have you ever just showed up and started hunting?

[Tail Feathers]

I have done it a few times. Once just showed up and heard a gobbler respond to a woodpecker as soon is I stepped in the woods, another area I killed a gobbler fifteen minutes after stepping in the woods, and returned the next year and killed another 30 minutes into the hunt. 2 gobblers and only set foot in there 2 times . Been awhile since I've just showed up but wont be scouting so keeping fingers crossed,will be fun no matter what. Anyone pulling one of these this year?

I'm hoping it happens this year in NE.  Heading there and will scout/hunt the first day.

[West Augusta]

I love blind calling on new grounds.  Taken a few that way.

[Kylongspur88]

Lots of times. I'll get up on a high spot early and see if I hear one close. If I do I'll go to him. If not I'll wait till about mid morning and run/gun which is actually more like walk and call. I killed one of my biggest birds practically in the parking lot of a wma I'd never hunted before. Showed up mid day. Got out of the truck and hit the call and there he was. I'd rather be lucky than good any day.

[jtsmith3]

That will be my hunt in AZ this year. I drew a tag in 12A which is the absolute north edge of the state and I live on the Mexico border. I'll get there a day early to try and roost some but I'm going in completely blind. Should be fun and a good way to learn an area.

[appalachianassassin]

Hunting 4 new states this spring. Going in blind to all.

[MS TurkeyHunter]

Yes. Every year I hunt new states on public ground going in blind and kill turkeys. Or I call them in and miss them lol.


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[Gooserbat]

Sometimes it just works out for the best because you haven't over though it.

[Ranger]

Yea that's how a poacher hunts and how I learned to hunt. When I was a kid me and my Daddy would pull up to a good spot, he'd hoot and make him gobble and I'd take off. He'd hoot from the road for a minute or two or as long as traffic would allow, and then I'd have a good bearing on the bird and close.  Where....none of your business, or maybe it was your business. Nothing like being 12 or 14, in a place you don't know, and can't know.  You learn fast because you want nothing more than to bring 20lbs back to the truck.

[Harty]

I love blind calling on new grounds.  Taken a few that way.

Yup me too.Or strolling on old grounds as well. Used to be primarily the way I hunted when these ol legs could put on a bunch of miles .

[JL_Longbeard]

Wow! I couldn't buy that kind of luck. That's awesome though and I sure as hell would try that trick again! Good luck!


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[GobbleNut]

Every time I go that's what I do.
I don't go roosting the night before or go scouting to find where they're at .
I get up high and wait for a gobble.

I can state with a great deal of authority that using the "go sit on a mountain and listen for gobbling" approach will result in you sitting on a mountain listening to silence all day long in some parts of the country.  There are places that you HAVE to go actively looking for a gobbling turkey if you want to be successful.   Knowing where and when to do one or the other is the key. 

In answer to the original question,...yes, but I prefer to be able to scout a new place if I can. 

[sasquatch1]

Do it probably 60-70% of the time. Im either going blind and hunting or returning to a place I've killed before.


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[owlhoot]

You bet . Lots of times. Killed many that way.

Best tactic there is .  Unless you plan it that way or even think about it.

[Ozark870Hunter]

I grew up in a deer hunting family, no turkey hunters, and didn't start turkey hunting till my early 20's. Had a buddy Joe that I bowhunt with decide he would give it a shot with me. I said I'd call and he could shoot. We went to a new turkey hunters workshop put on by the conservation dept., bought some crappy mass production calls, learned how to make some noise with them, and headed to my family farm in southern MO for opening day. We had no clue what we were doing, had done zero scouting, and our only tip was that a family member had heard gobbling behind the house in the valley a week before. We had a few too many beverages the night before, and were late getting up in the morning. We quickly grabbed our gear and headed to the woods, only making it about 150 yards to the woodline edge, with the cabin still in view, since first light was already upon us.
We found a good tree to lean against, threw out a hen decoy, and staked up a piece of burlap in front of us. I started making some horrible noises on a Primos Jackpot pot call. I was just hammering away, when my buddy says "look! Big tom!"
We were both moving so much the bird started to seem spooked, so I made my best attempt at "soft talk" and, miraculously, he started to come back in and made it within 30 yards! My buddy kept saying "he's so beautiful!"  I'm like "yes he's beautiful! Now shoot the bird Joe! SHOOT THE BIRD JOE!"
After what seemed like an eternity, and as the bird finally turns to leave, he lets him have it!
First turkey hunt ever, no scouting, 20 minutes in and we had a nice boss tom down!
I thought I had this turkey hunting stuff figured out! You just run in the woods and "yelp, yelp, yelp! Boom!" Well I didn't kill a bird for 4 more years! After those several humbling years, I decided to learn everything I could, including how to actually "talk" turkey, and I've flopped birds every year since.

[Swampchickin234]

Every single time I go somewhere new.  Will do it 5 times this year


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