Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

I am currently around 50 not exactly sure I keep coming up with a different number

This season?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lost count, well I'm not very good at counting anyway. I killed my first in 2011 and hunted the fall seasons back when you could kill multiple birds in a county. Had a few doubles and a couple of 3fers before the fall season went to 1 bird. It was fun, but I'm glad they dropped the limit. I've killed 5 birds this spring


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Quote from: Tennessee spur collector on May 04, 2020, 09:49:12 PM
I am currently around 50 not exactly sure I keep coming up with a different number

How long ago did you shoot your first turkey?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not near enough .. but numbers don't matter ..

I never have kept track. I've hunted Spring and Fall for 20ish years. Still enjoy it more every year. Crazy how a guy can think about it everyday all year long...
Glad I haven't kept track of the money I've spent on it either. Calls,Guns,Books,Equipment...definitely a disease...

Although I know the number I just like to say over 100.

 :newmascot:

Quote from: Gooserbat on May 04, 2020, 11:58:37 PM
Although I know the number I just like to say over 100.

man that's a lot

Around two dozen.  I would sure like to add one more today!

I enjoy everyone I am lucky enough to harvest.  :funnyturkey:

Under 20 but i have only been hunting turkeys for five years now. My goal is to go get a gobbler in all of the states and just this last season I've decided that I want to achieve my goal by killing the fewest number of birds possible.

For the last 40 years have killed so many large and giant deer (plenty of younger ones too) that I can't keep them straight anymore.  Except for a few of them, I can't remember which head goes with which hunt in my mind anymore. I never want to have that happen with turkeys so I'm going to try to kill as few as possible in my journey to get all the states.  I want each bird to remain special and a peak life experience in my mind.  If I start stacking up the bodies like I did with deer, that won't happen.

I'm another who doesn't know but it's nearing 40 years so it's a bunch. A while back before I had some issues and could think clearer a buddy asked me how many mentored birds I'd called in for others. . That was years back and I wrote down places, people, birds. Was over 50 I'd mentored at that point. Was perhaps 2015. I've added a few since

Somewhere between 100 and 105. I lost track of a couple years when my computer crashed a few years ago.

35~ longbeards and a couple jakes all in the spring.  Killed a few as a kid and got serious about it in 2015.

At my age killing is not important any more just like getting out and seeing them.

34 since 1995. Here in Illinois you can only get a maximum of 3 tags if they are available to be drawn in the lottery.  1 tag is only good for a week and county specific.   I want to kill 100 before I die but I dont think its possible, not in this state.

killed my first one in the mid 70's and have seen a many of'em flop since then.  I can say one thing for sure.....after all those years the next one will be just as exciting as the first.  I am pretty much the ice man when it comes to deer or bear.  I've killed +150" whitetail and 300#+ black bear with a bow and stay as cool as a cucumber but dang if them gobblers don't get me excited and you know what, I LOVE IT.

As other "old guys" like me have said, the numbers really are not important anymore.  I lost track of the number I personally have killed years ago.  Thinking about it, I can say pretty confidently that I have "participated" in the demise of several hundred gobblers in the spring season over the decades, a great percentage of them on public ground.  Nothing remarkable to be said about it other than I have been at it a long time and with a lot of great hunting buddies. 

The only qualifier I would throw in is that, for the first couple of decades, we were hunting in a single state with a one-gobbler limit.  More recently, we have expanded our opportunities for "body count" considerably, although that has never been high on anybody's priority list.  If it was, you could add a couple hundred more birds to the total.

All of that is irrelevant anymore.  It is all about the experiences, friendships, and the commorraderie,....not to mention the interactions with this magnificent bird.  :)

Ive turkey hunted since 2001 and I think I am somewhere around 100 give or take


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 Last 20 years killed 61, in addition called in 34 for other people. Good clean fun that never gets old.

around 80 give or take a few.

I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

I've put my eyes on seven long beards in shotgun range this season. I shot one and my son shot one. I also killed a cedar tree that stepped in front of one of the gobblers. The tally of kills isn't my measure of success anymore

96; probably let about half that number walk for a myriad of reasons and for the most part felt better about the ones that I let walk.

Quote from: guesswho on May 05, 2020, 11:59:56 AM
I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

Last I knew, you had the greatest necklace display of spurs I've ever seen. Still got it?

Around 50 Toms and a couple Jakes.

Quote from: Spurs Up on May 05, 2020, 12:32:57 PM
Last I knew, you had the greatest necklace display of spurs I've ever seen. Still got it?

Yes :TooFunny:   

Quote from: guesswho on May 05, 2020, 11:59:56 AM
I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

Funny Ronnie. Same things for me. I killed my first in 1994 and I know the exact number but people don't believe me when I tell them.

I know how many I've killed. But it's the ones that got away because I did something stupid that haunt me!!

Quote from: Turkeyman on May 05, 2020, 12:47:54 PM
I know how many I've killed. But it's the ones that got away because I did something stupid that haunt me!!

This 100 percent truth. Don't care about number killed I care about the ones I didn't because of my stupidity

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

54. Been hunting for 17 years now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will not say how many I have personally killed but I will tell you that I have called in over 100 for friends

Killed my first 14yrs ago. I've killed between 2 and 5 a season since but don't really keep count of totals because it doesn't matter much to me. I remember the ones that got away as well as the ones that came home, I know I'm more excited when I work a bird and someone else pulls the trigger because I enjoy sharing the experience with others.

I know one thing, the number killed is insignificant to the number I'd like it to be one day so I have work to do.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

One more now than this time yesterday.

Killed my first in the early '80's.  I know the number.  That's all that matters to me.............   I don't hunt to brag about numbers.

Used to work outdoor expo's and the NWTF Convention every year as a member of a pro-staff.  I called them "the turkey counters".  You'd talk to a thousand people at the booth over a 3 or 4 day period.  There were a certain bunch who would open the conversation with "I've killed (X number) of gobblers !!".   To a PERSON my reply would be "Oh, yeah ??" ..............and then I'd figure out a way to help someone else as quickly as possible.

Quite a few, but the number is not as large as many because I tend to hunt just my home state most years and that state has a one bird limit.   

I have also called in quite a few birds for my kids, friends, friend's kids.   Often calling in birds that are harvested by others while my tag is still unfilled.   There are a couple of years where I called in 2 or 3 birds for others and never did actually kill a bird myself.   I do not consider those seasons as unsuccessful.

I enjoy spring turkey hunting, but I am a fall upland and waterfowl hunter at heart.   Spending time with my dogs (and family/friends) is important to me.   

I know the exact number and the only other person that knows is my father. And I plan on keeping it that way. I keep track of every one and can tell you the date, location, shot distance, specs, etc. But I wont.

I really am not sure how to answer this. I'm like a lot of other old-timers I don't want to come across as arrogant, but I know many find it interesting.

I killed my first in 1974, I think
I killed double digits in a single year a few times
I called 18 for one man, over a few years
My photo album broke in the bindings
I gave up counting 20 years ago.
I have slowed up now and I only hunt two states and the combined limit of those two is 7 (spring and fall)  so that's all I kill in a year if I can.
I gave up keeping beards, spurs and fans, and tossed all the old ones. It just seemed useless anymore.

With all that said I'd guess my personal number is still a little south of 200, assist I don't even have a guess

At the end of the day, if your still counting you ain't killed enough.

I don't know how many I have killed and really dont care. I just know I want to keep hunting them. I also know If it weren't for my screwups I would have a few more.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

A lot

Zero this season. I kinda suck at this turkey hunting right now. But I'm having fun doing it  :)

I keep a journal so I know how many. But that is between me and them. I read the journal before every season to remember the hunts and honor those birds

Not sure of the total but I have every one of the beards and spurs. the ones I have missed I wish I could count, it would way add to my total.

Quote from: guesswho on May 05, 2020, 11:59:56 AM
I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

Ronnie, post up that pic with all those beards!! It's very impressive!!

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

I started out in the mid 90's on FLA WMA's. For several years I killed one or two gobblers. Then I started hunting in SC also, and started traveling to hunt.
This season I had grand plans, FLA, SC, Alabama, Kentucky and Mexico. But I didn't get drawn for any hunts in FLA, my Bama, Kentucky and Mexico hunts got cancelled due to Coronavirus, and I only got to hunt 12 days total. The hunting was hard, but I managed to get a gobbler.
So that gives me 42 gobblers and 4 jakes, plus one hen with a bow. Next season, barring any new virus, I'm going to try to have the grand season I had planned for this year.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

Quote from: Spurs Up on May 05, 2020, 12:32:57 PM

Quote from: guesswho on May 05, 2020, 11:59:56 AM
I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

Last I knew, you had the greatest necklace display of spurs I've ever seen. Still got it?

I thought he kept spurs by the 5 gallon bucket full?

Quote from: Gobble! on May 06, 2020, 04:11:35 PM

Quote from: Spurs Up on May 05, 2020, 12:32:57 PM

Quote from: guesswho on May 05, 2020, 11:59:56 AM
I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

Last I knew, you had the greatest necklace display of spurs I've ever seen. Still got it?

I thought he kept spurs by the 5 gallon bucket full?

Yep...a 5-gallon bucket overflowing with spurs and suspended as a pendent from a neck chain.

Not enough lol

After chasing them hard for 40 years, NOT ENOUGH!! Love it!

Stopped counting them years and years ago the same day I figured out hunting gobblers is not a competition.
 

If I get the next one, and two more, that will be three.   :funnyturkey:

More than blackhead, fowl pox, and great horned owls combined. But less than GuessWho. Way less...

I can tell you exactly how many I screwed up on and should have killed and not so sure how many I have actually harvested. I think about and relive those missed opportunities ....those " if I had just" situations..... much more often than the actual kills.

GunRunner
:blob10:

Not as many as some but more than others. I can say overall in 40 years killing them , if I don't kill another , I have done extremely well.

No idea. It's only the next one that counts. Counter resets to zero every time.

A few, but it's nothing like seeing a new person shake when they get there first.

Waiting to kill my first of the year.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Quote from: Spurs Up on May 06, 2020, 07:03:50 PM

Quote from: Gobble! on May 06, 2020, 04:11:35 PM

Quote from: Spurs Up on May 05, 2020, 12:32:57 PM

Quote from: guesswho on May 05, 2020, 11:59:56 AM
I killed my first in 1966 and have really been hard on them since.   I'm pretty confident I know the exact number.  But worst case, I might be off a couple.   I'd be ashamed to post the number, plus most folks would probably doubt the number anyway.   I will say Reagan was President when I hit triple digits.

Last I knew, you had the greatest necklace display of spurs I've ever seen. Still got it?

I thought he kept spurs by the 5 gallon bucket full?

Yep...a 5-gallon bucket overflowing with spurs and suspended as a pendent from a neck chain.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

Well over the last 30 years I have had some luck, killed birds in a number of states public and private and have called in a lot of birds for others through Youth Hunts, Learn to Hunts, Mentor Hunts, Charity Hunts, Newbies and then friends and family. More than anything it's the memories, stories of the hunt are what drive me, don't get me wrong I'll pull a trigger :) but better than two thirds of that number is birds others have killed with me.

Best year was 21, and had a year with others having "misses" would have went 25...

Although I had a number of hunts canceled this year, I/we have 6 down for the year and still have some hunts, pretty close to closing in on the 300 mark.


MK M GOBL

 33 years....79 birds......1 grand slam

Almost everyone of em that walked up there . That I didn't spook, miss or somehow screw up .????????. Been quite a few over 34 years .. not nearly enough though I think I'll try again next year ..

I have killed enough to know that I am still a Amateur at this thing called Turkey Hunting and I started hunting them hard around 1994.

51 and holding as this Covid BS stopped this season short of a trip West this year.

11 years hunting them.  Thankful for a friend who got me hooked and looking forward to many more.

Yep!

I don't recall how many I've killed. I can tell you how many missed! My most vivid memories are of the ones I almost closed the deal on but for what ever reason I didn't harvest a turkey.