Confessions of a no killing 4th season turkey hunter. Suggestions welcome.

[Dazzler]

4th season chasing and calling.  No kills.  Several encounters.

Looking for something that might lead to a truck ride for my feathered friends.  Each year I try.  Each year I learn something.  Each year I eat chicken instead of turkey.

Previous seasons I've had two gobblers sneak up on me to where I couldn't swing and shoot before they busted me. 
I've rolled one, but when I went to retrieve he was gone.  Is that why the youtubers run through the woods after the shot?
I've had several jakes that I've passed.  A few walked by at 10yds.  My one and only try at sitting on a field edge a gobbler peaked down at me, but stayed at 60yds and wouldn't come in.  Lesson learned that they want to see a hen when they get that close in the open (I think). 

This year's lesson so far is that if you think your gobbler is in the middle of you and a hen (no matter how little she talks) you need to call more.  I recently watched a Dale's Outdoor video which is about the only turkey channel I watch on the regular.  He was talking about how to be patient and make the gobbler come looking for you.  I tried that, but I think he was lured away by a hen that I heard cluck a few times.  I made a move to try and swing around his location, but the wind picked up and he shut up.

I don't have a mentor or a buddy I can get to hunt with me, so I'm hunting solo in N. AL.  I stick to the woods mostly cause fields are few and far between. 

Turkey hunting is much more enjoyable to me than deer hunting.  Mostly because even without a dead bird, I do not lose interest or get itchy trigger finger on the small ones.  I'm not sure if that means I have more respect for the bird than I do the deer, but it is definitely a different mindset for me while hunting them.

Sorry for being long winded.  I guess at the end of the day, I'm seeking wisdom on what I'm missing to get that turkey in the truck.  If the answer is to keep at it and enjoy the hunt, then I'm fine with that because hearing that gobble is what's fun.  Hell, I talked with a hen last week and had just as much fun.

[Lone Star Eastern]

I'm a fairly new hunter, as well, so I don't have much to offer you, but I'm following the thread in hope to gain more knowledge. They're definitely more intriguing than anything else I've ever hunted. It's more than just something to do in the spring. I hunt multiple animals in the fall, and I spent most of that time wishing it was springtime.

I will suggest, The Turkey Hunter Podcast is something I've been listing to over the last year since catching the fever, and I feel like I've picked up a lot of info from that. Broaden your media, if you can. Podcast and YouTube are free sources of info, and books are great too.

Stick with it!!! Nothing you've described is true failure, unless you let it be. Learn from your mistakes, and you'll be the wise one offering advice before long.


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[357MAGNOLE]

I'll give you some tips I have learned the hard way over the past 8 years since I started hunting turkey.

- Hunt like you are being hunted while walking through the woods. They have better eyesight and hearing than you, so if you are on the move you need to move slowly and stop frequently to observe your surroundings.
- Move very slowly around corners.
- When you are ready to get up and move, give it 15 more minutes.
- When you do get up, do it really slowly and look all around you as you do it.
- Start calling softly and then progressively get louder, you never know when a bird might be right around the corner and you don't want to be too loud.
- Get situated before hitting the call, you do not want to be scrambling when a bird hammers back 50 yards away
- Less is more when calling. 

All of those above have gotten me screwed on at least one occasion. Some more.

[guesswho]

Not a lot of advice from.   Just have fun, which it sounds like you're doing.   A couple simple things to remember that may help.  Don't be afraid of the gobbler, what I mean is don't be afraid to try something new, a slight move in location may be all it takes on a particular hunt.   Also remember all calling is not done with a turkey call.   When walking to another spot don't worry about making noise, just try to make it sound like noise made by a turkey.   Slow walking, and stopping to kick a few leaves back can be better than yelping, cutting purring etc. combined.   And pay attention to other critters. Squirrels, birds and other critters can sometimes tip you off to a turkeys location

[davisd9]

The hardest to kill is the first. Just remember it is the experience and not the kill. Some of the best memories are the one that got away. Seems you are enjoying it and your time will come. I did not kill my first until my 3rd year and my first longbeard, second turkey, was my 5th year. It will come, you are in birds so it is just the stars aligning and you connecting the dots. You are learning more now than having automatic success. Good luck!

[g8rvet]

I took to the game as an adult.  I had a steep learning curve and would like a do over with some of those early birds I encountered.  Had to learn to balance aggression and patience.  It is always good to look at every encounter and don't think "What did I do wrong?" but think "What could I do differently?"  You have to make so many choices every hunt and all it takes is the wrong one and you don't kill a bird.  I did a lot more reading in those days, but most of what helped was talking to folks and trying to put a little bit of everything I heard and read.  No one has it all figured out and most every person on here says something that will help. 

The single piece of advice I have given the hunters that are now asking me (and I am still asking too) is on private land - be more patient in your approach if you know he will be there another day.  On public, try to get in tighter on those good gobbling days.

Most of all, keep enjoying the ride and when you get that first one you did all on your own, I can't even describe what you are gonna feel.   

[Paulmyr]

One of the biggest mistakes I made  as a beginning turkey hunter was giving up on a gobbler to soon. I'd have to take my shoes off to count the number of times I sat down to a gobbling turkey and called with no response and he went silent. Only to have him gobble in the exact location in just vacated 20 mins prior because I thought he left the area or he was call shy.

Which leads me to another point. Have confidence in your calling ability and what you are about to say to that gobbler. If you don't it won't sound right.

[Zobo]

when you get that first one you did all on your own, I can't even describe what you are gonna feel.   

This is absolute truth. It was long ago but honestly one of the best days of my life! So stick with it. One thing I would suggest is trying different areas if you can. Are you hearing gobbling where you're hunting? You know a big part of turkey hunting is being where the birds are. In fishing they say 90% of the fish are holding in 10% of the ground. You're seeing some birds but is there a high concentration? Are you getting out extremely early, or scouting at dusk with your ears listening for birds?

[silvestris]

Dazzler, I am a big believer in brainwaves.  They discern your thoughts, so be careful that you do not think any thoughts that the gobbler may be frightened by.

[Marc]

Lots of advice to give a beginner...

I grew up bird hunting, but never even considered turkey hunting till an adult...  I was self-taught...  Hunted 2 properties back then that were absolutely thick with turkeys (just shy of hunting a turkey farm), and still took me a whole season to kill one...

After your statement of rolling a bird, you shot low...  YOU MUST HAVE A HEAD SHOT.  Pattern your gun.  Tight chokes and small(er) shot sizes.  I use a full-choke with some older original Hevi-Shot #6's...  Were I to shoot lead, I would tighten up that choke a bit.

Shoot some paper and see what your pattern looks like.  Shoot some turkey patterns and figure out where your hold point should be (mine is where the neck meets the feathers, as with most turkey shotguns).

When moving through the woods:  Stay off of ridges; avoid walking in open areas, do not call in areas you can see a long ways (or can be seen).

Many times less is more with calling.  The more you call, the more he expects the hen to come to him.

As Paulmyr states...  The number of times I have called at a bird, and finally moved on, only to hear him gobble where I was just parked...  Is actually a bit embarrassing.   Nothing wrong with relaxing, taking in some nature, and being patient sometimes.

If I hear a hen and a gobbler...  I will always address the hen.  If I can pizz off a dominant hen to come over, there is a huge chance that a tom will follow.  You ain't gonna' pull a tom off a hen, but if you can pull that hen, the tom will come.

We all have our little tricks that work (sometimes).  But starting as an adult, before I figured out what "to do," I learned a lot more about "what not to do."

And...  Bird I am to this day most proud of to this day, is the first turkey I killed, which was a jake.

[Lone Star Eastern]

Lots of advice to give a beginner...

I grew up bird hunting, but never even considered turkey hunting till an adult...  I was self-taught...  Hunted 2 properties back then that were absolutely thick with turkeys (just shy of hunting a turkey farm), and still took me a whole season to kill one...

After your statement of rolling a bird, you shot low...  YOU MUST HAVE A HEAD SHOT.  Pattern your gun.  Tight chokes and small(er) shot sizes.  I use a full-choke with some older original Hevi-Shot #6's...  Were I to shoot lead, I would tighten up that choke a bit.

Shoot some paper and see what your pattern looks like.  Shoot some turkey patterns and figure out where your hold point should be (mine is where the neck meets the feathers, as with most turkey shotguns).

When moving through the woods:  Stay off of ridges; avoid walking in open areas, do not call in areas you can see a long ways (or can be seen).

Many times less is more with calling.  The more you call, the more he expects the hen to come to him.

As Paulmyr states...  The number of times I have called at a bird, and finally moved on, only to hear him gobble where I was just parked...  Is actually a bit embarrassing.   Nothing wrong with relaxing, taking in some nature, and being patient sometimes.

If I hear a hen and a gobbler...  I will always address the hen.  If I can pizz off a dominant hen to come over, there is a huge chance that a tom will follow.  You ain't gonna' pull a tom off a hen, but if you can pull that hen, the tom will come.

We all have our little tricks that work (sometimes).  But starting as an adult, before I figured out what "to do," I learned a lot more about "what not to do."

And...  Bird I am to this day most proud of to this day, is the first turkey I killed, which was a jake.

How to you call at the hen, but not the gobbler. Are you just listing for her to talk about and argue with you?


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[ChesterCopperpot]

How to you call at the hen, but not the gobbler. Are you just listing for her to talk about and argue with you?

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The dominant hen will almost always get vocal if another "hen" starts talking loudly. Challenge her. She yelps, cut her off. She cuts, cut over her. She's used to her word being the final say so, and when that's challenged on occasion she'll come search out that mouthy hen to set her straight. If you can get that to happen that gobbler will almost always be in tow. Also had it where you piss her off and she gets loud but just pulls him off someplace else. That's always frustrating. Can happen either way, but if he's actively with that hen that's about the only shot you've got anyhow is to try your best to pull her in because he's not leaving her side.


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[Lone Star Eastern]

Good to know!


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[ChesterCopperpot]

Good to know!


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If you're not real confident in your calling or what call to do when, just match her note for note. She yelps loud five times, you yelp loud five times. She cuts ten notes, you cut ten notes. One, you'll learn quick how it should sound. Two, that I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I mirroring is often exactly what will piss her off enough to come.


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[g8rvet]

Did exactly this last Wednesday.  She was so pizzed after it was over I told my bro that was with me that if I had heard a turkey hunter calling as loudly and as aggressively as this hen was calling, I would tell him he was an idjit.  I did a three note tree yelp and she went nuts, and then I just kept it up right back, often over top of her.  All this was on the limb!  She flew right into our laps (like 7 yards) and proceeded to put on a calling show - yelps, cutts, purrs, you name it.  Just knew a gobbler was gonna pitch down or show up with her.  No dice.  Was about as much fun as you can have without a BOOOOOMMMM.