I have a question with all the talk of a later season opening. I hear most people talk about Late season like its great hens nesting hunting awesome. I don't see that where I hunt and I'm just wondering if it's property specific or area specific or in no good at it. Every year hear we do 90 per cent of our killing the first two weeks of season. Actually gobbling is better a couple weeks before season even opens. I wish we opened mid March here that's just me. Last 2 and 1/2 week of season you can't buy a gobble. I still see gobblers. Yesterday saw 3. They are always alone or with other gobblers basically just walking around feeding. If I call to them they either stand and stare or walk off the other way. They don't strut or even act like breeding has been going on. My best strategy late season is spot and stalk or sit and wait which I hate. How is it in other parts of the state? I wonder if it's because of Hardin county location or our lease gets hunted hard??? Just thinking out loud.
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Late season
- Thread starter muddyboots
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FARMTOFIELD
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muddyboots":1z6pjt88 said:
They were doing their thing in hardin county sunday, got my first hardin county bird and back at the truck at 630 sunday morning
catman529
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wherever I hunt the birds are gobbling and strutting even after season closes. Late season is a great time to hunt, I like hunting from opening day till the end if I can. Even tagged out I like to try and hunt with someone else till the end of season.
Rockhound":3q7dwhiy said:
Nice. What part of the county were u in? I did actually mess with a bird for 3 hours. He gobbled maybe 4 times at crows. I could see him the whole time since our pines have been thinned. He basically would walk toward me and stop at 100 yards and watch and then turn around go back where he came from and peck around. All alone all morning. Our lease is in the gillis mills area. Wish I'd know. U were in the area. I'd buy any tndeer a coke and a moon pie lol.
Yea,that "kill them or run them off" style can have that affectCowman71":2czmgaqx said:
[/quote]Works awesome early season. I've tried to be a nicer feller as my wife puts it and have carried several friends and family. Our lease has 13 members. 10 longbeards killed or guided by 3 members. 6 for me and family and friends 3 for a close buddy and 1 for an older guy who sits in shoot houses.
I love killem or run em off style. I actually think I have scaled it back too much because of reading the stuff on the Internet. I personally don't enjoy picking a tree and sitting there all day and occasionally calling and scratching the leaves and hoping one walks by as u traditionalist claim is the correct way to do it. Just not fun to me. Seems to rely on too much luck. I like using skill and woodsman ship. Appreciate ur comments cowman ur opinion is duly noted. Sure hope I don't shoot one over 30 yards. That really will annoy the traditionalist. I actually passed one at 65 seeing if I could get him closer the whole time knowing he was a dead turkey walking. :super:
Our lease does get hunted extremely hard. That's probably what does it. I have a buddy who says I'm half Indian because I do killem what I call "tonto style". Lol
FARMTOFIELD
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muddyboots":1xuxac42 said:
Walnut grove, my brother got a big cattle farm to hunt over there
Setterman
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In my opinion a lot of people push birds way too hard the first few weeks. They try to bushwhack, get too close, and generally bump a lot of birds that are henned up and almost impossible to kill. This makes the birds super edgy and quiet later in the season. If I'm on a bird early and figure out he's not playing my game I back off and try to find a different bird avoiding bumping him. In years past those birds were easy kills late when they are more open to being worked.
It's a long season and if more folks hunted smarter rather then harder their hunting might stay good all season.
One other thing is that of your property lacks nesting habitat the hens will move dragging the gobblers with them this leaving you quiet
On the gobblers alone that won't respond or come. 99% those are subordinate birds who've been beaten into submission. They lurk around but won't gobble, strut, or come to calls. Really common late season and they can vary in age from 2 to very mature birds who just aren't dominant on that ground
It's a long season and if more folks hunted smarter rather then harder their hunting might stay good all season.
One other thing is that of your property lacks nesting habitat the hens will move dragging the gobblers with them this leaving you quiet
On the gobblers alone that won't respond or come. 99% those are subordinate birds who've been beaten into submission. They lurk around but won't gobble, strut, or come to calls. Really common late season and they can vary in age from 2 to very mature birds who just aren't dominant on that ground
Nice setterman. Thanks. Rock whose ur brother. My dad had a 110 acre cattle farm at wal
Nut grove before he passed. It was a Morris road. It was a killer spot. 60 acres was one big cattle pasture if they woukdnt gobble I coujd usually spot one to mess with. I expect fanning would have worked great there.
Nut grove before he passed. It was a Morris road. It was a killer spot. 60 acres was one big cattle pasture if they woukdnt gobble I coujd usually spot one to mess with. I expect fanning would have worked great there.
My opinion is it is "site specific" and based on the local turkey population, not a "one size fits all" answer. I mainly hunt southwest TN and middle TN and my experience in SW TN has pretty much echoed your feedback to a tee for the Savannah area. It is like the majority of our local turkeys here in SW TN mimic the breeding patterns of Mississippi birds, while the middle TN birds run a little later, generally speaking. To put it in perspective, most of the areas I hunt in middle TN are 7-14 days behind the areas I frequent in SW TN, as far as peak gobbling and receptiveness goes (calling birds to the gun). Furthermore, the onset of spring and the greening up and thickening up of foliage is further along in SW TN by about the same amount of days, 7-14, or thereabouts. I witnessed turkeys gobbling on the limb and strutting for hens (bigger flocks) in my area this year the last week of February, and they continued to do it up until my last day in the woods here, around April 17th. I would like to see an independent biological peer reviewed study done that compared peak breeding dates of turkeys in SW TN (my area) to NE TN (Bristol area), as I expect the findings would be eye opening. I would also add that this variation in peak breeding and peak gobbling across our state is most likely the reason we have a lengthy 44 day spring season, to ensure all hunters get the best opportunity for their local area.
Setterman":3r1ihci6 said:
Lots of valuable info in this post, but one must be able to understand it!!!! These are the very reasons my style is "IF I cant kill him, I'm gonna do my best not to scare him." Lots of people dont understand my philosophy and then have the same problems you have muddyboots......Just sayin!!! This is my philosophy even on public land or land I may only once a year. Buy into the concept and you will become a more successful hunter. I will almost guarantee it!!
catman529
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what you describe is not the traditionalists way of hunting - that's what people do on a slow day. On a normal day you should be able to strike a gobbler and setup on him based on where you hear the gobbles, then try to call him in. If it doesn't work then you move around to different spots, call and listen for a while, and move if nothing answers.muddyboots":vxz9actf said:
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Thanks Andy. At least I'm not crazy. Cat I know that but when they don't gobble any in late season that doesn't work to well.
Roost I spook very few turkeys. When I say kill em or run em off I don't mean like I charge him. I mean I move crawl belly crawl make 1/2 mike loop or fanning or whatever I think will kill him. It's like if I mess with him for awhile and he's not coming I'll go to plan b. Now I have met a few I talked about charging them lol. I think late season here is way different than a bunch of yawls season. Just saying.
Roost I spook very few turkeys. When I say kill em or run em off I don't mean like I charge him. I mean I move crawl belly crawl make 1/2 mike loop or fanning or whatever I think will kill him. It's like if I mess with him for awhile and he's not coming I'll go to plan b. Now I have met a few I talked about charging them lol. I think late season here is way different than a bunch of yawls season. Just saying.
Highly agressive tactics prolly educate more than you think.....Maybe not!! Sounds to me like they get alot of pressure on your lease early in season.
Beard Buster
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AT Hiker":14vo20s8 said:
Beard Buster":a5alav8x said:
I know what you are getting at, but I've seen MO suck too. It all depends on how used up the ground is. I've got farms no ones been on since first week of season, I'll bet they still acting like turkeys should on those places.
Yea my lease gets hunted very hard every Saturday and Sunday. Week days not so bad. Usually 1 or 2 guys. But 10 longbeards killed on 900 acres is probably a lot.
I'd say so, and not something most 900 acre properties can sustain over time.muddyboots":bcaodg5t said:
Boll Weevil
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Wow...that's a bunch.muddyboots":3voi376i said:
Regarding late season, I agree that pressure has much to do with quality hunting as the season winds down. Will also add that just because I don't know I spooked a turkey doesn't mean I didn't.
Usually we kill more than that.
