# Turkey, What's the trick?



## ShoerFast (Feb 18, 2009)

I need me some learning!

Elk, Deer, Bear, Moose, Pronghorn, Geese, Ducks of about every flavor, Doves, Quail , Grouse, Pheasants, and about every small game you can think of have made it to my plate. 

And I am 0 for 3 for Turkey!

Not only have I never bagged a Turkey, I have never even seen a Turkey while hunting!

Needless to say, I really enjoy Turkey Hunting, just really know nothing about it. 

What are the tricks?

Thanks in advance. 

Kevin


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## deeker (Feb 18, 2009)

Seems as though one of the mods bagged one today.


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## PA Plumber (Feb 18, 2009)

ShoerFast said:


> I need me some learning!
> 
> Elk, Deer, Bear, Moose, Pronghorn, Geese, Ducks of about every flavor, Doves, Quail , Grouse, Pheasants, and about every small game you can think of have made it to my plate.
> 
> ...




I think hunting turkey is probably the most challenging of our big game in PA.

Have gotten a few over the years, but in no way claim to be a "Turkey Hunter."

Here's a couple of thoughts...

1. If there are not birds around, that's bad. Birds in the area is good.

2. Most of the time, a little calling is better than a lot. Once in a while a bird will hang up and I'll "holler" until the call is just about smoking. It has worked twice in lots of years.

3. In spring season, try to get close to where the birds are roosting. A couple of quite tree calls, a fake fly down, and then be quiet. Shot a bird this past spring that way. 21 1/2 lbs. 9 1/2" beard and 1 1/8 spurs.

There's lots more, but maybe this will help just a tad. 

Good luck!


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## ShoerFast (Feb 18, 2009)

PA Plumber said:


> I think hunting turkey is probably the most challenging of our big game in PA.
> 
> Have gotten a few over the years, but in no way claim to be a "Turkey Hunter."



Thanks PA

Colorado is hard, just not a lot of Turkey, and they have a lot of range , from what I hear. 



PA Plumber said:


> 1. If there are not birds around, that's bad. Birds in the area is good.



I think that is were I need to start, if I can get them to yelp from there roost I am half way there. I had see the track, I think another challenge here is how wide a range the spring weather can be? One week old scouting could be a few thousand feet of elavation in another week?



PA Plumber said:


> there are not birds around, that's bad. Birds in the area is good.
> 
> 2. Most of the time, a little calling is better than a lot. Once in a while a bird will hang up and I'll "holler" until the call is just about smoking. It has worked twice in lots of years.



If Turkey is like elk?

Yes, with Elk, if you keep a bull guessing he will be way more interested then if you talk his ear off. 

For me, less is best, as I have less chance of botching a call.



PA Plumber said:


> 3. In spring season, try to get close to where the birds are roosting. A couple of quite tree calls, a fake fly down, and then be quiet. Shot a bird this past spring that way. 21 1/2 lbs. 9 1/2" beard and 1 1/8 spurs.



Did you post us a picture?

There are a few places in the state that Turkey will use the same areas to roost, or be sort of close every night. I think that will be another huge challenge is finding them here, challenges are good!



PA Plumber said:


> There's lots more, but maybe this will help just a tad.
> 
> Good luck!



Digesting everything this year, they got a hat-trick on me!


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## PA Plumber (Feb 18, 2009)

Here's some pics of the bird from Spring 2008.


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## hanniedog (Feb 18, 2009)

I have not turkey hunted but would bet there is a fair amount of luck involved. My mother has a place in southern ohio that has some turkeys. A guy I went to school with bagged one. However he did not know not to shot one at an old deere bait station. Luckily he got to keep his gun and truck.


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## outdoorlivin247 (Feb 18, 2009)

I hate turkey...They have ruined my honey whitetail rutting pattern at my favorite stand location...They moved into the area late last year and never left...We have a group of about 80 birds on the 300 acres of property we hunt...About 100 acres in our lease and 200 in a bank trust property boardering...The land owner won't let us hunt them w/ a gun, bow only...Now back to harvesting them...Scouting, scouting and more scouting...Find roosting areas and put them to bed...Head out the next morning and set up early before they fall out of the trees...Good luck...


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## trimmmed (Feb 18, 2009)

ShoerFast said:


> I need me some learning!
> 
> Elk, Deer, Bear, Moose, Pronghorn, Geese, Ducks of about every flavor, Doves, Quail , Grouse, Pheasants, and about every small game you can think of have made it to my plate.
> 
> ...



Ok Shoe, here is a sure fire method for hunting turkeys 30 miles north of manhattan........Go to the woods behind the house and sit along the deer trail, have a 4' 2"x2" pressure treated spindle with a 16 penny nail driven thru it. Throw a blanket over yourself, when the Turkeys walk past, flip the blanket off and smack the crap out of the closest one. It's not hard at all. 
If you don't like that much effort, bring a pellet gun!


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## RCR 3 EVER (Feb 19, 2009)

*Turkeys no more*

We used to have 30+ turkeys roaming through our property every other day. They would tear up vast stretches of ground wherever they went. I tried hunting them several times and the first time I even called one in but it hung up at 65 yds. and would not come any closer:censored:

Since then I have not had luck at all, I tried one time in the fall and did not see anything except for when I was on a noisy tractor and they crossed the road ahead of me 5' away, that was 2 hours after I left a stand.

Since then the population is now zero seen for 2 years, I am just glad I did not go and get a turkey gun. 
You need turkey to shoot a turkey


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## Blazin (Feb 19, 2009)

Put up a bird feeder 






As already said scoutin is one of the main things to success, like patterning big game. The birds around here change their habits and location weekly it seems (no fields, all timber). Spring is usually the best chance for calling them in as it's the mating season. The best bet is if you can find where they roost and setup close, get yourself camo'd up and hunkered in good. Don't move more than you have to either, them bastids have eagle eyes and don't miss a thing! Try not to over call, but once you get one gobblin you have to keep up with him to get him to come in range usually. I've had good luck with just a lynch box call, and alot of patience! Good luck!!


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## ShoerFast (Feb 19, 2009)

trimmmed said:


> Ok Shoe, here is a sure fire method for hunting turkeys 30 miles north of manhattan........Go to the woods behind the house and sit along the deer trail, have a 4' 2"x2" pressure treated spindle with a 16 penny nail driven thru it. Throw a blanket over yourself, when the Turkeys walk past, flip the blanket off and smack the crap out of the closest one. It's not hard at all.
> If you don't like that much effort, bring a pellet gun!



Now that sounds tempting! 

Another friend of mine tells me how he shot the first one, a jake, picks it up after it's done flopping around, walks to the truck,,,,, and the others are fallowing him!!!

Found a way to 'not' be pestered by sales people here in Colorado, stand by a wall full of 'turkey-calls' , not a store emploee seems to have any time. 

Even slow down here by the 'elk-calls' and there asking you questions like 'where do you hunt?' or 'what size bull you after?' .

Taking up a new bad habit is fun!


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## ShoerFast (Feb 19, 2009)

Blazin said:


> Put up a bird feeder
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I got more patience then trees sometime!  

Thinking I will be scouting, a lot!

Raising turkey, I could drive them nuts imitating them with an elk mouth call

I picked up a Knight & Hale 'Yella Hammer' as I can trust there name on elk callers. 

The caller seems sweet, nice chirps and can really get up a good yelp with it,,,, and it plays wet ~ if it's snowing, for sure I have an excuse not to work! 

If weather is nice for a few, then turns to crud, (like we notice deer and elk will venture in to more open areas) what can we expect turkey to do?

Here is a sweeeet sounding calls, I think? 






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBTKfHlAXhU


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## yooper (Feb 19, 2009)

trimmmed said:


> Ok Shoe, here is a sure fire method for hunting turkeys 30 miles north of manhattan........Go to the woods behind the house and sit along the deer trail, have a 4' 2"x2" pressure treated spindle with a 16 penny nail driven thru it. Throw a blanket over yourself, when the Turkeys walk past, flip the blanket off and smack the crap out of the closest one. It's not hard at all.
> If you don't like that much effort, bring a pellet gun!



I wonder if night hunting for geese would work for turkeys...use a post hole digger and dig several goose(turkey in your case)sized holes about 3 feet deep In a close grouped area. when the fall in they cant get out. Might have to cammo the holes for the turkeys but not for geese, there pretty dumb. throw some corn around the holes and come back in the mornin to pulls up the birds...Its kinda a fowl way to garden, but if you don't have a board with a nail in it. its a second alternative


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## RCR 3 EVER (Feb 20, 2009)

yooper said:


> I wonder if night hunting for geese would work for turkeys...use a post hole digger and dig several goose(turkey in your case)sized holes about 3 feet deep In a close grouped area. when the fall in they cant get out. Might have to cammo the holes for the turkeys but not for geese, there pretty dumb. throw some corn around the holes and come back in the mornin to pulls up the birds...Its kinda a fowl way to garden, but if you don't have a board with a nail in it. its a second alternative



What happens when you go outside on a late night walk after an all night party and you find the holes in your garden. You fall into them break your ankles and cry out I've fallen and can't get out.
Rescue squad comes out and you have to explain to them how to get to you without them falling into your tan(turkey) traps.:biggrinbounce2:


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## RCR 3 EVER (Feb 20, 2009)

*Turkeys have laser rangefinders*

During the last fall hunt I applied for I actually saw 2 toms walk nearby the blind. They walked back and forth for the longest time without a shot. Since I patterned my gun prior and found out that only 1-2 pellets hit a vital zone with the use of my shotgun between 50-55 yds. These turkeys must have had a laser rangefinder as I had one also because they stopped at 60 yds. I decided to let them go as I had no hope of a killing shot.

About an hour later a 6 point also ambled along but since it was 2 days prior to the season for deer...


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## lfnh (Feb 20, 2009)

Might try finding some apple orchards nearby. Old, abandoned orchards are better. Birds hang around edges of the orchards. Good pair of binocs, get seated 1 1/2 before daylight. Cover anything that reflects, esp face.

Works in New Hampshire and Eastern Oregon.


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## ropensaddle (Feb 20, 2009)

Well spring turkey is an early rise game. Locator calls several weeks before the hunt can help pinpoint roosting sites. Turkeys are a very different critter I arrowed a nice Tom 11 and a half inch beard a few years back and called up several for friends! The pressure is
the biggest factor if they are hunted hard the hunt will be hard. Try to be above the bird
and avoid obstructions have a clear path from him to your setup. calling is perfected and sometimes it is loud and mostly soft but if he is with hens it will be next to impossible to call him in. I usually get one to come in I have arrowed three in the five years I have hunted them and missed many and helped a few friends bag a bird.


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## deerhunter1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Don't get discouraged, Shoerfast. My son-in-law and his father are like you and are very good hunters. They have been hunting for over 20 years together and are very successful except when it comes to turkeys. Patience for them is the key thing. Sometimes they'll see them and many times they won't. And on a good day they will call and get one to come in only to have it stop at a distance where its just not a good shot. And that's a good day for them just to get one that close. I had to laugh one day during muzzleloading season and deer hunters were entering the woods next to our property and a few moments later I saw 10 turkeys all in a row running as fast as they could behind my place to get out of their way. All I can tell you is some seasons they get one and other times they don't. But they sure enjoy the time spent together trying.


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## yooper (Feb 20, 2009)

RCR 3 EVER said:


> What happens when you go outside on a late night walk after an all night party and you find the holes in your garden. You fall into them break your ankles and cry out I've fallen and can't get out.
> Rescue squad comes out and you have to explain to them how to get to you without them falling into your tan(turkey) traps.:biggrinbounce2:



I pee off the deck when I have been drinking...come to think of it I do when I am not drinking....It makes the garden below the deck grow better.:greenchainsaw:


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## ropensaddle (Feb 20, 2009)

Shoer you are off to a great start you play like you don't know where the turkey are and don't know much about calling the landowner thinks this poor ole chap won't kill nothing anyway and lets you hunt his farm full of turkeys it helps if you throw in a few ugly sounding calls and ask him what your doing wrong. Unknowing to him you are a turkey calling master that can get Gobs to fly creeks to your location lol. You are now a turkey master and have the sweetest calling in the woods with unspooked gobs at you beck and call happy hunting you slick master of feathers:hmm3grin2orange: In case you are not as slick as I am thinking but advanced turkey hunting with cuz it is a good read


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## scotclayshooter (Feb 20, 2009)

If the Turkeys stop at 60 yards why not take a .22 with you?


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## ShoerFast (Feb 20, 2009)

scotclayshooter said:


> If the Turkeys stop at 60 yards why not take a .22 with you?



Colorado Spring Turkey is shotgun only, #2 is the biggest lead you can fling at them. 

Yes, a rifle would be fun, you could glass for them then! 

There i mention to turkey that 'hang-up' at that magic 'can't touch-me' range. 

This gets me to thinking that two hunters could tag-team them?

If one hunter wandered ahead say 40 yards or so, and the other hunter stayed back on a real aggressive but wary tom. That forward hunter could hang tight and let the other hunter bring ol wise-tom that 65 yards away, witch would be 25 yards away from his bud and my bet an old long-beard dropped, flopping in the weeds! 

Knights & Hale sells a programmable electronic call that operates with a remote control up to 100 yards away, wonder if anyone has got that to work like a buddy-system?


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## scotclayshooter (Feb 20, 2009)

Ok i did wonder why no rifles GRRRR

We do a trick here shooting crows, Seems they cant count
2 people go into the wood, The crows fly off, One person walks out of the wood and the crows pile back in


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## ShoerFast (Feb 20, 2009)

ropensaddle said:


> Shoer you are off to a great start you play like you don't know where the turkey are and don't know much about calling the landowner thinks this poor ole chap won't kill nothing anyway and lets you hunt his farm full of turkeys it helps if you throw in a few ugly sounding calls and ask him what your doing wrong. Unknowing to him you are a turkey calling master that can get Gobs to fly creeks to your location lol. You are now a turkey master and have the sweetest calling in the woods with unspooked gobs at you beck and call happy hunting you slick master of feathers:hmm3grin2orange: In case you are not as slick as I am thinking but advanced turkey hunting with cuz it is a good read



Is that like fumbling the cards at your first chance to deal playing poker?

You bring back an idea I all but gave up on around the Denver foothills. 

There are a few anti-hunters, but it dose not hurt to ask! 

Shoeing yesterday a gal showed methe local turkey trends, shoeing 25' from Pike National Forrest. A couple dozen birds living in an area about 4-sections square, for a challenge!


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## ShoerFast (Feb 20, 2009)

scotclayshooter said:


> Ok i did wonder why no rifles GRRRR
> 
> We do a trick here shooting crows, Seems they cant count
> 2 people go into the wood, The crows fly off, One person walks out of the wood and the crows pile back in



On occasion, it is fun to skin your deer out like you were skinning a fur-bearer. 

Stuff the deer skin with qurrly-ques from ripping wood with a chainsaw, let it dry. 

Bored in the middle of winter thinking about burning off a couple pounds. Mornings are best. 
Mix a pail full of corn and lard, dog food, anything really. Grab a household sprayer and mix up a bunch of warm water, corn syrup and red food coloring, tuck it under your coat to keep it from freezing and drag your fake deer and feed pail to a spot with a good ol snag of a dead tree, lots of branches that will fill with crows. 

Shake the corn/feed around the belly area of the fake deer, spray the blood around in the snow and camo and hide as well as you can. 

A few caws on a good crow call and stop calling if one is on his way. 

All it takes is one crow or even a magpie or blue-jay to get it started and they swarm in! 

You get a few eating the feed and voicing there approval and crows will come from miles it seems. 

When the time is right, cut loose! 

Just cause you shot, you don't need to give up on that spot if there are a lot of crows around, new ones don't know the trick.


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## scotclayshooter (Feb 20, 2009)

I have a decoy Owl that seems to work they mob it and forget about me hiding beind a shed

Im fairly sure there are no wild Turkeys in the UK.


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## ShoerFast (Feb 20, 2009)

scotclayshooter said:


> I have a decoy Owl that seems to work they mob it and forget about me hiding beind a shed
> 
> Im fairly sure there are no wild Turkeys in the UK.



There was a day that there were no pheasant here or in the UK, just thought I would say?

Lot of areas here turkeys were reintroduced and thriving now!


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## blakey (Feb 20, 2009)

I am actually going to a wild turkey seminar in a couple weeks. It is mandatory before you can get a license. Should be interesting as it is taught by hunters. I have turkeys on my farm so I don't have to go far. We currently have a limit of 2 but not on the same day and we can't shoot hens. They were reintroduced to this area a few years ago and have really done well. Almost too well as they are hard on crops. Had one fly up 10ft in front of me last fall during the deer hunt, startled the crap out of me.


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## scotclayshooter (Feb 20, 2009)

ShoerFast said:


> There was a day that there were no pheasant here or in the UK, just thought I would say?
> 
> Lot of areas here turkeys were reintroduced and thriving now!



Yep Pheasants and Grouse could be on the way put here again.
The stuff used to stop the chicks getting sick was banned and the amount of ticks here is taking its toll.


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## ropensaddle (Feb 20, 2009)

ShoerFast said:


> Is that like fumbling the cards at your first chance to deal playing poker?
> 
> You bring back an idea I all but gave up on around the Denver foothills.
> 
> ...



Turkey masters are a strage lot they are always misleading without lying lol. In other words a master may be on a flock bigger than Dallas and you would think he was in the turkey desert barren of any feathers lol. Shoe if you ever get the chance to try out north Ar or Missori do it I have heard fifty Gobs on a nice bluebird mourning but unfortunately they were on private ground and I was on public. I love hunting Turkeys when the action is good nothing beats having four gobs all coming and trying to figure out which one to set up on!


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## ShoerFast (Feb 20, 2009)

ropensaddle said:


> Turkey masters are a strage lot they are always misleading without lying lol. In other words a master may be on a flock bigger than Dallas and you would think he was in the turkey desert barren of any feathers lol. Shoe if you ever get the chance to try out north Ar or Missori do it I have heard fifty Gobs on a nice bluebird mourning but unfortunately they were on private ground and I was on public. I love hunting Turkeys when the action is good nothing beats having four gobs all coming and trying to figure out which one to set up on!



So true with about any sport I am sure. Like watching the duck and goose vids were it seems that all should be wearing hard-hats for the birds constantely falling. 

Been YouTubing a lot, I think I will have watched about everything before the season. 

Kind of been picking up good trends from what you guys been sharing here. Otherwise it's hard to sort the weeds from the wheat! 

Out of all the hunting vids I ever seen, this guy dose a fantastic job bringing his point across. 

Sweet sounding calls,,,,,, out side looking in, I would bet that this guy is spot-on?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHEYQQknRI


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## ddhlakebound (Feb 21, 2009)

Scouting and pre-planning are vital to your success, turkeys have fairly well defined patterns, and once you learn how they behave in the area you're hunting them in, your chances will improve. They don't always roost in the same tree, but they will have 2-4 roosting areas in their home range, and they'll be in one of those areas almost every night. 

Camoflaging yourself and your setup are also key. Full facemask, gloves, hat, gun camo'ed. Zero exposed skin (except eyes), nothing that casts a glare or reflection. Pay attention to your wrists and socks. When you're sitting with your knees up your ankles are exposed, and even a 1" square patch of white sock will give you away. It's difficult to have enough respect for a turkey's vision. If an old longbeard has one tiny feather telling him something's wrong, he's gone, and probably now has a case of lockjaw for a few days too. 

Being out there an hour and a half or two before sunrise can help you loads. Locator calls (owl, coyote) will help you find the birds long before they ever fly down. They don't like their peaceful roost time intruded upon by other natural noises, and (as long as they're cooperative) they'll gobble a response from the roost, telling that pesky owl to ####...and you where they are. 

It's always tough deciding where to set up. How close is close enough? How far away is "you just got busted"? I've called them in from over 1/4 mile away. I've also started out 100 yards away, and never got them closer. It all just depends on the bird and the lay of the land. Always set up with a tree/rock/something big at your back to help break up your outline, and if possible use some natural material in front of you for as much "blind" as you can get. 

Like Rope said, don't set up with an obstacle between you and the bird. Fences, ditches, creeks will all stop a bird from coming in. 

Sleeping in sometimes has it's merits too. Alot of old timers around here know where the birds will be at 9' oclock every morning. (true patterning, not feeder chasing) So they arrive at 8:15 after a long cozy night and a hot breakfast, call twice, and wait for their bird to arrive. 

Calling takes some practice, but knowing when NOT to call is (to me) more important than calling perfectly every time. I've heard hens that I swore were noobish hunters who'd never called before. Total disbelief when that hen shows up sounding like anything but a turkey, but it happens. Alot. 

Don't yelp too early. Tree calls only, til you know they're on the ground, or ready to be. 

Sometimes they want aggressive calling. The longest beard (10.5 triple beard) I've ever shot was about 75 seconds of action total. I was runnin n gunnin, and he gobbled from 80-100 yards out, good cover in between. I jumped the fence, moved 8-10 yards and set up. Called, he gobbled, and started running. He stopped halfway, and gobbled again. One more quick yelp, and he was running again. Stopped at 12 yards, permanently. 

Sometimes even moderate calling will send them the other way. The heaviest bird I ever killed came in almost 2 hours after my last call. He came the long way around without ever gobbling, and was almost behind me before I ever saw him. When I butchered him, I found my buddies pellets in his drumsticks and legs, from when that bird had hung up on him at 60 yards 3 days earlier. He'd kept calling and the bird would come no closer. So he tried a hail mary, and just made the old bird harder to hunt. Almost a 25 lb'er with a 10" beard. 

The ONE BIG KEY to being successful is finding a hot bird. Lonely gobblers are easy to hunt. All of 'em are lonely sometimes, it's just that finding them WHEN they are lonely isn't so easy. Even a gobbler that's been henned up all morning will go out lookin for some strange if none of his hens are receptive. Being there when he gets hot makes for some fast, fun hunting.


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## ropensaddle (Feb 21, 2009)

ddhlakebound said:


> Scouting and pre-planning are vital to your success, turkeys have fairly well defined patterns, and once you learn how they behave in the area you're hunting them in, your chances will improve. They don't always roost in the same tree, but they will have 2-4 roosting areas in their home range, and they'll be in one of those areas almost every night.
> 
> Camoflaging yourself and your setup are also key. Full facemask, gloves, hat, gun camo'ed. Zero exposed skin (except eyes), nothing that casts a glare or reflection. Pay attention to your wrists and socks. When you're sitting with your knees up your ankles are exposed, and even a 1" square patch of white sock will give you away. It's difficult to have enough respect for a turkey's vision. If an old longbeard has one tiny feather telling him something's wrong, he's gone, and probably now has a case of lockjaw for a few days too.
> 
> ...



Yup me and a buddy did an afternoon hunt he was skeptical but I told him to have patience and that I knew they were working this ridge in the pm. We got off work and met up at 430 climbed the hill and got setup by 4:55pm, one yelp nothing; then I cut a little and
wow, 350 yards or better away double goble, so I waited a few seconds and a soft yelp and another double gobble but 150 yards . I just soft purred and he ran all the way in full strut to twenty yards and a big bang lol , we were holding a bird at 5:00 five minute hunt priceless lol Hot birds kick.


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## cord arrow (Feb 22, 2009)

No trick...a flock of 40+ visits my deck at least once a week...just yards from my back door.

I put the Lab on 'em and off they all go across the field...but they always come back.

And.....you guys are saying they're hard to what...see? shoot? find?

These have to be the dumbest animals on earth....

"here comes that big yellow thing again...let's run off but go back..." LOLOLOLOL


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## ropensaddle (Feb 22, 2009)

cord arrow said:


> No trick...a flock of 40+ visits my deck at least once a week...just yards from my back door.
> 
> I put the Lab on 'em and off they all go across the field...but they always come back.
> 
> ...



Augh yes try to call them after opening day of spring turkey or after you have busted one then see how dumb they are!


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## cord arrow (Feb 22, 2009)

A few pics...it's good here...














[IMG


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## cord arrow (Feb 22, 2009)

> or after you have busted one then see how dumb they are!



Well...the dog's caught a couple...so you tell me...


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## cord arrow (Feb 22, 2009)

You fellows want I should loan you my dog?


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## cord arrow (Feb 22, 2009)

A dog's always going to be an inherently better hunter...

And...he keeps 'em coming back.......how ya' gonna' beat that?


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## cord arrow (Feb 22, 2009)

$1200 a week and all the turkey you can eat....seems fair....


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## ShoerFast (Feb 22, 2009)

cord arrow said:


> No trick...a flock of 40+ visits my deck at least once a week...just yards from my back door.
> 
> I put the Lab on 'em and off they all go across the field...but they always come back.
> 
> ...



I hear all the stories of how easy they are to hunt, and openly admit that I have hunted them 3 times now in Colorado, and skunked 3 times now. 

The turkey you have are more then likely Eastern Turkey, numbering well into the 5 million birds. 

What lives in the mountains are Merriam Turkey, there are 16,000 birds here, 12,000 hunters I will narrow my hunt to Pike National Forrest, as it is only 1,000,000 squire miles of land. Bring your turkey dog!


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## ropensaddle (Feb 23, 2009)

cord arrow said:


> $1200 a week and all the turkey you can eat....seems fair....


private ranches do kick but baiting is illegal tell you what try you and your dog on a public ground hunt there buckeye lol


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## cord arrow (Feb 23, 2009)

> numbering well into the 5 million birds.



And that's just in my back lot...

Some fellows at work hunt 'em....they rarely get any. Always telling me "shoot me one!"

Right...then what? You gonna' drop what you're doing and come get it? I tell 'em I made the dog turn one loose and they about freak.


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## ropensaddle (Feb 23, 2009)

cord arrow said:


> And that's just in my back lot...
> 
> Some fellows at work hunt 'em....they rarely get any. Always telling me "shoot me one!"
> 
> Right...then what? You gonna' drop what you're doing and come get it? I tell 'em I made the dog turn one loose and they about freak.



I imagine I could have a blast there prolly call up a dozen in a day or two.


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## rocky226 (Feb 23, 2009)

*Turkey hunting*

I have hunted turkey here in Missouri for about 22 years. I am still not an expert nor will I ever be. I usually get one of the two birds I am allowed in the Spring. The best advice is to scout and scout some more. I have killed birds shortly after day light but I have better luck at 10 AM or later. No matter what I do I can't out call an old hen much easier once the hens have went to nest. There are no secrets to turkey hunting just a lot of hard work. The best part of hunting is being out there with nature.


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## Burvol (Feb 23, 2009)

I had a flock of 20 mature toms fly over me on the river a few days ago, and then much to my surprise 15 minutes later, 75 or so hens and jakes came over me. It was awesome to see. This is a spot they cross every evening. I don't turkey hunt, and even if I did....everyone and their kids, their buddies, their kids buddies, and their neighbor's relatives from Tacoma and Vancouver hunt it. A drift boat idea would work, but everyone does that now too. I hear you turkey guys have a lot of problems with so many hunters *working calls all day.*


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## blakey (Mar 11, 2009)

I went to a wild turkey seminar last weekend and the instructor suggested putting camo tape on the gun. Anybody do this and does it come off easily? I have a Remington 870 Express with a fairly dull finish.


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## Blazin (Mar 12, 2009)

Some of the tapes can be hard to get off if you leave it on to long. A friend of mine used this stuff last year and it seemed to work pretty good. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...h/search-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

I have the 870 express in matte black with the synthetic black stock. Not having a gun with a sheen definitely helps, but keeping still is the big factor!


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## paniner (Mar 17, 2009)

*turkey, what's the trick*

THE TRICK IS- COME TO GRANTS PASS, OR! We have so many they are a nuisance! I have 5 acres in a rural area and could have my pick of 30 or so that come by every day. My neighbor pots a couple per year, but I don't like to pick 'em... most disgusting smell in the world is wet turkey, I think. But this year times are gonna be harder- might have to pick off one or two from my porch.


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## ropensaddle (Mar 17, 2009)

Get in the woods then candence in calling listen to the birds they will teach you all you need to know!


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## ShoerFast (Mar 18, 2009)

ropensaddle said:


> Get in the woods then candence in calling listen to the birds they will teach you all you need to know!



I was pretty sure this was not going to cut it?

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/356454/turkey_calling/


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## dingeryote (Mar 18, 2009)

LOL!!!

My resident Mob of dark Comedy birds follow my tractor and pick through the stuff turned up.

Have had them two rows over in the Blueberrys watching me spot spray, and then shadow me hrough the patch.

Have had them come in the barn while I was under the tractor and radio blaring.

Have had them get me all riled up while sitting in a tree waiting for a nice buck, then camp out and make a racket under my tree for hours.

But put on the coat and grab the shotgun and they will NOT come within range during season.

I have resorted to simply parking the Tractor near the edge of the field as bait. It's working.

Turkeys ain't smart. They just have a DNR Calendar.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## ShoerFast (Mar 18, 2009)

dingeryote said:


> LOL!!!
> 
> My resident Mob of dark Comedy birds follow my tractor and pick through the stuff turned up.
> 
> ...



Patrick F. McManus had a bunch of tricks, like how he would sit in his duck blind with a fake old klonker of a shotgun and a roll of toilet paper, when there definitely no ducks anywhere around, he would take the roll of toilet paper and whistle his way towards some bushes,,,,that he strategically hide his 'good shotgun' , never fails to produce ducks, if the trip was the real one! 

He came up with that one when he found the ducks to be on to his holding his fingers like a fake banana and pretend to peel them like he was mid-snack. 

Very talanted and gifted hunter to say the least! He started young....



> *Excerpt from The Night The Bear Ate Goombaw*
> 
> There was so much confusion over the in incident anyway that I don't want to add to it by getting the sequences mixed up. First of all-and I remember this clearly-it was the summer after Crazy Eddie Muldoon and I had been sprung from third grade at Delmore Blight Grade School. The Muldoons' only good milk cow died that summer, shortly after the weasel got in their chicken house and killed most of the laying hens. This was just before the fertilizer company Mr. Muldoon worked for went bankrupt, and he lost his job. The engine on his tractor blew up a week later, so he couldn't harvest his crops, which were all pretty much dried up from the drought anyway.
> Then Mr. Muldoon fell in the pit trap that Crazy Eddie and I had dug to capture wild animals. Our plan was to train the wild animals and then put on shows to earn a little extra money for the family. But Mr. Muldoon fell in the trap, and afterwards made us shove all the dirt back into it. The only wild animal we had trapped was a skunk, and when Mr. Muldoon fell in on top of it, he terrified the poor creature practically to death. Neither Mr. Muldoon nor the skunk was hurt much, but the skunk managed to escape during all the excitement. So there went our wild-animal show. This occurred about midsummer, as I recall, about the time Mr. Muldoon's nerves got so bad that old Doc Hix told him to stop drinking coffee, which apparently was what had brought on his nervous condition.
> ...


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## dingeryote (Mar 18, 2009)

They shoot Canoes around here as well.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## gink595 (Mar 18, 2009)

The almighty Gobbler.... It's getting closer


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## blakey (Mar 18, 2009)

We are only allowed to shoot bearded turkeys in our spring hunt and that tricky bird in the picture is hiding his beard. It sure looks like a tom but it has to have a beard.


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## ShoerFast (Mar 23, 2009)

blakey said:


> We are only allowed to shoot bearded turkeys in our spring hunt and that tricky bird in the picture is hiding his beard. It sure looks like a tom but it has to have a beard.



My bet is that there is a beard there, just needs deflating, as his center tail feathers are longer then the others makes him a jake and not a lot of whiskers yet. 

(slowly learning here! )


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## ropensaddle (Mar 23, 2009)

ShoerFast said:


> (slowly learning here! )


Y U master of feathers you be sure to post pics of those long beards ya drag in feller lol.


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## windthrown (Mar 23, 2009)

Turkeys? You must be joking. At my last residence, all I had to do was open the living room window and blast away. They were that close (like the elk, phesant and deer there). We had wild turkeys on our ranch year round, and they even nested there. We ate one once... cough 

True story: We had a peacock named "Junior Jr." (son of Junior) at the barn with several peacocks and hens. One day a group of tom turkeys came along and Junior Jr. desided he was a turkey, and wandered off with the toms. I was out cutting wood a few months later, and heard a group of toms gabbling in the woods. Lo and behold, they came out of the woods into a field and there was Junior Jr., still with the group of toms. I hunted a few toms with a .22 Ruger semi-auto rifle. Easy to shoot and kill that way, and avoid all the shot in the meat.


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## ropensaddle (Mar 24, 2009)

windthrown said:


> Turkeys? You must be joking. At my last residence, all I had to do was open the living room window and blast away. They were that close (like the elk, phesant and deer there). We had wild turkeys on our ranch year round, and they even nested there. We ate one once... cough
> 
> True story: We had a peacock named "Junior Jr." (son of Junior) at the barn with several peacocks and hens. One day a group of tom turkeys came along and Junior Jr. desided he was a turkey, and wandered off with the toms. I was out cutting wood a few months later, and heard a group of toms gabbling in the woods. Lo and behold, they came out of the woods into a field and there was Junior Jr., still with the group of toms. I hunted a few toms with a .22 Ruger semi-auto rifle. Easy to shoot and kill that way, and avoid all the shot in the meat.



Eh be careful .22 they are a federal bird and yes, If they are not being pursued much they become easy targets but here in redneck land they become smart, call shy, and worse get the lockjaw. Public ground turkeys in an area with many avid hunters produces a turkey that will promise you everything but deliver nothing and challenge your skills like none other I promise you.


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## mowrey1999 (Mar 29, 2009)

*Turkey*

Well I hate to say it but when I bought my place in Southern missouri I was going to hunt turkey , deer ect but within a day of getting settled we saw the deer and turkey would just hang around the property all the way up to the house , We never fed the deer or turkey anything we just would go on the porch and watch them eating, the turkey come out of the woods in the morning and come up to the house and bring there young and get bugs ect, they will just sit in the yard under a tree in the afternoon and appear to sleep or rest with there young . if we walk towards them they don,t fly away they will just get up and stay about 20 feet from us as we are raking or mowing ect, I dont know why they seem to be so tame because all the turkeys in Illinois I have been around they are hard to get close to , I have seen as many as probably 30 sitting in the yard at times maybe 15 feet from the house ,and up to 15 deer who just look at you when you open the door and walk outside,oh well ,I guess I will stick to fishing,


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## ropensaddle (Mar 29, 2009)

mowrey1999 said:


> Well I hate to say it but when I bought my place in Southern missouri I was going to hunt turkey , deer ect but within a day of getting settled we saw the deer and turkey would just hang around the property all the way up to the house , We never fed the deer or turkey anything we just would go on the porch and watch them eating, the turkey come out of the woods in the morning and come up to the house and bring there young and get bugs ect, they will just sit in the yard under a tree in the afternoon and appear to sleep or rest with there young . if we walk towards them they don,t fly away they will just get up and stay about 20 feet from us as we are raking or mowing ect, I dont know why they seem to be so tame because all the turkeys in Illinois I have been around they are hard to get close to , I have seen as many as probably 30 sitting in the yard at times maybe 15 feet from the house ,and up to 15 deer who just look at you when you open the door and walk outside,oh well ,I guess I will stick to fishing,


It is because they are not hunted now hunt them for say four days and watch them change into sneaky sobs


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