I amd NOT trying to start an argument over what method is better ect,just looking for opinions. You guys that just go to one spot and sit. Where do you sit ? a place you know where they will eventually be ? A strut zone ? a field ? a pinch point in a bottom you know they will eventually walk through ?
The best answer is all of those you listed are possibilities. I absolutely love scouting. The fun to me is finding that perfect place to call from and being confident that birds want to be there. I do occasionally run and gun but I much prefer patience in a spot I've scouted and deemed worthy of a long sit. I cannot tell you how many times I have given up on a bird to strike out for greener pastures and I get 200 yards away and he gobbles right from where I just left. The memories of those birds keep my butt planted
I have a tough time sitting for more than a couple hours. I have the attention span of a 5 year old. My mind races thinking about all the spots that I want to go and be and . . . . . . . . . .
You have to do your homework but over everything else I have a 30 minute rule. When you get ready to leave wait 30 minutes before you leave. I've found that usually you wait 30 minutes longer, and the bird shows inside that 30 minute window. Try it. :z-twocents:
I sit all deer season. I hunt on the move for turkey. Rarelt sit unless setting up on one or first thing in the morning to listen. Mike
One of my favorite spots to "Sit" is way on the backend finger of a field, it can't be seen from a road, it has a perimeter field road around it that then leads to 2 other nearby fields that all can be heard from my calling location, I am at a high point at this place. Over the years I/We have killed plenty of turkeys in this spot. Took me a bit to find it and after doing some scouting I put this all together. I could sit there all day as turkeys are in, out and around this area all day long.
MK M GOBL
Scouting is the key. If you know where they like to be and even about the approx time it's about 3/4 of the battle.
I can sit all day for deer but 3hrs in one spot for a turkey hurts my soul
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Well first, I am not the deer hunter type of turkey hunter. Calling one in is what gets me going... but I will say that I finally got one of the field birds I've been after this week by setting up where I had seen them the past 2 mornings. They came off the roost and landed 40 yards out. Shot mine at 35 yards without touching the call. If you have seen a pattern with your birds, set up where you know they like to be. Otherwise it's more of a guessing game. I would never set up and wait on birds unless I had observed a pattern and knew they weren't coming to my calls.
Quote from: TauntoHawk on April 07, 2017, 09:19:53 PM
I can sit all day for deer but 3hrs in one spot for a turkey hurts my soul
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I feel your pain. This week has been the hardest week of turkey hunting I have ever had. I have scouted several places and knew where birds were but I just could not get it done. I was sitting and wondering about every place I thought I maybe should be sitting but stayed put. God bless anyone that can wait one out like that.
Afternoons along a field edge where I know birds are known to move through...that is unless I have better intel which results in scouting which involves shoe leather
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Quote from: Gooserbat on April 07, 2017, 08:59:55 PM
Scouting is the key. If you know where they like to be and even about the approx time it's about 3/4 of the battle.
Absolutely! I prefer to run and gun but am always on the lookout for movement patterns.
For me, it's about scouting both before and during the season. If I know birds are frequenting an area, I can set for long periods of time, especially if the birds aren't gobbling. If I get bored and can get a gobble from a distance, I'll pick up and cut the distance. For me, patience is a virtue that will put more birds in front of my gun barrel. I've had Great success with this strategy.
Quote from: ilbucksndux on April 07, 2017, 08:36:09 PM
I have a tough time sitting for more than a couple hours. I have the attention span of a 5 year old. My mind races thinking about all the spots that I want to go and be and . . . . . . . . . .
Must be an Illinois thing. I'm getting better at the patience thing. I think im up to a 7 year old now!
I do whatever it takes...when there quiet I am more likely to camp out in a spot...vocal I may well run around like a nut all day only to kill one where I started from????. Many times birds have not traveled very far so patience can surely kill em!
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If I know birds are in the general area, I will set for at least 3 hours at a time
There's a couple of small (< 150 acre) horse farms I hunt that have a lot of pasture. Run & gun doesn't work well there at all. Most of the gobblers there prefer to roost on neighboring properties too. If you can get in there without getting busted, they can be called to the more favored areas. Those turkeys definitely know their woods and if you're set up wrong, call too much, or they catch you moving, it is game over.
The best spot on the smaller farm is the back corner of a field, near the highest elevation, that cannot be seen from the road, exactly what MK M GOBL was describing. I've taken 5 grown longbeards (3 were limbhangers) from the same spot over the past 4 years. Only one of them was roosted near enough where I could hear him from the roost.
Jim
If I know birds are in the area I generally will sit all morning. Especially if I find a food source or an area they've been scratching up while scouting. Sooner or later hens will get hungry and where there's hens there's gobblers. That's been pretty successful for me the last couple years. I only run and gun anymore when I'm not confident in my setup or hunting a new area I don't know.
I laughed at myself yesterday.....I set up in a good spot(public mountain area) had 2-3 turkeys gobbling off & on within 300 yards of me for 2 1/2 hours, I decided to get up and close the distance on one that was stationary in a creek bottom and seemed to not move an inch from daylight. I snuck along a ridge line to where I knew he was, set up and called on my trumpet....boom, he gobbled right where I was sitting for 2 1/2 hours. It might have taken me 20 minutes to sneak along the ridge and in that amount of time he had made it to my original spot looking to get shot.....lol....I even made myself sit an extra 30 minutes, dang birds will drive me crazy.
Quote from: ilbucksndux on April 07, 2017, 08:20:56 PM
I amd NOT trying to start an argument over what method is better ect,just looking for opinions. You guys that just go to one spot and sit. Where do you sit ? a place you know where they will eventually be ? A strut zone ? a field ? a pinch point in a bottom you know they will eventually walk through ?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I plant myself as close to where I've been seeing them as possible. ;)
:OGani: I like all aspects of turkey hunting, some of which have already been stated. I only hunt public land, so when I decided to sit for long period of time, it is educated. I will scout a lot, and notice the birds behavior. I will then favor to use my woodsmanship, to find a way to a hidden place they favor, usually a dip in a field, or a blind spot. Then I will sit and call sparingly. As one person said, the 30 minute rule. When nothing has happened and ready to leave I will sit for 30 minutes longer, as a safety time. One big thing is never move within 30 minutes of calling! Many times a person does this, as a last effort then get up, take two steps only to run the bird off.