My best turkey video from last year.

[POk3s]

I rewatched all my turkey videos today in an attempt to learn more about what I need to do different, what I didn't like, what I did like, where I thought I screwed up, etc and I thought this was my best one. It showed the struggles and experience well. I'm open for any and all critique! One guy told me I was over calling, and where that may be the case, I don't think he realized that most of the time it was a mashup of my calling throughout that setup so there wasn't a lot of dead air. I also thought it was really unique how these turkeys acted but maybe I'm wrong. I even made a post about it last year trying to see what guys on this forum thought. Another side note, this is a relatively new population. I think these birds were transplanted from Nebraska in the 90s, but it may have been the early 2000s.

I tried to make a conscious effort to video my hunts last year. I still had plenty of times where the solo camera thing didn't work out. Killed a gobbler on opening morning of wyoming's season only to not have the memory card in the camera and a bird that worked great. Then blindly hit record in Nebraska, but didn't have the camera on the right setting to actually be able to hit record. Montana I did a day by day thing but I felt it lacked a lot of "good" stuff because it was a day by day and not edited with the highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW0wvNeCrgQ

[appalachianstruttstopper]

Beautiful bird beautiful country. I hope to one day have the opportunity to hunt a Mirriam.

[ddturkeyhunter]

Congrats, Nice bird, Just the kind of country I love hunting in. Looks like a nice camera clear pictures, you are on your way to some supper videos. Will send you some ideas in PM, Most of my post on here are to long anyway, when I get started.

[DumpTruckTurkey]

Great vid!  Im enjoying the show... Ill come back to watch the 2nd half but what I will say is...

at around the 8min mark I knew yall prob wouldnt get a crack at that bird looking DOWN into the bottom....

but at the 12min mark I had a good feeling youd see that bird pop UP over that knoll.....   

I also see the to much calling, I dont call when a bird is that close.... I typically like him to "look around".  Once you kept calling when he popped up, he knew where the "hen" should be.

That being said your a great hunter and did a great job!

[GobbleNut]

One guy told me I was over calling, and where that may be the case, I don't think he realized that most of the time it was a mashup of my calling throughout that setup so there wasn't a lot of dead air.

When filming, it is usually difficult to put the calling sequence and amount in the proper "context".  That being said, regarding calling amounts, just as there IS a such thing as "over-calling" to a bird, there is also "under-calling".  The best strategy is to determine WHAT a gobbler wants to hear,...and how much of it he wants to hear.

Always assuming "less is more" in calling is a really good way to have a gobbler that is perfectly willing to come to you wander off because he interprets your calling to mean you are not interested.  The old adage of "take his temperature" is pretty well worn out,...but it is, in most cases, right on the money.

Having said that, I agree that a lot of calling,...and especially LOUD calling,...when a bird is getting close, is generally not a good idea.

...Another great video, by the way...

[POk3s]

Great vid!  Im enjoying the show... Ill come back to watch the 2nd half but what I will say is...

at around the 8min mark I knew yall prob wouldnt get a crack at that bird looking DOWN into the bottom....

but at the 12min mark I had a good feeling youd see that bird pop UP over that knoll.....   

I also see the to much calling, I dont call when a bird is that close.... I typically like him to "look around".  Once you kept calling when he popped up, he knew where the "hen" should be.

That being said your a great hunter and did a great job!

I agree with you, and I think we would have killed him had our set ups been better. We didn't want to crowd the bird and end up bumping him out, which is easy to do in those ponderosa pine forests with not much for brushy cover down low. BUT, with that, we should have been where we could have killed that bird when he popped up. On two different occasions he did that and never came any further. Both times we were 70 yards away or so. By the time we figured that out, he was no longer willing to come to that hen. The next day he was just all ginked up.

[POk3s]

One guy told me I was over calling, and where that may be the case, I don't think he realized that most of the time it was a mashup of my calling throughout that setup so there wasn't a lot of dead air.

When filming, it is usually difficult to put the calling sequence and amount in the proper "context".  That being said, regarding calling amounts, just as there IS a such thing as "over-calling" to a bird, there is also "under-calling".  The best strategy is to determine WHAT a gobbler wants to hear,...and how much of it he wants to hear.

Always assuming "less is more" in calling is a really good way to have a gobbler that is perfectly willing to come to you wander off because he interprets your calling to mean you are not interested.  The old adage of "take his temperature" is pretty well worn out,...but it is, in most cases, right on the money.

Having said that, I agree that a lot of calling,...and especially LOUD calling,...when a bird is getting close, is generally not a good idea.

...Another great video, by the way...

Thank you for your honest reviews gobble nut!

[gobblerchsr]

Trent,

Much props for all your hard work and anyone that has tried to record their hunts knows it, at least,  doubles the difficulty factor. Every hunt for me is another experience and I have been hunting them for almost 35 years. The last couple years I have had several birds that were vocal initially and then went silent for almost an hour. I sat silent and waited them out and they showed up looking for me. But many birds aren't that cautious. A lot depends on what the hens are doing....but thanks so much for all the work and sharing and congrats on a great, well deserved bird!

[POk3s]

Thank you gobblerchsr for the watch, and the tips. Hopefully I'll be able to video a few more, but the camera is very much an afterthought for me while hunting!

[SD_smith]

Practice makes a perfect. Personally I'm getting to the point where I've learned all the wrong ways to do it and that helps a ton. My dad started throwing me out on my own when I was 10 and I've made a lot of errors to get to this point where I can get 5+ birds a year. With that said each situation is different from the next and no two are identical. My first Merriams was in the Black Hills (before I moved out here) and had two strutters hung up with some hens on an opposite ridge...tried everything I knew and they wouldn't budge so as a last resort I broke out my slate call and started fighting purring with that and a mouth call at the same time. They both ran to me the entire way and shot one at about 15 yards. That hasn't worked since! Hahaha last year I called up a single gobbler that we initially bumped out of the truck. Like most Merriams do he gobbled as he walked off. Started raising hell on my mouth call and walking back and forth on a knob yelping and cackling. After 20 minutes of him mirroring me on the other ridge he came in full strut and my uncle shot him at 10 steps. Out west I'm not against "over calling" because these are vocal birds, but one day we will get you down to South Florida to my hometown and you'll understand why everyone back east barely makes a sound. Hunt them like a bugling elk because I know you can do that!

[POk3s]

I may try Florida next year. Have to see how this iowa trip goes! I think it'll be an easy sell with the girlfriend to fly down. Get her a hotel with a pool and I'll go hunt hahaha!

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Awesome video