Stackhouse Park, Inc. Board Member and Dedicated Volunteer Featured in Turkey Hunting Article

Tom Hindman, a Stackhouse Park, Inc. board member and dedicated volunteer, was recently featured in Daily American. Tom leads Stackhouse Park's annual Turkey Clinics. Get to know Tom more in the article below by Brian Whipkey. (You can also view the article here.)

'Tom Cat,' a local turkey hunting expert, shares his knowledge
​by Brian Whipkey

A nationally recognized turkey hunter is finding many ways to introduce others to the sport.
Tom “Tom Cat” Hindman, of Johnstown, feels it’s the responsibility of tenured hunters to introduce the next generation to the joys of being outdoors.

Hindman is a member of Mossy Oak camouflage’s pro staff. He has worked with the National Rifle Association on numerous training opportunities for people wanting to learn how to turkey hunt.

“It’s about passing the torch,” the 76-year-old said about taking people hunting for the first time, adding that hunters need to share the traditions, history and values that go with the sport. “All those things will not survive if they are not passed on to the next generation.”

When he first started hunting, other hunters didn’t want to share their secrets or hunting locations. He had to figure a lot out on his own.

He has authored three books. One is a cookbook of turkey recipes “Tom Cat’s Treasure Chest.” The second one, “Autumn Agendas and Affirmations,” is about how to hunt turkeys in the fall, and the latest book, “The Perfect Pursuit,” is a good introduction to people wanting to hunt turkeys in the spring.

“The Perfect Pursuit” addresses all aspect of turkey hunting, from their heads to their spurs. There’s even a chapter involving scouting turkey where you can tell a gobbler from a hen based on the shape of their droppings. A gobbler’s is usually in the shape of a “J” and the hen’s fecal matter is more of a popcorn ball shape, he explains.

​The book is not limited to turkey hunting. It has many pages of photos of successful days afield and on the water with family members.

“I go hunting every chance I get,” he said, adding that he enjoys taking and guiding his grandkids.
His book is available for $40 plus shipping. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Powell-Stackhouse Park in Johnstown, where he has held countless clinics.

He teaches a turkey hunting clinic twice a year in Stackhouse Park and the program has become the measuring stick by which other NRA teaching clinics have been developed.

He offers clinics to help sportsmen expand their hunting knowledge and skills. The curriculum also stresses increased awareness of safety and responsibility by using the teaching abilities of experienced hunters. In 2010, Hindman was honored with the first-ever Hunter Clinic Instructor Award presented by the National Rifle Association.

He is also Hall of Fame Award recipient from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. He earned the Frank R. Piper Turkey Hunting Safety Award for excellence in turkey hunting safety instruction and is a guest instructor for NRA’s premier Women’s Wilderness Escape in Raton, Mexico, with participants from all over the United States.

For his professional career, he owns Hindman Funeral Homes & Crematory in Johnstown, where he has been a funeral director for more than five decades.

He said spring is a season that is great for hunting, as it’s a whole life experience that wakes up all of a person’s senses with sights, sounds, smell, taste and touch. Being in the woods away from everyday life allows a person to recharge his or her batteries. As a Christian, he said, every leaf sprout is proof of the Resurrection: “There’s no other season like this one.”

In addition to seeing and hearing turkeys, he enjoys the sounds of many other birds in their spring mating rituals.

“It’s the breeding season,” he said, explaining about the variety of activities such as grouse drumming and other bird songs and calls. He believes that many people have never heard a turkey spitting or grouse drumming, and that they should be experiencing nature.

“You can’t squander an opportunity to be an ambassador to our sport and our heritage,” he said about guiding hunts in 25 states and Mexico and Canada. “I made the most of it.”

He participated in an NRA training video that is attached, courtesy of the NRA Hunter Services, with the online version of this story. It explains the variety of calling techniques and how to scout for gobblers.

For those wanting to try spring hunting, Hindman suggests using a box call, as they are relatively easy to master with a little training and practice.

Five Common Mistakes

Hindman said that turkey hunters continue to make the most creative mistakes imaginable, and that they happen over and over again. He said they make a difference on whether you can put a tag on the leg of a bird.

No. 1: Failure to pattern your shotgun. He said hunters should shoot their shotguns at known distances to see where pellets actually hit. If you are not satisfied with where the shells are hitting, to try an aftermarket choke tube or different type of shell.

No. 2: Flawed setup. He feels it’s common for people to not take the time to make a safe setup and determine where the turkey will show up to their call. Take the time to consider all the elements of what could happen.

No. 3: Don’t be too intimidated or lack confidence to call or answer to turkeys. “The call opportunity that never works is the call opportunity that’s never taken.” He said you can’t go too far astray from imitating the call that you hear from a responding turkey. Keep in mind turkey themselves make vocal mistakes, too.

No. 4: Misjudging distance. He said it’s a good thing to predetermine the distances in your set up so you don’t misjudge a shot opportunity. Large mature turkeys can appear to be closer than you realize. For ethical reasons, he said you shouldn’t shoot a bird that is in full strut as the feathers are too protective at that time.

No. 5: Punching the safety on your gun. He said in the excitement of the moment a hunter may punch the safety on their gun and it can make a loud noise that scares game birds. He said to practice releasing your safety slowly in order to reduce the sound it makes.

In the end, he said, the “ultimate success is not whether or not you bring something home, it’s whether or not you savored the opportunity. I’m just so thankful I’m out there one more time.”

For those who would like to discuss turkey hunting with him or are interested in his books, he can be contacted at 814-525-2303.
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(Brian Whipkey is the Pennsylvania Outdoors columnist for Gannett. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com.)