THE MYTH OF THE BEST SPRING TURKEY HUNTER

[quavers59]

These different replys here envoke reflecting for sure. Now, I myself have never taken 1 gobbler on private land. I understand they are somewhat easier to call up and take. Take the Spring hunter who has taken 40 gobblers on crowded gun club lands and hard pressed public lands where anything that can happen--will happen and it took that person 12 years to get to that 40 mark. That turkey hunters skills are more or less equal to someone who has taken 200-300 or many more gobblers on private lands in many different States. 

[mtns2hunt]

These different replys here envoke reflecting for sure. Now, I myself have never taken 1 gobbler on private land. I understand they are somewhat easier to call up and take. Take the Spring hunter who has taken 40 gobblers on crowded gun club lands and hard pressed public lands where anything that can happen--will happen and it took that person 12 years to get to that 40 mark. That turkey hunters skills are more or less equal to someone who has taken 200-300 or many more gobblers on private lands in many different States.

About the most subjective statement I have ever heard.

[Hooksfan]

These different replys here envoke reflecting for sure. Now, I myself have never taken 1 gobbler on private land. I understand they are somewhat easier to call up and take. Take the Spring hunter who has taken 40 gobblers on crowded gun club lands and hard pressed public lands where anything that can happen--will happen and it took that person 12 years to get to that 40 mark. That turkey hunters skills are more or less equal to someone who has taken 200-300 or many more gobblers on private lands in many different States.

Why even concern yourself with how you stack up against other hunters? I agree to a point that some hunters success is more a product of their money and access to quality properties. So what if they think they are the world's greatest? It doesn't have any impact on how many birds I  am able to get before a gun each season.
There isn't a year goes by that I don't hunt public land somewhere....many times on places I have never been, but most of my effort in the off season is gaining access to private ground--most of which I don't have sole access to. I work hard to build relationships with the landowners and I reap the benefits of that hard work when the season rolls around, and I don't pay money to hunt any of them.
Just curious why you wouldn't be interested in doing the same thing?

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

These different replys here envoke reflecting for sure. Now, I myself have never taken 1 gobbler on private land. I understand they are somewhat easier to call up and take. Take the Spring hunter who has taken 40 gobblers on crowded gun club lands and hard pressed public lands where anything that can happen--will happen and it took that person 12 years to get to that 40 mark. That turkey hunters skills are more or less equal to someone who has taken 200-300 or many more gobblers on private lands in many different States.

There seems to be an assumption among many hunters that turkeys are hunted differently on private vs public land.  That just isn't the case. 

Public land turkeys may behave a little more conservatively than some of their private land kin but they still gobble, they still communicate all day with low-volume clucks/purrs etc, and they can still be found in the same habitats where one would look to find turkeys on any large private piece.

I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but the way I hunt turkeys on public land in the south east is no different than the way I hunt turkeys on public land in the great west, and no different than I hunt them on public land in the north east.  It's no different than I hunt my personal private leases here in Virginia. 

There is no doubt that public land turkey hunting presents additional challenges.  Overcoming hunter interference, recreational land users and hunting pressure is a fulfilling accomplishment but it isn't rocket science.  When I look at hunt/kill ratios from this last season, I don't see any drastic difference in the time it took to kill birds on public vs private.  I'll use one of my trips from last season to illustrate my point:

I took a 13 day trip(9 hunting days and 4 travel days) to hunt Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Missouri at the end of April through early May.  No guides, no outfitters and healthy mixture of public and hard hunted private land.

Texas was a private land hunt at the end of April through a friend of a friend on farms that had been hunted all season.  It's amazing the people I've met through turkey hunting and this was another one of those examples of selflessness.  I hunted 5 hours the first afternoon and killed 2 birds on two different set-ups. Conditions were perfect.  No wind, low 80s and clear skies.

I left there ran 6 hours to some hard hunted public land in New Mexico.  It took 5 days in 35mph sustained winds with gusts to 55, snow, rain and sleet.  Conditions were tough and the birds had been harassed mercilessly because they were congregated closer to roads.  It certainly took longer than the 2.5 days I had forecasted to get my bird but $h1t happens and I enjoyed the satisfaction that comes with persevering through adversity.

I left there and drove 11.5 straight through for a 2am arrival at some Kansas Public (WIHA)I'd looked at on google earth.  I killed a bird within 45 minutes of flydown.  Hung out in Kansas talking to some local folks and gained some access to some private dirt.  Put 3 Gobblers to bed that evening with 5 hens and killed the first gobbler to pitch out of the tree the tree the next morning.  I'd been waiting 45 yards from the roost for 2 hours before light came up and killed that bird 2 seconds after his feet touched the ground.   

Left there and ran 5 hours to Missouri.  That was a 300 acre private farm I'd secured access to through a friend in Maryland. It was a selfless gesture on his part to a friend of a friend's farm that had already surrendered 6 birds through the Missouri season.  I got there around 3 PM and scouted the perimeter of the farm.  Grabbed some dinner and settled in about 2 hours before fly-up to roost a bird.  I only heard 2 gobbles but did hear many wing beats. 

They were henned up badly and it was the third to last day of the season.  The next morning I overslept and could only get 100 yards from the roosted flock.  It cost me a fly down kill but I was blessed with a duel against a worthy adversary with plenty of hens who only drummed once he hit the ground.  He only gobbled 5x on the limb and never opened his mouth after pitching down. The hunt lasted 2 hours and the drumming was almost non-stop before I was able to maneuver close enough to the group to coax his girlfriends in to investigate the "new lady" seeking a bid in their sorority.  He followed and I collected a beautiful Mo bird with 1.25" spurs.

I left Missouri at 10 am that morning to make the 16 hour run straight through to surprise my son when he awoke the next morning.

I'm not the best turkey hunter on this website and I didn't make this post get in the running for the title. I made this post to reinforce that the tactics don't change irrespective to the type of ground you're hunting.  I cut my teeth on private land mountain turkeys as a young child but the tactics and skills I developed and refined as an adolescent and young adult have always put birds in the bed of the truck both near and far, on foreign public and foreign private, on ground with healthy bird numbers and sparse bird numbers.

You're thinking too hard about the wrong things if you're worried about where a turkey lives.  There are far more critical things to invest intellectual effort upon when it comes to ensuring a kill is achieved.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

These different replys here envoke reflecting for sure. Now, I myself have never taken 1 gobbler on private land. I understand they are somewhat easier to call up and take. Take the Spring hunter who has taken 40 gobblers on crowded gun club lands and hard pressed public lands where anything that can happen--will happen and it took that person 12 years to get to that 40 mark. That turkey hunters skills are more or less equal to someone who has taken 200-300 or many more gobblers on private lands in many different States.

These traveling, self promoting guide types, have never impressed me one bit either, no matter how many states they've been to or how many pets they've killed . This is just my opinion though.

You're a complete tool.   You just can't have a rational conversation with a guy like you.  The point was, a turkey is a turkey and I can absolutely give a myriad of examples to prove that with perfect contrast between public vs private.  You can't illustrate the point without discussing results and experiences and someone who doesn't hunt both types of ground can't really provide well-informed insight. 

You seem to love to portray yourself as a tried and true public land hunter who only picks the unkillable birds to hunt.  WTF that even means is beyond me.  But dont worry, buddy.  I'll be down there on the Cypress opening week to kill one of your "pets". May even detour by Cherokee if I can swing it into my travel schedule to kill one of your "unkillable" turkeys out of spite.

[Farmboy27]

 Boy, nothing to get the testosterone pumping like trying to be the "best"!  Lol. Come on guys. No one cares. I've come to the conclusion that the only reason people brag to strangers on the internet is because everyone that they personally know are sick of hearing it.

[The Cohutta Strutter]

Boy, nothing to get the testosterone pumping like trying to be the "best"!  Lol. Come on guys. No one cares. I've come to the conclusion that the only reason people brag to strangers on the internet is because everyone that they personally know are sick of hearing it.

Lol...post of the year !

[mtns2hunt]

Boy, nothing to get the testosterone pumping like trying to be the "best"!  Lol. Come on guys. No one cares. I've come to the conclusion that the only reason people brag to strangers on the internet is because everyone that they personally know are sick of hearing it.

Lol...post of the year !

Farmboys right: time to chill! nothing is personal on here or at least it shouldn't be. I enjoy this forum for its interaction and advice and suggestions from many of its members. I like the enthusiasm I read on here but we need to direct it toward constructiveness rather then the negativity that sometimes creeps up on us. In reality at days end the after action report should be on our own efforts and success.

We should also remember that this is very much a family oriented forum. Kids are very impressionable.

[Yoder409]

Boy, nothing to get the testosterone pumping like trying to be the "best"!  Lol. Come on guys. No one cares.

True ALL of that !!!!!   Yep.

Over all the years I have spent in  the woods............in the local restaurant.................. at the gas station...........working a booth at outdoor shows and  NWTF National Conventions............... I got the biggest kick out of the "turkey counters".   "I've killed (X number of) turkeys".........   Then "How many have you killed ?"   Tell one of these guys "I don't know" and they don't know where to go with it.  And I really DON'T know.  I suppose if I sat with a pad and pencil I could come close to figuring it out.  But it's really not on my list of the top 1000 things I need to do today............or ever.  I'm closing in on 40 years spent hunting these critters and I know for sure I have had as many wonderful years in the spring and fall woods doing it.  Good enough for me.

I always kinda figured if I talked to someone for about 3 minutes, I could figure out just about where his skill level fell on the spectrum.  I really don't need told.

As for the public vs private discussion............ public land turkeys are just as frustrating OR just as dumb as private land turkeys.  Only difference I ever saw between the hunts was out-smarting/out-hunting the other HUNTERS on the public ground. 

[Swamprunner]

I think my philosophy is to do what makes me happy as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else's ability to do what makes them happy.  I don't really worry about what other folks do, as long as it doesn't hinder my enjoyment.

To not recognize that there are many ways to skin the same cat is pretty shortsighted.

I think older guys dismiss the younger generation because they don't have the experience.  Younger guys dismiss the older guys because they aren't aggressive enough.  Same cat, with different skinning methods.

[quavers59]

Alot of good replys here-- a few I don't agree with.  I will always believe that everyone on this site is just about equal to the next Spring turkey hunter. Like, I wrote-- right around 40 gobblers makes us all more or less equal no matter what skills you rely on the most.
    Just seems like in the last 10 years or so- a feeling of competition has come into Spring turkey hunting. I don't like to see this evolving anymore.  Now, I read everything I can find on turkey hunting-- have written 3 turkey hunting books as well as a hunting poem book.Time put in and the enjoyment should be the most important thing. Turkey calling championships, grand slams taken, as many gobblers taken as possible each Spring while trying to beat your own record or someone you read about in a magazine..  Public lands too, I see a competition that was not there 10 or more years ago. 2 Spring hunters working the same gobbler and one man refusing to give ground and find another bird.  Spring turkey hunters sprinting on in on your gobbling tom that you are working with very soft clucks while you watch him do it. Sometimes these guys are in their  30s and 40s. There are other examples as well.    Just enjoy yourselves out there each Spring and take your time and above all be safe-- past a certain point- we are all more or less equal.

[g8rvet]

I read this thread for the humor and I was not disappointed.  I come on here to learn from folks.  I am not the best turkey hunter on the planet, but have eaten quite a few turkeys that thought I was deadly!  I am probably a better turkey hunter than most of the guys I know on a saltwater fishing site I frequent, probably better at catching redfish than most on this site, probably a better turkey hunter than many on the duck hunting site I am a director for, and there are some better than me in all at every site.  I don't really care.  I do it for me and for the joy it brings me in God's creation.  When I get to the point, like I did in golf when I was young, where I got pretty good, but good enough where it stopped being fun because it became all about perfection on every swing, I will give any of these hobbies up.  I make a pretty sporty loving doing a job that I am good at and I love doing.  All the rest is for fun.  I compete against the ducks in Canada and Fl and MS, I compete against the turkeys in North Florida, I compete against the redfish in North Florida-I do not compete against other hunters or fisherman.  My pee pee is big enough to keep me and my wife happy and I don't care about the size of your'un, thank you very much, so put that nasty thang away.   

[GSLAM95]

I like to Turkey Hunt...........The End!

[dejake]

Public or private, I'm the world's best turkey hunter in the spring woods.  The next day, I'm the world's worst.  Go figure.

[Hook hanger]

Alot of good replys here-- a few I don't agree with.  I will always believe that everyone on this site is just about equal to the next Spring turkey hunter. Like, I wrote-- right around 40 gobblers makes us all more or less equal no matter what skills you rely on the most.


    Just seems like in the last 10 years or so- a feeling of competition has come into Spring turkey hunting. I don't like to see this evolving anymore.  Now, I read everything I can find on turkey hunting-- have written 3 turkey hunting books as well as a hunting poem book.Time put in and the enjoyment should be the most important thing. Turkey calling championships, grand slams taken, as many gobblers taken as possible each Spring while trying to beat your own record or someone you read about in a magazine..  Public lands too, I see a competition that was not there 10 or more years ago. 2 Spring hunters working the same gobbler and one man refusing to give ground and find another bird.  Spring turkey hunters sprinting on in on your gobbling tom that you are working with very soft clucks while you watch him do it. Sometimes these guys are in their  30s and 40s. There are other examples as well.    Just enjoy yourselves out there each Spring and take your time and above all be safe-- past a certain point- we are all more or less equal.

There were guys sprinting to birds around here on public ground 35 yrs ago. Hell birds gobbling coming to the call and boom at 75 -100yds from you 3 different times before noon.  Just like this fanning fad is something new. It's been used since the 80's it's nothing new.