When is enough…enough?

[DirtNap647]

i know all the new hunting technology has got my wallet thinner

[mikejd]

Everything changes for better or worse who knows. I remember when I first started turkey hunting birds would gobble all day long and actually come to calls now I havnt heard a gobble after lets say 11am in many years. And gobble after they hit the ground almost never anymore. Do I think there is more hens now? No! So that's not it. So as things change we change. I personally do not use blinds or decoys as the style I like to hunt is to cover miles of ground in a day. I will say that the sight of a longbeard coming across a cut corn field to a decoy set up is a sight to see. So if its blinds or decoys you choose go for it as long as you are legal enjoy.

[GobbleNut]

I am in the "do it the way you want to as long as it is legal and ethical" camp.  Having said that, I also believe that all the "advances" in turkey hunting equipment (I prefer to call them "regressions") have to a large degree made turkey hunting more about "killing turkeys" than truly "hunting turkeys", 

When I first started turkey hunting back in the 1960's, there were no decoys and no blinds, and the turkey calls that were available were mostly genuinely crappy compared to those that are available today.  The shotguns available would shoot half as far, or less, than the ones available today.

If you wanted to kill a gobbler, you either learned how to turkey hunt and call with the crummy tools available, or you hoped to luck into a bird somehow.  There were also a heck of a lot fewer turkeys around then, so the chances of sticking a decoy, or ten, in the ground, putting up a pop-up blind,...even if they had been available,...and waiting for the local flock to feed within sight of your set-up were pretty slim.

We learned to hunt turkeys by learning how to find them and then make turkey sounds to lure them into sure-fire shotgun range of thirty yards or less.  The thrill of accomplishing that was exhilarating!  ...And that is what attracted all of us back then to spring gobbler hunting! 

That attraction was based on all of the things that led up to that final moment of pulling the trigger, not the actual killing of the turkey.  The attraction was the "hunt", not the "kill".  From my perspective, that is what I see missing today with all of the "stuff" that is available that makes turkey "killing" easier.

The real thrill of what attracted so many of us long ago,...and the thrill that many of us wish that the new hunting community could experience,....has been replaced by a technology that has led new hunters towards a different perspective of what turkey hunting is about.

In my opinion, that is a shame.  

[remmy1187]

I think it is all personal preference.  If it is legal and you want to use tools to make it easier or more comfortable or whatever then by all means use it, its your choice not mine or anyone else.  I hunt the way I hunt and you hunt the way you hunt, etc.  As long as you are out there hunting and enjoying yourself that is what it is all about.

[spaightlabs]

I am going to raise my own cotton and sheep this year so I can spin my own thread and loom my own fabric to make my own clothes.  I will make my own boots from deer skins, from animals I take with a primitive bow, topped by stone arrowheads I make myself.  I will weave my own decoys from marsh grass and make the dyes to color them with from plants I harvest.

I will forego the use of mouth calls as latex is too modern and too easy to call with. 

I will walk or ride on horseback to my hunting grounds, as a pickup truck is too modern and I am afraid the iron horse is making modern hunters fat and lazy.

Anyone who does it any differently is the victim of modern technology and not a true hunter.

[mudhen]

Very generally speaking, as long as someone stays within the limits of the regulations, I don't really care how anyone else hunts 

mudhen

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

Very generally speaking, as long as someone stays within the limits of the regulations, I don't really care how anyone else hunts 

mudhen

I'll go roost shoot one tomorrow just because I can and it's LEGAL.  Then we'll see how all you guys in the "if it's legal it's ok"  crowd feel about it!

Just kidding, I've got too much respect for the wild turkey to do it but god durn I wish I had the balls to just to prove a point....

[lightsoutcalls]

Let me throw a bit different take on the issue.

I work anywhere from 50-65 hours per week at 2 jobs.  From around December through at least the end of April, most of my weekends, evenings off and sometimes a couple of hours in the morning before my day job are spent in my shop making turkey calls.  I work these hours to pay the bills and so I can afford to pull off a hunt or two out of state since the bird population on the public land around me is so poor. 

Given that schedule, I don't have time to get out and scout birds the way I would like.  My Saturdays during this time begin around 6AM, work until around 4PM with maybe 30 minutes break, go in and shower and get to evening job at 5PM and work until 9-10PM.  Sundays, get up at 6AM to work in the shop for a couple of hours before cleaning up to go to church, come home and have lunch, work in the shop until 4PM before cleaning up to be at work from 5PM until 9PM. 

I don't say that to get anyone's pity.  I could stop building calls and just hunt and enjoy my time in the woods... but I don't.  With the schedule that I have, I basically get to take 2 weekends to get out of the shop and away during season.  This season I spent one of those weekends guiding on a youth hunt and had a blast.  The following weekend I had the privelege of hunting in OK with a friend that started out as a customer (bought numerous calls over the past few years).  We hunted a property that was amazing.  That said, I had never stepped foot on the property in my life before the hunt.  I had no aerial maps to view the property.  I had no clue what was over the next rise.  I killed my bird sitting in a blind on the edge of food plot with 3 DSD decoys and a stuffed decoy 20 yards in front of me.  I shot the bird with hevi shot that would have dropped him like a rock at 3 times the distance. 

Did any of these "tools" make my experience less enjoyable?  Not in the least.  Could I have killed a bird without the blind or decoys on this trip?  I don't know.  If I had not taken a bird, would I have had another opportunity to hunt for the season?  No.  Do I feel I had an unfair advantage due to any of the "tools" I used?  No. 

All of our life situations are different.  Some are priveleged to be able to hunt before or after work most any day of the week.  Some get to hunt multiple states throughout the season.  Some take a week or two at a time off to hunt.  We hunt with different firearms/bows and other gear.  One thing that we probably all share is the way a gobble within 100 yards intensifies your focus and makes you feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. 

If you feel like a particular "tool" gives you an unfair advantage, don't use it.  If your game laws allow you to use these things and you don't feel somehow that you have lessened your experience, by all means, use them. 

[GobbleNut]

Since we are in the mood for personal experiences and how they apply to this question, let me give you one of my own.  It applies to the question of legality versus ethics. 

Here in New Mexico about ten years ago, our Game Commission passed a law that made it legal for hunters to shoot certain game birds, including turkeys, over feeders on private land (...and by the way, that law has been rescinded due to pressure from sportsmen).  At our cabin in the mountains, we have a feeder set up occasionally, mostly to hold wildlife around the place so that visitors can view them. 

The feeder is about thirty yards from the kitchen table so that people can sit and watch the wildlife come in.  Most years we have 50 to 75 Merriams turkeys that hang out, and they are there during the turkey season.  During the period that it was legal to shoot turkeys over feeders, we could probably have killed a dozen mature gobblers each spring by doing nothing more than sliding the kitchen window open, picking out a victim, and pulling the trigger.  Nobody ever did it,...and it was pretty much made crystal clear to everybody that hunted with us that, regardless of what the law allowed, it was unethical to shoot turkeys that way. 

Now here's the second part of this story.  A couple of acquaintances from the town I live in started a youth hunting club in honor of one of their fathers who had passed away from cancer.  It was a great idea, and I admire them for sacrificing a whole lot of time, effort, and dollars to give young hunters a chance to learn about hunting.  The club was quite popular and successful in attracting kids to the outdoors and the hunting experience.

However, during the time it was legal to shoot turkeys over feeders, these guys would set up feeders, put out pop-up blinds around them, and let these kids shoot gobblers out of the blinds when they came in.  There was no hunting being done at all.  The turkeys were merely target practice for those kids, and the entire process did nothing to teach them about hunting, or the concept of how ethics apply.  I personally found the entire idea of what they were doing, and teaching those kids, to be disturbing and distasteful.

Now, there are some that can buy the "if it's legal, it's okay" mentality with stuff like that, but there is no way in H£ll you are going to ever convince me that what those adults were doing with those kids was right. 

[Tail Feathers]

Me personally, I shoot the hevi shells because I want to ensure a clean kill to 40 yards.
I shoot a red dot on my gun because my aging, bifocal-wearing eyes need the help.  I really would prefer not to depend on anything battery operated but it is an aid I need.
I carry decoys in the truck but rarely use them.
I never used a blind for turkeys but I may with my grandsons if that's what it takes.  I hope not tho.

Technology is not all bad, but I prefer my hunting simple. 

[pcgobbler]

I do use blinds occasionally.  I learned to turkey hunt big timber birds. Seldom, did I use decoys, and I still don't use them when woods hunting now.  But, now I use decoys almost every time I hunt.  Where I now hunt the birds pitch down to fields every morning and spend most of the day there because the woods are pretty thick, and visibility is often limited to 10-20 yards or less.  If a field birds hears your calling and don't see a "turkey" you are just peaing in the wind.  I do shoot hevi-shot and of the four birds I killed this year all were 30 yards or less.  You don't need a 300 mag to kill a deer, when your longest shot is only 200-300 yards, but many folks use them.  As long as its legal. To each his own.

[budtripp]

Hunt and let hunt I say. What kind of arrogant **** would I be to pass judgement on the way someone else chooses to hunt, assuming they're doing everything legally and having fun? I like to run and gun in the timber with no blind or dekes as much as the next guy, but from time to time I also enjoy sitting in a double bull, sipping coffee while watching a tom work to within bow range of my dsd's. I've even been known to take satisfaction (gasp) in using the terrain/cover to cut off a stubborn bird that marches away from my calling and bushwhack him. Variety in hunting keeps it fresh, just like variety in life in general. Just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions....

[contagious]

I hunt with one mouth call,chair to sit in and wall mart camo that is ten plus years old.That's it all I hunt with,and had seven south Alabama birds with in 50 yards.took two and had my first miss.I like to travel lite,sweet talk them.!! Works for me,to each his on.!!!!!

[coyote1]

To each their own. I use decoys and a blind but i still put my time in scouting and learning the birds patterns. The two things i wont do is hunt them over bait or use a rifle (both illegal here) but would'nt do it if it was legal. I wont put someone down if they use a rifle but i like to see how close i can get the birds.

[wmd]

IMO way too many hunters rely on blinds and decoys. I'm teaching my son to hunt turkeys "Old School" without the use of either one. I have shotguns in 10,12 and 20 gauge. At some point during the season I hunt with all of them. I do NOT however use HTL shot. I shoot good old lead. The way some guys talk I wonder how we ever killed turkeys before HTL. I wish I had a nickel for everytime I have heard "How many pellets in 10" at 40 yards"? I believe woodsmanship and calling ability are much more important than hauling all that junk to the woods. Too many guys hunt from blinds with decoys so they can drink coffee, talk, text their friends,make phone calls, move around and have a picnic. They do everything except hunt. I am proud to say my 14 year old son and I both bagged mature longbeards this spring and we did it "Old School". Sorry for the rant, just my opinion. You may agree or disagree with it. Either way that's fine.

I guess I don't understand the, "technology has improved but I am still going to make it as difficult as I can for me and my kid" philosophy when it comes to hunters.  I killed a bunch of turkeys with a 12 ga 1100, single bead fixed modified barrel, shooting 2 3/4" Remington Duplex 2x6 shells, because that is what I had to hunt with as a teenager & college kid.  I sure wouldn't think of going in the woods with it now.  I wanted to give my son every advantage I could when he started turkey hunting 2 season ago at the age of 10 and his first year he was able to kill 3 out of a blind shooting 20 ga Hevi-7s.  The closest kill was 12 yards and the furthest was 40 yards.  He killed 3 this year at the age of 11, one he was sitting in a Gobbler Lounger in the middle of a logging road, one he was sitting in a Gobbler Lounger in front of a big rock, and one from a blind.  All three were shot right at 40 (+/- a few) yards as soon as they presented him with a clear shot.  He and I were just as excited on the 6th one as we were with his first.  We go turkey hunting to kill turkeys not to prove we are superior hunters in comparison to anybody else in regards to how we kill them.    Keep doing what your doing if it makes you feel good.  I think we are going to shoot 18 g/cm3 shot next year.