Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

So I've had about a dozen encounters this year where I was able to get a Tom to respond repeatedly and we went back and forth. I'm not talking about a distant gobbler that mostly doesn't respond but throws out a random gobble now and then. I'm talking Toms that are engaged a bit in the back and forth and typically come closer as I call. Of those dozen or so encounters, I was able to get the birds into kill range around 30% of the time and much of that (although not all) was in the earlier seasons (I'm hunting pressured birds and have no other options). Does 30% seem low as it feels low but if I look at it as 1 out of every 3 it seems pretty good but it's not feeling good right now as I have had a bunch of encounters in the last few days where I had them right on the cusp of getting a shot but it didn't work out.

I feel I am overcalling in these situations also after reading some stuff on here. Can you guys comment on how frequent and what calls you make when you are actively engaged with a responding Tom as I know I'm doing some things wrong here.

Thank You!

If your hunting birds that are getting hunted by other people on a regular basis I would say calling in one out of three would be an amazingly high success rate.

I'm only talking about the Toms that actively engage vocally back and forth. There are many more where I get a few gobbles but I'm not counting those types of encounters.

Crunched the numbers and i ran a 71% average this year. That is hunting public land as well as hunting club property. I would suspect that I typically run around 60% most years though.

As stated 1 out of 3 is pretty good. Between the first answering gobble and either the shot happening  or you realize he's not coming, a couple hundred things could happen to many to list but right off the top, a real hen shows up and leads him away, he got close enough without you realizing it and saw movement etc. he decided he wasn't going to the hen she should come to him,predator showed up. Unless you can see the Gobbler the whole time you can't  know for sure why he didn't continue coming in after answering. Nobody kills them all nobody I don't care if your 14 or 97 or if your a direct lineal descendant of Daniel Boone himself it's just the way it is.
As for the calling type and frequency every situation is different. Sometimes complete silence is the correct tactic, sometimes loud cutting and yelping,sometimes just light scratching in the leaves. There is no template or set routine that works every time.  Experience  gained from a lot of interactions with Gobblers is the only way to learn how to figure out what to do and even after a hundred dead Gobblers you still make the wrong desicon sometimes. It's the mental part of turkey  hunting that makes it a challenge and a sport. The shooting of a Gobbler is easy the rest takes skill.

For me, the distance makes a bigger difference than the intensity of our "conversation".  If we're more than 100-150 yards apart, my chances of killing him drop quite a bit.

Quote from: stinkpickle on May 22, 2019, 06:00:45 PM
For me, the distance makes a bigger difference than the intensity of our "conversation".  If we're more than 100-150 yards apart, my chances of killing him drop quite a bit.

This, my number average is prob 70% ish I feel. "Getting then to come in" .I haven't kept track but most that engage with me usually end up coming in once I can get setup on him right. Killing them sometimes is a little different story.

Now there's also been many in range I couldn't get shots on or sometimes even see due to the thickness of the woods.

This isn't your once or twice heard birds now. I'm going with ones that stay going and engaging long enough for me to get in tight and setup good.


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I guess for me the biggest thing is getting inside his wheelhouse. The tighter you get the higher the odds go. If I strike one at a distance I am gonna be a lot closer before he hears another sound from me. Murphy loves Turkey hunters and the more space you leave between you and the bird the more chance for something to go wrong. I dont have set rules on calling. I let the bird dictate that. Many overcall a bird and hang him up but sometimes you have to pour it to them to keep their interest. It's never going to be a 100% success rate when dealing with turkeys and I am glad it's not. I will say something I did a little different this year is very little cold calling. I would wait for one to gobble on his own. That let me get a jump on him and already be in a much better position to start the match.

Too many variables to answer that question.  Mostly it depends on the ignorance level of the birds that particular year.

This spring, I was 4 for 4 on actively engaged birds.  In 2017 I can not even TELL you how many times I had the dot turned on and the safe off, only to get hosed BIG TIME.   Some years you gotta beat 'em off with a stick.  Other years you can hardly BUY one................... 

30% seems like a good average...

Generally early in the season, birds are henned up, and stay with the toms most of the day...  Those toms still gobble at my calling but will not leave the hens...  And all so often if I do get a lone bird early on coming in, a hen will intercept and steal him...

Now mid season and late morning, if I can bet a bird to gobble it is game on...  Percentages are far higher.

I have wasted a lot of time working in jakes as well...  Maybe because birds breed earlier in my area, or maybe it is Rio's, but the jakes and toms sound alike to me...  One of the bigger birds I killed had a weird half-gobble that I was sure was a jake, till he came in struttin' with a swingin' beard.

I think the terrain plays a huge role as well.  If the woods and hills allow you to reposition without detection, it can make a huge difference in success...  Hunting birds in more open and flat rolling oaks is easier to get around in, but far more difficult to reposition on birds than some of the steeper and brushier areas I hunt.

Quote from: Southerngobbler on May 22, 2019, 01:32:03 PM
If your hunting birds that are getting hunted by other people on a regular basis I would say calling in one out of three would be an amazingly high success rate.

Quote from: BDeal on May 22, 2019, 01:37:20 PM
I'm only talking about the Toms that actively engage vocally back and forth. There are many more where I get a few gobbles but I'm not counting those types of encounters.

I agree entirely with the premise that the harder the birds are hunted, the lower the percentage of gobblers that will come to the call.  In addition, "active engagement" with gobblers is often a function of where and what subspecies you are hunting.  For instance, Merriam's gobblers are vocal and will often engage you in conversation,...but have absolutely no intention of ever coming to your calling if they are being hunted hard.  30% would be a pretty good average.

On the other hand, find a pocket of Merriam's turkeys that, for whatever reason, have not been hammered by hunters, and the success rate for calling gobblers in can skyrocket.  This spring, on a pretty hard-hunted national forest, I stumbled into an area that, for whatever reason, no one else was hunting.  I hunted two mornings, called in every gobbler I engaged (5) and killed my two birds.  Two days later, I took two of my buddies in there,...called in four out of five birds worked.  One of those friends took his wife in two days after that and called in two gobblers in one set-up and she killed one.

All in all, we called in 11 gobblers out of 12 worked in four mornings and killed five of them,...and almost certainly could have killed three more if we were "counting bodies". 

We most likely could have hunted anywhere else in a thirty mile radius of that spot and maybe had a 30% success rate,...if we were lucky.  The point being that sometimes success rates are just a matter of random, pure luck in hitting the right birds at the right time in the right spot.

60-70% success on Gobblers that have answered you a couple times? Were are y'all hunting? 1 in 3
are pretty good numbers. I care more about long term success over the whole season not so much how many I set up on per kill. Everyone will hit those hot streaks when you make back to back kills but they tend to balance out with the cold streaks ,anyone that has been at this long knows not to bet on percentages . I take it one Gobbler at a time one state at a time.

I logged all of my "engaged encounters" for 2019 over a 6 week period  and I'm calling about 25% of them into kill range, not the 30% I had originally thought. So about 1 in 4. I'm almost always trying to call them off of private property onto the land I have access to as it's extremely difficult to get access near where I live and in most cases I do not have the option to move closer to the gobbler. He has to come to me. Most of the birds I have been engaged with have been with hens. One group I have had engaged 4-5 times and I have been able to get the hens to come on occasion and the boys have come with but usually the whole group hangs up 70-100 yards from me. There are about a dozen in this flock and they are still together and roost together (I saw them again this morning). I cannot move closer to the roosting area as the landowner does not allow hunting.

So I haved looked at our states average success rate which just includes everything, and that is around 25% annually. Could be week of bad weather, inexperienced/novice hunters and what not. Years ago while I was guiding I kept track of every turkey and tag, it was part of the guides way of promoting the business, at that time I was running a 90%+ success rate. I have always kept a detailed ledger/journal of my turkey hunts/hunting.

Can't just measure success by kill numbers...

Making Memories :)

MK M GOBL

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 23, 2019, 03:29:42 PM
So I haved looked at our states average success rate which just includes everything, and that is around 25% annually. Could be week of bad weather, inexperienced/novice hunters and what not. Years ago while I was guiding I kept track of every turkey and tag, it was part of the guides way of promoting the business, at that time I was running a 90%+ success rate. I have always kept a detailed ledger/journal of my turkey hunts/hunting.

Can't just measure success by kill numbers...

Making Memories :)

MK M GOBL

I've seen several of your Gobbler kills you've posted. Honest question without the blind/decoys and  hunting private crop fields do you think you'd still have a 90% success rate?I mean your obviously hunting some good private spots with good populations. The turkeys are going to the fields everyday regardless if you call or not. They see the decoys and at least a few will be aggressive enough to walk over to the Jake or strutter decoy. I think your averages would suffer  if you hunted public land woods Gobblers without the fields decoys or not.

Here's my "bottom line" opinion on success rates:  I would bet certain "appendages" on my body that, all other things being equal, success rates in almost all cases are a function of the exclusivity of the property being hunted. 
The End.
:newmascot:   :newmascot:

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 10:10:45 AM

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 23, 2019, 03:29:42 PM
So I haved looked at our states average success rate which just includes everything, and that is around 25% annually. Could be week of bad weather, inexperienced/novice hunters and what not. Years ago while I was guiding I kept track of every turkey and tag, it was part of the guides way of promoting the business, at that time I was running a 90%+ success rate. I have always kept a detailed ledger/journal of my turkey hunts/hunting.

Can't just measure success by kill numbers...

Making Memories :)

MK M GOBL

I've seen several of your Gobbler kills you've posted. Honest question without the blind/decoys and  hunting private crop fields do you think you'd still have a 90% success rate?I mean your obviously hunting some good private spots with good populations. The turkeys are going to the fields everyday regardless if you call or not. They see the decoys and at least a few will be aggressive enough to walk over to the Jake or strutter decoy. I think your averages would suffer  if you hunted public land woods Gobblers without the fields decoys or not.

Honest answer

I have hunted plenty of public in Missouri, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan and with no decoys or blinds, same as I have hunted public here too, results have been the same...


MK M GOBL

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 24, 2019, 10:36:28 AM

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 10:10:45 AM

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 23, 2019, 03:29:42 PM
So I haved looked at our states average success rate which just includes everything, and that is around 25% annually. Could be week of bad weather, inexperienced/novice hunters and what not. Years ago while I was guiding I kept track of every turkey and tag, it was part of the guides way of promoting the business, at that time I was running a 90%+ success rate. I have always kept a detailed ledger/journal of my turkey hunts/hunting.

Can't just measure success by kill numbers...

Making Memories :)

MK M GOBL

I've seen several of your Gobbler kills you've posted. Honest question without the blind/decoys and  hunting private crop fields do you think you'd still have a 90% success rate?I mean your obviously hunting some good private spots with good populations. The turkeys are going to the fields everyday regardless if you call or not. They see the decoys and at least a few will be aggressive enough to walk over to the Jake or strutter decoy. I think your averages would suffer  if you hunted public land woods Gobblers without the fields decoys or not.

Honest answer

I have hunted plenty of public in Missouri, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan and with no decoys or blinds, same as I have hunted public here too, results have been the same...


MK M GOBL

So hunting pressure has had no impact on your success? I'm sorry but I find that impossible to believe.

I wasn't trying to discredit your hunting abilities. But I know several that have made a career out of sitting in blinds on agg fields with decoys. Hunting woods Turkeys with or without a decoy is a whole different game. Like I said the birds are going to the fields rather your in the blind or not calling or not decoys or not. It's very much like hunting a complete different species. Just pointing out the success rates can be misleading. There's guys in Texas that hunt over feeders and have a 100% kill rate ...PER hunt! Every time they go sit in the blind they kill a Gobbler or two, they only hunt 2 days a season at most but claim and have a 100% success. Drop them off on any public spot in any state and see what happens. Numbers wise or photo wise how can you argue there not top notch hunters? There's the proof over hundred dead Gobblers. 9 year old girls 80 year old men ,wives in full makeup, first time hunters people in wheelchairs ,everybody gets a limit. Percentages mean nothing without taking into account were and how the success is happening.
I seriously doubt you or anybody has a 90% success rate in Alabama

Quote from: BDeal on May 24, 2019, 10:43:06 AM

So hunting pressure has had no impact on your success? I'm sorry but I find that impossible to believe.

Not saying this at all, I might put in 5 days to kill a bird/fill tag, not even close to killing a bird every time I go out. Even where I have the homecourt advantage in state I'm not even close, and hunt a lot of private ground, about 2200 acres. I'll hunt for 8 weeks and 4 days a week. That's 32 days hunting plus some evenings which might put me at 35-40 days a year and put down 14 birds this year.

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 11:02:44 AM
I wasn't trying to discredit your hunting abilities. But I know several that have made a career out of sitting in blinds on agg fields with decoys. Hunting woods Turkeys with or without a decoy is a whole different game. Like I said the birds are going to the fields rather your in the blind or not calling or not decoys or not. It's very much like hunting a complete different species. Just pointing out the success rates can be misleading. There's guys in Texas that hunt over feeders and have a 100% kill rate ...PER hunt! Every time they go sit in the blind they kill a Gobbler or two, they only hunt 2 days a season at most but claim and have a 100% success. Drop them off on any public spot in any state and see what happens. Numbers wise or photo wise how can you argue there not top notch hunters? There's the proof over hundred dead Gobblers. 9 year old girls 80 year old men ,wives in full makeup, first time hunters people in wheelchairs ,everybody gets a limit. Percentages mean nothing without taking into account were and how the success is happening.
I seriously doubt you or anybody has a 90% success rate in Alabama

I would not have a 90% rate in Alabama either if that's where I lived hunted and only public... I have hunted the state and was successful when I was there on a Public Land Hunt.

I know I have some great hunting spots here, and why I have such great success. Not trying to play this that way, been out of state a bit and have always been lucky I guess...


MK M GOBL

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 24, 2019, 11:46:44 AM

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 11:02:44 AM
I wasn't trying to discredit your hunting abilities. But I know several that have made a career out of sitting in blinds on agg fields with decoys. Hunting woods Turkeys with or without a decoy is a whole different game. Like I said the birds are going to the fields rather your in the blind or not calling or not decoys or not. It's very much like hunting a complete different species. Just pointing out the success rates can be misleading. There's guys in Texas that hunt over feeders and have a 100% kill rate ...PER hunt! Every time they go sit in the blind they kill a Gobbler or two, they only hunt 2 days a season at most but claim and have a 100% success. Drop them off on any public spot in any state and see what happens. Numbers wise or photo wise how can you argue there not top notch hunters? There's the proof over hundred dead Gobblers. 9 year old girls 80 year old men ,wives in full makeup, first time hunters people in wheelchairs ,everybody gets a limit. Percentages mean nothing without taking into account were and how the success is happening.
I seriously doubt you or anybody has a 90% success rate in Alabama

I would not have a 90% rate in Alabama either if that's where I lived hunted and only public... I have hunted the state and was successful when I was there on a Public Land Hunt.

I know I have some great hunting spots here, and why I have such great success. Not trying to play this that way, been out of state a bit and have always been lucky I guess...


MK M GOBL

When you named the states and said you had the same results I knew that was not right. If you hunted 40 days and killed 14 Gobblers that's 35% not 90% you'd have to have killed 36 Gobblers
Just pointing out the kill photos and percentages need to be taken with a grain of salt. New hunters that don't know the difference between hunting public woods and private crop fields could get the idea they should also have a 90% success rate which is redicoulous except in isolated instances with some very specific circumstances that make it possible.

Florida has around a 5% success rate and that is for the entire season, not just the days their gobbling good. To believe someone could squeeze out a 90% or even a 30% success rate out of that would be just ridiculous. The obvious exception would be private or well managed land where yeah-you might kill one the first day. I've seen on the news where people had to scare them away with sticks when they were retrieving their mail. I don't remember what state that was but maybe that's were some of y'all are hunting.
Just saying-different pressure rates and amount of turkeys in an area are gonna drastically influence success rates, probably even more so that hunters skill set.

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 12:02:17 PM

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 24, 2019, 11:46:44 AM

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 11:02:44 AM
I wasn't trying to discredit your hunting abilities. But I know several that have made a career out of sitting in blinds on agg fields with decoys. Hunting woods Turkeys with or without a decoy is a whole different game. Like I said the birds are going to the fields rather your in the blind or not calling or not decoys or not. It's very much like hunting a complete different species. Just pointing out the success rates can be misleading. There's guys in Texas that hunt over feeders and have a 100% kill rate ...PER hunt! Every time they go sit in the blind they kill a Gobbler or two, they only hunt 2 days a season at most but claim and have a 100% success. Drop them off on any public spot in any state and see what happens. Numbers wise or photo wise how can you argue there not top notch hunters? There's the proof over hundred dead Gobblers. 9 year old girls 80 year old men ,wives in full makeup, first time hunters people in wheelchairs ,everybody gets a limit. Percentages mean nothing without taking into account were and how the success is happening.
I seriously doubt you or anybody has a 90% success rate in Alabama

I would not have a 90% rate in Alabama either if that's where I lived hunted and only public... I have hunted the state and was successful when I was there on a Public Land Hunt.

I know I have some great hunting spots here, and why I have such great success. Not trying to play this that way, been out of state a bit and have always been lucky I guess...


MK M GOBL

When you named the states and said you had the same results I knew that was not right. If you hunted 40 days and killed 14 Gobblers that's 35% not 90% you'd have to have killed 36 Gobblers
Just pointing out the kill photos and percentages need to be taken with a grain of salt. New hunters that don't know the difference between hunting public woods and private crop fields could get the idea they should also have a 90% success rate which is redicoulous except in isolated instances with some very specific circumstances that make it possible.

Yes I think some of us were looking at the % of time you call a bird into kill range once he is actively engaged in gobbling and MK was looking at % success in terms of filling the tag if I'm reading this right. Hence a little bit of confusion.

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 24, 2019, 12:02:17 PM
When you named the states and said you had the same results I knew that was not right. If you hunted 40 days and killed 14 Gobblers that's 35% not 90% you'd have to have killed 36 Gobblers
Just pointing out the kill photos and percentages need to be taken with a grain of salt. New hunters that don't know the difference between hunting public woods and private crop fields could get the idea they should also have a 90% success rate which is redicoulous except in isolated instances with some very specific circumstances that make it possible.

???

If you are talking every time you go out you kill a bird, I guess that's what your saying.... Days Hunted to killed bird.

So then I am at a .00435% kill rate.

So if i have a tag and fill it that's not considered 100% on that tag because it took me 2 days to kill said bird? By that math it would be 50%...

I had 15 tags/hunts for the year, filled 14 of them, regardless of time put in tag was filled, might have been a day or 3 days...


I guess to each his own, have a good day.


MK M GOBL

Quote from: BDeal on May 24, 2019, 12:24:29 PM

Yes I think some of us were looking at the % of time you call a bird into kill range once he is actively engaged in gobbling and MK was looking at % success in terms of filling the tag if I'm reading this right. Hence a little bit of confusion.

:z-winnersmiley:

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 24, 2019, 12:33:47 PM

Quote from: BDeal on May 24, 2019, 12:24:29 PM

Yes I think some of us were looking at the % of time you call a bird into kill range once he is actively engaged in gobbling and MK was looking at % success in terms of filling the tag if I'm reading this right. Hence a little bit of confusion.

:z-winnersmiley:

I full well understand the OP question was % called in that have answered ie Gobblers you have worked . But when your hunting a crop field with decoys there are many times no doubt the Gobblers were headed to the field anyway and saw the decoy spread and walked up or ran up and got shot without gobbling or answering a call,so the percentage numbers would have to killed per hunt otherwise there'd  be a percentage of killed Gobblers WITHOUT any calling lol. Who's percentages could compare to that on public land woods Gobblers. I see the Kill threads I know as well as he does how it's happening and never said a word, but when you start posting redicoulous percentage numbers something needed to be said.

An over 40 guy, using a under 40 guys calculator.

Quote from: guesswho on May 24, 2019, 05:55:58 PM
An over 40 guy, using a under 40 guys calculator.

Lol... I'm wondering who's does these guys taxes cause they doing some creative math on this thread

I'm 100% on the right bird at the right time with the right setup

0 on the rest

Knew this thread would be good for a laugh as soon as I saw the title.

Quote from: warrent423 on May 24, 2019, 04:41:03 PM
Someone who tells me they have a 90% success rate on public land triggers that warning sign for me again. Definitely not someone to be taken seriously. Killing "pets" vs. killing heavily pounded Gobblers consistantly is like comparing apples to oranges.

Absolutely!! Couldn't agree more.

Quote from: deerhunt1988 on May 24, 2019, 10:03:45 PM
Knew this thread would be good for a laugh as soon as I saw the title.

Why would you say that? I think it's a good question. Some didn't answer the actual question asked though.

Quote from: BDeal on May 28, 2019, 01:31:31 PM

Quote from: deerhunt1988 on May 24, 2019, 10:03:45 PM
Knew this thread would be good for a laugh as soon as I saw the title.

Why would you say that? I think it's a good question. Some didn't answer the actual question asked though.

Because anytime you start asking questions about which call or hunting tactic is best or start talking about success rates it gonna start a conflict, which is usually funny. It's just the way it is there's some people that will sit over bait or crop fields in a tent with a flock of decoys and believe in there mind that it's the exact same thing as hunting pressured public land Gobblers. And it's funny how they attempt to justify what they call hunting. This one has some crazy math used for percentages. I didn't add my percentage to the thread so... I killed a Gobbler on opening day this year in La so I have a 100% success rate right? I did have two tags but we won't count that or how long it took to kill the second one . No ima stick with one day one Gobbler and call that my percentage ,lifetime from now on nomatter how long it takes to kill another one lol

I don't know about crazy math but since the question was the percentage of gobblers killed vs gobblers worked. I or others with me attempted to set up and kill 7 gobblers this year. 4 are dead and 1 was missed. That means 5 out of the 7 were worked into shotgun range. Both public ground and hunting clubs. All of which is hunted pretty hard. Now that sounds great and awesome but what isn't seen is that I hunted about 12 times total so I am below a 50% average on getting a Tom in range per hunt.

5 out of 7 ain't bad...I mean it ain't  no 90% or like my 100% but still pretty good

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 28, 2019, 06:41:34 PM
5 out of 7 ain't bad...I mean it ain't  no 90% or like my 100% but still pretty good

I know. If I was a bit younger and still had my killer instinct I would have gotten all 7 into gun range.

Quote from: Happy on May 28, 2019, 08:21:24 PM

Quote from: Bay1985 on May 28, 2019, 06:41:34 PM
5 out of 7 ain't bad...I mean it ain't  no 90% or like my 100% but still pretty good

I know. If I was a bit younger and still had my killer instinct I would have gotten all 7 into gun range.

Yea I read awhile back there was this turkey super hero that was killing 3-1 against the over 40 crowd lol.

19 days hunted, 102 hours actual hunting. 11 real opportunities, 9 birds killed. No misses, only shots 35 yards or less. 3 birds out of a blind on private land, we had the only access that day. I would say 1/3 or maybe a little bit better for us. Maybe as high as 1/2. If you don't count the 3 on private, then 1/3 ish.i think it was a good year action wise. Weather was not good and it was wet. Birds got hotter as the season went on. Lots of early pressure but subsided considerably. Pure info for your consideration

I must be misunderstanding the question...

My interpretation from the OP what percentage of times that a bird that gobbles back to your calling enthusiastically that he gets killed.

Opening morning I took my daughter and a buddy's child (who has never been hunting)...  We bungled two different birds, and killed a third (moving to different spots).  I call that a 33% success rate, as 1/3 of the birds that responded to my calling (enthusiastically) were killed, at the time of that particular hunt...

If I got a bird to gobble on morning one, and he did not come in, and I killed him on morning #2, that would be a 50% success rate....

So what happens if I kill a gobbler that comes in silent? Guess he don't account for anything...or would that be bonus points. Hmmm seems to me a lot of "Public Land" birds do very little gobbling so how would I know which ones count and which ones don't, are there a certain number of gobbles he must make before I can count him. Now if I kill one of my "Private Land Pets" who only gobbled once from the roost, wait I was in a blind, on a field edge and used a decoy...LOL

I still have to laugh, guess my math didn't add up, Yes I did wrong I posted my actual % of success of killed birds. Not the OP's % question... whoops
:popcorn:

dang I have the wrong name :TooFunny:


MK M GOBL

It could be a result of what's left of my imagination, but it seems these kinds of questions always turn into a "my percentages are higher so I must be a better turkey hunter than you" type debate.  News Flash!: the original question was simply a question of curiosity, as well as a topic of conversation!  Don't nobody need to get their snood in a knot over it!

Another News Flash!:  We all hunt under different circumstances and conditions.  The only thing that would make any of this relevant to our "turkey hunting skills" is if all of us were hunting in the same place,...at the same time,...under the exact same conditions.  Even then, it is up to the gobbler to decide if he wants to play or not.  Other than that, it is just a topic of discussion for curiosity's sake.

To all the Francis's our there,....Lighten UP!!   ;D ;D ;D :newmascot: :newmascot: :newmascot: :newmascot: ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: GobbleNut on May 30, 2019, 08:11:59 AM
It could be a result of what's left of my imagination, but it seems these kinds of questions always turn into a "my percentages are higher so I must be a better turkey hunter than you" type debate.  News Flash!: the original question was simply a question of curiosity, as well as a topic of conversation!  Don't nobody need to get their snood in a knot over it!

Another News Flash!:  We all hunt under different circumstances and conditions.  The only thing that would make any of this relevant to our "turkey hunting skills" is if all of us were hunting in the same place,...at the same time,...under the exact same conditions.  Even then, it is up to the gobbler to decide if he wants to play or not.  Other than that, it is just a topic of discussion for curiosity's sake.

To all the Francis's our there,....Lighten UP!!   ;D ;D ;D :newmascot: :newmascot: :newmascot: :newmascot: ;D ;D ;D

:icon_thumright: Agreed, I could really care less than what someone else thinks, been around long enough and learned enough to have gotten past that "I'm better than you phase" of my life, my last post was in satire of where this conversation went, I now know better than to respond to some of these posts. I'll just keep doing what I do :)

Can't wait for next year, hitting the 30th year for my spring turkey hunts!

MK M GOBL

For people that don't care about percentages or what others think they sure spend a lot of time posting "pet" Turkey pictures and Percentage numbers skewed to redicoulous %. As far as public land Gobblers they gobble enough to kill them. I think it was made abundantly clear that a lot of Gobblers probably never make a sound when they walk out in the crop field and see 14 decoys there's no need to gobble. That's the  true % I'd like to see how many of these ol tough Gobblers in the pics never gobbled just walked up to the decoy spread and got shot without making a call.
You could not be more right about everyone hunting different circumstances  and conditions. You should also realize posting 90% success rates anyway you want to word it seems redicoulous.

Quote from: MK M GOBL on May 30, 2019, 12:47:24 AM
So what happens if I kill a gobbler that comes in silent? Guess he don't account for anything...or would that be bonus points. Hmmm seems to me a lot of "Public Land" birds do very little gobbling so how would I know which ones count and which ones don't, are there a certain number of gobbles he must make before I can count him. Now if I kill one of my "Private Land Pets" who only gobbled once from the roost, wait I was in a blind, on a field edge and used a decoy...LOL

I still have to laugh, guess my math didn't add up, Yes I did wrong I posted my actual % of success of killed birds. Not the OP's % question... whoops
:popcorn:



dang I have the wrong name :TooFunny:


MK M GOBL

It wasn't a complicated question.

Do we get any extra credit for killing gobbler on places we never set foot on before?
And more extra credit for public land we never set foot on before?
What if we never got started until a week into the season?
And being over 55 years old?
No decoys or blind?
What about not having more than two calls?
Can we get over 100% if when the gobbler came in he had a buddy of two with him?

I'm blaming my low percentage rate on the fact that I have exceptional hearing, or creative hearing.  I hear gobblers about 91% of the times that I call.

The original question was around the number of gobblers brought into kill range vs the number of gobblers in engaged calling. I asked because I feel like my percentages should be higher and to get a rough idea of how others are doing. I hunt pressured birds and I have no choice. If people don't like the question or it's too difficult for them to understand, then there is no need to post an answer here.

I think there was nothing wrong with your question and am surprised by the some of the responses and lack of responses. (If that makes sense. I dont see it as a means of bragging to share some info. As gobblenut posted there is no cut and dried apples to apples comparision of one hunters skill vs another's and that is not what this sport is about anyways. Every serious Turkey hunter I know could care less how he stacks up against another hunter. He wants to see how he stacks up against a gobbler. That being said I feel that anytime a Tom is consistently responding to calls and is on accessible ground he is killable. Doesn't mean its gonna be easy or that it is going to happen but the opportunity is there. It's just a matter of using the right strategy to make it happen. For me that's calling and positioning and sometimes I get it right and sometimes I get it very wrong. I have always said that finding a workable Tom is half the game and killing him is the other half. Good luck and dont be scared to experiment a little and find out what works and doesn't work for you. That's the best way to learn anyhow.

Quote from: Happy on May 30, 2019, 05:15:08 PM
I think there was nothing wrong with your question and am surprised by the some of the responses and lack of responses. (If that makes sense. I dont see it as a means of bragging to share some info. As gobblenut posted there is no cut and dried apples to apples comparision of one hunters skill vs another's and that is not what this sport is about anyways. Every serious Turkey hunter I know could care less how he stacks up against another hunter. He wants to see how he stacks up against a gobbler. That being said I feel that anytime a Tom is consistently responding to calls and is on accessible ground he is killable. Doesn't mean its gonna be easy or that it is going to happen but the opportunity is there. It's just a matter of using the right strategy to make it happen. For me that's calling and positioning and sometimes I get it right and sometimes I get it very wrong. I have always said that finding a workable Tom is half the game and killing him is the other half. Good luck and dont be scared to experiment a little and find out what works and doesn't work for you. That's the best way to learn anyhow.

Good Stuff. Thank You!

I think I do really well but I wouldn't wanna hazard an actual guess at the numbers.

Last year I killed four and missed one (I still can't figure what happened on the missed bird and think about it more than I should, even now.)

I believe that, numerically, I do fairly well. I know I shouldn't think like this, but if he answers me more than once I automatically think, "Dead Bird."

*I am deeply Blessed though, and get to Turkey hunt every single day of Turkey season every year on very good private land. So it has allowed me to hunt in one season more than many guys get to in several years.

This has really meant I can afford to hunt them with a really aggressive style and to take risks that guys with less time to hunt probably wouldn't dream of trying.

I don't have any idea how this style of hunting would serve me on Public land.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Many variables affect your success rate once you get a gobble. Number 1, IMO, is hunting pressure/"humanization". Example: many years ago I had the privilege of hunting turkeys that had never been hunted before on a very large Indian reservation. The Counsel decided to start having a turkey season and I was fortunate enough to be there the first year. Now...perhaps a resident on the reservation may have popped one from his pickup window occasionally, but they never heard a turkey call nor were hunted. Well...opening morning I never heard so much gobbling in my life...nor ever expect to again. Nonstop gobbling everywhere. When I set up and made a call I literally had gobblers running toward me. Stevie Wonder could have killed as many as he wanted with Ray Charles as his guide.

Quote from: Turkeyman on January 11, 2020, 01:24:22 PM
Many variables affect your success rate once you get a gobble. Number 1, IMO, is hunting pressure/"humanization". Example: many years ago I had the privilege of hunting turkeys that had never been hunted before on a very large Indian reservation. The Counsel decided to start having a turkey season and I was fortunate enough to be there the first year. Now...perhaps a resident on the reservation may have popped one from his pickup window occasionally, but they never heard a turkey call nor were hunted. Well...opening morning I never heard so much gobbling in my life...nor ever expect to again. Nonstop gobbling everywhere. When I set up and made a call I literally had gobblers running toward me. Stevie Wonder could have killed as many as he wanted with Ray Charles as his guide.

Been there,...done that!  Exact same results.  To expand on it a bit, the reservation has a much-harder-hunted national forest right next to it and, overall, the birds are considerably more difficult to hunt there even though it is the same population of turkeys.  Hunting pressure is everything.

I think a lot of it has to do with how that gobbler falls within the pecking order of the birds ... hen mood also .. I've seen hens on someday's that just didn't care about the gobbler and continue on with their day ...  You will sometimes just get that courtesy gobble , it could 1 - 3 gobbles from that bird off in a distant ... I guess with time and experience you learn to feel out what that bird is telling you in what he wants .. but that's why it called turkey hunting , someday's you just get your butt whipped and then the day comes were your successful ... It's like i could do nothing wrong ..

With the OP in mind,
My kill rate/call to 50yd or under, doesn't seem to have much to do with how they gobble or even how much they answer. I've had them gobble once and then show up. I've had them answering me every time and not. I've had them circle me just out of sight. I've had them gobble the first time at 60yd or less, looking for me when I've been cold calling. And yes I've had them come in hot too. These are all public ground birds, and as such a lot has to do with how much they've been messed with, and how different you approach your calling and setup from the "normal". I feel like most of the battle is a good setup but sometimes I've used calling to make up for a not great setup. I kill one bird last year that I had to call from 300yd or so, as he was on private and I was on public. I had to get pretty sassy with him to get him to start answering and he took is time coming in. Once he was moving I just gave him a few clucks here and there. It was good fun!

I've always said that once you get a responsive gobble...not just a courtesy gobble...he's half dead. Now it's up to you to perform the second half. With experience you'll know the difference.

A lot of factors here but, as some have already said, where you're hunting can make a big difference in a number of ways...  1) Pressured birds vs. un-pressured 2) Rio's can be easier than Easterns (yes, there's exceptions to every rule before anyone needs to argue that point) 3) the actual terrain you're hunting... for example, if I'm hunting area's with less brush and terrain obstacles , it's easier to get a good shot on a bird and actually finish the deal.

At the end of the day, if you're not finishing birds, it could be your set up or your calling (knowing when to call, when to shut up, when to change what type of call you're using, or maybe just raking leaves etc.) or other factors.  The better turkey killer's I know are all really good at knowing when, where, and how to set up... They're the guys who have less stories about "well, he was 20 yds away but I couldn't get a shot"...not 100% preventable but the better hunters find themselves in situations like this less than your average hunter. Or the "he hung up on a creeK" again, not 100% preventable in all cases but the better hunters have this happen less because they usually set up better before the creek becomes a problem.... There's a ton of scenarios but, long story short, if you're a decent caller (you don't have to be great) but improve how you set up on birds, you're percentages will go up.....

Unless you're the guy that kills 99% regardless of where he hunts...I'm not talking about that guy :jackson:

Over the years, I'm pretty consistently in the 25% range. A few of the properties I hunt are small with quite a bit of hunting pressure (and idiots) surrounding it. The turkeys hear a lot of poor and alarming quality calling, so they are sort of conditioned to be even more cautious than normal.

There's also a gobbler at one of the horse farms who has used me (and everybody else for that matter) for the past two years running.  The woods there are pretty open and the bottom he travels through is in a bowl shape, so he's expecting to see the hen he hears.  He answers back with fury, though he only gets so close to me.  Maybe it will be my turn this year.  It's a chess match, but I love it and live for every chance I get to play.

I suspect my numbers would go up some if I could get out ahead of them farther, like I used to, but it is what it is.  I found a vantage point on a new piece of land that may pay dividends this year, though it's within 150 yards of a back property boundary that also gets hunted. Who knows?  It's a long way from any access points, which probably works in my favor.

Jim

Quote from: redleg06 on January 29, 2020, 12:01:36 AM
There's a ton of scenarios but, long story short, if you're a decent caller (you don't have to be great) but improve how you set up on birds, you're percentages will go up.....

Fact is, you don't even have to be a decent caller.  As you say, you just have to be in the right spot and make sounds that the gobbler wants to hear.  Those sounds can be something totally different than what we think they should be. 

Personally, I hunt with a number of friends (as well as take out the occasional newbie) that are not that serious about turkey hunting and who haven't gone out of their way to learn to be great callers.  They are adequate, and pretty much know what to say to a gobbler most of the time, but some of the folks I hunt with pretty much suck at calling.  My approach with everybody is that, if I go hunting with them, I want them to call to 1) get them "hooked" and 2) so I can evaluate their calling and give them suggestions for improving.

Over the years, I can't tell you how many times I have sat next to a friend calling to a gobbler and said to myself,..."There's no way that gobbler is going to come to that calling",...only to have the bird come marching right in.  ...And I am not talking about barnyard "pet" birds here folks.  I have seen gobblers on some high-pressured public land in various parts of the country come to calling I never in my wildest dreams thought they would.

Having said that, make no mistake, everybody should try to be the best caller they can.  However, from what I've seen, anybody that thinks gobblers will come only to great calling are pretty much sadly mistaken.  An adequate caller (or sometimes even a bad one) that knows where he should be calling from will kill as many or more gobblers than the great caller that doesn't. 

...But, as you say,..."there are a ton of scenarios"....

Gobblenut...what I advocate is, on a scale from 1 to 5, a 3 caller with a 5 woodmanship and turkey knowledge will kill far more birds than a 5 caller with a 3 woodmanship and turkey knowledge.

Only speaking for what I've encountered and follows what most will say.
Every bird is different as well as every day, location is a key and knowing when or when not to call not call helps.
But will say if I can get them to answer it's game on from then on....... even if I don't pull the trigger it's still what makes me think about Gobblers and spring 365 days a year.
Remember it's not always tagging out! But the playing the game .....
Just my 2c.
When the heart's racing and every sound is magnified shooting the bird is just the icing on the cake!.

Quote from: Turkeyman on February 14, 2020, 05:21:31 PM
Gobblenut...what I advocate is, on a scale from 1 to 5, a 3 caller with a 5 woodmanship and turkey knowledge will kill far more birds than a 5 caller with a 3 woodmanship and turkey knowledge.

Agree wholeheartedly, Turkeyman.  I do admire great turkey callers and their abilities, but calling in itself is not the end-all for being a successful turkey hunter. 

Quote from: steveo on February 14, 2020, 05:54:38 PM
But will say if I can get them to answer it's game on from then on....... even if I don't pull the trigger it's still what makes me think about Gobblers and spring 365 days a year.
Remember it's not always tagging out! But the playing the game .....

Well put, Steveo.  Getting that response and the anticipation of what will happen afterward is the essence of spring gobbler hunting,...whether or not we end up walking out of the woods with a gobbler over our shoulder.  On the other hand, it is really a great feeling when we do end up winning the game!  I think all of us wants (and needs) that feeling once in a while!

I agree that great calling is an asset, but woodsmanship is an ace. Heck just watch some of the TV shows and listen to some of the sounds you hear from those dudes, yet they kill birds. I swear I could shove a call up my butt and fart better than some of the sounds I hear on TV shows. Some days my wife would even volunteer to shove the call up my butt, practice or trying out new calls is on permanent ban in my house, this ban was imposed after the millionth call.  :funnyturkey:

I have 100% success rate on those that gobble within 20 yards and flop over when the 20 roars ..

Quote from: Yoder409 on May 22, 2019, 08:46:44 PM
Too many variables to answer that question.  Mostly it depends on the ignorance level of the birds that particular year.

Agree 100%
Hunted w/ an old timer that used to tell me,
"Turkey hunting is easy. You just gotta find one that wants to die"

We each need to define success.....if I get him to fire up and work I have had some degree of success. I truly consider every day I get to engage birds as a successful day, but my goal is to harvest a gobbler. Here in is the caveat: if we define success solely as killing in fact we are guaranteeing a loosing season. The best record we can have is to kill a limit on the same number of birds (IE two bird limit, set up on two and kill both) and if we do that we are done in the shortest possible time and with the least possible encounters. I have done this many times and those are usually long disappointing seasons for me. I end up setting back and wondering what others are doing and maybe getting to go with another person a few times. It's not the kill as much as the hunt for me anymore. When I was young and full of lust I liked scoring and bragging about my prowess, but as an old man I truly enjoy a good solid relationship and conversation. Don't get me wrong I still like some action, but it's part of the whole relationship. There are stages to a hunter's life, early it's Kill Kill Kill, then it's skill skill skill, then it's  learning, skill, engaging your quarry with/without a kill and finally it's just enjoying the hunt and your relationship with nature. Your goal is always to harvest your quarry, but it matters more how you get there as you mature.

Spot on, eggshell.  Agree entirely on every point made.

  "Turkey hunting is easy. You just gotta find one that wants to die"
....Also right on the money, Brwndg! 

                            Great post eggshell, I agree with everything you said as well.

  You really nailed it eggshell.

  I'll add that I personally feel blessed to be able to hunt in a couple different states each year and when at home I get to hunt nearly every day of the season. Not only do I get to spend plenty of time chasing gobblers....it's often on ground that's high on gobblers and pretty low on hunters. Add a 2 bird limit and I find myself passing up shots a few times each year for one reason/excuse or another, when the reality is that years ago....I would have "smoked" that bird immediately without hesitation.

  As I've gotten older it seems like a couple filled tags, a few passed shots and at least 1 unfilled tag in my pocket on the last day of the season is how I measure success!

I think if you get that second gobble, you are a lot better off than getting an initial shock gobble...and for those who say calling isn't a big deal, I know of a lot of birds I've killed that came from little tricks and nuances ive learned and gotten pretty good at such as gobbling on a diaphragm with jake yelps, whines and purrs when they are in tight, using multiple calls at once to imitate multiple birds etc...yes set up is probably #1 but to say calling isn't that important is a stretch...

I'd say 25% would be accurate.

Eggshell,

Great post you nailed exactly how I feel

Quote from: Bamaslayer757 on March 03, 2020, 10:56:02 PM
.yes set up is probably #1 but to say calling isn't that important is a stretch...

First off, I agree that everybody should be as proficient as they can in their calling ability.  I also agree that there are times that calling will be the difference between success and failure in any given hunt. 

On the other hand, as one who hunts with several (and sometimes quite a few)  guys that are average callers (and some not even that), year after year I personally witness those guys calling in and killing gobblers with some surprising level of consistency.  These are not decoy-spread or ambush type hunters either.  They are guys that hunt big woods turkeys and go out and find and call public land birds in some reasonably heavily-hunted areas.

Because of the above, I have personally concluded that gobblers in the right frame of mind will often come to what many of us "seasoned and serious" turkey hunters would call "inferior" turkey calling.  As I have stated many times before, turkeys are the ones that decide what calling they are going to go to,...not necessarily us hunters.   

As somewhat of an addendum to the above, on a scale of 1 to 5, a hunter with the calling ability of "3"  but the "turkey woodsmanship" of "5" will end up with more birds bagged than the other way around.

Quote from: Turkeyman on April 18, 2020, 04:20:30 PM
As somewhat of an addendum to the above, on a scale of 1 to 5, a hunter with the calling ability of "3"  but the "turkey woodsmanship" of "5" will end up with more birds bagged than the other way around.

Yup,...totally agree.  The best thing to do is to become a "5" at both.  ...Still working on both myself! :)

Do two 2 1/2's count as a five?