I was going to use the fan from my bird this year to put on a decoy. I then found out that I can only shoot one bird per year on the property that I hunt. Is it worth investing money in a lifelike set of decoys, to include a strutter with a real fan for one bird per year?
Dude no disrespect, but you've made mention of only being able to kill a single bird on your hunting spot, time and time again. Get out of in front of the keyboard and go find a place to hunt. You might surprise yourself if you try. We'll help out but you need to help yourself first.
:z-winnersmiley:Lots of opportunities on public land, sometimes we have to put in some leg work
My wife would kill me if she knew what I spend from January-April every spring and we have a 2 bird limit in WV
It's more than the bird to me, it's just hard to explain until you do it long enough you won't get it.
By all means hit public land, knock doors and find new places, or go with other hunting buddies and just call for them.
Don't get discouraged if a landowner tells you know. The best farm I hunt I asked the guy 6 years in a row before he let me hunt. By any means necessary stay after them!
May I humbly suggest....after all the questions you've asked and threads you have started, if you are content with shooting your 1st bird and then riding it out til next year...the bug ain't bit you.
You may be content with sitting here talking about it, but the true essence of turkey hunting has not set-in yet....i'd have to hear just one more gobble, give it just one more try.
I'd be on every tract of public ground with-in a 2 hour drive.
Don't see how you can hear those gobbles, pull the trigger, and kill that tom...and let time lapse until "next year". Go get em !!
I honestly say this to motivate and encourage you.
Sent by this stupid phone
Looks like your state has a limit of 5 PER SEASON!!! Holy Moly! If you try hard enough you will have more than enough fans to do whatever the heck you want to do with them before your season runs out May 1st... Knock a bunch of doors or find a wma...
But to answer your question - I don't buy into the expensive decoys... Cheap decoy with real fan - Heck a real fan without a decoy is plenty!
It's not the kill to me, no limits as far as cost either, it's a passion.
You have it or you don't. It's a itch no scratch will stop.
Only you can answer your question
Decoys are way overrated but from interpreting your threads I would find it fitting for you to sit in a gobbler lounger with a whole flock of decoys...
The only person who can say if it is worth it is you. We have a 2 bird limit here and I'm going out to sit and watch my buddy try to shoot one even though I can't. I guess that means I'm totally ate up with the fever or something. I would spend the money without blinking an eye. but, that is me. I can't speak for you. If it were me and I was limited to 1 bird on my lease, I would look into public land, another private area or an out of state trip.
For over a decade, I had a killer lease that was loaded with turkeys. It was a fantastic place that was very lightly pressured where I got to develop my turkey hunting skill set. On that property it was mostly a matter of not calling too much, being patient, setting up in the right places, and you would get chances on grown gobblers. After a while, I knew which way the turkeys were likely to go before they did and I consistently tagged above average gobblers there.
Well, I lost that lease a number of years ago just a few days before the season started to a group who offered more than I could afford. I was so used to hunting that land that I didn't have a good back-up plan and I got skunked for the first time in a very, very long time. Tag soup sucks, no matter how you fix it. Not having a great place to hunt forced me to go back to square one, work on my turkey hunting basics, trust my hunting instincts, and find new places to hunt. I ended up hunting some pretty tough, highly pressured places, but it also opened up new avenues to hunt that I could switch to my choice of a half dozen places. I've tagged out every year since on mature birds and let younger gobblers walk for the future.
I learned that mid week in the middle of the season, you can have some public land pretty much to yourself. The same goes if you're willing to walk the extra distance that most hunters aren't willing to do. You need to double down on your patience, because turkeys do react to more traffic in the woods and become more wary than the first few days of the season. It is all about desire, you've got to want to succeed. You can do it if you're willing to work for it. Luck counts, but for the most part, success is earned. Keep after 'em. If it is worth having, it is worth working for. Good luck.
Jim
Quote from: trash2 on April 16, 2015, 10:48:56 PM
Decoys are way overrated but from interpreting your threads I would find it fitting for you to sit in a gobbler lounger with a whole flock of decoys...
While I agree decoys are overrated, I see no reason for the sarcastic comment. This guy might be new to turkey hunting and just not know. Everybody was new at it at one time or the other and had questions. Now to the OP, if it was me I would save my money. Practice calling, get out in the woods and just listen to real turkeys, listen to the woods wake up and take it all in. If you can only kill 1 bird on that place, you ain't got to be in no big hurry. I've learned to be a turkey hunter by trial and error. Nothing beats experience and it take time to aquire it. Now I will agree, knock on door, hit public land, whatever it takes to find new hunting oppritunities. A 1 and done season would kill me, lol. Good luck!
The number of birds I would kill per season would not effect how much I spend on the sport. Now if I was only limited to a couple of days of hunting per year that might change how much I spent. Like others said though, if you really like turkey hunting, I would find a way to get past a one and done season.
Being that my daughter stays home with me on my days off, finding a day to go hunt public land is not that easy to do. I am limited to the weekends off to go hunt my father-in-law's. With a one bird limit, it was over on the second day.
If you don't want to look for other places to hunt, take a video camera; it's ALMOST as fun. You'll learn a lot about their behavior just being out more often.
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on April 17, 2015, 05:20:41 AM
Being that my daughter stays home with me on my days off, finding a day to go hunt public land is not that easy to do. I am limited to the weekends off to go hunt my father-in-law's. With a one bird limit, it was over on the second day.
And? If you hadn't shot the bird after two days would you have hunted other weekends? If the answer is yes, then get out there and find some where else to spend those days. If you aren't motivated enough to do that no problem, that's your call to make; but stop belly aching about how you "can only shoot one a year".
Put the decoy money in the gas tank and the ddaughter in the car seat. Go cover some ground and knock on some doors.
heck I was dragging my kids with me ever since thy could walk ,,thy love being out in the woods ,,Dutch
It might seem like some people are coming down harsh on you but it sound like you need a little tough love and advice.. You can learn a lot by posting questions here but you will learn 10000X more getting out there.
most don't have ANY land handed to them by family.. nock on doors after work, research public land by using maps and get out there and cover some ground. Most guys here have familys and work at least one job we all know time is tough to come by. A lot of guys make a ton of sacrifices to hunt turkeys around here. So when you say "my season is over" guys are thinking "i'm quiting because I dont have a slam dunk lined up so its not worth my time". Many of us hunted years before killing our first birds with no teachers, no private land, and *gasp* no oldgobbler site.
You have to make the time, find baby sitters. Ive had someone to watch my daughter lined up for months so that I can take my wife turkey hunting for 4 days in May. If you really think Public land is a waste of time then it will be because you need dedication and determination. Im out at 6am scouting public land I dont even intend to hunt this season but learning a piece of woods and locating birds is as imporant as the actual hunt and harverst for me.
I would knock on doors or try to get in with some buddies. Even if you dont get to carry a gun the experience would be well worth the time. You mentioned hunting your father in laws property,if they live close would grandma be willing to watch your daughter a couple days a week? Id try to line up a sitter or better yet if she is old enough and interested bring her along once in a while. Your only restrictions on your hunting are the ones you set yourself.
There is no such thing as not having time to turkey hunt. If you love to turkey hunt as much as I do and many others on or off this forum you TAKE time to turkey hunt. This is just a matter of how obsessed/addicted you are and where your priorities lie. Only you can answer if it is worth spending the money or not. I don't bother with decoys, but when it comes to turkey hunting I do NOT count the cost.
you'll learn more by tangling with a tough public land bird than you will on Old Gobbler or lightly hunted private birds!
Quote from: darn2ten on April 16, 2015, 11:11:24 PM
Quote from: trash2 on April 16, 2015, 10:48:56 PM
Decoys are way overrated but from interpreting your threads I would find it fitting for you to sit in a gobbler lounger with a whole flock of decoys...
While I agree decoys are overrated, I see no reason for the sarcastic comment. This guy might be new to turkey hunting and just not know. Everybody was new at it at one time or the other and had questions. Now to the OP, if it was me I would save my money. Practice calling, get out in the woods and just listen to real turkeys, listen to the woods wake up and take it all in. If you can only kill 1 bird on that place, you ain't got to be in no big hurry. I've learned to be a turkey hunter by trial and error. Nothing beats experience and it take time to aquire it. Now I will agree, knock on door, hit public land, whatever it takes to find new hunting oppritunities. A 1 and done season would kill me, lol. Good luck!
I would like to agree but the fact he has a daughter seems to indicate he isn't a 14yr old looking for advice. But he has mentioned AGAIN that his season was over bc of a 1 bird limit. If I was your father in law and saw this childish complaining you'd have two options:
1. Golf
2. Public land bc you'd never step foot on my property again.
Grow a set, act like the man you are, and either go learn how to kill birds or quit griping on the internet. The rewards will be much more satisfying and you'll learn a lot more if you take the time to learn like most of us did.
as much as I love this sport , I wouldn't think twice about that one bird. I would take him out and be heading on to find another. heck , even if I couldn't scout a area I would go hunt it blind and learn as I go. I do not quit until the last second of the last day. a year is a long wait and you are not even promised the next one. instead of excuses of why you cant , be positive and make it happen.
man if we had a 5 bird limit I would be hunting every single day of the season even if it was only two hours after work ,,I am lucky as I can hunt everyday that I want to and after I get my girls there birds I will be taking by fishing buddy out to get his bird then I will start to work on his grandkids birds .I will be in the woods every day even if I cannot carry a gun .you ether love turkey hunting or you donot ,,I got it bad 'I have killed enough birds that I get a bigger rush out of helping other new hunters get there first birds ,,for me it is always kids first ..Dutch
I can kill 6 birds total in MO: 2 in spring 2 in fall shotgun season 2 in fall archery season.Im trying like crazy everyday I can to get into birds. And yes i'm jealous of you guys in states with spring limits of 4-5 birds,but after my 2 in MO im always trying to go with somebody else if for no other reason than just to go. If you're willing to try there is always someplace to go turkey hunting.It may not always be the best place but I for sure guarantee that it beats the couch.
You guys are all singing the same song, but I think he has the volume turned down. I have never killed a bird on private land. All of my birds have been shot on public hunting areas. No one showed me how to turkey hunt. I used a lot of my deer hunting knowledge to learn to turkey hunt. Get in first. Go in farther. Hunt smarter/harder than the other guy. Don't give up. Quit when the season is over. Learn, scout and hunt all at the same time.
Quote from: 2eagles on April 17, 2015, 05:06:40 PM
You guys are all singing the same song, but I think he has the volume turned down. I have never killed a bird on private land. All of my birds have been shot on public hunting areas. No one showed me how to turkey hunt. I used a lot of my deer hunting knowledge to learn to turkey hunt. Get in first. Go in farther. Hunt smarter/harder than the other guy. Don't give up. Quit when the season is over. Learn, scout and hunt all at the same time.
Exactly, the OP obviously is content with his one bird at least for the time being. I started out hunting public, luckily had a couple years on some private land to up my confidence and now back to public only. It hasn't been easy and have allot left to learn but walking farther and hunting smarter has helped my tag out 2 years in a row on public land in Louisiana. Now that is not enough, have to bring youth and friends when I can and hunt at least one other state each year.
It isn't that I don't want to hunt, or are too lazy to find a place to hunt, I have my 16 month old daughter at home with me every day I am off. I cannot "drag" her around in the woods to hunt. I will not lose time with her at a babysitter's just so I can go hunt. I did/do not "complain" to my father-in-law about his one bird limit. Plain and simple, at the moment it is just not in the cards to up and hunt whenever I have a day off of work. I have two weekends off every month. I killed my bird during the first weekend off. I can no longer hunt my father-in-law's property during my second weekend off in April. My wife planned a trip to the beach for my next weekend off, and I doubt that I can get away from a weekend with my family.
Life has a way of messn up a guys good time lol...I spend a lot of my little bit of money on Turkey I get 1 bird but usually don't care about mine as my son nieces nephews friends kids my buddies want to go and it's a boat load of fun!!! Spend away because soon your kids will be old enough to go and it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!!! :turkey2:
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on April 17, 2015, 07:17:35 PM
It isn't that I don't want to hunt, or are too lazy to find a place to hunt, I have my 16 month old daughter at home with me every day I am off. I cannot "drag" her around in the woods to hunt. I will not lose time with her at a babysitter's just so I can go hunt. I did/do not "complain" to my father-in-law about his one bird limit. Plain and simple, at the moment it is just not in the cards to up and hunt whenever I have a day off of work. I have two weekends off every month. I killed my bird during the first weekend off. I can no longer hunt my father-in-law's property during my second weekend off in April. My wife planned a trip to the beach for my next weekend off, and I doubt that I can get away from a weekend with my family.
I understand. I was merely suggesting you use the decoy money for gas to look for more places to hunt. A few hours searching landowner maps and a few hours a week driving around with your daughter while knocking on a few doors could net some new spots and also provide some quality time with your little girl.
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on April 17, 2015, 07:17:35 PM
It isn't that I don't want to hunt, or are too lazy to find a place to hunt, I have my 16 month old daughter at home with me every day I am off. I cannot "drag" her around in the woods to hunt. I will not lose time with her at a babysitter's just so I can go hunt. I did/do not "complain" to my father-in-law about his one bird limit. Plain and simple, at the moment it is just not in the cards to up and hunt whenever I have a day off of work. I have two weekends off every month. I killed my bird during the first weekend off. I can no longer hunt my father-in-law's property during my second weekend off in April. My wife planned a trip to the beach for my next weekend off, and I doubt that I can get away from a weekend with my family.
I understand. I was merely suggesting you use the decoy money for gas to look for more places to hunt. A few hours searching landowner maps and a few hours a week driving around with your daughter while knocking on a few doors could net some new spots and also provide some quality time with your little girl.
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on April 17, 2015, 05:20:41 AM
Being that my daughter stays home with me on my days off, finding a day to go hunt public land is not that easy to do. I am limited to the weekends off to go hunt my father-in-law's. With a one bird limit, it was over on the second day.
How old is your daughter?
Mine went with me to scout at about a year and a half... She is now 4, and loves to go scout...
If you do not want to scout public land, put on a nice pair of jeans and a polo shirt, and go knock on some doors... Having a cute little girl with you in the car, will not hurt your odds of getting permission.
Having kids can mean having less time to hunt, but I am not afraid to go in the afternoon, or on my days off after dropping the kids off at daycare. Been a tough season for me this year, but last season, I killed two birds after noon...
I think only you can only answer is it worth it for one bird a year. I think decoys are more of a luxrury item. I have limited time to hunt and I am thrilled to get one bird a year. I consider a good day of hunting just seeing a gobbler.happy hunting and good luck!
Up until a few years ago all we could kill here in PA was one bird. Didn't stop me from being out there as much as possible. Go help a buddy get one or something. Just quit bellyaching.
I was surprised to find a set of three nearly-new foam decoys (two hens and a jake) plus stakes on a table at a yard sale. There was no price on them and when I asked the lady conducting the sale, she said that they were her brother's and how about $5 for the three. It was one of the few times that I didn't say, "How about $4.00?" but instead proceeded to get out my wallet and headed for the truck before that wide grin gave away my bargain. You just never know when or where you'll find a bargain related to hunting. Concerning more places to hunt...ask some local farmers how much crop damage they've suffered from turkeys (pulling corn/soybean seedlings out of the ground to eat the still-attached seed) and chances are you will find one who has, or at least thinks he has, which is your opening to offer to help him out by reducing the gobbler population. Three of the locations I have to hunt are because of this reason. Another farmer is a quail hunter and feels the turkey's appetite to eat anything available is contributing to quail nest destruction and eagerly invited me to shoot a few gobblers. These are just a couple of reasons I've picked up some additional turkey hunting spots.
It isn't that I can't, or won't, go look for a place to hunt, the problem is that I only have six days per season to hunt on the private land that is available to me. Three of those days are gone, and the other three are now taken up by family vacation.
So, my question was, if I am possibly going to be put in a situation every year where if I kill a bird on my first or second day of hunting, is it worth it to spend money on decoys, stuff, etc... if my season could possibly be over that quickly every year? If I had free days, I would be out on public land. I just do not have the days available like most people on this forum. For some reason, people do not understand that and seem to want to get on my case for it. I am not complaining, whining, crying, or anything of that nature, I am just trying to get advice from people who share the same experiences.
Now, for those of you who may be interested to know, I happen to have this coming Thursday off of work, and my daughter will be at childcare. I am going to go Monday or Tuesday afternoon and scout out a couple of places. I am planning to get out there Thursday morning, even if I just sit in the woods and call to the trees (No birds located).
So, with all of that being said, I hope that everybody is satisfied.
Happy hunting!!! :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an :thanks:
It is not about having time to turkey hunt it is about TAKING time to turkey hunt. None of us magically get handed time or places to turkey hunt. We take some initiative and get out there because it is important to us. Many of us hunt mostly or all public land. There are no excuses. Comes down to priorities, either turkey hunting is or is not a priority.
Spending the money is up to you depending on if you think it's worth it with the situations you've been in. I agree finding the time sometimes is tough. I would be on my wife about setting something up during hunting season though. That's either not knowing or not caring.
I feel your pain about the wife planning beach trips during turkey season. Just remember that it will not always going to be that easy to fill your tag early every year. But if it was me I would not use the fan from my first bird for a Strutter decoy. I do not have to spend a bunch a money for good decoys. No matter if I am limited to one bird a year or not I would not let that dictate what I want to buy. I personal do not use decoys a lot. All I have are a Jakes and hens foam decoys. They work just fine. Good luck.
you got to remember if you can find some public or private land close to home a ton of turkeys are killed between 5pm and 7pm ,so you can get home from work and slip out for a hour or two and kill birds ,I have had to do this for years . now I can hunt everyday if I choose and I still like to slip out for a hour or two in the evenings for a quik hunt ,you donot have to take a whole day off work to kill birds ,,Dutch
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on April 18, 2015, 09:36:59 PM
It isn't that I can't, or won't, go look for a place to hunt, the problem is that I only have six days per season to hunt on the private land that is available to me. Three of those days are gone, and the other three are now taken up by family vacation.
So, my question was, if I am possibly going to be put in a situation every year where if I kill a bird on my first or second day of hunting, is it worth it to spend money on decoys, stuff, etc... if my season could possibly be over that quickly every year? If I had free days, I would be out on public land. I just do not have the days available like most people on this forum. For some reason, people do not understand that and seem to want to get on my case for it. I am not complaining, whining, crying, or anything of that nature, I am just trying to get advice from people who share the same experiences.
Now, for those of you who may be interested to know, I happen to have this coming Thursday off of work, and my daughter will be at childcare. I am going to go Monday or Tuesday afternoon and scout out a couple of places. I am planning to get out there Thursday morning, even if I just sit in the woods and call to the trees (No birds located).
So, with all of that being said, I hope that everybody is satisfied.
Happy hunting!!! :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an :thanks:
still worth having the stuff for a couple days. You might even have to hunt 5-6 days to get one, i know a few of us have ;D
To answer your question. No the decoy is not worth the money. You obviously have limited time to hunt,so having more tools is not that high on the list. Decoys are NOT needed to kill a bird. I'm not a decoy hater like some,its just not needed. Do I use decoys ? Yes there is a time and place where its needed.
You really don't need to buy a bunch of expensive gear to be a successful turkey hunter,....and in fact, many of us forego using that stuff because it actually degrades the quality of our hunting experience to do so. Of course, the decision as to how you want to hunt is entirely up to you.
I know you are new to spring gobbler hunting,...and perhaps the addiction has not captured you as it has many others here. Sometimes that process takes a while, if it happens at all. Whether it ends up happening depends a lot, I think, on how you are introduced to hunting these majestic birds.
If you end up being captivated with this sport with the passion many of us have, you will seek compromises in your personal life that will allow you to pursue it. Your wife will come to learn that this is important to you,...and will adjust to allow you to spend more time at it. She will learn that there are many other weekends to spend at the beach that do not conflict with the limited time you have each spring to do this thing that you have become passionate about,...and she will also learn to understand that it does not mean you care less for her, your daughter, and your family.
If you truly catch the addiction, instead of saying "I can't go because of my wife and daughter", you will be saying "I am going to take my wife and daughter and go". They might not quite understand the reason why,...but they will, in time, understand that it is an important part of your life.
Most of us spend about 500$ bucks a lb for turkey. If thats what this was about we would all be buying purdue. More to it then that.
Amen...get out and look around after the first two weeks of season a lot of people don't even go anymore. On cost its no different than trying to catch a 10 in.. base with a 40,000 dollar boat... if you have the money get whatever decoy you want....lol
The answer is no, if I only hunted a few days a year to kill one bird I wouldn't invest money in nice decoys or any unnecessary gear.