The socials!

[deathfoot]

I just can't anymore y'all. Seriously. It's ridiculous out there. Prime examples:

A. Unverified weights of like 27 plus lb birds. Or more 24 lb birds than I have ever seen. I've killed a bunch. Rarely are they over 22 lbs.

B. Spurs  1.5 inches or so with no verification.

C. 4 year olds killing birds at 45 yards on youth weekend.

D. Pics of people in full blaze orange sitting on WMA's calling birds.

E. Thermal scopes shown on birds.

F. Unreal beard lengths with no verification.

G. Some of the most ridiculous posts and questions I have ever seen.

H. Unbelievable distances of kills.

I'm being completely honest when I say I miss Turkey hunting when turkey hunting wasn't cool. When you could walk into a WMA and be alone. Selfish? Yep. But I've been doing this long enough to earn it. I was hunting when all I had was magazines to read. I'm self taught. It took me many years to kill my first one. But I figured it out. Without the internet and people telling me it's okay to kill one at 60 yards. Without people telling me anything actually. It was trial and error for me. I'm the only one in my family to hunt. But I've always been a turkey hunter first. Deer...ehhh. Whatever. Turkeys tho..always been a passion since I was 13.

It makes me sick. No one respects the bird. I saw a photo the other day. It was a blood bath. Shot him in the body at 10 yards. It made me sick.  If I see thunder chicken one more time I'm gonna puke. Don't even get me started on states allowing rifles. I live in a state that does and it erks me to the absolute core. I won't even talk about allowing 3 year olds "killing them" cause I don't want to be banned here. But whatever. A 3-6 year old ain't gonna remember it. But it gives the adult a reason to hunt on youth day. So it's all about the adult. If you want to take someone that young..fine..they can sit in your lap or blind during regular season and watch and learn. But I'm not buying a 4 year year old killing one at 45 yards with a .410. Even if true. He ain't gonna remember it.

No one seems to care about the hunt. The thrill. They care about the kill. I don't know what's changed. But I'm sick of it.

I realize this isn't popular preaching maybe. And guess what..that's okay. I need to sleep tonight so I had to get it off my chest. #endrant. Blast me if you want. But it's total facts. 

[Old Timer]

deathfoot just enjoy the hunt.

[WV Ridge Reaper]

Agree 100% with everything you just said...i just worry about my self and watch what some truly  love disappear year by year..best man at my wedding was killed last season during season with a rifle,at shotgun distance.

My kid is 10 years old and she's been out maybe once..just to walk with dad..I'm sorry but a kid doesn't need a special youth day..I'll stop there

Lastly it makes me sick to see people make money off of a natural resource..I'm sorry but this is not deer hunting..it use to be a cult kind of,there still is but it's harder and harder to find...keep your real ones close and avoid the fakes.

And as old timer said enjoy it while you can for as long as you can


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[runngun]

Deathfoot, you are certainly correct on almost everything you said.  But you said, 'No one cares about the hunt,' while true I  will add if I may,  'Very few care about the dadgum TRUTH. "
Recently, my Buddy, who is over our youth turkey contest, showed me a beard and asked if I could see what was wrong with it.  Immediately, I saw where whoever cut off the beard only left a little bit, maybe an eighth of flesh holding the strands together. All of this is so he could expose a half inch of beard for his grandchild.  The same guy also posed three grandchildren each by themselves with the SAME BIRD!!!! I was asked, "What does this teach these children?" My Buddy said that he did the exact same thing last year!!!

Please try to have a good one, and May God bless y'all, Bo

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Vintage]

You forgot Reaping.

[Paulmyr]

C'mon man, don't you know I'm after the slam? I don't have time to learn the birds, I dont have time to respect the animal or other hunters as I blast through these woods, I dont have time to think about fair chase, I don't have time to worry about spooking birds and how it effects their behaviour after I leave. I gotta get that bird killed as fast as possible with whatever means necessary so I can check this state off and move on to the next. Don't you know I've only allotted 3 days for this state in my 5 state 2 week swing? I gotta get it done now!!!!!

I could do the same for a tuber but you get the Idea.

I let you guess what the likely age group is of these types of so called hunters.

I know I'm stereotyping here. Some are not what I've described above but I feel they are the minority.

I think I goes way deeper than YouTube or the quest for the slam. Them outlets just provide a platform that enable the poor behaviour to be highlighted. The people I speak of are a product of society and their upbringing. They've never been told no a day in their lives and raised by people to busy to care or want to be friends instead of being a parent. I'm watching it happen right now with my girlfriend's granddaughter. Spoiled rotten and has a hissy fit whenever she don't get what she wants. She's selfish as all get out. Me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, I want, I want, I want.

They've been taught in school that the only thing that matters is how they feel. They let biological men compete in women's sports because it makes them feel good. They don't keep score in childrens games and everybody gets a trophy because we can't let little Bobby or Susie feel sad because they lost.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone and I'm more than willing to listen to your side of the story if you can tell me where I am wrong. If this labels me as a purist/ elitist so be it.

I just had a chat with a buddy who has some gobblers roosted on public land. It's a ridge point that's about 800yds long by about 400yds wide. Enough room for one man to hunt comfortably. When discussing how to set up to these birds the 1st factor discussed wasn't where to best set up to these gobblers it was where to set up to try and eliminate the possibility of somebody walking in on him or blowing past him and what he should do when it most likely happens.

Pretty sad that it's come down to this. Sorry fellas, I don't see it get any better. I guess we need to "embrace the suck" so to speak if we want to continue with our passion in the future.

Of course I'm speaking from a public land point of view.

[ferocious calls]

I remember the first fish I caught at 4 years old.  I remember most of that day. Also carrying venison to my aunt on butcher day when I was 2. Nobody can say what a kid will remember. I have no kids, but love introducing them to the woods and the hunt.

[NCSWAMPFOX]

i'm with you deathfoot. also, i hate the word "thunder chicken".

[Gooserbat]

If it bothers you, you probably should stay off the internet.

Exaggerated claims and propaganda are a part of life.  I've never seen public ground unless it was very used and I've been doing this 36 years.  I've never killed a bird over 24# and I've never killed a bird with spurs oner 1 7/16.  I have killed two with a beard 12" or more.  Golder nuggets are out there and people like to brag when they find one.     

The problem is that people like validation.  I personally don't care about what people think.  I like the hunt and I do share my success publicly but I don't kiss and tell.  It's important to me that there's a future and I'm more than willing to help someone who wants to turkey hunt, but I'd rather see new turkeys than new turkey hunters.   

[Mountainburd]

C'mon man, don't you know I'm after the slam? I don't have time to learn the birds, I dont have time to respect the animal or other hunters as I blast through these woods, I dont have time to think about fair chase, I don't have time to worry about spooking birds and how it effects their behaviour after I leave. I gotta get that bird killed as fast as possible with whatever means necessary so I can check this state off and move on to the next. Don't you know I've only allotted 3 days for this state in my 5 state 2 week swing? I gotta get it done now!!!!!

This is so true and what a great post. I mean, it's impressive what some of these guys are doing in such short windows, but it just seems like so much is lost along the way. They will tell you it's not. To each their own.....just not for me.

[Beardedbird]

Yes it was nice hunting when the woods didn't have so many people in it. The guys that make me laugh are the ones that have kids and complain about to many people and point creep..... No I don't have any, my wife has kids and grandkids that I think of as my own.
As far as kids not remembering . I've been deer hunting and bear hunting with hounds since I was four and I remember those days. So I took my grandson and he shot his first deer at 6 and first turkey at 7. I'm sure he will never forget those days.

[ScottTaulbee]

I agree with most of what had been said, the love of the game and the passion that most of the pioneers had is mainly gone. I'm 27 years old, will be 28 in a few months, and my dad used to tote me along at 2 years old. I remember squirrel hunting with him, I remember deer hunting with him and if I close my eyes I can still see in plain detail the very first turkey I ever saw up close in the woods at age 5. I'm a first generation turkey hunter and I've learned everything myself from the birds. I don't YouTube, I don't chase states and I don't use decoys or reaping. And I don't use social media other than this site and occasionally the other turkey forum. If I can't kill him by using what I've learned since I was able to walk and position myself in his backyard in the best place possible for me to call him up and get him then that's ok. I'll keep learning and I'll get him tomorrow. But I also practice with several types of callers daily, year round, listen to my real turkey cd's on the way to and from work daily and probably don't help the public land situation any because i generally take 3 or 4 new hunters or hunters that have been at it 5 or 6 years and have yet to be successful, a day or two a season and try to teach them something. Often times than not, each one gets a bird and I get mine every year. And I take my kids with me, I have taken my daughter since she was 2 without a gun and teach her about the woods and everything in them. And I'm doing the same with my son that is now 2. For anyone who says you shouldn't take your kids in the woods must not enjoy their kids much or take this hunting way too seriously to enjoy what truly matters. I took my two year old who is absolutely infatuated with turkeys and turkey calls one day during our youth season with no gun and called him up a gobbler and three hens to within 20 yards with no blind. I told him him he had to sit still and be quiet and he sat better than most adults can. We watched them a while and went home, he still talks about it daily and asks me every day when I get home from work if he can play with my calls. I've given him his own stash.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zobo]

For me, my kids were substantially older before it felt right to get them started. But that's solely a parent's decision hopefully based upon each individual kid's maturity, ability, desire and so on. If you're selfishly rushing the timeframe for social media purposes then yes, I agree with you, that's pathetic.

[aclawrence]

The facebooks groups are ridiculous. I keep Facebook off my phone most of the time these days but sometimes I log on. I hate peoples hashtaghibg #2 or 3 or whatever.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[El Pavo Grande]

Great post!!   The majority in today's turkey hunting world will disagree, but I think it's ok for some to hear some truths.  It's all disheartening to see.  Social media, or at least as a platform, has degraded the turkey hunting culture.  It has driven the need for instant gratification and validation.  I blame society in general, but also a BIG brunt of the blame on hunting industry influencers (including YouTubers) that seek to profit monetarily and in personal notoriety.  I personally know several that won't hunt our home state and have never killed a turkey in our home state, but thanks to social media and the desire for validation on social media, travel to hunt these over advertised and often glamorized states where the hunting is much easier.  Posting at WMA signs.... No one cares except those searching for a shortcut.  It's a free country and most of the information flow is free, it's just amazing that a guy kills a couple of turkeys and then he's a traveling hunter with his own turkey hunting YouTube channel.  Many have skipped over the aspect of just enjoying the hunt.   

#pasturepimp
#pinechicken
#3%club
#killed@7:03 (I've never seen so many down to the minute times posted... I just find that interesting)

Jealous, elitist, "anti-hunter" hunter..... that's the G-rated labels given to anyone that opposes the direction this is going.  Maybe we should just tune out?  That's a consideration, except it's having real world ramifications with localized populations and hunting opportunity.  So, there needs to be some voices of reason, even if it offends some.  The unlimited flow of information and influence is beyond compare to any previous transitions in the turkey hunting culture.