Hey guys, This is my 2nd season going with a bow and I'm determined to go without a blind again. Last year I had 2 birds that I worked but just didn't get the shot. 1 was a jake that I called well over 300 yards and he came in to about 40 yards and spooked. Can you all share a tip that you have learned over the years if you have hunted them without a blind. I'll start it off. I've learned that when hunting on a field with a bow versus a gun you really don't want to sit on the field edge (atleast its a lot harder to get away with it) like having a gun. This year I got good spot that I can sit about 20 yards up in the woods being slightly uphill shooting down to the field edge where they like to come out and strut.
If you can, try to setup so that he will come out of the woods from behind you. That way once he's in the field a starts strutting, you have a chance to draw when his fan is blocking his view of you.
After a little looking I was able to relocate this Turkey Hunting: Four Tips to Triangulate a Tom | Field & Stream
Good tips guys. One thing I thought of today is bringing a folding chair with me. Its all black and one of them folding camp chairs that are made out of fabric. I bet I could sit in comfort right next to or behind a tree and wait. Last year I just used a little stool but after sitting for over an hour the back would get sore because I couldn't lean back. Having this folding chair would be nice and then I could either hold the bow or having it on a little hook on the tree within easy reach. thoughts?
What if he doesn't strut LOL. I'm going to have out a hen and a jake decoy. My season is end of April by the way. Lets say he comes in the field and he is 25 yards and just walks around the damn decoys. Do you just risk getting busted and draw as fast as you can or draw as slow and as motionless as you can? LOL. Damn birds why do their eyes have to be so good HAHA. I guess that's why I'm doing this without a blind. To me, I think this is the ultimate challenge.
I always try and set up so that I can use a folding chair. Yes as has been said many times, "if turkeys could smell, they would never be killed." So keep your bow handy and as much at the ready as possible and just as you do with a whitetail, move slowly.
Ha ha ... I understand your pain. A couple years ago I walked in blind on some public land I was traveling near on the other side of the state. No blind and only a hen deke. I had five jakes come in at first light and given all the variables I would have shot one feeling it would have been a heckuva accomplishment. They were 5 yards away but I could never get drawn because an old bitty hen came in to my calling from the opposite direction & never took her eyes off me
