Turkey Hunting.....Tips/Techniques/Stories

Took my girl out hunting on her dad’s farm.... I had put a bird to bed the night before when it got day light I could see him about 50 yards away in the tree..... Hit the slate a few times and he came out of the roost! I was so excited to watch my girl get her first bird till I hear BANG! Some a-hole snuck in and shot the bird.... I don't know how I never saw they guy but I was pissed...... but good job Longbow and Hoosier!!!!

 

Man I still haven't got one. We've had the same one out in the field struttin around every time we go out, but can't bring him in. Using decoys and everything. If he keeps on doin that I'll just pop him with a .17 hmr!

jk that wouldnt be a challenge

 

TRD...man I would be pissed, was he suppose to be their??

Some people don't get it, "stay the heck off my property", when I see them I call the C.O. and press charges.

 

Around here the season runs a week or two late. They were in full strut about 3 weeks before season started.
I went out with my buddy just as another set of eyes, had a longbeard dead bang at 65 yards, but would not come it. Even had decoys and hens walking with and near the decoys....no go. But boy those hens were some of the biggest I have seen.

Check stations are down also, the one by the house only had 7 birds checked in, down at the farm only 3, and only one of those was from the youth hunt.

Hey hoosier...send the DNR an e-mail and ask them to bring the season up a week, I did and alot of other did also. This would put the youth hunt in the prime of strut.

 

Congrats on a fun filled hunt, and yeah that sucks dude! Hope she had fun with the excitement though! And try to keep her head up. If they were allowed to be there then you can't say much, but if they didn't have permission.......well.......see below quoted post!

I usually give them 1 freebee, and always correct them when they give excuses. I tell them they can get maps and plat books just like me. There is no excuse for laziness or ignorance.

 

will do man. Kinda strange, the area where I hunt they are still strutting real good. Heard about 15 different birds gobble the first mornin'. They will transition into strut only and less gobble here through the next few weeks as more people are calling to them. I even seen strutters in a field around home back on a warm January day. The'll strut of and on about all year, we've just missed the peak when they had lots of hens in big piles. Get those hens on the nest in the next few weeks and those boys will start getting real lonely.

 

No it was on her dads prop and the guy was not sopposed to be there w/o asking first..... He always let people hunt as long as they asked but after this land might be posted.....

 

Hoosier...no clue why?? maybe it's because I am so far south.
Just went down 37 towards Bloomington. About 30 minutes away, pulled into a friends house and hit the mouth call. Had one answer back. Waited by the end of the truck and sure enough one came out down the lane. Looked around and went back in the woods.

Hens seem to be big this year also, watched 3 hens and a tom dusting themselves in an old log burn pile.

Gonna hit the woods the next couple of weekends to see if I can't help my buddy out or even get one on film.

PM me if you know any real good taxidermist's. Have some critters I need to get done......................

 

I must be a little south of that then, Bloomington is northwest of me by just a little.

I do know a couple good taxidermists.......pm sent

 

Great hunt with the girl yesterday. Had a gobbler come across two ridges and pin us down in a field. Forest birds have a hard time commiting to the fields. Oh well, great memories with the kid. Like this one with her getting an afternoon siesta!!

 

Ben........well you all have another week. Hopefully that bird with show up for ya.
Went to the farm on Saturday, seen 2 toms at 40 yards strutting their stuff. Bunch of rabbits this year, pulled my blind had mice build nests in two of my decoys and somthing killed a rabbit while it was in the blind.
oh well

 

Help!! I cannot get these damn mouth calls to work!! I know it's me. Any advise? Web sites?

 

was in the same boat. I ended up getting a video, and it came with the words on paper, like "cluck" and "purr". Took me some time to figure it out.
I use 3 types two of them have split reeds. I also use a slate and box.
To be honest I get better sound out a slate, seem to get more out of it. Change the stik out and you can have two side by side.

 

my best advise i could give would be for a decoy:

make yur own! get one of them jakes u buy at the store that is more realistic, use some tail feather spread from one you've already killed and add it to the realistic jake. PERFECT DECOY!! it helped me pull in an albino hen, 2 jakes and the monster i killed!!! double bearded = 11 1/4" & 4 1/2", 1 1/4" spurs... .forgot the weight, but u get the idea. and it had a copper line on the spread (supposedly that is rare round my parts from what ive heard)

as far as calls go, ive always just used my own voice, i can actually purr & cluck oddly. (too much time on the farm growin up )

 

Good Call 07, forgot about that.
During spring I use 1 tom and two hens decoys, during fall I use two hens.

 

I had a buddy that could never get a mouth call to work. Find a friend or someone you know that can use a mouth call and have them give you some personal lessons.

-Congrats on the birds ark! A great accomplishment and feeling when you use your own voice to call them in too.
-I like to use a B-mobile. I used the fan off a longbeard I killed a few years back, very realistic looking.
https://shop.primos.com/pc-938-82-b-mobile.aspx

 

yeah, im sure it freaks some people out but its free & it works. i actually have a cousin that does it a lot better than i do. but she dont turkey hunt. they had a barn full of show horses & had turkeys roamin around the barn all the time, so she just got good at callin

 

^^ right there's some advice for goforlow up above...............go hang with some turkeys

 

^oh yeah brotha Ben, you're reading our mind. Just yesterday I was discussing with the kids who was to go first turkey hunting with me this year. The boy has been sick so to get him out of the house yesterday we drove through the forest looking for some birds. Only found a few deer. Come on my favorite season of the year!!!