Pre-Dawn Information For Strangers In Parking Areas??

[turkeyfool]

Alright old timer, what does 'youtube group' have to do with any of this? I mean, I wish they wouldn't post. Pinhotti shot 4 birds in 2 days in Colorado and just posted it. That state is screwed in the future, so I'm with you there. But in this scenario, what does that have to do it?

[topnotch]

Here in East TN there are thousands of acres of public land but limited road /parking available. So this is a common scenario.
If I left every time I encountered another vehicle there wouldn't be any need in getting up.
It has gotten worse the last few years, but stock to your plan. I've found around 11 o'clock people start leaving.

[Zobo]

One of my favorite spots in another state is what locals call the Out-of-stater zoo. You rarely see a local there and it's one of those "let's fight it out at the gate" spots. I usually don't even go in until just before gobble time. I drive through until I see an open parking area and then go. There is one area that is 5 miles long and if there is a single vehicle or maybe two I will still go into it. I will wait until daylight and listen as I go. Before I set up I listen to see if I hear any calls, if I do I move on. If no calls in 10-20 minutes I call to the bird, if he cuts me off I set up. This area has several branch offs and everyone goes up the big ones. I go up the little steep ones that are a pain in the butt. I have killed a pretty fair bunch of birds in this zoo and never ever had a conflict. We also cross a river in one area. Also, I have killed many late day birds there. In one spot I don't even show up until after 11:00AM. In all the years I have killed 40+ birds right in the zoo. Don't tell me with a little thought, courtesy and strategy it can't be done.

Smart turkey hunting and such wise advice here. Talk less, call less, do less and confront less. Listen more, observe more, think more.... Your not just outsmarting turkeys sometimes.

[DMTJAGER]

In a place where I am likely to run into others I get there earlier and am gone before anyone rolls in. Let them wonder where you are.

My strategy exactly on public land. If drawn for a hunt there is no specific time I can start in either states I hunt, so I get started into the woods LONG before sun up or at least 98% of other hunters.
Also I will not hunt areas that have high hunter numbers. Just not worth the frustration.

I am fortunate as well as smart as I only hunt public land that allows a very limited number of draw only hunters (both areas I hunt both over 9k acres in size, have a limit of 12 hunters per day each area) with a stand by for the draw slots for no shows.
As a result I have only been drawn 50% of the time but got drawn on stand by the other 50% and at best I will get to hunt 3 maybe 4 days a season but they have been high quality hunts fully 95% of the time or better.

Id much much prefer this system to a loosely controlled higher hunter numbers system that offers quantity over quality.


Been doing this for these two different properties 21 years now and have gotten either drawn or hunted a no show spot for 21 seasons in a row. Killed a turkey 19 of the 21. didn't kill a Tom last two years as I can use my hunt to give to a youth as I have been using my hunts to let my boys hunt who aren't successful during youth season.

Despite knowing both areas quite well, I still pre-season and in-season scout my butt off every year no exceptions and have at least 4 or 5 good areas to hunt prior to season open. Believe me when I say pre-season scouting has saved at least half of my both my hunts as well as youth hunts for my sons as the areas turkeys use most definitely change (due to a host of reasons out of mine and the turkeys control) year to year as well as week to week in the season. 

My friend and I know these areas extremely well killed 90% of all our Toms from one area, but last three year the crops in that area weren't planted and a lot of large fields that once held large numbers of strutting toms became badly overgrown and the turkeys moved to other adjacent areas close by and thanks to pre-season scouting I discovered this and we adjusted our hunting plan accordingly and managed to get Toms for both my sons and my friend.

Unfortunately for the last two seasons one of my one of my son who didn't connect during the two day youth season used my draw hunt to take his bird, but that's just stuff dads gladly do for their kids, besides was WAAAAAAAY more fun for my friend and I working a smart old Tom and calling him into my son than if I'd of killed him.

[El Pavo Grande]

I avoid conversations when I can and usually don't hunt around parking areas.  The best are when you are no where near a parking area and guys park within 30-40 yards of you and go to the one gobbling turkey within earshot. 

Last season, opening day was an interesting one.  I had scouted a place I know really well, and had a couple of good options, which are less than a 1/4 mile apart, but access different areas with lay of the land.  Last minute, I changed my original plan and parked at my second option.  I was early, as I knew I would have to be and was joking with my friend on the phone that I'd probably get messed up by other hunters as I had in the past.  It was still some time before daylight, when a truck pulls by and parks about 30 yards in front of me.  This is not a big area, so I get out and give a cordial greeting of how are you doing?  He immediately stated, "I'm hunting right down there" as he pointed down the log road.  Shocked of course, I made it clear that he knew that's why I was parked there.  He responded, "well, I don't know what to tell you, I'm hunting right down there".  I never lost my cool, but stated that was the reason I was parked there and that in all my years of turkey hunting I had never parked by anyone like that.  He told me he had been scouting that spot for 2 months, and when I said I had as well, he said, "I haven't seen your truck".   I knew at this point it was a lost cause and would be a ruined hunt.  He was an older gentleman or I would have not bowed out and let him have it.  He came back over as I was about to leave and was a little more cordial.  I went back down to my other option, which originally was my initial plan anyway.   Worked out perfect.  It put me on the perfect side of a gobbling turkey on the roost.  I killed him within 30 minutes of fly down.  I heard the guy drive out and when I got back to my truck he had left a note apologizing for his behavior.   I think he genuinely is a nice guy that just let the moment and pressure get to him.   From our conversation, I believe he was a newer turkey hunter that in a round about way learned a lesson.   

[Tom007]

I avoid conversations when I can and usually don't hunt around parking areas.  The best are when you are no where near a parking area and guys park within 30-40 yards of you and go to the one gobbling turkey within earshot. 

Last season, opening day was an interesting one.  I had scouted a place I know really well, and had a couple of good options, which are less than a 1/4 mile apart, but access different areas with lay of the land.  Last minute, I changed my original plan and parked at my second option.  I was early, as I knew I would have to be and was joking with my friend on the phone that I'd probably get messed up by other hunters as I had in the past.  It was still some time before daylight, when a truck pulls by and parks about 30 yards in front of me.  This is not a big area, so I get out and give a cordial greeting of how are you doing?  He immediately stated, "I'm hunting right down there" as he pointed down the log road.  Shocked of course, I made it clear that he knew that's why I was parked there.  He responded, "well, I don't know what to tell you, I'm hunting right down there".  I never lost my cool, but stated that was the reason I was parked there and that in all my years of turkey hunting I had never parked by anyone like that.  He told me he had been scouting that spot for 2 months, and when I said I had as well, he said, "I haven't seen your truck".   I knew at this point it was a lost cause and would be a ruined hunt.  He was an older gentleman or I would have not bowed out and let him have it.  He came back over as I was about to leave and was a little more cordial.  I went back down to my other option, which originally was my initial plan anyway.   Worked out perfect.  It put me on the perfect side of a gobbling turkey on the roost.  I killed him within 30 minutes of fly down.  I heard the guy drive out and when I got back to my truck he had left a note apologizing for his behavior.   I think he genuinely is a nice guy that just let the moment and pressure get to him.   From our conversation, I believe he was a newer turkey hunter that in a round about way learned a lesson.

Nice story. I think that your ethical reaction to his initial belligerence got him thinking when you relocated. It's nice to see that he apologized. Maybe moving forward, his thoughts will change and he will become part of the ethical fraternity we all enjoy....well done.