How early do you get to the gate?

[g8rvet]

My "hours-before-daylight" creeps down as the season goes along, just due to fewer folks in the woods where I hunt.  But it depends on the info I have and the likelihood anyone else has that info. 2-3 sounds about right for most of the time, but at the end, without hot info, usually an hour is sufficient.

My nephew got to his spot one year for a bird he had roosted the night before at 2AM with a sunrise of 7:00am.  Bunch of trucks (5-6) saw his truck and moved on.  One arrived 15 minutes before daylight and backed up 100 yards on the road and parked and waited for the bird to gobble on the little 30 acre turkey oak flat he was already working him on.  The guy shot, don't know if he killed him.  If he did, I hope he choked on the meat - not to death, but where he maybe saw a white light (or flames, whichever the case may be).  This is on a 500,000 acre NF.  Plenty of other locations.

[tal]

 I hunt public and private land. There is a world of difference between those birds! On public land I don't try to pattern the birds, I pattern the people in the woods. You don't move turkeys far but the 'edges' of core areas become prime spots.

[aclawrence]

Well guys I ran late. I woke up last night about 1:00 to a police siren and flashing lights through my back window. Apparently there was a car chase and the bad guy ditched his car in a field right behind my house. They cops were all in my backyard with flashlights looking for whoever it was. This kept me up for a little while and I had a hard time waking right back up. Anyway I got on the way about 45 minutes later than I wanted to. As soon as I got close to the wma there were trucks everywhere and I assumed I was going to be out of luck. Miraculously I got to my spot and nobody was there.  Thank you Lord for that and for keeping us safe last night.


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[aclawrence]

It was amazing how many owls were hooting this morning. And the crows were really fired up to lol. 


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[Kylongspur88]

You have a hammock?

I've done this! Seriously, if hunting a wma here anytime during opening week I'm in the woods and ready to flash a light at someone at least 2 hours before shooting time.

[Happy]

Whatever time it takes me to get where I am going to hunt. I usually hunt pretty far in. Especially on public so I am often there before anyone else just for that reason alone. I joke that I save the easy turkeys for the fat boys to fight over. Doesn't work as well on the hunting clubs where the fat boys just drive trucks and side by sides everywhere.

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[Ozarks Hillbilly]

Congrats

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[mtns2hunt]

Sounds like a crazy rat race to me. I had the experience once and that was enough. Currently I hunt private land alot but when hunting on public I would  not consider anything small or under several thousand acres. I would then get as far back as possible and as high on a ridge as I could. Then let the fun begin. I never roost birds on public land but I know where they  frequent. I mtn bike any time I have off and cut wood. So I would be in there two hours ahead. One to ride as far in as possible hide my bike and then get in position on a ridge to hunt. One other thing is that I like a high ridge with two or three finger ridges. Always find birds.

The nice thing about public land is that the hunt always seems more difficult. I like that too!~ no gates for me. Just wish I had more time to hunt public.

[mtns2hunt]

Well guys I ran late. I woke up last night about 1:00 to a police siren and flashing lights through my back window. Apparently there was a car chase and the bad guy ditched his car in a field right behind my house. They cops were all in my backyard with flashlights looking for whoever it was. This kept me up for a little while and I had a hard time waking right back up. Anyway I got on the way about 45 minutes later than I wanted to. As soon as I got close to the wma there were trucks everywhere and I assumed I was going to be out of luck. Miraculously I got to my spot and nobody was there.  Thank you Lord for that and for keeping us safe last night.


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Nice bird, something to be proud about.

[Brian Fahs]

A couple guys mentioned that as the season wears on the later guys show up in the morning.

I find this to be spot on. It's amazing how several days in a row of the grind can wear a strong determined man down. While looking back at years of pictures of our hunting camps you can see it in the guys faces. I think the most tired I have ever been in my life has been after a season of relentless pursuit of gobbling turkeys.

[Muzzy61]

My hats off to all you guys, but glad I hunt private land....

[Spurs]

My hats off to all you guys, but glad I hunt private land....

I have few decent locations (for Arkansas), that I could hunt and most likely kill birds every year, but I always find myself trudging the crowds on the public.  There is just a little sense of accomplishment in smoking a hard hunted public land bird that drives me crazy. 

A few years back, when I was luckily laid off all of April, I was able to hit a heavily pressured (and I mean HEAVILY) WMA.  It was the last day of season and I hadn't been in there since the first week.  I didn't have anything locally, so I got up at midnight for the 4.5 hour drive and perched myself on the highest nob I knew.  Amazingly, I heard one tom sound off a few times within walking distance.  I trotted in his direction, but before I could get a pin point, he shut down.  After some quick map time, I went with my gut.  There was a large saddle in his general direction where one could assume a strut zone could be located.  I crept the last 3-400 yards and picked a large American Red with some generous spurs for a pondering post.  I was pretty unsure of my next move, when I decided to throw a few clucks over the soundless ridge.  I think that was the first time I had ever been cut off mid cluck.  Then all hell broke loose.  I couldn't even get a full cadence out before this ball of feathers would scream back in my direction.  He made his location known, but that was about 150 yards on the other end of the saddle, just out of sight.  I couldn't budge, due to my setup being more for comfort than kill.  After a light conversation, I decided this fella needed to see what a little 'hard to get' felt like.  This old boy couldn't stand it.  He constantly sent out his best form of a love letter, but she wasn't having anything to do with it.  I broke the silence with some leaves, forcing him to investigate why this little lady wasn't doing her part.  When he finally presented himself, he was approximately 80-90 yards.  My typical setup would never allow a turkey to see my location that quickly, but bad decisions sometimes happen.  My best rendition of a gargoyle seemed to be paying off.  He inched closer with ever drum and every gobble.  55, 50, 45, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, SCREW IT!!!

Literally one of my most memorable moments in the North Arkansas mountains.

[aclawrence]

That's awesome Spurs. I agree about the accomplishment.  Maybe it's a little wrong but it sure does a feel good passing all the other trucks driving down the road when you have a turkey in the back.  Wow some of y'all really get out there super early. You gotta do what you gotta do though. I've thought about spending the night at the trailhead but was a little unsure about the ethics of it.


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[Spurs]

That's awesome Spurs. I agree about the accomplishment.  Maybe it's a little wrong but it sure does a feel good passing all the other trucks driving down the road when you have a turkey in the back.  Wow some of y'all really get out there super early. You gotta do what you gotta do though. I've thought about spending the night at the trailhead but was a little unsure about the ethics of it.


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Ethics are first come first serve.  To me, there is nothing different at parking all night vs. getting there 30 seconds before the next guy.  If I get beat, I go to Plan B.  But to me, there is nothing worse than having to fall back on secondary parking areas. 

Personally, my plan a, b, and c all culminate at the parking area.  That is why I get there so early.  I really don't like having to waste time hunting plan a, then drive to plan b.  When I have done that in the past, I noticed that someone could be parked at plan b, then I would drive to plan c, only to have a truck there as well. 

[High plains drifter]

In montana, an d north Dakota,  there are lots of road hunting, punk poachers,  around public land. I rarely hunt public land, but if I do, i don't have high expectations
There are way too many variables,  to make success a sure thing.Maybe the cmr, but that thing is huge.