ADVICE - hunting public land

[wkyhunter]

Always come up with a back up plan. Plan A is good, but when something goes down, having a Plan B,C,D,E,and F in your back pocket, will keep you from bugging out, and giving up. Be flexible, and remember, "There are NO absolutes in turkey hunting"

What he said....110%

[Ol'Mossy]

Every post is good advice.....

x2

[Nick_The_Tinkerer]

Look at the map of the public area ...... go to the spot that is farthest from any road or people --  this could be 5-6 miles of walking .......  works every time

I cant walk 6n miles in - lol ill be in a different state lmao my state is tiny   

[turkeywhisperer]

Scout as much as you can.. learn the terrain and easy access points.  These are the places that most hunters will use.  Hunt during the week as much as possible, talk to the Game Warden or area biologist about sightings. But above all hunt smart and hunt hard.   

[Nick_The_Tinkerer]

I just drove by the farmers field right next to the highway this morning going to an appointment - over 100 turkeys were on the field feeding...no strutting that I saw...of course no hunting there 

[El Pavo Grande]

All of the above!!!!

Don't advertise a good public spot with turkeys.  They can be hard to come by.  Make your own Grandma pinky swear to silence before telling her where you hunt and be very selective in who you take with you.

[Neill_Prater]

If you think you hear another hunter calling, go the other way.

Hunt Safely. I carry an orange hat with me, keep it handy but out of sight. Always setup against a large tree. Last year I was setup and calling when I heard something behind me, there was a nice deer trail there so I thought I would take a look. I slowly turned to look over my right shoulder and was shocked to see a guy standing about 20 yds. away with his shotgun up. I reached down with my left hand and grabbed my orange hat, pulled it out from between my legs quickly and yelled HEY. He lowered his gun and walked off. I'll never understand why people stalk the sound of a hen calling. That large tree and orange hat probably saved me from getting a face full of pellets.
But then again in the fall I heard a guy answer my hen yelps, the idiot started comming up the ridge toward me, I could hear him walking in the dry leaves, stopping and calling once in awhile. The autum olive was thick and I couldn't see him, so when he got pretty close I pulled out my orange hat and put it on, only to be greeted by Putt, Putt, Putt. No turkey is worth the risk of being shot. Hunt Safely.

I do that as well, but I carry an orange vest instead, one of the thin cloth ones you use over other clothes in deer season. I keep it in my right pants pocket, so I can always get it out easily. If I see someone approaching from a distance, I'll just pull it out and hold it up until I'm sure they have spotted me. There have been several times I was glad I had it.

[wbpc]

Try to roost the turkey the afternoon before if possible, that way you can get set up well before light and before the other hunters.

[VA_Birdhunter]

Of course if you can don't hunt on the weekends!

Also what I've learned over the many years of turkey hunting is after the fist week those hunters that watch a turkey hunting show on TV and thought that its easy and all you need to do is go and blow the day lights out of an owl call then call like crazy as hard as you can figure out there is more to it and start getting tired of getting up early and start dropping off big time.  By the third week in my area you hardly see anyone and most of the time your just passing them in town after hunting that day. 

[twinters]

in some states public land has some of the best turkey hunting. I think you just hunt it in the same manner you would private land,hunt hard and stay long,also remember we are all guest and everyone there is just trying to enjoy the sport that drives us all crazy,give others the same respect that you expect for yourself,if they get on a bird first just leave it and hunt another. you never know you just may run into someone who knows alot about the land and may be willing to partner up and hunt with you,or he may just be willing to share some info with a fellow hunter.Turkey hunters are some of the best people to encounter while in the field,with all that said call to a bird you find as silent as possible,not a lot of calling,i like clucking and leaf scratching ,and try to avoid yelping,cutting,and other aggressive calling,you may just be calling in other hunters