"Turkey Reaping" Video

[jepcho]

Oh, what the heck.  We're in the middle of the summer doldrums right now, so perhaps this is a good time to explore the "turkey reaping" phenomenon in more detail.

First and foremost, I absolutely despise the term "turkey reaping".  Whoever came up with that term should be taken out and summarily shot.  It is a horrible term to be used to describe anything associated with hunting.  It implies an impersonal, lack-of-connection between hunter and prey that portrays an indifference on the part of the hunter to the fact that he is taking a life.  The term needs to go.

As far as the method is concerned, there are many variables to be considered as to how it is defined, and when and where it might be considered fair and ethical,... or not.  Having started spring gobbler hunting in the mid-1960's, I have seen the full evolution of the sport to a large degree.  We have gone from hunters using equipment and calls that could only be described as "rudimentary" in those early days to a boggling array of devices,...guns, calls, decoys, clothing, and technology,...that have completely changed the face of turkey hunting.

With those changes has also come a new perception of what turkey hunting is all about,...especially from the newer generation. Everything is further complicated by the fact that we have hundreds of thousands of more turkey hunters,...and millions more turkeys,...than we had fifty years ago.  Let's face it, turkeys are getting hammered every year in most places by those armies of turkey hunters.  ...And the turkeys that are out there, regardless of the denials of some folks that should know better, are getting smarter because of their interactions with that army of hunters.  By and large, the average turkey hunter, hunting the average, heavily-hunted land, has a lot harder time just using a turkey call to get a gobbler within range nowadays than we did just a few years ago.

Not everybody can just grab a call and go out and regularly call in a gobbler in the places they have to hunt.  And conversely, I would suspect there are also plenty of folks that believe they are really good turkey hunters that make that claim only because they have access to places that pretty much guarantee their success no matter what their skill level might be.  Because of all of that, I am reluctant to condemn a guy that turns to tactics that rely on visual aids rather than calling to help them succeed.  I don't know their situation, so who am I say whether they are right or wrong in using a certain (legal) tactic? 

Safety concerns are another matter.  Using any tactic, including turkey calling, that puts you in an unsafe position is unwise,....and frankly, idiotic.  However, with the use of a little bit of common sense and discretion, there is no real reason that holding something that looks like a turkey should result in being shot by another hunter.  Of course, it probably isn't much consolation to the guy who gets shot in knowing that the guy that shot him was too friggin' stupid to be able to tell the difference between a real, live turkey and a guy holding a turkey decoy or fan.

The bottom line is that however you want to hunt, do it safely.  If you want to go around waving a fan or carrying a gobbler decoy, just don't be an imbecile about it when you do.  You might eventually run into one those freakin' morons that can't tell a real turkey from a fake one with a hunter behind it.

Well said! I agree wholeheartedly with most of this.

[THattaway]

Same guys should try this in another month or so.

Now that is decoying     Works well as cover scent too.  Hey where is the food plot and where did the wheels go on his bow

No food plots here but I sure do have wheels on my bow. They don't rank badly on my sliding ethics scale.
Maybe the real reason I wouldn't like turkey reaping (when it works) is because it makes turkey hunting look too easy. I'm thinking that if toms ran straight in on most every hunt I probably wouldn't get nearly as excited, have anywhere near the satisfaction level or find as much enjoyment in it as I do now. The satisfaction level is usually proportionate to the effort expended, at least that's the way it seems to me. I started hunting turkeys 30+ as a 12 year old kid with no mentor. They were ghosts and haints in the big woods for some years, took me some time to become an accomplished hunter. These days for me it's more about fooling them than killing them...but I sure like toting one out on a long walk too.

[Happy]

Guess I am gonna throw my hat in the ring on this one. First off if someone wants to hunt any manner that is legal then that is their right and I am not going to interfere.  Now personally I would get no satisfaction what so ever hunting turkeys in this manner. In in West Virginia where rifles are legal I really wouldn't recommend it. I taught myself to hunt and have never killed a turkey with anything other than a shotgun. I have never used a ground blind sometimes I use a hen decoy or two but I am just as comfortable without them.I have never tried a strutter or Jake just cause I don't like the idea of it for some reason. I have no problem taking a whopping from these birds when they hand them out. That only makes my success sweeter. That's how we learn. I truly love and respect these birds as much as I hate them. It is a battle against a mortal enemy that I have the utmost respect for. I will fight that battle on terms that I deem to be fair and noble. I don't believe that the newer generations of hunters have picked that up. It's now about instant success instead of self improvement and skill. Unfortunately television and marketing have caught up with this and I honestly believe that's why you see the Walter Parrots, Harold Knights, Chris Parishes and dozens of other accomplished hunters fade into the background. Marketing has realized that they don't make money off of skill. So now the scheme is let's give this nimrod a 60 yard shotgun, a strutter decoy with movable tail, a ground blind, the latest new idiot proof call that sounds like death and let's plop this simple fellow out in a field full of turkeys that have hardly been hunted and prove that anyone can do it and watch the money roll in. I am not out to offend anyone and if this is your idea of a good hunt then have at it. As long as it's legal and it satisfied your code of fair chase than that is all that matters. As for me though, I am out.

[Cove]

I wonder how many of those that are against fanning turkeys use strutter decoys? And I also wonder how many of those against fanning of turkeys regularly hunt areas like Nebraska/ Kansas/ western Oklahoma. I also wonder of those that are against fanning of turkeys dislike it because it is physically "inconvenient" for them. These are just some of the things I "wonder" when I read discussions such as these.

And while it's my favorite places to hunt, some must stop and realize not everyone hunts in those "deep forests," at least not all the time. And also there are those of us who desire to not end our season and chat about THE turkey we killed last year, there's more. 

[THattaway]

I've hunted open ground before. You don't have to hide behind a fan to be successful there either.

[owlhoot]

I've hunted open ground before. You don't have to hide behind a fan to be successful there either.

.   Have never used a fan , but have used a strutted with one and had fun and exciting hunts with them watching toms beating them up and damaging the fan I spent hours putting together .  I even used blinds too and took 7 year olds to get their first birds . Really enjoyed doing that . Had only done this on private or leased ground which was mainly fields and pasture and used caution and commons sense when setting up,even had used the orange band on a tree behind us that the Missouri Conservation gave me for a study in the early 80's . All in had a lot of fun taking turkey in this manner and using the more traditional style too in all terrains . My sliding ethics scale (like that one )    even include muzzle loading shotguns and bows without wheels  Do we need all this extra stuff? No . But if your having fun with it , why not ? Be careful , used your head and have fun. Enjoy your hunt your way !    Off subject a bit but I text and asked a good friend how his Wyoming elk hunt was going, he text back and said he got charged by a griZzer bear! So I asked how much he charged him? He replied back . A good pair of drawers!  Ya know I believe him.

[Cove]

I've hunted open ground before. You don't have to hide behind a fan to be successful there either.

Hunting open ground "before" is kinda like sharing the story of THE turkey one may have killed last season.

[THattaway]

Well I'll tell ya Cove, you might just be surprised. If you want a pissing contest then you won't find it here with me. But I will tell you this, if you want to go crawling across a field with a fan in front of your face then by all means do it if that's what gets your kicks....Just don't come here with some lame arse excuse about how that's what you gotta do in open country!

[Cove]

It's pretty hard to surprise me. But I invite anyone to take a swing at it if they wish. . . . 

I just find it very unfortunate when someone that doesn't have the experience with every type of terrain and situation to pass judgement on anothers methods. When if the accusers were faced with having to overcome the same obstacles routinely they would realize what they once looked down on to be very helpful and useful strategy. Hunting the open ground "before" is different than hunting open ground every season. An adaptable hunter in my opinion will always be the most successful. I dislike when things (decoys in particular) begin to be used as a crutch instead of a tool. And in many situations with fanning, this is also taking place, but there is a place for it in a hunters arsenal therefore I think it's petty that it's shunned by many who simply don't have the experience to pass judgement. As long as it's used as a tool and the hunters aren't loosing the true 'art' that turkey hunting is then I don't see why this is looked at so negatively. I will say. . . in the video shared above, it is being used as a crutch. . .not a tool.

[THattaway]

Baiting and roost shooting could be easily embraced by your assessment. Still a lame excuse but I understand, it's all about the kill for some folks. Why not just employ rifles? Thanks for the explanation but I think I understand perfectly well why some folks hunting open ground "EVERY" season need other "tool" options. I mostly just hunt turkeys the same way in wooded or in "OPEN GROUND" every year. Figure out what they are doing and call them to where the want to go.

[Happy]

I believe everyone has the right to hunt however they choose within the legal limits of the law. However I see a trend to all hunting heading towards easier instant success and away from skill and hard work. Heck I think it's very possible for a corn pile to be the acceptable way to get your gobbler ten years from now. I hunt for a challenge not to kill as much as I can as fast as I can. It means more to me how I hunt than whether or not I am successful. I am not judging or condemning those that want to hunt in other manners but the boys that do it tells hard way get my respect. And yes I hunt with wit a hen decoy occasionally. Twenty years ago that would have been a eyebrow raiser.

[Cove]

I do not understand how my assessment would embrace roost shooting or baiting?

I'm simply stating that in my experience, it's easy to look down on a technique that you have limited experience with. . . . If the only place I spent most of my springs were the steep forested mountains of North Georgia it would be hard to imagine a situation where fanning would be useful. And I believe this is the reason most look down on this tactic, because an over whelming majority hunt turkeys in wooded settings. Is it necessary in every situation in open terrain? absolutely not. But what is necessary in every situation?

[stinkpickle]

I think I've been doing it wrong. 

[Cove]

And I apologize, but it's really difficult to stand your ground against fanning when you're hauling around these type of "tools". It goes to prove a point, that what some people may see as helpful/ useful others may view as unnecessary/ lazy or even unethical. Luckily, we don't all have to pursue our prey with the same methods. 

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,56979.msg563571.html#msg563571

[Happy]

I don't believe anyone should have to apologize for having an opinion. Everyone has their preferences. I have just noticed a trend in hunting in general to where skill and effort are taking a backseat to technology and laziness. I will be the first to admit that I am a bit old fashioned in my hunting style. Heck I don't even use trail cameras for deer. Yet I shoot a compound. The point is that we hunt for a challenge and to connect with nature and our primitive background. I love quality and organic meat. However we all know that it is far cheeper to buy meat from the store. If all a person is after is a kill then I really don't buy into the assessment that that person is a hunter. I love a good conversation like this and you can throw many different variables in and every side can score a point here and there. I don't buy the idea that there is only one way to do it.But I do question the motives of many hunters that I see today