Spending money for one bird a year.

[Bill Cooksey]

Put the decoy money in the gas tank and the ddaughter in the car seat. Go  cover some ground and knock on some doors.

[dutch@fx4]

heck I was dragging my kids with me ever since thy could walk ,,thy love being out in the woods ,,Dutch

[TauntoHawk]

It might seem like some people are coming down harsh on you but it sound like you need a little tough love and advice.. You can learn a lot by posting questions here but you will learn 10000X more getting out there.

most don't have ANY land handed to them by family.. nock on doors after work, research public land by using maps and get out there and cover some ground. Most guys here have familys and work at least one job we all know time is tough to come by. A lot of guys make a ton of sacrifices to hunt turkeys around here. So when you say "my season is over" guys are thinking "i'm quiting because I dont have a slam dunk lined up so its not worth my time". Many of us hunted years before killing our first birds with no teachers, no private land, and *gasp* no oldgobbler site.

You have to make the time, find baby sitters. Ive had someone to watch my daughter lined up for months so that I can take my wife turkey hunting for 4 days in May. If you really think Public land is a waste of time then it will be because you need dedication and determination. Im out at 6am scouting public land I dont even intend to hunt this season but learning a piece of woods and locating birds is as imporant as the actual hunt and harverst for me.

[jakesdad]

I would knock on doors or try to get in with some buddies. Even if you dont get to carry a gun the experience would be well worth the time. You mentioned hunting your father in laws property,if they live close would grandma be willing to watch your daughter a couple days a week? Id try to line up a sitter or better yet if she is old enough and interested bring her along once in a while. Your only restrictions on your hunting are the ones you set yourself.

[Ihuntoldschool]

There is no such thing as not having time to turkey hunt. If you love to turkey hunt as much as I do and many others on or off this forum you TAKE time to turkey hunt.  This is just a matter of how obsessed/addicted you are and where your priorities lie.  Only you can answer if it is worth spending the money or not.  I don't bother with decoys, but when it comes to turkey hunting I do NOT count the cost.

[jblackburn]

you'll learn more by tangling with a tough public land bird than you will on Old Gobbler or lightly hunted private birds!

[trash2]

Decoys are way overrated but from interpreting your threads I would find it fitting for you to sit in a gobbler lounger with a whole flock of decoys...

While I agree decoys are overrated, I see no reason for the sarcastic comment. This guy might be new to turkey hunting and just not know. Everybody was new at it at one time or the other and had questions. Now to the OP, if it was me I would save my money. Practice calling, get out in the woods and just listen to real turkeys, listen to the woods wake up and take it all in. If you can only kill 1 bird on that place, you ain't got to be in no big hurry. I've learned to be a turkey hunter by trial and error. Nothing beats experience and it take time to aquire it. Now I will agree, knock on door, hit public land, whatever it takes to find new hunting oppritunities. A 1 and done season would kill me, lol. Good luck!

I would like to agree but the fact he has a daughter seems to indicate he isn't a 14yr old looking for advice. But he has mentioned AGAIN that his season was over bc of a 1 bird limit. If I was your father in law and saw this childish complaining you'd have two options:
1. Golf
2. Public land bc you'd never step foot on my property again.

Grow a set, act like the man you are, and either go learn how to kill birds or quit griping on the internet. The rewards will be much more satisfying and you'll learn a lot more if you take the time to learn like most of us did.

[Spitten and drummen]

as much as I love this sport , I wouldn't think twice about that one bird. I would take him out and be heading on to find another. heck , even if I couldn't scout a area I would go hunt it blind and learn as I go. I do not quit until the last second of the last day. a year is a long wait and you are not even promised the next one. instead of excuses of why you cant , be positive and make it happen.

[dutch@fx4]

man if we had a 5 bird limit I would be hunting every single day of the season even if it was only two hours after work ,,I am lucky as I can hunt everyday that I want to and after I get my girls there birds  I will be taking by fishing buddy out to get his bird then I will start to work  on his grandkids birds .I will be in the woods every day even if I cannot carry a gun .you ether love turkey hunting or you donot ,,I got it bad 'I have killed enough birds that I get a bigger rush out of helping other new hunters get there first birds ,,for me it is always kids first ..Dutch

[jakesdad]

I can kill 6 birds total in MO: 2 in spring 2 in fall shotgun season 2 in fall archery season.Im trying like crazy everyday I can to get into birds. And yes i'm jealous of you guys in states with spring limits of 4-5 birds,but after my 2 in MO im always trying to go with somebody else if for no other reason than just to go. If you're willing to try there is always someplace to go turkey hunting.It may not always be the best place but I for sure guarantee that it beats the couch.

[2eagles]

You guys are all singing the same song, but I think he has the volume turned down. I have never killed a bird on private land. All of my birds have been shot on public hunting areas. No one showed me how to turkey hunt. I used a lot of my deer hunting knowledge to learn to turkey hunt. Get in first. Go in farther. Hunt smarter/harder than the other guy. Don't give up. Quit when the season is over. Learn, scout and hunt all at the same time.

[Crawl79]

You guys are all singing the same song, but I think he has the volume turned down. I have never killed a bird on private land. All of my birds have been shot on public hunting areas. No one showed me how to turkey hunt. I used a lot of my deer hunting knowledge to learn to turkey hunt. Get in first. Go in farther. Hunt smarter/harder than the other guy. Don't give up. Quit when the season is over. Learn, scout and hunt all at the same time.

Exactly, the OP obviously is content with his one bird at least for the time being. I started out hunting public, luckily had a couple years on some private land to up my confidence and now back to public only. It hasn't been easy and have allot left to learn but walking farther and hunting smarter has helped my tag out 2 years in a row on public land in Louisiana. Now that is not enough, have to bring youth and friends when I can and hunt at least one other state each year.

[deerbasshunter3]

It isn't that I don't want to hunt, or are too lazy to find a place to hunt, I have my 16 month old daughter at home with me every day I am off. I cannot "drag" her around in the woods to hunt. I will not lose time with her at a babysitter's just so I can go hunt. I did/do not "complain" to my father-in-law about his one bird limit. Plain and simple, at the moment it is just not in the cards to up and hunt whenever I have a day off of work. I have two weekends off every month. I killed my bird during the first weekend off. I can no longer hunt my father-in-law's property during my second weekend off in April. My wife planned a trip to the beach for my next weekend off, and I doubt that I can get away from a weekend with my family.

[porcupine]

Life has a way of messn up a guys good time lol...I spend a lot of my little bit of money on Turkey I get 1 bird but usually don't care about mine as my son nieces nephews friends kids my buddies want to go and it's a boat load of fun!!! Spend away because soon your kids will be old enough to go and it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!!!

[Bill Cooksey]

It isn't that I don't want to hunt, or are too lazy to find a place to hunt, I have my 16 month old daughter at home with me every day I am off. I cannot "drag" her around in the woods to hunt. I will not lose time with her at a babysitter's just so I can go hunt. I did/do not "complain" to my father-in-law about his one bird limit. Plain and simple, at the moment it is just not in the cards to up and hunt whenever I have a day off of work. I have two weekends off every month. I killed my bird during the first weekend off. I can no longer hunt my father-in-law's property during my second weekend off in April. My wife planned a trip to the beach for my next weekend off, and I doubt that I can get away from a weekend with my family.

I understand. I was merely suggesting you use the decoy money for gas to look for more places to hunt. A few hours searching landowner maps and a few hours a week driving around with your daughter while knocking on a few doors could net some new spots and also provide some quality time with your little girl.