Turkey Hunting Thread!

[DocHolladay]

Congrats to all the turkey hunters that have scored and good luck to all of us who haven't. I have been hunting 3 times and been covered in birds every time but have not had a shot. Everytime a tom has been close enough it has been in a spot I have no shot (usually to my right).

Have you tried placing the decoys on your left side? I'm left handed and figured out many years ago to place the decoys to my right and instead of 40yds out, I place them at about 15-20yds away. This way I can swing my gun to my right, which is natural, and those toms that want to hang up at 60-70yds on a 40yd decoy will usually hang up and 30-50yds which can be an easy poke with the right shotgun choke combo. I just recently started cutting limbs(I use cedar) to place in front of me to help conceal me and my movement. I had some hens in front of me Monday at about 2yds and I had to squint my eyes because I swear they saw me blinking and it made them nervous. I was able to hold my pot call and call to them(imitate the mad hen) with out them seeing it.

 

[OkieKubota]

I don't use dekes and I rarely call...

 

[DocHolladay]

I don't use dekes and I rarely call...

I like to sit and call them in, but I have killed more turkeys using a sneak attack/ambush than any other way. Some people say that I'm not a turkey hunter doing it that way. The beards and spurs are great, but that breast meat is the best prize a turkey offers. I shot 27 birds in a three year stretch by hunting the spring and fall seasons. In 2016-17 they changed the fall limit to one bird per county(with a season) instead of 3-6(depending on county) and that would have let me shoot 78 fall turkeys if I felt like traveling the state. I would just hunt the counties around me and my lease, which would let me shoot 5 in the fall and the standard issue 4 spring birds.

 

[OkieKubota]

I like to sit and call them in, but I have killed more turkeys using a sneak attack/ambush than any other way. Some people say that I'm not a turkey hunter doing it that way. The beards and spurs are great, but that breast meat is the best prize a turkey offers. I shot 27 birds in a three year stretch by hunting the spring and fall seasons. In 2016-17 they changed the fall limit to one bird per county(with a season) instead of 3-6(depending on county) and that would have let me shoot 78 fall turkeys if I felt like traveling the state. I would just hunt the counties around me and my lease, which would let me shoot 5 in the fall and the standard issue 4 spring birds.

You must really like Turkey...We have a 1 bird limit per county with 2 total for the spring and we can kill a turkey with archery equipment while bowhunting deer in the fall...I usually kill 2 a year if I have time to go in 2 counties and have killed 3 in a year when I have gotten the fall bow turkey...

My main issue is I don't use blinds or dekes and I just sit at the base of a tree and I have very little time to hunt...most of my hunts are 30 minutes or less deals with me just grabbing the shotgun and easing into the woods across from my house...I always see/hear turkeys but if I don't think I can set up the way I want I just head back home...call it low impact turkey hunting because I have fence sitting turkey hunters as well and I won't push the birds... Turkey season began the 6th of this month before leaf out so concealment has been an issue and toms are with hens. Hens seem to lead toms away from calling so usually I setup where I know turkeys tend to move through or I listen for them and circle in front of them and just setup quietly and wait. Killed both my birds last year that way...I still see all of the strutting and drumming...Basically I hunt turkeys like deer.

 

[Jeff H]

I met a man hunting public land around Stockton lake that hunts that way. No calls, no dekes, just a shotgun and camo overalls. He claimed that the mature birds will run away from a call since the pressure is so high there. I later found that to be true. I only killed one mature bird there and he died shortly after coming off the roost as he was headed for private pasture where he spent his days.

 

[E_308]

Kind of like Kenny Rodgers said "you have to know when to call, when to fold them, and when to walk away" or something like that. You take away my calls and the ability to interact with the bird and I quit turkey hunting. Nothing like having one in spitting distance gobbling at ever cluck. I have ambushed my fair share but give me a called up bird every time. To each his own.

 

[DocHolladay]

Okie, I eat a lot of turkey at home and work. At home, I fry it, grill it and bake it. I smoke it on occasion and it makes some of the best smoked turkey salad sammiches you'll ever eat once you cut it up and pull it apart. At work we have a pellet grill/smoker that does a great job with whatever we cook. There are always "regulars" that are there around lunch time and if we plan it out, they will bring sides. Normally we will smoke it for 4 hours and run down to Kroger and grab some potato salad and beans and have a great lunch.I carry home what doesn't get eaten(which is little to none). I fixed breakfast the night I shot it with the tenderloins and eggs over easy. I cut the tendon out of the middle, cut it into about 8 pieces and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and sage. I then fried them in real butter until done a light golden brown. Spectacular. As the saying goes, "If you put it on your head, your tongue will beat your brains out getting to it".

 

[Jeff H]

Doc, if you get an old bird that's a bit on the tough side try smoking it for 2, hours, then slice the breast into 1 inch thick slices, batter and deep fry. You get the smoky flavor combined with the tender texture that deep frying gives you.
Just keep a baseball bat handy to keep the neighbors off it!

 

[DocHolladay]

Doc, if you get an old bird that's a bit on the tough side try smoking it for 2, hours, then slice the breast into 1 inch thick slices, batter and deep fry. You get the smoky flavor combined with the tender texture that deep frying gives you.
Just keep a baseball bat handy to keep the neighbors off it!

Sounds delicious. I have killed plenty of turkeys and haven't found a tough one yet. There is a grain to all meat, but turkey can be "worked" to your advantage. Any time I cut it, I cut across the grain not with it. This makes it easier to cut with a fork once cooked and if you batter and deep fry(tenders), it will flake apart when you bite into it. I used to cut with the grain and it was stringy and seemed tough to chew or got bigger the more you chewed.

 

[E_308]

Do you guys just breast and release or are you taking the whole turkey? I typically just take the breast but the boy wanted the drumsticks off of his. I have a couple of recipes to try but figure they are going to take some long slow cooking!

 

[DocHolladay]

I normally just get the breast and the tenderloins. The legs are edible, but a wild turkey works for a living and they don't have the amount of meat as a store bought bird.

 

[Jeff H]

The legs are usually pretty tough. They work ok cut up into small chumnks in a soup or stew though. I've never been brave enough to try and cook them whole.

 

[Gator]

Kind of like Kenny Rodgers said "you have to know when to call, when to fold them, and when to walk away" or something like that. You take away my calls and the ability to interact with the bird and I quit turkey hunting. Nothing like having one in spitting distance gobbling at ever cluck. I have ambushed my fair share but give me a called up bird every time. To each his own.

I agree. The interaction is what makes turkey hunting fun.

 

[OkieKubota]

Once the birds bust from the hens and are workable I will start calling but I never use a deke or blind. Last year I took my first bird ambush style and my second bird (late in our spring season) I called in from a good distance but both tasted the same...

 

[Kwood]

Heading out in morning for first hunt of year. Supposed to be windy which takes a little of the fun out of it. Still mornings are the best. Planning on sitting first couple hours on our "turkey plot" and if no luck I will move a bit in the wind and hope to either ambush one or get to our bottom and call one in.


Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

 

[Brushpile]

Turkey season begins on Monday the 17th in MO. Most of the hens are on the nest and gobblers are going to be a challenge. I hunt the same area year after year, and every year the turkey change their movement pattern. If I can get a gobbler to see my moveable decoy, it's fun to watch the interaction. If a gobbler won't come in I use a fan and walk toward the gobbler.

 

[dogdoc]

Back at it again for an afternoon hunt with blondie

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[OkieKubota]

Back at it again for an afternoon hunt with blondie

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Any luck?

I had 5 long-beards strutting in south plot this morning...going to have to get a blind because hens keep picking me off...

 

[dogdoc]

Nope, but haven't given up yet

 

[Rickey]

Okie,
Do you have one of those tree umbrellas? That's what I use for a quick ground blind for turkeys. Sets up quick and works good.