Just want to see what's the popular vote on turkey hunting methods from seasoned turkey hunters in general .and what one takes more skill in the woods .
Okay number 1
to run and gun .
2
to sit in a ground blind and work a bird
3
sit and ambush them ..
not a debate Just want to see what popular .
I am a ground blind hunter .
Sent from my C811 4G
mostly run & gun
All the above! Depends on where I hear them that morning.
Quote from: trkehunr93 on May 09, 2014, 02:25:44 PM
All the above! Depends on where I hear them that morning.
I agree
Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
1. Run and gun - that's how I learned to hunt and it's been good to me. I also have the attention span of a gnat.
2. Ground blind - either if it's raining or if there is very limited cover and I know its an area they frequent.
3. Sit and ambush - remember that attention span thing! I'm not a good deer hunter because I can't stand just sitting and waiting. I have done it successfully though, especially on tough late season birds. I will usually mix in very light calling (clucks and purrs).
Depends on the season/birds/where I am hunting. Next weekend I will hunt back home where the property is smaller and I don't have as many farms as I do closer to where I live now. With that, I will sit tigher in a blind with my dad. The past few weeks, I have had access to a lot of land and walked most of it. The weather is also a big factor. If it raining or I am lazy, I will sit longer. If I have fresh legs and the weather is nice, I will be moving more.
I'm a run and gun hunter. I like to meet the birds half way. The fun of the hunt is the interaction.
I prefer run and gun, but I will do whatever it takes. Usually, sitting quiet while waiting to ambush is my last resort.
Not sure who pushed the pestilent term "run and gun" on the turkey world.
Most people that call themselves run'n and gun'n run off more turkeys than they kill....I hunt slow and gun without blinds or da'coys but if I need to make a fast move I can.
I go with a ground blind most of the time, especially since I rarely gun hunt anymore.
Run & gun...
I do not believe it is the most productive method, as sitting patiently in a productive spot generally proves more productive for those who have the patience.
Generally in the morning, I will either hunt a spot I think is productive, or I wait somewhere where I will not disturb birds and try to figure out where they are.
But, I love walking up and down those hills hoping to hear a bird, then having to make that decision of gaining ground or staying put... Maybe if the bird is in a deep draw, I might side-hill down, but headed away from him at a quick pace, and get him to meet me at the bottom.
L.F. Cox is correct though. I have scared of more birds than I have killed walking those hills... I would hate to count the number of times I have gotten up to move because of no activity or a distant gobble, only to scare a close bird that was coming towards me....
Whatever it takes. They all work at different times with different birds. My preferred method is to get right in on a roosted bird I put to bed the night before and call him in at first light. Once they shut up for the morning I like to slowly walk logging trails stopping every 50 yds or so making light calls. When I do get an answer I usually set up immediately and see whats on his mind. Is he willing to come or am I going to need to dance around for a while.
Quote from: L.F. Cox on May 09, 2014, 06:06:20 PM
Not sure who pushed the pestilent term "run and gun" on the turkey world.
Most people that call themselves run'n and gun'n run off more turkeys than they kill....I hunt slow and gun without blinds or da'coys but if I need to make a fast move I can.
+1 :z-winnersmiley: I hunt the same way.
Quote from: L.F. Cox on May 09, 2014, 06:06:20 PM
Not sure who pushed the pestilent term "run and gun" on the turkey world.
Most people that call themselves run'n and gun'n run off more turkeys than they kill....I hunt slow and gun without blinds or da'coys but if I need to make a fast move I can.
True that. Walk and Gun is the right way to do it.
Quote from: L.F. Cox on May 09, 2014, 06:06:20 PM
Not sure who pushed the pestilent term "run and gun" on the turkey world.
Most people that call themselves run'n and gun'n run off more turkeys than they kill....I hunt slow and gun without blinds or da'coys but if I need to make a fast move I can.
Agree 100%. While I may call occasionally after reaching a spot, I don't like the long term impact on the birds that the run and gun tactic usually produces.
I do what it takes but I enjoy "run n gun" by that I just mean covering ground and moving at whatever pace the woods and the birds allow me to do. I do believe that a person will learn and use more turkey hunting skills if they are moving and exploring the woods they hunt. Not saying this is the hardest way to hunt, I find it more difficult to wait out a silent bird.
All of the above. I usually base it on what kind of mood the bird is in.
shotgun I am after them! But I mostly bowhunt now and blind hunt, I normally set up in the morning and do not move all day, sometimes I may move once and rarely more than once, some days I sit till quiting time and then move my blind where I had birds that morning so I am ready in the morning. One bird I missed this spring I did that, left decoys bow and vest all in the blind, sure was a nice walk in that morning!
Quote from: Gooserbat on May 09, 2014, 04:17:02 PM
I'm a run and gun hunter. I like to meet the birds half way. The fun of the hunt is the interaction.
:agreed: This is me totally. Love it
I will add that when I do run & gun that I take brisk steps, I walk brush lines or thick treelines using animal or cattle trails, I avoid a skyline at all costs, and I like to cluck softly as I walk.
I have noticed a lot of other hunters drag their feet, and I have spotted many guys walking a saddle on a hill when the break the skyline. I am a relatively a novice compared to most here, but I have been surprised at veteran hunters dragging their feet while walking; I think this is a burner for sure.
I have a canyon property that I really like to run & gun on... The bank has steep cuts on the uphill side, and drops down quick enough on the downhill side, that the only way a bird can spot me is on the road (which has happened). Before I hit a bend in the road, I will stop and try to elicit a response.
Interestingly, I have found that birds often gobble behind me as I am walking and clucking... I think they get nervous that a nearby hen is walking away... I have also found that getting a distant response gobble often generates a gobble of a closer bird I had no idea was there.
If I am trying to cut the distance to a bird, I will yelp or cluck the whole time... When I pick my spot, I sit down and shut up for a bit. This has worked out a couple times for me. Sometimes when attempting to cut the distance, I might not take a direct line, but instead a 45° angle, and try to draw the bird into a better strategically located area.
No proof, but I have a gut feeling that a moving and talking hen is more enticing and realistic to a tom. I have bumped some birds while walking and calling, and I have bumped into some birds that if I were more prepared I could have killed... I realize there is a downside to this, but I have fun doing it. I am still learning, as I am relatively new to turkey hunting (as compared to wing-shooting)...
I have enjoyed reading the tips and tactics discussed on this forum, and this seems a good one.
I say hunt the way you like to hunt, within ethical and legal bounds...while respecting other hunters that might be out there doing the same. We all have our ways that we like to hunt,...and reasons for doing so. I absolutely HATE to sit and wait on a bird in ambush,...but there are times when it is the best thing to do both in terms of the possibility of killing a bird and not stumbling into another hunter while moving around.
As others have stated, "run and gun" is a lousy description of the tactic of moving through the woods and calling in hopes of getting a gobbler to respond,...but it is easy to say,...and it rhymes.
I personally get much more enjoyment,...not to mention a lot more exercise and health benefit,...by moving along "prospecting" for a responsive gobbler. To me, that is what turkey hunting is all about,...finding a vocal gobbler and calling him to me. I may bump turkeys during that process at times,...but that comes with the territory, and I accept it as a risk of the methodology.
Some people suggest that those of us that "move and call" are ruining the hunting for ourselves and others by bumping birds. I, on the other hand, say that hiding in ambush and killing birds that just happen to wander by is just removing birds from the woods that us "movers and callers" might have a great, interactive hunt with at some point.
Bottom line is,...its is all a matter of one's perspective as to what we want out of our turkey hunting....
Prospecting...yes.
Quote from: L.F. Cox on May 09, 2014, 06:06:20 PM
Not sure who pushed the pestilent term "run and gun" on the turkey world.
Most people that call themselves run'n and gun'n run off more turkeys than they kill....I hunt slow and gun without blinds or da'coys but if I need to make a fast move I can.
I am with cox with me its most productive and don't
Spook that many birds
4) Take a seat, and call them in.
90% of the birds I kill are called into range from a stationary location.
I won't hunt a piece after my run & gun buddy blows a place out...
mudhen
Quote from: mudhen on May 14, 2014, 12:23:38 AM
4) Take a seat, and call them in.
90% of the birds I kill are called into range from a stationary location.
I won't hunt a piece after my run & gun buddy blows a place out...
mudhen
So, I guess the question I have to ask is...What constitutes "blowing a place out"? Are you suggesting that a hunter that moves and calls through an area is going to affect the birds so much that you cannot be successful with your sit and wait tactics in that same area? Not wanting to be confrontational about it, but that seems to me to be a bit far-fetched and extreme.
Most places that get turkey hunted in this country are in areas where the turkeys interact with people all year round. Turkeys become very accustomed to seeing humans being in all but the most remote areas. Those human beings are doing all sorts of things and making all kinds of noises, often including trying to make turkey sounds if they see wild turkeys. The idea that a turkey hunter that accidentally bumps a bird while moving and calling has messed up an area for the guy that wants to sit and wait is questionable, at best.
...And just to be fair, if a "run and gun" guy came on here and said he wouldn't hunt an area where his buddy sat around and waited to ambush a gobbler, I would say the same thing to him from the opposite standpoint.
Once again,... "I say hunt the way you like to hunt, within ethical and legal bounds...while respecting other hunters that might be out there doing the same."
Run and Gun is too lose a term.
I prefer to scout and execute, know where the birds roost and where they want to go. Slip in close and work them as soon as they hit the ground. i have killed a bunch of birds within 10min of fly down because I knew exactly where they were gonna be. Later in the morning i will slip around to good vantage points for listening or likely strut zones and do some calling series but I dont blow birds out or tromp around an entire property either.
I sat in a blind once with a youth hunter and could never do it again. feel like a caged animal
40+ years of chasing these very additive mind boggling two legged magicians I have cracked a code on how to hunt them by using a mathematical code with the lunar tide and the barometric pressure this code will tell me exactly how to hunt them that day!
Quote from: BigGobbler on May 14, 2014, 10:39:45 AM
40+ years of chasing these very additive mind boggling two legged magicians I have cracked a code on how to hunt them by using a mathematical code with the lunar tide and the barometric pressure this code will tell me exactly how to hunt them that day!
This. ^^^ ;D
Quote from: GobbleNut on May 14, 2014, 08:45:50 AM
Quote from: mudhen on May 14, 2014, 12:23:38 AM
4) Take a seat, and call them in.
90% of the birds I kill are called into range from a stationary location.
I won't hunt a piece after my run & gun buddy blows a place out...
mudhen
So, I guess the question I have to ask is...What constitutes "blowing a place out"? Are you suggesting that a hunter that moves and calls through an area is going to affect the birds so much that you cannot be successful with your sit and wait tactics in that same area? Not wanting to be confrontational about it, but that seems to me to be a bit far-fetched and extreme.
Most places that get turkey hunted in this country are in areas where the turkeys interact with people all year round. Turkeys become very accustomed to seeing humans being in all but the most remote areas. Those human beings are doing all sorts of things and making all kinds of noises, often including trying to make turkey sounds if they see wild turkeys. The idea that a turkey hunter that accidentally bumps a bird while moving and calling has messed up an area for the guy that wants to sit and wait is questionable, at best.
...And just to be fair, if a "run and gun" guy came on here and said he wouldn't hunt an area where his buddy sat around and waited to ambush a gobbler, I would say the same thing to him from the opposite standpoint.
Once again,... "I say hunt the way you like to hunt, within ethical and legal bounds...while respecting other hunters that might be out there doing the same."
Can't say I agree with much of anything in your reply.
I think your comment about most places seeing enough human interaction to bump them is pretty close to being as wrong as a statement can be. I have hunted many places where brake lights on the vehicle sets the whole field of birds sprinting to the woods....
Maybe it's where I hunt? I have only hunted turkeys in 15 states, so I certainly cannot speak for all 49 states that have a turkey season. Also, 99% of my spots are private land, that only sees a few farmers or ranch workers. Even then, hunting pressure, even light, can send the birds off the property.....
I've only got close to 1000 turkey hunts under my belt, but I definitely notice a difference with a property that has been 'runned & gunned', but that's just those 1000+- hunts or so, I know many guys that hunt waaaaaay more than I do, so I could easily be incorrect....
Also, please note, I stated "my run & gun buddy", so I don't know how you ran with that one and applied my comments to all runners & gunners. I know some runners that shoot 50-75+ toms a year, so I doubt all runners spook birds. My buddy has a special talent in chilling a property though. He walks every square inch of every property we hunt together, so if he has been there, I tend to avoid it for a least a good period of time....
mudhen
QuoteAlso, please note, I stated "my run & gun buddy", so I don't know how you ran with that one and applied my comments to all runners & gunners. I know some runners that shoot 50-75+ toms a year, so I doubt all runners spook birds. My buddy has a special talent in chilling a property though. He walks every square inch of every property we hunt together, so if he has been there, I tend to avoid it for a least a good period of time....
Fair enough,...my apologies for jumping to the conclusion that you were inferring that hunters that choose to move through an area and call will ruin an area for hunting because they choose to hunt that way. I am sure there are places where reckless "running and gunning" can put birds on the alert, but I think that is more a function of turkeys having enough negative interactions with hunters, regardless of what tactics those hunters use, that it begins to affect their normal behavior.
I think our perspectives might be different because it appears you probably hunt small tracts of private land surrounded by other private lands that the birds can move to and where you cannot go hunt them, while I have mainly hunted large tracts of public land where the birds have to adjust to hunting pressure while having no place to escape to. They are hunted wherever they go, and by hunters that use every tactic in the book to try to kill them.
I have seen little evidence so support the theory that the birds I hunt get "blown out" by hunters who move and call. They merely adjust their behavior to avoid hunters by gobbling less and by not approaching any kind of turkey call they hear without visual evidence that what they are hearing is a real, live hen turkey,...and even then, if that real, live hen turkey will not come to them, they will often not go to her.
As for the hunters that shoot 50-75 toms a year,....I have told you ten million times not to exaggerate! ;D :TooFunny:
I do what I got to do and I kill turkeys
Id have to say my method of hunting is Walk,Sit, and Gun.
Quote from: GobbleNut on May 14, 2014, 05:24:50 PM
Quote
As for the hunters that shoot 50-75 toms a year,....I have told you ten million times not to exaggerate! ;D :TooFunny:
Just read about a guy who just completed a 49 state slam in one season :o
I can only imagine the bills from those hunts :z-dizzy:
mudhen
Run & Gun:
Like some have said it's maybe more like "walk & gun", but this is me. If there's one gobbling on the other ridge......... I am off and running, though.
Ground blind:
No. Just ain't me. I keep a pop-up blind set up in my hunting area just as a shelter should it take to downpouring rain. I absolutely HATE "hunting" from a blind.
Sit & ambush:
Not legal in my state. Again.......... not me even if it was. I want a hard-gobbling bid coming looking for my calling.
We roost em then get in tight in the morning. We listen for the first gobbles and set up accordingly. If we are unsuccessful at first light, we run and gun the logging roads and tote roads. We cover ground but do not rush. Patience is our key to working birds.
Quote from: Gooserbat on May 09, 2014, 04:17:02 PM
I'm a run and gun hunter. I like to meet the birds half way. The fun of the hunt is the interaction.
X2 - Ive been at this game for 51 years - agressive running & gunning = active hunting = still a pure adrenalin rush even at my age..
I used to hunt with a guy that moves about as slow as he talks. He's an old country boy from South Carolina. I won't use his name b/c I know several of you know of him or have met him. When I say several, I mean I have walked up on random hunters in various clubs who have seen my Buice trumpet and them say hey... do you know....
Anyway, he taught me a long time ago that if you are slow and steady and use the bends in creeks, roads, timber, etc... to guard your movement and call sparingly/lightly on a trumpet, you can kill birds consistently.
I think Frank knows exactly who I am talking about. We aren't that close anymore, but his lessons still resound in my head.
Slow and steady, and being able to move when necessary is what kills turkeys.
Question for all:
At what point does "slow and steady" turn into "run and gun"?
...I guess I am confused about the "turkey vernacular"... ??? ::)
My idea of run & gun is to cover a lot of ground fast while stopping every 100-200 yards to call. Basically I am just trying to find a hot bird quickly.
Quote from: Yoder409 on May 20, 2014, 06:58:04 AM
Sit & ambush:
Not legal in my state. Again.......... not me even if it was. I want a hard-gobbling bid coming looking for my calling.
Seems like a tough law to enforce...
Guy makes a small series of calls in the morning and waits it out till 3 pm and kills a bird... He could argue it took the bird a while?
I have put myself in the place that the birds want to be, and killed a few that way... Always called at them as they were coming... Maybe it sped up the process a bit, but looking back, I likely would have killed those birds anyways...
:turkey2: 1) Find them
2) set up at your comfortable distance
3) check their temperature
4) read bird and set up a plan
5) get em hot and then let them look for you
This is what we do, no best way, only what works for you in your area. We hunt mostly in the woods and by now the birds are shy. If you can get em gobbling, you have a chance.1/2 the hens here are on a nest so competition here is getting more heated. Good luck everyone
The year I had my ACL done I learned a ton about run & gun turkey hunting. Three weeks after sergery I was out turkey hunting. I couldnt go fast at all, and going up hill was even worse. I heard moe birds going a that snails pace & calling a bit. Also once I go down against a tree to work one it was impossible to get u quietly so I had to stay put. Killed 2 nice toms I would have walked by. Mike
To answer the OP, it depends. Never used a ground blind - I won one in a raffle and promptly gave it away to my deer hunting kin. I have used ground blinds I made of natural vegetation-if there is time I always pop up a little brush with my cutters. I would say I walk and strike (slow pace, calling at bends and in places where I know birds are likely to be). Use my binocs at all fields, roads, etc. I have ambushed a few birds in my day after hunting them and they were silent for weeks, but I knew they were there due to tracks and fresh strut marks. I got more enjoyment out of killing one gobbler that I knew was using a field based on his strut marks and I sat up and called him across the big field when he showed up one day. He never gobbled once, but I knew he was there because I was paying attention to my surroundings. He strutted in to a load of hevi through the fog. Far from a classic hunt, but very satisfying.
Depends on where i am hunting , if a good sized private ground spot i may walk and go the gobbler some . But mostly sit and call from a blind or no blind ,callin them in is the fun part. North Mo. you have lots of hayground and pastures, not much woods except fence lines and narrow creek bottoms and ditches, even with some bigger pieces it is rare not have neighbors who have friends or family hunting, land all broke up, 80 acres here, 160 there, 40 here, everyone on everyones boundary, just like deer season. Run and gun spooks alot of birds. If there is a hunting style that has messed up more hunts for me it is someone who tries to close the distance on the gobbler i am working. I have had people walk right by me or start answering my calls and start closing the distance on me. Sitting down is the safest method especially in the woods where another guy can get too close to another without them knowing it. Areas with roads everywhere are the worst, those who drive around looking for strutters or listening and jumping out and trying to run and gun anywhere have always been a problem. From the truck some will shoot , thats why they are in the truck instead of the woods calling.When i started in the 70's no problems hardly at all, then in the 90's videos and run and gunning guys spooking birds and busting in on your setup. Have friends that have had birds literally blown out from under them by those who sneak in and don't even call. Truman lake area, guys walking the fence at 8 opening day spooked the 3 toms i had working at 60 yards out this year, i was set up 300 yards from the fence, birds were further and had no problem picking those 2 out, i could see them too. I went to the other side of the place and got one at 10-11am to a sit and call setup. got lucky and salvaged that hunt.
I would like to run and gun more but find it difficult with the small parcels of land I am used to hunting. Keeping this in mind I do like to move around a bit. If a bird is locked up or going away I won't stay in one place, I will try and make something happen.
Personally I have no interest in sitting in blinds. I have done it before but find I get frustrated and feel closed off from the woods. When you are in a blind the interaction with a gobbler just isn't as enjoyable in my opinion.
It depends where I'm hunting as to how I hunt. On small properties I often have to myself, I've already scouted the areas I know turkeys prefer to hang out. Ahead of time,I'll find the nearest downed tree or wide tree and add a little brush or limbs to help break up my outline. That way, I can move to any side of the property and already have good place to set up. I never tried hunting from a popup blind.
On big tracts of public land I try to get as far from the parking areas as possible, then move slowly using terrain to cover my movements. I've killed more and better birds by knowing where they get the least pressure. Calling sparingly is a key on pressured public birds too.
Lots of times the older birds will be pretty quiet on harder hunted land and will likely take their time coming towards you. If you get in too big a hurry, you could bump them, or run & gun yourself right past them as you go hot footed after a two year old who loves the sound of his own voice.
Jim
"However and where ever the wind blows my wattles."
No blind, rarely use dekes, closer to run and gun but I tend to set up further from birds and call them a distance. I've been busted too many times trying to get close so I let my call work for me.
I live in the mountains and hunt basically all public land so I've always been on the move. I just take my time cutting ridges trying to find a bird that is ready to work. I'm always covering ground unless I'm in birds and know where they like to be. Stopping and listening on high ground. I don't have any fields or flat ground to hunt gobblers out of a blind so I've never used a blind and covering ground is to much in my blood. Just how I like to hunt gobblers. I usually crack down on a box call first to strike up a bird if I'm trying to get my call out long distances. But if I'm pretty sure I'm in birds I'll start out soft because there may be a gobbler pretty close. I'll listen and if I don't get a answer then I'll trying letting out a cut on a box. I'm a big time believer in a gobble call so I just about always shake a gobble shaker before I move on to the next spot to listen/call from.
So in a nut shell I'm a run n gun I guess but I don't get in a big hurry like "running" until I find a bird. Once I locate a bird I may start moving fast to get in tight with him as fast as I can.
mostly run & gun
I love to run and gun
I prefer to sit and work a bird. In Wisconsin, with parcels of land being 80 acres and less, running and gunning is not efficient as there is not enough room to work. I take pride in being able to sit and work a bird. Anyone can ambush and run and gun but only the very best can call in a bird out of his comfort zone. I don't shoot as many birds as I could if I run and gun but I am looking for a quality and enjoyable hunt, I'm not hunting for numbers. The quality hunts are the ones that you remember.
I have to say run and gun. It's more of a slow and steady. I haven't killed nearly as many turkeys as any of you I'm sure, but I learned to walk and sound like a turkey. If a turkey slowly walks through leaves I try to mimic that sound. I call at strategic locations like previously mentioned or every 50-100 yards. Usually very soft calls, a few clucks or a 3 series yelp. I quit hauling decoys and blinds and use this method. Stealth and good calling is what I think kills my birds. (I'm not saying I'm a great caller by any means, but knowing what turkeys sound like is important. Don't drag your feet in the leaves, pop open your loud blind, fumble with decoys, and belt out the loudest 10 series yelp you can.)
The "run and gun" brisk walk and call every 100-200 yards only works at spots with roads I can walk quietly. Public trails 3- 4 miles long that make a loop.
I only blind hunt in open areas in rain or wind. When I start bow hunting I'll probably consider using a blind.
Ambush, I don't have local birds. Period. ZERO birds were killed in my county this year. 1-2 in years past. Therefore, I don't have the luxury of patterning birds so this method doesn't really apply to me. I guess you can say that I have a few fantastic public land spots. I go there sit and call. It can be very productive. I think that this doesn't really apply though. IMO ambushing is bush wacking a turkey on a travel route that didn't know it was coming.
To sum this up... It really depends on conditions of the hunt. There is no one answer.
Ive used all the methods talked about and not ashamed to say so. But the most meaningful hunts are the ones that every poacher and hunter in six counties has encountred, and if you get witin two hundred yards of him, he shuts up and goes two counties east. Just the kind I like. I don't want to kill a two year old the first day of the season. I want one to teach me something I ain't never seen before. I want the oldest, wisest, toughest. They teach skills. And you don't always fill your tag. They can make you feel like a first year turkey hunter. If they carried a shotgun we'd all be dead. They make men out of boys. They demaned respect and I give it. It's never a sure thing even at fifteen or twenty yards.He doesn't care if you've hunted fifty years. If I could kill one a year like that, I'd take that over kill'in twentyfive two or three year old birds. The End, cluck
110% run and gun!!!!! Only time I might sit in a blind is when it's raining and I have a field I can hunt but still it is hard to work them. I normally will get out and belly crawl or what ever I have to do to get closer.
All of the above have their place. Most of the time its run and gun for me.
I hunt public ground 100%, on really large tracts of forest. My go-to method is to quietly troll for a bird that's willing, I'm way to attention deficit to sit inside a blind for hours on end.
I've hunted small tracts of private ground and dealt with field turkeys, the experience just makes me want to get back to the big timbered ridges where I can roam.
In my early days, I was primarily a run and gunner. In the past decade or so, I've stopped running. The main reason why is that I have my own 200 acres, and I am now hunting the great-great-great grandchildren of the first turkeys I met on the property back in 2001.
The land has not changed significantly in 100 years, and turkeys respond to the land in pretty much the same way from generation to generation. As a result, it becomes a matter similar to structure fishing with bass. You find the structure and hunt it. It also means that I keep running into the same characters year after year. If you read my weblog, you'll find a story from 2003 where I hunted one gobbler, Mister Natural, all season-- unsuccessfully I might add. Since then, I've wised up, and killed the sons and grandsons of Mister Natural several times. It is though the same bird appears over and over again. As a result, my turkey hunting life is filled with recurring characters. Besides 'Natural, there's the Garbage Pit Bandit, Silent Bob and the Two Jakes (sometime 3), The Virginia Rambler, Mister Moto. . . it's like a play being re-cast every year with different actors.
I used to rep for a call company, and my boss was always saying there was no such thing as a honey hole. He was hunting the South, and he had endless tracks of public land to hunt. As a result, he never stayed in one spot long enough to see a honey hole. On the other hand, I limit myself to hunting just my own 200 acres. That's the challenge for me. I will tell you, that if you sit and watch a spot over a decade, you will see patterns develop and there are places where a honey hole can exist. There are at least a couple of them on our place. Once I started talking about it in online forums, I found out other hunters had seen the same thing. There is actually a lot of us out there, guys who only hunt small plots like family farms.
How does this effect my hunting? For me, it ends up being more of a sit-and-wait thing. After about a half-dozen years or so, I realized I was putting my back against the same trees. In several spots I will put up blinds and I also have a couple of luxury box deer sheds that I use when the weather gets inclement. I'm not a dirty little ambusher, like my boss used to insinuate, but I do kind of like to get there ahead of the turkeys and get settled in. You may see the distinction or not.
Run and Gun? Look, if I head off from the house in any one direction with the intent on run and gun, I'll be to the back property line in 15 minutes. I can circumnavigate the place in 2 hours.
Quote from: firstflight111 on May 09, 2014, 08:39:22 AM
Just want to see what's the popular vote on turkey hunting methods from seasoned turkey hunters in general .and what one takes more skill in the woods .
Okay number 1
to run and gun .
2
to sit in a ground blind and work a bird
3
sit and ambush them ..
not a debate Just want to see what popular .
I am a ground blind hunter .
Typically, I start most every hunt with #3; then move to #1 quickly, if my #3 "setup" didn't work. This year, I'll be trying out #2.
I'm more of a call and go guy. Once I hear one he's got my attention until... well I hear a different one
I guess more in the run and gun, but I let my birds tell me what and where I need to be. Seems the older I get the harder the running,lol. Last few years I've heard them and played the waiting game with him and eventually he'll get curious.
Not so much a run and gun, but a call and outflank kinda Hunter.
Get one to answer, then use the hills and terrain as a natural pick to try to get in front of where he wants to be.
Doesn't always work the way I draw it up, but it beats sitting and trying to call him to a place he has no intention of coming to.
I like to scout and determine where birds roost and where they go after flydown..in a matter of a few days, before season, you should be able to know this..I will then setup before daylight in a spot between where the birds wanna be after flydown, and where they roost...If you know where they Roost and where they wanna be after they flydown..that's half the battle..I then pick a good high vantage point where i can see all around me preferably ( not always doable), and wait until the birds hit the ground, then I will start working birds..half the battle of killing birds is being setup in the direction of their travel after they flydown...if they are wanting to move north, and you're south...you're at a disadvantage. be where they want to be.
So i guess, I'm kind of a sitter, not in a blind though...if birds happen to move in the opposite direction of me, i will get up , use the terrain and make a big circle to get ahead of birds and reset....IF there is ample cover ( ie. leaves on trees, terrain features etc.) some years the trees just haven't leafed out yet in early season, this makes run and gunning very difficult..I prefer to sit and call them to me most times...but sometimes you gotta make things happen.
A little bit of everything, I'd say. Situation dictates. A majority of my hunting involves run and gun after an early morning ground blind setup goes bust. All while, during my run and gun, to know and use natural and manmade terrain features to my advantage. Such as a river they wont cross, or a stone wall they may not jump. I've ambushed birds based those obstacles, the places they avoid or the strut zones they seek. An even more advantage if you're hunting private land and know their movement patterns really well.
I don't believe the tactic used dictates skill level, I believe skill belongs to the hunter who knows when and how to apply each of these effective tactics during the hunt.
Eric Goulet
Staff, JLCustomTurkeyCalls.com
Mostly a run and gun hunter. However I can be patient when I need to be!
Quote from: chatterbox on January 24, 2015, 07:32:16 AM
Not so much a run and gun, but a call and outflank kinda Hunter.
Get one to answer, then use the hills and terrain as a natural pick to try to get in front of where he wants to be.
Doesn't always work the way I draw it up, but it beats sitting and trying to call him to a place he has no intention of coming to.
Sums it up for me as well.
There are very few times that i'll sit and try to ambush one. The exception would be if I have a bird very very scouted out and feel like that's the best way to kill him on that particular hunt.
Most of the time, I'll ease from spot to spot until I find one to work. Usually not in a hurry and as I'm moving, I'm doing a lot more looking and listening than I am calling. It's amazing what you can hear and see when you slow down.
i mostly am in the woods at daylight and listen to where the gobbles come from and kinda pinpoint a couple then i go setup on one and call and work him then if he dont pan out i go to where the other one was and try to shock gobble him , if i strike a gobble i'll try to work him too
Run and gun for me!
If I am hunting with my friend, we will more than likely run and gun or ambush, like we did last year. We ambushed for the bird I missed. We sat up against a couple of trees over a disced up field later that day and I killed my first gobbler. I think to me, and maybe it is just from how television makes it look, sitting on the edge of a field and hunting birds over decoys seems like the "typical" turkey hunting scenario. I have always enjoyed the peace and quiet of sitting in a stand in the woods waiting for deer to move around. Hopefully it will be just as peaceful in the turkey woods...or fields...
Quote from: firstflight111 on May 09, 2014, 08:39:22 AM
Just want to see what's the popular vote on turkey hunting methods from seasoned turkey hunters in general .and what one takes more skill in the woods .
Okay number 1
to run and gun .
2
to sit in a ground blind and work a bird
3
sit and ambush them ..
not a debate Just want to see what popular .
I am a ground blind hunter .
Sent from my C811 4G
:OGani: All of them depending on conditions that day. Change "run" to "stalk" slowly! A old guy told me many moons ago: If you cover more than 100 yards in 1 hour your moving waaaay to fast. Same principle for white tail as well when stalking, works for me. :icon_thumright:
I'd say Run and gun, for the fact I don't ambush turkeys or use a blind. Can't understand why some like to turkey hunt from a blind? You're eliminating the best part of turkey hunting.
Run and gun
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on May 10, 2014, 10:01:41 AM
Quote from: L.F. Cox on May 09, 2014, 06:06:20 PM
Not sure who pushed the pestilent term "run and gun" on the turkey world.
Most people that call themselves run'n and gun'n run off more turkeys than they kill....I hunt slow and gun without blinds or da'coys but if I need to make a fast move I can.
+1 :z-winnersmiley: I hunt the same way.
ditto
Run and Gun!!
Número uno.