I have done it a few times. Once just showed up and heard a gobbler respond to a woodpecker as soon is I stepped in the woods, another area I killed a gobbler fifteen minutes after stepping in the woods, and returned the next year and killed another 30 minutes into the hunt. 2 gobblers and only set foot in there 2 times . Been awhile since I've just showed up but wont be scouting so keeping fingers crossed,will be fun no matter what. Anyone pulling one of these this year?
Yup. Done it a few times.
Often!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Many times in 35 years of chasing them.
For a long time I did very little scouting. Birds used to be plentiful and a little less educated than the few that are still left. I've had some pretty quick hunts and some of them started as soon as I've got out of the truck. One that comes to mind was just prior to a big storm coming in. My first spot was crawling with hunters so I drove to another spot just prior to a storm. The thunder already had one gobbling when I got out of the truck. He came quick and I never had a drop of rain fall on me. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, lightening was pretty bad but it worked out. I guess if it would have struck me, I would have went out doing what I love.
Quote from: Rzrbac on February 28, 2020, 03:19:49 PM
For a long time I did very little scouting. Birds used to be plentiful and a little less educated than the few that are still left. I've had some pretty quick hunts and some of them started as soon as I've got out of the truck. One that comes to mind was just prior to a big storm coming in. My first spot was crawling with hunters so I drove to another spot just prior to a storm. The thunder already had one gobbling when I got out of the truck. He came quick and I never had a drop of rain fall on me. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, lightening was pretty bad but it worked out. I guess if it would have struck me, I would have went out doing what I love.
great story , cool
Quote from: Happy on February 28, 2020, 02:45:25 PM
Yup. Done it a few times.
care to share one memorable story ?
Many times.
Yes , first time hunting Missouri ... and other places ...
Used to never scout. Just show up at daylight get on a high spot and see whats there.
Every time I go that's what I do.
I don't go roosting the night before or go scouting to find where they're at .
I get up high and wait for a gobble.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, a few of my spots this happened. And now, these spots are consistent year after year..... be safe guys.....
Yep.
West Virginia
Wyoming
Maryland
Pennsylvania's northern tier
Quote from: Tennessee Lead on February 28, 2020, 05:57:12 PM
Every time I go that's what I do.
I don't go roosting the night before or go scouting to find where they're at .
I get up high and wait for a gobble.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
used too when I first started
Pretty much what my out-of-state hunts are, learn as you go. I do look up some mapping then it boots on the ground. In state I have been hunting same area for the past 18 years and have them farms down. Once in a while things change but I'm always scouting home turf. Hit a new piece last year with a buddy, part of his families farm and he had never turkey hunted it, few hours into it and we doubled up on them.
MK M GOBL
Quote from: hotspur on February 28, 2020, 02:12:42 PM
I have done it a few times. Once just showed up and heard a gobbler respond to a woodpecker as soon is I stepped in the woods, another area I killed a gobbler fifteen minutes after stepping in the woods, and returned the next year and killed another 30 minutes into the hunt. 2 gobblers and only set foot in there 2 times . Been awhile since I've just showed up but wont be scouting so keeping fingers crossed,will be fun no matter what. Anyone pulling one of these this year?
I'm hoping it happens this year in NE. Heading there and will scout/hunt the first day.
I love blind calling on new grounds. Taken a few that way.
Lots of times. I'll get up on a high spot early and see if I hear one close. If I do I'll go to him. If not I'll wait till about mid morning and run/gun which is actually more like walk and call. I killed one of my biggest birds practically in the parking lot of a wma I'd never hunted before. Showed up mid day. Got out of the truck and hit the call and there he was. I'd rather be lucky than good any day.
That will be my hunt in AZ this year. I drew a tag in 12A which is the absolute north edge of the state and I live on the Mexico border. I'll get there a day early to try and roost some but I'm going in completely blind. Should be fun and a good way to learn an area.
Hunting 4 new states this spring. Going in blind to all.
Yes. Every year I hunt new states on public ground going in blind and kill turkeys. Or I call them in and miss them lol.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sometimes it just works out for the best because you haven't over though it.
Yea that's how a poacher hunts and how I learned to hunt. When I was a kid me and my Daddy would pull up to a good spot, he'd hoot and make him gobble and I'd take off. He'd hoot from the road for a minute or two or as long as traffic would allow, and then I'd have a good bearing on the bird and close. Where....none of your business, or maybe it was your business. Nothing like being 12 or 14, in a place you don't know, and can't know. You learn fast because you want nothing more than to bring 20lbs back to the truck.
Quote from: West Augusta on February 28, 2020, 08:13:34 PM
I love blind calling on new grounds. Taken a few that way.
Yup me too.Or strolling on old grounds as well. Used to be primarily the way I hunted when these ol legs could put on a bunch of miles .
Wow! I couldn't buy that kind of luck. That's awesome though and I sure as hell would try that trick again! Good luck!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: Tennessee Lead on February 28, 2020, 05:57:12 PM
Every time I go that's what I do.
I don't go roosting the night before or go scouting to find where they're at .
I get up high and wait for a gobble.
I can state with a great deal of authority that using the "go sit on a mountain and listen for gobbling" approach will result in you sitting on a mountain listening to silence all day long in some parts of the country. There are places that you HAVE to go actively looking for a gobbling turkey if you want to be successful. Knowing where and when to do one or the other is the key.
In answer to the original question,...yes, but I prefer to be able to scout a new place if I can.
Do it probably 60-70% of the time. Im either going blind and hunting or returning to a place I've killed before.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You bet . Lots of times. Killed many that way.
Best tactic there is . Unless you plan it that way or even think about it. ;D
I grew up in a deer hunting family, no turkey hunters, and didn't start turkey hunting till my early 20's. Had a buddy Joe that I bowhunt with decide he would give it a shot with me. I said I'd call and he could shoot. We went to a new turkey hunters workshop put on by the conservation dept., bought some crappy mass production calls, learned how to make some noise with them, and headed to my family farm in southern MO for opening day. We had no clue what we were doing, had done zero scouting, and our only tip was that a family member had heard gobbling behind the house in the valley a week before. We had a few too many beverages the night before, and were late getting up in the morning. We quickly grabbed our gear and headed to the woods, only making it about 150 yards to the woodline edge, with the cabin still in view, since first light was already upon us.
We found a good tree to lean against, threw out a hen decoy, and staked up a piece of burlap in front of us. I started making some horrible noises on a Primos Jackpot pot call. I was just hammering away, when my buddy says "look! Big tom!"
We were both moving so much the bird started to seem spooked, so I made my best attempt at "soft talk" and, miraculously, he started to come back in and made it within 30 yards! My buddy kept saying "he's so beautiful!" I'm like "yes he's beautiful! Now shoot the bird Joe! SHOOT THE BIRD JOE!"
After what seemed like an eternity, and as the bird finally turns to leave, he lets him have it!
First turkey hunt ever, no scouting, 20 minutes in and we had a nice boss tom down!
I thought I had this turkey hunting stuff figured out! You just run in the woods and "yelp, yelp, yelp! Boom!" Well I didn't kill a bird for 4 more years! After those several humbling years, I decided to learn everything I could, including how to actually "talk" turkey, and I've flopped birds every year since.
Every single time I go somewhere new. Will do it 5 times this year
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
One memorable occasion was when a friend got permission to hunt property that belonged to a friend of his. I had never been there before, and my friend drove us to the gate to listen. I got out and made a couple of hoots as day began breaking, and I hurt some rustling noise in a large tree just inside the property and to my right at about 20 yards. I thought it was a squirrel. I stood around, listened, and softly whispered with my friend. We heard birds gobbling off in the distance and discussed the likely way to access them. We made a move inside the gate, and as we did a tom had all he could stand and took off and flew virtually right over our heads.
He was roosted right by the road in what we would consider an unlikely spot, but it apparently suited him just find. But busting him was of no consequence, the place had plenty of birds, and we got in their and took care of business that morning.
Many times
Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk
You're supposed to scout ahead of time?
Lol, with being new to turkey hunting, limited time and several nearby public areas most of my trips are combo scouting/hunting trips.
Two years ago no encounters, last year a couple of encounters. This year will be a bit of a step back, double hip replacement surgery will eliminate all preseason scouting opportunities. Won't even get clearance to get in the woods until the second week.
Man I wander over new places every year and find birds to work. I always want to see whats over the next hill. Love seeing new places and finding different birds. I use to start scouting a month before season. With the fast pace of life , I spend that time getting all my gear ready. I constantly scout during season and it pays off pretty regular.
Drove 1100 miles 1 way after google earth and on x scouting, on public. Got out of the truck the 1st morning before daylight and heard 1 gobbling. I wish the 2nd part was a great story, but its not. However, I felt accomplished in having done that.
Yep many times. I prefer to spend time scouting prior to hunting, but sometimes it's not possible. When that happens, I just try to get there early and see how things play out. Sometimes it works out just fine.
Hasn't happened to me a lot, but last year went to a spot with a buddy. Mid morning, walked across a field and as soon as we got to the top of a hill, heard two birds going nuts. Started calling to them, and one snuck in on us. Took maybe 20 minutes.
Yeah plenty of times
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
That's how I prefer to do it these days. It keeps the landowners in their toes if you're not pre-scouting their posted property. Lol
I'm joking. But yes, I do tend to just show up. The tracts of land are so small here that the birds are either there, or they're not. If I'm back home on club property, just drive around until you find a chunk of ground that still has trees they've not cut yet and pray. It's getting g to the point that those birds are gonna get pretty clustered though. Running outta trees up there.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Although I regularly hunt places that I have never been to before, I never just go "eeny meeny miney mo", pick a random spot, go to it, and start hunting without using the tool that every one of us has available. That is, Google Earth,...or some similar app.
I always narrow down a new area I plan to hunt by researching it thoroughly so I know everything I can about the place beforehand. When I get to that new spot, I may never have set foot on it, but I use all the resources I can to familiarize myself with it before I get there.
Often, that research pays off, but admittedly, there have been places I have researched "to death" only to get there and find no turkeys. Those times I find myself saying,..."dammit, I may as well have gone 'eeny meeny miney mo'"... (smiley faces here)
PS...to you young'uns that don't know what "eeny meeny miney mo" means,...refer to one of us old timers! (more smiley faces here)
Often ... 1st public land bird I ever killed was also the first time I had set foot on the property!
3 years ago, I spotted tracks in the snow in central mt.They were fresh, and I went into this deep coulee, and my dog flushed 30 birds! I shot one on the fly.However, my dog would not retrieve it, too big.
That is the name of the game for a traveling turkey hunter.
I have basic understanding of the land from OnXmaps and they try to make one gobble. They the biggest advantage is gettin a tag from the same site from year to year.
I've got a spot I call The Honey Hole. It's in a fencerow along an abandoned road that runs down middle of a knife-edge ridge. The old road bed is sunken, so I can slip up into the spot without disturbing the turkeys on the other side. I can settle in, put my back against the big oak and pull out a call. At the first moment of legal hunting, I can oftentimes let off a tree call and have several gobblers answer. If they're in they're favorite roost, they may be only 50 yards away.
I've been going there regularly since 2006 and have managed to fill both tags from that spot many times over.