Advice topic

[harvester]

If you have any advice from the do's and dont's on turkey hunting, PLEASE SHARE WITH THE REST OF US.

#1. Turkeys are the most unpredictable creature on earth.
#2. When I first got into turkey hunting, people always told me that turkeys would NOT walk through thick stuff; high weeds, DOWNED TREE TOPS, come down hill. ALL THAT IS BULL%^&$. THEY WILL, AND WILL NOT HESITATE TO DO IT. Missed a chance at a big ole longbeard because of the above mentioned. Would have been my very first bird or second bird.

[unclerick]

Yeah I busted alot of them mythes that we were told when me and Wes started, folks said you can't call in a henned up gobbler, I killed 2 of them this past year, one of them braught his lady in with him.

If I was to give advice on turkey hunting it would be to know the bird your hunting, read, study and ask questions, no matter how dumb you think it sounds, then forget about half of it, cause an old turkey will teach you all you need to know. Get out in the woods and look for birds, see what their doing, eating and staying. Alot of what I learned about turkeys was from sitting in a blind and just watching hens, and anyday in the turkey woods is a good day, weather you kill something or not.

[mfd1027]

Keep things in perspective, relax and enjoy yourself.    It's supposed to fun!!

[nctrkyhntr]

dont over think the situation. Like Dan said sit back relax and have a blast

[gob09]

i relax when he's takeing a ride with me in da truck

[nctrkyhntr]

 

[harvester]

this may sound stupid, but when hunting in a blind bring a piss bottle to relieve yourself.Last year I was hunting in  my blind while bowhunting them birds and I had long beard come in silent and behind me.I open the door to take a piss and the PUTT PUTT there he went.The next day NO coffie for me and bring the piss bottle

happens everytime

[gob09]

if i was going to give someone advice I'd say find the birds and buy a blind
I've just about quit hunting from a blind if i do I'm usually out of it in an hour i like to move around

[mfd1027]

When you guys get these call's take em with you when you're driving to work, etc.   "Better if your alone"
and learn how to call "softly".   Loud calling=hung up birds.   I'm not saying to not call aggressively.  You can be aggressive and quiet if aggressive is what you want to do.    Another tip:  If you're running and gunning and you've stopped to make a few call's don't do so without having a tree picked out "before" you call.   You might have to dive for cover if you get cut off by one.   Whenever I get a response from a distant or somewhat distant gobbler I always answer rt. back with another series of yelps with more excitement to "take his temperature".   If he answers again you will learn a lot about the situation.   A lot of times it's hard on that first response to get a direction so a second response helps a lot in figuring out if you did hear a gobble and where it came from.   You can tell if that first one was a shock gobble, a curtesy gobble or the real deal.   If he cuts you off on that second series start looking for a good place to kill him.   

[harvester]

By just reading this, I can tell you have spent some time in the woods Dan. Stuff like this ONLY comes from being out there and not been read somewhere. This is where you separate the turkey hunters from the wannabies. That is some great advice. Also learn how to use the mouth call with a box or slate at the same time. Make it sound like two hens talkin. It worked for me two years ago on opeing morning, had a mouth call in and used a slate call at the same time. I would yelp on one and then cutt on the other one, cutting the yelp off or vice versa. Had two gobble at about 150 yards below me, after several attemps using a locator. I set up and called one more time to see where they were,they ended up being less than 60 yards below me. They came in runnin up that ridge and I shot him at twenty yards. Needless to say I was back home before the storms moved in. If you don't get a response from a locator call, don't be afraid to try different stuff.

[mfd1027]

I run two and sometimes 3 call's all the time.   It's a great tactic.  Speaking of runnin and gunnin I developed a style of it about 15 yrs. ago that has really been productive for me over the yrs.   I usually will pick out a nice tree and sit down first and then I set my call's out around me with my box call's on my left and my pot call on my rt.   I carry my mouthcalls in one of those old squeeze rubber change purse's.  You can fit 4 of them in there.   It's crowded but they will fit.   When I sit down I'll grab a mouthcall and put it in and then grab  either a box or my pot call.   I usually start out with a series of soft yelps to be sure one isn't on top of me.  It happens!  I'll wait a few min. and then I get serious.  My favorite combo is kee kee'ing with a mouth call and answering with a box but I do all sorts of combo's.   I'll get pretty serious with this first  series  that I run (after my soft calling)  and will call for 2-3 min. but have called for 5-6 min. many times.  I also get pretty loud a few times but kind of vary my volume.   At some point I go silent and set my box or pot down.   I always have my Encore lying on my lap and that's where I leave it.  I actually time my next sit (I'm serious) I click the stop watch feature on my watch and I wait 10 min.-silently.   I've killed birds sneaking in during this time but the action usually happens with my next calling series.   When I call again my favorite tactic is to do a ground cackle like the one on the video on my site that follows the owl hoot.  If a gobbler is headed your way he will shock gobble "almost" everytime.   If one gobbles close I might cluck or do a two note yelp but I'm mainly trying to get eye's on him.    Whether I pick my gun up or not depends on the situation.   More times than not I'm not picking it up until it's go time.    I like having my hands free for my binoc's, leaf scratching, my call's, etc. etc.   Good advice-probably not but it works for me.   If I don't get an answer to my ground cackle I'll  usually call again for 1-2 min. and then hit the watch again.   This time I usually wait about 5-8 min. and call again.   This time I usually grab a different call than what I've been running like my long box, alum. pot or a different mouthcall and I will do you yelping on it.  If I don't get an answer I'll wait a min. or so and maybe yelp softly 3-4 times and if nothing I'm heading to my next spot.   In Ga. I usually know where I'm headed to next but if I'm in unfamiliar territory I'll usually move 2-3 hundred yards and do it again.   I call this a slow run n gun.  It's a killer tactic.   You'll be shocked at how many birds you will kill between 10-20 min.   and how many you'll kill that just sneak in without a peep.   Everybody wants to kill a hard gobbling bird but there's also satisfaction in killing those sneaky one's too and lot's of times they will be older birds.   If you have a hunting buddy you can do a variation of this by flanking each other about 100-150 yds. apart and calling back and forth to each other.  Buddy hunting is really deadly.   You just have to work out a few details before hand and have some signals worked out like a certain call if you see one or it's time to move and where you will meet up when you move.   

[gob09]

dang dan, thats great advice dan the man

[harvester]

   My favorite combo is kee kee'ing with a mouth call and answering with a box.

I will give that a try this year. I have done the kee kee on a limited basis but last year I really worked on gettin the sound right. I think I can do just about perfect everytime now. Those 40 minute drives back and forth to work really pay off when learnin to use a mouth call. I can see very similar hunting tactics between us. The slow runnin and gunnin thing is more what I do. I don't have the patience to just set next to field waiting on a bird to show. People laugh at me for all the calls I take with me, I have to watch out not to clank when walkin around trying to locate a bird. As for box calls, I only have one and I leave it at home, unless my boy wants to go and use it. He is in the process of learning the slate call, so hopefully he will be able to assist me in calling this spring.

[unclerick]

Dan that's some good advice there, I try to do some of that to, but generaly while walking, I'll get a mouth call out and do some soft yelling then do some aggressive yelps and clucks, me and Wes double team when hunting early mourning, we do a fly down ruteen that kills birds, well,,,,up untill Wes started hateing to hunt with that is.

[gob09]

i just hunt with you bc i have too.......

the fly down is awsome