A dying breed

[woodsman87]

Oh I see. So you scout by sound and communication and that dictates where you walk to and where you sit and hunt. Is that right ?

Another mistake people make is by trying to roost them in the evenings so that they will know where the gobbler is the next day. If you decide to roost one for a morning hunt, do so late in the day. I'm talking 15-10 minutes before it gets so dark you can't see. That is because alot of people go out about 2 hours before fly up time, walk around and call, and do nothing but scare turkeys away. They aren't very vocal in the afternoon anyways, so this tactic is usually fruitless.

Just like the morning listening, find you a high point, and stand there and listen. Try to be at spots where you will not spook birds. Most of the time they probably want gobble anywayws, but they may. If one gobbles, pin point it and be where he is about an hour before daylight. A good thing about getting in late and listening for a roosted gobbler, if you do make a mistake and spook one, he will at least probably be in hearing distance in the morning or if it is dark enough he may stay there anyways.

 

[Southern Sportsman]

Oh I see. So you scout by sound and communication and that dictates where you walk to and where you sit and hunt. Is that right ?

Yes that is what he is saying. No need to go tromping through the woods looking for scratchings and stuff. They are usually vocal enough in the mornings to find out what areas they use the most. Now, they don't always roost in the same spot every night, but sometimes they do.

My kind of scouting is done by sound. A week or so before the season, I like to go to my places and listen for gobblers at daylight. Whatever you do, do not call to them with anything, I mean hen calls or locator calls. Don't even bring them, if you do Satan will tempt you and win into calling to them. No sense in it, because they normally gobble on their own if it is a good morning and they aren't spooked. Also, do not spook them. Listen from far off. Find a high point, or a good listening spot where you are fairly sure you will not spook any birds. Simply listen. Be there about 45 minutes-hour before sunrise. If it is a pretty spring like morning, they will start gobbling soon after the cardinals start singing. Do not waste your time or take chances of spooking birds if it is a bad morning. Go when its about 40 degrees, clear, no wind, heavy dew, and high barometric pressure.

Once you have done this I would stay out until you decide to hunt it. It isn't guaranteed they will be there but there is a good chance. Typically in early season they are roosted in the same areas daily, and when the hens start setting in the late season is when the gobblers break up, move around, and no telling where they will be any given day.

x2. I also, as a rule, don't wear camo when I go listen just like I don't take callers. If I have callers, I will run them and if I wear camo, I will be tempted to sneak a little closer to have a look. Both are bad.

 

[woodsman87]

Oh I see. So you scout by sound and communication and that dictates where you walk to and where you sit and hunt. Is that right ?

Yes that is what he is saying. No need to go tromping through the woods looking for scratchings and stuff. They are usually vocal enough in the mornings to find out what areas they use the most. Now, they don't always roost in the same spot every night, but sometimes they do.

My kind of scouting is done by sound. A week or so before the season, I like to go to my places and listen for gobblers at daylight. Whatever you do, do not call to them with anything, I mean hen calls or locator calls. Don't even bring them, if you do Satan will tempt you and win into calling to them. No sense in it, because they normally gobble on their own if it is a good morning and they aren't spooked. Also, do not spook them. Listen from far off. Find a high point, or a good listening spot where you are fairly sure you will not spook any birds. Simply listen. Be there about 45 minutes-hour before sunrise. If it is a pretty spring like morning, they will start gobbling soon after the cardinals start singing. Do not waste your time or take chances of spooking birds if it is a bad morning. Go when its about 40 degrees, clear, no wind, heavy dew, and high barometric pressure.

Once you have done this I would stay out until you decide to hunt it. It isn't guaranteed they will be there but there is a good chance. Typically in early season they are roosted in the same areas daily, and when the hens start setting in the late season is when the gobblers break up, move around, and no telling where they will be any given day.

x2. I also, as a rule, don't wear camo when I go listen just like I don't take callers. If I have callers, I will run them and if I wear camo, I will be tempted to sneak a little closer to have a look. Both are bad.

HAHA. I don't wear camo on these listening sessions either. If the turkeys see you wearing camo they will know that your a scouter and will not gobble. If your wearing street clothes they thing your just an average citizen and will gobble away.

I usually do not wear cama because I am headed to work or something.

 

[doubledownranch]

I'm oblivious to TV hunting as I don't have cable and only watch a few things.... With that being said, I was unaware of the popular style of turkey hunting you speak of. Run N Gunning turkey hunting is the only way I care to hunt the stinkin things. Turkey hunting is fun because you don't have to sit still (IMO)

I could care less what TV idiots do or promote. With that being said, I have no issues with decoys or really anything you mentioned. To each is own

 

[REN]

I
I could care less

 

[Bullfrog]

I learned to kill turkeys on West Vaco properties, and still hunt them the same way...only a little smarter now.

 

[Spurhunter]

I like to hunt them out of my Double Bull using the ol Avian hen. When my ol Power Crystal calls them in I watch them through my Bushnell HDs. It's important to get accurate yardages so I use a Bushnell Yardage Pro. Soon enough he will come in and jump on ol Pretty Boy and I'll hammer him with my Benelli throwing some Hevishot his way. Then the pressure is on the rest of the boys while I wait for ol Ribeye and New York Strip to come pick me up in the Bad Boy Buggy.

 

[Hawk]

That may describe me. Turkey vests had not been invented and the only camo was army surplus from Vietnam. Tie a boat cushion or a tube from the tire of a piper cub around you waist, grab your full choke shotgun loaded with three inch Winchester mag fours and hit the woods hoping to hear one that day or for that matter maybe hear one for the entire season. Things got better. More turkeys and new types of calls but you still had to find a gobbling turkey and hope no one else found out about him.
Large tracts like LBL, Mark Twain in Mo., Miss. WMA's and Talladega National Forrest in Ala. were the only places to hunt other than draw hunts in Tennessee. The only way to hunt then was find that gobbling turkey.

 

[Spurhunter]

I take off most of April but I love to fish. If he ain't gobbling I'd rather be fishing. I know he doesn't have to gobble to die but I don't blind call or deer hunt them. I do have a blind set up for rain passing through or sometimes my son and I will use it, but only if there are birds nearby. We will leave the blind more times than not unless it's raining.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

I have used a blind on one ridge when I work off nights but I despise it. I love to run n gun and always have. I dont dit and blind call but I will lay back on a ridge and wait on one to fire off
.

 

[deerhunter10]

we always are running around. if they aren't working I hate and dont hunt them like deer. I don't own nor will own decoys either and not a huge fan of blinds. now my shotgun is shooting like a rifle though that's were one of our differences is. but that's how my paw paw and dad taught me. im not knocking anyone either just how we have done it.

 

[Creek]

Money...it influences how we do a lot of things in life.

I unfortunately got into the game at age 34 (i'm 37 now). I grew up hunting everything in the woods but turkeys...that's because we didn't have them. That said, I have had to learn from the turkey hunting infomercials and You-Tube videos. I do respect the traditionalists but you got to understand everybody's baseline and how they got introduced to turkey hunting.

Very well said imo.
Our two sons have grown up without tv and we still dont have it for almost 10 years now. One son is almost 18 and the other 14 years old. We still have a MANY of movies and of course hunting dvd. I just couldnt stomach the things they are showing on tv. Thats a different subject. Anyway Im amazed at how even without tv how much our boys are impacted with advertisements at WalMart and what they hear from the younger crowds at school and from our hunting dvd's. I guess Im saying I agree with what you said and in addition to that I think that its so important imo to raise our boys and girls to get out and hunt...period. Then the reward of getting to eat it.
If it takes the modern cool looking stuff to get this stuff done then thats what some should do. I try to teach mine as much old school hunting or anything else I can teach them. Sometimes it might take the cool advertised stuff at first but I think they might get smarter and wiser as they get older. Lets hope and pray that they continue the tradition no matter what.
I guess to answer your question Setterman then YES you are a dying breed and I think its sad. It makes me think about my dad and how he is only but a few handful of people in my generation that have had to work behind a team of mules to plow the ground so the family could plant the things they had to have for the winter. Man have things changed between my dads generation and mine and so it will continue to change. Just hang on to everything you can and try to pass it on to everyone you can even if they dont except it. Sorry to ramble on but you got me to thinking. Thinking not something I normally do
I mean have you ever stop to think about something, and then forget to start back

 

[Recoil]

I love to sit in my palatial hunting tent in my easy chair overlooking my remote control decoys inside a highfence property while I watch movies on my smartphone eating caviar and crackers while enjoying a fresh cup of cappuccino--what's this running and gunning stuff I keep hearing about?

 

[Roost 1]

One thing I think some take for granted is the fact that because there are so many birds now, and its been this way for awhile, you have the luxury to jump up and move when things are not going your way... It hasn't always been like this. There was a day when you had to actually hunt for a bird and when you found one you stayed on him, regardless...and you sure didn't tell anyone about him. You had to learn the habits of the birds and how to use that to your advantage and you sure didn't do anything crazy to scare him off. Nowadays if you booger one, so what, you just go find another.

 

[deerhunter10]

Roost I think that'd also a big reason people hunt like they do now. Im not very old so I don't remember it being just terrible like that. But ive heard the stories and it was completely different then. And I think that's why you see the hunting now especially in my area we have a ton of birds. And I would never call it easy but you can booger one up and its not the end of the world.

 

[Roost 1]

I agree... but for the ones who came up in the era I mentioned, it's almost to easy today just because of the number of birds. However every time u turn around something new is coming out to make it even easier... I guess for those of us who had to earn our stripes, so to speak, it gets a little aggravating at times... Then you got these hot shot turkey killers running around acting like they wrote the book on turkey hunting, when in all actuallity they couldn't pack someone like Setterman's jock strap..... Lol hope I didn't go over-board here...

 

[drrxnupe]

Money...it influences how we do a lot of things in life.

I unfortunately got into the game at age 34 (i'm 37 now). I grew up hunting everything in the woods but turkeys...that's because we didn't have them. That said, I have had to learn from the turkey hunting infomercials and You-Tube videos. I do respect the traditionalists but you got to understand everybody's baseline and how they got introduced to turkey hunting.

Oh...and by the way...a MAJORITY of what I have learned about turkey hunting...I learned from this board (REN, Setterman, and a few others). So any of the newbie generation commercialized bad habits that I have with regards to turkey hunting, I got 'em from y'all :grin:

Just kiddin...I do wanna say thanks for all of the awesome advice that you guys provide. I am grateful of your wisdom. I really love this sport...so much so that I joined NWTF :crazy: mainly to support conservation and habitat management. This is the first conservation organization that I've ever joined. Unfortunately...aside effect of joining NWTF is further promotion of the generation X stuff that y'all dislike.

 

[PalsPal]

One thing I think some take for granted is the fact that because there are so many birds now, and its been this way for awhile, you have the luxury to jump up and move when things are not going your way... It hasn't always been like this. There was a day when you had to actually hunt for a bird and when you found one you stayed on him, regardless...and you sure didn't tell anyone about him. You had to learn the habits of the birds and how to use that to your advantage and you sure didn't do anything crazy to scare him off. Nowadays if you booger one, so what, you just go find another.

Bingo! I went many days where just hearing one gobble was a success.

I think that is one reason why I like to hunt season wreckers nowadays. I remember the missed opportunities with them way more than the easy kills. And if I do finally win the battle, it is that much sweeter.

 

[Bustnbirds]

Roost your right on. When I first started you worked to get that bird in and if you didn't he was usually the only game in town. But you'd keep going back until you got him or he got you. I really don't concider myself traditional but I probably am more than most. I'd like to see some of the "new guns" hunt with population we use to have I guarantee you'd have more crappie fisherman. These guys that hunt these counties with high populations would be lost hunting in low populations of the past, so count your blessings and thank God Because what's here today might not be tomorrow. I hunt the way I do because I love turkey huntin It might not be the right way, but it's mine. One more thing that burns me up is when the yahoos say "harvest" it's kill!!!

 

[darn2ten]

I've always said I'd rather kill a big buck, but I'd rather turkey hunt than anything else bar none, I love it. I don't turkey hunt for the trophy's, I do it for the game. If I had to sit and ambush them I would probably just quit hunting them. I tried hunting out of a blind twice and it just wasn't for me. I don't do much scouting either, only if its a new place just to make sure there are birds in the area. Most places that I hunt I have hunted for years and just show up the morning of and go from there. I never call before the hunt either, I use to hunt mostly public land and people doing that before the season drove me crazy. The way a person hunts is totally fine by me as long as its legal, but I do kind of feel sorry for the ambush style hunter that has never got to see the fan of a strutter come over a rise or into view that you just called in while your backed up to a tree. To hear him spit and feel the drumming in your chest because he's so close is the ultimate, that's why I turkey hunt. I think there's still a lot of guys like us out there. Most I know use woodsman ship to get their bird. The ones I have introduced to the sport, that's the way I showed them. My boy is getting old enough to go now and that's the way I'll teach him too. There's still hope, keep it alive.