Closet Reapers??

[Sir-diealot]

I want one for photography but would never use one during the season, I am messed up enough without getting shot.

[deerhunt1988]

Then the kid runs off to school and tells their buddies how cool it was fanning a tom in...Ethics aside, how can you NOT see the issue with this?

[Sir-diealot]

We're taught in hunter safety at age 11 or 12 not to wear or carry ANYTHING red, white or blue on a turkey hunt because it COULD be mistaken by another hunter as a turkey's head.

But crawl around holding a turkey fan or very realistic facsimile of one is A-OK ??

Exactly

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[El Pavo Grande]

We're taught in hunter safety at age 11 or 12 not to wear or carry ANYTHING red, white or blue on a turkey hunt because it COULD be mistaken by another hunter as a turkey's head.

But crawl around holding a turkey fan or very realistic facsimile of one is A-OK ??

This point alone should be a reason for it to be illegal.  A state required safety course, and this method totally contradicts that.  It makes no sense. 

[Spurs]

Certainly the concerns you guys bring up about fanning/reaping are quite valid. However, on any turkey hunting tactic my take is if it's legal, and you want to use it, then go for it and best of luck to you. Especially for a youth hunt, they need every advantage they can get.
Not saying that I would condone the tactic or would use it myself, but if it's legal, I'm not going to criticize you for doing it.
Sometimes us hunters are our own worst enemies.

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There is a fine line between criticizing and being critical.  Some choose to cast stones, which is no way to conduct one's self.  I try to be critical when looking at a style of hunting that is new/different from my own.

I fell into the full strut decoy phase when the B-Mobile first came out, so I understand that side of wanting to follow a style of hunting that is 'As seen on TV'.  Once I finally got away from decoys all together (only took a couple of years and I got tired of carrying those things around), I started to rethink the entire idea of decoy use.

If we cannot have a civil debate on a subject, then nothing will change.  Decoys are one of those things that needs to change IMO.

[stinkpickle]

It looks like fun, but it also looks like it would be rough on my knees.

[GregGwaltney]

I had an adult & child "Reaping & Gobbling" with fans, closing in on me while I was hen yelping on public land. They came up over a little ridge about 35 yards away and I quickly noticed the "turkeys" fans were 5' off the ground so I yelled at them immediately. It was a dangerous situation and they were moving through some brush so it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. I did approach them afterward where the adult apologized and agreed that it was a really stupid thing to do.

[Kylongspur88]

One of our forum members hunting buddy got hammered with TSS this season. For privacy reasons, I can't say who. But the moral of this story is the guy shot at him because he saw movement. Do you think a real turkey fan just might be a more realistic target for someone as dangerous as this guy? Food for thought here. Be safe......

So this is a topic my buddies and I have been discussing. Turkey shells have become more deadly to not only turkeys but people over the past decade. I remember when I started turkey hunting in the 90s and the gold box federals we bought at Walmart were awesome shells. The red hull xx winchesters too. Now a fella might catch a face full of tss that would put either of those to shame. It's a totally different game now. Are we going to see shot restrictions in some states for safety reasons?? Idk, but it does add to the overall discussion about reaping and hunter safety.

[Tail Feathers]

Never tried reaping.  I may try it someday, but then my old knees aren't fond of crawling much anymore so maybe not.  Generally speaking, it can be a real safety concern, if you decide to do it, and it's legal, pick your spots carefully.

[silvestris]

Kylongspur88, you have pointed a major reason why I don't use TSS.  One is responsible for the effects of every pellet fired from his shotgun and I choose not to be forced to justify should one of those pellets harm a human at short or extreme range.  A good caller and lead shot performs very well at 35 yards and that is good enough for me.

[eggshell]

You are spot on silvestris. I see no need for any longer range shell in my vest at all. I have consistently killed my turkeys with the same old shells for several decades now. I have even killed some with a field load I'd use for pheasants from an IC or mod choke. Put them in range for your gear and all shells will do the job. It is our own lack of confidence and ego that makes us look for ways to extend our effective range. My first 20 years of turkey hunting all these new shells weren't even available. You put a gobbler at 25-30 yards or you didn't shoot. I watched many walk away that would be dead today. I think the new loads do reduce crippling, but that's still because most of us are prone to taking borderline shots...myself included over the years. I am not finding fault with anyone using tss, I am advocating knowing your effective range. If you do this TSS is an expense and risk you don't need to endure.

[Marc]

There is a fine line between criticizing and being critical.  Some choose to cast stones, which is no way to conduct one's self.  I try to be critical when looking at a style of hunting that is new/different from my own.

I fell into the full strut decoy phase when the B-Mobile first came out, so I understand that side of wanting to follow a style of hunting that is 'As seen on TV'.  Once I finally got away from decoys all together (only took a couple of years and I got tired of carrying those things around), I started to rethink the entire idea of decoy use.

If we cannot have a civil debate on a subject, then nothing will change.  Decoys are one of those things that needs to change IMO.

Good post...  I disagree with part of it...  But well said.

While I do agree with the need for civil (and rational) discussion...  I am not in the camp of "if it is legal it is OK."  I do believe that hunters should be the foremost stewards of the game we harvest.  I believe that it should be obligation of hunters to sometimes be both critical, and to openly criticize means and methods that are either unethical or unsafe (or as in this case both).

My first impression of seeing "reaping" videos, was that it appears both dangerous an unethical...  My experimentation with a turkey fan gave me a much stronger impression of that same sentiment.  I feel, that if I can spot a turkey, that using a fan, I have a much higher percentage chance of killing that bird utilizing a fan, and simply walking up to him, than I do attempting to call him in...  I feel that the scales are tipped too far in the direction of the "hunter," to still be considered "fair chase."

I also feel that marketing and money (license sales) is too often prioritized over the best interests of both the game we hunt and the hunters themselves.

TV and YouTube and the like, all too often prioritize "the kill" instead of "the hunt."  And many young people entering the outdoors are taking their queue from from these shows that often display what many (if not most) traditional hunters would consider to be "unethical."

[sixbird]

Well...  The comments were turned off...  For a reason.

No doubt that such methods are a "short-cut" to killing a bird.  When taking young hunters out, I have encouraged methods of take, that I myself would not do at this point in my life (such as shooting a duck on the water).  But...  I did not post it on YouTube.

I have played with the method (of reaping) myself for fun (did not have a gun or harvest a bird)...  Used a turkey fan to see how close I could get to birds in an open meadow.  Put a fan in front of me, leaned over, and walked right up to them.  I was two for two on this...  Birds held their ground, and let me walk virtually right up to them.  One bird approached me as I approached them.

I do think there is a difference between fanning (using a fan to draw in a dominant bird), and reaping (using a fan or fan and decoy to walk up on a bird).  My impression is that fanning will draw in that dominant bird, but there are birds that would likely see the fan and go the other direction...  I would consider using a tom decoy with a fan in line with fanning.

With my limited experience in these methods...  I feel that birds are more likely to hold their ground while reaping, than coming into a fan while fanning...  Dominant birds will approach in either situation.  Given a voice in the regulations, I would remove both from the hunting methods in my area.  Both give an unfair advantage, and I am uncertain what effect removing so many dominant birds would have on the breeding cycle?

As far as watching birds flog a dead bird, I take no issue with it.  Bird on the ground is dead...  I have let birds flog a shot/dead bird, not to watch it happen, but to avoid educating the birds doing the flogging.  Then again (as mentioned above), I did not post it up on YouTube, where I know it will be offensive (to at least some) hunters and non-hunters watching.

Thoughtful and spot on...


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[sixbird]

We're taught in hunter safety at age 11 or 12 not to wear or carry ANYTHING red, white or blue on a turkey hunt because it COULD be mistaken by another hunter as a turkey's head.

But crawl around holding a turkey fan or very realistic facsimile of one is A-OK ??

Well, there's a point!
I've carried a gobbler tail on a stake, to use as a decoy in a field years ago and it worked. Of course I could see in all directions that could pose a danger and I was on private ground.
Fanning, or reaping isn't for me. Same with blinds. Seems like an unfair advantage. I'm even on the fence about decoys although I DO use one in the Spring (love to see the interactions).
As far as the safety aspects of fanning? NOT willing to take that chance! AND, as I said, unfair (my opinion).
All this said, I'm libertarian leaning so if somebody wants to do it, I won't try to stop them...


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[WW]

In my opinion, if you use decoys, especially a male decoy, you may as well go ahead and fan the turkey. Popping a fan at one is deadly but so are decoys... One is no better than the other because there's a big disadvantage to the bird. Now that tss is out and people can kill them at ranges they shouldn't, there's another disadvantage. Not to mention cell cameras that let hunters know when the birds are there...Turkeys don't have much of a chance with the direction things have gone.