Are we overthinking ourselves??

[kevin2]

For me, I ask questions about "what is the best" this or that as a way to shorten the curve of getting into a new area of a sport, OR because I'm just entering a sport for the first time. Years ago, if I didn't have an answer available from my Dad, Uncles, or a friend, then I went to the local shop & asked them. That is a pretty narrow bit of knowledge, no matter how you look at it.

Good example, my old man hunted with a shotgun with a set choke for most of his entire hunting days. Did not matter what he was hunting, he grabbed that shotgun. When I bought my first shotgun on my own, I got a gun that had a set of choke tubes. It was a mircle, as far as I was concerned. Not sure how OR who turned me onto that idea of choke tubes now, but thanks! May have been my Uncle. Before that, I had a choice of using the Extra full gun for the hunt OR his Improved Cylinder Choke gun. If I was hunting with him, it was the Improved Cylinder gun, which I hated!

All of these innovations and the sharing of said knowledge is fun. At least that is my take on it.

[arkrem870]

In the end you still have to make the right set up and call the bird to you.  Having a gun that puts 300 pellets in a 10 inch circle and experimenting is a way for me to keep the passion alive during the off season.   These expensive Dave smith/zink type decoys and such make zero difference- they are like yeti coolers...... An igloo will get the job done done but if you have the money feel free to spend it. I won't cause a stir until they allow motorized decoys and electric calls- like they've done with waterfowl hunting

[J Hook Max]

 Stick with your woodsmanship, scouting and calling. Leave your decoys and blinds at home and over time you will become a much better turkey hunter. Also , try and keep your shots to 45 yards and less. It will make you a better caller.

[WildTigerTrout]

Stick with your woodsmanship, scouting and calling. Leave your decoys and blinds at home and over time you will become a much better turkey hunter. Also , try and keep your shots to 45 yards and less. It will make you a better caller.

+1

[RutnNStrutn]

Lets quit all the bickerin and moanin and groanin,we get enough of that at work,and back to doin what we LOVE.....bustin turkey lips!!!
Just my .02

Amen brother!!! I've been saying the same thing for a while, and I get accused of holding hands and singing cumbayah.
I fault nobody for their style of legal hunting, and believes ethics is up to the individual, and not for some arbitrary person to impose their ethics on you. Good post! Thank you!

[eman375]

I think most of us get caught up in the latest and greatest craziness.  The manufacturers have to market their new products to stay in business so we all get sucked in.  Some of the latest and greatest things from the past now gather dust or we laugh at how we ever got suckered into buying it in the first place, and yet there are other things have become staples in our vests.  I'm in agreement that we can become overwhelmed with too much "state of the art" junk.  I'm sure a lot of you guys are the same way, that once you get out there you tend to keep it simple and fall back on experience and use the things that have always seemed to work.

[USMC0331]

I would have love to been around to watch how the Indians hunted turkeys.

[J Hook Max]

 I don't question one's ethics for using blinds and decoys provided they aren't mechanical. What I see is that for too many hunters they become a crutch. For a novice hunter , they are great. The same for taking young kids who can't be still. All I'm saying is that removing these things makes you hone your other skills and in time that will make you a far better hunter.
The same as hunting in different places and habitats. Someone who sits on the same field every hunt or the same terrain would be lost and at a severe disadvantage when put in different terrain and woods. I was lucky , I hunted many years in Alabama when decoys were illegal and you had to learn to outfox them with your calling and proper setups.
A friend asked how do you call  turkeys across a wide open field. I asked him do the birds stay in the field all day long. He said no. I said OK , when they go back into the woods , go in those woods and call them up. No decoy or blind needed for that. Often you can kill them before they ever make their way to the fields. Again no decoy or blind needed.

[ericjames]

I don't question one's ethics for using blinds and decoys provided they aren't mechanical. What I see is that for too many hunters they become a crutch. For a novice hunter , they are great. The same for taking young kids who can't be still. All I'm saying is that removing these things makes you hone your other skills and in time that will make you a far better hunter.
The same as hunting in different places and habitats. Someone who sits on the same field every hunt or the same terrain would be lost and at a severe disadvantage when put in different terrain and woods. I was lucky , I hunted many years in Alabama when decoys were illegal and you had to learn to outfox them with your calling and proper setups.
A friend asked how do you call  turkeys across a wide open field. I asked him do the birds stay in the field all day long. He said no. I said OK , when they go back into the woods , go in those woods and call them up. No decoy or blind needed for that. Often you can kill them before they ever make their way to the fields. Again no decoy or blind needed.

I don't carry anymore than what is needed to constantly kill. When I get out of my truck in the mornings the most you will see me with is my gun and a fanny pack. The fanny pack will have a box call, few strikers and my old country boy glass pot, a woodhaven purr pot, few extra shells and owl call. I carry my mouth calls in a pouch in my pocket. About 1/2 the time I dont carry anything but my mouth calls.

[Beard Collecter]

I hate to say this because it makes me feel old, but technology has taken the place of woodsmanship. I started hunting turkeys in 1978, boy have things changed.

[Trax]

Seems to me there are plenty of turkeys to go around, and what other people do with their own time and money is their own business. A lot of the blinds and decoys stuff comes from watching the sponsored "pros" hawking their wares on TV, but that's just one other way to learn how to hunt. Nothing wrong with it. We didn't all have a turkey assassin pappy to show us how to properly kill turkey with an atlatl when we were knee high to a grasshopper.

Some guys might only get to hunt a few days a year and really want to bag a bird, so they're willing to pay extra for an advantage because they can't put it in the time due to family/work/health/etc. Doesn't really matter. Hunt your own hunt.

[R AJ]

I would have love to been around to watch how the Indians hunted turkeys.

You don't think they ground all that corn into meal do you?

[FL-Boss]

The advancements of technology that have allowed us hunters to "step up" and advance,  is also a opportunity to "step down" the way I see it.  example -  these 20ga guns today with the new chokes and HTL ammo shoot better than any 12ga did 20-30 years ago. 

Yes.. we can all still shoot 12ga that put 300+ in a 10in circle... but at what point is that overkill and taking out a lot of the sport?  This will depend on the individual hunter.  I personally felt that limit for me was last year.  I put up all the 12ga turkey guns and only shoot a 20ga now....and I love it just because it's so much easier to carry and shoot. I have a lot of land to walk and cover.  Plus I feel that I'm putting a little more challenge back into it.  I'm not knocking anyone that shoots big bore guns.. that's perfectly fine.

As for the 10in circle "competitions"   -  a lot of guys here view it more as sport and hobby. It's can be addictive as I enjoyed it for a while. Just like long range shooting. But I'm more focused these days on being a better turkey hunter. 

Also this year - I plan to use only a cross bow when hunting from an enclosed blind.. which is about 30% of the time.  Those shot's always tend to be only 15-20 yards in my area. These crossbows today shoots 350+ fps with a scope... why not ?

On the flip side of the coin.. I see how guys that have limited opportunities want every possible advantage. If I could only hunt once or twice per year, I probably would.  But I'm lucky in that I get to hunt all season long on tons of different private land. I know I will end up killing a handful of birds if want, so there isn't too much pressure.  Plus as I get a little older it becomes less about the actual kill.  I'm actually just as excited to see one of my friends kill one while I call, especially the ones new to turkey hunting.  I'm just thankful I have my health and can hear that 7am gobblin thunder every spring.. it never gets old.

 

[mudhen]

I guess it all depends on the individual's personal choice.

Unless I'm taking someone else out, I don't hunt for anyone but me.

It only took rolling a few birds and watching them run or fly away for me to decide to use the best gun & shell combo I could reasonable afford....

mudhen

[Fullfan]

I think anyone who would pay over 100.00 for a decoy needs their head checked. But that is just my .02