Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

By the way.  If you vote #4, be prepared to catch a lot of grief.

My personal hunting style is whatever the birds are demanding that day.  Sometimes a little of the first 2.

I agree with Bob. If they don't want to come in, it might be time to re-think what you are doing, and move in on him.

I choose run and gun thats what i do most but i like to sit down and callem and then i like to bushwhackem to.

I consider myself kinda of a throwback old fashioned type hunter.  I don't run & gun to much.  I will run & gun when absolutely neccesary, but more times than not I'll sit and call.  There's definately a time and a place for each type of hunt!

bushwacking and roosting are about as bad.
I run and gun if I hear one and sit and call if I can't.
run and gun has been most effective for me.

Really not a run and gunner, or a sit in one spot guy, so I'll say a slow version of 1 and 2.

Quote from: paladin on February 06, 2011, 05:51:07 PM
bushwacking and roosting are about as bad.
I run and gun if I hear one and sit and call if I can't.
run and gun has been most effective for me.

Explain that please. My opinion bushwacking and roosting is not the same.Bushwacking is a technigue used in the fall.Roost shooting is illegal where im at.

I sit and call most of the time,but aint scared to go get one if I have too

Quote from: OLE RASPY on February 06, 2011, 08:01:26 PM

Quote from: paladin on February 06, 2011, 05:51:07 PM
bushwhacking and roosting are about as bad.
I run and gun if I hear one and sit and call if I can't.
run and gun has been most effective for me.

Explain that please. My opinion bushwhacking and roosting is not the same.Bushwac king is a technique used in the fall.Roost shooting is illegal where I'm at.

To me bushwhacking is when I get out in front of an uncooperative bird/get to where he is going first and lay it too him. For me this is perfectly acceptable and you really have to know the land to do this effectively. Fall birds or spring birds I say have at it. Where I hunt in the mountains this is a good way to kill a henned up gobbler.Also nothing wrong with setting up on a funnel like a logging road and holding tight till something comes along. That's just what I thought it was and I use these techniques often.

Generaly I wait till mourning and find one gobbleing and go as far as I can then try to call him in, or if that don't happen, I'll sit someplace and call for awhile.

Quote from: Kylongspur88 on February 06, 2011, 08:29:28 PM

Quote from: OLE RASPY on February 06, 2011, 08:01:26 PM

Quote from: paladin on February 06, 2011, 05:51:07 PM
bushwhacking and roosting are about as bad.
I run and gun if I hear one and sit and call if I can't.
run and gun has been most effective for me.

Explain that please. My opinion bushwhacking and roosting is not the same.Bushwac king is a technique used in the fall.Roost shooting is illegal where I'm at.

To me bushwhacking is when I get out in front of an uncooperative bird/get to where he is going first and lay it too him. For me this is perfectly acceptable and you really have to know the land to do this effectively. Fall birds or spring birds I say have at it. Where I hunt in the mountains this is a good way to kill a henned up gobbler.Also nothing wrong with setting up on a funnel like a logging road and holding tight till something comes along. That's just what I thought it was and I use these techniques often.

Exactly spring or fall but i do it mostly in the fall as sometimes calling dont work so  i try to get in front of the bird if at all possible and if i know where hes headed i wait on him. :icon_thumright:

With Easterns it's a mix depending on the day.  I'll cover ground if I need to but I spend plenty of time staking out spots.

With Merriams on the prairie it's a faster trolling pace for sure just to cover the ground it takes to strike a bird. Hearing one at a distance and chasing and moving on em when they'll let me is a fun way to hunt. Then again, sometimes you move around and find one, and he'll come a quarter of a mile to you

With Rios in Texas it's  a mix as well. If it's a new tract, I move and troll. Once I become familiar with an area and bird movement, I slow down and stake out an area

Definitely more aggressive with the latter two sub species and more conservative with my home birds

Quote from: CASH on February 06, 2011, 05:41:21 PM
By the way.  If you vote #4, be prepared to catch a lot of grief.

My personal hunting style is whatever the birds are demanding that day.  Sometimes a little of the first 2.

Yeah, number 4 is pretty bad.  I mean, why would you wait for them to get off the roost???  They might go the other way, better to just get 'em while they are still in the tree.   ;D

Quote from: maustypsu on February 06, 2011, 09:36:27 PM

Quote from: CASH on February 06, 2011, 05:41:21 PM
By the way.  If you vote #4, be prepared to catch a lot of grief.

My personal hunting style is whatever the birds are demanding that day.  Sometimes a little of the first 2.

Yeah, number 4 is pretty bad.  I mean, why would you wait for them to get off the roost???  They might go the other way, better to just get 'em while they are still in the tree.   ;D

:TooFunny:

Generally where I hunt, running and gunning leads to getting busted, because of a lack of cover. A lot of times I'm moving before flydown to get into a better position in regard to where they are roosted. I prefer running and gunning, but patience gets you the birds.

I voted for 1 and 2.  Usually its a combo depending on the birds that day or how spooked they are.  I don't see the problem with bushwhacking though and use that method sometimes.  Not trying to compare deer and turkey hunting but bushwhacking is how most people hunt deer. 

i voted 1 and 2 also..... :jackson:

1 and 2 for me!, not a big fan of bushwhacking, not saying that I wont do it I just feel like Im cheating???

I voted 1 and 2, although there seems to be some variation on what is considered "run and gun".  I have bushwacked em, I've heard it refered to as bobcatting, and while it isn't as fun, I sure never felt like I was cheating.  Somehow slithering on my belly a couple hundred yards through mud and weeds while taking my chances with the snakes doesn't seem like cheating.  Some of you have this false sense of taking the morally higher ground by promising a tom a little "action" and then introducing him to the business end of a 12 ga.  Do you really think he thinks that is fair?  I'd bet he'd opt for his chances with the sneak attack. ;D

I would compare roost shooting to spotlighting deer.

My favorite is early mornin fly down, but I do a lot of runnin and gunnin

1 and 2 is the only way to fly  :newmascot:

Quote from: hobbes on February 07, 2011, 03:22:15 PM
I voted 1 and 2, although there seems to be some variation on what is considered "run and gun".  I have bushwacked em, I've heard it refered to as bobcatting, and while it isn't as fun, I sure never felt like I was cheating.  Somehow slithering on my belly a couple hundred yards through mud and weeds while taking my chances with the snakes doesn't seem like cheating.  Some of you have this false sense of taking the morally higher ground by promising a tom a little "action" and then introducing him to the business end of a 12 ga.  Do you really think he thinks that is fair?  I'd bet he'd opt for his chances with the sneak attack. ;D

I would compare roost shooting to spotlighting deer.

Exactly hobbes u hit it right.u know how to explain stuff well better than me but i can tell it in person.

I voted #4.....

now before everybody gets their panties in a wad, let me clarify something.....

I DO NOT KILL TURKEYS WHILE THEIR FEET ARE ON THE LIMB

however, 75% of the turkeys I kill are on the initial set-up off the roost.

when we don't kill 'em right off the tree, we typically bounce around with crow calls every 200-300 yards in areas turkeys like to try and strike gobblers.

Quote from: OLE RASPY on February 07, 2011, 04:57:27 PM

Quote from: hobbes on February 07, 2011, 03:22:15 PM
I voted 1 and 2, although there seems to be some variation on what is considered "run and gun".  I have bushwacked em, I've heard it refered to as bobcatting, and while it isn't as fun, I sure never felt like I was cheating.  Somehow slithering on my belly a couple hundred yards through mud and weeds while taking my chances with the snakes doesn't seem like cheating.  Some of you have this false sense of taking the morally higher ground by promising a tom a little "action" and then introducing him to the business end of a 12 ga.  Do you really think he thinks that is fair?  I'd bet he'd opt for his chances with the sneak attack. ;D

I would compare roost shooting to spotlighting deer.

Exactly hobbes u hit it right.u know how to explain stuff well better than me but i can tell it in person.

x2

Quote from: CASH on February 06, 2011, 05:41:21 PM
By the way.  If you vote #4, be prepared to catch a lot of grief.

My personal hunting style is whatever the birds are demanding that day.  Sometimes a little of the first 2.

Spot on... :fud:

A little of 1,2, and 3. What ever it takes legally.

I run and gun for turkeys and GIRLS.

I'm an aggressive turkey hunter most of the time...if I am by myself. I'm a little more slow when I'm with someone else.  If you have great woodsman skills and know how and when to move then a lot of times you can kill birds a lot quicker then the average joe.  You have to let the gobbler dictate what YOU do however.   

My "favorite" style is run'n'gun. I will sit and wait them out if I have to, or if the piece of land I'm hunting on is small. I just like to go out and make things happen if possible.

My favorite style is when the odds are against me. Expecially when there are several sets of eyes looking for that sexy hen.  That could be any situation.  Oh, except before flydown.

Quote from: guesswho on February 06, 2011, 06:15:23 PM
Really not a run and gunner, or a sit in one spot guy, so I'll say a slow version of 1 and 2.

Same here.  If I was on a out of state hunt though and limited on time I would no doubt run and gun.  I dont do that here though cause I know where the turkeys are and am fortunate enough to be able to hunt a lot.  I treat it like deer hunting in a way.  You're not going to keep walking around an area and spreading your scent and bumping the deer if you know they are there are ya?  Same thing with turkeys.  I know they are there so I'm not going to start walking around and calling trying to get one going.  Been a lot of days I've never even got a call out.  Theres always tomorrow and the less they know they are being hunted the better off I am

Mostly set around fields that thy come in. But if hear one gobbling I'll go to him..

I've bushwacked a few but I voted #1 and #2.  One of these is usually how I fill a tag.

I run and gun a little more than I should.  I am going to try to slow down a bit this year.  Kinda screwed myself a few times last year.

I didnt read all the other replies....


- If I know the area a little bit and have a good idea of the turkey's patterns then I might be inclined to sit and call for a while, even if I dont hear anything.

-If its a new area and I havent been able to scout much beforehand, I'm probably going to be doing alot more walking until I strike one up or run across a promising looking spot with some good turkey sign.

limb lifting is harder than you think :groupwave: :smiley-char092:

Quote from: redleg06 on February 10, 2011, 10:06:15 PM
I didnt read all the other replies....


- If I know the area a little bit and have a good idea of the turkey's patterns then I might be inclined to sit and call for a while, even if I dont hear anything.

-If its a new area and I havent been able to scout much beforehand, I'm probably going to be doing alot more walking until I strike one up or run across a promising looking spot with some good turkey sign.

x2, It also depends on the size of the property I'm hunting.

Quote from: OLE RASPY on February 06, 2011, 05:46:16 PM
I choose run and gun thats what i do most but i like to sit down and callem and then i like to bushwhackem to.

I'm like you OLE RASPY I do whatever it takes. If they won't come to me I go to them. That's why it's called turkey hunting!

I voted for 1,2, & 3  it depends on what it takes to kill the bird.  If you think about it run and gun and bushwacking are close to the same. When I run and gun I will sneak around, up, over or through what I need to in order to get a better position on the bird. Bushwacking can show knowledge of the birds and how they use the land. I use it late in the season. My love is run and gun.

i run and gun more than anything. especially in mid morning

Sittin inside the Double Bull with the decoys out. I used to be a runner/gunner but my success rate dramatically increased when I started bowhunting and learned some patience.

sent from my Evo using Tapatalk

I guess I would be a bushwhacker or sit in my blind and call more than anything still trying to learn and I just don't fill I could run and gun yet and I hunt more state land so safety is number one on my mind. 

Quote from: guesswho on February 06, 2011, 06:15:23 PM
Really not a run and gunner, or a sit in one spot guy, so I'll say a slow version of 1 and 2.

Yelp

Run and Gun for me.

Mostly run and gun but will spend time working one as long as he seems interested. I won't leave one gobbling if I can help it. I would rather bump one than leave one gobbling.

I will do whatever needed to get the ole longbeard, run and gun, call them in, spot and stalk, except shoot him off the roost.

Quote from: Jay on February 06, 2011, 10:47:26 PM
Generally where I hunt, running and gunning leads to getting busted, because of a lack of cover. A lot of times I'm moving before flydown to get into a better position in regard to where they are roosted. I prefer running and gunning, but patience gets you the birds.

Yep...most of the places I hunt are small farms with 80+% fields, so running and gunning is not an option.

Overall where I hunt, its a mix of Run and Gun and Sit and Call em in. Early morning we try to locate, if there's a response, depending on where the bird is, say 150-200 yards away, ill sit and call. Over 250, Im moving in a little. Most of the time there close because we hunt in the thick woods and usually you cant hear them farther than 250. If there's no response when we try to locate the bird, then we will sit and call for a little while.\

Kevin

Quote from: OLE RASPY on February 06, 2011, 05:46:16 PM
I choose run and gun thats what i do most but i like to sit down and callem and then i like to bushwhackem to.

:agreed:

I would say I am a sit and call guy, but if i hear a bird gobbling 4 hillsides away, i'll definitly chase him.

i like to run and gun but depending on how things go i'll sit and call. i also like to sit and call in the afternoons

I sit first thing in the morning. If I/we haven't connected and everything is cleared out, it's time to make things happen. Either a new sitting set up or run and gun.

I very seldom roost birds, but from scouting I know the areas they are suppose to be in. So I'll go to one of the areas before daylight and listen. If I don't hear a gobble I'll start running and gunning cover as much territory as fast as I can. Knowing that right after daylight is prime time for gobbling.

If I get on a gobbling bird and it won't come in and is with hens I'll come back to that area about 10:30 or 11:00 setup and call for about one hr. Lots of times they will come back after the hens slip away from them looking for that hen they heard earlier.

If I don't do any good running and gunning I'll set up in a spot I know gobblers use and call for about an hr and move on and do it again till quitting time..1:00.