Hi Everyone
Starting to catch some cabin fever up here in Canada. Was day dreaming about hunting turkey and it got me to wondering who else has some of those crazy "superstitions, idiosyncrasies etc" that they take with them to the woods.
For me...I always have to wear the same hat and clothes. Also, I begin and end each and every hunt with a prayer.
Anyone else?
I have two four leaf clovers in my vest but that's about it.
I am die hard about being seen or daylighted near any open hunt areas. So much so I will walk in in the pitch black dark dark and sit still for several extra hours.
BUT have been late before and walked across a field at first light and killed a bird that I walked right under earlier. Go figure!
My uncle gave me a pair of mesh gloves the first time I went turkey hunting as a kid. They're worn out to the point of not being able to wear them anymore but they live in gear pack and have been with me for every bird I've ever killed.
I try to sit down and let the woods quiet and enjoy the daybreak. I repeat my favorite Bible verse in prayer-Psalm 118v24 "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it". Kill or no kill, it is good advice.
Just a couple things. I try not to let my hat touch the ground, ever! Goes back to my childhood days. My Dad would always tell me it's bad luck to let your hat touch the ground, then he would spend most of the day trying to catch me not paying attention and knock it off my head.
2nd. Anytime I kill a gobbler with a different gun I'll take a breast feather and put it under the butt plate of that gun. I have a couple that go back over 50 years. Every once in a while I'll get bored and take the butt plate off one of those old guns just to look at and touch that breast feather from a turkey so many years ago.
I've worn the same headnet for almost 20 years.
Quote from: guesswho on February 07, 2019, 05:11:11 PM
2nd. Anytime I kill a gobbler with a different gun I'll take a breast feather and put it under the butt plate of that gun. I have a couple that go back over 50 years. Every once in a while I'll get bored and take the butt plate off one of those old guns just to look at and touch that breast feather from a turkey so many years ago.
That's cool.
Have a strand of a turkey beard glued around the brim of every hat I have killed a turkey in. And then there's what's left of a horseshoe I found a few years ago that found a permanent spot in my vest. I found it on a day that nothing was gobbling. 15 minutes later I struck him and had him flopping within the hour.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190207/b308d500dbf6e3b5e170c217422c69aa.jpg)
I've used a 3/4 style face mask for many years and like the fact that it's around my neck...ready to go when I set up.
I ALWAYS slip the mask over my head and around my neck as I'm heading into the woods for a hunt and I NEVER take it off until I'm out of the woods and done for the day.
I always recover the empty shell after a kill. One time I went home and got a metal detector because I couldn't find it. The empty had hit a tree to my right and bounced to my left.
I carry a pocket knife every time in I go in the woods. It was given to me by a World War 1 veteran to be carried for good luck . It has worked for me.
I also pick up my hull's and stick a few feather in them and I never make the first sound of the day, I want the woods to come alive like I wasn't even there.
Nothing too crazy. On days following those when I go home empty handed (more often than not), I make sure the shell I chamber is a different one than that from the previous day. OK...a little weird.
Quote from: Spurs Up on February 07, 2019, 07:56:54 PM
Nothing too crazy. On days following those when I go home empty handed (more often than not), I make sure the shell I chamber is a different one than that from the previous day. OK...a little weird.
Forgot that one. I rotate shells as well.
After I kill a bird I'll carry the empty shell hull in my vest until I kill the next bird. Then after I kill a bird the one from the vest gets cut and I stick the beard of the fresh bird in it and the new empty hull goes in the vest for the next one. Weird right?
Quote from: Spurs Up on February 07, 2019, 07:56:54 PM
Nothing too crazy. On days following those when I go home empty handed (more often than not), I make sure the shell I chamber is a different one than that from the previous day. OK...a little weird.
I do that also, I also kind of bless the shell going in the chamber for turkeys and deer.
I try to get in there really early, at least 2 hrs. before sunrise. I do the same for deer. Say a prayer asking Got to let me get my first turkey and if not let me be safe during the day of hunting and the trip home. Does eating pepperoni, cheese and hard boiled eggs count?
I was heading out the door one morning shortly after my son was born. I noticed one of his small socks on the floor by the dryer. I stopped and put it in the pocket of my Ol'Tom gun case and that's where it's been ever since.
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Ive been wearing the same hat for about 15 years. Its more like a sock now! lol And in the call pocket of it I have a little foam bumble bee my little boy made at daycare with hash marks of birds I've killed. That little bumble bee is my most prized hunting possession that I own. I may leave without a vest or even a gun but that hat will be on my head!
Quote from: Spurs Up on February 07, 2019, 07:56:54 PM
Nothing too crazy. On days following those when I go home empty handed (more often than not), I make sure the shell I chamber is a different one than that from the previous day. OK...a little weird.
I'm doing that.
Each shell gets a little kiss of death before going in the chamber, lol.
I have the same routine for each bird I get on. I tell myself,..."Okay, try not to screw this up like you did the last one". :toothy12:
Thank you to everyone who added. Some good stuff!
Daughters get to write whatever they want to on the shell that goes in on opening day..
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Quote from: g8rvet on February 07, 2019, 05:01:36 PM
I try to sit down and let the woods quiet and enjoy the daybreak. I repeat my favorite Bible verse in prayer-Psalm 118v24 "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it". Kill or no kill, it is good advice.
:icon_thumright:
Quote from: guesswho on February 07, 2019, 05:11:11 PM
Just a couple things. I try not to let my hat touch the ground, ever! Goes back to my childhood days. My Dad would always tell me it's bad luck to let your hat touch the ground, then he would spend most of the day trying to catch me not paying attention and knock it off my head.
2nd. Anytime I kill a gobbler with a different gun I'll take a breast feather and put it under the butt plate of that gun. I have a couple that go back over 50 years. Every once in a while I'll get bored and take the butt plate off one of those old guns just to look at and touch that breast feather from a turkey so many years ago.
That's pretty cool Ronnie. :icon_thumright:
Quote from: GobbleNut on February 08, 2019, 09:55:57 AM
I have the same routine for each bird I get on. I tell myself,..."Okay, try not to screw this up like you did the last one". :toothy12:
:TooFunny:
Ever since it came out, I've carried a quarter that has a gobbler on it that says Kistachie, Louisiana. I thought it was cool, so I started carrying it for luck. If it brings me the same bad luck as the last 2 years, I'm spending it!!! ;D
In my vest, I carry an ancient stone spearpoint I found when turkey hunting over 30 years ago. I keep it as a reminder of the true spirit of the hunt and how difficult it could be to hunt turkeys.
Jim
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 08, 2019, 03:41:53 PM
Ever since it came out, I've carried a quarter that has a gobbler on it that says Kistachie, Louisiana. I thought it was cool, so I started carrying it for luck. If it brings me the same bad luck as the last 2 years, I'm spending it!!! ;D
I carry one of those every day as well
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Quote from: Cut N Run on February 08, 2019, 07:14:20 PM
In my vest, I carry an ancient stone spearpoint I found when turkey hunting over 30 years ago. I keep it as a reminder of the true spirit of the hunt and how difficult it could be to hunt turkeys.
Jim
Amen brother
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Quote from: Ozarks Hillbilly on February 08, 2019, 07:31:14 PM
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 08, 2019, 03:41:53 PM
Ever since it came out, I've carried a quarter that has a gobbler on it that says Kistachie, Louisiana. I thought it was cool, so I started carrying it for luck. If it brings me the same bad luck as the last 2 years, I'm spending it!!! ;D
I carry one of those every day as well
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The picture on the quarter may look cool, but unfortunately Kisatchie is not loaded with turkeys. If they really wanted to put an ingraving on the quarter to represent Kisatchie they should have used a pile of garbage, lol. The entire National forest is used as a dump by the local mouth breathers lol. They will actually drive past dumpsters put out by the state and dump trash on a logging road.
Hope the quarters bring you luck
Quote from: LaLongbeard on February 08, 2019, 07:40:10 PM
Quote from: Ozarks Hillbilly on February 08, 2019, 07:31:14 PM
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 08, 2019, 03:41:53 PM
Ever since it came out, I've carried a quarter that has a gobbler on it that says Kistachie, Louisiana. I thought it was cool, so I started carrying it for luck. If it brings me the same bad luck as the last 2 years, I'm spending it!!! ;D
I carry one of those every day as well
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The picture on the quarter may look cool, but unfortunately Kisatchie is not loaded with turkeys. If they really wanted to put an ingraving on the quarter to represent Kisatchie they should have used a pile of garbage, lol. The entire National forest is used as a dump by the local mouth breathers lol. They will actually drive past dumpsters put out by the state and dump trash on a logging road.
Hope the quarters bring you luck
True. I had a turkey we called The Junkyard Dog that I got in only to be bumped by another hunter
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Weird thing for me is whenever a bird is in close, I try not to blink or look them directly in the eyes. Actually I just close my eyes most of the time. My luck is about the same. I might have taken a nap once or twice.
A breast feather always goes in my hat for the walk out, and a nice chew of tobacco as me and Mr. Tom sit, reminisce and ponder.
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Nothing too crazy for me, but I always pick or let one of my kids pick the shell or bullet that goes in the chamber for both turkeys and deer.
Quote from: Cut N Run on February 08, 2019, 07:14:20 PM
In my vest, I carry an ancient stone spearpoint I found when turkey hunting over 30 years ago. I keep it as a reminder of the true spirit of the hunt and how difficult it could be to hunt turkeys.
Jim
Very cool!!! :icon_thumright:
Quote from: LaLongbeard on February 08, 2019, 07:40:10 PM
Quote from: Ozarks Hillbilly on February 08, 2019, 07:31:14 PM
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on February 08, 2019, 03:41:53 PM
Ever since it came out, I've carried a quarter that has a gobbler on it that says Kistachie, Louisiana. I thought it was cool, so I started carrying it for luck. If it brings me the same bad luck as the last 2 years, I'm spending it!!! ;D
I carry one of those every day as well
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The picture on the quarter may look cool, but unfortunately Kisatchie is not loaded with turkeys. If they really wanted to put an ingraving on the quarter to represent Kisatchie they should have used a pile of garbage, lol. The entire National forest is used as a dump by the local mouth breathers lol. They will actually drive past dumpsters put out by the state and dump trash on a logging road.
Hope the quarters bring you luck
That's a real shame. I'll never understand why people who are given access to pristine and gorgeous lands would ruin them by 4 wheeling, ATV riding, target shooting and leaving garbage all over. Makes no sense at all. >:(
I hunt a lot of public and I cringe every time I see someone. I consider myself somewhat of a loner when I'm hunting. I will go so far as to do a 90 degree turn if I see someone approaching me on a road. I know I shouldn't be like that, but I have had some bad experiences that kinda forced my hand.
I watch Tombstone the night before turkey season
I carry an old clay marble I found in Kansas around 20ty years ago that I picked up at a broken down Homestead.
Greg
Still carry the same mouth call pouch that I've had for nearly 30 years, and carry an old Schrade pocket knife with turkeys engraved in the handle that was given to me about as long ago by a good friend and hunting buddy. The knife is only used for cleaning turkeys, nothing else.
Carry a old pocket knife that my dad gave me, he's no longer living. I also carry a buckeye that a friends dad that got me into hunting gave me years ago, he also is no longer living.
You'd think a shaman would have a lot of superstitions. Truth is, turkey hunting for me has always been such a struggle, that I don't have a whole lot of quirks-- just too much trouble to keep them up.
I did have a lot of the same gear for many years. However, one by one, most of it has been given up to the forest floor. I had the same gloves and the same hat for the first 25 seasons. The gloves went about 2005. I lost the hat about 2008.
I try and set up in the same section of tree line for every Opener. That came about not by superstition, but there's usually a flock that sets up nearby and I'm able to sneak in and get set long before they start calling. It's not dead-nuts-certain, but I've nailed a bunch of gobblers from there over the years.
I carry nearly the same load-out of calls for the first few days of season. That's just simply because they've been successful in getting gobs to answer. I usually start switching out mid-week of the first week, and I'm not afraid to put away a call for season if it's not producing.
One thing I absolutely do is carry a push-pin call and keep it next to me in exactly the same spot, right where I can reach it with my right hand. That's not superstition either. If I need to, I want a sure-fire call for answering myself should the need arise. If a gob hangs up, I'll cluck with my mouth call and purr with my push-pin and make it sound like more than one hen. If a hen comes in, I'll hit her with an angry purr with the push-pin and tell her to go away. Having that push-pin call right handy has saved me a bunch of times.
I never look a cow in the eye while walking in predawn darkness. They have psychic abilities and an apparent alliance with wild turkeys. That's all I'm willing to divulge at this point.