I'm curious. For those of you that hunt other states, what is the average number of days you spend in each state. Thanks
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I don't get a lot of days to hunt due to work and family commitments.
Usually 3-4 days in Oklahoma and 2-3 in Texas. Almost exclusively private land.
Great question!
Prefacing by stating that most all of my hunting is on public land, I generally plan on giving any new location I am going to hunt three mornings minimum. I also try to have alternatives in terms of other locations or other states to hunt in case the chosen location either turns out to be a bust, or if I am quickly successful. In addition to those three days hunting, I also like to get in a full day of scouting prior to hunting if possible, assuming I am hitting the location at the start of the season.
If I am fortunate enough to hit a place when it is "right", I figure I can kill a gobbler within three days (assuming I can shoot straight, which most recently has been a problem ;D ).
On the other hand, I am pretty quick to move on to another spot if a location is not "right". By "right", I mean that there are at least some gobblers that are vocal (I will readily admit that I am not into hunting silent gobblers). Other reasons that will make me move on may be because there just are not enough birds there, or there are too many other hunters around for my liking. All in all, even though I have on rare occasions stayed longer in a single location, three days of hunting in one spot seems to be about right for me.
Did 8 days in Fl last year. But usually it's less. Four or five if I still have a tag left.
Somewhere between 2 and 5...........depending on how suicidal the birds are being.
I expect to kill a bird in a few days with good conditions, poor conditions and it takes what it takes, I normally try not to have a time limit and have trouble leaving until I can close the deal!
After several seasons of just mowing birds down the last two have had some humbling experiences for sure!
Sometimes they come easy sometimes not, I will take however they come!
3-5 days
3-5 days as well
All depends on the action I am having. If the gobbling is good, I stay till I tag em.
If I'm flying a week, driving 3-4 day. Need to travel more, thats for sure.
Actually hunting? 3 to 5 days on average.
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Approx, 5 days. Like to throw in some fishing/golfing in those states that you can only hunt till 1. Maybe when I retire, I'll do less time and more states:)
5ish. It depends on my home state. My wife and kids are priority 1 at home. Z
If it's a planned trip usually 3-5
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Last season, 4 or 5 days.
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Depends on how many tags that state offers for me. I would say every year some states are 1 day others I give 10+ days.
3 to 5. Don't want more than one bird in any State or trip especially if I'm flying. The older I get the more selective I've become.
1-3 days (the amount of time so far it has taken me to get one in each state).. I catch myself in a rush to move on to the next state.. In two years, I've killed in 10 states and I have only hung around for a second bird in two of them.. I am going to do my best to slow down in 2023..
However long it takes for me and traveling buddy to each kill one. We usually avg about 3-4days. The last two years have been tough though either with weather, bird numbers and/or hunting pressure.
I hunted one state this past year 4 days in 3 different parts of the state and heard one bird gobble one time. There was sign everywhere I went just no gobbling.
Quote from: BBR12 on August 24, 2022, 12:44:11 PM
However long it takes for me and traveling buddy to each kill one. We usually avg about 3-4days. The last two years have been tough though either with weather, bird numbers and/or hunting pressure.
I hunted one state this past year 4 days in 3 different parts of the state and heard one bird gobble one time. There was sign everywhere I went just no gobbling.
Timing is a huge part of being a traveling hunter on getting there when birds are just right. I will bypass states that I know they aren't playing at that time for states that they are just right.
Quote from: Hook hanger on August 24, 2022, 07:18:13 PM
Quote from: BBR12 on August 24, 2022, 12:44:11 PM
However long it takes for me and traveling buddy to each kill one. We usually avg about 3-4days. The last two years have been tough though either with weather, bird numbers and/or hunting pressure.
I hunted one state this past year 4 days in 3 different parts of the state and heard one bird gobble one time. There was sign everywhere I went just no gobbling.
Timing is a huge part of being a traveling hunter on getting there when birds are just right. I will bypass states that I know they aren't playing at that time for states that they are just right.
So how do you determine turkeys are not "playing" in a whole entire state.
I'm not sure how others approach determining the length of time they will stay in a location, but for me it is entirely about finding turkeys that are willing to respond to calling. If I am not finding responsive gobblers in a location, I just keep expanding the search area until I do. If I haven't found what I'm looking for in three days of searching, I am moving on.
"Moving on" may mean relocating to a different area within a state, or it may mean heading for a different state altogether. Often, that is just a function of my "gut feeling" as to whether I am wasting my time hunting the area I have chosen for my out-of-state adventure. It is all a judgement call based on my personal experience. As the old saying goes,..."you gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em". :D
Quote from: GobbleNut on August 25, 2022, 09:22:16 AM
I'm not sure how others approach determining the length of time they will stay in a location, but for me it is entirely about finding turkeys that are willing to respond to calling. If I am not finding responsive gobblers in a location, I just keep expanding the search area until I do. If I haven't found what I'm looking for in three days of searching, I am moving on.
"Moving on" may mean relocating to a different area within a state, or it may mean heading for a different state altogether. Often, that is just a function of my "gut feeling" as to whether I am wasting my time hunting the area I have chosen for my out-of-state adventure. It is all a judgement call based on my personal experience. As the old saying goes,..."you gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em". :D
This seems to be the mindset of most of the folks I run into in the turkey woods these days. The, "If I do not hear them gobble, they are not there" crowd, as well as those who choose not to hunt turkeys that are "non vocal", or at least so they think.
Timing is a huge part of being a traveling hunter on getting there when birds are just right. I will bypass states that I know they aren't playing at that time for states that they are just right.
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You are right and I left my house going in the complete opposite direction I was planning to go because of weather. That being said I'm doing the 49 and some states you have to go to when you get a tag. I also work shift work and have to tie my vacation to my off days so I'm somewhat restricted on when I can take vacation.
The state I spent 4 days in the birds were right until a cool rainy front passed through the night before my arrival. Weather cleared up the first morning but the birds just never got back going the 4 days I was there and I moved over 100 miles twice to try and get something going.
3 Days per state is my max. But strangely, by far the most deadly day of hunting I have found for me is the very 1st day I step foot on a new place.
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3 days max.... Have been very fortunate to have killed birds in multiple states in 1 day, 3 states in 3 days once. Rarely ever try for a 2nd bird in same state. I'll drive 10hrs to hunt 1 day. Some say that's crazy.
Quote from: Roost 1 on August 25, 2022, 10:29:39 PM
3 days max.... Have been very fortunate to have killed birds in multiple states in 1 day, 3 states in 3 days once. Rarely ever try for a 2nd bird in same state. I'll drive 10hrs to hunt 1 day. Some say that's crazy.
Roost, your comment brings up another angle to this discussion,...and that is, how many hours are you willing to drive for a single day of hunting? If you are willing to drive ten hours for a day's hunting, I will readily admit you are more dedicated to this than I am.
For a single day? For me, I will make maybe a three hour drive,...maybe four, if I am desperate to go hunting. More than that and I better have at least a couple of days, and preferably at least three. Looking back over the years, I don't recall a single instance where I have driven more than a few hours for a single day of any type of hunting. (I have to drive two hours minimum to hunt turkeys now as it is)
My hat's off to anybody that is willing to make that kind of effort, and maybe more importantly, has the mental and physical discipline to be willing to do that. I am certainly not one of them. :icon_thumright:
Quote from: Roost 1 on August 25, 2022, 10:29:39 PM
3 days max.... Have been very fortunate to have killed birds in multiple states in 1 day, 3 states in 3 days once. Rarely ever try for a 2nd bird in same state. I'll drive 10hrs to hunt 1 day. Some say that's crazy.
Some of us turkey hunters are a little "crazy" !
I plan on 3 to 5 days for a multiple tag hunt. Sometimes adjoining states