pledbetter
Well-Known Member
They're sure pretty to look at but i HATE 'em!!!
field turkeys
- Thread starter pledbetter
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Setterman
Well-Known Member
They're the worst, however once you get a good system you can kill them regularly. I cut my teeth in Bama where decoys were illegal so we had to learn to pattern them, and either call them to us or wait till the went back in the woods.
I've dug more than a few pits in a field to have a good calling position for field birds. These weren't 5 acre pastures, but 200 acre ag fields flat as a parking lot
I've dug more than a few pits in a field to have a good calling position for field birds. These weren't 5 acre pastures, but 200 acre ag fields flat as a parking lot
pledbetter
Well-Known Member
My problem is they're bout 200 yards across the property line when i get here after work...and right now there is definitely no shortage of hens with them lol...I'm thinking i might just be here well before daylight Saturday
Setterman
Well-Known Member
Sounds good, in a few weeks they'll lose the ladies and be much easier to deal with. Or break out the rifle 
Thunderhead
Well-Known Member
Look up "Turkey Reapers" on youtube. It looks like it would be a rush to decoy/stalk them like they do. I think I'm gonna try it when I can get a chance.
pledbetter
Well-Known Member
I've dealt with a few that made me wanna break out the 22 mag lol...i got too much love for these crazy birds than that thoSetterman said:Sounds good, in a few weeks they'll lose the ladies and be much easier to deal with. Or break out the rifle
pledbetter
Well-Known Member
ive seen the videos , not my thing...to each his own but id rather let my woodhaven and hick's call sucker em in lolThunderhead said:
Setterman
Well-Known Member
Thunderhead said:
Oh no you didn't.......
Great advice near a property line where you don't know who might be hunting. Great way to get someone hurt or killed.
We may set a record for deleted/locked threads in one day
pledbetter
Well-Known Member
Wow...a big longbeard actually broke away and came to within 80 yards , gobbling the whole way , and naturally hung up strutting and gobbling for about 20 minutes before he turned around and went back to his hens
Setterman
Well-Known Member
pledbetter said:
He's killable. Maybe not today or the next x number of days, but he's responsive which means he can be killed.
I'm not a decoy person but a well placed strutter might be more than he can take. However, killing field birds without decoys is a worthy accomplishment and will garner you massive respect from folks who hunt like I do.
Keep us posted
pledbetter
Well-Known Member
Oh I've used decoys and killed a few birds over them and am not opposed to using them again...but i had honestly rather hunt without them and actually "beat" Tom in his game...will definitely keep posting any more encounters with this guy...i happen to know a certain lady that i'd love to see shoot this bird in the face!!!
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
Crickets. Get you some crickets and bait one corner of that field up real good.
Seriously....might have a better chance over the next week or so if you wait on him in the late afternoon or evening. I bet that devil has 1 of about 5 specific trees he prefers to pitch into. If he's still roosting with hens, call to the girls real soft late in the day. He won't say a word till you stand on his neck.
1 more thing to try on mean field turkeys (but you're either all in or not) is to scatter'em late. The deeper they scatter into the timber the better...you need enough cover to get between him and the field the next morning. All alone and he's vulnerable (sometimes right panicky).
Seriously....might have a better chance over the next week or so if you wait on him in the late afternoon or evening. I bet that devil has 1 of about 5 specific trees he prefers to pitch into. If he's still roosting with hens, call to the girls real soft late in the day. He won't say a word till you stand on his neck.
1 more thing to try on mean field turkeys (but you're either all in or not) is to scatter'em late. The deeper they scatter into the timber the better...you need enough cover to get between him and the field the next morning. All alone and he's vulnerable (sometimes right panicky).
Thunderhead
Well-Known Member
pledbetter said:
I totally understand what you are saying. I love watching a long beard come in to my calls. But under the right circumstances I think the reaper way would be a rush.
Setterman
Well-Known Member
Boll Weevil said:
Really solid advice on the scattering it's ballsy, but amazingly effective when it works
Sometimes field birds will roost separately and if they do get in ultra early between the hens and him. You would have to watch them fly up though for this to work.
I used to love to go to war with a nasty field bird, and would spend days chasing them. Every day was a new strategy and eventually they'd get it
Thunderhead
Well-Known Member
Setterman said:
I wasn't advising anyone to try anything. I should have said I would like to try it under the right circumstances. On private land where nobody else is hunting, away from property lines, in a good size field. I don't think I would try it in the woods. I do think it would be a rush. To each his own.
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
Setterman said:
Dang season wreckers is what they are.
Setterman
Well-Known Member
Thunderhead said:
I'm sure it would be a massive rush. I just worry with all the poaching and general idiocy of some other hunters just how safe it is even on the most private ground. I know in my youth a posted sign meant come on over and hunt, I grew out of it but I'm sure there are plenty who followed my footsteps.
I really question companies that are promoting it as well.
pledbetter
Well-Known Member
As much as dislike field turkeys , i seem to find at least one every season that i have to lock horns with...last year it was two of them that stayed together the entire season...all i managed to get was a couple 100 yard encounters and several pics of the two...and just like i thought from day one ,they were both really good birds judging from their spurs...a couple years ago i killed an old bird i had chased for a couple seasons with sharp 1 1/2 spurs...i guess birds like these are the reason i can't resist those fields lol
I just wish I could find some birds in a field... I always feel like if I can see him
I can kill him, eventually...
I can kill him, eventually...
I HATE field birds!
The scattering can work but it can also back fire pretty bad. I've seen it work very well before though.
I've learned that with those birds sometimes you need to think outside the box and throw logic out the window!
The scattering can work but it can also back fire pretty bad. I've seen it work very well before though.
I've learned that with those birds sometimes you need to think outside the box and throw logic out the window!
