Bottom Hunter
Well-Known Member
which do you prefer......?
I realize that tukey hunting is different in different areas....
Some of you probably hunt open terrain where some of us (me) hunt thick timber.
The problem with hunting thick timber over open terrain is the simple fact that most times you can't see the turkeys until they get within shooting range. This is a distinct disadvantage, IMO.
While hunting open areas, I'm sure that being able to view large areas at one ti me helps you locate birds and being able to watch them as they come to you or ignore you is great. Especially when they decide to come in quiet, or just not gobble at all.
Until you have sit against a tree in an area where you "just might" be able to see 30-40 yards in every drection and listen as a tom gets closer (within 100 yards ) and then he shuts up and never gobbles again, then you don't know what tension is....haha. Being afraid to move so much a finger, waiting for thirty minutes to an hour without calling or anything makes for some intense hunting. What makes it so bad is that on more than one occasion, I have moved after an hour or so in an attempt to find another bird and been busted by turkeys that were just out of my sight that I had no idea were even there.
For this very reason, I am changing my strategy for this season.
before the season, I plan to go to Chaney and set up a few blinds in thick cover where I normally see turkeys while deer hunting. Most of these areas are near known roosts and close to open fields where turkeys are often seen and/or heard.
I plan to get in there well before daylight and hunt them like I would a deer. I plan to set up a few decoys and just sit and wait. I know some cane thickets that would be great spots to hide a small blind.
These areas are always great places to find feathers. Most are near swamps where trukeys like to roost. One place, I saw tons of turkeys there this past deer season.
I just think that with the type of terrain I am hunting and the way these birds have learned to be pretty slick and quiet (growing up in thick cover)that my best bet for success is simply to sit and wait.
My first ever turkey kill was using the run and gun method.....
I have used that method where I hunt now, but when you stand along the road and hear 10-15 toms gobbling around you at daylight, then which one do you go after and once you get busted chasing him, how do you get on another bird?
I've also learned down there that bachelor toms seem to have a set pattern to their "searching" for hens. Most of these patterns follow ridges in the bottoms. IMO, setting up an ambush point on one of these known areas would be a good idea. Sort of like deer hunting, you may not see or hear turkeys every day, but you just might be set up for a couple of kills simply by sitting tight and letting the birds come to you.
BH
I realize that tukey hunting is different in different areas....
Some of you probably hunt open terrain where some of us (me) hunt thick timber.
The problem with hunting thick timber over open terrain is the simple fact that most times you can't see the turkeys until they get within shooting range. This is a distinct disadvantage, IMO.
While hunting open areas, I'm sure that being able to view large areas at one ti me helps you locate birds and being able to watch them as they come to you or ignore you is great. Especially when they decide to come in quiet, or just not gobble at all.
Until you have sit against a tree in an area where you "just might" be able to see 30-40 yards in every drection and listen as a tom gets closer (within 100 yards ) and then he shuts up and never gobbles again, then you don't know what tension is....haha. Being afraid to move so much a finger, waiting for thirty minutes to an hour without calling or anything makes for some intense hunting. What makes it so bad is that on more than one occasion, I have moved after an hour or so in an attempt to find another bird and been busted by turkeys that were just out of my sight that I had no idea were even there.
For this very reason, I am changing my strategy for this season.
before the season, I plan to go to Chaney and set up a few blinds in thick cover where I normally see turkeys while deer hunting. Most of these areas are near known roosts and close to open fields where turkeys are often seen and/or heard.
I plan to get in there well before daylight and hunt them like I would a deer. I plan to set up a few decoys and just sit and wait. I know some cane thickets that would be great spots to hide a small blind.
These areas are always great places to find feathers. Most are near swamps where trukeys like to roost. One place, I saw tons of turkeys there this past deer season.
I just think that with the type of terrain I am hunting and the way these birds have learned to be pretty slick and quiet (growing up in thick cover)that my best bet for success is simply to sit and wait.
My first ever turkey kill was using the run and gun method.....
I have used that method where I hunt now, but when you stand along the road and hear 10-15 toms gobbling around you at daylight, then which one do you go after and once you get busted chasing him, how do you get on another bird?
I've also learned down there that bachelor toms seem to have a set pattern to their "searching" for hens. Most of these patterns follow ridges in the bottoms. IMO, setting up an ambush point on one of these known areas would be a good idea. Sort of like deer hunting, you may not see or hear turkeys every day, but you just might be set up for a couple of kills simply by sitting tight and letting the birds come to you.
BH
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