Off Season Topic: Easy, Hard,...or In-Between?

[eggshell]

I am in the middle as well. I want to hear turkeys and know they are there, killing is nice but not hearing or seeing any stinks. I rarely have used outfitters, but when I do my first questions are can I do my own calling and control my hunt? Most want some control and I don't blame them, so I offer to let them do a skills assessment when I arrive. If they say our guides calls all the shots I say no thank you and hang up. My next question do you bait? I hate baiting....hate, hate hate it. In the southwest it's almost a tradition it seems. The best outfitter I ever booked hunted with me half of the first day and let me call. After lunch he took me to a gate and said there's 6,000 acres behind that gate, I'll be back at 5:00 Pm. if you get lost just stop where you are and call my cell phone. That was not a problem. At 5:00 I was back at the gate and when he showed up I was there, but no turkey. When he looked shocked I told him I had passed up two gobblers because I couldn't get them separated from the hens for a clear shot. He simply said, i knew I could trust you.  My worse outfitter was Florida and it took all of 30 minutes to kill my Osceola and I felt disappointed, but I wanted to finish a grand slam. Not killing a bird is ok, but not seeing or hearing any is not.

[Tail Feathers]

I will take what the good Lord gives me.  I've only declined to shoot one because it was "too easy". 
I shot one that I now wish I had passed on because I didn't earn him.
That's part of the hunting fun, you just never know what you will see or what may transpire out there.

[runngun]

I want to "earn" the bird. If I feel like I didn't, it's up to me whether I get on the trigger. That's the game we play and it's an awesome game!!!

Have a good one
Ray

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[Hook hanger]

I like a good mix of 30% easy birds 70% challenging birds in a season. Never paid too hunt a bird so may not know some of those barnyard type of hunts some of you guys talk about.

[larry9988]

When I hunt I like to feel I was at least "in the game." It is not very satisfying to go, hear them gobble, never answer me, then go the other way. I like for a gobbler to at least answer me some to make me think I have a chance. As far as easy vs. hard, I have killed some I didn't deserve and not some I had worked hard for. It kind of averages out for me. I have never hunted with but a couple outfitters, I hunt mostly private and some public, so no canned hunts for me so far.

[G squared 23]

I don't do the outfitter thing, it's just not for me. 

That beint said, I want as easy a hunt as possible.  Gobble right off the roost and light in the decoys is best.  I like having some time to mushroom hunt while it's still relatively cool out.  Now that rarely happens anymore, ate tagger tots this year, but a girl can dream.

[Bay1985]

If I wanted easy hunting I'd take up squirrels and deer. I've never hunted private land anywhere so avoiding "easy" Gobblers is not usually a problem. As mentioned Louisiana can be as tough as it gets but I've hunted  it my whole life and it's just the way it is. I think it has made me a better hunter. I wouldn't want to hunt were a dead Gobbler was a guarantee anymore than I'd shoot a baby turkey or a hen, just not that  desperate.

[MK M GOBL]

Have hunted them all, not that any are just a given. I have a lot of private to hunt home state and some good public to hunt on as well. I take a lot of hunters whether it be Learn to Hunts, Youth Hunts and Newbies out and can put them on birds in a day or maybe a few (that's where my "easier" birds go) if there is a bird that beats us a couple of times he makes my "list" I'll put a season or 2 or 3 in on a bird to kill "him", my Bird "HOOK" I hunted for four years before I killed him. My Out-of-State hunts have been Public Land Hunts (I did get on a private in TX one year through a connection). I do my homework on the area and have had some luck!

I guess I'll take

(D) All of the above, just depends who is on the trigger.


MK M GOBL

[Brad_Colvin]

The hunts that always give me the most satisfaction are the ones that I have had some sort of struggle on. I won't turn down a Turkey because I think he might be too easy, but I look back with more fondness on the ones I've had to really work for.

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[land cruiser]

One certainly remembers struggles more vividly. I just try to learn on every hunt I'm on, regardless as hard or easy it is. I would say I didn't want any easy hunts when I had turkeys close by, having to drive for 10 plus hours to get into birds at the beginning of the season makes me a lot less judgemental. I can (and do) always turn it up a notch by using my bow without the blind.

I'll take it all and I'll make the best out of it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it:)

[Sir-diealot]

I have NEVER hunted a place that guaranteed me a turkey before, as a matter of fact for the most part I have hunted very marginal places. I had one place that had the best game sign I have ever seen in my life but the Mennonite raped the land and absolutely destroyed it like so many of them tend to do, makes me want to puke every time I go by. He looked at me one day and says "I don't know why the game is not here the way it used to be." I told him why and he replied "Well I don't think it is that" I know for fact that is why but at that time it was the only land I had to hunt so I kept my mouth shut.

Anyway I am hunting the second best land I have ever hunted now and even there it is not a guaranty and I would not want it to be but the thing that I like is I have been hunting it for 4 years now and there has never been one single time when I was out there during turkey season and did not hear at least one gobble, so I know I do have a chance.

I am looking forward to hunting Rio's in OK in 2021 that will be a whole new thing for me as I have never hunted that that flat before so it will give new challenges and I really like the idea of that.

[silvestris]

One that gobbles at least once and no bait or decoys.  The result doesn't matter anymore, much.

[Turkeyman]

On a scale of 1 to 10, the "1s" leave you somewhat dissatisfied, the "10s" leave you totally frustrated.

[JMalin]

I've never hunted a place where it was a guaranteed thing.  I would think to offer that sort of thing, it would involve sitting over bait.  I hunt a large place with a good population of birds here in Texas, and turkeys are still turkeys.  Some days they won't cooperate no matter what you do, other times you can have one in your lap in under five mins.  The good thing with having plenty to hunt is that you don't have to stick with a stubborn bird all day.  You can cover ground and if weather conditions are good, typically you can strike another.  Sometimes all the birds seem to shut down for a while, even when you know there's a bird/birds nearby.  I've had easy public land birds and tough public land birds.  I've had plenty of "easy" private land birds and plenty of difficult, wary private land birds.  The more birds you're able to locate/live in the area you have access to, the less time you'll spend beating your head against the wall when a turkey is just being a turkey.  I think just about any bird can be called in and killed when his mood is right and you setup on him properly.

I enjoy a turkey that gobbles to my calls.  I guess there's a little more satisfaction when he takes his time and I really have to work him and/or reposition to kill him.  I enjoy the ones that come easy too, because usually that's not the case and I've been hunting hard for several hours/days prior with no success.

[Dtrkyman]

Any way I could get em!!!


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