Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

I thought this would be interesting to see how you guys prefer to approach turkey hunting. Obviously there is no hard and fast rule and it will vary by situation but we all know if we tend to be more passive or aggressive in our hunting styles.

I'd like to hear some thoughts on why you hunt the way you do.

I don't have alot of time or the patience to spend just settin next to a field waiting on a bird to show. I need to make something happen if it is going to. I prefer the run and gun method and gettin in tight with them, given the terrain allows it. I like GETN R DONE.  :z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley:
:fud: :newmascot:

 :fud:I'm a aggressive hunter when it comes to turkeys. I've had success with calling a lot to a gobbler then picking up and move 30 yards away while calling. My brother who I hunt with is passive towards turkey hunting. He likes to call soft to turkeys and make it seem like the hen isn't interested. Ill admit that this has worked. Its whatever works at any given moment.

Being patient is boring. It's not fun. It's not my thing. I was let loose in the woods at home when I was 5, I'm 26 now. That's 21 years of practice. I'm a way better woodsman than a patient hunter. Same with deer hunting, I like creepin' through the woods.

I hunt both ways, depending on if I am by myself or have my 6 yo with me.  He sure can't run around like I can so we spend more time sitting in the blind.  By myself, I moved a lot more this past year than the year before.  I plan to move more to make things happen more this year than the last 2.  We'll see.  Still need to get these WV birds figured out.  We don't open until April 25th though.

I am both also. It just depends on the part off the season.

Quote from: turkey slayer on March 22, 2011, 09:15:46 AM
I am both also. It just depends on the part off the season.

:agreed:

All depends on what the bird wants !!,i have several places that i can listen from in the morning,then go to the gobbler and see what he wants to do.A few calls will usually tell you if he is with hens or what he wants to do,and adjust to what kind of mood he's in.

Very aggressive.  I like the pursuit.  Although I have worked on patience and not over calling the past couple of seasons and it definitely pays off.

I could hunt a vest with no seat

Most of the farms I hunt are really small, so I definitely spend more time playing it safe.

A very good looking one. 

Quote from: GAbird on March 22, 2011, 09:59:14 AM
Very aggressive.  I like the pursuit.  Although I have worked on patience and not over calling the past couple of seasons and it definitely pays off.

:agreed:

I make it happen, but at the turkey's pace.

I usually have patience and try to wait birds out.

I go for it! Waiting never works for me,so I try to make it work.

I do it both ways, depending on the bird and situation. On my bigger farms, I generally get more mobile and aggressive. On my smaller places, I tend to take it slower and wait them out a little more. Both ways have their pros and cons, and both ways will kill turkeys. I've killed birds both ways. I don't exactly have a preference, I just do whatever the current situation calls for.

When learning to turkey hunt, I'd always been told, you can't move because they'll see you, and also that can't go after turkeys, it's impossible to sneak up on them.
Finally, after a couple of tough years, I decided, what the heck? I started trying to see what I could get away with by slowly moving when they were in sight of me. I quickly realized that you can get away with a lot more movement than you think, especially if they are focused on a decoy. So I modified my hunting style.
Then, after several encounters with gobblers that wouldn't come in, I decided, what the heck do I have to lose? They aren't coming in anyway. So I started practicing stalking them when the opportunities arose. I honed my stealthiness, and soon enough I bushwhacked my first turkey. Since then, I've done it many times.
Now, do I prefer turkeys to come in strutting and gobbling? Of course I do!! But if it comes down to stalk or go home empty handed, I'm doing the bobcat!!
So yeah, I'm a make it happen guy.

This depends on the time of the season and what the birds are doing. I hunt a club with several large tracts of land, so it's mostly run and gun covering ground. Early in the season I can setup and blind call for an hour in one spot at the most, then it's off to the next spot. If they aren't responding, I tend to walk the woods scouting. It isn't a lot of fun to me to setup on a field for hours and hours and "deer hunt" turkeys. Just my $0.02

I'd have to say I'm aggressively patient. lol    I love to call and I call a lot but I give birds time.   I used to literally run and gun.  I'd stop- call and if no answer I was off to the next spot.   Nowadays  I do what I call a slow run and gun.   I'll set up before I call and I'll hit it pretty hard.  Lot's of times I'm running 2-3 calls on my first sequence and then I go silent.   I'll usually wait 5-10 min. to call again and the second sequence is usually when I get the most responses.   I think a lot of birds will start walking your way on that first sequence and they will answer to pinpoint you on the second one.   Just a theory.   If I don't get a response on my second series I usually wait another 5 min. or so and call again.  2-3 more min. and I'm off to the next spot.    This system has really been productive for me.  I came up with this system after having it happen time and time again where you call and then walk away only to have a bird answer you at the next spot you try and he's standing in the place you just left.  :angry9:

I am patiently aggressive, I don't run-n-gun, but I will make strategic moves. My favorite is leave a hunting partner where you are and back out circle and come in 90 degrees from where you were and start cutting really hard. Killed probably half a dozen birds the last 3 years doing this. Just simply working a different angle helps on some birds. I hate bumping a bird, but I have also been known to put the crawl on one.

I guess it all depends on the morning, the turkeys, and if I have my grandfather who we know each others every move or my little sister that I can't just walk off and leave. Just flat out depends on the situation, but I DO NOT deer hunt turkeys!

Daman

I don't understand this comparison to deer hunting.  Why make it?  You hunt deer the way you have to hunt deer.  You hunt turkeys the way they want to play the game.  Sometimes you can move on them, others you have to sit and wait them out. 

I voted let it happen as there was no both. I have to agree with sugarray that it depends on the situation at hand. If you have the time to scout and find birds or a bird fine if not than some sort of traveling is necessary.

I'm a belly crawling sneaking fool if I need to be, not afraid to slither in like a snake. I've had times where I've had to follow my trail of items back to where I started I start with everything on my back and end up with a mouth call, shotgun and camo a few hundred yards from where I started.

Unless I know where they are roosted I am gonna move around and try to find em

I'm a newbie and still feeling my way into this sport, but as I have a hearing problem, the run and gun is out as I can't hear them respond very well and I'm afraid I'll bust them.  I generally sit 2 - 3 hours, then move and sit  for 1 hour or so between sets for the rest of the morning.

I didn't select one of the two options that were provided because it is not that black and white--not for me anyway. I am what ever kind of hunter I feel I need to be based on the circumstances to be successfull. This is the art of turkey hunting--there are no absolutes.   

I agree with Catdaddy. You never know what the hunt will present. Some you sit and wait, and some you do the sneak, and some you sneak and then sit and wait.. Whatever it takes to get the job done.  :you_rock:

A lot depends on the time of the season,,,I hunt mountain birds in thick areas with little openings. The opener in Pa is on a Saturday so I tend to deal with people coming into camps...Some come in to hunt others I believe come in to be a pain in the behind making all kinds of noise.
I hunt a small area that that has an access road thru it., I stay in the area because birds roost there. There is a gas pipeline about 200 yards away and birds like to hang out there alot. I can't hunt the place because it is posted but I have killed birds I've called off it.
I move around but I seldom leave the area unless I get really bored...but I always come back before quitting time. I called in a gobbler on youth day for a boy and i killed 2 other birds later in the season there. I use to be the guy that would chase a gobbler but now that I'm older plus the fact I have a honey hole I sit more than anything. :gobble: :fud:

We've got a good percentage of guys on here that are aggressive minded...I'd toss my lot in there as well.

I guess my experience has taught me that turkey arent smart enough to stay boogered up for too long unless you're really really flagrant in how you bump them so in most cases, Im trying to pull out all the stops and push the envelop a little bit to get in a better position to make him have to do as little as possible to hop right on up in the back of my pickup truck bed....  

Quote from: catdaddy on March 23, 2011, 10:57:38 AM
I didn't select one of the two options that were provided because it is not that black and white--not for me anyway. I am what ever kind of hunter I feel I need to be based on the circumstances to be successfull. This is the art of turkey hunting--there are no absolutes.  

Its just a poll there killer... :icon_thumright:  


...with the understanding that situations dictate how to proceed.  

I didnt post the "whatever it takes to kill the turkey" option because I assume most people would choose that option.  I'm interested in how you are INCLINED to be....a little more conservative or a agressive.

Quote from: redleg06 on March 23, 2011, 07:19:42 PM

Quote from: catdaddy on March 23, 2011, 10:57:38 AM
I didn't select one of the two options that were provided because it is not that black and white--not for me anyway. I am what ever kind of hunter I feel I need to be based on the circumstances to be successfull. This is the art of turkey hunting--there are no absolutes.  

Its just a poll there killer... :icon_thumright:  


...with the understanding that situations dictate how to proceed.  

I didnt post the "whatever it takes to kill the turkey" option because I assume most people would choose that option.  I'm interested in how you are INCLINED to be....a little more conservative or a agressive.

My bad for giving an answer and not picking Option A or B.

if i dont know where they are roosted  i like to go make it happen now my hunting pard is diff. he will sit in a blind for hours,and hours if need be

im also going to try dan's approach this year

Mornings I sit near the roost trees and hunt by calling from a secluded spot.  Afternoons I like to spot and stalk - pretty thrilling for me to try to close range on a wild turkey.

Quote from: guesswho on March 22, 2011, 11:09:46 AM
I make it happen, but at the turkey's pace.

Same here.

I'll wait a bit longer if I hear a bird, but I just can't sit there very long if I ain't hearing anything.  Nothing wrong with still hunting a turkey, but I do that all deer season and by March it's time to cover ground and make it happen. I pass by a good many birds I'm certain, but I just feel he'll let me know if he wants to play the game.