Name/Title
On Target for Successful Turkey Hunting by J. Wayne FearsEntry/Object ID
WTL001P0023Description
At 87 years of age as of March 2026, J. Wayne Fears still turkey hunts and enjoys calling spring gobblers for other hunters. Fears is a notable outdoor writer and personality, having written several books and for many outdoor publications. He has hunted with legends of the sport all across the country. His book On Target for Successful Turkey Hunting was published in 1983 as a paperback. It is an easy but informative read at 92 pages, and contains illustrations and a useful bibliography.
J. WAYNE FEARS BIOGRAPHY
• J. Wayne Fears grew up in Alabama where boys learned to call gobblers at an early age. He is a lifelong turkey hunter.
• Wanting a career in wildlife management he graduated with degrees from Auburn University and University of Georgia.
• During the 1970’s he served on the board of directors of the Alabama Wildlife Federation.
• The Birmingham News newspaper in 1982 selected Fears to be named one of the top 10 turkey hunters in the state.
• In 1983 Fears appeared as the instructor on the VHS video tape titled How to Hunt Wild Turkeys. The tape was sponsored by Chevrolet.
• Fears began writing turkey hunting articles for the NWTF magazine, Turkey Call, in 1976 and in 1989 began writing the turkey hunting shooting column, Shooting Savvy, for more than three decades.
• In 2004 Fears was the recipient of the NWTF Communicator of the Year award.
• During the 1980’s Fears developed the J. Wayne Fears line of wild turkey calls, turkey calling instruction tapes and wrote a turkey hunting guide for Scotch Game Call Co.
• In the late 1960’s, while working as a wildlife specialist with the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, restocked wild turkey in southern Georgia counties where wild turkeys were non-existent.
• From 1975-1982 he was the forest recreation division manager for Gulf States Paper Corp. where he was the wildlife manager for 500,000 acres of forest land which included 220 hunting leases and Westervelt Hunting Lodge.
• In 1976 Fears established a three-day wild turkey hunting school featuring Ben Lee at Westervelt Lodge. The school is still in existence.
• In 1983 he established a wild turkey hunting school at Stagshead Lodge, in Green County Alabama, with wild turkey biologist Lovett Williams as chief instructor.
• From the 1970’s through the 90’s Fears judged many wild turkey calling contests including the World Wild Turkey Calling Contest, the national NWTF contests, the Red Man Calling Contest, the International Open Calling Contest and various regional calling contests.
• He was the recipient of the Alabama Wildlife Federation Conservation Communicator of the Years Award in 2004.
• Fears is the author of 36 books on outdoor subjects including three books on turkey hunting - Successful Turkey Hunting, Scotch Turkey Guide & The Wild Turkey Book.
• Fears has written several thousand articles for outdoor magazines on hunting including many on hunting wild turkey.
• Fears has appeared in many wild turkey hunting TV programs that include - NWTF Get in the Game, American Safari, Game Trails, Benelli On Assignment, Sports Afield TV series.
• In 1994 Fears was named the editor of Rural Sportsman magazine, a hunting/wildlife management magazine within the Progressive Farmer magazine. Rural Sportsman monthly ran numerous wild turkey management articles that were enjoyed by the 660,00 farmer & rancher subscribers.
• While the editor of Rural Sportsman magazine he established the National Wildlife Stewardship Awards program which annually recognized outstanding farms and ranches that were excellent examples of wildlife management, including wild turkey management.
• He has been a participant in the Alabama Governor’s One-shot Turkey Hunt.
• He has been enshrined in four Hall of Fames, including the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame.
• Fears was voted a member of The Explorers Club in 1982 for his work as a wildlife specialist on scientific expeditions.Create Date
April 3, 2026Update Date
April 4, 2026
