Technology and progress are fine things,don't get me wrong.But with all this bickering and arguing over which shell is best with which choke in which gun and why a load that was perfectly adequate 5-10-15-20 years ago doesnt seem fit enough to shoot opossums with anymore,have we gotten to the point where its become a contest that will never have a clear winner instead of just being the fun and enjoyable sport we all love?
What would someone like Ben Lee think of what we are doing today?Would he just chuckle and say "boys learn how to hunt and the rest will come" and then go off with his fixed choke gun and 2 3/4" #4s and smack some noggins?
I'm not knocking anybody on their choice of equipment,thats not were i'm headed with this.It should be up to the individual to use whatever he or she feels most comfortable with.But it just seems like to me we are putting the cart before the horse sometimes.We strive to have guns that are proven 40+ killers then want decoys that are super lifelike because we feel turkeys may spook or not commit to sub grade fakes.I dont think with some of the setups here a turkey would ever get close enough to tell the difference!!Which do we want,close decoys or far guns?
I'm as guilty as the next guy of wanting bigger and better,and theres no real fault at that.But I think from here on out i'm going to commit myself to basics.Find a good solid 40 yd load for my 870,with dare i say it...LEAD,and just hunt turkeys.The info available will make your head spin,but its nice to have great folks like on here to help out.I think once I find a good combo this year,i'm stockin up on ammo and sellin off extra chokes and such.
Lets quit all the bickerin and moanin and groanin,we get enough of that at work,and back to doin what we LOVE.....bustin turkey lips!!!
Just my .02
Yep, sometimes will all the crap available to us today, I feel like I need a PhD to pattern my gun and hunt
Quote from: CASHisking on February 22, 2014, 06:20:04 AM
Yep, sometimes will all the crap available to us today, I feel like I need a PhD to pattern my gun and hunt
I think you need a PhD to go to the john! ;D
Quote from: chatterbox on February 22, 2014, 06:35:01 AM
Quote from: CASHisking on February 22, 2014, 06:20:04 AM
Yep, sometimes will all the crap available to us today, I feel like I need a PhD to pattern my gun and hunt
I think you need a PhD to go to the john! ;D
I resemble that remark!
Quote from: CASHisking on February 22, 2014, 06:20:04 AM
Yep, sometimes will all the crap available to us today, I feel like I need a PhD to pattern my gun and hunt
:agreed:
Most of the real successful hunters know what is important and what isn't. Just as some of the better fishermen may not have a very large tackle box , they know how to use each lure very well and when to use what,where, and when.
I agree with your point as turkey hunting experiences have given me some of my greatest and most enjoyable moments ever in the great outdoors. A lot of my best hunts were when I never fired a shot and yet could feel the ground shake when he drummed. When he is close enough about any combo except ones too tight will do the job nicely. If my guns will do the job at 30 yards I am good to go even though I know that they reach far beyond that.
The more that I travel the more respect I have for the different hunting situations and how the hunters adapt. The turkey shows make turkey hunting look as if the birds have no chance . May we all have a safe and enjoyable season.
Quote from: RAJ on February 22, 2014, 07:20:41 AM
Most of the real successful hunters know what is important and what isn't. Just as some of the better fishermen may not have a very large tackle box , they know how to use each lure very well and when to use what,where, and when.
I agree with your point as turkey hunting experiences have given me some of my greatest and most enjoyable moments ever in the great outdoors. A lot of my best hunts were when I never fired a shot and yet could feel the ground shake when he drummed. When he is close enough about any combo except ones too tight will do the job nicely. If my guns will do the job at 30 yards I am good to go even though I know that they reach far beyond that.
The more that I travel the more respect I have for the different hunting situations and how the hunters adapt. The turkey shows make turkey hunting look as if the birds have no chance . May we all have a safe and enjoyable season.
This sums up turkey hunting for me. Very well said, Robert.
Pattern ?? helpers :help: degree :fud: :OGani:
Good post you have a very good prospective. I enjoy reading the info posted here and have sure learned a lot more about turkey hunting than what I knew before joing OG. I,ve learned a lot about calls, chokes loads , calling and a respect for hunters in other parts of the US that hunt in different terain and conditions than I do.
I've learned that even though I am a successful hunter in my neck of the woods I might be a rank amatuer hunting in the hills and hollows of the eastern US.
I do chuckle when I see a post asking if someone's 40 yd pattern results were lasered our tape measured!
Quote from: RAJ on February 22, 2014, 07:20:41 AM
Most of the real successful hunters know what is important and what isn't. Just as some of the better fishermen may not have a very large tackle box , they know how to use each lure very well and when to use what,where, and when.
I agree with your point as turkey hunting experiences have given me some of my greatest and most enjoyable moments ever in the great outdoors. A lot of my best hunts were when I never fired a shot and yet could feel the ground shake when he drummed. When he is close enough about any combo except ones too tight will do the job nicely. If my guns will do the job at 30 yards I am good to go even though I know that they reach far beyond that.
The more that I travel the more respect I have for the different hunting situations and how the hunters adapt. The turkey shows make turkey hunting look as if the birds have no chance . May we all have a safe and enjoyable season.
excellent post,this sums up what it's all about
I agree with the above post, just want something that will get the job done adequately 35-40 and let the chips fall where they may.
Simple is good in the woods. Tech will let you down sooner or later.
My red dot is a concession to my aging eyes but I like the simplicity of turkey hunting.
When you boil it down, it's you and your woodsmanship against a tom who is very good at not getting killed.
I'm not a pack mule, I like to keep it fairly light. I don't think I need 40 pounds of equipment to kill a bird.
I personally use an 870 SM with a Kick's GT .665 with Winchester #5 lead. It's got a Nikon scope because of poor vision and eye dominance issues. I decided a couple years ago that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. For me, I like to call em in close. I told a buddy just last night that if it gets to the point that I have to have a set up that kills em at 70 yards or above just to kill a bird, I'll give up hunting all together. To each his own, but that's my opinion.
My Grandfather knew and lived fairly close to Ben Lee and he too would laugh and tell us to "spend more time in the woods, you never know what you might learn" instead of buying different equipment. He hunted when there were fewer turkeys and killed more than most folks will ever have the opportunity to. Most of his kills were made by cupping a piece of slate in his hand with using a striker he made. All the while wearing his Liberty overalls and a plaid shirt. He told me his solution for a bird that was to far was "well boy, you just call him in closer"
I'm a fairly simple guy and don't get caught up in all the latest fashions.
For me, I ask questions about "what is the best" this or that as a way to shorten the curve of getting into a new area of a sport, OR because I'm just entering a sport for the first time. Years ago, if I didn't have an answer available from my Dad, Uncles, or a friend, then I went to the local shop & asked them. That is a pretty narrow bit of knowledge, no matter how you look at it.
Good example, my old man hunted with a shotgun with a set choke for most of his entire hunting days. Did not matter what he was hunting, he grabbed that shotgun. When I bought my first shotgun on my own, I got a gun that had a set of choke tubes. It was a mircle, as far as I was concerned. Not sure how OR who turned me onto that idea of choke tubes now, but thanks! May have been my Uncle. Before that, I had a choice of using the Extra full gun for the hunt OR his Improved Cylinder Choke gun. If I was hunting with him, it was the Improved Cylinder gun, which I hated!
All of these innovations and the sharing of said knowledge is fun. At least that is my take on it.
In the end you still have to make the right set up and call the bird to you. Having a gun that puts 300 pellets in a 10 inch circle and experimenting is a way for me to keep the passion alive during the off season. These expensive Dave smith/zink type decoys and such make zero difference- they are like yeti coolers...... An igloo will get the job done done but if you have the money feel free to spend it. I won't cause a stir until they allow motorized decoys and electric calls- like they've done with waterfowl hunting
Stick with your woodsmanship, scouting and calling. Leave your decoys and blinds at home and over time you will become a much better turkey hunter. Also , try and keep your shots to 45 yards and less. It will make you a better caller.
Quote from: J Hook Max on February 22, 2014, 06:01:34 PM
Stick with your woodsmanship, scouting and calling. Leave your decoys and blinds at home and over time you will become a much better turkey hunter. Also , try and keep your shots to 45 yards and less. It will make you a better caller.
+1 :z-winnersmiley:
Quote from: jakesdad on February 22, 2014, 12:25:49 AMLets quit all the bickerin and moanin and groanin,we get enough of that at work,and back to doin what we LOVE.....bustin turkey lips!!!
Just my .02
:agreed: Amen brother!!! I've been saying the same thing for a while, and I get accused of holding hands and singing cumbayah. :lol: ;D
I fault nobody for their style of legal hunting, and believes ethics is up to the individual, and not for some arbitrary person to impose their ethics on you. Good post! Thank you! :icon_thumright:
I think most of us get caught up in the latest and greatest craziness. The manufacturers have to market their new products to stay in business so we all get sucked in. Some of the latest and greatest things from the past now gather dust or we laugh at how we ever got suckered into buying it in the first place, and yet there are other things have become staples in our vests. I'm in agreement that we can become overwhelmed with too much "state of the art" junk. I'm sure a lot of you guys are the same way, that once you get out there you tend to keep it simple and fall back on experience and use the things that have always seemed to work.
I would have love to been around to watch how the Indians hunted turkeys.
I don't question one's ethics for using blinds and decoys provided they aren't mechanical. What I see is that for too many hunters they become a crutch. For a novice hunter , they are great. The same for taking young kids who can't be still. All I'm saying is that removing these things makes you hone your other skills and in time that will make you a far better hunter.
The same as hunting in different places and habitats. Someone who sits on the same field every hunt or the same terrain would be lost and at a severe disadvantage when put in different terrain and woods. I was lucky , I hunted many years in Alabama when decoys were illegal and you had to learn to outfox them with your calling and proper setups.
A friend asked how do you call turkeys across a wide open field. I asked him do the birds stay in the field all day long. He said no. I said OK , when they go back into the woods , go in those woods and call them up. No decoy or blind needed for that. Often you can kill them before they ever make their way to the fields. Again no decoy or blind needed.
Quote from: J Hook Max on February 23, 2014, 03:14:53 AM
I don't question one's ethics for using blinds and decoys provided they aren't mechanical. What I see is that for too many hunters they become a crutch. For a novice hunter , they are great. The same for taking young kids who can't be still. All I'm saying is that removing these things makes you hone your other skills and in time that will make you a far better hunter.
The same as hunting in different places and habitats. Someone who sits on the same field every hunt or the same terrain would be lost and at a severe disadvantage when put in different terrain and woods. I was lucky , I hunted many years in Alabama when decoys were illegal and you had to learn to outfox them with your calling and proper setups.
A friend asked how do you call turkeys across a wide open field. I asked him do the birds stay in the field all day long. He said no. I said OK , when they go back into the woods , go in those woods and call them up. No decoy or blind needed for that. Often you can kill them before they ever make their way to the fields. Again no decoy or blind needed.
I don't carry anymore than what is needed to constantly kill. When I get out of my truck in the mornings the most you will see me with is my gun and a fanny pack. The fanny pack will have a box call, few strikers and my old country boy glass pot, a woodhaven purr pot, few extra shells and owl call. I carry my mouth calls in a pouch in my pocket. About 1/2 the time I dont carry anything but my mouth calls.
I hate to say this because it makes me feel old, but technology has taken the place of woodsmanship. I started hunting turkeys in 1978, boy have things changed. :boon:
Seems to me there are plenty of turkeys to go around, and what other people do with their own time and money is their own business. A lot of the blinds and decoys stuff comes from watching the sponsored "pros" hawking their wares on TV, but that's just one other way to learn how to hunt. Nothing wrong with it. We didn't all have a turkey assassin pappy to show us how to properly kill turkey with an atlatl when we were knee high to a grasshopper.
Some guys might only get to hunt a few days a year and really want to bag a bird, so they're willing to pay extra for an advantage because they can't put it in the time due to family/work/health/etc. Doesn't really matter. Hunt your own hunt.
Quote from: USMC0331 on February 23, 2014, 12:44:06 AM
I would have love to been around to watch how the Indians hunted turkeys.
You don't think they ground all that corn into meal do you? :funnyturkey:
The advancements of technology that have allowed us hunters to "step up" and advance, is also a opportunity to "step down" the way I see it. example - these 20ga guns today with the new chokes and HTL ammo shoot better than any 12ga did 20-30 years ago.
Yes.. we can all still shoot 12ga that put 300+ in a 10in circle... but at what point is that overkill and taking out a lot of the sport? This will depend on the individual hunter. I personally felt that limit for me was last year. I put up all the 12ga turkey guns and only shoot a 20ga now....and I love it just because it's so much easier to carry and shoot. I have a lot of land to walk and cover. Plus I feel that I'm putting a little more challenge back into it. I'm not knocking anyone that shoots big bore guns.. that's perfectly fine.
As for the 10in circle "competitions" - a lot of guys here view it more as sport and hobby. It's can be addictive as I enjoyed it for a while. Just like long range shooting. But I'm more focused these days on being a better turkey hunter.
Also this year - I plan to use only a cross bow when hunting from an enclosed blind.. which is about 30% of the time. Those shot's always tend to be only 15-20 yards in my area. These crossbows today shoots 350+ fps with a scope... why not ?
On the flip side of the coin.. I see how guys that have limited opportunities want every possible advantage. If I could only hunt once or twice per year, I probably would. But I'm lucky in that I get to hunt all season long on tons of different private land. I know I will end up killing a handful of birds if want, so there isn't too much pressure. Plus as I get a little older it becomes less about the actual kill. I'm actually just as excited to see one of my friends kill one while I call, especially the ones new to turkey hunting. I'm just thankful I have my health and can hear that 7am gobblin thunder every spring.. it never gets old.
I guess it all depends on the individual's personal choice.
Unless I'm taking someone else out, I don't hunt for anyone but me.
It only took rolling a few birds and watching them run or fly away for me to decide to use the best gun & shell combo I could reasonable afford....
mudhen
I think anyone who would pay over 100.00 for a decoy needs their head checked. But that is just my .02
I like to tinker. Always have just like my grandfather did whether it's hunting stuff, car stuff or whatever. Nothing I buy helps me be more successful. I don't need tss, Hevi, decoys, blinds or any other crap. I could carry a shotgun with plain lead loads and 1 call (carry 2 now and a mouth call after breaking one in the field one time) like I did for the other 20 years and kill just as many. Pretty much what I do now except I do shoot tss and have a red dot but neither helps me kill em any deader or bring em closer in range.
It's a hobby to me that I truly love. I don't go out bar hopping or waste money. My extra money goes to the stuff I enjoy. I really don't understand the bickering on here lately over stupid stuff but as the forum grows you will see more of it. Just the nature of the beast.
Turkeys are stupid. People over thinking is what costs em birds. You can buy all the gadgets but none will help you kill more birds except for decoys
Quote from: turkey_slayer on February 23, 2014, 05:59:19 PM
People over thinking is what costs em birds.
I agree. A lot of people think way to much trying to out think an opponent who doesn't think. Think about that!
I kill more turkeys by being in the woods as much as possible. No amount of equipment or stuff can make up for this.
Quote from: USMC0331 on February 23, 2014, 12:44:06 AM
I would have love to been around to watch how the Indians hunted turkeys.
That's exactly what I was thinking. I was reading a post on another forum about Russell turkey hunting boots......$477. I couldn't help but give my 2 cents about it and remind them that the Native American Indian hunted turkeys with either NO Boots or thin leather moccasins.
I posted on another thread about 870 loads regarding my recent trial of the new long beard XR shells. I'm not looking to shoot past 40 yards, I just like shooting new shells and was curious as to how much tighter these might be than other standard lead loads between 20 and 40 yards......which they convinced me enough to carry a few with me this season. But I commented on how I would hate to know my success in the turkey woods depended on my shells' performance at 50+ yards........and 70 yards is just ridiculous. If you can't get him closer than that you really need to rethink your whole approach to turkey hunting.
Like a few of you have already said, get in the woods more and let the turkeys show you the ropes..........they've been showing me how it's done for years and I just can't get enough of it.
Like has been said, learn to get them close and just hunt. Knowing the land and woodsmanship kill plenty of turkey. Getten them close is what it's all about for me. Just grab even a .410 and get him close. He does have a big old head to aim at. That said, Im all for the big gun/super duper choke for those that can't wait,let them walk away or don't understand lesser guns limitations. Bow hunting them is a real hoot.
I didnt read all the replies but thought its an interesting question.....
I've been hunting for a little over 20years now and when I first started I didnt have a gun with a choke, my research for picking shells was as extensive as picking the ones that had a turkey picture on the box OR best available. My camo was green army fatigues or some of the really old school stuff. The only call I owned or really even knew existed was a push button call...
I really didnt know anyone that turkey hunted to tell me any different and I still had success... More experience meant picking up more tools (different calls, better shells, a gun with a choke, etc. etc)... but the main thing that helped me kill more turkey was the experience itself. I dont think that changes... You get better at most anything, the more you do it.
To some extent, we DO get carried away with things that really dont matter all that much...guns that put an extra 25 pellets inside a 10" circle (99% of my shots will never need it and I'd probably be better off with a gun that has an awesome pattern at 25yds), or custom calls that cost 100$ when I could call them in just as well with a cheap primos call ( nothing wrong with custom calls, they are nice and I own quite a few myself), or camo that matches like a fashion show.... the turkey dont care. Really, they dont....just sit still and do a decent job blending in. The list could go on and on.
BUT, there's nothing wrong with getting a little carried away with some of this stuff if it's legal and thats what you're in to. I'm all about someone learning their gun at the range and spending time patterning it. I legitimately enjoy it in the off season. I enjoy having nice calls, even though the cheap ones are just as effective/practical (diaphram calls being the exception IMO)... I do draw the line when I see someone start to use technology and the "easy way" at the expense of taking away some of the true challenge of "hunting" the turkey. Just my opinion.
Quote from: Beard Collecter on February 23, 2014, 04:50:23 AM
I hate to say this because it makes me feel old, but technology has taken the place of woodsmanship. I started hunting turkeys in 1978, boy have things changed. :boon:
I agree. I started hunting turkeys in the early 1970's. I still hunt old school without the aid of blinds or decoys. To me it's just more fun and challenging.
I have to respect what Trax said. Lucky for me , I did have a "turkey assassin Pappy" to show me the ropes. He's been gone for twenty three years now. He started showing me in 1969. I only wish I could now show him just how much he really taught me. I hope my Grandkids will be saying the same thing about me someday.There's no substitute for experience.
Hunters have been looking for ways to get the game closer and their weapons to reach farther since the first caveman tied a string to the two ends of a stick and made a bow and the atlatl went out the window. Yes I believe there is a line that makes it to easy but that line is more gray for some than others.
Me and my buddy was talking about this other day. I was saying how we have complicated things so much, worrying about how many pellets we can put in a circle at 40 yards, and 20 different calls, and decoys that walk around themselves and blah blah blah. Boys I remember back when I would go out with a Tight Wad choke, and Remington Nitro #4's and smoke turkeys every year. The main reason was that I focused more on my woodsmanship, and calling, and learning how to be a better turkey hunter. Now we are so caught up with this other stuff, that we've pronounced the turkey dead before season gets here. Tha'ts one reason why I bought a dedicated turkey gun. That way I could pattern it and throw it in the safe, and once a year bring it out, shoot it once to make sure she still shoots good, and go hunting. Not worrying about nothing but killing turkeys.
Ok here is my spill on this. I have hunted turkeys for 14 years, I called up my first turkey and killed it when I was 14. My dad hunted everything except turkeys so I have never had a mentor but he took me that first year and sat with me on that first kill. He has since started hunting turkeys and we hunt together every spring. Anyway after that first year I was hooked. I started thinking that gun and call wasn't good enough so I bought another gun, new calls, newest camo, and all the other trappings for turkey hunting. I needed a shopping cart to carry all my junk to the woods. Did I kill turkeys? Yes I did but not any better, farther, or quicker than without all the extra stuff. I'm not against anyone buyin toys because I have bought my share, and I enjoy trying new chokes, Loads and calls as much as anyone. Do I need it? No. I think we need to watch how we portay ourselves to new hunters to the sport and not get everyone thinking that you need a $1,500 shotgun and $150 choke and shells that are $50 dollars a box that puts 300 pellets in a ten inch circle at 40 yards. Because some people think that if you spend that you can kill turkeys at 70 yards. If turkeys were meant to be killed that far we wouldn't be using shotguns, we'd use rifles. The thrill of hunting turkeys is calling them close enough to smell their breath and you don't have to own a cabelas store or have all the fancy attire to do that.
I don't
• worry about the light reflecting off my glasses and spooking turkeys
• use a special seat or chair—just the cushion that comes with the vest
• worry about what kind or how many decoys to use or what kind of bag to put them in—I don't use them
• pop up blinds—once in a blue moon I might make a natural blind
• fret over my camo. I couldn't give you the band name of my camo if my life depended on it. Its all mis matched anyway
• use leafy suits or guile suits
• use special sights, red dots, glow sights etc.. just the two beads on the gun
• polish my barrel any in special way—just give it a good cleaning after season
• use heavy shot or Nitros—just Winchester lead 5's
• use an after market choke—just the turkey choke that came with the Rem 870
• count the number of pellets in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards
• wear snake boots
• spend all year running calls. I did a lot a practice in the early days of my career but now just get tuned up a few weeks before season
• use game cams
Maybe if I got with the program I could kill 50% to 75% of the turkeys that I hear gobbling on the roost at least 4 times like many posted here a while back said they could.
Quote from: Fullfan on February 23, 2014, 05:51:50 PM
I think anyone who would pay over 100.00 for a decoy needs their head checked. But that is just my .02
don't you know,you can't a turkey without a 100.00-200.00 REAL LIFE decoy
you're right,somebody does need their head looked at
Quote from: catdaddy on February 24, 2014, 06:42:15 PM
I don't
• worry about the light reflecting off my glasses and spooking turkeys
• use a special seat or chair—just the cushion that comes with the vest
• worry about what kind or how many decoys to use or what kind of bag to put them in—I don't use them
• pop up blinds—once in a blue moon I might make a natural blind
• fret over my camo. I couldn't give you the band name of my camo if my life depended on it. Its all mis matched anyway
• use leafy suits or guile suits
• use special sights, red dots, glow sights etc.. just the two beads on the gun
• polish my barrel any in special way—just give it a good cleaning after season
• use heavy shot or Nitros—just Winchester lead 5's
• use an after market choke—just the turkey choke that came with the Rem 870
• count the number of pellets in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards
• wear snake boots
• spend all year running calls. I did a lot a practice in the early days of my career but now just get tuned up a few weeks before season
• use game cams
Maybe if I got with the program I could kill 50% to 75% of the turkeys that I hear gobbling on the roost at least 4 times like many posted here a while back said they could.
possibly the best post I've seen on here in a long time,this here gentlmen is a Turkey Hunter
Quote from: surehuntsalot on February 24, 2014, 08:34:40 PM
Quote from: catdaddy on February 24, 2014, 06:42:15 PM
I don't
• worry about the light reflecting off my glasses and spooking turkeys
• use a special seat or chair—just the cushion that comes with the vest
• worry about what kind or how many decoys to use or what kind of bag to put them in—I don't use them
• pop up blinds—once in a blue moon I might make a natural blind
• fret over my camo. I couldn't give you the band name of my camo if my life depended on it. Its all mis matched anyway
• use leafy suits or guile suits
• use special sights, red dots, glow sights etc.. just the two beads on the gun
• polish my barrel any in special way—just give it a good cleaning after season
• use heavy shot or Nitros—just Winchester lead 5's
• use an after market choke—just the turkey choke that came with the Rem 870
• count the number of pellets in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards
• wear snake boots
• spend all year running calls. I did a lot a practice in the early days of my career but now just get tuned up a few weeks before season
• use game cams
Maybe if I got with the program I could kill 50% to 75% of the turkeys that I hear gobbling on the roost at least 4 times like many posted here a while back said they could.
possibly the best post I've seen on here in a long time,this here gentlmen is a Turkey Hunter
Catdaddy is the man. Speaking of, it's about time for another one of his awesome stories
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 22, 2014, 10:55:35 PM
Quote from: jakesdad on February 22, 2014, 12:25:49 AMLets quit all the bickerin and moanin and groanin,we get enough of that at work,and back to doin what we LOVE.....bustin turkey lips!!!
Just my .02
:agreed: Amen brother!!! I've been saying the same thing for a while, and I get accused of holding hands and singing cumbayah. :lol: ;D
I fault nobody for their style of legal hunting, and believes ethics is up to the individual, and not for some arbitrary person to impose their ethics on you. Good post! Thank you! :icon_thumright:
Mann, I love Cumbayah ;D
Quote from: surehuntsalot on February 24, 2014, 08:31:35 PM
Quote from: Fullfan on February 23, 2014, 05:51:50 PM
I think anyone who would pay over 100.00 for a decoy needs their head checked. But that is just my .02
don't you know,you can't a turkey without a 100.00-200.00 REAL LIFE decoy
you're right,somebody does need their head looked at
X-3
What ever happend to the days of throwing a paper pie plate out @ 25 yards and shootin some ol lead 4's at it to see if was still on. It was simple for us, and it worked wearing our old bottom land cammo. Everyone.. I'm still grateful for what I've learned here on O.G But... Keep it simple ;D
Deleted
I lean towards traditionalist but also buy a few gadgets every now and again. I shoot hevishot not because I want to kill turkeys at 70 yds but fact is they are denser than lead so presumably provide cleaner kills in the event I'm off the mark a bit and don't get as many pellets in the kill zone.
I also pay attention to my camo not to make sure it matches but to make sure it has not faded. Been busted before from old camo, probably wouldn't happen if I didn't go cheap with Russell outdoors. I've used the same vest since I started, use my grandfathers 1954 lynch world champion box call and try and use woodsmanship over gadgets.
However, I won a chunk of cash this year and bought a dsd jake. Necessary? Absolutely not but it gives me something to think about and get excited for the upcoming season. When I hunt timber around home I never use decoys not because people will think I'm less of a hunter, but because they don't work and hang up birds. Been there done that. When I go hunt the plains I've been more successful with decoys than without primarily due to lack of cover to run and gun. I'd rather have them come in spittin drummin and gobblin to fight then deer hunt or ambush them.
To each his own though, I think there can be a happy medium. For me, line in the sand is motorized decoys!!! That's when it will be too much but I guarantee it's coming!!
Another aspect that comes to mind is that not everyone has the same opportunities as others do. I know guys who hunt primo private land in multiple states every year. It's very easy for them to not have to use decoys, blinds or technology, or fancy camo, etc.
On the other hand, I also know guys who only get out 1 or 2 days on the weekend, and not every weekend, and on public land, seeking pressured birds and fighting it out with all the other guys there. I don't blame them for using every advantage they can to seal the deal on the very few opportunities they get to harvest a bird.
That's why I am not judgmental. Don't want (or need) to use dekes, blinds, technological advances? Excellent! I support you! Want to use every legal method you can to improve your odds? Excellent! I support you too!!
Cumbayah!!! ;) :lol: ;D
I bought my Mossburg 835, used, about 15 years ago, only has the little white bead on the front and I've used it exclusively to hunt turkey since then. Always use Federal #6 3-inch mag shells. Sometimes I will have the same box for 4-5 years, until I figure I better burn it up. Not that I kill a turkey every year, but it has never failed to drop a bird after I've lined up and dropped the hammer.
My hunting clothes used to be whatever I had left over from my military days. I have since upgraded to a Cabelas gortex parka because it is WARM, but I couldn't tell you what style camo it is. Last spring, when I dropped my gobbler, I was still sporting old desert camo pants. Didn't seem to bother any of the birds I was working, particularly that wily old guy that was spitting and drumming not 15 feet behind me.
I have recently purchased a few things for convenience or comfort such as folding chair, turkey vest to keep my calls and snacks somewhat organized and this year I'm going to pick up a jake decoy. But, that will be about the limit of what I'm willing to carry. It is already pushing things lugging a chair and decoys around up and down these mountains!
I don't mind either way, it's all up to the individual hunter. As long as we're out there having fun!
Man if "need" was a requirement for everything in life, it might be a very boring existence....
Lots of good folks make a living selling & making these things we don't "need"...
But that's just my take, yrmv...
mudhen
I wonder about the god ole day comments, they used what they had back in the day and I bet they would do the same today.
Why use the technology? Many reasons - IMO some will never be good hunters and need the crutch, some are just in love with everything turkey and want the stuff that feeds the passion. Heck we are all using technology and are members on this site conversing because of the passion or looking for tips to make us better or make it easier - so what does that make all of us?
Quote from: VanHelden Game Calls on April 01, 2014, 09:04:30 AM
I wonder about the god ole day comments, they used what they had back in the day and I bet they would do the same today.
Why use the technology? Many reasons - IMO some will never be good hunters and need the crutch, some are just in love with everything turkey and want the stuff that feeds the passion. Heck we are all using technology and are members on this site conversing because of the passion or looking for tips to make us better or make it easier - so what does that make all of us?
Informed and connected!
I look at hunting as a good clean fun hobby rather see people spend money on it then a lot of other stuff