Most common overlooked mistakes

[Sir-diealot]

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First one I ever called in was gobbling hot and heavy all the way in from at least three hundred yards away, he went silent and even though I knew I should not do it I looked over my left shoulder behind me which is where he was coming from. Bye bye turkey.

[mcw3734]

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A lot of hunters are afraid of the turkeys.   Not physically, but mentally.   Afraid to move, call, walk away etc.   They tilt the odds in the turkeys favor as soon as they step out of the truck by thinking they’re probably not going to kill one today.

THIS! I'm mentoring a buddy who is new to hunting. While I've called in his first kill last year, and this year he's called birds close-ish, he just got so down when he's not hearing them. He's only confident hunting solo on that specific piece of ground where I called birds in for him the year before, even though there are turkeys on all parcels we hunt. I agree that mistakes on your setup is probably the most common, but the mental game is a close second.

[guesswho]

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Another thing I’ve noticed with new and even some experienced hunters is time.   A lot of hunters think if you haven’t killed one within the first hour after sunrise your odds go to almost zero.   When in fact your still very much in the game and many times in a better position to kill one.

[ChesterCopperpot]

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Another thing I’ve noticed with new and even some experienced hunters is time.   A lot of hunters think if you haven’t killed one within the first hour after sunrise your odds go to almost zero.   When in fact your still very much in the game and many times in a better position to kill one.

Yeah, I love that mid to late morning, especially once the hens are starting to go to nest. I'd much rather one fire up at 10am when they've left the old boy lonesome than try to coax one hammering on the limb away from hens he can see.

[Happy]

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My biggest piece of advice is don't quit. I have always said it's never over until you give up. Hunt as long as is legal and you have time to. I dont know how many times it goes from dead silence to a dead gobbler in a span of minutes. Things can and sometimes will change quickly, be there to take advantage of it.

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[GobbleNut]

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Another thing I’ve noticed with new and even some experienced hunters is time.   A lot of hunters think if you haven’t killed one within the first hour after sunrise your odds go to almost zero.   When in fact your still very much in the game and many times in a better position to kill one.

All of the points made in this thread are on target.  When all is said and done (and with all other factors being equal),...that is, hunters knowing the basics of how to hunt and call turkeys, the time element is THE most critical element.  This applies not only to Ronnie's point above, but also to the amount of time dedicated to being in the woods day after day. 

Consistently successful turkey hunters are the ones that stick with it and dedicate the time needed to eventually put themselves in the right set of circumstances to kill a gobbler.  I would bet everybody here know those guys that are reasonably competent turkey hunters that end up not killing a gobbler just because they don't dedicate the time and effort needed (the private-land, honey-hole hunters being the possible exception). 

The very first thing I tell new hunters that are thinking about getting into spring gobbler hunting is "go big,..or go home", so to speak.  That is, if you want to be consistently successful at this, you better plan on dedicating some serious time and effort to it.  If you just want to "weekend warrior" it a couple of times a season, save yourself the frustration,...and take up golf.   

[Turkeytider]

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Another thing I’ve noticed with new and even some experienced hunters is time.   A lot of hunters think if you haven’t killed one within the first hour after sunrise your odds go to almost zero.   When in fact your still very much in the game and many times in a better position to kill one.

We probably all know guys who can spend 4-5 hours at least in a deer stand but get absolutely fidgety if they they`ve not called in a bird within 45 minutes. There is hard evidence ( Dr. Mike Chamberlain ) using gps on turkeys and hunters that birds " remember" locations of hunters (hens) following conversations. They will return, sometimes hours later, to an EXACT spot where they heard a " hen " hours before. Staying put worked for me this season. Bird returned after about an hour and a half after getting dumped by his hens, I think. PATIENCE will kill turkeys. Besides, I`ve always felt I`d probably scare off more birds than I`d be successful with by running around through the woods!!

[guesswho]

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My biggest piece of advice is don't quit. I have always said it's never over until you give up. Hunt as long as is legal and you have time to. I dont know how many times it goes from dead silence to a dead gobbler in a span of minutes. Things can and sometimes will change quickly, be there to take advantage of it.

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Yep, I was always told it can go from horse turds to rose buds In a minute.   Or visa-versa.

[Tom007]

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Great thread. This advice helps all of us for sure. My input is hunt slow, deliberate, and with the upmost confidence that a gobbler is close by. When I am “trolling” for Tom’s, I try and walk real slow, pausing every 50 yards or so. The one thing I learned that each time you stop to call and listen, make sure you have a great tree, blowdown, or sufficient backdrop to set up against. Too many times, a gobbler can sound-off within 70 yards, and you are caught trying to hide against a 3 inch sapling, with the sun in your eyes. Another thing I learned that has helped me is sometimes I will purr, or cluck as I walk through the woods. Adds realism that a hen is on the move. We can easily overlook the fact that a windy day shuts them down. This is not true, yes, their movement may be more limited, but they are out there ready to come to a hen. Louder calling may be needed to fire them up, but windy days can be rewarding. Hides our movements too. Great thread, keep these great thoughts coming....

[ChesterCopperpot]

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The one thing I learned that each time you stop to call and listen, make sure you have a great tree, blowdown, or sufficient backdrop to set up against. Too many times, a gobbler can sound-off within 70 yards, and you are caught trying to hide against a 3 inch sapling, with the sun in your eyes.

I learn this and relearn it EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. The way I put it is never call unless you're prepared to setup. What inevitably happens though is on a really slow morning, or a really slow morning at the end of a really slow week, you just start calling and have zero expectation of hearing an answer. Then BAM! He's right there and coming and you're standing there like a scarecrow. I've had it happen a hundred times and every year I still wind up making that mistake once or twice. I guess I'm a slow learner 

[Tom007]

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Amen my friend, we all had that big Tom catch us with our pants down.....Just when you think it is dead, BOOM, he sounds off 50 yards away.....Gives us the chills. That’s why we love it....be well.....

[Delmar ODonnell]

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For beginners, I feel like there is 2 general mistakes, both on opposite ends of the spectrum. The first is to sit down and call at the first sound of the gobble that could be 300 yards away and a turkey that has no interest whatsoever of coming that far or to that location. The other being the hunter who rushes in the direction gobble without knowing where that turkey is, and inevitably bumps it. I feel beginners hunt the sound rather than the bird making it. You can read and watch all the tips you want, but pinpointing a gobbler, and maneuvering to a setup that might work takes experience in the woods.

Fidgeting and moving at the wrong time is also a big one. The biggest mistake any hunter, regardless of experience, can make is giving up too early. IMO persistence kills more turkeys than anything else. You're learning as you persevere through the slow days, and even those who may lack experience or the skills that come with it can luck into the right bird if they keep pushing.

[arrow1]

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A turkey hunting mentor of mine told me early on. "A man loses a lot of sleep hunting turkey birds". The longer I've been hunting them the more it rings true. 1) You should be spending more time scouting to find birds long before you hunt them and know where they want to be and why and carefully insert yourself in their comfort zone.2) Yes it sucks to get up long before the sun rises but there is a lot to be learned in those hours.3) Hunt all the legal hours you are allowed (In NY you can only hunt till 12pm. This season killed one at 10:30am and one at 11:35am and those days both early mornings were boring as if there weren't any gobblers around but scouting prepared me to remain patient). I have hunted in Texas where I flew there in the morning and hunted the first afternoon and tagged a bird at 3pm
4) Patience kills a lot of turkeys. Turkeys are on "turkey time" not your time. Many amateur hunters figure if the gobbler doesn't run over the top of them after a series of yelps they're not coming. It's often 1-4 hours later he comes sneaking in silent and if you packed up and went elsewhere you'd never know.  I began to kill turkeys consistently when I realized many times if he gobbles and knows my location with a heavy dose of patience I will have an opportunity.

[turkeyfool]

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I don't know if I would call these overlooked or not, but here are 3 that immediately come to mind as common mistakes. As someone who has been hunting turkeys hard now for 4 years, these are 3 things I needed to focus on cleaning up in the first few years. I wouldn't even say I didn't make all of these mistakes this year, but I was aware of them and had a pretty decent year.

1. Pick the right tree. Be able to make a quick decision, but also realize that unless he is sprinting or flying your way, you have more time than you think.

2. Tying into #1, you have more time than you think. So aside from just picking the right tree, you may have him hammering and respond to calling, only to have him slipping in 5-10 mins later silently. Sometimes they come in hot and heavy. Sometimes they take longer than you think. Every time I think about getting up and moving after he goes silent, I tell myself wait 5 more mins.

3. Woodsmanship kills more turkeys than calling

[paboxcall]

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If you don't know the ground, they'll beat you every time.