mistakes

[jims]

This will be my 2nd turkey season and I still have a super high learning curve on turky hunting do's and don'ts.  I often tend to learn things the hard way.  I what is the biggest mistake "greenhorn" turkey hunters often make.  Examples may be calling to often, calling too loud, setting up a tom rather than jake decoy, possibly wrong type of turkey call, etc.

[jblackburn]

Great question, not only for beginners, but for all of us.  I screw up every year and learn something new every year. 

Each hunt is situation specific, sometimes the gobbler is fired up and you need to call more than usual to keep his interest and bring him in, other times that style of calling will drive a bird out of the county.  You need to be able to read the bird's mood rather quickly once you strike him.

Another mistake is about moving on a bird.  You need to know when to stay put and when to move on him.  A good rule of thumb I use is once I think about moving to wait another half an hour to see what happens.  I know that I get impatient easily, so I have to fight that.  I have a buddy that will sit in one spot all day long.  Both of us kill birds, but sometimes moving is the answer and other times it is not.

Decoys, oh man.  When they work they are AWESOME!  I decoyed two birds last year and had two see them and turn around and run.  I think the mistake beginners make is thinking they NEED decoys.  They are a tool, just like a screwdriver makes a poor hammer, decoys make poor fix all turkey hunting equipment.  I like to go conservative with decoys, hen and a jake.  If I use a strutter, I make it a jake strutter. I think I get the same dominance challenge, but subdominant birds are less likely to turn and run.  You also need to have an idea of the birds you are hunting, is there a truly dominant bird you are after? That strutter may be the ticket, but if one of his buddies comes in that is tired of getting beat, well, at least you have a pretty decoy to look at!! I've killed many more birds without decoys, but I own several, so I'm still torn!

I don't think you can have the wrong type of call, but you should have a variety, maybe a pot call or two with different surfaces, couple mouth calls, and a box to find what he seems to like.  Tomorrow may be different, so I like variety.

There's my two cents!

[El Pavo Grande]

SETUP:  Often you don't have but a few moments to choose a place to set up, but it can be the key factor in killing a turkey or not.  No matter how much time you have, always analyze your surroundings. 

*If possible choose a background wider than your outline (tree, stump, log, etc.). 
*Make sure no trees or saplings will limit your ability to swing your gun left or right. 
*Try to not sit in the direct sunlight. 
*Consider slightly cheating towards your dominant side when you position your gun in relation to the            turkey.  If you are right handed it is easier and more natural to ease gun left if the turkey goes left, and vise versa.  Rarely does the gobbler show up exactly where you think he will.
*Utilize the terrain to your advantage.  When possible, and especially in the woods, set up within range of a natural break, such as the break of the hill, so that when the gobbler appears he is able to be shot and not given the opportunity to hang up out of range or decide something is wrong.
*Be aware of any barrier that may hang a gobbler up...creek, downed tree, thicket.  If time allows get around those or be able to shoot across if possible.
*Have your gun up and ready to shoot, preferably with your cheek on stock to limit as much movement as possible.
*If the turkey appears at a spot you have to reposition for a shot, you have two options....let him walk off and try again OR (if using a mouth call) cluck a few times AS you swing your gun for the shot.  Swing first without calling or prior to clucking and he may be gone quick.  This will be a judgement call you make derived from experience.

All the above have cost me turkeys as well as been the deciding reason I have killed turkeys.  The more experience you gain, these decisions will become second nature.

[TrackeySauresRex]

   Welcome to the wonderful world of turkey hunting. 20 Plus and I'm still making mistakes bud. My best advice is keep it simple. Do what the birds do.. say what the birds say.. Get between the birds and where they might want to be. Most of all have fun with it. It will happen stick with it. Oooo one more thing keep the deeks home. There probably a 50/50 split for me over the years.    JMO

[guesswho]

My opinion only, take it for what it's worth.

Mistakes 
Using decoys
Using blinds
quit hunting once the gobbling tapers off
thinking you have to kill him within the first hour of day light
poor set-up
afraid of turkeys
not respecting a turkeys ears
not paying attention with your eyes and ears
using your mouth more than your eyes and ears
shooting to far
trying to hunt like others on the internet

Just to name a few.

[turkey_slayer]

My opinion only, take it for what it's worth.

Mistakes 
Using decoys
Using blinds
quit hunting once the gobbling tapers off
thinking you have to kill him within the first hour of day light
poor set-up
afraid of turkeys
not respecting a turkeys ears
not paying attention with your eyes and ears
using your mouth more than your eyes and ears
shooting to far
trying to hunt like others on the internet

Just to name a few.

That sums it up to a tee in my opinion as well.

[WildTigerTrout]

My top three rules of turkey hunting are,
1. set still
2. Set Still
3. SET STILL
All joking aside IMO the biggest mistakes novices make are the inability to set still and lack of patience. The birds have ALL day to do what they do. They don't wear watches! 

[drenalinld]

Thinking turkeys are smart.

[B-Rad1]

My top three rules of turkey hunting are,
1. set still
2. Set Still
3. SET STILL
All joking aside IMO the biggest mistakes novices make are the inability to set still and lack of patience. The birds have ALL day to do what they do. They don't wear watches! 

Agree


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[paboxcall]

Thinking to yourself 'if a turkey isn't gobbling, he's no longer there.'

[Hooks' n' Beards']

over calling,spooking birds off the roost tree,movement,taking shots that are out of range...thinking "All" turkeys are stupid....

Enjoy the ride,it's a learning experience every spring day...

[eddie234]

A couple this i goofed up when I first started was calling before i had a good set up, i called and bam the turkey was almost in my lap and busted me trying to find some cover.
Not waiting long enough after calling, I'd not hear a gobble and after a few mimutes move on and as soon as I'd get up or move around the bend in the trail there would be a turkey.

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[gobbler777]

If a turkey answers your calls when using a particular caller (pot, box, etc) don't go changing callers. Give him what he likes answering until you pull the trigger.

[bigbird]

Scout a lot. Don't call to them, owl hoot or goose call crow call whatever but no yelping! Then sit tight hang tough and don't quit when they stop gobbling!! I've hunted turkey's for22 years learned like you and a lot of others and still make mistakes! Follow your gut, it'll help you kill birds too!  Good luck

[FullChoke]

Learn everything about turkeys in general that you can lay your hands on. Learn their language to understand what that say to you and how to speak intelligently back to them with a clear message. Understand what drives them to do what they do. I have seen every 'rule' that I was first taught about turkeys disproved by turkeys. Start to become the gobbler, walk through the woods like he does, go where he goes and know why, understand why he gobbles one day and is silent the next. Change your time schedule and rhythms to match his. Grasp how to approach him under his radar and be ignored. Get entirely inside of his head and the 'mistakes' will begin to fall away.

Turkey hunting can be the most exhilarating and challenging mental game you can play.

Stop watching Primos videos.

Enjoy! 

FullChoke