Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

   I have always thought about this in past Springs. I see more of it now. It is getting more common on Public Lands to see Hunting " Groups" of 3 and sometimes 4 Men.
   Very common  in the Public Parking areas to see 2 Trucks pull in and 4 Total Turkey Hunters get out. They all walk in together as a Unit. Or less often - it is 3 Men with 3 Mountain  Bikes and they all Bike in together at 4am-- leaving me in " the dust" after they bike in and zoom past me at the 1/4 mile mark.  3 Flashlights bobbing this way + that + coming in quick from the parking area.
    I am thinking that be it 3 Men or 4-- 1 or 2 Huge Fields will have the Men set up in different  corners and facing the same way.
   It is possible.  What do Y'All think?-- Positive  Thread here to pass the time .
             GOOD LUCK OUT THERE ALL.

 When I go with friends we sit together and have who shoots worked out prior, just like waterfowl. If we split up,we know not to shoot in that direction.

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We always discuss prior to going in:
I've killed a bird but you haven't then your up but I'm in the game if I have a tag and something goes wrong for you.
There are  times we both have tags and when we sit to the turkey we'll pick a tree out in front and your side of the tree is yours and mine is mine...interesting stories come from this.
Other times we're just riding together and once we leave the truck we're hunting solo for the day. This requires like-minded approaches are you hunting til 8-9 then go find breakfast come back at 11 guy or are you leaving the truck in the dark and won't be back until you get one or the sun goes down.
Like minded Turkey hunting buddies are very rare in my experience.

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I've hunted with 2-4 in a group for years. So many times when I hunted by myself I've had some amazing hunts and no one to share it with. Not into filming.

It's much more fun to me. Especially if your taking someone for their first bird. Everyone enjoys it, and many times the designated shooter can't get the shot. Others will have different angle's.

Many many good memories are made. Lots of good campfire stories years later.

Up to this point I have never hunted with more than one person and when I hunt with another person then they have always been the primary shooter. If I am out to kill a turkey then I typically always go alone. As I matter of fact I have shot exactly 3 turkeys in the presence of another hunter. And two of those were because they got around on the intended shooter.

I occasionally hunt with two other people together.   I'm always low man on the Shootem pole by choice.   Most times I don't even have a gun.   I'm there to record any possible mishaps like spooking birds, missing, forgetting something etc.   I don't want such actions to happen and never be spoken about again.   I will bring them up multiple times in the future at appropriate times, or inappropriate.   Some events are nameworthy, we will give that spot a name like, Five-O, Double Tap Hill, Coyote Mound, 54, Plot Watcher etc ;D

Or it mostly that mostly are scared of getting lost alone in the woods.  I have seen a lot of those.

   Silvestris  has one answer I overlooked. Alot of people fear walking into the Dark Woods alone even with a Flashlight. No one wants to get lost and that noise you hear in my Favorite Area-- Wetlands- is probably  a Coon and not Bigfoot coming to check you out since they are rumored  to be Nocturnal- lol.
  I grew up on a Deadend road at the end and was always in the Dark Woods alone- used to it.
   Good positive answers above.

When hunting with more than myself, it is generally known who will be the caller and who will be the shooter.  Like to have it worked out ahead of time.  The caller is generally behind the shooter, but in sight.  If the bird gets by the shooter or skirts, then sometimes it is the caller that shoots. I can only think of one time that happened, but always ready if the caller still has a bird to shoot. I like hunting together as a nice change of pace, but really enjoy solo hunts.  Once someone I am mentoring has achieved status, they can call for themselves. Son did it at about 16, daughter has still not.  If she is with me, I am calling and she is shooting - period! 

I Do! I have shot more than my share of Iowa turkeys and no one has ever seen me kill a bird because I always hunt by myself. Never any question as to who gets to shoot.

I've had the 3 man crew a few times - myself, a buddy or my Dad, and the new guy we were bringing out with us. We all get to go turkey hunting, and one guy calls while the other guy brings a gun for a follow-up shot in case the bird is winged by the inexperienced guy or more than one Tom comes in.

I always shoot.

Have you ever  heard of, "I am 3rd"?   ;) I usually hunt with one other... or alone.

I used to get passed by bicycles in NY all the time,

Then I got a red pickup truck and that fixed that problem

Every person added to the hunt just exponentially raises the difficulty of finding an appropriate set up in most run and gun situations. Sometimes by myself I question where to sit when he hammers the call unexpectedly, and when hunting with other people have found retreating a little to a better set up might be a better option than forcing a set up right where you heard him.

As others have mentioned though, the stories and memories from partner hunts is incredible and often better than the solo memories and why I continue to do so much partner/group hunting. As far as the question at hand, whoever's up to bat gets the shot, it's like a batting order in a baseball, just go down the line and circle back around. Sometimes the guy on deck has a gun with him in case the guy at the plate swings and misses.

Early in the season when everybody has a tag, I generally encourage everybody in our hunting party to hunt alone, unless they just would rather hunt with a partner or two.  There are generally a lot more options in terms of available gobblers to hunt and the number of uneducated, gullible birds is much higher than later in the season.  To maximize the chances of everybody getting to test their skills and calling ability, and perhaps tag a gobbler, I always try to get folks to go it alone initially. 

After those initial few days, one or more of us will have killed a bird and, in addition, there will be fewer options both in terms of numbers of gobblers, as well as gobblers that have not been totally scared out of their wits on the public lands we hunt.  As such, we are more likely to hunt together and hit those places that are more isolated and/or overlooked by the masses.  In those situations, shooting order is based on who has killed gobbles already and who has not. 

However, none of us really cares who pulls the trigger when we hunt together.  If a gobbler gets around the designated shooter or otherwise only presents a viable opportunity to one of the other guys, there is an unwritten rule that if a gobbler is about to get away and somebody has the shot, take it. 

We also have no "I am the only caller" rules either.  Everybody I hunt with has enough experience at this to understand how to blend-in together to present the illusion of multiple hens interacting with each other,...and that illusion has been the undoing of many a gobbler.  Now, admittedly, there are times when one of us calls and I say to myself..."You probably shouldn't have said that to him at this particular moment", but hey, it's all good when you are out with your buddies!  In addition, there have been plenty of times where I mentally made that comment to myself only to see the gobbler come marching right in when I thought they would be high-tailing it away.   :D ;D

99.99% of everything related to hunting or my hobbies is by myself. On the rare occasion i do go with somebody , im either tagged out already, and even if im not, im probably going with them for their benefit ,not mine. Its rare but if i go with somebody, they are probably gonna be the shooter. my son isnt old enough to hunt yet. as a child i hunted with my dad, and usually if i still make a paired hunt its probably with him once or twice a season. ive witnessed many things that i wish i could have shared with a friend or family in the woods.....but lets face it. this is a one man game , humans complicate everything. one of the reasons i turkey hunt is to get away from people......in this day and age are you really even battling a turkey anymore or other hunters, because thats sure what it feels like sometimes

My shooting days are over for the most part until I'm no longer cool to hunt with.  My 10 yr old does most of the killing unless a gobbler comes in on his weak side.  I generally cover his weak side since since I'm the opposite hand as him.  Had to shoot a few over the past years that didn't read the script.  I try and wait till he's about to booger before I do tho.  Ain't gonna watch em walk away!   He is generally ok with it.  He has actually told me "kill him daddy! I can't".
I'm ok with not being the shooter tho.  Much more gratification when my lil buddy gets a bird. I would rather him kill one than me 5! 


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Kenny Morgan said it best long ago..it's a one man's game..Two people are ok but never any more..Even when it's two people one gun is enough


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I hunt with others fairly often. Almost always I am calling and they are shooting. Once in a blue moon I will be hunting with my brother and dad or my brother and cousin. Have killed a lot of birds with my brother and dad. We did kill one on some bama public land a couple years ago with my cousin and I laying face down on the ground and my brother set up and shooting after a bird gave us one of those "oh crap" gobbles and came marching in. Have pulled off a few doubles in the past couple years when I went to call for someone else and multiple birds ended up coming in. I don't mind hunting with others but definitely prefer to hunt alone. I have one buddy who I really thought I was going to turn in to a turkey hunter but now he just wants me to call him in a bird on opening day and then he never hunts again. I don't hunt with him much these days


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I have no idea, I don't have any friends, at least not when it comes to turkeys ;D

You're assuming guys riding past in the dark are hunting sorta together? You can't know that. Personally if I'm with anyone the guy shooting first is not me unless it's a video camera. Nothing better than calling one for a kid, vet, newbie, someone disabled, etc than watching them shoot. This Covid thing put a kink in that I hope is passed

Last year me and a buddy was about to leave when we had two come in.  I was 45 angle off to the side of him.  He kept asking if I was ready and I was getting to get my gun in my hand from the tree it was rested on.  I almost had it and he finally shot.  Of course he missed. I grabbed my gun and never could get on one before they made it out of there.  I just turned and looked at him.  That's why I like hunting alone


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I hunt with my sons. I scout, haul in a blind, set up the decoys, buy the breakfast sandwiches, do the calling and they shoot then I clean. Am I getting the short end of the stick? maybe, but I feel like I learn a lot more when I'm not shooting and just focusing on the rest. I also get to spend quality time with my sons, get them into hunting and always have an excuse to tell them to be quiet if they start complaining.

If I am hunting with others we discuss a plan at the truck,   usually split the area we are hunting in half.   But hat hasn't always worked.   Last year a nice tom came in with a Jake,  tom was on my side but I wanted my buddy to shoot it and he finally shot a bird,   unfortunately it was the jake and the Tom got away.   I was aiming at the jake and planned on shooting at the report.   The Tom as bigger than what he had gotten in the past.   

I have never hunted with anyone but myself, and never will...so not an issue.

That said, I have taken my grandson on a few occasions and told him...I'll never shoot a bird over you...but if you F up I'll kill him. Hasn't been a problem...he's killed.

Quote from: Turkeyman on February 14, 2022, 04:58:36 PM
I have never hunted with anyone but myself, and never will...so not an issue.

That said, I have taken my grandson on a few occasions and told him...I'll never shoot a bird over you...but if you F up I'll kill him. Hasn't been a problem...he's killed.

Sounds like a fun guy  :smiley-char092: :smiley-char092: