THE MYTH OF THE BEST SPRING TURKEY HUNTER

[quavers59]

Wow- this post is still going. I enjoy reading all the good replys. The following 2 Spring Hunters are equal in knowledge and numbers mean nothing. The 1st Spring turkey hunter has only hunted on PRIVATE lands and has taken in excess of 200 gobblers in 25 years in different States. The 2nd Spring Hunter has taken 50 gobblers in 25 years on PUBLIC lands in 1 State. Both have been out a good 25 days for each of those 25 years or over 600 times. Yup- both are equal in terms of knowledge and skills displayed.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

I hear you can't yelp more than 2x and you can only purr at them.  Don't ever cutt at a public land bird and don't you dare fly down cackle, either. 

You better not try getting any closer than 100 yards because  they stole some new thermal and radar technology from the Chinese and they know the difference between a person breathing and a whippoorwill farting.

Any newbies reading this thread are probably intimidated as hell to even step foot on public land after hearing their best prospects for success would be to kill only 50 turkeys in 25 years of hunting public land. 

Thank God turkey season is less than 5 months away.  I'll make sure to keep this thread bookmarked for an occasional laugh as I mosey my way to public land in a half a dozen or more states this spring.  I'll make sure I snub my nose at the private land birds I kill in a half dozen states, as well.  Might have to throw a public and turkey and a private land turkey in the truck bed and dissect em both to learn about all the "differences" some allege them to have .

Goodluck this spring boys. We're all just doing our best. 

Ps: I'd recommend that some of y'all spend less time worrying about where a turkey roosts at night and worry more about how you're going to be close enough to kill him at flydown the next morning.  Just some .02 that might be worth the price you paid for it.

[sps20]

Chances are if a person tells you how good he is he's got a lot to learn.
I've chased these birds spring and fall for over 50 years. Over a 1000 days total.
I still learn every time I'm in the woods. the myth of the best turkey hunter is just that a myth
unless you're talking about Doc Wedell or Cove.
Have fun and be safe.
Regards
Turk

[Hooksfan]

I can't tell if this thread is more about worrying about others or claiming that somehow one turkey is worth more than another based on where he lives.
I went out to my garage this morning to separate all my private and  public land beards with the hopes of placing my public beards up on a pedestal. Didn't get very far in that endeavor.
A dedicated hunter is going to use all of his resources available. Someone who intentionally only hunts public land is failing to utilize all of the resources available.
Of course money and opportunity is a factor, but  sacrifices can be made if it truly is a priority.

I suspect the purpose of this thread was with pot stirring in mind with the public/private debate center stage by someone with an inferiority complex.
My suggestion would be to relax, don't worry about others,  and treat every bird like a trophy.

[quavers59]

Sps20 has one of the best replys here for sure. I too have enjoyed thousands of trips to the Fall and Spring Turkey woods. This is what it is about-- not numbers.
  Vaturkstompep--don't agree with your post- but it is all good. Don't wait for the Spring- hit the Turkey woods this Fall. My opener is Oct 21st here in New York and a week later in New Jersey. I hope to bag a turkey in both States on tough public lands where Murphys Law rules-- whatever can go wrong --will go wrong. I wrote about that in one of my turkey books.   Sps20- wrote it best--The myth of the best turkey hunter is just that- a myth. Enjoy yourselves out there.

[eggshell]

I have to say I have enjoyed the conversations and debate. It keeps turkey season alive when you can't hunt them. I assure you I have had no agenda or pot to stir in my posting, I just like to talk turkey. Some post I agree with and some I don't and some points have been made that made me reconsider some of my comments.I hold no adverse feelings toward anyone or any grudges. To me it's all in good conversation.

I too will be in the fall woods in both Ohio (opens October 14th) and Ky (October 28th) and hope to fill three fall tags. I have learned more hunting fall birds than spring I believe.

I hope I have not come across as crass or all-knowing, but I do like sharing what I feel I have learned.

I do not want to offend anyone or cause ill feelings, but I do believe pressure makes a difference. Having worked a full career for a Wildlife agency I have had access to a lot of scientific information a lot of hunters don't get to read. Much of that data supports the idea that populations are more impacted on public lands. Below is an abstract and a link to some interesting reading on the topic.

Abstract
Wildlife managers on public hunting areas are accountable for hunter success rates, annual harvest, and wildlife population size. Understanding the effect of changes in numbers of wild turkey gobblers (Meleagris gallopavo) on harvest characteristics is needed. Population size and harvest characteristics were studied for 9 years on a 14,140-ha public hunting area in central Mississippi. Male wild turkey population size averaged 82, hunter effort averaged 455 hunter-days per season, and an average of 35 male turkeys was harvested per season. Hunter success rates averaged 7.7%, 2.1%, and 5.6% for all males, subadults (jakes), and adults (gobblers), respectively. For male turkeys released in the winter capture period (7 Jan-4 Mar) and subsequently harvested that spring (15 Mar-1 May), harvest rates averaged 22.1%, 15.0%, and 35.4% for all males, jakes, and gobblers, respectively, from 1984 to 1992. Hunter effort was not correlated with male harvests (P = 0.198). Population size was correlated with hunter success rate (P = 0.053) and number harvested (P = 0.072). The population declined during the study and it became increasingly difficult for a hunter to be successful, and, in turn, hunter effort eventually decreased.

Relationships of Gobbler Population Size to Harvest Characteristics on a Public Hunting Area in Mississippi. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268264467_Relationships_of_Gobbler_Population_Size_to_Harvest_Characteristics_on_a_Public_Hunting_Area_in_Mississippi [accessed Oct 08 2017].

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268264467_Relationships_of_Gobbler_Population_Size_to_Harvest_Characteristics_on_a_Public_Hunting_Area_in_Mississippi

[mtns2hunt]

mtns2hunt,  I apologize for posting to the thread and bringing it back to attention. I by no means meant a person had to hunt 20 years to reach a certain level of expertise. It is a matter of time in the field. all I was agreeing with is if a person has 20 years under their belt it is fair to assume they have mastered the skill set at an advanced level, they probably done it sooner. Across the board considering all turkey hunters, I would guess there are far more who spend 10 or less days afield than there are 30 days out. When you average across all hunters it moves the average time to develop skills up. I ran a turkey check station for 30 years as a supervisor for DNR and saw and talked to thousands of turkey hunters. I can tell you over that time I would guess only about 25% of the hunters I saw had advanced hunting skills, across all ages and time hunting. So there is truly no magic number but there are averages you can make general assumptions from.

I used to train bird dogs and we always considered it took 1,000 contacts with birds to make a truly good dog. Some learned faster and some slower, but if you put 1,000 contacts on a dog he was pretty much finished. Maybe there's  a number like that for turkey hunters. Again, I had no intention of offending anyone.

Absolutely no reason to apologize. I value everyone's opinion even though I may not agree with them. I just cannot always ignore the urge to challenge some of the thinking I see on this forum. Have a safe and wonderful hunting season.

[quavers59]

Eggshell is correct . Pressure does make a huge difference. Public land turkeys are tougher period-end of story.  It took me 5 full Springs and Fall Seasons to finally bag my 1st wild turkey. Really- that is 10 Seasons right there.   About 10 years ago- I talked to a young Spring turkey hunter whose Father owned many hundreds of acres. He told me that he does not own a caller and does not need one. He just sits up on a knoll and the gobblers amble right by below him on cue. Of course- he did not have to worry about mountain bikers streaking past or another turkey hunter moving in on your gobbler.  I once had a gobbler responding and coming in when 2 early morning vocal joggers came running by 100 yards away on a access road on State land. Hunt over.  The experience is the most important thing--the numbers will come along with the knowledge that puts you on a equal footing with your peers

[Hooksfan]

I'm pretty sure mountain bikers and loud hikers would end any hunt on private as well. No doubt,  public land presents challenges not faced by private land scenarios,  but the variables you are describing involve differences in human behavior on the property and not the turkey.
What VaTuRk is arguing is that there is no inherent difference between the two. They all exhibit the same turkey behavior and are killable.
And for the record, I have hunted public land birds out west, the Midwest, but also deep South states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama since 1980.
For sure,  some of those areas are tough,  but I employ the same basic tactics on both public and private wherever.
Still curious....., why don't you try to obtain some private access?

[eggshell]

I posted a link to some studies on hunting pressure if anyone wants to search through them. There was a study done in a southern state that looked at turkey behavior associated with hunting pressure. Birds do modify behavior from pressure, be it hunting or recreational. They in essence move away from it and migrate to land that has less human interaction. So many public areas loose birds. The abstract I posted states in it's last sentence....populations decreased and it became more difficult for hunters to harvest gobblers so hunting pressure declined. studies also found birds are less vocal and and flee sooner. So I would respectfully disagree that they act the same. I too have traveled the country and hunted public and private. I have hunted with outfitters that protect their land and manage pressure/kills.  The easiest kills I have ever seen was on these outfitter hunts. Heck I watched a guy walk right up on a bird in Florida once. If it does not matter then why are outfitters so picky about managing the hunting pressure on their lands.....it's because the bread on their table depends on clients killing birds. Now I also agree birds are very killable on public land and I use many of the same tactics, but on average I have to tone down the calling and not crowd birds. I think one thing that has not been mentioned is that not all public lands are the same and some private land is worse. They key being pressure not who owns the land. I have hunted large blocks of national forest that sees only light to moderate pressure that has great turkey hunting and I know a few private farms that I would not go near because they get pounded. A good example is I have birds on my farm and for the last two months a flock of hens and poults have been feeding in the fields around my house. They have gotten so used to us being out in the yard we can literally walk up within gun range of them. However, if I was to shoot one of them I bet money they would be visible a lot less and spook soon as they saw a person. I have been up in my woods and these same birds will run from you if you get within a hundred yards of them....why?

P.S. I will not hunt these birds close to their safe zone. If I want to hunt them it will be in the woods way away from the house. I want to hunt, not just shoot turkeys.

[g8rvet]

PuBlic or pRiVate maKes no diFferNce to mE.  I kiLl birds wheNevEr and whEreevEr I gO.  I aM thE BesT huNteR ouT thEre.  TurKeyS bE waRned.  If yOu meEt mE, yoU wilL dIe. 

[Farmboy27]

I agree that private and public land birds are no different. They look the same, sound the same, have the same needs, and the same life cycle. Private vs public makes zero difference. But pressured vs unpressured makes a world of difference. Anyone saying that turkeys on hard hunted ground don't react and become harder to hunt are basically saying that turkeys are stupid. After all, almost all animals will react to increased threats in a way to survive. I have nothing against anyone who hunts tightly managed property. I myself have hunted twice on such ground. Both out of state. And both times the birds were pushovers.  Not saying I didn't get lucky or that it's always like that, but it sure was easier to hunt a bird that you could work as you please. No worries about someone else moving in on you, no worries about moving on the bird and messing someone else up.

[GobbleNut]

PuBlic or pRiVate maKes no diFferNce to mE.  I kiLl birds wheNevEr and whEreevEr I gO.  I aM thE BesT huNteR ouT thEre.  TurKeyS bE waRned.  If yOu meEt mE, yoU wilL dIe.

Another subtle reference to a certain somebody that many of us have crossed paths with on these forums.  I wonder what is better,...thinking you are the best turkey hunter on the planet,...or having everybody else think you are a total diPsh*T?...

[quavers59]

Afternoon HooksFan--- I tried plenty of times to gain private land access including writing letters and dropping hints to a new found turkey hunting friend. It is all good though- I love public land and all the challenges presented there.  It could be the area in which I live-- don't know- I only live 52 miles from NYC and there is plenty of anti-hunting sentiment in my area.

[eggshell]

  That quite a pot your stirring there Gobblenut