Like the title asks, what's your turkey hunting tradition?
We have two, one by choice, one by fate
1) Crank up Walt Gabbards "Turkey Time" in the truck on opening morning. Gets me fired up every year
2) End up helping a drunk. We've helped a young lady that flipped her car at 3am as well as a middle aged woman who fell over a curb at midday.
On the second turkey hunt of my life I was headed to my pickup, tired and dejected. Out of nowhere a pillieated woodpecker sounded off and was answered by throghty gobble. With renewed energy I crawled and clipped my way through vines and briers to the little field he was in and an hour later I killed my first tom. Now even though I've never had a bird answer it I carry a pillieated woodpecker call on every hunt.
Lately it's been trying to get the wife up, ready and able to sit in the blind for more than an hour without acting like a 4 year old that didn't get that lollypop and is way past her bead time.
Quote from: mightyjoeyoung on February 27, 2018, 04:39:32 PM
Lately it's been trying to get the wife up, ready and able to sit in the blind for more than an hour without acting like a 4 year old that didn't get that lollypop and is way past her bead time.
That is hysterical and my life. Except it is my 24 year old daughter. She says I am not allowed to talk to her until 8am.
Yea, missing them! Grrrrr
Only have two traditions. One is when me and pedro(that's my son and main trigger man) head out I have two sugar free red bulls on ice for the morning drive. The other is once I get away from the truck and am surrounded by the stillness I take a knee and thank the good Lord I get to do it again.
In my vest, I carry a stone spearpoint that I found during a turkey hunt about 25 years ago, just to remind myself how hard it could be to hunt turkeys and what it means to be the supreme predator. It dates from between 7,500 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. according to all the archaeological journals I researched.
Jim
Quote from: g8rvet on February 27, 2018, 04:53:49 PM
Quote from: mightyjoeyoung on February 27, 2018, 04:39:32 PM
Lately it's been trying to get the wife up, ready and able to sit in the blind for more than an hour without acting like a 4 year old that didn't get that lollypop and is way past her bead time.
That is hysterical and my life. Except it is my 24 year old daughter. She says I am not allowed to talk to her until 8am.
They talk a good game too don't they?! Lol. Then, when they don't go to bed until midnight or after and you've WARNED them that 0330 comes fast... I still get grief even while she's putting on eye shadow in the truck on the way to the woods. Thank god for energy drinks!!
Until a very few years ago, I always played my Ben Rogers Lee tape on the way to camp. After my youngest son started hunting as an adult, we decided enough was enough. Ben had gotten a little old. That was a 30+ year tradition.
For about 10 years we always drove out to Mount Olivet for fried chicken during Opening Week. That ended abruptly when the broasted chicken joint closed.
Probably the one tradition I still keep is making sure I drive to Falmouth for lunch at least once during Opening Week with the windows down, playing Keith Jarrett's Koln concert. It dates back to when I still had Barney, the Wonder-Dog. During one trip to town back in 2002, I discovered Barney had learned "left" from "right" and I could yell "Cows to the left!" and Barney would jump to the back window on the driver's side and bark. He knew horses from cows as well. Horses got a plaintive whine. Cows made him angry. Dog's been dead for over a decade, but those were the happiest trips I ever had. If the weather is warm and the sun is just right, I can still feel him in the back seat.
I as thinking I did not have a tradition until Happy reminded me.
I say my favorite sportsman's verse from the Bible in prayer.
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Makes the hunt the focus for me instead of the kill.
I still use a caller, exclusively.
I have a hunting buddy that always plucks a feather and sticks it in a fork or rough bark of the nearest tree when he kills.
Cut n run - Very cool, I picked up the best point I ever found, while on a turkey hunt.....gives you chills thinking about the prehistoric hunters who used the same ground.
Yes I have a tradition most days..........get frustrated!
But on all days......I'm thankful for the time in the woods with EVERYTHING that goes along with it.
I always pull a feather when I kill a gob and stick it in my hat. Also if I am fortunate enough to get my 3 bird limit I always pluck the 3rd gob and deep fry him on July 4th.
If I am lucky enough to harvest a Tom I thank God for him
And my son and I always listen to T.k. and Mike 'so
Turkey Hunting 101 we love that.
Never found an arrowhead while hunting but at least a few times a season I go down to the farm after hunting and walk for arrowheads. I've been doing that for several years now. Always remind me someone way before me, killed critters to survive and did it with a lot less than I have.
Since my boys have been old enough for the youth hunt I usually have all the stuff in my vest ready to go. Before that I never got any of my stuff ready till the night before, that includes buying my license. Now I have my vest ready to go but usually pop up out of bed in the middle of the night realizing that I need a new license.
I always say a prayer before I get out of truck and thank the good Lord for His Creation and for me the opportunity to hunt them. If I'm successful I always give another prayer of thanks and pluck 1 feather for my late father.
Quote from: Nidanation on March 05, 2018, 09:34:28 PM
I always say a prayer before I get out of truck and thank the good Lord for His Creation and for me the opportunity to hunt them. If I'm successful I always give another prayer of thanks and pluck 1 feather for my late father.
I forgot to add that one - I do a prayer as well. Thankful for creation and the opportunity to interact with it, safety and the time with hunting buddies.
Yeah, tradition alright. Straight out of the truck into the woods with da TP.
Lots of times when my best friend and I get together to hunt, we bring along the cooking gear & fixings for a bacon & egg breakfast with oatmeal, juice, and coffee. Several times we have doubled on Opening Day and it is more like a victory feast.
Jim
I have only one tradition thats pretty special to me. Every time I or a friend thats with me kills. I take the shell and put it on the nearest sapling or tree so it will stay there for awhile. Was taught to me by the man who taught me to turkey hunt. We call it a "turkey tombstone"
Mine is going with my Dad for 4-6 day hunt either the first or second week of the season. He just turned 72 but still loves to kill turkeys, he just can't get around like he used to while hunting, but he still manages to kill at least a couple of birds a year.
We made a 24 hour drive out to TX a couple of years back and it was a rough trip for him with the drive and the very rocky and hilly terrain, but he still hunted every morning and one evening and killed 2 big Rios.
I have found that my one tradition over the years has been to scream "F...ing turkeys" at least once or twice on every hunt. ;D :toothy12: :toothy9:
I cut my son out of school the day before to make the couple hour drive and set up 2 or 3 blinds. After that we try to find my brother working on his farm and see if he has time to go fishing on his farm pond. After that we eat,visit,and then get up early for the morning hunt. Good times!!
I take a shot of wild turkey bourbon from the shotgun shell I used to kill the bird. It's pretty rough on those early morning kills!
i try and eat crawfish every Saturday of the season!
We always get up to camp on the Thursday before the Saturday opener in Pennsylvania and watch the NFL draft each year. Then we scout all day Friday
I keep my spent shell in my vest of the bird i killed the previous year. On the first day i look at the shell and remember what the hunt from the previous year was like. It reminds me what i have to do to get it done.
I throw the previous years shell away before opening day.
I have a couple that go way back. I always rotate shells after an unsuccessful day. Another tradition that my Dad started me on when I was a kid, is to take a breast feather from the first turkey I kill with each gun and put it under the butt pad of the gun. All my turkey guns I've ever had has a feather under the butt pad. A couple go back over 50 years. Every now and then I'll start feeling nostalgic and I'll take take the butt off one of the guns and look at and hold the feather. Pretty neat to see a feather that goes back to my childhood.
The best tradition I have come across I learned a couple of years ago hunting with in South Florida. They (hunter(s) and guide) toast the kill of a gobbler with a Wild Turkey 101 "shooter" (small airplane bottle). The lodge is adorned with 101 bottles exemplifying their level of success. Therefore, Dad and I have continued with that tradition.
Quote from: Gobspur on March 07, 2018, 04:39:14 PM
Yeah, tradition alright. Straight out of the truck into the woods with da TP.
I call that the "good luck poop..." Probably due to the infusion of coffee, and being way ahead of schedule to get it done at home....
My yearly tradition is to carefully organize my hunting vest for the season the night before... I am not known for being "organized," but going through the vest and putting everything in it for the season helps to "get me in the mood," as well as having everything in my vest in a logical spot, easily replaced, making it less likely for me to loose or forget things.
The last two years, I have taken one of my children with me on the opener, and I hope to continue this tradition as well...
When I call a bird in for someone I carry it out of the woods for them, my mentor used to do it for me and tell me to just "soak up the moment" so when I take someone I do the same.
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On a person's first bird I usually tell them to pack it out on their own. I want them to have their own time to let it all soak in. I still sit and relax for a bit with every tom I kill and appreciate what he gave me.
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 13, 2018, 08:46:20 PM
When I call a bird in for someone I carry it out of the woods for them, my mentor used to do it for me and tell me to just "soak up the moment" so when I take someone I do the same.
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