What do y'all prefer? Chasing the first few birds that you know for sure are there or keep with your setup if your already setup and try to get them to come to you?
I do not deer stand hunt turkeys. I go to the birds. Where I start the day from will change based on where I am hearing birds. But I am not putting down roots when I get there. I am listening and may either set up or move depending on where I hear birds that morning. More times than not, I move from where I am standing after hearing a few gobbles to determine where birds are that morning.
99% of the time, my dad and I have birds roosted for a good starting point in the morning. If they don't cooperate within the first hour and a half or so after fly down, but we can still hear them, we usually move on them. If they go silent, we usually give them longer to see if one is coming in quiet. I can't say this is what we do every time, but it seems to be our general tactic.
One morning a few years ago, we setup 6 different times on a group of henned up gobblers and my dad ended up getting one at 11am. The farm we hunt has 3 main fields with some separation with hedgerows breaking them up a little more and they basically hit every field on the farm and he killed him within 50 yards of our initial setup that morning. Had we stayed put, we may have gotten him from our starting point, but it wouldn't have been as much fun.
Dance with them what brung ya. Go after those birds. If I had to sit and wait for turkeys every time, I'd loose interest fast. I run and gun, that's what i enjoy. Others may enjoy sitting and waiting. Whatever floats your boat.
I typically start out at a spot where I know birds will congregate to - gobbling or not. Now, once 8:30-9 rolls around and I hear a hot bird sounding off, I always go to em.
Jeez, must be kinda nice having the option of turning down the first "few" birds you hear!!
I'm happy if I hear 2 out there!
Unless I roosted a bird and know im sitting under one Im always ready to move
TO me working a bird is just that and with some jobs you have to be able to walk in order to work. I'm always ready to move on a bird.
I usually start in a place where I know birds frequent or are at least roosting close to.If they fail to show or I hear gobbling someplace I know I can move too i'm movin.The rare exception is on rainy days i'm not to good to sit on a field that is known to be used and dare I say it.............sit in a BLIND! ;D
Depends on where I'm hunting. One area Ill get to a place where I know I will be in between several and wait for a bit.Another place I will go where they are heading after they fly down and cut them off so to speak. Or Ill go to a place and head right for the first one I hear gobble and see what shakes loose.
Yeah that's the thing, I'm a new turkey hunter so when I hear a bird I'm ready to go get him. I hate to sit around and listen to them get farther and farther away. The thing is I set my decoys up at every stop and it's aggravating to keep picking them up and move again. I think my best option is to just carry one decoy instead of 2 in my bag. Those of you who move a lot, do you use decoys?
A decoy is a tool in your tool box. You don't need it everytime,but it works when you need it.
i dont mind a a blind on those gloomy rainy days, but if i hear gobble in the distance and hes not coming im going lol! i liek to get after em.....!
I like to stay mobile unless I have one roosted or patterned.
Quote from: JellyHead Key on April 18, 2014, 01:42:31 PM
Those of you who move a lot, do you use decoys?
No, never, don't own any. I hunt timber and they are pretty much useless in timber. I let the bird walk in looking for the hen he thinks must be around the next tree or bush.
Quote from: Skeeterbait on April 18, 2014, 02:01:09 PM
Quote from: JellyHead Key on April 18, 2014, 01:42:31 PM
Those of you who move a lot, do you use decoys?
No, never, don't own any. I hunt timber and they are pretty much useless in timber. I let the bird walk in looking for the hen he thinks must be around the next tree or bush.
The only titme a decoy is good in the woods is in a very open area where a Tom can see that there is not a hen there from far off.
im a run n gunner
If Im hunting country with several gobbling birds. I let em gobble a few minutes and pick the one I want to go after. After a while, you will develope a "sixth sense" for which birds are killable. Its not 100%, not even close, but with enough time, you can tell. As you are fooling with one bird, always try to make a mental note of where some others are and what they are doing and saying. IF the first one you go after doesnt work, or you kill him and have a buddy hunting with you, you know where to try for number 2! In the country I typically hunt, a decoy isnt needed very often simply because the terrain will allow you to get in a position that when he could see a decoy you can kill him.
To give you an example of that "sixth sense", my sone and I took a trip to NE and KS with a buddy of mine that lives in MI. We drove to MI and met him and left on our western journey from his house. When we returned to MI we got tags and having never set foot in the turkey woods there before, we walked to the back of my buddys place and waited for em to gobble. Keep in mind my MI buddy was kinda new to turkey hunting then. When the birds got fired up and we were deciding which one to try for, another bird gobbled that we hadnt heard before. I looked at my son, he looked at me and simultaneously we both said "we can kill that one!" We moved, sat up on him, and 10 minutes later he was doing the death flop. MI buddy looked at us both and said "HTH di you BOTH know you could kill that turkey!?" LOL I still cant explain it, but sometimes you just know!
I always prefer to "go to the gobble". But if for any series of circumstances I cannot do that, I find a good spot, set up and wait.
General consensus here is Most of is hunt the same way.
I move and I move fast. For the last 10 yrs or so the birds in my area shut up
Just a few gobbles after hitting ground. So if im not right on them im in trouble.
I pretty much know a birds plan after just a few answers. Usually when they are willing
they close some distance after your first call. If he is in the same spot after his 3rd answer im up and going.
I want to be right under his beak when he decides to shut up. Then I can sit and be patient
knowing he is close. Then I start to listen for woods movement because I know he's close just quiet.
Ahhhh, gotta love it.
I find a good listening spot and make my moves from there. If I know I am the only person hunting a spot I will move a lot. If other hunters are in the area I usually wait until 9:30-10 o'clock and go to where they were. Most have usually called it a day by then and sometimes those birds they couldn't call in are usually on the prowl again. If I don't here anything I usually go to a spot that has produced and do some blind calling for and hour or two before I move on.
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Quote from: Skeeterbait on April 18, 2014, 02:01:09 PM
Quote from: JellyHead Key on April 18, 2014, 01:42:31 PM
Those of you who move a lot, do you use decoys?
No, never, don't own any. I hunt timber and they are pretty much useless in timber. I let the bird walk in looking for the hen he thinks must be around the next tree or bush.
exactly,decoys are basically worthless in the woods.
you can kill a bird without a flock of decoys in front of you
Quote from: Skeeterbait on April 18, 2014, 02:01:09 PM
Quote from: JellyHead Key on April 18, 2014, 01:42:31 PM
Those of you who move a lot, do you use decoys?
No, never, don't own any. I hunt timber and they are pretty much useless in timber. I let the bird walk in looking for the hen he thinks must be around the next tree or bush.
:agreed: I do own 2 that I use if I hunt a logging road or something similar but 99% I'm hunting birds in the woods and shooting 30 yards and in