Rituals?

[Neill_Prater]

I've heard the lucky shirt or hat stories, but just wondering if any of you have any silly, or just plain stupid things you do connected to your turkey hunting?

One thing I do is wait until I get back home from every hunting trip before I pull out the old WeatherTech floor liners and dump out the dirt. We've lived here 26 years so there's a little bit of every hunting season and every hunting trip in the front yard. Just a reminder of all the fun I've had through the years.

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[guesswho]

I carry a breast feather from the last turkey I killed in my gun pouch, and replace it when I kill another one.   I also rotate shells each hunt, sometimes even during a hunt.   

[Turkeybutt]

I carry an old rubber turkey refrigerator magnet I rescued from an old flooded out cabin 5 or 6 years ago. I carry it in my vest. I call him Cletus!

[Tail Feathers]

I take a breast feather from each turkey I kill and put it where the A pillar meets the headliner of my truck.  After a few years they wear down and fall out.  I usually have at least five or six feathers in there.

[Tom007]

I carry the empty shell of the last gobbler I took, and replace it with the next bird I harvest. I feel lucky to always have a "Lucky shell" with me....

[ChesterCopperpot]

Killed a really good bird this year and my buddy I hunt with told me a story that afternoon that a long time ago he used to meat a fellow he used to hunt with at an old IGA in town called Harold's. Said every morning he'd be sitting there and he'd hear a horse nay and never could figure out where it was coming from, couldn't figure out who in town had a horse tied up at the house. One day he finally realized it was the riding pony outside the grocery store. After that he always parked and went and petted the horse for luck. The morning I killed that bird he did that and said he hadn't done it in years




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[West Augusta]

I have a lucky hat.  It had the American Flag pin that I wore after 911 on it until I lost it this year.  I told my Dad about it and he gave me his.  Dad is 91.  I had the best year of my turkey hunting career this year and also took my biggest gobbler to date.  Thanks Dad.  You will always be with me now.  I also carry a thermos of coffee and enjoy a cup of hot coffee on the ridge in the dark, say a little prayer of thanks before I make the first call.

[Happy]

I have a few strands of a gobblers beard glued between the brim and body of my turkey hunting hats as well as a few feathers from a dove i raised from a chick glued to the underside of the brim. I raised him and and then released him. He still comes around from time to time but he doesn't sit on my shoulder like he used to. I also sometimes carry a half a horseshoe I found several years ago. That gets used sparingly as it just contains to much good luck and needs to be used wisely.

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[Yoder409]

Have a bunch of rump feathers from various birds over the years stuck in the overhead light console in my pickup.  Probably 10 or so up there.  I think there's at least one rump grand slam in there.

[Zobo]

    It's weird and creepy, but every time I put my hunting boots on I sing the same two lines from The Doors song The End:  "This is the end beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend the end.  The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on. He took a face from the ancient gallery and he walked on down the hall."
     It's morbid and I really don't like the song but it's always in my head, every single time I lace up, for like 40 years.

[ChesterCopperpot]

    It's weird and creepy, but every time I put my hunting boots on I sing the same two lines from The Doors song The End:  "This is the end beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend the end.  The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on. He took a face from the ancient gallery and he walked on down the hall."
     It's morbid and I really don't like the song but it's always in my head, every single time I lace up, for like 40 years.

"'Father...' 'Yes, son?...' 'I'm going to kill you.'"


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[ChesterCopperpot]

    It's weird and creepy, but every time I put my hunting boots on I sing the same two lines from The Doors song The End:  "This is the end beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend the end.  The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on. He took a face from the ancient gallery and he walked on down the hall."
     It's morbid and I really don't like the song but it's always in my head, every single time I lace up, for like 40 years.

"'Father...' 'Yes, son?...' 'I'm going to kill you.'"


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[Turkeybutt]

The End is a little morbid even for me but I understand completely.
If ya don't sing that song in your head, touch that coin slot horse, have that 911 pin, those feathers, a lucky shell or carry a refrigerator magnet in your vest it throws your whole hunt off. I get it!
We all have our own little rituals, quirks or superstitions but they work for us!

[GobbleNut]

I actually have two.  If I kill a gobbler, I will always pick up one of the nicer feathers that are invariably scattered on the ground at the kill location and put it in may cap through one of the "breather holes".  It stays there until the next gobbler (sometimes it is pretty worn out by that time...  ).

I also have a "requirement" that I carry every gobbler out of the woods after the kill by grabbing his feet and slinging him over my shoulder (disclaimer: I realize there might be situations where some would consider that to be too dangerous, but I personally have not encountered one of those situations where I felt that was the case.  I am also constantly on the look-out for any potential dumb-as$ that can't tell the difference between a guy carrying a dead gobbler upside down on his shoulder and a real, live turkey...   ).  In addition, that over-the-shoulder carry almost always results in some blood on my clothing,...that's just part of the "ritual", as well. 

[Zobo]

    It's weird and creepy, but every time I put my hunting boots on I sing the same two lines from The Doors song The End:  "This is the end beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend the end.  The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on. He took a face from the ancient gallery and he walked on down the hall."
     It's morbid and I really don't like the song but it's always in my head, every single time I lace up, for like 40 years.

"'Father...' 'Yes, son?...' 'I'm going to kill you.'"


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Luckily that's one line that doesn't stick in my head!  If my wife heard me singing that verse I think she'd really start to get concerned. I guess I don't exactly have a chipper disposition early mornings, lol!