In light of the ALMOST thread just got me thinking of some of the lessons I have learned over the years of hunting. Thought it might be cool to list some of those since I see alot of questions from new turkey hunters. No better way to learn lessons then learning from OTHER peoples mistakes
1. Patience is KEY I would say more failures in the turkey world are due to this more then any other.
2. Dont over call. You dont have to call every time the big boy gobbles. I have learned some hard lessons on this front just because it is SO hard to not call sometimes. You wanna hear him again, you wanna know where he is and if he is closer, you feel like you are loosing him or he is hung up....goes on and on. A lot of times the less you call the better your chances are. remember you are technically defying nature in that you are trying to get HIM to come to you, nature normally doesn't work that way.
3. KNOW the land you are hunting, and I mean EVERY BIT of it. I have made that mistake more then once setting up on a bird with a ditch or fence between us and not knowing it till it was too late
4. use calls you are comfortable with. Just because Knight and Hale use them doesnt mean you should. Everyone has a fav call and usually it is their fav because they know how to use it so find yours
5. dont be afraid to move on a bird. the trick on this one to me is a fine line between patience and hesitating. Patience tends to pay off BUT if you feel you need to make a move then make it and dont debate doing it forever before making the move. Some of the best hunters i know kill alot of birds by moving on them but they are very good at making a judgment call and going with it quickly. If you end up bumping the bird then you can gain more knowledge of what he was doing and where he was. as i said there is a fine line here with patience and impatience
6. Pay attention to everything. weather, wind, time ect...after a while you may start to see a patten. I have killed a few birds over the years by chance but after it was all over I began to notice these birds tended to be in this same basic area on certain days. Made it easier on me when the birds where not gobbling as a starting spot.
7. Know your birds. if you are fortunate enough to hunt the same location a bunch then you should be aware of what your birds tend to do. We all know nothing is absolute but you will see a pattern.
8. Dont be afraid to try something that may seem odd. I killed some birds when i was just starting out and didnt have ANY IDEA what i was doing. Most of those birds I killed I did so doing things that are pretty odd now that I know how to actually turkey hunt, also we all know guys that kill birds each year and you think to yourself "how in the heck did that guy kill one!!!"
9. I will finish with this one as TO ME it helped me more then anything else. ALWAYS ask advise and take ALL of it in when given. No one has this down to a science but everyone has a way that worked for them. Dont be afraid to ask peoples opinions or questions as to why they do certain things. I learned more by just asking questions and listening to people then anything else
man just enjoy it and remember each day is a new day. Ever situation is different as well as each bird. You never know what will work till you try it.
anyway feel free to add on with what some of you have learned the hard way over the years.
1. Patience is KEY I would say more failures in the turkey world are due to this more then any other.
2. Dont over call. You dont have to call every time the big boy gobbles. I have learned some hard lessons on this front just because it is SO hard to not call sometimes. You wanna hear him again, you wanna know where he is and if he is closer, you feel like you are loosing him or he is hung up....goes on and on. A lot of times the less you call the better your chances are. remember you are technically defying nature in that you are trying to get HIM to come to you, nature normally doesn't work that way.
3. KNOW the land you are hunting, and I mean EVERY BIT of it. I have made that mistake more then once setting up on a bird with a ditch or fence between us and not knowing it till it was too late
4. use calls you are comfortable with. Just because Knight and Hale use them doesnt mean you should. Everyone has a fav call and usually it is their fav because they know how to use it so find yours
5. dont be afraid to move on a bird. the trick on this one to me is a fine line between patience and hesitating. Patience tends to pay off BUT if you feel you need to make a move then make it and dont debate doing it forever before making the move. Some of the best hunters i know kill alot of birds by moving on them but they are very good at making a judgment call and going with it quickly. If you end up bumping the bird then you can gain more knowledge of what he was doing and where he was. as i said there is a fine line here with patience and impatience
6. Pay attention to everything. weather, wind, time ect...after a while you may start to see a patten. I have killed a few birds over the years by chance but after it was all over I began to notice these birds tended to be in this same basic area on certain days. Made it easier on me when the birds where not gobbling as a starting spot.
7. Know your birds. if you are fortunate enough to hunt the same location a bunch then you should be aware of what your birds tend to do. We all know nothing is absolute but you will see a pattern.
8. Dont be afraid to try something that may seem odd. I killed some birds when i was just starting out and didnt have ANY IDEA what i was doing. Most of those birds I killed I did so doing things that are pretty odd now that I know how to actually turkey hunt, also we all know guys that kill birds each year and you think to yourself "how in the heck did that guy kill one!!!"
9. I will finish with this one as TO ME it helped me more then anything else. ALWAYS ask advise and take ALL of it in when given. No one has this down to a science but everyone has a way that worked for them. Dont be afraid to ask peoples opinions or questions as to why they do certain things. I learned more by just asking questions and listening to people then anything else
man just enjoy it and remember each day is a new day. Ever situation is different as well as each bird. You never know what will work till you try it.
anyway feel free to add on with what some of you have learned the hard way over the years.
