Week 1 was a bust, need a little advice

[Bigeclipse]

Hey all.  I have two places I hunt. One is private/public land and the other is private completely.  The reason i say private/public for the first one is because it is a farmers field and he lets a decent amount of people hunt on it (for deer at least), not sure how many people hunt it for turkey but I have seen at least 2.  That field is about 20 acres of grass and 40 acres of cut corn surrounded woods which other people own, so I can only hunt maybe 20 acres of woods as well.  The turkeys hang mainly in the grass in the field, from what I have seen at least.  I hunted it day 1 and there were TONS of turkeys. At least 20 I counted, 6 of which were males.  Unfortunately I was not in the right spot and another hunter tagged one of them.  I went back there 2 days later, and a couple hens showed up, but there was no gobbling.  Can a spot be pressured that quick? or was the day/weather being overcast/a little bit windy(10mph with 15 mph gusts) and cold maybe keeping the birds away? Anyways, the other place I can hunt is my father inlaws 150 acre woods plot.  It has 2 grassy fields.  We tried there 2 different days.  We both took a different field. No turkeys showed up in the fields both days but we heard a few gobbling in the woods so around 8am we both decided to go for a run and gun session in different parts of the woods.  I called a tom into 50 yards, but my current set-up only gets me to 30 so I couldnt shoot. That tom knew something was up after about 10 minutes and ran out of there.  I heard another one but he wouldnt come in closer than, im guessing, 75 yards. never saw him though.  Not sure what I should do this coming weekend. We can only hunt mornings here in NY, so should I hunt the field at the farmers where I saw all those turkeys the one day or try the woods on my father-in-laws again.  Are turkey's like deer, once they spot a hunter they are basically gone for good, until next season? Thoughts/advice? Also, cannot get down there to scout as it is an hour from my house.  So I will leave thursday after work to hunt friday and saturday.

[Bigeclipse]

anyone?

[Huntaholic]

 The problem I see with hunting the public/private place is its not big enough to handle much more than one hunter at a time. IF youre the only one there, then yes you can kill birds just fine, but when youre competing with others for the same birds at the same time it usually ends in frustration for everybody. If the 2 places are close enough to hit in the same morning, I would start at the public and if someone else is there head for the private ground. If they arent close enough, I would focus my time and efforts on a place that I had to myself.

[Ctburdchasr]

 You may have better luck as time goes by, I have two neighboring private farms in ct each one roughly 16 acres. On opening Saturday I saw 4 other hunters in one side. I happened to be 30 yards from the roost and had 6 gobblers hammering solid. My cousin had a 20 yard shot but couldn't take it due to a funny angle and fogged up glasses.... Anyways I find that in that particular spot people get lazy as the season progresses weekdays are always more productive. Fridays especially because usually the work week takes it's toll and the hunters can't get in there. Then hunters show up late and bust birds before I get a chance a them. It's always less than ideal. We would all love a single honey hole of 100 acres or better with only one person hunting there. Unfortunately we have to take what we can get......if I was you I would check it out Thursday and Friday night before the morning hunts. Be flexible, don't go in with one set up in your mind go in with about 4 of them. I would take into consideration the field where you saw them and see if you can capitalize in a different position. But if that's not possible because of property lines or other hunters definitely focus on the woods with yourself. At least you know all the pressure there and can adjust. But put in the work and don't be a single set up guy. Don't just go to a field and wait cause that's what they do on tv. Be proactive caution and make the best effort possible to harvest. Good luck. As I am in the same predicament down here in Connecticut. I feel your pain

[DirtNap647]

The problem I see with hunting the public/private place is its not big enough to handle much more than one hunter at a time. IF youre the only one there, then yes you can kill birds just fine, but when youre competing with others for the same birds at the same time it usually ends in frustration for everybody. If the 2 places are close enough to hit in the same morning, I would start at the public and if someone else is there head for the private ground. If they arent close enough, I would focus my time and efforts on a place that I had to myself.

good advice

[Bigeclipse]

The problem I see with hunting the public/private place is its not big enough to handle much more than one hunter at a time. IF youre the only one there, then yes you can is set in his ill birds just fine, but when youre competing with others for the same birds at the same time it usually ends in frustration for everybody. If the 2 places are close enough to hit in the same morning, I would start at the public and if someone else is there head for the private ground. If they arent close enough, I would focus my time and efforts on a place that I had to myself.

the areas are about 15 min drive apart. the problem is...since both areas have to do with my father-in-law...if he is hunting he will only go to one per day and I dont want to ruin our relationship over arguing hunting with him. He can be a stubborn man that is set in his ways. If he doesn't hunt, I'm not sure if he is or not at this point, I could hunt both. I guess one question im asking is do turkey spook like deer? most often if you spook a deer it wont go back to that spot for the rest of the season...or at least not during shooting hours. are turkey the same way? that tom I had come in to me on the private land was very big and nice looking.  he circled me at around 45-50 yards so to far for a shot. then I think he nay have busted me or knew something was up as he walked off..not running but definitely faster than normal. he also stopped responding to my calls as he went off.