Any of youz guys going after turkeys with a bow? I haven't tried it since I was in college, which is like a hundred million years ago. I'm going to give it a try (hopefully) this year. I put in for an Il tag for the local public land but once again didn't get drawn. I did however get a tag for Brown County. Hopefully I can find a spot there to hunt. Anyhow.. You guys that use ground blinds, do the turkeys care if the blind is set up the same day as you hunt? I heard they were pretty oblivious to them. True? Oh, and if any of you fellars from IL got a tag in the first draw.. the dates prined on the tag are wrong.
i plan on hunting turkeys this year wit a bow i was tlking to my local archary shop ownwer and he said if u get a good blind they wnt notice it so ill get one and ill prolly hunt alittle outa a treestand
I'm hoping to go for a turkey with my bow. I don't currently have a blind, nor do I have the money to really purchase one, so I'm not sure how I'm going to go about it. It's going to be hard to get drawn back on a turkey without them seeing me if I don't have a blind.
Christine, I have yet to bag a turkey with any weapon during the regular spring season. I've had chances with a gun on Jakes but it was always day 1 and I passed hoping for a Tom. Not this year. To answer your questiion they don't give a rats hindquater about the ground blind. Last year I had Jakes (four) within 10 yds, I passed. This year I'm bringing both weapons and if a jake gets that close or within 20 I'm grabbing the bow. I do set the blind up the afternoon before, and I set up two. If you set up the same day you risk getting busted while setting up, since you'll always make more of a commotion setting up your blind rather than just quietly sneaking in and sitting under a tree. Where I hunt I have very little woods access and hunt the field edges only with nowhere to hide. Good luck on your hunt !
Same results as Jeff here, the birds don't care about blinds at all. The gobbler I got this past spring with my bow came in to 25 yards as my blind was set on the edge of a woodline in a large clover field. He never looked at the blind before he met my Rocket Strictnine.
Yep, I'm seeing the same thing these guys are stating. They are oblivious to the blinds. I might just give it a go this year again with a bow, not sure yet.
They don't care about the blinds, but hunting with a blind seemed to hold me down last spring...I am going blindless for the most part this spring. Gun or Bow, I will approach it the same way. In AL, I will take the gun until a bird is on the ground, then bow from there. I will approach KY the same way unless I kill a bird out of state first, then it is bow only for here. I am fairly confident I can put a bird or two down this spring with the archery rig.
I use the bow the first couple of days then I go to gun. It is hard to run and gun with a bow. The blinds do work great from everything that I have seen.
I will most likely concentrate my efforts with a bow during our fall season (I'm 1 for 1 there :D) During our spring season, I really only get out on Saturdays, so I enjoy running and gunning with the little time offered to me. I don't use blinds either way. I like to stay mobile.
I agree, they don't care about the blind. I've had hens so close that I couldn't see their head. I was suprised how they completely ignore it.
Yep, love hunting them with a bow. I use ground blinds made from natural materials like pine branches or cedar branches. Not much experience in a pop up blind, so i cant answer that one.
I'll be making my first trip to Kansas this spring. i found an affordable 4 day 2 bird hunt and I'll be leaving the BP double barrel at home. I hope to get one with the Marquis and then one with the longbow. Heck, who am I kidding, I just hope to get one!
This is my first season coming up. If I don't get chosen in the lottery, I plan on buying an archery license for the last two weeks, and trying it with a bow. Any MN guys know if I can hunt from a treestand? Just curious. I am going to one of the turkey seminars that the DNR puts on, but I would like to know as much as I can ahead of time.
Treestands aren't too much of an advantage. With 270 degree vision they can pretty much see you up there. You're better off in a blind!
Depends on my mood & the weather as to which weapon I take. Sometimes the bow, sometimes the 870. Still looking for that 1st bowkilled spring bird.
I've seen turkeys a couple times on the public land by da house a couple times but those buggers can pick you off in a treestand from 80 yards away. Maybe it's my orange and yellow fletch or something? Back in the stone age in my first attempt at turkey hunting, I tried drawing on a jake while he was behind some brush about 30 yards away. He picked me off no problem and did that funny turkey run while putting the whole way out of sight. I actually got a shot off at a big tom but there was a ton of brush between him and me. (the flock came in from the wrong side of my brush pile ground blind) Anyhow, my arrow smacked into a popple right next to his head. I was using my voice to call them, no call. So after that incident, whenever I tried calling to that flock, they'd run the other way. I guess they pinpointed my voice. After that I tried using my H&R 20 gauge but it just couldn't throw a decent pattern. So I ended up borrowing my professor's grandpa's Model 12 shotgun. That thing was so long I couldn't carry it under my arm with poking the barrel into the ground. Anyhow, after days of hard hunting and covering miles trying to run and gun, in the last hour of the last day, I was driving my truck down the trail when I saw a jake. I jumped out of the truck and took off after it. (this was North Dakota, you can have a loaded gun in the truck) The jake flew up in the tippy top of a big popple. I shot him out of the tree. Hit him in the head with just one pellet. After all I went through, it didn't seem the least bit undignified. I hope to get it done in a more classic style this time. Like the boring turkey hunting shows. Set up here, call, call.. here comes the turkey.. wait.. whack/blamo.. high fives all around.
I agree with GMMAT, I have had many many ops in the fall time. The first time I had ever seen Turkeys in trees, was when I found out they were roosting in a tree near mine. I looked up just before sunrise, and thought they were really f'in big crows. Later that day was when I had two toms fighting it out, with a hen following them around. They are some ruthless animals when they are going at it. They were rolling around and what not, Maybe only 20 yds away from me. THey were taking down saplings that were maybe 1/2" thick. It was kinda creepy to watch.
Never went turkey hunting, but there have been two harvested from my land. My son got a 12 ga. pump for Christmas so he's all into the turkey scene. Friend at work said he has planty of turkeys on his land and he offered to let us hunt there, so I think I'll cash that offer in when it gets closer to the season. I think I'll tote the bow to see how I do.
Think about the placement of the deer eyes, the fact they have slit eyes rather than bird eyes and their rear vision is blocked by their ears I don't think it's anywhere near 300 degree. I'll see if i can look it up.
Turkey Hunting is very very addictive!!!! Be very careful. Turkey Hunting can/will ruin your life...cost you loved ones, jobs and have you walking aimlessly around town when the season is over making turkey noises.... But don't let the tv shows fool you......All kidding aside TH is my favorite past time and I pursue it very very aggresively....I generally go to my hunting cabin in the swamp the day brfoe the season and stay for 5 days to a week by myself, with no shower....a poor diet and little rest....it is a BLAST! I love going out before daylight and listening to them gobble and then trying to manuever on them.....I chase them around till about noon, then I'll catch a nap eat lunch and then go get in the pop up for awhile.....seeing what the afternoon offers..... But I'll pass along the best advice you will never hear on TV. I've killed 90% of my birds between 9 an 10 in the morning. In SC there is alot of competition from real hens, and a few hunters.....around 9 -9:30 the hens leave the gobblers to go lay eggs and the woods get quiet.....the other hunters are usually burned out by now because they have been up since about 4 and they didn't sleep well and they have somewhere else to be..... Let the gobbler who gobbled to you all morning know were you are (make sure you are in a place he likes).....set your decoy up and call sparingly(as in once every 30 minutes or so)....when the hens leave him he is likely to come check you out...but more times then not you will not know he has arrived until you hear him cluck 20 yards away.....a pop up would be good here. I've killed them without even calling after the woods get quiet....just set the decoy up were he will see it easily if he sneaks in....Less is more in this situation. But he will come in quiet and you will kill him and look at your watch it will be 9:50. Then you drive to the marina to eat a hearty breakfeast and tell everyone how you called aggresively and even used your yote howler to fire him up and shot him at 75 yards..... SB don't tell anyone I told ya the secret.
