Becoming a better turkey hunter...

[JK Spurs]

My uncle introduced me to the sport years ago and I consider him one of the best, if not the best turkey hunters in our community. The state of PA is full of champion turkey hunters that are unknown in my eyes. My goal is to be considered among these gentleman that chase this beautiful elusive specimen each and every spring. I've killed a good number of birds, most that my uncle called in and some with outfitters, but over the past few years I've chose to run solo and I've found some success. It's made me a better hunter and forces you to make the decisions. I find decision making extremely difficult because often you have very little time to make the "right" decision. I'm always second guessing myself...should I call? Should I get closer? Is he close enough to shoot? This set up is bad...should I move to this tree? Should I use a decoy? I'm always running multiple scenarios in my head and by the time he's standing there presenting a shot I'm a hot mess! This year my goal is to relax, breath, live in the moment and make the best decision...then learn from that decision, whether it was right or wrong. How have you guys become a better turkey hunter over the years? Good luck and be safe this year.

[aaron]

as you hit on,  good decision making is key.   That comes with time in the woods and paying attention to all the little details, and how each setup and decision played out for you.  remember what worked and what didn't and why.   After many years in the woods, good decision making becomes easier and is somewhat second nature.....you will eventually stop doing the things that just don't work.  Play the percentages.  That being said there is always something to learn, but success rates will climb if you focus on what works and what doesn't.  And most importantly, why certain decisions and tactics worked and others did not

[OldSchool]

I can't remember who said it, but I remember reading where somebody said turkey hunting success is based on correct, instant decisions and I agree with that for the most part. I just wish mine were correct more often. The fact that what works on one bird under one set of conditions probably won't on the next, is one of the things I like most about turkey hunting. It never gets old.

Bob

[guesswho]

Best things that have helped me was slowing down and learning to react instead of think.  Now it doesn't matter to me if I kill him at 7 a.m. or 4 p.m.  In the early years I used to think if I didn't kill him in the first hour then chances were good I wasn't going to kill him.  Now I'm as confident at noon as I am at day break. 

And I quit thinking about what I need to do.  Now instead of thinking about what to do, it's more of a reaction. 

[GobbleNut]

Once you understand the basic of turkey hunting, and know how to call a bit, then experience is the best teacher.  Over time, we all catalogue what works and what does not in our memories, whether we realize it or not. 

The problem is that, as Bob said, what works on one occasion may not work on the next,...and in fact, it might be the exact wrong thing to do.  If a person is hunting birds where he can do the same thing time after time and have consistent success, then he is hunting birds that are too easy to kill for whatever reason.

For me personally, I want my hunts to be challenging.  If I am killing a gobbler every time,...or every second or third time,...I go out, then I am hunting under circumstances that are not challenging my skills as a turkey hunter.  I will deliberately seek out other places to hunt where things might be tougher,...or at least a bit different.

[ilbucksndux]

I didn't have anyone to show me the ropes when it comes to turkey hunting. My grandpa,dad,and great uncles taught me to be a woodsman and those skills helped with the learning curve. My very first season I started out with a turkey tag some calls that I had practiced with and a foam decoy. I walked out of the woods that morning with a longbeard..........by dumb luck. But it was luck that I had made for myself. I had scouted and I knew the area very well. Many seasons have went by since that very first one. I look back and wonder how in the world I ever killed those first few. I can think back on times when I should have been moving and was sitting,should have been sitting when I was moving and every other way you can screw up a good turkey hunt I have done it. All of those mistakes have made me the turkey hunter I am today. If I had someone to show me the ropes way back then I would have been tagged out a whole lot quicker some hunts,but now every turkey that I (or my boys) pull the trigger on makes me proud that I learned it all on my own.

[OldSchool]

Sorry JK, I never answered your question. I had to learn on my own too and I think what probably helped me the most over the years was a stubborn desire to succeed, coupled with a lot of time spent in the woods with the birds. I discovered turkey hunting books during my third year of hunting and they made some things clear that I'd seen, but hadn't really come to fully understand yet and I know that helped too. Like some of the others have already said though, I think experience is the best teacher.

Bob

[Cottonmouth]

The 3 things I have learned to be a better turkey hunter is
1. Patience
2. Be where the turkey wants to go
3. Know when to shut up

[SteelerFan]

The 3 things I have learned to be a better turkey hunter is
1. Patience
2. Be where the turkey wants to go
3. Know when to shut up

#1 & #3 are harder than you think (or care to admit... Lol)

[Dr Juice]

The 3 things I have learned to be a better turkey hunter is
1. Patience
2. Be where the turkey wants to go
3. Know when to shut up

Well said.


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[Cut N Run]

The 3 things I have learned to be a better turkey hunter is
1. Patience
2. Be where the turkey wants to go
3. Know when to shut up

^In that order too.

This is some of what I learned in pursuing turkeys; Trial and error are not the fastest way to learn, but their lessons stick. Early on, I made the mistake of inviting people to hunt with me who knew less than me about hunting turkeys.  Their mistakes cost me and it wasn't until I started going on my own, taking the time to listen and develop an understanding where the turkeys liked to go before I started killing them fairly consistently. I also learned to slow down, be patient, and work on the turkey's time schedule.  If he was going to stand still or strut in the same spot for an hour, I had to do better than that to get a crack at him. It is also easier to call a gobbler to a place he already likes or wants to go. Good luck forcing any wild animal into a position where their life is in danger. Turkeys seem to know that they taste good and most things in the woods want to eat them.

I talked to a few old time turkey hunters who taught me to always keep 'em guessing and to keep the gobbler wanting more when it comes to calling. Though their idea was to yelp a few times every hour and not much more.  I've heard several hunters in the woods who make the exact same calls, in the same rhythm, on the same turkey call, from the exact same location time after time after time after time.  If I can tell those sounds aren't coming from a live hen, how difficult is it going to be for a gobbler to tell the difference?  Taking the time to stop and listen helped me mimic what the hens were saying and how to make my calls sound closer to real. Change up your tones, calls, and the direction your calling is coming from, but don't call more than the turkeys are.

Regardless of your what your ultimate goal is, the sooner you learn to master the 3 keys mentioned, the better turkey hunter you'll become in my opinion.

Jim

[Fullfan]

I was first diagnosed with this sickness back in 1976, my dads fault.
There were not many birds or hunters here in PA back then. But over time the population of both has grown by leaps and bounds.  I have found that every year I learn something from spending time in the woods chasing turkeys. And without a doubt Patients and discipline are the two most important things I have learned over the years.

But My theory of not being afraid o move on a bird has helped. I always tell my son " Come on we are moving, and either we are going to kill him or scare him"  And trust me we have done a bunch of both...

[Yoder409]

My theory of not being afraid to move on a bird has helped. I always tell my son " Come on we are moving, and either we are going to kill him or scare him"  And trust me we have done a bunch of both...

This is important !!  But, I'd also like to add not being afraid to move OFF of a bird........

I'm SEVERELY a Type A personality when it comes to hunting spring gobblers.  If I'm 100 yards out on a bird that is ho-hum warm and one starts up 800 yards away gobbling like a nut on its own.................  I'm OUTTA THERE !!!!!!    I've gotten pretty good at the 800 yard dash over the last 35 years or so.........

[BowBendr]

I never had anyone to really show me the ropes. My Dad was a hunter, but we didnt have many turkey locally, and knowledge was slim amongst everybody. I just learned by screwing up, but I did learn to stop doing certain things after it was pounded into my head several times by several gobblers. During the process of messing up I did learn 2 very important things.
1 - Be where turkeys want to be, not where you want them to be. Learn what you can from your birds. On the mornings you go out at dawn to listen for roost gobbling, take inventory of what you hear, but don't leave. Hang around, see where they go. Where do you hear birds gobbling at 10:30 ? Where do they want to be ?
2 - Learn from your birds as to how they communicate and how they talk to each other. Learn to have a conversation with turkeys, not just call at them. Call with meaning. Call from places turkeys will naturally be. Be a turkey, not just a part-timer yawking on a box call. Learn how to use your calls proficiently, use them to their fullest potential...and I am not just talking about hen sounds either. Learn the language of all turkeys.

These 2 sound generic, but it made my success skyrocket !


2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions

[Fan Club]

*Be where the turkeys want to be*

Seems to be the most popular response here. I would add to that...OR

*Go find the turkeys!*

My Missouri mentor use to say, "You can sit here cold calling, wishin' and a hopin' and a prayin'...or you can get up and go make something happen."

While cold calling will work on a hot bird from time to time, often it is unproductive if turkeys  are nowhere around. Of course this is all relative to the amount of time you have and the amount acreage you have to hunt. Do you just want to enjoy a spring day in the woods...or...is your season getting short and you have a burning need to tag a gobbler? So many questions...and only YOU can supply the answers!

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