I don't know about anyone else, but some times I miss the "old days" and more simple times. Back when there wasn't dozens of chokes claiming to allow long range shots, ammo manufacturers saying how effective their shells are at long range, camo companies making new and "better" camos non stopped, 20 different decoys all saying they're must have items, and worst of all tv show hosts promoting these products as must have items. What ever happened to the days of taking your gun and favorite call, going to the woods, getting a bird into 30 yards and shooting him and being happy and satisfied? I'm not knocking on anyone for keeping up with technology because lord knows I do it to. Just wondered if anyone else ever wishes things were simpler and the new gimmicks and must have stuff didn't exist?
Yup. Right there with you. Like many I shoot better ammo than in the old days and a special choke, dot scope ect. But I believe I will never buy another decoy. I have a few hen decoys now but only pack one. As much as I use them I think I am set for life. I like keeping it pretty simple. Now I can NEVER have to many calls but I like to keep it simple and actually hunt. Just my personal opinion but with the addition of blinds, strutter decoys, and fanning it just takes the fair right out of fair chase. That's just a personal opinion and everyone has a right to disagree but they aren't gonna change my mind. I guess I am just kinda old fashioned about it. I would rather hunt my tail end off and fail then limit out and feel like I cheated. I understand my way isn't for everyone though and it doesn't have to be. If someone wants to set a strutting decoy out in front of their blind in a spot where their trail cameras have been getting pictures every day and wack turkeys then that's their business. Long as it's legal then it's legal.
I couldn't agree more. First bird I killed I had an old pump gun, 3 shells and a box call. I met a man the other morning who looked like he walked out of a cabelas magazine and I bet his vest weighed 40 pounds. I still go in the woods with very little, but way more than I need. I love calls and am always try to figure out how to build them and improve on the sounds. I love chokes and different loads and trying to have a great hunting pattern., but sometimes those things get in the way of just enjoying hunting.
Yep, I'm there with you. I feel like I'm coming back, sort of full circle. I appreciate advancement in technology, and use what helps me (Thank you Therma-cell, Gore-tex, etc, etc). But I have a greater appreciation for more "old school". I now prefer custom crafted pot calls, box calls, scratchers, trumpets, etc. just because I know someone applied their talent in a shop somewhere to make a call to sound like a turkey, and I've had some sort of personal interaction with them. Not a dig at the big brands at all, just my preference.
I killed a lot of birds with a shiny 2 3/4" 870 Wingmaster with a fixed modified choke back in the day. I bought my 1st "turkey gun" when Winchester introduced the NWTF 1300 laminate. Never used after-market chokes in that one. Just fed it the latest & greatest Federal Premium 2oz copper plated shells. Now I shoot a Benelli with an after-market choke and Winchester Longbeards. I'm not a numbers guy as much as a pattern guy.
Oh yeah, and thank you internet and Old Gobbler... :camohat:
I couldn't agree more. While I enjoy the Avion X tv show, it looks like they are going duck hunting with all of the decoy bags they carry.
Shooting out of a blind doesn't interest me in the least, setting up on a gobbler is half of the fun. Decoys are a pain in my arse to carry & I don't like the idea to begin with.
Crawling behind a turkey fan just isn't right for me either.
If you tend to agree with old school turkey hunting, read The Olp Pro Turkey Hunter by Gene Nunnery. (If you haven't already). I used to read it cover to cover every March. I still will read a story or two every year.
Totally agreed. The Waddell worshippers of the world have really changed things and not for the better.
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Thirty years from now some turkey hunter will say the same thing. I miss the old days when I could just pull the cards on my 10 trail cams to pattern the birds,head to the woods with my long beard XR's , put out a spread of DSD's and just call a bird into range wearing my Under Armor camo and haul it out on my Bad Boy Buggy.
Those days are still here. One only has to ignore the hype and do it right.
^^ This ^^
I choose to ignore 90% of the latest and greatest, must have junk. I do appreciate my gobbler lounger and the thermacell, but the rest of it I can live without.
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions
To me there's nothing worse than seeing some celebrity hunter pushing some junk product just to make a dime. If I don't believe in a product, I'm not going to try to sell it to somebody else. I guess the lust for money runs deep...even in the hunting industry.
Nah...if it weren't for the new stuff, nobody would appreciate the old stuff.
Quote from: zeke632 on March 30, 2016, 10:06:34 PM
Shooting out of a blind doesn't interest me in the least, setting up on a gobbler is half of the fun. Decoys are a pain in my arse to carry & I don't like the idea to begin with.
Crawling behind a turkey fan just isn't right for me either.
True, half the fun is just sitting against a tree and trying to blend in and make the move at the right time. Don't see any challenge or fun gunning out of a blind, unless you are starting out a kid. And decoys are just getting out of hand, some hunters put way too much money and time hauling them around, which isn't even needed to gun down a Tom.
I may sound greedy but what I miss most is the number of turkey hunters. I started hunting turkeys in 1978 and then you could go to public land and hunt vocal birds all season and see only a handful of hunters all season. When they saw you parked somewhere they respected you and moved on to another. All the videos and outdoor programs imploded the sport. Now you have people on every other Ridge hammering them with owl and crow calls or ripping out Cutts and cackles like they see on tv. Bumping birds left and right. I have even seen people out there calling birds up before season. Turkey hunting is already tough but throw in all the extra education that some folks give them , it puts it at a higher level. Just ranting a little.
First off lets remember that not all of us are able to hunt like we use to in our younger days. We are looking at two different methods of hunting here one is the still hunter or as you call me the blind hunter and the second one is the spot and stalk hunter or as a lot of people call you the run and gunner. Veteran turkey hunters like myself has to hunt out of blinds for personal health reason but because of these problems with my health do you guys think i should just stop hunting because you don't like blinds ? I don't think so. Yes i use decoys while i'm hunting out of my blinds and yes i have to use my calling ability to call turkeys to me so i have to wait for these birds to come to me but this doesn't always work. I see no difference in a person who spots and stalks and carries a pocket full of mouth calls, custom pot calls and thermacell that we didn't have years ago or these real nice custom box calls so who are we as hunters to judge how we turkey hunt. i still buy a hunting license, guns and shells and gas for my truck just like you younger hunters and veteran hunter that still spot and stalk. I see no difference in me hunting out of a blind and you crawling or working your way to ambush a bird from a field edge or trying to outflank him in the woods. Again who am i to judge how you hunt. Regardless we are still both hunters. Again for some of use older veterans we welcome some of the new products like decoys with nice bags to carry these decoys with just like you enjoy a nice turkey vest to spot and stalk that has the big thick seat cushions. If it weren't for some of the new products on the market who or what would fund our hunting for our next generation ? So again let's not be one to judge ones hunting as we go after these wild turkeys with our 25,000 - 45,000 dollar pickup trucks just because someone else uses a new product like a decoy or hunting blind. Turkey hunting still gives us all a big adrenaline rush and excitement with that first morning gobble. Lets all just be glad at whatever age we are we still get to enjoy these birds in the woods and the excitement they bring young and old ..HUNTERS..
I think a lot of us are often unaware that the hunting videos we are watching are really infomercials, pushing a new gimmick that solves a problem that we don't really have or the implication that if you hunt with this or that outfitter that you too can come home with a trophy animal even though you will be hunting in the same stand, same fields, etc. that several others have used for the past weeks, leaving their scent, candy wrappers, pop bottles, etc. In the recent years, I took gobblers with both my 12 and 20 gauge flintlock fowlers. Last season, I used a 1889 Remington hammer fluid steel shotgun with low pressure reloads to take my longest-spurred bird to date at 20 yards. This season, I'm planning to use my grandfather's Winchester Model 12 nickel steel made in 1920 with reloads as well as my LC Smith hammer Damascus 12 gauge made in 1913, also with low pressure reloads. I'll need to get them in to 30 yards or less. For me, the thrill of taking a gobbler has moved to the method used.
Agreed. A lot of other posts I also agree with
Amen!
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Unfortunately, our sport has become a marketing racket. Most of us have been sucked in, but we need to control ourselves from sinking entirely into the commercialism end of it. We have the KISS principle in the Army: Keep It Simple Stupid ... And I remind myself of that principle often. Good luck to all.
Completely disagree....I enjoy talking chokes, she'll combinations, and guns in the off season to ease the "Off Season Blues". I also love talking calls, setups, and land management for turkey for the same reason.
Now, as far as the TV Personalities pushing their junk, hooping and hollering, and setting a bad example for our children, I am disgusted. You just shot and killed one of Gods greatest creations, it deserves the respect and gratitude that any other creature deserves....Just my .02
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Quote from: Spitten and drummen on March 31, 2016, 12:14:36 AM
I may sound greedy but what I miss most is the number of turkey hunters. I started hunting turkeys in 1978 and then you could go to public land and hunt vocal birds all season and see only a handful of hunters all season. When they saw you parked somewhere they respected you and moved on to another. All the videos and outdoor programs imploded the sport. Now you have people on every other Ridge hammering them with owl and crow calls or ripping out Cutts and cackles like they see on tv. Bumping birds left and right. I have even seen people out there calling birds up before season. Turkey hunting is already tough but throw in all the extra education that some folks give them , it puts it at a higher level. Just ranting a little.
Amen. The number of hunters is the worst part about turkey hunting these days.
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 31, 2016, 12:34:50 AM
First off lets remember that not all of us are able to hunt like we use to in our younger days. We are looking at two different methods of hunting here one is the still hunter or as you call me the blind hunter and the second one is the spot and stalk hunter or as a lot of people call you the run and gunner.
I think you are confusing the definitions of still hunter and run and gunner, for most turkey hunters, even though their are some that might do that? As still hunting with most is just sitting against a tree or in a spot for hours, just beacuse one is still hunting, does not mean they are using a blind. And run and gunning is not spot and stalk to most hunters. It's simply a means of locating a vocal gobbler without seeing him, just knowing his where abouts from gobbles only and setting up effectively for the situation. Then one would pick a tree, or spot to sit and call him, wait him out and not stalk him, there is a big difference, as stalking is illegal in many States as it is here.
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 31, 2016, 12:34:50 AM
Veteran turkey hunters like myself has to hunt out of blinds for personal health reason but because of these problems with my health do you guys think i should just stop hunting because you don't like blinds ?
Not at all if that's what one must do, to each his own? I can clearly understand if someone is disabled, wheelchair, etc. But if for just basic health reasons, I think it would take more energy carrying the thing in and setting it up, then just sitting against a tree, unless health reasons have someone else carrying it and setting it up for them, I can understand that.
I see and hear plenty of guys hooting and hollering, yelping and screeching, walking all the trails with their loaded vests and camo guns, all over the public land. It's just part of it. but the good thing is, most people who walk around blowing owl calls, screeching on box calls, making noise and movement all the time just to impatiently try and find a bird, will run out of steam before lunch and leave the woods a lot more empty when lone birds are often free gobbling. Same goes for someone who walks in while it's dark, sets up their blind and decoys over a field where they saw tracks, and sit for a few hours...they too will get bored with just sitting there, and will probably go get lunch too.
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The turkey season in Southern Illinois comes in on Monday, April 4th. I'm headed for a spot that others will be driving by on their way to a "better" spot. I've taken at least a half-dozen toms from the base of the same giant cottonwood tree, sometimes at the crack of dawn but more likely later in the morning. It's a great place to call and wait for a jealous gobbler to come in to check out my decoys, sometimes while I'm taking a nap from a night of sleeplessness like happened a couple of years back when I was awakened by a gobbler beating up my Pretty Boy! Most gobblers will come running across the 20 acre picked crop field but once one came from my blind side, gobbling only 30' from my hidden position! I don't hunt from a blind because it restricts my vision but when it's raining it would be nice. Being in my middle 70s, I plan to keep hunting for years to come and will make the necessary accommodations to allow that to happen when the time comes. Do what you need to do to keep in the game.
No i think your confused Cutt...Sitting is someone who stays put for several hours trying to decide whether to stick it out and hunt a spot from a blind or from sitting next to a tree. Run and gunning or stalking is a hunter that makes a decision to execute a plan whether it's a turkey you have seen from a field edge as you make you way around your hunting area. I agree turkey hunting is not all about just sitting and waiting. Can spotting and stalking turkeys be unsafe and un-ethical this type of hunting could put you in range of another hunter who could be tresspassing on your hunting ground and also on public ground again if this is the changes you want to take that fine. I feel either way of hunting has it's challenges whether its from a bought blind or a blind that you brushed around a tree your sitting again. As for as health problems goes hunters with health problems has more than just one challenge. First if he or she want to continue hunting they have to find ways of making life easier. From having a nice blind setup on a field or on a ridge top in the woods from using four wheeler or nice side x side it's whatever helps you in being successful. Health problems has NO age it could be a youth hunter with health problems or it could be the 70 year old hunter that still feels the need and want to go turkey hunting also the same with deer hunting. YOU can use any method that works. I would rather call them in knowing iv'e used my bag full of calls and my skills to the best of my ability, that a successful hunt for me. But again i'm not judging you on your spot and stalk and running and gunning if that's what it takes for you to be successful. Is this fair play that's for you to decide. Turkey hunting is the enjoyment of getting ready for the opening morning and hearing that gobbler fire off just as it breaks day light.. Regardless what you call LEGAL or unethical its just how you prefer to hunt. Either way IMO your still need all kinds of skill sets to be consistent in killing turkeys. In my opinion there always a certain amount of stalking involved in turkey hunting whether from blinds or running and gunning to get an effective set-up.
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 31, 2016, 01:34:15 PM
No i think your confused Cutt...Sitting is someone who stays put for several hours trying to decide whether to stick it out and hunt a spot from a blind or from sitting next to a tree.
No I'm not confused I basically said the same exact thing with sitting, with the exception, that just because someone elects to sit for hours, doesn't mean they are using a blind, some might use one for long sits, and some don't use them for long sits. Maybe I shouldn't have said still hunting, but meant one who is hunting still, not actually still hunting.
As for running and gunning or stalking you are lumping the two together, there is a big difference. Running and gunning you move for a better postion, not within shooting distance of the turkey, calling still applies to get him to your location. Stalking is sneaking and moving in on turkeys within shooting range where one would not have to call, because they are close enough to shoot, a very big difference.
I like the new hotness.
I didn't mean to sound like I thought it was a bad thing to use decoys or hunt out of a blind. I'm not judging anyone! I think everyone ought it hunt however each person wants to hunt ! It's all about having fun and enjoying yourself. I apologize if my earlier comments sounded like my way is how everyone is supposed to hunt
Quote from: zeke632 on March 31, 2016, 05:32:55 PM
I didn't mean to sound like I thought it was a bad thing to use decoys or hunt out of a blind. I'm not judging anyone! I think everyone ought it hunt however each person wants to hunt ! It's all about having fun and enjoying yourself. I apologize if my earlier comments sounded like my way is how everyone is supposed to hunt
I don't think you have to apologize, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and without opinions, this thread would have no hotness.
I agree with Cutt ...all opinions are welcome ... just like Cutt and myself, we can disagree all we want but the great part is we are both turkey hunters no matter how we go about it in the field...we just do it in different ways...
When I started turkey hunting I had a H&R single shot 20 ga. along with a half dozen Win. 3" magnum loads of #4 shot. My camo was the WW2 type as that was all that was available. I carried ONE turkey call, a early 70's vintage Lynch "World Champion" box call. I wore face paint on my hands and face. That's it. No vest, no decoys, no blinds, no sights, no turkey seat etc. I do like many of the improvements and advances in turkey hunting over the years. Today I use a fancy Benelli SBE shotgun with red dot optical sights, modern Realtree camo, a nice turkey seat, a bunch of calls and my ammo is better although I never got away from using lead shotshells. I still like to hunt the simple way and therefore do not use blinds or decoys. Just something about sitting with my back up against a big old oak tree and working him in. Every sense is at high alert and when I see him coming MAN what a rush. Just like when I was a young teenager years ago. Some of the equipment is different but the feeling is the same! I will quit turkey hunting when they throw that dirt in my face!!
I've evolved right along with the equipment. However the game stays the same. I may use a far more efficient gun, a higher grade of calls, and better Camo and shells but if I.screw up the same put put is all I get.
Whether It's good or bad, I'm still hunting with the same fixed choke gun and loads I started with years ago. My old woodland camo BDU's still seem to work fine, but they're getting kind of faded and ratty looking and I've been thinking I should probably replace them with another set one of these days. I've got a 20 year old Flambeau Redi Hen that I don't use very often, but she doesn't seem to have lost her appeal to the Toms when I do use it. It's the same with my calls, I've got a couple old faithfuls that I've used forever. I buy a couple new diaphragm calls each year to replace the worn ones and a couple pairs of jersey gloves, a 25 round box of shells and new boots when I need them, but that's about it. I've never felt like I've been missing out on anything. I've always had a lot of fun and I eat turkey on a regular basis, so I've always figured If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :z-twocents:
Bob
It is not so much the products that bother me... Looking back at 1950's ammunition advertising, long-range shells have always been promoted.
I enjoy having clothing and gear that keeps me comfortable and well-hidden, and the GPS is the answer to my prayers (as I have no sense of direction). I also enjoy my modern turkey vest, which allows me to sit comfortably and keep all of my unnecessary gear well-organized...
I do not like the "gansta' " attitude which is becoming prominent in the waterfowl and turkey hunting communities though... Or the "I'm tough cause I killed my limit" attitude (even more prevalent in the waterfowl community). Or the fact that the method of hunting seems to be secondary to killing something (i.e. electronic decoys, turkey reaping, etc.).
If you are saying that currently, the growing attitude is that the "kill" is more important than the "hunt," then I agree... And it makes me a little sad.
Quote from: Spurs on March 31, 2016, 09:53:24 AM
Completely disagree....I enjoy talking chokes, she'll combinations, and guns in the off season to ease the "Off Season Blues". I also love talking calls, setups, and land management for turkey for the same reason.
Now, as far as the TV Personalities pushing their junk, hooping and hollering, and setting a bad example for our children, I am disgusted. You just shot and killed one of Gods greatest creations, it deserves the respect and gratitude that any other creature deserves....Just my .02
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Amen!
Quote from: tha bugman on April 01, 2016, 04:57:40 PM
Quote from: Spurs on March 31, 2016, 09:53:24 AM
Completely disagree....I enjoy talking chokes, she'll combinations, and guns in the off season to ease the "Off Season Blues". I also love talking calls, setups, and land management for turkey for the same reason.
Now, as far as the TV Personalities pushing their junk, hooping and hollering, and setting a bad example for our children, I am disgusted. You just shot and killed one of Gods greatest creations, it deserves the respect and gratitude that any other creature deserves....Just my .02
AMEN
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Amen!
Got to have a DSD