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Evening hunts?

PalsPal said:
That's just it, I'm not. In fact if a non-gobbling bird happens to slip in, I may not even shoot, especially early in the season.

I hunt for the memories. I couldn't care less if I tag out, I just want to play the game as many times as possible and have those memories for the off-season.

Now, with that said, me and a buddy were set up on a decent sized field on a WMA one evening. I was cold calling every now and then and time was dragging by. About an hour before sunset, I let out a call and one hammered, but he was already close and had me pinned down as i was halfway laying down with my gun on the ground. THAT got the heart pumping, and no I wasn't able to seal the deal before getting busted.
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I understand where you're coming from. I consider myself still a newbie I guess, I've hunted turkeys off and on since about 2007 but didn't get bit with the but until 2016. I've honestly never killed a bird just sitting around and it walked by. I have put the slip on 2 that I was able to crawl close to 2 mornings in a row. All the others came in gobbling. But to me sitting and waiting I don't feel like it's wrong but one day I might not like to do it. There will still never be anything better than them putting on a show and then getting the chance to kill them.
 
rem270 said:
But to me sitting and waiting I don't feel like it's wrong but one day I might not like to do it.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I've just been at it 35 yrs or more, so I'm picky.

I still think I can swing a few mornings but time will tell.
 
Anytime a horny Tom is willing to come dragging his wings towards me, gobbling his head off and believes the BS I'm yelping at him then it's game on.
Right off the roost, 10-2, or the very random chance I'm in the woods the last couple hours of daylight…if he is willing to bark I'm willing to give him a bite, 90% of the time I tuck my tail and head home.

Those late afternoon birds seem to have a purpose, "headed straight toward the roosting woods". They usually get fired up but don't stray too far…when they do it can be epic. When they don't, it's a leg up for the next day.

I don't like to ambush them, which seems to be the most opportunistic style that day of day. Ive found if I can get in the "zone", whatever that is, then every once in a while it's a great hunt. More times than not, I've just let a silent slick Tom walk by, fly into a tree and gobble until it's time to go home. Hoping the next morning we can play a little more fair.
 
! of the finest turkey hunters I know sez in early season wait till the afternoon, most mature gobblers will be hened up right off the roost, they will breed then move along to feed, the gobbler will still be looking for love after they have drifted off.
 
One time I shot a nice gobbler by going out a 4pm, settling in next to a Oak tree with a hen decoy out. About every 15-20 minutes I would let out some purrs and clucks. After about an hour and a half I see a Tom coming down a drainage ditch looking for the hen silent as can be. His tail feather and beard are on my wall. :cool:
 
Some parts of the country, I can strike birds routinely in the evening and do well. I'm my area of TN, I just rarely have luck ever even hearing a gobble in the evenings.
 

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