Mobile hunting?

[kctinner]

For the last few I've just sat and called and had some success, but I think it could be better. I want to be more mobile when I hear them but I'm not even really sure where to start, should I carry a fan? What calls should I use? When should I stop without pushing it to hard? Thanks in advance

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[Happy]

In my opinion that's the most enjoyable way to hunt turkeys. Take what you want but personally a shotgun and turkey calls are all I carry. Find a gobbler and move into position and try and call him up. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it takes multiple moves and a lot of frustration with no turkey to show for it. Time and experience will be your best teacher but the phrase run and gun isn't an accurate description of what I would suggest. More of a sneak and call. No use you disturb the whole area you are trying to hunt. Closer is better when trying to call turkeys but too close is very bad. It's a fine line that is dictated by many circumstances. Good luck and have fun.

[g8rvet]

You have not been enjoying the best of turkey hunting.  A slow walk in the spring woods is a great way to spend a day, even if you never hear a bird.  Look for birds, but also look for sign-I found fresh strut marks and went back and killed him the next morning on heavy hunted public ground.  Carry some small binocs and scan any opening or up roads as you get to a bend.  Never, ever, ever call like a hen unless you already have a spot picked out to sit-show of hands who have messed this up?  Leave the fan at home.  I do now carry a gobbler lounger with me, but only because I have a injury that keeps me from sitting longer than a few minutes without my tailbone becoming very painful. 

When scouting/hunting, I call every 20-30 minutes after covering a few hundred yards.  Listen for a minute after calling before moving.  They can be a ways off and it can take a minute to hear a gobble. I try to call near a tree and with some cover, just in case one is close.  I agree, it is sneak and call. 

[silvestris]

To the OP: By all means, carry (and flash it frequently) a fan.  A bright red cap would also make the fan look more realistic.  No sensible hunter would mistake you for the real deal.

[Bowguy]

To the OP: By all means, carry (and flash it frequently) a fan.  A bright red cap would also make the fan look more realistic.  No sensible hunter would mistake you for the real deal.

Funny but so true

[kctinner]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, I finally was able to have some nagging injuries fixed and am feeling pretty good so I am looking forward doing some sneaking this spring

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[Sir-diealot]

I liked it more before my car accident when I was more mobile myself. People that say hunting in blinds is easy have no clue what they are talking about because you can't really chase them and are dependent on them being in the area you are stuck in.

[GobbleNut]

For the last few I've just sat and called and had some success, but I think it could be better. I want to be more mobile when I hear them but I'm not even really sure where to start, should I carry a fan? What calls should I use? When should I stop without pushing it to hard? Thanks in advance

In my opinion that's the most enjoyable way to hunt turkeys.

Over the years, I have hunted both methods,....mostly due to the circumstances in the area I was hunting,...and, without question, being mobile is a far more enjoyable hunting method for me.  There are times and places for each, but if I have the choice, I will hunt turkeys aggressively rather than passively.

That feeling of moving through the woods calling at intervals (use the call you are most proficient with), having a gobbler answer your calling from a distance, playing the chess game of out-maneuvering him, convincing him that you are a real hen, and then having him come to you strutting and gobbling is the essence of spring gobbler hunting. 

As for fan use, that is entirely up to you,...as long as you are always aware of the safety issues involved (of course, the same can be said for calling, as well), and use it accordingly.  Personally, I carry one and use it in the same manner most people use decoys.  We always discuss hung-up gobblers and how to get them to come those final yards needed to get them in gun range.  I can tell you from experience that an almost sure-fire way to do that is to subtly show them some real turkey feathers.

Now, there are those that frown on the using a fan in any form (see above posts) so be prepared for the criticism.  In reality, it is only a visual aid just like any other decoy,...and it is a heck of a lot easier to lug around.  Having a hung-up gobbler standing there at 70 yards suddenly eyeballing you at five yards because you flashed a fan at him is an exhilarating experience.  ....And remember, you don't have to shoot every gobbler that blesses you with that experience!

[kctinner]

Well said sir  I'm getting fired up ready to go come on April

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[Ctrize]

Can't use a fan here in Michigan but I would if I could. As far as learning when to move as all ready stated experience will teach you. After you encounter a tom start paying attention to what he sounds like and the variables that can affect that sound. Distance,foilage,wind, topography and you will start filing away references in your mind. Soon you will be moving on birds with confidence.Good luck.

[randy6471]

  I agree with what others have said and it definitely should be called sneak and call.

  For me personally it's one of the biggest reasons why I prefer hunting spring gobbles over everything else. By moving and calling, I feel like I can make something happen vs just sitting, calling and waiting. Of course there are many variations to this strategy, but it works best if you have access to a sizable area. However, if you are hunting a small piece of property...this strategy can sometimes do more harm than good.

  For example I've been making the trip to Florida to hunt Osceolas with a friend on some private land the he leases for the last several years. It's a nice, but rather small piece property and although we consistently kill gobblers....we need take a very low impact approach. Some days I feel like our strategy resembles the old saying "watching paint dry", but if we start slipping around running calls we will bump birds and after a couple of days....we will have pushed the birds right off of the property. So even though it's not my preferred strategy, it's the best way to hunt that particular piece of property.

  There are many little tricks that you will learn along the way as some others have mentioned, but if you have the room to roam....it will open up some hunting that is completely different than what you been doing.

  OBTW no fan for me....I'm cautious about when/where I use decoys.