what are your "keys" to turkey hunting???

[adkmountainken]

it is my belief that turkey hunting is %50 woodsmanship %40 scouting and %10 calling. main rules are hunt where there are turkeys (scouting) know your area and how to counter move on the turkey and most important be PATIENT and sit STILL (woodsmanship) when calling atleast for me call as LITTLE as possible make him search for you, don't call just to hear him gobble and don't call right after he gobbles (calling).

[Swenny]

That looks just about right.  Interesting how you break that down, I'll be thinking about that all day.

[adkmountainken]

when I first started hunting turkeys in the mid 80's only a couple of my friends hunted them and information was hard to come by. through trial and a TON of error I slowly, some what figured things out, number one being over calling will chase more birds away then bring them in. also just because you LOVE the area you hunt if it does not have turkeys you will NOT get a turkey....

[tha bugman]

Being where there are birds and being where they want to be.


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[Greg Massey]

I do fell calling plays more than 10 percent in killing birds...you need to learn and spend time listening to birds and depending on what they are tell you, you need to adjust your calling to them....Some birds don't like a lot of calling and others like aggressive calling...also you will have the silence birds...If you do have birds in the area and say it's one of those morning you don't hear a bird, you still have to hunt them like they are gobbling....woodsmanship 35 percent, scouting 40 percent and 25 percent calling...

[guesswho]

My key is based on a decent knowledge of turkeys and their behavior, which allows me to react instead of think.   

[Spitten and drummen]

my opinion is that if there are plenty of birds where you hunt , then even a novice can score consistently. so foremost is having an area with plenty of birds. so location 50 percent , woodsmanship 35 percent and calling 15 percent.

[GobbleNut]

My keys:
Knowing how to find birds to hunt:  Effective use of maps to pre-scout hunt areas;  Use of effective locator tactics; (probably 25%)
Woodsmanship:  Learning the birds you are hunting and using the right approach to any given hunt scenario;  knowing how to assess what a bird is doing and how/where to set up on him;  (probably 25%)
Calling:  contest-level calling ability is not nearly as important as knowing when and what to say to the turkeys; learning basic calling principles and learning how to assess a gobbler's responsiveness to different calling tactics; (probably 25%)
Persistence and perseverance:  Dedicating enough time to turkey hunting is required to be consistently successful and not giving up when things are not going well;  staying after them and sticking with it;  (probably 25%)

[J-Shaped]

The ability to quickly adapt to the situation at hand, whatever that may be. It applies to everything in the equation. As stated above - being able to react, and to do so on the fly.

The biggest flaw I see with some folks is going into a hunt with a preconceived notion, then being thrown for a loop when things don't go the way they envisioned it in their mind -  which is more times than not. And it's a hard lesson for some folks to learn.

[Happy]

I don't have any areas that would be considered "prime" hunting. I have loads of acreage but not a lot of birds. I consider knowing where birds are 20%,
Woodsmanship and knowing turkeys 40%, calling skills 40%, and 100% effort at all times. I know that doesn't add up quite right but I am from WV so....

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[jakesdad]

The ability to quickly adapt to the situation at hand, whatever that may be. It applies to everything in the equation. As stated above - being able to react, and to do so on the fly.

The biggest flaw I see with some folks is going into a hunt with a preconceived notion, then being thrown for a loop when things don't go the way they envisioned it in their mind -  which is more times than not. And it's a hard lesson for some folks to learn.

This sums it up for me as it covers all aspects.Scouting:knowing where birds are.Woodsmanship:knowing how to read birds and how to react.Calling:This to me is the biggest variable.Some hunts its 75% others its 10%.All depends on what the bird you are hunting wants that day.I think the biggest key to a lot of long time successful turkeys hunters is the ability to react and not overthink everything.Setting up where you think turkeys should come to you instead of setting up where they want to be no matter how "good" you think a setup is.If he dont want to be there he wont be.Most importantly no matter how much you think you know there will always be a bird somewhere that will prove otherwise.

[chatterbox]

My key is based on a decent knowledge of turkeys and their behavior, which allows me to react instead of think.

I wish I had this ability.
Sometimes I feel like a glacier. I gain 1 foot, then loose 3.

[TauntoHawk]

 

my opinion is that if there are plenty of birds where you hunt , then even a novice can score consistently. so foremost is having an area with plenty of birds. so location 50 percent , woodsmanship 35 percent and calling 15 percent.

You have to have birds to kill birds so I agree with above, next is scout their physical location and patterns. Once you get there calling is only a small element

[idratherb]

This is pretty simple 2 things, 1.) the time to do it consistantely and 2.) good land access

you dont need $300 calls or 200 different strikers thats for sure, most of the time a $6.95 mouth call will get it done all the time. Dont over think it

[appalachianassassin]

I think attitude and determination trumps calling and woodsmanship any day. if you keep going like the energizer bunny and have a positive attitude you will be successful.