I might be against the grain here, but i love turkey hunting, even more so then deer hunting. In my area, the longbeards are more cautious, more pressured and downright harder to hunt then deer (aside from mature bucks). Ive hunted deer and turkey for 9 years now and taken 5 deer but only 1 turkey. The excitement i get from hearing a gobble is insurmountable.
Happens too early in the morning, and the season's too short. Heck, the alarm's been going off at 5:50 every morning for P90X, and I sit up in bed and look out and it's already daylight! Yuck! That would mean the alarm would be going off at... like 3:30 or 4ish? Double yuck!! Seems like there's a lot of other people concentrated into the woods at the same time, which is another negative. I bowhunt deer so much that except for a very limited time of year, most of the season I've got the woods to myself. I'm sorta the same... not ruling it out. Heck, I might go this year; I've got a neighbor who wants me to go with him. Might once or twice, but it just doesn't turn my crank like a whitetail does.
My experience is like rybo's. My dad hounded me for nearly a decade to join him on a turkey outting but I just didn't feel like wasting a weekend on them. Then I gave it a try a few years ago and the experience far exceeded my expectations.
Pretty much sums it up for me as well. Ironically, I looked around while I was getting my household supply of things this morning at Wal-Mart for a cheap turkey call and considered going out a couple mornings here on my own place, but they didn't have anything, so I decided "Not this year" again.
For me, turkey hunting is right up there with deer hunting, it might actually beat out deer hunting. It may have all started with my grandfather, I can remember being 6 years old and going out with him in the evenings to watch some toms strutting and that sight just got me hooked. When I started hunting turkey with him, the sound of a gobble in the morning would send chills down my spine. The interaction with the animal is what got me hooked. I love being able to make a crow or owl call with my mouth and have that tom let loose, wait for the sound of flapping wings as he flies down and then making some yelps with my own voice.... it just gets me going. Its definetly not for everybody, but it is definetly for me. I spend my mornings hunting turkey and then head out of the woods at noon, get my trout fishing gear ready and I hit the streams.
I began spring turkey hunting at age 14 back 1990. I called in several birds over the years,and I missed every one of them...too impatient, shot at em too far away..I killed my first bird in 94, big bird, 20 lbs 12" beard. 1.25" spurs. I hunted them off and on for the next 5 yrs without any luck at all. the birds just quit talking in my area for some reason. I stopped hunting them all together for about 7 yrs, until last yr, my brother twisted my arm to go. never really had any luck on setting up on birds last yr and never heard many either...so we found a new place for one last yr before I gave it up forever...this is where I did a 180 on spring turkeys...this new land is loaded and I killed one the first day and we hear at least 10 bird every trip...I don't love it like deer hunting, but it is a neat puzzle to piece together and the thunder they shout is amazing...so after 15 yrs of turkey hunting off and on, Im hooked.. It's all about being where there are lots of birds to keep you on your toes.
I love to hunt spring turkeys... for a few reasons 1. It's a GREAT time to introduce new people to hunting. 2. Anything that talks back to you is fun to hunt (IMO) 3. The weather is comfortable and there's a pretty good opportunity of having close encounters.
I agree Dubs, spring turkey hunting is a perfect time to get kids and people into hunting, its a pretty awesome time of the year to be in the woods interacting with the birds!
I was that way 7 years ago, and than I tried it. I can tell you unless you go out with some one who knows what they are doing it can get really frustrating. I had a friend take me under his wing, he got me hooked. Buckeye is coming to MI next year, we're going to pop his cherry
Here is my deal..... I grew up hunting and fishing...been doing it since I was old enough to carry a weapon...I hunted small game, Quail, Squirrels, rabbits, woodcock, ducks.....When I was 9-14 or 15 there were very few deer in my neck of the woods...so no one in my family hunted them...the older boys ( I am the youngest of 11 cousins who grew up and hunted on the same property) all hunted ducks as their big deal and didn't want me to tag along...so I took on deer hunting by myself...As far as Turkeys went, only a few oldtimers hunted them and to hear them talk they were the Lords of the forrest only the few, the proud the...(well you get it) deserved to hunt them. SC use to have a fall season and I saw turkeys in the woods during the fall and I thought it was cool to see them but I didn't think much about hunting them cause it seemed to me all you had to do was listen for them, go to the closest hill and when the afternoon/roost time came they would come to you...no challenge at all. I was a radin addicted deer hunter. We had hurricane HUGO and it wiped out the turkeys and they ended fall hunting. So then when I was in my late 30's and going through a divorce a guy I work w/ who is really into turkeys invited me. I learned that the Oldtimers were correct...the GObbler is the Lord and King of the Forest. And I can say I'm glad most people don't like it...cause it would ruin it if more people tried it...as a matter of fact I tell everyone that askes me about turkey hunting that it sucks unless your wanting to find a quiet place and get drunk as hell and shoot at all kinds of unseen stuff moving through the woods....and deal with rattlers and wild vicious wild dogs and rabid hogs and crazed dopers lookin after their secret weed plots.... SB
I never really got into my first 10 years of hunting. Just last year I decided to give it a try. I called in two mature toms in two outings. The second of which became my first bird ever (21.5lbs). I actually started to think it was easy, when in reality it was mostly luck. I'm going to get taken to school this spring, I can tell, but it doesn't matter. It's a RUSH to interact with your quarry. The bird I shot last year got within 5yds of me (yes 5 yds), and he was spittin and drummin, and then he let out a massive shock gobble. I was NEVER so shaky hunting ANYTHING ever. Plus, I love being in the woods on a spring morning. It's a great way to shake off the months of cabin fever.
See? I'm going Friday morning... just got off the phone with my neighbor. We determined I've got to set the alarm for 4 a.m. Ugh.
Awesome Greg, good luck, I'm going to do some calling for a friend in the AM and the alarm is set for 3:00 AM on the road by 3:15, I can't wait!
I do love me some turkey hunting! It is where I got my start in the great outdoors. I can honestly say that my passion for hunting turkeys out weighs my passion for deer hunting, but not by much. I could listen to gobblers sound off 24/7/365!
It took me quite a few years to really get into the birds. I was pretty blase about turkey hunting for probably the first 5 years I hunted them. Mostly just went out with my buddies and didnt really care if I took one home or not. Then I got my fist bow bird w/ the ole' york pro classic and was hooked for life. I think the thing I enjoy most about it is the sheer interaction between you and the prey. It can be a fairly fast paced hunt that can be a sigh of relief after a long fall and winter of slow days in the tree. Mid to late season here is beautiful warm weather and when the sun is shining off of an old toms back while he is all strutted up, well its just plain cool. When you hear the first gobble on a bird you are after and it is barely audible, you kind of wonder if you really have contact. When the distance is being cut and you can hear him the whole way, thats the fun for me. I enjoy the birds and the hunt is almost as fulfilling as a deer but the amount of prep I put into turkeys is not near what I do for deer so there will always be an appreciation gap for me there.
Fall Turkey....I'll shoot anything that comes near a deer blind and consider it a bonus. It's a no brainer, deer are legal for the duration that turkeys are and there really is no comparison. Spring Birds....When I was 16-18, we hunted like men (boys) possessed. We lived for it every spring. Then my hunting buddy left to serve our country and I lost interest. I know how exciting it can be, but early bass on the river was always more tempting. This year I am planning a revival as I would like to take one with my bow in the spring. I have zero desire to shoot one with a gun. This Saturday's opener will have me with my original pal, now a veteran and a turkey hunting rookie. I'll be the guy with the camera and the calls. Later in the week, I will have the bow in hand.
The bold part is EXACTLY what my thought is. This morning I killed my first gobbler ever, and it means a lot to me because when I started turkey hunting last year, I knew next to nothing besides the "what you see on TV" crap.. When something is self-taught, its a bigger rush when you succeed and pretty darn gratifying. I made ALOT of mistakes my first year, but all you can do is learn from them. Pics of the gobbler in the watercooler forum, I'm not gonna hijack this thread.. I understand what a lot of you are saying though, I love turkey hunting, but nothing beats hunting whitetails, imo.
I would take a day turkey hunting in the spring over a day in the fall deer woods, any day of the week hands down. Turkey hunting is my thing, I like it FAR more than any other type of hunting I have experienced to date. I love hearing them sound off, closing the distance to the call...or watching them blow up into full strut, or watch em come in on a string to flog the decoy. So many cool experiences, and the coolest part? You KNOW he is there (well for most birds anyway). Calling in animals is AWESOME, but thats not what I am eluding to. I mean, with deer hunting you sit on stand, perfectly still, perfectly quiet, perfectly alert, waiting for the off chance you spot a deer sneaking into range.....Turkey hunting? You move around, you close the distance, you cut up with friends, you call the animal in to you, the animal Tells you where he is throughout the day, he puts on a show on his way in. I would rather KILL a big buck than a big tom, but I would rather HUNT for the turkey, if that makes any sense. I can only imagine what Elk hunting will do to me in the future, I've heard it is like deer hunting mixed with turkey hunting on steroids.
