight-in your rifle. Check out our friends at TJ Target, which offers the best printable sighting in targets in the nation – just like how our hearing protection ear plugs are the best too!

It’s hunting season, so protect your ears

For lots of sections in the country, hunting season has begun. Whether it’s turkey, deer, bear or pheasant, hunters are polishing off their rifles and firearms to take to the woods.

One thing they don’t want to forget, though, is their ear protection.

ESP offers a full line of hearing protection ear plugs to protect one of your most vital senses while hunting, your hearing!

ESP carries five hearing protection products to protect your precious ear drums, each of them custom-fitted to your ears, so there’s no excuse not to bring your electronic ear protectors with you to camp.

Not worried because you're still young?

Even at a young age, people can start to lose their hearing. Think about it, repeated blasts at decibel levels that exceed 140. Studies have shown anything over 85 dB can affect your hearing, so you can see how multiple blasts at 140 dB a year can affect your hearing over time. 

Once your hearing starts to go, and if you keep on not preventing it, it will quickly start to decline until you'll be forced to wear something in your ear in order to hear: A hearing aid. 

So make sure you take steps to protect your ears with state-of-the-art with electronic ear protection. 

Protect your hearing now, so you can hear later.