THE NEW TURKEY HUNTERS...

[quavers59]

In 28 years of Fall and Spring Turkey Hunting, I have always made it a habit to buy any and all outdoor mags from Feb--till May. Basically anything related to Spring or Fall Turkey Hunting.

   In recent years I am seeing pics and reading of turkey hunters actually sprinting as hard as they can to a gobbling tom. Shotgun in one hand and Gobbler head and fan in the other. Other pics show a Spring hunter working a mouth call and a box call at the same time and same thing-- if the gobbler does not come in- that hunter is sprinting to the tom.
    But if this happens on public lands - all the spooked and scared jakes and gobblers will possibly not respond to the calls of the next hunter.  I am sure that hunter will get his tom-- but---what about the next guy.

[dejake]

I worry about myself.

[Happy]

The next guy should be able to kill his birds just fine. As long as there are birds to hunt. I am not a fan of many new trends but an opinion is all I can give and it means no more than anyone else's opinion. I wouldn't get to hung up on how others hunt as long as they aren't breaking laws. Enjoy your hunts and don't let it ruin your day.

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[turkeywhisperer935]

Me personally, I think it's a matter of time before fanning is outlawed. Too dangerous in my opinion but you know what they say about opinions.

[Greg Massey]

Just remember a good turkey caller and a good woodman makes a good hunter...scouting, calling , mistakes, experience and patience's makes for a good day in the turkey woods..regardless you can't read it all in books, you have to spend time hunting these birds...both public birds and private birds takes skills and strategies. It all depends on the guy and his hunting skills and IF he really wants to develop himself into becoming a good turkey hunter..i guess it's all about adapting and spending time learning about turkeys..just a opinion...

[mtns2hunt]

Guess, I dont really understand this post. If I hear a Gobbler on either public or private land I sprint toward him. Get close and take up a position to call him in closer. Does not seem to bother them in the least. I do the same when  trying to cut them off. I do not carry a fan but do carry a box call. Dont run with a mouth call in case of choking on it and a fan is extremly dangerous.

If I am hunting in a blind and I hear a gobble all decoys go ito the blind and its off to the races. I was taught to hunt this way and it works very well.

I am sure a few more will get hurt using a fan and they will be outlawed.

[Tail Feathers]

You seem to be saying they charge the gobbler at full tilt right up until they stop and pull the trigger.  Is  that a correct reading quavers?

I consider myself fairly well read on turkey hunting and have never seen or read anything quite like that.  I've seen reaping done, but they move slowly if at all.  I've seen hunters moving fast to new cover or get ahead of a moving bird, but never run right up to one and blast it.

[LI Outdoorsman]

I do not hunt public land on my home grounds but do have access to places that arent always that easy to pattern birds. In the last few years I have been getting way more aggressive in my tactics whether it be calling or getting in tight in the mornings and my success has improved dramatically...I used to be the old one or two yelps and wait type of hunter but that just didnt seem to put  birds in hand..now every day I  hunt like its the last day of the season..

[grayfox]

What amazes me is that you are required to wear hunter orange during gun deer season so other hunters won't shoot you but it's legal to wave a turkey fan to attract a turkey during turkey season. I'm not condemning anyone who hunts legally but don't this seem odd?

[tha bugman]

They will learn what works and what doesn't


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[trkehunr93]

Funny, I read an article recently, can't remember for the life of me if it was outdoor life or field and stream.  Anyway the author's premise was the "Cutt n' Run" days of the 90's were becoming a thing of the past, turkeys weren't responding as they once did and he felt more hunters were successful reverting back to the "old timers" tactics of sit in a spot and call and be patient.  Alot of states I feel are reaching carrying capacities so populations are stabilizing and gobblers just aren't running over each other to get to a hen.  In comes fanning and reaping, both I am adamantly against, but as situations change so does the tactics we use to be successful, I just don't need to be successful that badly.

[1iagobblergetter]

They will learn what works and what doesn't


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If you don't get shot it's a success. If you do it wasnt..

[GobbleNut]

Interesting method of turkey hunting,...but anybody that thinks they are going to "sprint" up to a turkey and shoot one regularly, with or without holding a fan/head is most likely in for a rude awakening.  I suppose there might be a rare instance where someone does that and is successful, but I couldn't imagine that it would happen often enough that someone would adopt that strategy as their hunting method.

As for the idea that the "sprint and shoot" method would have long term impact on those of us that use more traditional calling strategies, I doubt that, as well.  Yeah, it might cause a gobbler to take cover and be on edge for a while, but once things got back to normal, it probably would have no impact on his willingness to investigate a turkey call in the distance,...based on that experience alone. 

In reality, there are few places where turkeys are hunted that they don't have regular encounters with people.  They learn to react to those human interactions that they interpret as being dangerous, and then try to avoid those interactions as much as possible.  For instance, a lot of us hunt places where you will see turkeys along main roads that get a good deal of traffic.  Around here (and I suspect most other places), turkeys let cars drive by all day long without even paying the least bit of attention.  However, let a car stop along that road and those turkeys will often instantly react and head for cover. 

Why do they do that?  It is because they have had negative experiences with what happens when a vehicle stops as compared to when it keeps going.  They have catalogued in their tiny little brains that there is a difference in the danger associated with a car that keeps moving,...and one that stops.  When a car stops, there is some likelihood that a human may jump out, make a loud noise, and then "old George" is suddenly flopping around on the ground,...never to be seen again.   

And so it is with other human/turkey interactions.  They "learn", during their lives, what human interactions are dangerous to them,...and what are probably not.   About the only thing a guy running at a gobbler is going to see is that bird's azz-end as he skedaddles for cover a long, long ways out of gun range. 

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

Quavers, i read somewhere that you hunted 16 days this year and only killed 2 turkeys.

If I hunted Stewart State Forest, I'd be more worried about what the hell youre doing that's preventing you from killing birds more regularly and how many YOU actually educate before you find a dumb one.

[g8rvet]

Quavers, i read somewhere that you hunted 16 days this year and only killed 2 turkeys.

If I hunted Stewart State Forest, I'd be more worried about what the hell youre doing that's preventing you from killing birds more regularly and how many YOU actually educate before you find a dumb one.

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