Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

So I spent the weekend at the Unicoi Call Makers' Show.

It was a last-minute decision.  And in a last-minute move, I had a good friend screen print me a handful of Yoder 409 Holster t-shirts.

Over the course of 3 days, I'll bet I met 25-30 OG Forums members.  The vast majority of which went something like this:

(Guy walks past or up)

Him: Hey !!  Are you Yoder409 on Old Gobbler ???

Me:  Guilty !!!  Who are you ???

Him:  Oh........ I don't post.  I just look.  But my screen name is XXXXXX 

I talked at length to one member in particular.  And we ended up having dinner and great conversation.  In the course of the conversation, he mentioned that he posted very little because he'd only ever killed a few birds and didn't feel he had enough experience or authority to speak up on the forums.  I kinda filled this young gentleman in to the fact that not all the guys the he sees posting are 100+ bird guys.........or even 10+ bird guys.  Sure.  There are some real gobbler hammers on these forums.  Guys that are among some of the elite and most experienced.  But those guys aren't the majority............or even the average.

Of ALL places.............. !!!!   If you're a lurker..........a mouse in the corner.........START POSTING !!!!!!!   If you've got something to ask............there's a whole raft of members ready to offer good advice.  If you've killed ONE BIRD or even patterned one shotgun......you may have advice or a point of view that could help someone else.  I can't really remember EVER seeing someone tell another member they asked a dumb question.  Just guys ready to help out.  Get involved !!!   Jump in the game, here !!!  These forums are every bit as much YOURS as anyone else's.

:you_rock:

Well Said.

This is a great post, we have so much knowledge and experience on this forum with hunting these gobblers and i just feel people don't use the forum to its full potential. I encourage people to ask questions young and old, we can all learn from each other regardless of the number of gobblers we have killed.

Great post!!

I did the same thing for awhile when I joined way back - I learned from people asking questions that I wanted to ask myself - I still watch answers to questions and throw out some thoughts or experiences I have encountered- but I second the op- post up if you have questions or need advice - we all learn kinda what works and what doesn't- and it can save you a ton of shooting/ wasting shells looking for choke/ load combos - that's a lifesaver section or has been for me!! Good luck and stay safe !!

That's me.  I joined quite awhile before I jumped in, for the very reasons Yoder cited.  In fact, it was Yoder that got me posting here. 

Quote from: RMP on January 16, 2023, 08:41:45 PM
That's me.  I joined quite awhile before I jumped in, for the very reasons Yoder cited.  In fact, it was Yoder that got me posting here.

Glad you're finally outta the shadows and off and running !!!    :icon_thumright:

Great post Yoder and you guys dive in head first..

 :jackson:

I've been around here quite a while and occasionally post something that I hope is helpful. I do just fine filling my turkey tags most years, but don't feel like I really know the birds very well.
This year I killed more Canada geese than I have turkeys in my whole life and the geese often times make me look stupid. Turkeys make me look stupid-er. But I'll keep on trying to learn. Thanks to the guys willing to share their wisdom and experience.

 I had dinner with him and thought it was me. Although how he could tell I couldn't kill a turkey I'll never know....  :TooFunny:

This forum is filled with great people willing to share their experience/knowledge....all WITHOUT judgement. You just have to ask/participate. It doesn't matter how long you have been killing turkeys, post up. You never know what info might help somebody else. It might be something that even the 100+ bird killers never thought of! This is one the best forums on the net. The only other forum I have found with members this willing to share knowledge/experience is Crossbow Nation.

Well to be fair, i have seen many a new guy run off by self appointed "gatekeepers" over the years.
A new guy joins and asks a question about decoys, or blinds, or some subject that has been asked
many times, and they get jumped on. Then the new member leaves and never returns. Spring is coming,
and with it will be an uptick in new members and forum activity. Just something to think about before
typing a sarcastic reply to a new guy who might ask a question you have heard asked a thousand times.
There used to be a couple of great waterfowl forums that are mostly dead now because of a handful of members there killed them by constantly ganging up on anything they deemed unworthy. Just don't want to see that happening to O.G. Not that it has been much of an issue here, but something all of us should be aware of and try to avoid when we are posting. Always hard being a new guy! Good post by the way
Yoder409!

Totally agree with all the sentiments expressed above.  Simply put, if you have a passion for turkey hunting, this is THE place to be to share that passion. 

I will add an additional comment, as well.  Participating on this site gives all of us opportunities to "meet" new friends from all over the country and share knowledge, experiences, and information that, for me at least, has expanded my turkey hunting horizons exponentially over the years I have been here.  What began as casual, online friendships because I decided to "jump in head first" rather than "lurk" have resulted in many face-to-face meetings on hunts in places I would never have experienced otherwise, and with folks whose friendships I now cherish.  In addition, I have more invitations to hunt in places all over the country than I have time left to pursue them (unfortunately).

I have no doubt that there are many others here that have had similar experiences through their online journey over the years on Old Gobbler!  As others have said, jump in! The water's fine,...and the current may lead you to people and places you would likely never get to otherwise!   :)

Quote from: GobbleNut on January 17, 2023, 10:27:16 AM
Totally agree with all the sentiments expressed above.  Simply put, if you have a passion for turkey hunting, this is THE place to be to share that passion. 

I will add an additional comment, as well.  Participating on this site gives all of us opportunities to "meet" new friends from all over the country and share knowledge, experiences, and information that, for me at least, has expanded my turkey hunting horizons exponentially over the years I have been here.  What began as casual, online friendships because I decided to "jump in head first" rather than "lurk" have resulted in many face-to-face meetings on hunts in places I would never have experienced otherwise, and with folks whose friendships I now cherish.  In addition, I have more invitations to hunt in places all over the country than I have time left to pursue them (unfortunately).

I have no doubt that there are many others here that have had similar experiences through their online journey over the years on Old Gobbler!  As others have said, jump in! The water's fine,...and the current may lead you to people and places you would likely never get to otherwise!   :)

AMEN.. Great Post...

Quote from: GobbleNut on January 17, 2023, 10:27:16 AM
Totally agree with all the sentiments expressed above.  Simply put, if you have a passion for turkey hunting, this is THE place to be to share that passion. 

I will add an additional comment, as well.  Participating on this site gives all of us opportunities to "meet" new friends from all over the country and share knowledge, experiences, and information that, for me at least, has expanded my turkey hunting horizons exponentially over the years I have been here.  What began as casual, online friendships because I decided to "jump in head first" rather than "lurk" have resulted in many face-to-face meetings on hunts in places I would never have experienced otherwise, and with folks whose friendships I now cherish.  In addition, I have more invitations to hunt in places all over the country than I have time left to pursue them (unfortunately).

I have no doubt that there are many others here that have had similar experiences through their online journey over the years on Old Gobbler!  As others have said, jump in! The water's fine,...and the current may lead you to people and places you would likely never get to otherwise!   :)

Well said Gobblenut!

I'll admit that I felt a bit scared as an Old Jersey boy joining this forum family. I say family because that's how I felt from day one. I quickly found out that this is the place to learn and experience the things about Turkey hunting that your not going to find anywhere else. I learn everyday from everyone here, and I am thankful for all the relationships I developed over the years. Well done, thank you all........

Quote from: tal on January 17, 2023, 08:31:46 AM
I had dinner with him and thought it was me. Although how he could tell I couldn't kill a turkey I'll never know....  :TooFunny:

It's my turkey spidey senses.

:TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:

Quote from: the Ward on January 17, 2023, 09:42:48 AM
Well to be fair, i have seen many a new guy run off by self appointed "gatekeepers" over the years.
A new guy joins and asks a question about decoys, or blinds, or some subject that has been asked
many times, and they get jumped on. Then the new member leaves and never returns. Spring is coming,
and with it will be an uptick in new members and forum activity. Just something to think about before
typing a sarcastic reply to a new guy who might ask a question you have heard asked a thousand times.

I guess I missed these dramas.

But you make a GREAT point !!!  We're turkey hunters.  We're patient with the bird when we're playing the game.  Let's be patient with a new guy asking the very same questions EVERY ONE OF US had at some point in our own journey.

Quote from: Yoder409 on January 17, 2023, 12:47:41 PM

Quote from: the Ward on January 17, 2023, 09:42:48 AM
Well to be fair, i have seen many a new guy run off by self appointed "gatekeepers" over the years.
A new guy joins and asks a question about decoys, or blinds, or some subject that has been asked
many times, and they get jumped on. Then the new member leaves and never returns. Spring is coming,
and with it will be an uptick in new members and forum activity. Just something to think about before
typing a sarcastic reply to a new guy who might ask a question you have heard asked a thousand times.

I guess I missed these dramas.

But you make a GREAT point !!!  We're turkey hunters.  We're patient with the bird when we're playing the game.  Let's be patient with a new guy asking the very same questions EVERY ONE OF US had at some point in our own journey.

It has been pretty uncommon here, but has happened occasionally back in the past. We have a ton of great members here for sure!

Quote from: Tom007 on January 17, 2023, 12:33:13 PM
I'll admit that I felt a bit scared as an Old Jersey boy joining this forum family. I say family because that's how I felt from day one. I quickly found out that this is the place to learn and experience the things about Turkey hunting that your not going to find anywhere else. I learn everyday from everyone here, and I am thankful for all the relationships I developed over the years. Well done, thank you all........

You've been a great example of a gentleman for as long as you been here Tom.Glad there are folks
like you as members.    :happy0167:

Quote from: Tom007 on January 17, 2023, 12:33:13 PM
I'll admit that I felt a bit scared as an Old Jersey boy joining this forum family. I say family because that's how I felt from day one. I quickly found out that this is the place to learn and experience the things about Turkey hunting that your not going to find anywhere else. I learn everyday from everyone here, and I am thankful for all the relationships I developed over the years. Well done, thank you all........

Tom is a perfect example of the unbelievably nice and sincere people you'll find on this great forum. As a longtime turkey hunter with substantial years experience, I was still a years long lurker on this forum. I just didn't feel comfortable with social media and expressing myself on it. Im not too computer literate and I'm more old fashioned in being reserved with my thoughts. But the people here have been great, so informative and really funny at times.  Posting comments and asking questions enriches the forum experience and you start to connect with people. I really think this forum in some way has actually made me like turkey hunting more.

Quote from: the Ward on January 17, 2023, 01:00:52 PM

Quote from: Tom007 on January 17, 2023, 12:33:13 PM
I'll admit that I felt a bit scared as an Old Jersey boy joining this forum family. I say family because that's how I felt from day one. I quickly found out that this is the place to learn and experience the things about Turkey hunting that your not going to find anywhere else. I learn everyday from everyone here, and I am thankful for all the relationships I developed over the years. Well done, thank you all........

You've been a great example of a gentleman for as long as you been here Tom.Glad there are folks
like you as members.    :happy0167:

Quote from: Zobo on January 17, 2023, 01:14:48 PM

Quote from: Tom007 on January 17, 2023, 12:33:13 PM
I'll admit that I felt a bit scared as an Old Jersey boy joining this forum family. I say family because that's how I felt from day one. I quickly found out that this is the place to learn and experience the things about Turkey hunting that your not going to find anywhere else. I learn everyday from everyone here, and I am thankful for all the relationships I developed over the years. Well done, thank you all........

Tom is a perfect example of the unbelievably nice and sincere people you'll find on this great forum. As a longtime turkey hunter with substantial years experience, I was still a years long lurker on this forum. I just didn't feel comfortable with social media and expressing myself on it. Im not too computer literate and I'm more old fashioned in being reserved with my thoughts. But the people here have been great, so informative and really funny at times.  Posting comments and asking questions enriches the forum experience and you start to connect with people. I really think this forum in some way has actually made me like turkey hunting more.

Thanks so much for the kind words. Ditto to both of you too! "The success of any organization solely lies with the quality of it's founders and the strengths of it's members". This pretty much sums up why this forum is considered to be among the best Sporting Forums out there. Be safe.....

I've been a "lurker" as well. Great place for advice and information.
Now if I could just get some advice on reaping with decoys using 3.5" TSS #5...    ;)

Quote from: G-dub on January 17, 2023, 04:09:42 PM
I've been a "lurker" as well. Great place for advice and information.
Now if I could just get some advice on reaping with decoys using 3.5" TSS #5...    ;)

You're going to do ok here, I can just tell.   :TooFunny:

Quote from: tal on January 17, 2023, 04:13:59 PM

Quote from: G-dub on January 17, 2023, 04:09:42 PM
I've been a "lurker" as well. Great place for advice and information.
Now if I could just get some advice on reaping with decoys using 3.5" TSS #5...    ;)

You're going to do ok here, I can just tell.   :TooFunny:

X2 !!

:TooFunny:

Guilty as charged I enjoyed meeting and having dinner with you Yoder! Hopefully this post reaches others as a result of our conversation

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Great post! Ive been here a while but I also keep my trap shut for the most part.   Place is a wealth of knowledge but the older I get the more I sit back and just absorb and tend to stay quiet. What a boring place this would be if no-one posted though.

Great post!
I'll reintroduce myself...

Hello, my name is John a long time lurker who scares turkeys away on a regular basis. 
Thank you for all the help over the years my OG brothers and sisters.

Quote from: RLAG on January 17, 2023, 10:37:22 PM
Guilty as charged I enjoyed meeting and having dinner with you Yoder! Hopefully this post reaches others as a result of our conversation

Absolute pleasure meeting YOU !!!!!!

You, obviously, weren't the only one to admit being a lurker.  But you WERE the only one I had an extended conversation with over dinner.  And your comments during our discussion turned a lightbulb on over my old bald head.    ;D      An internet forum is only as good as its contributors.  The more, the merrier.    And, YES !!!   Hopefully our meet-up........aside from being a great visit with great people........will end up being of some benefit to the OG family.

Again........ A pleasure meeting you !!!   You are a legit young man and I see a whole lotta dead gobblers in your future.   :icon_thumright:

Do I win a prize for being here almost 11 years and this being my 15th post??  ;D 

Quote from: Stick on January 18, 2023, 06:35:37 AM
Do I win a prize for being here almost 11 years and this being my 15th post??  ;D

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

This most prestigious award is yours until proven dethroned.    :you_rock:

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52635105475_ed82f52754_z.jpg)

I love OG. Lurk most days. Best place on the internet to talk about our favorite turkey hunting YouTubers and influencers!  ;D

Quote from: Stick on January 18, 2023, 06:35:37 AM
Do I win a prize for being here almost 11 years and this being my 15th post??  ;D

Well done, and congrats on the trophy ;D.  We have an (ex)member or two that have that many screen names.

 :TooFunny: :TooFunny: ...Then there are those of us here who everybody else wishes we would just go away...   ;D :toothy9:

He's like Candyman, except you don't have to say his name three times for him to show up.   Speaking of the devil!^

Quote from: guesswho on January 18, 2023, 09:41:19 AM
He's like Candyman, except you don't have to say his name three times for him to show up.   Speaking of the devil!^

Candyman or Beetlejuice?

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

This most prestigious award is yours until proven dethroned.    :you_rock:

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52635105475_ed82f52754_z.jpg)
[/quote]

I spit my cofee :TooFunny:

You the Mann Stick!

Quote from: Paulmyr on January 18, 2023, 09:48:36 AM

Quote from: guesswho on January 18, 2023, 09:41:19 AM
He's like Candyman, except you don't have to say his name three times for him to show up.   Speaking of the devil!^

Candyman or Beetlejuice?

I first put Beatlejuice, then I thought no, that was candyman.    I get confused easily.
I'll bow out now to keep from scaring away any lurkers.   I am not a good representation of the member base here.

Quote from: guesswho on January 18, 2023, 09:13:44 AM

Quote from: Stick on January 18, 2023, 06:35:37 AM
Do I win a prize for being here almost 11 years and this being my 15th post??  ;D

Well done, and congrats on the trophy ;D.  We have an (ex)member or two that have that many screen names.

Amen to that ... he's like a virus that want go away .... :TooFunny:

I lurk more than I post but I'm old and forgetful and sometimes I forget what I was going type before I even get started.

Quote from: trad bow on January 18, 2023, 10:16:20 AM
I lurk more than I post but I'm old and forgetful and sometimes I forget what I was going type before I even get started.

Sounds like your memory is getting like mine.   Mine is so good I remember things that haven't event happened yet, especially when it's turkey hunting related.

Quote from: guesswho on January 18, 2023, 10:10:45 AMI get confused easily.

We know.

:TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:

   Very good Thread this one is!

Absolutely percent correct!!! I have been around here for quite a while!!! Man there's so many great people on here.  Such a wealth of information and knowledge. I do miss a lot of the older guys. I always enjoyed Clark, "Allaboutshooting" post, he was so very knowledgeable in the world of shotgunning. He passed away some time ago. I know that he would be having a field day with TSS. Also a guy named "Ricky" can't remember his name though. So many great call makers as well.
We talk the talk, so hopefully they will walk the walk!!!

Have a good one, and May God bless
Bo

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

Quote from: runngun on January 18, 2023, 04:09:44 PMAlso a guy named "Ricky" can't remember his name though.

"Ricky" was the late Ricky Platt.............  username Hunter22.

Great call collector and all-around super individual.

Well said brother. Everyone matters and is welcome

Quote from: trad bow on January 18, 2023, 10:16:20 AM
I lurk more than I post but I'm old and forgetful and sometimes I forget what I was going type before I even get started.

:agreed:  I have the same problem

Quote from: dayna105 on January 18, 2023, 06:25:57 PM

Quote from: trad bow on January 18, 2023, 10:16:20 AM
.........I'm old and forgetful and sometimes I forget what I was going type before I even get started.

:agreed:  I have the same problem

Maybe we should all start a support group of .............. wait............ what were we talking about ???

:z-dizzy:   :help:

Quote from: GobbleNut on January 18, 2023, 09:37:02 AM
:TooFunny: :TooFunny: ...Then there are those of us here who everybody else wishes we would just go away...   ;D :toothy9:

Nah, but Shannon might put us in our own sub fourm and not let us out.

I mostly Lurk because I'm a slow typist. Lol

Quote from: WiLL B on January 24, 2023, 09:48:59 PM
I mostly Lurk because I'm a slow typist. Lol

That's not a problem.  I don't read too fast.    :TooFunny: