What Is the Biggest Mistake Hunter make at 1st Light

[TRKYHTR]

Moving

TRKYHTR

[guesswho]

Thinking their in charge.

[Jay]

Not waking up?

[Ruger M77]

Dropping a duece and getting bit on the arse by a rattler.

that has to suck!

[Ruger M77]

I would say calling to much while there on the roost but we love to hearem gobble

[Shotgun]

Lots of good info here, but I'm going with not understanding the situation.

[CntrlPA]

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[handcannon]

If I have a bird that I've never been after I try to just pay attention to him. If he is gobbling his head off and I give him a light tree yelp then shuts up, I do too. Chances he has heard you and he's looking for you to come to him. There is also the chance that he has been hunted a good bit and he plans on flying down and hauling tail. If there is a long pause then he starts hammering again in your direction, he's saying "come on over baby or coming in after ya". Hopefully that's the case. If he flies down and the next time you hear him he is going away from you, more than likely he is henned up and they are pulling him away. Time for plan B. If you feel you have called loud enough for him to hear you then he probably has and it's probably best to just stop calling. He could just sit in that tree for another hour or better waiting on that sweet talking he to come to him. That's aggravating and the only thing that's gonna get him down is the silent treatment or having a second caller walk away in the opposite direction calling softly. Then again, none of this crap might not work and you'll be sending me a nasty-gram next time your online.

[trkehunr93]

for me a poor set up has cost me a few turkeys over the years.  Know the lay of the land like the back of your hand.  I also learned along time ago to call sparingly, turkeys do more than call a lot.  Wing beats and scratching in the leaves are a deadly combo.

[Duke0002]

#1 Poor set up- trying to get a set distance from a bird instead of focusing on getting to a spot to set up that the birds are likely to go once they fly down.  Get somewhere the birds will have an easy time going to.  It blows my mind when guys think they've done good by getting within 60 yards of a bird but have a creek or a brush thicket between them and the bird.  They get in such a hurry when they hear one that they dont consider the terrain and take the time to think about the obstacles between them and the bird so if they are lucky enough to get him coming their direction, he'll get hung up at some kind of barrier. They would have been better off taking their time to get in the path of least resistance or, better yet, where the turkey usually heads once he fly's down (which you can get a good idea about if you know how they use the land).


#2.  Calling too much while they are still in the tree. -   Probably the most common mistake but if your set up is poor, it doesnt matter what you do calling wise, it's going to be hard to kill him.

I like what redleg wrote.  Part of scouting or knowing the landscape is where to set up.  Its good to have several set up plans in your head to match where the birds are roosted.  Tough birds will often use thick stuff as a cover.  So have at least one path of least resistance.  If Mr. Tough Bird won't come in clear, perhaps birds on his periphery will check you out.

I've found that soft purring will get him riled.  At times it will get hens riled enough to seek you out, dragging him along.  Watch out for silent hens who will be happy to bust you.  As been said, keep still!

[GobbleNut]

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This  ^^^^^

[o2stk1]

 :turkey2:trying to rush things let him know ur there then shut up and let it happen

[Muzzy61]

Calling too much to hot gobblers on the roost.

Guys don't realize that they are diminishing their chances of success the more they make him gobble up there in that tree.

I agree, but it's sooo much fun!

[cahaba]

I think we all have had a gobbler sit on the roost locked up from being called to. He will just sit up there and gobble looking for the hen to walk to his tree. Or if he has hens with him far to many times they will pitch out of the tree directly away from you and take off going farther and farther away. So what works for me is to never make a sound. Rarely do gobblers pitch down in my lap anymore. So the odds are better for me  to stay quiet.
When he hits the ground I don't immediatly start calling to him either. I like to let things unfold naturally.
Give him some time and space.Let him/them tell me where they want to go. Then I will set up accordingly. This type of strategy works better especially if it's a gobbler that I have never hunted and am not farmilar with his patterns. Work him on turkey time.

[Eric Gregg]

I can say that my number 1 mistake has been calling when I hadn't established myself in a good position, and calling too aggresively.
I am a rookie and adrenaline got the best of me one morning. I even got the shakes......man that was awesome.

I learned from that one and now I wait on getting in a good spot before trying to work with them.