So, how do you like your turkey hunts?
When you go turkey hunting are you looking for a place with "guaranteed success"? ....Or are you looking for a hunt that will challenge your turkey hunting skills?
Anybody that has turkey hunted much around the country knows that there are places to go hunting where you are, in essence, just paying for a turkey. I know because I have hunted a couple of those places,...not by choice, but because they were the only route to take under the circumstances that existed. Quite honestly, I hate those kinds of hunts,..with a passion. There is nothing that bothers me more than paying my good money to hunt a turkey that I did no more than pull the trigger on what I refer to as "barnyard birds".
On the other hand, I have also hunted places where the realistic possibility of killing a gobbler was almost nil. I will say that I am also not really too enamored with hunting those places either.
What I want is something in-between. I want to hunt a place that has a reasonable number of turkeys,...but also where those turkeys will actually test my turkey hunting skills, my woods skills, and to some extent, my physical ability.
How about you guys?
Yes is my answer... LOL. I love a challenging bird. But I'm not too proud to accept a 'gift' bird occasionally when so many things have gone wrong beyond your control on other hunts. It's a special satisfaction though when your bring a bird to bag you've hunted multiple seasons. They don't grow old by being stupid.
It depends with me. I can tell you that I would have taken an "easy" bird on May 29 in PA. :TooFunny:
In general though, I wouldn't still be a turkey hunter if it was easy. The challenge is what makes it what it is. That's why sparrow hunting isn't a thing.
Not sure how to answer. But on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, I like at least a 7. Anything less than that at this point in the game and its like just going through the motions.
Hard or easy it really makes no difference to me if I have a easy one it's greatly appreciated if I come across an old seasoned vetran i'm up to that challenge too so either-or it makes no difference I just enjoy each and every hunt for what it is
I think I'm prob in line w where you are. If it was guaranteed I'd not go
Give me a easy bird because I don't remember the last time I hunted an area like that.
I only hunt public in 4 states and mainly archery equipment. It's difficult but I enjoy it with good success. I shoot any legal bird,including hens.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Interesting question. The public land I started on in Louisiana was never really loaded with turkeys and the population has slowly dwindled to actually less than when I was a kid. Until I started traveling to other states it was all I knew. After I started hunting the other subspecies I noticed how much more common and easier some of them are. And even Easterns are very different and easier to find and kill in some areas. I've never hunted one of the sure bet places. Before my first trip to Florida I looked into some outfitters and the two I talked with basically said the same thing bring the family and go to Disney land you'll be done the first morning by 9 o'clock. I had no interest in such a place if it's that easy I could just save the 16 hour drive and say I killed one. I went the public land route and it was tough but when I got one it meant a lot more.
I think people that hunt low population areas like Arkansas or Louisiana seem to appreciate each one a little more than the people that can drive by a field and see 50 turkeys any day of the week. It's like squirrels or deer I have no idea how many squirrels I've killed and I see deer pretty much every day from my back porch there so common I rarely give them a second look or care to hunt them. Turkeys are rarely seen from the road. I have to hunt harder in La than any other state to kill a Gobbler I cannot remember the last one that was easy here. It can be frustrating sometimes when a week or more goes by with only one gobble heard maybe one time.I know experienced turkey hunters that have gone a season without killing one here in the last 10 years or so of the decline. It be real easy to drive to Texas or book a hunt at some hunting lodge up north and go kill a couple in 3 days,but it wouldn't mean anything to buy a turkey.
There has to be a chance of failure to make it a challenge, which is the whole thing that makes me love turkey hunting ,the challenge. Take away the chance of failure and I may as well stay home and shoot deer sitting on the porch swing.
Good question. For me I have to feel there is a challenge and effort involved. I dont mind not killing a bird but I like to at least know that they are around. The only days that seem to get to me are the days when it doesn't seem like you are within 50 miles of a gobbler. As long as I hear a gobble or two i am good and can stay concentrated. Those 2-3 day stretches where I dont hear a peep is what makes me consider sleeping in an extra hour. So to sum it up as long as it requires some skill and effort and there are some gobblers to hunt I am happy. Paying money to kill a high odds of success bird would not. I think for me I get out of it what I put into it. I am ok with winning as long as I feel I did something that requires skill or effort. I am not ok with minimal effort and simply pulling the trigger.
I've never experienced an easy turkey hunt.... I do dream about it sometimes.
I can shoot deer in my backyard but choose to chase them on public land instead.
I'm sure it would be the same with turkeys.(If I actually had turkeys in my backyard)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: GobbleNut on June 04, 2019, 11:48:20 AMWhat I want is something in-between. I want to hunt a place that has a reasonable number of turkeys,...but also where those turkeys will actually test my turkey hunting skills, my woods skills, and to some extent, my physical ability.
Exactly. I don't want a barnyard bird, nor do I want a hunt with a bird around every corner where success is pretty much a given. I also don't want to have it so challenging that you begin to wonder if there are even gobblers on the property. Nor do I want to be attached at the hip to a guide.
I want to feel like I did the hunting, I figured out the birds, I called them in, and I sealed the deal. That's a satisfying hunt. :icon_thumright:
I like a hunt where the bird does everything he is suppose to do. Those are far and few between. It keeps me going back.
I go where the gobble lead me. Took me six days to kill a gobbler in MO on private land. Four hours on public land in Michigan. I'll take an easy one but the hard ones make for a better story.
After not filling my first two tags during the Southern Illinois seasons after 9 days of hunting, I was pleasantly surprised on my 10th day to have unknowingly set up within 50 yards of some gobblers which flew down right into my decoys. Sometimes luck trumps skill.
I am in the middle as well. I want to hear turkeys and know they are there, killing is nice but not hearing or seeing any stinks. I rarely have used outfitters, but when I do my first questions are can I do my own calling and control my hunt? Most want some control and I don't blame them, so I offer to let them do a skills assessment when I arrive. If they say our guides calls all the shots I say no thank you and hang up. My next question do you bait? I hate baiting....hate, hate hate it. In the southwest it's almost a tradition it seems. The best outfitter I ever booked hunted with me half of the first day and let me call. After lunch he took me to a gate and said there's 6,000 acres behind that gate, I'll be back at 5:00 Pm. if you get lost just stop where you are and call my cell phone. That was not a problem. At 5:00 I was back at the gate and when he showed up I was there, but no turkey. When he looked shocked I told him I had passed up two gobblers because I couldn't get them separated from the hens for a clear shot. He simply said, i knew I could trust you. My worse outfitter was Florida and it took all of 30 minutes to kill my Osceola and I felt disappointed, but I wanted to finish a grand slam. Not killing a bird is ok, but not seeing or hearing any is not.
I will take what the good Lord gives me. I've only declined to shoot one because it was "too easy".
I shot one that I now wish I had passed on because I didn't earn him.
That's part of the hunting fun, you just never know what you will see or what may transpire out there.
I want to "earn" the bird. If I feel like I didn't, it's up to me whether I get on the trigger. That's the game we play and it's an awesome game!!!
Have a good one
Ray
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
I like a good mix of 30% easy birds 70% challenging birds in a season. Never paid too hunt a bird so may not know some of those barnyard type of hunts some of you guys talk about.
When I hunt I like to feel I was at least "in the game." It is not very satisfying to go, hear them gobble, never answer me, then go the other way. I like for a gobbler to at least answer me some to make me think I have a chance. As far as easy vs. hard, I have killed some I didn't deserve and not some I had worked hard for. It kind of averages out for me. I have never hunted with but a couple outfitters, I hunt mostly private and some public, so no canned hunts for me so far.
I don't do the outfitter thing, it's just not for me.
That beint said, I want as easy a hunt as possible. Gobble right off the roost and light in the decoys is best. I like having some time to mushroom hunt while it's still relatively cool out. Now that rarely happens anymore, ate tagger tots this year, but a girl can dream.
If I wanted easy hunting I'd take up squirrels and deer. I've never hunted private land anywhere so avoiding "easy" Gobblers is not usually a problem. As mentioned Louisiana can be as tough as it gets but I've hunted it my whole life and it's just the way it is. I think it has made me a better hunter. I wouldn't want to hunt were a dead Gobbler was a guarantee anymore than I'd shoot a baby turkey or a hen, just not that desperate.
Have hunted them all, not that any are just a given. I have a lot of private to hunt home state and some good public to hunt on as well. I take a lot of hunters whether it be Learn to Hunts, Youth Hunts and Newbies out and can put them on birds in a day or maybe a few (that's where my "easier" birds go) if there is a bird that beats us a couple of times he makes my "list" I'll put a season or 2 or 3 in on a bird to kill "him", my Bird "HOOK" I hunted for four years before I killed him. My Out-of-State hunts have been Public Land Hunts (I did get on a private in TX one year through a connection). I do my homework on the area and have had some luck!
I guess I'll take
(D) All of the above, just depends who is on the trigger.
MK M GOBL
The hunts that always give me the most satisfaction are the ones that I have had some sort of struggle on. I won't turn down a Turkey because I think he might be too easy, but I look back with more fondness on the ones I've had to really work for.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
One certainly remembers struggles more vividly. I just try to learn on every hunt I'm on, regardless as hard or easy it is. I would say I didn't want any easy hunts when I had turkeys close by, having to drive for 10 plus hours to get into birds at the beginning of the season makes me a lot less judgemental. I can (and do) always turn it up a notch by using my bow without the blind.
I'll take it all and I'll make the best out of it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it:)
I have NEVER hunted a place that guaranteed me a turkey before, as a matter of fact for the most part I have hunted very marginal places. I had one place that had the best game sign I have ever seen in my life but the Mennonite raped the land and absolutely destroyed it like so many of them tend to do, makes me want to puke every time I go by. He looked at me one day and says "I don't know why the game is not here the way it used to be." I told him why and he replied "Well I don't think it is that" I know for fact that is why but at that time it was the only land I had to hunt so I kept my mouth shut.
Anyway I am hunting the second best land I have ever hunted now and even there it is not a guaranty and I would not want it to be but the thing that I like is I have been hunting it for 4 years now and there has never been one single time when I was out there during turkey season and did not hear at least one gobble, so I know I do have a chance.
I am looking forward to hunting Rio's in OK in 2021 that will be a whole new thing for me as I have never hunted that that flat before so it will give new challenges and I really like the idea of that.
One that gobbles at least once and no bait or decoys. The result doesn't matter anymore, much.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the "1s" leave you somewhat dissatisfied, the "10s" leave you totally frustrated.
I've never hunted a place where it was a guaranteed thing. I would think to offer that sort of thing, it would involve sitting over bait. I hunt a large place with a good population of birds here in Texas, and turkeys are still turkeys. Some days they won't cooperate no matter what you do, other times you can have one in your lap in under five mins. The good thing with having plenty to hunt is that you don't have to stick with a stubborn bird all day. You can cover ground and if weather conditions are good, typically you can strike another. Sometimes all the birds seem to shut down for a while, even when you know there's a bird/birds nearby. I've had easy public land birds and tough public land birds. I've had plenty of "easy" private land birds and plenty of difficult, wary private land birds. The more birds you're able to locate/live in the area you have access to, the less time you'll spend beating your head against the wall when a turkey is just being a turkey. I think just about any bird can be called in and killed when his mood is right and you setup on him properly.
I enjoy a turkey that gobbles to my calls. I guess there's a little more satisfaction when he takes his time and I really have to work him and/or reposition to kill him. I enjoy the ones that come easy too, because usually that's not the case and I've been hunting hard for several hours/days prior with no success.
Any way I could get em!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For the most part it was successful season. Just having encounters with turkeys of any kind leads to great day of hunting. The frustrating part is those day's your sure the gobblers will respond and they are mostly quiet. The days of how successful you are depends on you attitude of the hunt , most days you will go home empty handed, but just being out on that sunrise morning and hearing the wildlife waking up is all that matters. Sitting or waiting for that first morning gobble is another hair raising on the back of your neck , that gobble is music to your ears , because you know now you have a chance of being successful. Those gobbles never get old , but boy it can make for a beautiful morning. As turkey hunter what you hope for each year is a good hatch on the land you have to hunt, with a good hatch your odds of being successful goes up a great deal.. Having a good habitat on your land with good food source is a must in my opinion ... Sometimes it's up to you to make those habitat improvements with bushhoging you land , adding watering holes and clover food plots .. a turkey hunters work never stops ... COME ON 2020 ...
I want to hunt a tough bird a few times. I want to test my skills and then I want him to break and stick his beak in my barrel because I did my part and fooled him. I will eventually graduate to the callsand a camera. But right now, I do enjoy the finger squeezing that trigger. I hope I never grow up :funnyturkey:
When I was much younger we had lots of Toms around. Before the season I would make it my duty to call as many of them in until I felt I met them all.
Made for some great experience and wary Toms to keep the season interesting. Hunted one of those old boys for 19 mornings before he slipped up. Some of the best hunts I have had he supplied. One morning he was in range 4 times At 4 different set ups but no shot available. That is hunting to me.