Lessons my first year

[Jmbradt3873]

Let me just clarify, this uneducated public ground killer considers the Gobblers he hunts to be smarter and have more intelligence and reasoning ability than most educated people he knows  ;)This is just me though. Most would consider me "stupid" for thinking this. I've been humbled enough to accept that. Like OldSchool said, the only degree worth a piss in the turkey woods, is the one earned through trial and error.

^^^^^^ this

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[g8rvet]

If you think a Gobbler has intelligence and reasoning ability, then you are defining those terms so outside of the normal use of them that I have no way to discuss anything with you. 

[LaLongbeard]

Interesting read for anyone smart enough to understand it. 

http://www.rnr.lsu.edu/bret/BretWebSiteDocs/35_Gross_259-268.pdf

Very interesting read but when you boil it down it's the same thing most of us have known for years unpressured Gobblers are easier to kill. Doesn't matter if you call it intelligence or wariness or adaptability most of the gobblers didn't leave the pressured areas they just became harder to kill. It doesn't bother me when someone calls a gobbler smart I do find it disrespectful to a fine game bird when someone says there dumb. Its funny but I've noticed the ones that  quote the walnut sized brains and not being able to reason etc. never are really good turkey hunters. And if you've been at this very long you have probably ran across a gobbler or two that would stop gobbling and go the other way if called too.Call shy or just being a turkey  I hunt hard hunted public land and have seen it happen a lot.

[g8rvet]

I agree a lot with you Phillip, but to a new turkey hunter, which this was about in the beginning, I think it is important for them to understand the difference.  Intelligence implies reasoning ability, which turkey's simply do not have.  If you TEACH them something, they will dang sure learn (like hard pressured birds do learn).  But the turkey can't reason ie I hear a hen sound and all the other gobblers are being quiet, so I better be quiet too because there could be a hunter here.  The only reason I think the distinction is important is so that the new turkey hunter does not give them credit for more than they are capable.  Good gravy, if they had reasoning ability along with their eyesight and natural wariness and randomness, they would be unkillable.  A lot of folks, that are good hunters, like to ascribe supernatural ability to them to make themselves feel smarter or important.  That's fine for their self worth, but not much use for someone learning how to turkey hunt, which is the only reason I have said anything on this thread at all.  I have learned a lot on this forum, from a lot of folks, and I just have a lot of knowledge and interest on this particular subject professionally.  Not trying to be a know it all, but to help the new hunters. 

[Marc]

Great thread...

Back to the first page, I have to agree with G8rvet.  Someone on the forums once said that "Turkeys have keen sight and vision, and one foot on the panic button..."

They are highly sought after as a food source and have adapted to learn to avoid dangerous situations, but I would not classify them as smart.  Challenging to hunt, but I would not say overly intelligent.

As far as decoys, I have come to learn that in some cases they can make the deal, or break the deal.  A hen decoy can make a tom hang up, or you may say a pair or small group race in to her...  Sometimes a tom will run in to challenge a jake decoy, and other times run for the hills at the sight of one.  Part of knowing which decoys to use is knowing what stage of the breeding season they are in, and also having a feeling for the birds in the area...

I tend to use decoys on open ground, and leave them in the truck in heavily wooded areas...

One of the aspects I enjoy about turkey hunting, is that I am still learning, and will hopefully continue to do so until I am no longer able to hunt them...

[GobbleNut]

This is a great discussion,...especially for this time of year.   

We have come full-circle on the topic of turkey brain function and capabilities. When all is said and done, the best we can do is take our own personal experiences with the turkeys we hunt and use our own reasoning abilities to apply the best tactics we can to each individual encounter we have with these birds.  For those of us that have a great deal of experience, I believe just about every one of us selects our specific hunting tactics based on the initial response (or two) any individual gobbler we call to.  At least I know I do.

Regarding the thread title "Lessons...", here's my take for the newer hunters among us:  You can almost always tell within the first few calling exchanges with a gobbler, as to what kind of bird you are dealing with,...and that evaluation will/should guide your choice of calling and tactics.

For instance, it is not unusual for a gobbler to gobble at your calling the first time he hears you.  We call that the old "courtesy gobble".  Personally I never choose my calling/tactics based on that first response.  It is the subsequent responses, or lack thereof, from a gobbler that tells me how I should hunt him.  We will often hear that called "taking his temperature",...and that evaluation of his "temperature",...and the associated tactics needed for that bird, will often separate "the men from the boys" in whether he ends up taking a ride in the truck.

In summary, regardless of whether we think turkeys are smart or dumb, can "think" or "reason",...if we want to kill them, we adjust our calling and hunting strategies completely based on how they react to what we do as hunters.  Our "learning" to "think and reason"...and adjust our methods to how they react,...is the key to success. 

[Rapscallion Vermilion]

For instance, it is not unusual for a gobbler to gobble at your calling the first time he hears you.  We call that the old "courtesy gobble".  Personally I never choose my calling/tactics based on that first response.  It is the subsequent responses, or lack thereof, from a gobbler that tells me how I should hunt him.  We will often hear that called "taking his temperature",...and that evaluation of his "temperature",...and the associated tactics needed for that bird, will often separate "the men from the boys" in whether he ends up taking a ride in the truck.

And there is no substitute for lots of gobbler encounters to get a sense of what that temperature scale is.  Early on I didn't have a clue and was too passive.  There were gobblers from those first few years than I am pretty sure I could have killed had I been more aggressive in calling or repositioning.  Being too worried about screwing up slows the learning curve. Hopefully in a few years I can look back on some of the toms that got away last year and the year before and realize I could have played them better too.

[Harty]

Great thread and original observations.....and the lessons will continue year after year after year.......

[High plains drifter]

Great example and unless there was something wrong with your setup or decoys, he was probably just being a turkey.  May have had his butt whipped the day before by another bird or a gang of jakes when he went to a hen.  What I am sure he did not do is think, "hey, that there seems unusual and there could be a hunter near there".  They will booger off for any number of a thousand reasons, most of which we never know.  They the next time, they come in on a string.  I always assume I did something wrong and try to figure it out, but I think a lot of time it is just their randomness.

.        I agree, sometimes they just go the other way, for some reason.With decoys, I think they work. I've seen them work many times, but you have to place them 20 yards away.