Fanning

[Kywoodsman]

I'll start off by saying that I know some don't care for using fans to put a sneak on a gobbler and that's fine. I myself like to set up and work a gobbler and call him to the gun first but if that doesn't pan out then if i can find a tom in a field then from time to time I've used a tail fan to try to crawl in position for a shot. For those of you who do fan turkeys or have in the past my question is I've noticed toms who when you move toward them with the fan they don't seem spooked, they just seem to get uneasy. You might gain 20 yards on them but they ease off about 20 yards from you at about the same time. Is that something that the gobblers don't like about the fan or is it the same idea as why some turkeys don't react well to a full strut decoy? If it's the latter has anybody tried fanning with a jake fan and noticed birds acting any more favorably?

[Farmboy27]

Can't help ya bud but given the resent threads on this topic I don't see this thread turning out well!  Good luck.

[Greg Massey]

I don't think you will get many positive feed backs about fanning. You may need to ask this on another forum. First off the safety factory is one thing .. so you may wants to reading others respond in this forum on fanning. Good Luck also.

[jwright8]

I can see where it can be dangerous, but I have yet to hear of someone getting shot while fanning. Their have been reports of hunters getting shot while not using this method, this year.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

[Kywoodsman]

Ok. Point taken. I tried to take my post down by hitting the remove button but it gave me an error. If the mods would please remove the topic for me I'd appreciate it. I really enjoy OG. There are lots of very experienced hunters with lots of knowledge and great stories too. Not trying to stir the pot.

[Bowguy]

You ever see the cartoon where the guy has his mother in law wear a sweatshirt with horns on the hood come deer season?

[Spitten and drummen]

 

[taylorjones20]

Yes I have used a jake fan.  Sometimes it makes all the difference in the world.  There are still those gobblers that do exactly what you mentioned no matter what you do.  Everyone seems to think that fanning is the easiest, evilest way to kill a turkey.  It's not easy.  The situation has to be right.  You have to work at it (no matter what these tv idiots show).
Sometimes they just won't commit to the fan!  I think it has a lot to do with where they are in the breeding cycle...
But when the timing is right and everything comes together, they will just about run over you!

[snapper1982]

Yes OP it is for the same reasons some birds dont like decoys much.

I don't think you will get many positive feed backs about fanning. You may need to ask this on another forum. First off the safety factory is one thing .. so you may wants to reading others respond in this forum on fanning. Good Luck also.

As i have said many times for all you people who bring up saftey. You better just stop turkey hunting. I bet you walk and use calls huh. Guess what, people get shot every year doing both of those and yet you are fine with doing them yet no reports of a fanning shooting and everyone wants to cry about saftey! You try to fit the saftey issue to use it against fanning/reaping and yet ignore the facts about turkey hunting accidents.

[Greg Massey]

Yes OP it is for the same reasons some birds dont like decoys much.

I don't think you will get many positive feed backs about fanning. You may need to ask this on another forum. First off the safety factory is one thing .. so you may wants to reading others respond in this forum on fanning. Good Luck also.

As i have said many times for all you people who bring up saftey. You better just stop turkey hunting. I bet you walk and use calls huh. Guess what, people get shot every year doing both of those and yet you are fine with doing them yet no reports of a fanning shooting and everyone wants to cry about saftey! You try to fit the saftey issue to use it against fanning/reaping and yet ignore the facts about turkey hunting accidents.

First off safety is not spell saftey and why would you want to start a argument about fanning. If you don't think it's a safety issue then have at it ..good luck

[renegade19]

Yes OP it is for the same reasons some birds dont like decoys much.

I don't think you will get many positive feed backs about fanning. You may need to ask this on another forum. First off the safety factory is one thing .. so you may wants to reading others respond in this forum on fanning. Good Luck also.

As i have said many times for all you people who bring up saftey. You better just stop turkey hunting. I bet you walk and use calls huh. Guess what, people get shot every year doing both of those and yet you are fine with doing them yet no reports of a fanning shooting and everyone wants to cry about saftey! You try to fit the saftey issue to use it against fanning/reaping and yet ignore the facts about turkey hunting accidents.

First off safety is not spell saftey and why would you want to start a argument about fanning. If you don't think it's a safety issue then have at it ..good luck

I aint got a dog in this fight!   

[duxrus]

I would assume that the issue of shying away is a simple dominance issue. We started out years ago using strutter decoys with full fans but quickly saw a 50/50 response. Half the birds would run to it and the other half would run away. Now we all use jake fans. With the jake tails you get more of coming in or not but rarely birds being scared away.

As far as people not liking fanning, using blinds, using the best market shells, hunting after noon, only hunting on private land etc.....SIMPLE then don't do it. Telling others how THEY need to hunt shows lack of character. Legal is legal and when you throw ethical into a discussion you may want to climb down off your high horse before doing so. Unless you are using a bow and arrow you made yourself along with a wingbone call....Shut Up. 

[Bill Cooksey]

A large percentage of our laws in regard to manner of harvest have their roots in hunter ethics. Baiting, roost shooting, rifles and a host of others are legal in some places and illegal in others. Are they more ethical in those places where they are legal yet somehow unethical where illegal? Certainly virtually all of the limitations on method of take could be eliminated, and limits and seasons adjusted to compensate for the additional mortality. Why not do so? The only downside is shorter seasons and lower limits. Everyone could choose for themselves how they wish to kill their birds.

My only issue with new (or only recently in common use) methods is when/if their use tips the scales on total harvest into additive. The same issue as with legalizing the methods mentioned earlier.

Now, as to safety, plenty of hunters have been shot when someone takes a poke at their decoy. Others have been shot simply by moving at the wrong time, openly carrying a dead bird and even just coming over a rise with the sun at their back. Anyone not realizing the increased risk of an accidental shooting when a hunter holds a full fan in front of their face possesses the analytical skills of a possum. As the practice becomes more widespread it's only a matter of time. That however, at least in my opinion, is no reason to ban the practice.

[duxrus]

Off the fan subject but arent limits set within deemed safe percentages of the population? Limits are set to encompass limits being potentially reached by everyone even though that would never occur.  Every method beyond throwing rocks is "Additive". This has the sound of the mojo debate. Never have worried about how people hunted way back when and "ethics" ALWAYS goes hand in hand with the so called "grass roots" BS. Times change but some stuck in their ways just dont want to accept that and would much rather look down upon others who dare not share their views. How hard is it for people to just keep quiet and stop trying to change everyone and everything to fit their personal mold ?

[Bill Cooksey]

Off the fan subject but arent limits set within deemed safe percentages of the population? Limits are set to encompass limits being potentially reached by everyone even though that would never occur. 

Not in the majority of cases. They are set to limit the take of the small percentage of those who regularly reach a limit, and, in the case of some species, limit the daily take when conditions come together where you could kill far more. This is done to keep the take by hunters compensatory rather than additive. If suddenly those who are normally less successful become more successful, the scale can slip to additive. At that point there are concerns about the sustainability of the resource.

For instance, if duck hunters actually killed a limit of ducks every day, ducks would be extinct in North America in less than thirty days. If turkey hunters in TN all killed a limit of male turkeys this season, there would be zero male turkeys left in the state. Same can be said of deer. Take a look at population estimates in a given state. Then, add the number of hunters and multiply by the number of animals which could be legally taken. The math doesn't work out.

Method of take is one of the few factors humans control in the scenario, but it is a very significant factor.