I was listening to the Cuz Strickland podcast with Mark Prudhomme and he asked this question. " If you had to kill a turkey and your life depended on it, and you had to chose between daylight to noon, or noon to dark. What are you choosing?." I thought it was great and I figured I'd ask y'all what you think. For me personally, I'm choosing daylight to noon.
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Daylight till noon, my favorite hours are 7:30-9:00 am.....my witching hours.....
Quote from: Tom007 on February 03, 2023, 12:32:53 PM
Daylight till noon, my favorite hours are 7:30-9:00 am.....my witching hours.....
I'm right there with you. I've killed a couple that came in right off the roost, and a couple in the afternoon, but 90% of them are from 7:30 to around 9:30.
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Early season,noon to dark. Late season daylight to noon.
daylight to noon
Daylight to noon after that I'm napping.
Well since I can't hunt past 1:00 I'm choosing daylight til noon. Since I get my butt handed to me in that time frame I have to assume I would knock em' in the dirt the second half lol. It can't be worse than the first half hahaha. I love the gobbling on the roost. Is definitely pick the first half just to hear the gobbling.
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Our spring season is till noon. So I would chose that. That said I have taken most 10-12. Good day.
To Cuz's point "if my life depended on it," rather than my personal preference, you will find me in the roost area come evening and fly up time.
I agree with Cuz, noon till dark. For simple reasons. There is more time from noon on in the spring and once it's dark I can hide better if someone is going to kill me. That is also a vague question. Since there were no conditions or parameters I would also be packing a .243 or a drilling and I'd probably have some bait out. I'd pick a field with known turkey activity and the first bird out would die, Jake, Hen or gobbler. Heck I might even set one of gobblenut's trotlines. If my life is on the line it's no holds barred Katy....
You really need to be specific in these scenarios LOL.
Quote from: eggshell on February 03, 2023, 01:47:59 PM
I agree with Cuz, noon till dark. For simple reasons. There is more time from noon on in the spring and once it's dark I can hide better if someone is going to kill me. That is also a vague question. Since there were no conditions or parameters I would also be packing a .243 or a drilling and I'd probably have some bait out. I'd pick a field with known turkey activity and the first bird out would die, Jake, Hen or gobbler. Heck I might even set one of gobblenut's trotlines. If my life is on the line it's no holds barred Katy....
You really need to be specific in these scenarios LOL.
I won't criticize you for that! When your life depends on it throw the rule book out the window! LOL
Early season I would say morning. Late season I would say evening. But if my life depended on it I'd probably be dead anyway as bad of a turkey hunter as I am so it wouldn't matter.
Noting eggshell's strategy and explanation, I will concur and add that I would also be applying for a spot in the nearest witness protection program as added insurance. ;D
Now, if I was to be serious for a moment, although that is not my natural state of being, I would definitely go with the morning program (and maybe fudge beyond that noon cut-off if needed). I have reached the point over my many decades of turkey hunting that I rarely have the energy or desire to expend much effort to kill a gobbler in the afternoon, although I have done so "as was necessary".
However, if it was a "kill or be killed" imperative, I probably would adjust my increasingly lackadaisical attitude a might. In addition, one can always fall back on that Jimmy Buffett/Alan Jackson song "it's always morning somewhere",...or was that "five o'clock"?... :angel9: ;D
can't hunt evenings where I live so the choice is easy for me. daylight till noon
I had better do it from daylight till noon or I am going to jail.
From daylight until dark.
Actually, the proposed scenario is pretty easy for me to relate to. More than once, after spending weeks without dropping the hammer on a bird, it has become worse than a simple matter of life or death!
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I'm taking daylight to noon, and I plan on getting to the Waffle House before lunch.
I'm from Virginia so I'm more used to daylight to noon. It takes some getting used to for me in the afternoon.
Most of my out of state kills tho, have been noon to dark.
Quote from: paboxcall on February 03, 2023, 01:18:24 PM
To Cuz's point "if my life depended on it," rather than my personal preference, you will find me in the roost area come evening and fly up time.
This, exactly.
Noon to dark. If you get one to gobble after lunch it's game on!
Noon to dark for sure.
The vast majority of my birds have been in the first 2 hours of the day. That said my ratio of birds killed:worked is better later in the day,just havent found that many willing participants later on.
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Daylight until dark for sure.
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Daylight til noo
Ok, 'll return to the serious side now. I still would pick noon until dark and for the same reason, more time. As much as I hate that style of hunting, I would be camped out for hours on a good looking spot. I assume we are hunting a known area. I know many areas where all you have to do is sit and wait and sooner or later they'll be there. I'd just be hoping that was this day. I have never hunted this way and never intend to, but if my life was depended on it I'd do it. I doubt I'd even call unless I had to steer a bird. I call it deer stand hunting and I know people who do it and then let everyone know how great a turkey hunter they are. Take them out of their ambush honey hole and they are dead ducks. I ain't one of those guys...
After noon
If my life depended on it...no question, it would be noon til dark
From daylight until dark.— this right here!!
Mornings for sure but Rios can be a great afternoon hunt.
I've killed a lot of afternoon birds in my day , but I've noticed with thinner turkey densities evening hunts are less eventful . Regardless of how many I've killed in the evening I wouldn't trade it for morning hunt if my life depended on it.
Daylight to noon and I'd kill him mid to late morning.
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Quote from: dzsmith on February 03, 2023, 10:38:02 PM
I've killed a lot of afternoon birds in my day , but I've noticed with thinner turkey densities evening hunts are less eventful . Regardless of how many I've killed in the evening I wouldn't trade it for morning hunt if my life depended on it.
This is pretty much my perspective, as well. Sitting in the woods at daybreak, listening as things come to life, and anticipating that first gobble are all part of spring gobbler hunting that are indispensable components to me. As my screen name suggests, spring hunting is all about the gobble for me,...and regardless of where I have hunted, the amount of gobbling that I hear in those first few hours of daylight is usually many multiples of what I will hear later in the day or afternoon.
I may not kill a turkey in the morning, but I usually get an earful of one of the things that attracted me to spring turkey hunting to begin with. It's all about The Gobble...and the anticipation of what is to come after i hear it. :icon_thumright:
I didn't hear a weapons restriction in there, therefore early morning on a hill overlooking a reclaim strip job with a .50 cal.
I'll agree with what was said above that with fewer birds afternoon hunts have been less productive.
Quote from: Neill_Prater on February 03, 2023, 03:23:39 PM
Actually, the proposed scenario is pretty easy for me to relate to. More than once, after spending weeks without dropping the hammer on a bird, it has become worse than a simple matter of life or death!
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That is a real life situation right there. Truer words. :fud:
Daylight to noon
I'm bored this morning so I will stir the pot more.
Are we talking strictly spring season? If fall is part of this then definitely afternoon comes more into play, especially late afternoon.
Another question, How confident are you that on any given day you can kill a turkey if given the challenge?
I know that on most of my turkeys hunts, in my senior years, my game is not 100% max effort. I do not concern myself with killing a bird on any given trip. I want to be around birds and work them, but will not put 100% into them if hunting is tough. I usually give myself the first week before I get totally serious. Still it has been 20+ years since it took me more than 5 days to fill at least one tag and usually both, at home. Too many seasons I went out all commando and filled my tags the first two days and then wishing I could hunt more. Old age cured that.
In Mississippi, daylight to 11am. In the midwest, 1pm till 7pm. Midwest birds are very henned up after flydown in my experience over the years.
Quote from: eggshell on February 04, 2023, 09:11:37 AM
I'm bored this morning so I will stir the pot more.
Are we talking strictly spring season? If fall is part of this then definitely afternoon comes more into play, especially late afternoon.
Another question, How confident are you that on any given day you can kill a turkey if given the challenge?
I know that on most of my turkeys hunts, in my senior years, my game is not 100% max effort. I do not concern myself with killing a bird on any given trip. I want to be around birds and work them, but will not put 100% into them if hunting is tough. I usually give myself the first week before I get totally serious. Still it has been 20+ years since it took me more than 5 days to fill at least one tag and usually both, at home. Too many seasons I went out all commando and filled my tags the first two days and then wishing I could hunt more. Old age cured that.
Strictly spring season, and I agree, since 2006 I have filled both of my tags in the first 2 days, at the latest 3 days with the exception of 2020 and last season. I still hit it hard, but generally now a days, the first part of the season is spent trying to get my dad on a bird, my best friend on a bird, and letting the kids (all 5 and under) tag along. I'm about 90% confident that I can be dropped anywhere with turkeys and have one on the ground in a couple days, if I'm hunting solo.
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Daylight til noon. But I've also struck gobblers from 3pm-5pm before that have now been alone for a bit. The ones that are struck in that time normally come in on a string.
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For Osceolas, I've probably killed birds equally in the AM and PM since all day hunting was allowed. I prefer the AM because there is nothing like that feeling of the sun rising and hearing the owls or crows fire that first gobble. After flydown, I've had more birds gobble between 1 and 530 because of being henned up after flydown.
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Early in my turkey hunting and for many years, I would have definitely said 12:00-5:00 in the afternoon would be my choice, but in recent years I have come to prefer getting it done in the morning when the chips are down. I tend to kill most of my birds between 9-11.
Daylight to Noon, I'd be scouting the noon to dark hours for the next morning :icon_thumright:
MK M GOBL
90% of the time I only hunt until 9am then get to work ... but if we are saying my life depended on it ?
I'm roosting one then going in with a q beam light and shooting him off roost .
Daylight to noon most places, but over the years I hunted/guided in Nebraska I would say 11am-5pm!
I am with Howie g if my life were on the line!