To Blind . . .or not to Blind. . . That is the question.
My season starts out this Saturday. I'm pumped about getting my 12 year old son out there again. Last year he nailed a 22 lb Tom on the first morning. We set up on field in a blind. Most of the birds flew down into the woods, except one that flew down about 200 yards to our left. Spotted our decoys, called him over, and he nailed him. Back to the car at 6:30 am.
I told my son not every hunt is going to end at 6:30 am with a kill and back to the car. Don't get me wrong, it was an awesome experience to see your son get his first bird.
Well, I told him this year we are probably going without the blind. I have a pretty good idea where these birds roost and where we want to set up on the first morning. I'm probably going decoys again.
I guess I'm just looking for people's opinion or thoughts. My thoughts are you lose that extra something by being camped in a blind. Personally, I get my juices flowing more by sitting on a tree and having that extra chance of being busted. More of a sense of accomplishment when the deal is done. I want my son to have that experience this year.
Or. . .maybe I'll just use the blind again at flydown. Ha, to be determined.
So what did/do other people do with their youth hunters?
Really depends on the youth. Some are incapable of sitting still 5 minutes at a time, and some fall asleep as soon as we get out there. With my grandsons I have both extremes.
If he is calm and can be still good/patient and the weather is nice I would go without. For me, the main thing would ne weather. If it looks bad go for the blind, if not run and gun!
Either way ...just go hunt and let him enjoy!!!...blind or no blind. Btw..im not scared to sit in a blind myself...every tool has its use
I'd start out in the blind then try to move if need. At 12 he can probably go without it for longer then you would think. I had an 11 year old with me two weeks ago and we were not in blinds, but I did tell him to sit still more than once. He was still enough, but the birds had other plans that morning.
Blind first thing, then out and about if needed!!!
Killing a turkey out of a blind is not comparable to the intensity and adrenaline rush one experiences when in plain view.
So what if he moves and busts a bird? You have to gain an appreciation for their eyesight at some point. The earlier he learns that the more accelerated his hunting success will be.
Also, I wouldn't want my kid to always associate blinds with turkey hunting. They have their place and application but anytime you decrease the degree of difficulty when doing something, you diminish the level of accomplishment.
Gooluck!
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 04, 2012, 01:42:37 PM
Killing a turkey out of a blind is not comparable to the intensity and adrenaline rush one experiences when in plain view.
So what if he moves and busts a bird? You have to gain an appreciation for their eyesight at some point. The earlier he learns that the more accelerated his hunting success will be.
Also, I wouldn't want my kid to always associate blinds with turkey hunting. They have their place and application but anytime you decrease the degree of difficulty when doing something, you diminish the level of accomplishment.
Gooluck!
Excellent post, I agree wholeheartedly. I never used a blind when I was a young hunter, my first bird was killed 10 paces from the base of the tree I was sitting against. I wouldnt have it any other way.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 04, 2012, 01:42:37 PM
Killing a turkey out of a blind is not comparable to the intensity and adrenaline rush one experiences when in plain view.
So what if he moves and busts a bird? You have to gain an appreciation for their eyesight at some point. The earlier he learns that the more accelerated his hunting success will be.
Also, I wouldn't want my kid to always associate blinds with turkey hunting. They have their place and application but anytime you decrease the degree of difficulty when doing something, you diminish the level of accomplishment.
Gooluck!
I agree. Word for word.
I would suggest one of the stake out blinds that is made of die cut material and has short stakes (about 2 foot tall). These help cover some movement, but require the user to be more still than in a pop-up style blind. I carry one to use when I don't have good natural cover. They have made the difference a couple of times for me and are easily carried in either the pouch on the back of a vest or in a decoy bag.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 04, 2012, 01:42:37 PM
Killing a turkey out of a blind is not comparable to the intensity and adrenaline rush one experiences when in plain view.
So what if he moves and busts a bird? You have to gain an appreciation for their eyesight at some point. The earlier he learns that the more accelerated his hunting success will be.
Also, I wouldn't want my kid to always associate blinds with turkey hunting. They have their place and application but anytime you decrease the degree of difficulty when doing something, you diminish the level of accomplishment.
Gooluck!
What he said...
I'll answer a question with a question. What is your GUT telling you? Do you believe he can set still enough to get a bird in your lap and then be able to move his gun without getting busted? As you know, the blind and decoys will help cover up alot of mistakes. A friend of mine and I will be heading out with two youth this Saturday as well, so my best to you and your son no matter which choice you make.
I'm with the guys. If your son is capable of doing what it takes to harvest a bird without a blind, go for it!! If not, best to go with the blind and not take a chance on blowing the hunt.
If you think he can be still enough to give it a try without the blind that would be my choice. As stated earlier when decreasing the difficulty you decrease the sense of accomplishment especially with a wild turkey. I also agree that the sooner he learns how well those boogers can see the sooner he will start to develope as a turkey hunter. We all remember when we learned that valuable little lesson.. Lol! With that said there is nothing wrong with using a blind when the situation warrants it. After all a blind is just another tool, just like the ones that fill our turkey vests. The most important part is that he enjoys himself. Good luck let us know which way you decide to go.
Justin
:agreed: :anim_25:
Quote from: runngun on April 04, 2012, 01:10:09 PM
Blind first thing, then out and about if needed!!!
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on April 04, 2012, 06:20:07 PM
I'm with the guys. If your son is capable of doing what it takes to harvest a bird without a blind, go for it!! If not, best to go with the blind and not take a chance on blowing the hunt.
:z-winnersmiley:
we all wear a lot of camo....facemasks and gloves....the blind is just another level of camo.
The one big advantage to me is that with a blind you can sit in a chair and not on a tree root, and if you can't use mouth calls it frees up your hands. With that being said I have never killed a turkey from a blind. There have been times I wish I'd had one though.
I don't use a blind or decoys. My son is 13 and he has never seen the inside of a blind. IMO they take away from the experience. Being busted once in a while is REAL turkey hunting!
I myself would start out in the blind with a young one and then decide
later on what your going to do. If your not going in the blind just make sure your right next to your boy guiding him with your knowledge. Good Luck and hope your son kills another one.
I use a blind when I think it will help me. I do not let it hold me back.
All good advice and points. I'd explain it to him and see what he wants to do.
To Blind or not to Blind . . . .the Update.
Well, Friday rolls around and we put the birds to bed. We watched 7 birds roost behind a row of houses in the field. The other 30 plus birds to where we thought they would go. So the decision was to go after the 7 where we knew exact location or the big group with 30 plus and quite a few toms mixed in.
So my son, my buddy, and I head after the big group. We decided no blind and my buddy decides to record the hunt. I took the advice and brought the stake out material that we bought a few years ago and hardly used. In the opening between the two woods that I call the 'money spot' we found three trees in a row. My son takes the lead spot about 5 yards ahead of me, I go middle tree, and my buddy goes back about 3 yards from me. Well, lo and behold birds are right where we thought. We heard them gobble, watched them fly down, and start strutting. Birds are to the front of us, to the right of use, and some ahead and to the left.
A group of jakes comes into the calling. A nice tom from the behind us comes walking in as we were all faced toward the bulk of the birds. Very appreciative of my buddy as he was all about my son's hunt as he passes on the Tom that he could have quite easily dropped. It was 10 yards to the right and walking into gun view. Obviously, I pass and we let it reach my son.
Well, this is where the education begins. His first time sitting on a tree 'alone' and gave him the advice of this is your hunt and you make the decisions when we set him up. He moves his gun to the right. The tom spots movement, not totally spooked, turns and starts walking off at a diagonal. If he was more experienced then he would have dropped it when it walked off or just let the tom keep walking the field edge and thus into his line of fire instead of moving the gun. But hey, this is his hunt and experience. The jakes are still hanging around. A little later, he moves his gun, they kind of spoke, we call to calm them down. They knew something was up and start to walk away. My son lays the boom on one of the jakes and drops him. They get all worried and we call them back in again.
Well, the original tom that my son 'passed' walks diagnol about 150 to 200 yards and I hear a 'pop' and see a bird flopping. Turns out another father Than and his son Parker were hunting the same group of birds. As birds were still in the field we just hung out until the kid came out of his blind with his Dad. We go over and do a meet and greet. Turns out the property owner gave him permission too and let him know we might be there. Both groups oblivious to the others presence.
Well, this is Parkers first bird. A nice tom with 11" beard, 3/4 inchish spurs and guessing 21 pounds. My son gets the Jake. Both boys are pumped. I insisted they get a picture together. We talked for a while.
I was extremely proud of my son. When I asked why he just sat there after dropping his Jake he replied "I remember you telling a story of how you could have had 3 gobblers after dropping one and the other two went to attack it so I figured I better stay still." Well, it turns out this decision allowed Parker to get his bird with the 410.
Overall, an excellent morning with a memorable start to the season for both parties. Oh yeah, just goes to show you safety first as you never know who else is in the woods/fields with you.
(http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww298/lil_lohaus/IMAG0514-1.jpg)
Awesome hunt I'm glad it all worked out for the best. And it sounds like your boy got a little education on the Wiley wild turkey. Congrats to all involved
Justin
Congrats - well done and good lesson in patience for the youngin'. I'm jealous - he's got 60 more years of turkey hunting - I've got 30...
Congrats to both kids on their birds. I can almost bet that the kid that killed his out of a blind felt no less elation or sense of accomplishment than your son did by killing his sitting against a tree.
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on April 06, 2012, 11:42:56 AM
I don't use a blind or decoys. My son is 13 and he has never seen the inside of a blind. IMO they take away from the experience. Being busted once in a while is REAL turkey hunting!
Agree.
If it was his very first turkey hunt and was going to be bad weather or something then maybe I would so he didnt have a bad experience BUT, he might actually like it more if he were outside of a blind.....I know most turkey hunters do.
Also, I think that there are some things you just have to learn from experience that you will miss out on by sitting in a blind. A good example is learning when you can and cant move once one starts getting close. I watched a guy yesterday that missed out on a bird because he didnt move when he should have and the bird came in to 20 yards but he had no idea how to finish the deal. Fortunately for me, I was there and had moved when the bird went behind a tree at about 50yards and was ready once I realized he couldnt turn to shoot.... :-*
I know different folks that are new to turkey hunting who've had birds in range but either moved at the wrong time and ran the birds off, or they didnt move when they could have and couldnt get a shot as a result, or they just set up poorly and missed out on finishing the deal because of it.
If you are helping them out, like you are your son, you'd have a hard time running them thru what to do in every possible scenario of something like this but experience will teach them....