Who taught you?

[kctinner]

Myself with many regrets my dad used to go all the time when I was young, my grandparents owned several hundred acres down in Eldon MO, and he and my cousins would go every spring I always had better things to do and missed out on years of spring hunts when I finally wanted to go, the farm was long gone so now I'm in my 40's trying to put it all together, if I'd only known can't go back but boy wish I could!

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[kctinner]

Darron sorry to hear about your loss, my Dad's not gone but we don't get a chance to hunt together anymore good luck brother this spring

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[appalachianassassin]

We, as a family are self taught.    By we I mean my parents and myself. We started in 1965. I was only a kid but was included in everything.   I credit a man name George Lofton for getting us interested in turkey hunting.  He was our neighbor in Mulberry Florida and was in his 60's then.  I was always fascinated with his turkey calls and his stories.  He was one of those old timers with that southern draw that could keep your attention for hours around the campfire , which is a real challenge with me.   It may have all been lies, but if they were,  they were good ones that caused me to think about turkey hunting almost non-stop.  My parents would even let me go with Mr. George if they were unable to go.  His Wife Violet would fry up chicken the night before so we would have lunch in the woods the next day.    I even got to kill a handful with Mr. George.    Man, I would give almost anything to get to go on one of those hunts again with Mr. George, or one of those weekend hunts with my parents.   My Mom still turkey hunts but my Dad is no longer able, but he told me the other day that they plan on coming up for a few weeks again this spring season.  His eyes still light up like they did so many years ago when me or my Mom kill one and bring it back to camp.

it always makes me smile when you talk about your family Turkey hunting together. You never try to put yourself in the spotlight. Respect for you sir

[Hooksfan]

Mostly self taught.  Most of the old timers were closed lipped. No one ever admitted to hearing a Turkey gobble until he was dead in the back of their truck and they were telling how they killed him. This was in the late 70s and early 80's in the Florida Parishes of SE Louisiana.

[MK M GOBL]

I got a little teary eyed when I saw this post. My father showed me the ropes. He passed away last Thursday. It won't be the same this spring.

Sorry for your loss, I lost my dad back in 2006 and can tell you he is still on every hunt with me, keep your faith he's with you.


MK M GOBL

[notsure]

I continue to learn through magazine articles, videos and friends who grew up in a hunting family. And a whole lot of trial and error. Lot's and lot's of error!

[singlestrand]

I started turkey hunting because of NWTF's Turkey Call tv show. Tv, magazines, listening to other hunters, and mostly just trying to kill turkeys taught me what little bit I know.  I still get taught something every spring.

[LaLongbeard]

Self taught. A lot of my family hunted deer squirrels and rabbits but there were virtually no turkeys anywhere we hunted. I remember my uncle telling me about walking up on a flock of turkeys while squirrel hunting one October. I had read a lot and saw a few of the Primos vhs but had never seen a Wild Turkey. I knew the place were he saw them and I spent every minute I could trying to find them again that winter never did. But the next spring I started back and found a couple Gobblers, but didn't know what to do with them, after weeks of hunting I called up a Jake and killed him and it's been an obsession from that day. My Uncle hunted with me for awhile but eventually gave it up. I kill turkeys now in places a mile from were he grew up and hunted his whole life without seeing a Turkey. Looking back it has been a long road and the odds seemed insurmountable at times but I wouldn't trade those years of struggling if I could.

[Cut N Run]

I hunted by myself early on (1982) and had no clue what I was doing.  I probably learned how to play the game from reading Dave Harbour & Ben Lee's books, then paying attention to what I saw and heard in the woods.  I involuntarily took some time off chasing turkeys from a lack of places to hunt, but kept working on calling skills.  I called in several gobblers for others on their land before I ever killed my first. 

The person who helped me hone my skills the most is my best friend E.P..  He's killed a few world slams and usually takes all turkey season off work to fill his N.C. tags then travels to hunt other states.  Turkeys usually die when we hunt together.

I've also learned an awful lot of what not to do from the turkeys themselves.   

Jim

[Cottonmouth]

I started in the early 80's with my Dad. He's more the runner gunner type while I'm more the type to settle in and stay all day if I know one is nearby. He always picks at me and tells me I'll stay 2 days straight on one as long as I have a candy bar and a bottle of water. I'd say I got my calling ability from him, but don't know where the patience came from.

[SD_smith]

My father took me every day with him until I was about 12 and then he started sending me on my own away from him. He was a guide down in SW Florida from before I was born until I was 20. I watched him with clients nearly all season and learned a lot, but the real jail edge came when I was on my own. Learned you can't call them with your bare voice, I can't hoot for crap, I can ambush like a Navy Seal, slate calls always get wet early in the morning, and that I like to take the path of least resistance.

[310 gauge]

Me, myself,and I. With some real guidance from my Cuz the Judge I am forever spur/hooked!

[fallhnt]

Self taugh,started Fall hunting. Had to travel out of state to Spring hunt.

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[Greg Massey]

As a kid my dad, brother and uncles introduce me to hunting in general.. back in those day's hunting was a way to put extra meat on the table along with creek bank and pond fishing.  After i became old enough to drive and have my own car, a older friend of our family was a turkey hunter and he got me started turkey hunting. He taught me the basics and the rest i learned on my own.. You have to remember as a kid growing up on a farm we had to worked. Getting to go hunting with dad , my bother and uncles was as excited as getting to got to town twice year ... love those old memories...  and I've enjoyed it all hunting , fishing and turkey hunting. I process all my deer's and turkey along with dressing all the fish i catch ... I know a lot of new hunters can't even field dress a deer or process the deer or turkey themselves .. they want to take it somewhere and pay a processor ... guy's i learned a long time ago pulling the trigger is the easy part , next is taking the time to care for what you kill....  Those of you who always take your deer to a processor 3 or 4 times a year i feel sorry for you , i save that processor money and buy me new gun every year along with some new turkey calls ...ha ha ha ...

[Takeaim1st]

I returned home from an all expense paid trip to Southeast Asia in February of 1970.  Like a lot of other returning G.I.s, I was more or less trashed inside and out but, I did , by the grace of the Lord , get to come home. Some of you will know what I mean by saying , ( I was lost, empty and, just didn't fit in for a period of time ). I went down to the local un-employment office to apply for benefits, another fellow that had returned home had told me I could draw unemployment funds off of my time in service. The manager of that office was an older guy and He told me that I was able to work , to get out and find a job. I looked across the desk at that individual and had thoughts that have no place here on this site. I knew I would be locked up if I acted on my thoughts and feelings. Just a few days after that experience I just happened to bump into a friend that I had went to high school with and He told me to apply at a large coal mining concern that was located in the next county over. Coal mining was the only industry in the area so that's where a lot of fellows earned their living. I was hired and went to work . Later that spring the same friend that had encouraged me to apply at the mine where He worked ask me if I wanted to go Spring gobbler hunting with Him when the season opened. I believe it was the first ever open season for the county and/or part of the State
     I thought that was a novel idea. My friend gave me a single Reed mouth call and, I would practice with it while driving to and from work. I tried to learn to use it for a while and about all I could get out of it was a lot of salivating  and sounds that certainly were not in any turkeys vocabulary. I kept up the practicing sessions for a couple of weeks and finally could produce a recognizable yelp. Opening weekend came and we went to an area that I was totally  unfamiliar  with. My friend parked , well before daylight, then gave me directions to an area that was not too far from where He would be. Daylight broke and the cows started sounding off . I thought I heard a turkey gobble way off in the distant valley. I was completely  clueless about turkey hunting but, I knew plenty about ambushing so I decided to just keep quite and observe the situation. Time passed and I heard the distant gobbler sound off several more times. The coffee I had drank earlier that morning  was giving me the urge to relieve myself so I stood my shotgun on the ground and leaned it on a huge oak , I took a couple steps or so away from it and went about the task at hand. After relieving myself of the coffee I finally got up enough courage to make my first ever turkey call , I got about two yelps out and a gobbler just about blew my hat off not more than thirty yards from me. I don't  know how He got there without me scaring Him,but I hadn't  been moving around much. Well, now what a situation I found myself in. A gobbler, the first one I had ever seen and with that big noggin all blown up snow white and the red and blues all mixed in, what a sight to behold. My shotgun still leaning against the big oak about three or four steps away. I had a major adrenaline dump, hilarious  to think about now, my knees were knocking. I stood motionless as long as I could, then decided my only choice was to try and out draw that Bigboy. By now He had closed the distance to about 20 yds. and I was beside myself. Well, everyone knows how that attempt at out drawing that bird turned out. What that whole incident did do was to infect me with a passion that has never left me after all theses years.  Also, I gained just a bit of wisdom, I pee with one hand and hold my shotgun with the other. Roll over laughing.......