Pondering about turkey hunting

[eggshell]

I chose a long time ago and quit deer hunting. We don't care to eat them and I won't kill something I son't use. I used to hunt pheasants hard, but all my dogs died and hunting pressure went way up after pheasants recovered in the new CRP lands. Now I shoot afew doves and I hunt turkeys, that's it. I may spend three days dove shooting is all. So turkeys are basically all I hunt.

I fish like a mad man and that is a passion rivalling  turkey hunting. The good news is I can do both on the same day and they don't compete with each other. Since fishing is 10-11 nonths of the year I fish way more.

[aclawrence]

I chose a long time ago and quit deer hunting. We don't care to eat them and I won't kill something I son't use. I used to hunt pheasants hard, but all my dogs died and hunting pressure went way up after pheasants recovered in the new CRP lands. Now I shoot afew doves and I hunt turkeys, that's it. I may spend three days dove shooting is all. So turkeys are basically all I hunt.

I fish like a mad man and that is a passion rivalling  turkey hunting. The good news is I can do both on the same day and they don't compete with each other. Since fishing is 10-11 nonths of the year I fish way more.

I've kind of done the opposite. I've basically given up fishing. I used to have a boat and I live right by the Tennessee river. It's an amazing place to live for fishing but it's expensive and I can only have so many hobbies. I do have a canoe though and I've been thinking about getting a tenkara rod and trying that. Just fishing in a way that is stripped down and easy and relaxing. Man I'd love to have access to a handful of good ponds like I did growing up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WV Flopper]

 We like deer meat. We like turkey meat. Deer killed in summer before acorn drop are preferred by my family. That can only be accomplished by deer damage permits and does happen.

I have hunted deer since before a teenager and didn't start turkey hunting until a teenager.

To me, it's all about that gobbler, sounding off and telling me I am over here. Show me what you got!

I can't set very long for a deer, maybe one full day, after that I am done. I can still hunt them, for a day or two. I have to walk to the area I plan to hunt because once I start hunting it will take me all day to cover 4-500 yards of ground. I am slow!

That is why I think I like turkey hunting so much. They are hollaring at me to come get them and in down times I can cover some ground. Seen lots of great stuff covering ground turkey hunting.

Waiting for spring to hear the next gobble.

[Upfold99]

We like deer meat. We like turkey meat. Deer killed in summer before acorn drop are preferred by my family. That can only be accomplished by deer damage permits and does happen.

I have hunted deer since before a teenager and didn't start turkey hunting until a teenager.

To me, it's all about that gobbler, sounding off and telling me I am over here. Show me what you got!

I can't set very long for a deer, maybe one full day, after that I am done. I can still hunt them, for a day or two. I have to walk to the area I plan to hunt because once I start hunting it will take me all day to cover 4-500 yards of ground. I am slow!

That is why I think I like turkey hunting so much. They are hollaring at me to come get them and in down times I can cover some ground. Seen lots of great stuff covering ground turkey hunting.

Waiting for spring to hear the next gobble.

Deer before the acorn drop? Can you tell a difference in the meat? Do tell.

I've not heard that before here in the south.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[aclawrence]

That's interesting. I've always heard fall bears that have been feeding on blue berries taste the best but I've never heard anyone mention that with deer.  Nice score in the depredation permits.

Hearing a gobble definitely boost the morale for the start of the morning. It would be nice if old bucks would give you some kind of clue but I doubt it would help lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jhoward11]

There's just something about that gobble that entices you. Imagine if the deer and fish could gobble.... You would never see me!!!

[Kylongspur88]

Turkeys always have been and always will be #1 in my book. Bow hunting deer around the rut is fun, but I've never been an antler freak and aside from the tinder loins and back straps the rest is good for stew meat or the dogs. And yes I know how to cook venison, but I'd much rather eat turkey, bear, moose or elk over deer. I've never had pronghorn and the only bison I've had was farm raised so I'm sure it was very different than wild bison. I'd give every other kind of hunting up before I considered giving up turkey hunting. 

[eddie234]

In the spring I love turkey hunting and in the fall I love deer hunting. Both are number one depending on the time of year. Back straps and deer jerky taste just as good as turkey nuggets.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Paulmyr]

I'm surprised there aren't more waterfowlers responding. For me in the fall it's ducks and whatever geese I can chump into the decoys.There is a slight similarity to turkey hunting in that you call and they respond (sometimes) but that's where the similarity ends. There is no back and forth interaction so duck hunting is a distant second. I mostly do it for the dog work. If not for my dogs I'd probably go deer hunting. Duck hunting is much more work.

[Tail Feathers]

Waterfowling used to by #1.  But changing flight paths, boom scouters and lack of birds just took the joy from it.  As all that happened, I discovered turkey hunting and my path was set.

[ferocious calls]

Here, if it is in season it's in grave danger. Trapping and turkeys trip my trigger the most, but deer are a large part of our diet so we fill up on them.

[Mossberg90MN]

I'm a Turkey hunter who deer hunts.

There's certain things I like about both, and certain things that excite me about both.

I really don't get super excited about deer hunting until the rut comes around.

I'd love a buck up on the wall and some venison in the freezer as much as the next guy.

The gobblers will always be king to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Prospector]

I pretty much limit myself to deer and Turkey. Both make up a large portion of my family's diet. My preference has been and always will be spring gobbler hunting. When I can I archery hunt for deer all season. I think getting a mature deer (buck or doe) into close range while going undetected, making a good shot and following a short copious blood trail to your quarry goes hand n hand with locating a hot gobbler, setting up, calling and conversing with him while bringing him into reasonable range and killing him cleanly are my two favorite things... However, it's the gobbler hunting that takes my prize.

[Farmboy27]

I guess that I'm the odd man out in this one!!  I used to think that turkeys were my favorite animal to hunt. But as time went on and the population started going down I realized that I never really liked hunting for turkeys. I liked to call to them!!  A few years of endless walking and searching without hearing a gobble was enough to make me basically give up on turkey and focus more on deer. And I have found that if the birds are there, it's not not hard to kill a mature bird with a little experience and time. A truly nice buck is another story.

[aclawrence]

I hear you Farmboy. I still love turkey hunting but I caught myself thinking a few times this last season that it was as fun as usual. I'm like you I like the calling and conversation. This last spring almost anytime I would call to a gobbler they would shut down almost immediately and go quiet or the other way. (I'm talking about the public land birds). At that point I realized I wasn't having as much fun. I was getting frustrated at the way the birds had responded to the tremendous pressure. Luckily I got to kill two birds on private land and they acted way differently. They both gobbled at my calls and eventually came in to me. I still had to work and reposition on both of them but I wasn't out of the game as soon as I clucked at them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk