My 2022 Turkey Season

[StickString96]

Hello everyone! I am not a new turkey hunter, but I felt that this was probably the best place for me to post this. I began turkey hunting in 2014, and have hunted them off and on ever since. Work and school prevented me from hunting them for several years, but that is no longer the case. This spring I plan to hunt hard in several states and to spend a lot of time chasing gobblers in various environments. All of my hunting will be on public land. I've been doing an extensive amount of research and e-scouting trying to find prime areas to hunt. Once the weather breaks I will put boots on the ground looking for sign and locating birds.

I have had some close encounters with turkeys in the past but have never killed one. I began hunting them with a bow, and that added an additional layer of difficulty to the mix. I have already began to pattern my shotgun and plan to experiment with more shell/choke combos this weekend. I have also been practicing my calling and feel confident with pot, box, and diaphragms calls. Although I don't intend on calling much unless the birds dictate that. My general strategy is to find where the birds are or want to be and go from there.

I feel pretty confident going into this season, but am still remaining humble. If I'm not able to successfully harvest a bird it won't be for a lack of trying. If nothing else we will see some beautiful scenery and wildlife and learn along the way. Me and a buddy are going on an 8 day mountain backpack hunt to kick off the season. Then after that it will be local day/weekend trips back home. I will continue to update this thread with general information as the season nears and progresses. Feel free to reply with any tips or advice if you wish. Or shoot me a PM to discuss details. I'm fairly tight-lipped about locations so not going to post many specifics here.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and to see if anyone has any advice. I hope everyone has a fun and successful spring season!

[GobbleNut]

Sounds like you may have caught the bug, stickstring96.  Best of luck in your future turkey hunting adventures.  I, for one, will anxiously await your reports on how things go for you.

How ever you decide to approach turkey hunting, of course, that is your decision to make.  The only recommendation I would make concerns your statement that you are going to minimize calling and, in essence, rely more on just trying to wait on birds to show themselves in likely locations.  For many of us, the entire thrill of turkey hunting is about calling and having "conversational interactions" with the birds.  Personally, I would recommend pursuing turkey hunting from that standpoint as your primary option. 

If you are competent and confident with your calling ability, you will probably end up being more successful, and certainly more personally rewarded, by using calling as your central focus in approaching your hunts.  Even if you are not sure of yourself at this point with your calling, experience and trial-and-error in the field will eventually get you to a point where you are. 

For me, there is nothing like the thrill I get from having that calling interaction with a gobbler and having him come in gobbling and strutting to the call.  Without that thrill, quite honestly, turkey hunting loses a lot of its attraction for me.  I feel confident in stating that many here on OG would agree.  Again, though, if you choose to approach it from a different perspective, best of luck to you.   

[StickString96]

Thank you GobbleNut I will be sure to keep that in mind. I'm not opposed to any tactics really, In some situations a different approach might be necessary. I tend to take a less is more approach to life and that often trickles into my hunt strategies. Especially when other hunters might be a factor as well. I'm willing to put in the time and think that helps make up for my mediocre hunting abilities 

[Paulmyr]

My guess, being your a bow hunter, is your hunting skill is better than mediocre. It's not usually a natural progression for a hunter a to start with a bow. That being said I agree with gobble nut. I feel You will be far more satisfied in your hunts if your focus is towards interaction with the birds. Your calling don't need to tear the bark off the trees but I highly recommend a profile of some type of calling while hunting these birds.

You can always resort to deer hunting tactics if the need arises. For me interacting with gobblers is what turkey hunting is all about. Hunting Wild Turkey has way more to offer than sitting along the edge of a field or ridgeline with the hopes a Gobbler will come along. Good luck in your future endeavors dealing with this psychological disorder!

[StickString96]

Thank you for the advice. Maybe I wasn't clear in my initial post. I'm definitely going to try and call in birds, but only after I've located them and gotten as close as the lay of the land allows without spooking them. We are going to run-n-gun as much as possible, but don't want to be overly reliant on calling.

[Bowguy]

As others have said it's all about the interaction from calling that separates turkey hunting from say deer hunting. I understand your point about woodsmanship being key. That's a fact but simply ambushing them you'll lose something. No one is saying to make things harder. You'll already need to be close so you've got that right. If I had a place so exact the "birds didn't dictate" I call at all I'd prob consider it too easy and not even hunt it. The turkey hunt experience wouldn't happen. Being you've not killed one it may be hard to understand the differences. Once you see that difference I believe your thoughts may change.
Your last post sums up what you should be doing. Get close than work em. Good luck to you this spring

[StickString96]

As others have said it's all about the interaction from calling that separates turkey hunting from say deer hunting. I understand your point about woodsmanship being key. That's a fact but simply ambushing them you'll lose something. No one is saying to make things harder. You'll already need to be close so you've got that right. If I had a place so exact the "birds didn't dictate" I call at all I'd prob consider it too easy and not even hunt it. The turkey hunt experience wouldn't happen. Being you've not killed one it may be hard to understand the differences. Once you see that difference I believe your thoughts may change.
Your last post sums up what you should be doing. Get close than work em. Good luck to you this spring

Thanks! Thats more along the lines of what I was trying to say. Get close then work them.

[OJR]

Sounds to me like you are on point. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[StickString96]

Rattle canned the old duck gun a few weeks ago. Getting ready for the season. I've made several trips to the range trying to figure out a good shell and choke combination. So far the winner is Winchester LBs 3.5" #5s 2oz with a Jebs .650 choke. I've got some Federal TSS to try this week as well.

Each picture has one shot at the black dot and one shot at each turkey target. 20, 30, and 40 yards. The shots might be hard to see on paper, I didn't feel like counting them. I also pulled the 30 yard shot left. What do you all think of these patterns?

[GobbleNut]

Nice job on the camo, and I would be very happy with those patterns,...wouldn't change a thing.  I want a "forgiving" pattern at close range,...that is, not so tight that it presents the real possibility of missing a close-range bird.  I also want a pattern at 40 yards that I am certain will put a number of killing pellets in a gobblers head and neck area.  It looks to me like you have covered both of those bases from what I can tell.   

[StickString96]

Nice job on the camo, and I would be very happy with those patterns,...wouldn't change a thing.  I want a "forgiving" pattern at close range,...that is, not so tight that it presents the real possibility of missing a close-range bird.  I also want a pattern at 40 yards that I am certain will put a number of killing pellets in a gobblers head and neck area.  It looks to me like you have covered both of those bases from what I can tell.   

Those were my thoughts as well. The public land I'll be hunting doesn't have very many fields or clearings, so it will be mostly timber hunting. I can't imagine I'll have a shot opportunity further than 30 yards or so, but good to be prepared just in case.

[StickString96]

I've been practicing my owl hooting and diaprahgm call. It's nowhere near perfect but I think it's some great progress. I'm going to keep practicing, listening to real bird sound files, and mimicking their tone and cadences. What do you all think? I think it might just be decent enough to fool a gobbler, but what do I know? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gueyhW3HyL4

[Bowguy]

That's actually pretty good for someone just learning. Imo though your purrs sound a little aggressive. Listen to aggressive vs easy purrs. Ease up a little unless you're going for aggression in that call.

[GobbleNut]

That's actually pretty good for someone just learning. Imo though your purrs sound a little aggressive. Listen to aggressive vs easy purrs. Ease up a little unless you're going for aggression in that call.

I agree.  If you have just started with the mouth call, you are doing exceptionally well.  Honestly, when you prefaced your recording by stating that you had just begun to use mouth calls, I was expecting a lot less in terms of sound quality. I know guys that have been using mouth calls for years that don't sound as good.

I also agree that your calling is on the aggressive end of the turkey calling scale.  There are times when a gobbler wants that kind of aggressive sound,...and there are times when softer, less-aggressive stuff is called for.  The trick is being able to make whatever sound is needed at any given time with any particular gobbler.  From what I hear on your recording, I am confident that you will likely be able to master the varying sounds and sound levels needed to cover all the bases. 

Bowguy's comment about the purring is right on target.  Purring in all its forms can have entirely different meanings to the turkeys being called.  The purring you are doing on the recording would most likely be interpreted by another turkey as aggression, aggravation, and/or concern about something.  There are times when that sound is good,...and there are also times when that particular sound is not good when calling to turkeys.  It is important to not only learn how to do the different types of purring sounds, but it is just as important, if not more so, to learn when to use them.

All in all, though, your early attempts at using a mouth call are impressive.  Keep working at it and you will be fine.     

[StickString96]

That is a great point. This is why I'm here to learn. I will focus on the subtleties of calling as well.