| Welcome to Ontario Trophy Bucks forum. Enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| What did you learn this year?; Turkey hunting in 06 | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 6 2006, 04:47 AM (201 Views) | |
| Renegade | Jul 6 2006, 04:47 AM Post #1 |
![]()
Atikokan, Ontario
|
This thread was at the lodge and I basically copied my response for OTB. I thought it brought out some great discussion! I still don't have that much overall experience but I did learn much this past season. I learned a lot from listening to other successful long time turkey hunters. If I'm hunting with someone who has a proven track record and experience I encourage them to explain to me what they are thinking, looking for. Why they made the calls they did and I listen to the subtle pitches, cadence etc. I listen to the turkeys, try to observe behaviour. This is helping me with my calling. Seems that most successful turkey hunters have many calls in their arsenal. A friend I met in Oklahoma, kept telling me "you try different calls with different pitches and cadences to see what gets the gobblers hot". Another hunter would tell me to "keep things toned down". Another would tell me to "head to field edges when it rains". I kind of take everything in and begin to draw my own conclusions based on what I've seen and heard. I'm not going to ever have them completely figured out, and I know that but if I keep trying to understand the turkeys I'm hunting I am increasing my odds of making the correct choices when hunting. What I learned in 06: 1) I want a really realistic Tom decoy and better hen decoys. Another tool. 2) Running and gunning and actually stalking birds can work in the right situations 3) There is nothing wrong with having a gobble call in your arsenal, and it may be used in the right situations as well 4) Comfort and setup is important, really important. A good turkey vest is almost essential especially with a back rest. Don't want to be moving all the time. 5) Pattern your shotgun and don't use inferior loads. I learned that one real well.... 6) I need to work on my calling continuously. I really am a poor caller on the whole, I can use mouth calls and friction calls but I am basically a one or two horse man. Need to work on some of the other variations besides clucks and yelps. 7) On the same note. Anyone can call a turkey and be successful with clucks and yelps only. 8) Patience! I've seen birds come in 1-3 hrs after setting up and calling. Moving is good and you may need to adjust at any point but be patient. 9) I here so much about getting out there in the A.M. for the "flydown" off the roost. You can hunt turkeys successfully all day and I haven't harvested one in the A.M. yet. 10) Birds may stay in roost well after sunrise. Learned that one first hand after I knew where birds were headed night before. Had a good idea where roost was located in river bottom and set up with my Dad. I had gobblers answer me early. After a few hours we second guessed ourselves and headed to a new location and we bumped the turkeys from the roost groan...... Since this was my second year chasing gooblers, I guess I learned much, and I have much to learn! I am very happy I discovered this sport and it is especially fun because my wife is enthusiastic about turkey hunting as well! |
| |
![]() |
|
| Extreme | Jul 6 2006, 08:09 AM Post #2 |
![]()
Lanark County--Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
|
To make it short and sweet---What I learned-----DONT MOVE,Or very little as possible. My first year Turkey hunting(this year) I was caught off guard by a big tom maybe 25 yards behind me--lol .I very slowly turned to look and noticed his head was facing the opposite direction.I assumed I could get my gun up,swing very slowly and shoot.I was dead wrong.I hadent moved my gun inches,he turned his head and was gone. I did shoot a nice jake though the Saturday evening .I learned from my mistake and hopefully wont make that one again. :blink: |
| I thought I was wrong once,But I was mistaken | |
![]() |
|
OntGobbler
|
Jul 6 2006, 09:39 AM Post #3 |
|
Advanced Hunter
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
A very neat thing I learned is a sound that happens when they gobble. I had the fortunate pleasure of having one gobble 7 steps behind me. There is a sound that can best be described as a metallic rattling sound. I had a view from the side so I could see the feathers shake violently on the puffed up bird. On the hunting side of things I confirmed what I had suspaected but had yet done. Just because you shoot the hunt ain't over. Had guy with a clean miss on one bird but another had been gobbling the other side of us. Had him swiuthc sides of the tree and called in the second gobbler for a kill. On another hunt called in one that a guy shot but we sat tight and I called in one more 40 mins after the shot for the third guy in the hunt. Like I said it was something I knew but sometimes you need to experience things to truly believe them when your out in the bush. Earlier years I would have defintley stood up after the miss or after the first bird was killed and figured the hunt was over for that spot. |
![]() |
|
LeGrand
|
Jul 6 2006, 11:43 AM Post #4 |
![]()
|
When crossbow hunting from a blind, don't shoot a bolt at a turkey heading in the opposite direction of you, wait for a broad side shot, this way more body as target then narrower shape heading away from you that can move either side (left or right) at last minute. I surely won't repeat that mistake. Also, I believe I've noticed that I might have called to much and to often, which might not have sounded natural to a Tom. Futhermore, if you are going to peg your blind to the ground, don't use the small steel pegs provided with the shelter, use some that go deeper in the ground for better strenght. Or else, your blind in unexpected heavy winds at night (when you are not there), might decide to roll around the field until it finds a place to rest against (and have a nice landowner retrieve it for you). :rolleyes: |
![]() ![]() | |
![]() |
|
| Tymber | Jul 13 2006, 05:24 PM Post #5 |
|
Unregistered
|
Never say never , and , never say always when it comes to hunting turkey |
|
|
nubo
|
Feb 26 2008, 11:17 PM Post #6 |
![]()
|
I like this one too. nubo |
| |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Wild Turkey Forum. · Next Topic » |











![]](http://z4.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)




2:18 PM Jul 11