my dad got me started when i was 12 years old , he had never turkey hunted before but, decided to try out the sport. i always hunted with my dad as a kid so naturally he took me along on his on his ma-din voyage ,we knew nothing but had to learn the hard way ! some of the best memory's i have are camping out around port gipson listing to Ben lee cassettes in the truck then sleepping under the stars waiting on daylight. later on dad became a white perch fisherman and i became a turkey hunter. dad passed this summer he was my best friend and someone i could always count on '' he was a mans man ''thanks pop for starting me in the best sport there is ! i miss you always. even more in the spring !!!
I got myself started. Nobody in my immediate family hunted so I had to learn everything on my own. I had gone squirrel hunting with a friend a couple times and then convinced my parents to let me take hunter safety and get a 12 gauge shotgun at the age of 14. Spring turkey season was the first open hunting season after I got my license, and I remember going out opening day that first year not even knowing if there were any birds on our property. I quickly found out that there were when one sounded off about 80 yards from where I was sitting at daybreak. As it turned out I almost got my first bird about 30 minutes in to my very first season when he walked by through the brush at thirty yards. I had about 5 seconds to decide what to do but before I made up my mind he was gone. It was opening day of my third season before I got another chance and connected. I've been hooked ever since.
My nieghbors nephew got me started turkey hunting 15 years ago and he dont hunt no more now.I just talked to him the other day and he said he got out of turkey hunting.I didnt ask any ?'s.
Myself, turkey hunting in Northern WI was basically unheard of.
;D I had an elderly gentleman introduced to me at my restaurant, who was wearing a NWTF hat, and coat. After introductions, I said, are you the guy who's going to teach me how to Turkey hunt. He smiled, and said, yes I am. So started a long friendship. He's retired from Turkey hunting quite a few years ago, but still getting around pretty well. He made a very nice wingbone, and was a friend of Dick Kirby. So, I had a good teacher, but he was the old school believer of calling less, while I've stepped it up a bit ;D
I am a high school teacher and basketball coach here in the state. One of my first jobs I had a player who told me I needed to hunt turkeys and that he would take me. Well I took him up on it and the first day out he called up two that came running to the call. Well needless to say we double and I was hooked. Have been chasing them all over.
Well we are talking nearly 40 years ago in a small southern town. My father was a conservation officer. He was constantly dealing with deer hunting violators. The men in town he most respected were the turkey hunters. He had little to no problems from them and at least where we were, they were a cut of better people. The sport just seemed to have a more sophisticated, respectable reputation, the turkey hunters were more acomplished woodsman. Sitting with my father and such men in the local cafe and listening to their stories engrained an interest in the sport for me. My father did not hunt so I had no mentor. I struck out on my own and applied what I had heard around the cafe table. I had beginners luck and the respect my father had in my success sealed my fate as a turkey hunter. To this day, he still calls me in the evening after each day he knows I hunted and wants to hear how my hunt went.
My Dad got me started hunting deer ,squirrel ,rabbit I guess everything but Turkey and I did that on my own . There wasn't any around where I grew up but I loved to trout fish in the mountains of WV and it snowballed from there .
A guy that I worked with used to keep a mouth call in his pocket all the time and about drove everybody crazy. So I thought I would join in on the fun, boy did that start something!!!
My papaw got me into hunting. I just started out squirrel hunting and then it led to more guns. Soon it lead to more hunting, if it was open I hunted it. I decided to try turkey hunting on my own.
Snuff Can, I'm truly sorry to hear your father passed. Sounds like you have some great memories though.
I grew up hunting but never was introduced into turkey hunting. I got transferred to another drilling rig and ended up listening in to conversations between the driller and one of the roughnecks. It sparked an interest. I asked the driller if I could tag along and go listen for turkeys with him. Season was about to open up in a few weeks so I had a little time. When we got off the rig he took me to a spot in some national forest land nearby. At this point in time I had never even heard a wild turkey gobble. And then "IT" happened. That first one fired off then another, then another. Man, the woods came alive and I kinda felt like I finally did too. That was it! I had to get into this. I left from there grinning and went straight to Wal-Mart. I bought a H.S. Strut 2.5 cutter diaghram and headed home. I drove for 15 minutes without doing anything but spit on my steering wheel and dashboard. Pulled over onto the side of the road to read the directions and found out I had it in backwards. Duh! Well it's all been downhill from there. I started buying anything and everything I seen and just ran with it.
I'm glad my son was born into it and did not have to wait till later on in life like I did. He's 14 now and loves to hunt them spring gobblers with daddy. Life is good!
I was actually raised by a flock of turkeys until I was about 7. The gobblers were very mean, spurred and pecked me on the hands and face all the time. When I was finally able to escape I vowed to kill every one of them I could. Puttt, puttt.
Turkey hunters were few and far beween when I started in the 60's. They were also very closed mouthed and a different breed. Turkey hunting and calling a turkey back then was looked at like a mystic skill only a very few could master. I read an article in Sports Afield or Field & Stream (can't remember which) where I guy said "Turkey hunting cost me my home, my wife and my job..but it was worth it" so I figured it must be a lot of fun.
I couldn't get anybody to go with me to hunt in the almost summer time. 99% of the people I deer hunted with didn't even know there was a spring gobbler season. So I hunted and learned on my own, by myself and still only hunt alone.
A very good friend of mine took me back in the late 80's and I've been possessed ever since.
After seeing a fall longbeard in 1990 I was hooked! I fall hunted the first 2 years and went to MO. in spring of 1992. We had no spring season in my part of IL. back then,just fall archery.
A friend of my dad got me started, but the late Dick Kirby is what lit my fire many years ago, Met him on a hunt in Western Ok in the early '70's. Still have the box call that he gave me.
Gman
I've only been hunting for about 10 years. I was stuck in Pittsburgh during the week for four months on a big project for work. In the evenings, there wasn't much to do other than watch the Outdoor Channel. The turkey hunting shows caught my attention and I thought it might be fun. Ten years and a whole bunch of money later, I can admit that I am addicted. :TooFunny:
I grew up hunting everything except turkey because they do not have any where I live. Never had an interest in hunting them until last year when my 23 yr old son wanted to go. With 1 week left in the season we bought a slate call some turkey loads and headed out to our deer camp 2 hrs away for the weekend. The first morning we heard 6 different gobblers and set up on 2 of them but never did see any. We roosted one that evening and set up on him the next morning but we were on the wrong ridge when he fired off the first gobble of the morning. Not knowing anything about the sport we stayed put and tried to call him over but that didn't work. It was still dark and we should have moved back up the ridge and got on the one he was on. We never saw a turkey that weekend but we both got the fever bad. We have been studying them for a year and learning how to call and set up so maybe this year we will do better. This is a self learning experience so it may take a while before we kill one. The area we hunt only has a 7 day season so we took vacation for that week. We also got drawn for a lottery hunt 2 weekends before the season opener.
Quote from: neal on March 13, 2011, 11:00:49 PM
Myself, turkey hunting in Northern WI was basically unheard of.
Same here in E. Texas. We had some turkeys on our lease and in 2000 they opened it up to hunt them after letting the flock built up.
I bought a couple of tapes and some calls and scouted some.
Got one on my second trip out and I've been addicted ever since!
I had always had an interest..especially since a kid watching the Waltons and grandpa Walton chasin those gobblers on the mountain!! ;D
My good friend Joe actually got me started and I've been hooked ever since
Squirrel and rabbit was my Grandfather. Deer, dove and quail was my Dad. The turkey hunting has all been done on my own. I wish I would have had someone to jump start my turkey killing but I have progressed along fairly well.
My grandfather started me out at 6 years old. I killed one about half way through the season that year one afternoon. I was with him when he killed 3 others that year. Boy I couldn't even sleep on the night before a hunt.
It's funny cause now I am the one taking him. He is still in good health, but with the heart condition is scared to go off far by himself so he only hunts when I can go with him.
Daman
I started in 1965 with my Dad and our neighbor George Lofton. Mr. George loved turkey hunting, and I still think of him often while I'm standing on ones neck.
Basically, a guy that went quail hunting with us told me that he had turkeys on his place, and knowing that I was teenager that liked to shoot stuff, he invited me out the following spring. He never went with me, because he didn't hunt 'em in the spring time...said he didn't have the heart to shoot 'em when all they're trying to do is get laid. :D
My dad got me into hunting... we didn't hunt much when I was a kid.... but now it's all we talk about. I have buddies that I hunt with, but there is nothing like a father and son hunt. My boy is only 9 months old.. I hope he takes to it like I did
My dad got me into squirrel hunting and chasin rabbits a little bit and it just grew from there. I have learned pretty much all that I know by myself and from reading everything I could get my hands on.
Thanks dad for gettin started. :jesus-cross:
I have deer hunted with my uncle, cousin, and friends. The doc that my mom (nurse) worked for took us a lot as well. 2 yrs ago I decided I would give it a try as the weather was warm, I could just put up a blind anywhere and not spook them, and I could take my 4 yr old son. I bought a Primos Spring hen push pin and a Primos power crystal. Worked, and worked. Borrowed my brother's Rem 870 express 12 gauge with an 18" barrel. Went to Wal-Mart and bought 2.75", 1 1/8 oz of #6 shot. Shot it at 30 yds and got 39 pellets in a circle (don't even know why I counted). Went out the Saturday before the season and did not see or hear a turkey. Decided to set up on our deer lease as I had seen 3 hens that fall. Set the blind and 2 chairs up day before. Got up and had me, my son, back pack full of coloring implements and food, a gun and a cushion for his chair (he couldn't see out of the blind). On the way in, right at twilight, 0600, I heard a gobble. Told my son to hit his call and 2 thunderous gobbles erupted. We then ran 100 yds to the blind and set up. Started calling and had the 2 in front of us and then 1 behind us gobbling. This went back and forth for about and hour. My son had just gone to sleep when he showed up. Full strut the entire time and shot him over the decoy at 20 yds. We were hooting and hollaring. That got the fire going and now I have killed 4 birds and hope to get him his first this year.
My uncle got me started,the first year I just called for him., that was 1994.In 95 I had the tag and he helped call and it was his last year don't know why he stoped but it was all I needed to get the fever,last year I started my twins hunting the thunder chicken and have no regrets. :character0029:
Growing up we didn't have turkeys in our neck of the woods. I still remember seeing the first turkey track I'd ever laid eyes on while deer hunting with Dad, looked just like a bird track, a BIG bird :D. When they finally grew into a huntable population, Dad decided to give it a try with an old lynch slate call and beginners luck bagged him one of the better Easterns we've taken on our land. After hearing the story, I had to give it a try myself. It took me a while to learn what the heck I was doing, but I finally learned enough from Mother Nature to bag a nice tom and it's been a crazy addiction ever since.
Reloader
I got started all on my own. Nobody else to blame for this affliction other than myself :TooFunny:
My Dad and all the men at out hunting club. We had a small club of about 8 members, of which about 6 of them started turkey hunting in the late 70s. My dad started taking me in 1986 when I was 9 or 10. Been at it ever since.