Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Turkeys are obviously hard to kill and you learn something from each bird, what would you say the most valuable lesson youve learned in the woods that has led to better success?

Patience and sitting still and I don't mean deer hunting still. The biggest, baddest gobbler I ever killed gobbled once!  I answered once.  I killed him an hour and half later.  I knew he heard me and was fairly close so I made up my mind I would not call again unless he answered me.  He did not.  I thought I will wait and see what may happen.  He came in silent towing a hen with him.  Busted him at 30 yards.

I don't think I have just one. The lessons I have learned have all accumulated to help me get to where I am now. I think experience is the best teacher and I could tell some dandy stories of days I was firing on all cylinders and making the tough ones look easy, but I could just as easy tell stories of days I screwed up a sure thing and looked like a gold-plated idiot. I will just say this, if you pay attention and challenge yourself, you will learn. In turn, you will look like a gold-plated idiot less often.

My number one lesson I learned was from a very nice bird.  I had killed one earlier in the season, but the fat lady was tuning up.  Public had yielded more hunters than gobbles, so I went back to a private piece I hunted near my work.  Had not heard a gobble yet that year in about 4-5 sits (but I had seen a hen a couple of jakes).  I decided to check it one last time and there was one little patch of sand and he messed up and had strutted right there (like 1 yard wide and 5 yards long) on a 300 acre piece.  So I knew he was there.  Sat up and called lightly for at least an hour.  After that, he gobbled one time as he entered the field.  A couple of soft calls and he was in my lap and took a truck ride. 

My lesson? Trust your eyes as  much as your ears and not every quiet bird is unkillable.  It just takes more patience. 

I think two things I try to keep in the front of my mind are first, you're on the gobblers time. He's going to move as fast or slow as he wants. Second is if you don't get a shot at him that day it's no big deal. Go back the next day and try again. Persistence kills birds.

May be a bit too long winded as this is hard to explain in a few sentences (and this is a mtn hunting scenario) - but one thing that has bitten me a few times in the last three plus decades, and it is easy to miss in the heat of the moment. When setting up, a quick glance may make you think you have the high ground, but making sure you know you are at the highest point possible on that ridge or plateau or shelf (or joining surrounding shelf or plateau). Because if you are not, an older bird likes to come around his elbow to get to his thumb so to speak where he can look back down to where you are at trying to see the hen he hears calling to him. They will circle the ridge 60-100 yards just out of sight, and then come in just slightly above you if you are not set up correctly. I am not talking about him being 50-100 feet in elevation above you, but maybe where the ridge is most times only a few feet in overall elevation above your setup. It can be so subtle, that when you set up, the ridge all looks to be about the same elevation. But - if somewhere on that ridge it is another ten to twenty feet in elevation, even if it is more so just out of sight, he knows it is there and that is his means to come in and a take a peak down to try and see the hen he has heard. Many times, it is just enough above you that he can see your location, but you cannot see him well enough to get the shot. I have had them within forty yards in such situations, but yet could not seal the deal. Does not happen a lot, but has happened to me several times throughout the years when I pretty much had him within 40 steps, but could not get the shot. It is almost always going to be a really good bird that will do this to you. The only foolproof way to make sure he does not do that to you is to really know your terrain. If you hunt a place often that is easy enough, but you are often most susceptible when hunting a new place for the first time or two. 

Just trying to save someone losing a bird, so if that does not make sense, then let me give you a word picture. You set up on a fairly flat ridge and the bird is directly in front of your barrel say maybe 200-250 yards out in front of you. But, at your left shoulder rear shoulder at say seven to eight o'clock, there is a slight rise to almost a plateau where it is maybe just 10-20 feet in gained elevation. Yet, everything from 9oclock to your left to 5-6 o'clock to your right all the way to where he is gobbling out in front of you at 200 plus yards is level - BUT guess where that bird will wind up at if he is an older bird? Yep, he will circle just out of sight and be standing there gobbling on that very slight elevation to your rear left shoulder (possibly within forty yards) looking down to your location, and many times he is a few feet too high with the cover of the trees and bushes found on that slight rise above you for you to get the shot. The solution - set up on that plateau even though the obvious choice is that nice flat ridge you at first glance want to sit on because you just know he will cross that on his way to you even if he winds up on that small plateau. Sometimes, the change in elevation is so subtle that we can all miss it, but he has not because he walks those ridges seven days a week and his life depends on him knowing that is there. 

I think there are a lot of personalities that I'll remember. A few that come to mind, I had a bird once that I feel like I should've killed but didn't. It was a late season bird and he'd only answer to gobbles. Anyhow, if he was at point A and I called from B he'd stay at point A, but if I moved to spot C he'd come and answer from spot B. He did this multiple times. I moved to D, he answered from C, etc. Looking back I really wish I'd doubled back on him. Second time he did what he did I should've moved from point C to D and called then doubled back to C to try and catch him. Don't know if it would've worked or not, but the fact I didn't haunts me. I imagine I'd have gotten him killed.

Had a bird last year that was really bad to juke. He'd come in indicating a line of travel and then go silent and double back on himself only to come in quiet from the opposite direction. He did this multiple times and beat me multiple days. Finally I caught him off the roost one morning and he tried it again. He indicated a direction of travel with three or four gobbles and when he went silent I was already turned the other direction waiting on him. Five or ten minutes later he pops up on the ridge and I hammered him coming in quiet at 35yds.

I think the moral of these stories is that certain birds have individual personalities and patterns and it's wise to pick up on them. As Maya Angelou said, When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.

Here's the juke artist from last spring.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/4bc30941747a91503669d63ea5078a96.jpg)


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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 13, 2024, 10:16:14 PM
I think there are a lot of personalities that I'll remember. A few that come to mind, I had a bird once that I feel like I should've killed but didn't. It was a late season bird and he'd only answer to gobbles. Anyhow, if he was at point A and I called from B he'd stay at point A, but if I moved to spot C he'd come and answer from spot B. He did this multiple times. I moved to D, he answered from C, etc. Looking back I really wish I'd doubled back on him. Second time he did what he did I should've moved from point C to D and called then doubled back to C to try and catch him. Don't know if it would've worked or not, but the fact I didn't haunts me. I imagine I'd have gotten him killed.

Had a bird last year that was really bad to juke. He'd come in indicating a line of travel and then go silent and double back on himself only to come in quiet from the opposite direction. He did this multiple times and beat me multiple days. Finally I caught him off the roost one morning and he tried it again. He indicated a direction of travel with three or four gobbles and when he went silent I was already turned the other direction waiting on him. Five or ten minutes later he pops up on the ridge and I hammered him coming in quiet at 35yds.

I think the moral of these stories is that certain birds have individual personalities and patterns and it's wise to pick up on them. As Maya Angelou said, When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.

Here's the juke artist from last spring.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/4bc30941747a91503669d63ea5078a96.jpg)


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Beautiful bird and gun!

I have ran into birds that switch to my last position every time I move as you speak of - have had some luck just shutting up at about location C once I realized what he was up to. Usually takes about an hour or hour and a half or longer, but he will often show up on the ridge if I stay put and refuse to make another sound.

If you have your hunting buddy with you, just leave him at your previous location and then you can call from the next one while he sits back and takes care of business when the bird shows up and gobbles at your last location. Hope he is ok, was thinking that you said that he was shot by another hunter last year.

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on February 13, 2024, 11:24:48 PM
Hope he is ok, was thinking that you said that he was shot by another hunter last year.

He's doing good. Had a close call due to infection, but had a doctor who was a hunting buddy catch it and get him fixed up. Shot is the worst for that, evidently, because it pulls everything in with it. He was back hunting within a few weeks and we got one killed. Was a fine morning. I was thankful for that one in a lot bigger way. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/273081037e55012d99febfe7abe5576a.jpg)


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For me, over the years, the most valuable lesson I have learned is that there comes a time when I have beaten enough times by a bird that it is time to go find another one.   :D   I have learned that there are some gobblers I am just not capable of killing without resorting to tactics that I personally will not resort to. 

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 14, 2024, 08:36:51 AM

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on February 13, 2024, 11:24:48 PM
Hope he is ok, was thinking that you said that he was shot by another hunter last year.

He's doing good. Had a close call due to infection, but had a doctor who was a hunting buddy catch it and get him fixed up. Shot is the worst for that, evidently, because it pulls everything in with it. He was back hunting within a few weeks and we got one killed. Was a fine morning. I was thankful for that one in a lot bigger way. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/273081037e55012d99febfe7abe5576a.jpg)


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Glad he is going to be ok - a real good hunting partner is not an easy find as not everyone wants to climb those ridges from daylight to dark. I can tell from the pictures that you two are definitely hunting in my favorite kind of woods. Please post some more pictures of what you kill later in the spring. Really enjoyed seeing the ones you have posted in the past. Mountains and big rocks always make for a good turkey picture after a successful hunt.

I've read all of the above .... take to heart all that was said ..   patience, persistence,  and woodsmanship.  And lastly...no matter the outcome ..... enjoy each and every day you spend in the woods .

to me #1 is "Woodsmanship" but in that entails a lot of things from learning turkey biology, turkey talk, why/where/and when to setup, then patience & persistence go hand in hand. I believe every hunt is a lesson learned whether successful or not, you learn why that hunt worked, or why it didn't, and apply those lessons to other hunts, you can even take that down to the individual bird you are hunting and "Learning Him". It's all in the same game for me, and you never quit learning until your last hunt.


MK M GOBL

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on February 13, 2024, 11:24:48 PM

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 13, 2024, 10:16:14 PM
I think there are a lot of personalities that I'll remember. A few that come to mind, I had a bird once that I feel like I should've killed but didn't. It was a late season bird and he'd only answer to gobbles. Anyhow, if he was at point A and I called from B he'd stay at point A, but if I moved to spot C he'd come and answer from spot B. He did this multiple times. I moved to D, he answered from C, etc. Looking back I really wish I'd doubled back on him. Second time he did what he did I should've moved from point C to D and called then doubled back to C to try and catch him. Don't know if it would've worked or not, but the fact I didn't haunts me. I imagine I'd have gotten him killed.

Had a bird last year that was really bad to juke. He'd come in indicating a line of travel and then go silent and double back on himself only to come in quiet from the opposite direction. He did this multiple times and beat me multiple days. Finally I caught him off the roost one morning and he tried it again. He indicated a direction of travel with three or four gobbles and when he went silent I was already turned the other direction waiting on him. Five or ten minutes later he pops up on the ridge and I hammered him coming in quiet at 35yds.

I think the moral of these stories is that certain birds have individual personalities and patterns and it's wise to pick up on them. As Maya Angelou said, When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.

Here's the juke artist from last spring.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/4bc30941747a91503669d63ea5078a96.jpg)


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Beautiful bird and gun!

I have ran into birds that switch to my last position every time I move as you speak of - have had some luck just shutting up at about location C once I realized what he was up to. Usually takes about an hour or hour and a half or longer, but he will often show up on the ridge if I stay put and refuse to make another sound.

If you have your hunting buddy with you, just leave him at your previous location and then you can call from the next one while he sits back and takes care of business when the bird shows up and gobbles at your last location. Hope he is ok, was thinking that you said that he was shot by another hunter last year.

I'm gonna take it a step further mountainhunter1. When I 1st started turkey hunting I'd have to take my shoes off too count how many times I called to a gobbler and he went silent or was interacting with a gobbler and he went silent only to have him show up at My exact location 20 mins after I had vacated it and was moving on because I thought he did the same. Back than I believed the call shy gobbler stuff that was going around and thought possibly that was the case. After having this happen to me multiple times I finally got it through my thick skull maybe I should hang tight for a bit and be ready.

I spent years just setting up to a gobbler with only distance from the bird and hang-up obstacles(creeks, ditches, fences, etc.) in mind. I finally learned after many hang-ups in open timber that the terrain is way more important than I thought. I killed several birds without really knowing why other than thinking they were just in the mood to come to calling. It took me a while but it finally clicked. Using the terrain more tactically to make that gobbler come searching for the hen has dramatically increased my success.

Choose your ground wisely. Set down wrong on one, and you are beat, right off the rip. I will often retreat if necessary, to find better ground.

Quote from: Paulmyr on February 14, 2024, 10:55:33 AM

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on February 13, 2024, 11:24:48 PM

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 13, 2024, 10:16:14 PM
I think there are a lot of personalities that I'll remember. A few that come to mind, I had a bird once that I feel like I should've killed but didn't. It was a late season bird and he'd only answer to gobbles. Anyhow, if he was at point A and I called from B he'd stay at point A, but if I moved to spot C he'd come and answer from spot B. He did this multiple times. I moved to D, he answered from C, etc. Looking back I really wish I'd doubled back on him. Second time he did what he did I should've moved from point C to D and called then doubled back to C to try and catch him. Don't know if it would've worked or not, but the fact I didn't haunts me. I imagine I'd have gotten him killed.

Had a bird last year that was really bad to juke. He'd come in indicating a line of travel and then go silent and double back on himself only to come in quiet from the opposite direction. He did this multiple times and beat me multiple days. Finally I caught him off the roost one morning and he tried it again. He indicated a direction of travel with three or four gobbles and when he went silent I was already turned the other direction waiting on him. Five or ten minutes later he pops up on the ridge and I hammered him coming in quiet at 35yds.

I think the moral of these stories is that certain birds have individual personalities and patterns and it's wise to pick up on them. As Maya Angelou said, When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.

Here's the juke artist from last spring.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/4bc30941747a91503669d63ea5078a96.jpg)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Beautiful bird and gun!

I have ran into birds that switch to my last position every time I move as you speak of - have had some luck just shutting up at about location C once I realized what he was up to. Usually takes about an hour or hour and a half or longer, but he will often show up on the ridge if I stay put and refuse to make another sound.

If you have your hunting buddy with you, just leave him at your previous location and then you can call from the next one while he sits back and takes care of business when the bird shows up and gobbles at your last location. Hope he is ok, was thinking that you said that he was shot by another hunter last year.

I'm gonna take it a step further mountainhunter1. When I 1st started turkey hunting I'd have to take my shoes off too count how many times I called to a gobbler and he went silent or was interacting with a gobbler and he went silent only to have him show up at My exact location 20 mins after I had vacated it and was moving on because I thought he did the same. Back than I believed the call shy gobbler stuff that was going around and thought possibly that was the case. After having this happen to me multiple times I finally got it through my thick skull maybe I should hang tight for a bit and be ready.

Well said Paulmyr. Hope you are doing well. Here is a great tip - I have gotten to know quite a few of the people on here and Paulmyr is a turkey hunter. The fellow flat out knows how to kill a turkey. If he says it, it is probably right.

Paul to your point - two years ago, I heard a bird gobble twice down in a deep drain as I was up on top of the ridge. He did not seem in a hurry to come up the first morning and I moved to a different gobbling bird. But I came back several days later and he was in the same exact spot in that hole. I sat there and listened to him for about thirty minutes. He finally went silent when I heard a hen yelp one time down below on his level. I sat there and ate a bagel and waited about thirty minutes. Got a pot call out and clucked two or three times. Put the pot call up and sat there and never said another word. I knew the terrain where I was sitting was favorable to where he would want to move when he finally left that hen and I just sat there. About two hours later, I heard something in the leaves and out of the corner of my eye, he was strutting around the end of the adjoining drain about seventy yards away and he came around the corner and strutted onto my side of the ridge opposite of that drain. I shot him at six steps. Probably could have done that the first morning several days earlier but heard a bird gobbling better behind me and left him instead of waiting him out. You are right - Patience is our best friend in the spring.

Had a real tough one last year. Took me 3 days to get him after a first day blunder. Simply put, the 2nd day was a(Sit and watch) session learning where he wanted to go after fly-down. The 3rd day (Wed of opening week) I set up in his path. He skirted me with his harem of ladies and I threw caution to the wind, cackling them back. He followed, the rest is history. He was at least a 3 year old. Moral here is you want to set-up where they want to go, especially when they are hened up......good luck to all

Mountainhunter1 you give me way to much credit. Maybe I should tell you about the time 2 years ago when I went to spook a hen I heard fly up to chase her away from a gobbler I was positive went to roost in a pine Island in the middle of a clearcut so he would be alone the next morning. She was pipping as she limb hopped a little closer to me from about 120 yds. Well turns out when got I to about 60 yds from her and she came into view, that supposed  hen had about a 10" beard. He hopped off the limb and soared outta my life forever!

That sucker did an about face in the clearcut, took off, let out a squeaker of a cackle as he navigated the  pines I was sitting in, and lit in the tree. He was already looking for me. All I had to do was slip out to the road and come back in the morn. But no, this "turkey killer" had to make sure I was going to be alone with that gobbler the next morning!

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 13, 2024, 10:16:14 PM
I think there are a lot of personalities that I'll remember. A few that come to mind, I had a bird once that I feel like I should've killed but didn't. It was a late season bird and he'd only answer to gobbles. Anyhow, if he was at point A and I called from B he'd stay at point A, but if I moved to spot C he'd come and answer from spot B. He did this multiple times. I moved to D, he answered from C, etc. Looking back I really wish I'd doubled back on him. Second time he did what he did I should've moved from point C to D and called then doubled back to C to try and catch him. Don't know if it would've worked or not, but the fact I didn't haunts me. I imagine I'd have gotten him killed.

Had a bird last year that was really bad to juke. He'd come in indicating a line of travel and then go silent and double back on himself only to come in quiet from the opposite direction. He did this multiple times and beat me multiple days. Finally I caught him off the roost one morning and he tried it again. He indicated a direction of travel with three or four gobbles and when he went silent I was already turned the other direction waiting on him. Five or ten minutes later he pops up on the ridge and I hammered him coming in quiet at 35yds.

I think the moral of these stories is that certain birds have individual personalities and patterns and it's wise to pick up on them. As Maya Angelou said, When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.

Here's the juke artist from last spring.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240214/4bc30941747a91503669d63ea5078a96.jpg)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dave, that gun is killing me.... :fud:

Quote from: Tom007 on February 15, 2024, 05:57:38 AM
Dave, that gun is killing me.... :fud:

I built a double barrel in the off season and added an Ace In The Hole sight and rail on another primary turkey gun and I'm honestly thinking of just running that old 1928 nickel steel Model 12 all season again like last year


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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 15, 2024, 06:54:54 AM

Quote from: Tom007 on February 15, 2024, 05:57:38 AM
Dave, that gun is killing me.... :fud:

I built a double barrel in the off season and added an Ace In The Hole sight and rail on another primary turkey gun and I'm honestly thinking of just running that old 1928 nickel steel Model 12 all season again like last year


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Let's see that double!

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 15, 2024, 06:54:54 AM

Quote from: Tom007 on February 15, 2024, 05:57:38 AM
Dave, that gun is killing me.... :fud:

I built a double barrel in the off season and added an Ace In The Hole sight and rail on another primary turkey gun and I'm honestly thinking of just running that old 1928 nickel steel Model 12 all season again like last year


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Well, all I know is that if I was a big old Tom, and I had to die at the hands of a turkey hunter in the North Carolina mountains, I would much rather that hunter to be toting a 1928 Model 12 with a bead front site than some new fancy set up shotgun with a brand-new red dot and such.

We have one of those model 12's in storage - not sure the year of manufacture, but it is old. It came into the family 77 years ago, but not sure if it was brand new or used at that point or not. Think it was bought used. It was my father's first shotgun. It is a sixteen and not a twelve. Maybe I need to get that gun out and shoot something through it high up on a rocky ridge during turkey season. What do you shoot in that beauty to make sure you don't push it too much pressure wise?

A really tough bird I hunted in wisconsin on some really pressured public. My uncle and his buddy were joining us a day later. I hunted him the first day then left him to my uncle since I had more time to hunt. Last day rolls around, my uncle is gone and the bird is still around. This bird would gobble but absolutely wouldn't commit. At his first gobble that morning I put on my sneaking shoes and closed in tight. (Late season thick foliage) I was within 75 yards of him on the limb. He gobbled decent until I gave him a single light cluck and he literally gobbled until he ran out of breath. 30 minutes later and one more cluck had the same result. He pitched down at 60 yards without making a sound and snuck in to 40 where I shot him. Sometimes on those tough birds you just have to get in their bubble and make them curious


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I can take pieces from almost every post in this thread and echo experiences from similar scenarios. Good stuff guys.

Patience is one lesson I won't forget soon.  I was hunting a < 300 acre piece of land I was quite familiar with.  I'd start my morning on top of the ridge, so my calls would carry further.  Then, depending on the response I got, I could make a move according to their reactions.  I heard a distant gobble and responded with a long box, which fired him up more.  He was working my way, sort of following the spine of the ridge, doing exactly what I hoped he wouldn't do.  It's open enough woods and smallish trees, where there aren't many places to hide and he could see a long ways.  I backed off the side of the ridge, clucked a few times, and dragged my feet a few times to mimic a hen scratching as she walked.  The gobbler stopped on top of the ridge, from right where I'd left, and he probably gobbled 125-150 times over the next 90 minutes.  I could see him strutting back & forth, waiting for the hen to return.  I clucked and scratched about every 15-20 minutes and he'd answer, but wouldn't budge.  Finally, I just set the slate down and sat stone still.  He got quiet and hadn't said anything for almost 40 minutes.  I was thinking he'd gotten tired of waiting on the hen and left.  Next thing, I thought I heard drumming coming from about 75 yards below me (?!).  He'd gotten on the horse trail (same one I walked in on) and walked past me silently.  A few purrs & clucks on the mouth call and a little scratching turned him.  He walked up to the downed tree I was set up against and hopped up on the log & went into strut @ 6 yards. It was spectacular to see, though I was absolutely handcuffed and couldn't move.  He drummed again, then hopped down, and eased behind a big white oak.  I busted him at 11 yards. over 2.5 hours after his first gobble.  When he was quiet for so long, I almost got up to move, but experience and patience won the argument in my mind and helped me tag him.

Jim

Quote from: Paulmyr on February 14, 2024, 11:23:12 PM
Mountainhunter1 you give me way to much credit. Maybe I should tell you about the time 2 years ago when I went to spook a hen I heard fly up to chase her away from a gobbler I was positive went to roost in a pine Island in the middle of a clearcut so he would be alone the next morning. She was pipping as she limb hopped a little closer to me from about 120 yds. Well turns out when got I to about 60 yds from her and she came into view, that supposed  hen had about a 10" beard. He hopped off the limb and soared outta my life forever!

That sucker did an about face in the clearcut, took off, let out a squeaker of a cackle as he navigated the  pines I was sitting in, and lit in the tree. He was already looking for me. All I had to do was slip out to the road and come back in the morn. But no, this "turkey killer" had to make sure I was going to be alone with that gobbler the next morning!

That's a good one  :toothy12: We all have some moments like this in bank... I have mine too  :TooFunny:

I've been after these guys for a very long time.  I find that where you set-up is very important as most know and will know :z-twocents:.  However, the biggest factor is to remain motionless and in your set-up spot and remain there for what seems to be too long.  I've killed many turkeys who come in without gobbling long after I thought he may have left town.

I have learned many lessons over the years, calling gobblers is like going to school, no teacher, teaches the SAME WAY...  Every gobbler is a learning lesson. IMO
If you spend enough time in the woods with them, you will learn lots of valuable information. I tell people, turkey season is only for a short period of time, so plan on going and staying the day, pack a lunch and stay as long as your state will allow that day till lunch or all day ...IMO... Lots of other good information has already been shared. It doesn't hurt to say a little prayer also...