What area of Turkey Hunting do you emphasize?

[Gooserbat]

   Sure, there is a learning curve associated with it, but that curve goes up sharply when a guy is hunting in the right place.

You said a mouth full right there. 

An old turkey killing mentor told me many years ago: "HUNT turkeys where there ARE turkeys !"

Do this and just try to hunt smart and you'll get your foot on some heads.

[WildTigerTrout]

Beyond hunting where the turkeys are I place PATIENCE as most important. ALOT of turkeys have lived to gobble another day due to lack of it!! 

[guesswho]

Do you just go and adjust on the fly using your woodsmanship skills that you have honed over many seasons?

This is what I do wrapped up in one sentence.  I go, then react to what unfolds.  Not a lot of thought goes into what I do next, it's more of a reaction than a plan.  If I do start out with a any kind of plan, it is to kill a turkey that day.  Everything after that is ad libbed. 

That is one big reason why I despise blinds and decoys for my hunting use, mine not anybody else's.  With decoys and blinds you have pretty much laid out your plan for the day or at least a big portion of it before the sun even comes up and even before the first gobble.   They restrict your reactions to much for me. 

[Bill Cooksey]

Do you just go and adjust on the fly using your woodsmanship skills that you have honed over many seasons?

This is what I do wrapped up in one sentence.  I go, then react to what unfolds.  Not a lot of thought goes into what I do next, it's more of a reaction than a plan.  If I do start out with a any kind of plan, it is to kill a turkey that day.  Everything after that is ad libbed. 

That is one big reason why I despise blinds and decoys for my hunting use, mine not anybody else's.  With decoys and blinds you have pretty much laid out your plan for the day or at least a big portion of it before the sun even comes up and even before the first gobble.   They restrict your reactions to much for me.

Right on the money. Only thing I'd add is to plan what to do until a turkey is located or something on the ground gives you a good clue. To do this requires a bit of map study to determine likely listening spots and other terrain features to key on. Basically, pick out a starting spot and a series of spots to check. Once a turkey, or something else on the ground, gives you a clue, go with it.

[jperch]

As has been said, one must hunt where there are actually turkeys.  Aside from that, for me, one of the most important considerations in actually closing the deal is proper set up.  Ideally I like to be in a situation where a turkey can't see my exact location until he is in range.  If he is 80 yards out, knows where the hen should be but sees nothing, he is more likely to hang up.  So I use knolls, hedgerows, etc whenever possible so that the gobbler can't see my location until it's too late for him.  The downside of that is if he is coming in quiet he can catch you drinking your coffee!  jperch

[wvlimbhanger]

Scouting the property you are hunting and having knowledge of how the turkeys living there use it.  Whether you do it by listening, glassing, or trail cameras.....knowledge is very valuable to a turkey hunter.  I've found it's a whole lot easier to call in a bird when you are where he wants to go anyways.  I've developed the saying "plan your hunt and hunt your plan".

Second would be a combination of patience and confidence.  I believe they go hand in hand.  If you have confidence in your scouting and setup it's a lot easier to have the patience to work a bird or wait a bird out.

[beakbuster10]

Scouting to be in the best possible area you can as far as turkey numbers and least amount of hunting pressure. Realistic turkey talk would be a close second. Calling being equal between two spots, one with hardly any turkeys and tons of pressure and the other with tons of turkeys and hardly any pressure, more turkeys will get killed off the later scenario. A horrible caller can still kill unpressured plentiful turkeys. A great caller will still struggle with ultra weary and pressured turkeys.


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[stinkpickle]

Persistence. 

[greencop01]

 



                            As Earl Mikel says ' the most important factor in turkey hunting is a QUALITY PLACE TO HUNT.'  Emphasis added mine.

                             

[Happy]

Yes, hunting an area where there are plenty of lightly pressured turkeys is great for success. However hunting an area with highly pressured turkeys and lower density numbers will make you a better turkey hunter. I know guys that hunt around here that used to hunt kansas and Nebraska yearly. About three years ago they quit. I asked why and was told it's no fun. They would drive all that way and have their limits in a few hoursof actuall hunting.It was no challenge to them and they got bored quickly. This was public land and not booked hunts. I will give a nod to the fellow that can consistently kill a few hard hunted birds every year compared to the guy that racks up limits on lightly hunted property loaded with birds.

[Marc]

Here in California the absolute most difficult aspect of turkey hunting is getting access on areas that have turkeys.

I spend a good amount of time during the off season banging on doors and asking permission.  I would guess that an honest 99 out of 100 owners say no...  And many times when I do get access, there are no or few turkeys using the area.

Spring and turkey season is a busy time for me and my family, and taking the time to really learn the public areas is a bit tough.  Means more time in the field, and a lot more time learning those areas...  Easier for me to take the kids out fishing for a day, and knock on some doors on the way home during the off season, and have a place to hunt I know birds are at...

I have access to two ranches that have held birds the past 4 seasons...  Got access to another ranch that sure as poop should hold birds but I have yet to see or hear one...  Working on another ranch this year, and if I get access, it will likely take a couple years to do so...  But being 5000 acres located in one of the best areas near me for turkey (and quail), I will put the effort in every year to talk to the owner... 

I have a friend who is a master at getting permission to hunt, and although I am not as good as he is, I am probably better than most.  I dress with a polo shirt (often from my practice) and make sure I am shaved and look neat...  Does not hurt to have a cute kid in the back seat waving at the land-owner either.

Every time you knock on the door, the owner is put out and rude...  Trick is to maintain a friendly attitude, apologize for bothering them and leave with a smile...  Many times these are nice people, and will feel guilty for their own behavior.  When you show up next year, maybe they spend some time talking to you...  And maybe the next year they say yes.

Bottom line, having places that hold birds is the toughest part of turkey hunting for me. 

[EZ]

As has been said, one must hunt where there are actually turkeys.  Aside from that, for me, one of the most important considerations in actually closing the deal is proper set up.

Well said, and right on. The "set up" is becoming a lost art. I know when I get to the place I really need to be, I usually wouldn't have the time or the cover to put out decoys.

[Ozark870Hunter]

According to my wallet, emphasis must be on having more great custom calls than I could ever use in a lifetime!

[Ozark870Hunter]

To be serious though, I would have to say versatility in decision making and calling. I used to struggle killing birds because I was trying to call them to where I wanted them to be, not to where they want to be. I wasn't being versatile. To be able to analyze the situation; the land, the birds, and their current behavior, and be able to then adapt and make the right decision to put you in the best spot. Stay put? Move closer? Move further away? Call more and louder? Or less and softer?
Killed gobbler #1 this year by backing out and leaving a tom with hens undisturbed, knowing I now knew where I could call that tom to the following day.
Only way to get there is through time afield, studying and learning how turkeys behave.
And a cool site called OG!

[g8rvet]

I emphasize persistence.  Being in the woods is the first and most important factor in killing a turkey.  You can't kill one from your couch. On years where I struggle to get the first one, I get more obsessed. I am pretty obsessed, but it gets really bad when I am blanked.  After I have killed one, it is easier to talk myself in to sleeping in because it is raining and to just head out later in the day, but when I am blanked, I get more motivated. 

On new locations, I do a lot of what I call scouting with a gun.  I am hunting, but paying a lot more attention to learning details for the future.  I have been fortunate to hunt lots of private, as well as public, and have found my success rate is much higher when I have hunted a spot before. I am still relatively new at this and learning the lay of land is probably my most important weakness, so I spend more time in doing so.