# Interesting facts/confessions of a turkey hunter



## TenPtr (Jan 25, 2010)

I have a few facts about my turkey hunting career and techniques that some might find interesting.  We all like to hear about other hunters and what makes them stand out from the crowd.....so lets hear some interesting facts/confessions about your career/techniques chasing turkeys, everybody has something worth mentioning.  

Here are some personal hunting tid bits on myself..

A)  I have been turkey hunting for 11 years going on 12.

B) I have never used anything but a diaphragm to call birds.  This includes a trip to Nebraska in wide open country.  A rio and a merriams heard what I was saying

C) I once used the exact same call every single hunt for 2 consecutive seasons (06-07).  That one ragged out mouth call was responsible for a lot of jelly.

D) I carry 1 call in my mouth and no more than 2 other diaphragms can be found in my vest at any given time.

E) I do not carry a slate call, box call, or any call other than a mouth call in my vest. I have yet to figure out why so dont ask.  Its just the way it is.

F) I killed my first 15 gobblers with a Ruger Red Label over/under.  I concealed the glare by placing it in a camo gun sock and cutting holes where the trigger was and where it breaks open to load/unload.  I used a basic full choke in the top barrel and a modified on the bottom.  There was no bead to aim with so I learned to use the gobblers head as a replacement.  When the head was just above the end of the level ribbed barrel and looked like the missing bead...... it was time to pull the trigger.

G)  I normally hunt in a long sleeved t-shirt of any color and carhartt pants.  I have a few sets of cheap leafy wear that I wear over my street clothes. I look like a homeless man in my torn leafy wear and mis matched gloves.  I need to go to the store.

H) I have never used a decoy to kill a gobbler.

I)  I have used the same vest for 9 years.  It has a lot of blood stains on it.

J)  I consider Google Earth to be my #1 tool in my limited turkey arsenal.  I have years of data stored on maps.  Every roost area, strut zone, gobbler sighting, kill, obstacle that might interfere with a birds route, etc.....is stored on my maps.  I am a mapaholic.


k) I will be in search of my 30th eastern this spring.  At least 2 birds will be given a nick name as a result of a humbling encounter early in the season.  

L) I have one tag reserved for a special friend that got the best of me for the last 5 days of the 09' season.  His name is "rehab" and he is a resident of Walker County. I had to check myself in to turkey rehab out in NE and kill a rio and merriams just to get back to "normal" after the things he had put me through.



Now Lets hear some others


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## Huntinfool (Jan 25, 2010)

> B) I have never used anything but a diaphragm to call birds.  This includes a trip to Nebraska in wide open country.  A rio and a merriams heard what I was saying



It's true...I was there to witness it....and our guide drove us up into one of his setups and busted the birds right before the shot.  You wanna talk about one mad turkey hunter!






> G)  I normally hunt in a long sleeved t-shirt of any color and carhartt pants.  I have a few sets of cheap leafy wear that I wear over my street clothes. I look like a homeless man in my torn leafy wear and mis matched gloves.  I need to go to the store.



I can confirm this one as well....the homeless man part I mean.


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## dawg2 (Jan 25, 2010)

I never gobble.
I will make an owl hoot with my natural voice to pin down a gobbler.
I use only a slate and a box call and switch between the two so it sound slike more than one bird.
I do not ever use a blind.
I like to bring the birds in CLOSE, not shoot them 50 yards away.
I will use a decoy or no more than two depending on the setup.
I wear leafy camo and will sit in a blackberry bramble.
I enjoy every minute of turkey hunting, even when I get no bird.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 25, 2010)

I don't know how many years I've been chasing them.  Not as many I would like having looked back on it.  Maybe 8..or 9?

How many birds have I killed?  I don't know that either.  But I kill my share every year.  I'd love to say I limit every year...but I don't.

Unlike TenPtr, I have at least one of every call known to man and I carry at least one of every single one of them.  I practice a LOT and feel that I'm pretty proficient with the ones that I carry.  If I didn't, I wouldn't carry it.

I can play a trumpet call better than most....but I need to get better for sure.  I'd love to call and kill a limit with just that one call at some point.  

One interesting fact (and yes, I'm aware that I'm about to jinx myself), I can honestly say I have never failed to kill a turkey that I pulled the trigger on.  One time I did have to send a follow up shell at him...but I did kill that bird.

I would guess I've killed maybe 15-17 total.  So while I feel like I've learned a lot, I'm by no means the most experienced turkey hunter on this board.

I will tell you this though and it's the God's honest truth.  There is not a single turkey hunter on the board who loves to chase a turkey more than I do.  I believe that with everything in me.  I discovered it later in life and have been absolutey cocaine-like addicted to the sport ever since the very first hunt.

Let's see....what else?  I've given up the 12ga for now and will be carrying a 20 for at least several years.

One big goal of mine is to kill a turkey with a bow and arrow.  But I want it to be on the same terms as with a shotgun.  Me, on the ground chasing a turkey.  No blinds.  I hope to accomplish that one this year.

Can't say that I've really ever named a turkey.  Maybe once or twice.  Usually, I either kill them or some other goob on our property lucks into him.  So they don't last much past 2 on the property I typically hunt.

I haven't killed a Slam.  Heck, I haven't even killed another sub-species.  But I will.  That, you can hang your hat on.


Oh, one other thing I need to add.  Before all of this "changing daylight savings" non-sense, when it got light at 6AM for the first few weeks of the season...

I used to get up every morning, drive 45 minutes in the WRONG direction to hunt until 7:30.  Then I would walk back to my car, change from my camo into my suit and tie so that I could turn around and drive that same 45 minutes back to my starting point and then drive another hour and fifteen minutes into Atlanta to work....and I did that almost every day of those few weeks before the time would change....MAN I loved that.


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## boparks (Jan 25, 2010)

Funny you started this post Tenptr

I've written something along these lines and if I find out for sure that it's not going to get published  I'll try and figure out how to post it here.


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## returntoarchery (Jan 25, 2010)

I'm in the process of making every mistake everyone else has made years ago even if I've read and read Lovette Williams, McIlhenny, Turpin, Tom Kelly, etc... books and other expert sources. And I remember everyone of them mistakes I've made so far.


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## Booner Killa (Jan 25, 2010)

I'll play along....

The 2nd time I ever hunted by myself, the hunt lasted 20 min and my first gobbler was on the ground and had only been turkey hunting one other time. 

I fired 11 shots last year to kill 3 toms. Before that, I hadn't missed a bird I shot at!

Like Tenptr, I only use a diaphragm call to kill turkeys but unlike Tenptr, I have a slew of other calls collecting dust in the vest!

I have been turkey hunting only for 10yrs. I have killed 13 gobblers and 3 jakes.

My 2nd yr of turkey hunting I shot a gobbler in the afternoon (my first afternoon gobbler) and looked for the shell hull for an hr to no avail. (It mysteriously disappeared...seriously)!

I get caught up in calling birds in for other people more than killing birds on my own. (to be honest, I sometimes regret that)

Huntinfool is lying....I love turkey hunting more than he does!!!!


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## Randy (Jan 25, 2010)

A few of my facts:

1.  I started hunting turkeys in 1979 and killed my first one that year with a .410. I was a prefessional in my first year.

2.  It was 5 years later before I killed my second one!

3.  I have no idea how many I have killed.  It was not (or at least I did not know it) fashionable to keep beards and spurs when I first started hunting.

4.  I do have the spurs and beards from my last 11 birds and I have 10 more nails driven in to the post where I had 10 more sets of spurs hanging.  Note: spurs don't last long hanging on a nail on a post outside.

5.  I killed two gobblers at once (not with the same shot) and will never do it again.  I feel like I was cheated out of a second call.

6.  I still carry just about every type of call on a hunt but 90% of my birds came to the diaphram.

7.  I have only called one to a wingbone and three to a box call.

8.  I had just as soon call one for somebody elses as I had to pull the trigger and have to carry one out.

9.  If I did not call him, I do not want him.

10.  Last but not least, I have never and will never shoot one from a roost.


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## ssm (Jan 25, 2010)

1.  I shoot a 3.5" Binelli, because they have not come out with a 4" version.

2. I have shot fall hens in Ohio and loved it! Wish i had a turkey dog.

3. I use decoys!

4. I am lazy and will ride on a golf cart any chance I get.

5. I have smoked several turkeys with a bow in a ground blind. 

6. I think a thermacell is the best invention ever.

7. I killed my first turkey by myself at age 10 with a Fox Double Barell 20 gauge. 

8. I have missed more than I care to share with ya''ll.

9. I can run a trumpett also better than most, and kill 
turkeys with it, but I still think they don't sound good.

10.When I shoot a turkey, it never crosses my mind how far he was, just that I have called him up and he is close enough.

11.  I film all my hunts, and if it is not pretty footage, I let him walk, unless it is the first one of the year.

12.   I will shoot one in front of my best friend in a heart beat.  Makes him mad every time.

13. I think southern turkeys on average are harder to kill.

14. I think every other species besides an Eastern is dumb.

15. I love killing turkeys.

16. Have killed a turkey with a 10,12,16,20 and 410, taken them with compounds, want to take one with a recurve.  Will kill one someday with a crossbow and a muzzleloader. Just to say that I have done it.

17. A turkey call either sounds like a turkey or it sounds like just another call, i dont care who, how or when it was made, as long as it sounds good.

18.  I laugh when someone says "You can't kill him"

19. I wish I had a photo of every one that I have ever been around that got killed.

20.  My son killed his first at age 4.5, with a lot of help from dad.  Best day ever!!!


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## boparks (Jan 25, 2010)

I'll throw this in for now.

I've turkey hunted for I believe 17 years

I killed a turkey the first morning of the first day I hunted and I was alone.

That same morning I opened my big mouth back at truck and uttered the stupidest words to ever leave my lips and said" there's nothing to it" and never saw another gobbler that first season.

I honestly thought that if you crow called while walking that a gobbler had to shock gobble because he couldn't help it. It took a season of bumping birds to figure out that maybe thats not the case.

The opening day of the next season I killed my second bird in ankle deep water and although he was motionless  when I got to him he came back alive when I grabbed him around the neck. I tried to break his neck like I did when I pheasant hunted but he was heavier than I thought , I couldn't put my gun down in the water and I didn't think to just throw him back down, jammed both a finger and thumb, and was litterly almost  almost flogged and spurred  to death on the spot and looked like I'd been swimming in the swamp. 

I seriously thought about shooting him again after it was over.

The first kill was the only turkey I've ever killed with a mouth call.

The  next 75  and the  25n or so best I can recount I called for otherswere called in with nothing but box calls and pot calls.

I hold the Georgia State record for misses

 Both Huntingfool and Boonerkilla need to ask someone to pray for them as they're both lying. I love to hunt more than both of em added together


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## Huntinfool (Jan 25, 2010)

ssm said:


> 6. I think a thermacell is the best invention ever.



Amen brother.....Amen.


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## SHMELTON (Jan 25, 2010)

I am not patient
I bust to many birds
I only use diaphrams, and only Rutnstrut diamphrams work on the turkeys I hunt
I rather call up a bird for someone else then shoot it myself.
I have been out smarted by the same turkey for 3yrs now, he's mine this yr though.  I am already watching him about twice a week.
I have almost lost my job, wife and kid because of turkey hunting, (she understands now, but the boss still does not.)
I become a helpless mess about feb 28th, and do not regain my senses until  May 15th.
I hunt 4-5 days a week, more if i can.  
If I can't hunt 5 days a week someone gets there head bit off, it's usually the person that is preventing me from hunting.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 25, 2010)

boparks said:


> Both Huntingfool and Boonerkilla need to ask someone to pray for as they're both lying. I love to hunt more than both of em added together



The three of us will just have to get together and hunt 'em some day so that I can prove y'all wrong!


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## mauser64 (Jan 25, 2010)

I killed my first one in '81.
I called one on my own the next year.
I don't know how many I've killed.
I once shot a tom while he was standing in a dirt road. (not my fault, thats where he chose to land, I was in the woods!)
If I had all the calls back that I've left sitting at the base of a tree I could start my own call store!
My first call was diaphram from Ben Lee
Last but not least I don't know if this affliction is a blessing or a curse! but I see no change coming for it in this lifetime!


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## boparks (Jan 25, 2010)

ssm said:


> From Line #12  And I quote SSM    " I will shoot one in front of my best friend in a heart beat.  Makes him mad every time."
> 
> 
> It would be very important to remember line item #12 if you ever hunt with this man


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## pnome (Jan 25, 2010)

This will be my 5th season.  Still have not got a turkey yet. 

Got high hopes for this year though.  I've seen lots of turkey sign at the club.


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## nhancedsvt (Jan 25, 2010)

pnome said:


> This will be my 5th season.  Still have not got a turkey yet.
> 
> Got high hopes for this year though.  I've seen lots of turkey sign at the club.



This is my fourth and I'm still trying. Good luck!


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## pnome (Jan 25, 2010)

nhancedsvt said:


> This is my fourth and I'm still trying. Good luck!




You too.  I'll be looking for your bragging post.


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 25, 2010)

Well, lets see. 
This will be my 17th season in the woods. My first full year in 1993 I limited out, proclaimed that turkey hunting was “easy” then only managed to kill a jake the following 2 seasons.
Most birds I kill I feel like anybody would have killed if they had been there.  
I can’t understand how people call so poorly. 
Calling well makes one over confidant and allows them to be a bit impatient.
I am way to impatient 
Several times a season I stupidly underestimate the Turkey’s eyesight. 
I have killed 6 gobblers that didn’t deserve it
I hunt every evening I can
Every bird I killed last year, I had a pill container of my brother’s ashes out next to me. 
I expect to kill a bird EVERYTIME I am in the woods.    
I use natural voice for my owl and crow call. 
I plan to call in a gobbler with my natural voice within the next 2 seasons 
I rarely use locator calls.
I rarely purr to a gobbler. 
I carry 5-10 mouth calls and that’s about it. 
I normally run a box call upside down and backwards and I bet sound better than you 
I rarley use the box.
If I am sitting down I am usually working a bird. 
I hunt good land
I HATE/won’t date girls that have birthday’s between 3/20 and 5/15
Turkey hunters are deer hunters that have evolved.  
Sometimes I like to carry a baggie of turkey feathers with me to toss out in order to make others discouraged. 
I wish I had more time to hunt with some of the guys on here.


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## sman (Jan 25, 2010)

1. I started turkey hunting when I was 11

2.   Killed my first bird on cedar creek with a push button, I shot it twice because I didn't know turkeys flop, he had a 12" beard and 1 1/2" spurs.

3. I only use a slate and a mouth piece.

4. In 2005 I bought a rem 870 supermag, in 2006 I used said gun to kill a turkey that won an opening day contest and the prize was a rem 870 decked out for turkeys.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 25, 2010)

TurkeyManiac said:


> Every bird I killed last year, I had a pill container of my brother’s ashes out next to me.



Very cool...and what a great tribute and way to remember him.


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 25, 2010)

Huntinfool said:


> Very cool...and what a great tribute and way to remember him.



Thank you.


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## TenPtr (Jan 25, 2010)

I have an addition to my list...

) Of the last 14 gobblers that I have called in for myself I have watched 7 of them fly into space. Apparently I blacked out 3 of the 7 most recent miss experiences. Someone tossed out 2 empty hulls right next to the one I ejected......I have no idea who it was or what they look like, I just know they are sneaky and leave you scratching your head with one hand and an empty gun in the other.  Whoever is responsible for this is a real tool
- That Benelli has been sold and the cold streak is over.

) I once embarked on an epic chase to catch a gobbler that I had rolled.  He was no ordinary runner......every second of the chase he let out a noise that can only be compared to the sound a donkey makes and every bit as loud.  The chase went on for nearly 10 minutes and seemed like an eternity.  Eventually I was forced to give in and had to listen to the bird honk off into the distance until the sound faded out.  It was horrible that I was not able to recover him and still feel bad to this day......However I will always remember that chase and that sound.  It was one of the most surreal experiences I have had in the woods. I have yet to hear of anyone that has encountered a similar experience so thats why Im sharing it with yall.


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## boparks (Jan 25, 2010)

sman said:


> 1.
> 
> 2.   Killed my first bird on cedar creek with a push button, I shot it twice because I didn't know turkeys flop, he had a 12" beard and 1 1/2" spurs.
> 
> ...


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## Booner Killa (Jan 25, 2010)

Zack, dude....you just woke up my son. He's asleep on me right now and i went to laughing hard about the donkey story.... I had one make same noise openin weekend of last year!!!! Glad my partner had shells!!! This is one great thread right here!!!!


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## TenPtr (Jan 25, 2010)

boparks said:


> sman said:
> 
> 
> > 1.
> ...


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## drewpatt (Jan 25, 2010)

Killed my first one in 89, don't know how many since, but I get my share, mostly on public land.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 25, 2010)

Zach...when I miss, is it ok with you if I blame that Nova too?

I'm pretty sure when I miss there's no way it was my fault.


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## whitetaco02 (Jan 25, 2010)

TurkeyManiac said:


> Well, lets see.
> This will be my 17th season in the woods. My first full year in 1993 I limited out, proclaimed that turkey hunting was “easy” then only managed to kill a jake the following 2 seasons.
> Most birds I kill I feel like anybody would have killed if they had been there.
> I can’t understand how people call so poorly.
> ...



Didn't I read somewhere that you said you hurl after every bird you shoot or something?


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## TenPtr (Jan 25, 2010)

Huntinfool said:


> Zach...when I miss, is it ok with you if I blame that Nova too?
> 
> I'm pretty sure when I miss there's no way it was my fault.



You have been exposed to the Nova out in Nebraska so you can certainly blame it on the Benelli.


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## dfhooked (Jan 25, 2010)

this will be probably my 14th or so spring turkey season but about the 10th of which i have gotten seriously bit by the sounds of springtime gobbles.

I long for those mornings that the woods erupt with 100's of gobbles even if they are on other property

I am amazed that I was able to effectively hunt turkeys before the advent of the THERMACELL because I don't leave home without it now

I relish the chance to hunt new property as one can never have too many places to turkey hunt

I went on my first out of state turkey hunt 3 springs ago and will continue to do so every year. 

I need to plan my first Florida trip, only to get the addiciton started a few weeks ahead of normal

This season my main goal is to call my dad in his first Ga longbeard, hopefully that will take place opening weekend at the farm

I have owned many different calls, decoys, locators etc but am still toting the same vest I have had for about 11 years with much fewer stuff now. 

I mainly use diaphram calls but will use a pot call as well

I seem to stumble upon my best deer sheds of the year each spring in the turkey woods

I have left my cell phone next to my tree on more than one occassion, and no telling how many of my calls are sitting in the Ga woods 

I have missed the easiest shots on turkeys and am a firm believer if someone says they have never missed a turkey, they have not had enough encounters because it happens

I have witnessed some of my friends whiff easy shots on monster longbeards 

I called in 7 gobblers to their demise on a trip to texas 3 years ago out of the 13 we killed 

I lose more gloves than the average turkey hunter 

I shoot an 835 so I do not spend much time patterning my gun because it will punish you

I really enjoy midday hunts and have witnessed some amazing sites and sounds in the turkey woods

I once called a bird across a lake from the roost and into my lap to start a season

I have yet to kill a turkey with my bow although I shot one that did a back flip and flop and then ran off when i got out of the blind to got get him. An hour later I took out some revenge on one of his friends head with the ole 835

This thread is gonna be real long by the time turkey season gets here, Thanks Zach I can't wait for the 2010 season to begin.


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## WaddleWhacker (Jan 25, 2010)

the first gobble i ever heard set the fires to burning in 86don't really know how many i have killed                                have never killed one out of a blind. have never killed one over corn....can run a mouth yelper but dont carry them in the woods....can run a wing bone and cane call but dont hunt with them cause they dont sound good to me...my vest has atleast 8 pot call's 2 box call's 2 long box's and over a dozen strikers at all times....my vest weighs over 30lbs....i hunt mostly public land....will never hunt in texas....i dont use a gps....has never shot a tom off the roost....dont use decoys anymore.....and to me its not the gobbler its the gobble...hope the fires burn another 20+ years and is is in good enough health to chase them...is glad a deer dont gobble


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## sman (Jan 25, 2010)

I have 1 or 2 more.

I once had a slate call for about 10+ years, I called on it so much I wore a hole in the middle of it... it was a Thunder Dome.

I am so addicted to Thunder Domes I hunt them on ebay... I think it is the striker that makes them sound so good, they don't make them anymore so they are very rare to come across.

One of my most memorable hunts was a double with one of my best friends in Glennville.  We got out of the truck at 7am and back in at 7:30am.  I shot my sitting next to him at 7:10 and we never moved... his was flopping at 7:20.

And TenPtr I heard a turkey make that same sound once.  I was calling and filming for a buddy of mine.  The bird came in and began to circle us, he was 60 yards out and my buddy pulled the trigger.  The bird flew up, I started cutting and he landed and started running toward us.  My buddy shot again and the bird flew up in the tree and started making that sound.  Long story short I ended up swimming in the Altamaha River to get him.


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## sman (Jan 25, 2010)

boparks said:


> sman said:
> 
> 
> > 1.
> ...


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## Arrow3 (Jan 25, 2010)

#1.. My name is Brandon and I have an addiction...

#2.. Make no bones about it, I will kill him at all costs...I follow a don't ask, don't tell policy turkey hunting...If you don't want to think bad about me, don't ask me..

#3.. I will not shoot one off the roost....nor will kill a bird over bait ...

#4.. I have one thing and one thing only on my mind when it breaks light in the spring...That is mashing his head into mush...

#5 ...This will be my 20th turkey season hunting by myself...I don't know an exact amount but I imgine im in the mid 40's on kills (all easterns)..

#6 ..With the exception with the 2005 season, I have killed a limit of birds for the last 10 years. I killed 2 in 2005 and busted my butt to do that...I killed 4 in 2008 (one in Missouri) so Ive kept my average..

#7.. I shoot winchester supremes #5's in my 11-87  ($8 a box)...All the dead turkeys didn't know they weren't super duper turkey shells...

#8...I can't call worth a flip most of the time....

#9...If a gobbler stays in a general area for several days and gobbles consistantly, I will kill him before its all said and done.

#10...In 2009 Andy Garrett called a "named" gobbler into my gun with a trumpet on one awesome hunt....I think its the only bird that I ever killed where I never made one single call myself.

#11...I like watching my friends kill turkeys but near as much as I like to kill them..

#12 ...I can owl hoot and crow call with my natural voice have been told by lots of people that my owl hoot was the best they have ever heard.

#13...If you are a turkey hunter, in my hunting club, you will never know anything about where I was, and what I heard...

#14....I sure see a lot of lying on here because noone loves killing turkeys more then  I do.....


Great thread....


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## Dupree (Jan 25, 2010)

this will be my 10th season.
killed 3 in one morning when i was 13, first time i pulled the trigger on a turkey 2 started flopping.
called in 2 longbeards by myself at 14, havent slowed down since then.
i have lost a few calls over the years, but try to keep up with them.
I bragged about never missing then 2 years ago i missed 3, and 2 more last year. I totally changed my set-up this year and am ready to rock.
i like to hunt by myself the first few weeks, then put other people on birds.
95% of my hunting is done on wma.

I guess the craziest hunt i ever had was during a thunderstorm. It was several years ago and i was headed to the truck when he hammered at some thunder. i made 3 different set ups on him over an hour and a half with him not moving from the spot he was in. He would gobble at every noise in the woods. I was finally tired of sitting in the down pour and watching the lightning strike when i stood up to ease out. when i stood up the bird flew from right over the ridge into a tree above me, then pitched down onto the ground. I jellied his head. He had some 1 1/4" hooks. I guess it was just strange the way he flew in instead of coming in like a normal turkey.


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## Nicodemus (Jan 25, 2010)

I`ll just say that I really like to hunt turkeys. More so than anything else. And I been doin` it a long time.


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## fountain (Jan 25, 2010)

1.  i go to the woods
2. i listen
3 i do what i gotta do to kill  gobbler---- spur of the moment--no regular routine
4. i hunt some more

i repeat all steps until successful
then i repeat until successful again--time allowing
i then repeat until successful again--time allowing


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## MCNASTY (Jan 25, 2010)

I am a firm believer that watching my brother and Papa miss the same turkey is one of my most memorable memories in life.  Its sad but they both shot at and missed the same bird one morning and both blamed the other one for not killing the gobbler.  And yes, both cussed like a sailor until we got to the truck and didnt say another word to each other until Grannie made them apologize after breakfast.  

Papa will be 71 this September has missed more than he's killed(7). But every Spring he's more eager to listen and pin point a bird for the opener than I am. And If I have to watch him miss 100 birds before he's gone then bring it on. Those hunts to me is worth way more than that ten inch beard in my truck bed and a blood stain on my boots.


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## Booner Killa (Jan 25, 2010)

Add this to my list....My first WMA experience was a real mess. Dad, myself, and a buddy went to Redlands opening morning 7-8 yrs ago. I had scouted an area and heard three dif longbeards wearin it out the week before in this location. We got to the gate at 4:30. We got out of the truck at 6 and started walking. Long story short, after get one run off by a local idiot, we went back to the truck and literally there was a traffic jam at the gate. There was at least 5 dif trucks parked at that gate. Somehow, I still managed to whack one that morning (in a different location of course)!


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## gblrklr (Jan 25, 2010)

Another great thread, we're rolling now!

My name is Justin Williams and I have been hunting turkeys for about 30 years.  

I have no idea how many I have killed, but it has been a bunch.

I really like the dumb ones!

I haven't killed one out of a blind, but I'm not above it if I decide to try to kill one with my recurve. 

I have used decoys, but normally I don't.

I hunt with my favorite hunting partner dang near every time I sit next to a tree, my son Tate.

I have been around custom calls and call makers for most of my life.

I was fortunate enough to be along with my dad on several spring (and one fall) hunts with Neil Cost.

The majority of the turkeys that Tate and I have killed the past three years have been called in with a trumpet.  However, that doesn't stop me from taking numerous pot calls, mouth calls, a strumpet, paddle calls and short boxes with me every time I hit the woods.  

I sniped a gobbler from in front of my son last year and I still don't feel bad about it.


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## nhancedsvt (Jan 25, 2010)

I'll join in, not that I have near as much to add as you guys...

I have been turkey hunting on my own for the last 4 years but I have really become obsessed the last 2 years. 

I went on my first turkey hunt with my dad nearly 13 years ago. I was only 8 years old but I remember the details of that day more vividly than I remember yesterday. The gobble was in me at that point! I didn't turkey hunt from that day until I started again in the last 4 years.

In the last 4 years I have failed to take my first bird. I have put in some hard work but due to many reasons (trespassers, dogs, and school mainly) it never has worked out

That being said I made a promise to myself last year that I would do whatever it took to put myself in a position to take my first bird this year. I saved money all year long to find the best land possible (even passed on deer season to save for turkey season) and I've been running calls almost constantly since the beginning of December.

I am almost as addicted to collecting custom calls as I am to turkey hunting. 

Due to my inexperience I have typically always only carried a couple box calls, but this year I am adding a trumpet, wingbone, and several diaphragm calls to my arsenal. 

I became a member of the Tenth Legion a couple days ago...


Good luck to everyone this season and I hope to post a smashed head or two this year!


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## deerslayer757 (Jan 25, 2010)

i dont even use a mouth call....or any other call....i just use my straight mouth with nothin in it and i sound better than most diaphrams some ppl claim
i can do every type of turkey call with my mouth: gobble, kee-kee, put, purr, cluck, yelp, tree yelp and so on...
also i use my mouth to owl hoot, coyote, and woodpecker call
turkey huntin is the best!


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## ryanwhit (Jan 25, 2010)

This will be my 5th season of hunting turkeys.  Over the course of those five years it has turned into a fairly serious addiction.

My first time hunting by myself (and only my 3rd time in my life...i had no clue...still don't have much of one!), I killed a gobbler.  I was excited, but figured there wasn't much to this overgrown chicken hunting.  I blanked the next season, and it was the last week of the 2nd season after that until I killed my next...over 2 yrs.

I have started collecting custom calls, not because I think production calls won't kill turkeys, but I just like having custom calls.  Try to buy 2 or 3 a year, and I figure when I'm old I'll have some kind of call collection!

I carry box calls, pots, and diaphragm calls, but feel most confident with a pot.  I will often start to work a bird with a box, switch to a pot when he's closer, and then use a diaphragm if I need to when he's in eyesight. 


Great thread!


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## ryanwhit (Jan 25, 2010)

TurkeyManiac said:


> Every bird I killed last year, I had a pill container of my brother’s ashes out next to me.




This gave me goosebumbs.  Very cool buddy!


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## Gut_Pile (Jan 25, 2010)

My name is Will Gaissert and I have been either tagging along or toting a gun in the turkey woods since I was 5 years old. 

This will be my 4th season hunting by myself.

I have killed three birds in my day. 2 long beards and 1 jake.

I don't have the greatest places to hunt, but I do what I can with the few birds I have.

I love calling them in for others just as much, one reason I haven't killed many birds. I tend to have to go with my friends to their property which puts them behind the gun and me doing the calling. But I have no problem with that. I have proven to myself I can call them in and there is not a bird out there I cannot kill IMO

I have hunted in GA, KY, and FL. *SC will be added to the list this year* Only killed birds in GA though, missed one in KY and the next line explains my florida trip.

In 2006 I had 6 long beards within 40 yards and pulled the trigger on 1 of them, the others just never gave me a shot. 4 of these birds were in 1 day and within 2 hours of each other (Osceolas)

I called in my first turkey when I was 5 years old with a Screamin Hen longbox call, my dad killed the bird and I still have that box call. It sounds better than any other call I've ever heard, it will make a turkey gobble when nothing else will.

I have missed 2 gobblers, both of them were because of TenPtr's benelli. 

I carry a few mouth calls, one slate call, one box call my dad made, my screamin hen longbox, and a crow call, but most of the birds I have seen die have come to a mouth call

I owl hoot with my natural voice

I gobble at least 50 times a day once January comes around, I gobble at crows, owls, myself, and even just for the heck of it. I sometimes strut around, but that usually only happens around march 

I have never killed a turkey out of a blind, but have called one in for my buddy out of one in the rain.

I use a decoy 50% of the time.

I always have toilet paper in my vest, mainly because I get so excited and nervous before the hunt starts I get sick to my stomach

I am absolutely obsessed with turkey hunting, I love to deer and duck hunt, but I am addicted to turkeys, bad thing is, it gets worse every year.

I would love to hunt with some people on here just to learn. I could care less about killing one, I just like learning knew styles, I think you can never have too many tricks.

I have named birds but have never killed a named bird, the usually get a name after the season is over.

If I could sit still for 30 more minutes and not get up to make a move my turkey kills or misses would be in the double digits.

At least 3 times this upcoming season I will come back to a tree I was previously sitting on only to see strut marks ten yards away.

My dad is a turkey legend to me, he has killed somewhere somewhere between 75-100 birds and he will kill the bird that drives me crazy all year. I blame my addiction on him.

I love hunting with my dad, hunting with friends, meeting knew people and learning more and more every year about turkey hunting, and I hope this year will bring more of all the things I love


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## muckalee (Jan 25, 2010)

I am from the old school.  I divulge nothing.  I might have heard a bird gobble one time two years ago, but I cant be sure.

If you ask me where I killed him I will reply either "private pond" or left side of the county road.  I will leave my close turkey hunting friends a wingfeather in their truck door to let them know I got one.  Most folks dont even know I turkey hunt!!!  But I do, and I do it a lot.  Everytime I do it, I love it, and I want to do it again.


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## mauser64 (Jan 25, 2010)

muckalee said:


> I am from the old school.  I divulge nothing.  I might have heard a bird gobble one time two years ago, but I cant be sure.
> 
> If you ask me where I killed him I will reply either "private pond" or left side of the county road.  I will leave my close turkey hunting friends a wingfeather in their truck door to let them know I got one.  Most folks dont even know I turkey hunt!!!  But I do, and I do it a lot.  Everytime I do it, I love it, and I want to do it again.



Dangit man! I wanna be like you! A vapor, an aparition, a ghost, them or they! You are old school. I like to talk too much. When I kill one I sing like a canary


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## boparks (Jan 25, 2010)

muckalee said:


> I am from the old school.  I divulge nothing.  I might have heard a bird gobble one time two years ago, but I cant be sure.
> 
> If you ask me where I killed him I will reply either "private pond" or left side of the county road.  I will leave my close turkey hunting friends a wingfeather in their truck door to let them know I got one.  Most folks dont even know I turkey hunt!!!  But I do, and I do it a lot.  Everytime I do it, I love it, and I want to do it again.




muckalee, you're an easy guy to like. 

Thats the way I was when I was in the hunting lease. I only saw does. They knew I was lying and I knew they knew I was lying and I just asked for forgiveness every time I lied which was pretty much whenever I was asked

I'm reformed now although I only see hens

sman   I know exactly which striker you're talking about. I'm afraid I'm going to lose it one day. If I do now I know to go compete and bid against you on ebay or break in your truck.

What do you drive?


I use mine on a slate and it is great for cutting and yelping and helped me kill some good older birds. The few times that is when I didn't just see hens.

I turned  Thunderdome towards my ear one time to hear just how loud it was. I don't hear as well out of my right ear now.


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## sman (Jan 25, 2010)

boparks said:


> I turned  Thunderdome towards my ear one time to hear just how loud it was. I don't hear as well out of my right ear now.





I will add one more tid bit:

I have a buddy that we always carry our souther lincs with us and when one of us kills a bird we hold the phone over the bird while he is still flopping and don't say a word just make the other person listen for a minute.

Everytime with out fail one of us calls the other one that killed the bird a dirty word.


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## KY Red (Jan 26, 2010)

I won the first Great Gobbler Giveaway from Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine. Pulled my name out of a hat.

Hunted the same double bearded gobbler 4 years before closing the deal in Kentucky. Shot at and missed 3 different times. Funny thing, his beards were only about 4" and 3", I must have shot them off earlier. This turkey was call shy, when I killed him, I did not make a sound, just waited on him to show up. He did!

I've hunted Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and North Carolina. I would love to go to South Dakota on a Meriams hunt.

I've killed on opening day in Indiana 7 years in a row, then got skunked a year. Started another string on opening day, currently at 3 in a row.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 26, 2010)

Something gutpile said reminded me of my absolute number one goal as a turkey hunter...

I have a two year old daughter. I have a one year old son and I have what will likely be our last child on he way and due in Sept. 

The number one thing I want to accomplish as a turkey hunter is not to kill 12 slams or win a calling competition. It is not to someday be listed by you guys as one of the best turkey hunters you've ever met. The number one thing I want to accomplish is what gutpile said. I want my kids to think of me as a turkey hunting god. I want them to feel that same passion about this sport that I feel and I want them to pass it on to their children as well. 

It's probably several years off still. But I promise you I can literally see the day that each of them pulls the trigger on their first bird. I'll likely cry harder the morning that Reagan kills her first bird than when I am forced to give her away on her wedding day...and I'm not kidding.


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## Sugar Plum (Jan 26, 2010)

Huntinfool said:


> I will tell you this though and it's the God's honest truth.  There is not a single turkey hunter on the board who loves to chase a turkey more than I do.



You might be at a close tie with my husband. We're having to buy him a cell phone to keep in his pocket during opening week. Why? Because I'm due around opening day. I've told him I don't care if he shows up covered in camo, dragging a fighting bird with him...but he'll be sorry if he's not at the hospital!
I've got a search team ready to go look for him should he decide not to turn the dern thing on while he's out there.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 26, 2010)

You better hope there's not a gobbling bird in those woods that morning girl!  Either that or you better pray he kills that bird early.....I have a feeling he might be "stuck in traffic."


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## pnome (Jan 26, 2010)

CortGirl said:


> You might be at a close tie with my husband. We're having to buy him a cell phone to keep in his pocket during opening week. Why? Because I'm due around opening day. I've told him I don't care if he shows up covered in camo, dragging a fighting bird with him...but he'll be sorry if he's not at the hospital!
> I've got a search team ready to go look for him should he decide not to turn the dern thing on while he's out there.



Hm, that could be a serious situation there.  If you deliver on opening weekend, that means every opening weekend from now on, he'll have to be at home for the kids birthday.   

Looks like it's time to bribe the ob/gyn to induce the week prior.


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## nhancedsvt (Jan 26, 2010)

pnome said:


> Hm, that could be a serious situation there.  If you deliver on opening weekend, that means every opening weekend from now on, he'll have to be at home for the kids birthday.
> 
> Looks like it's time to bribe the ob/gyn to induce the week prior.



At least until the kid gets old enough to hunt. Then it wouldn't be so bad.


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## big country rnr (Jan 26, 2010)

I have been turkey hunting by myself since 1994 and have a few birds that have truly beat me down and i loved every min of it! 

I love for my fiance to kill a bird instead of me! Shes a good hunter!

have a total of 10 calls in my vest most of the time! mouth,box,friction,and locaters..

Never have what i need but have enough stuff in my vest to build a small airplane...

have fun on every hunt and enjoy being out there even if i dont kill anything !!

Love to hear birds gobble on there own..even better if hes on the roost and i can get in his bedroom!

love forming a relationship with a bird! Ya know the one that beats ya several times and makes you feel dumb! And that one day you fool him and it makes ya feel a lil sorry to kill him! 
but just a lil !!!   ha


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## boparks (Jan 26, 2010)

CortGirl said:


> You might be at a close tie with my husband. We're having to buy him a cell phone to keep in his pocket during opening week. Why? Because I'm due around opening day. I've told him I don't care if he shows up covered in camo, dragging a fighting bird with him...but he'll be sorry if he's not at the hospital!
> I've got a search team ready to go look for him should he decide not to turn the dern thing on while he's out there.




Wait a minute now.........What if hes in the middle of working a gobbling bird? Surely you'd understand he has to finish what he started and besides.... .....wouldnt a photo thru the cell phone along with stats such as ..sex, weight, eye color, name , and spur length be sufficient?............Just asking?......and yes the birthday thing is an issue...........ya'll should have read the book  a "Turkey Hunters Guide for Planned Parenthood"......
A fallback plan could be to have all birthday parties on the tailgate when he comes out for lunch.........You seem like a nice and reasonable lady and I can see you like dogs so I'm sure you'll agree this is a "win-win" for all involved.  

Feel free to comtact me for any further family counseling needs.........I offer hunters discounts


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## hoppie (Jan 26, 2010)

1. My first shot ever was a double. 
2. It was my first trip by myself. 
3. I unfortunately never made a call to kill them. I simply set the decoy up and had just got off the phone with my brother. Sat my calls out and was fixing to start and saw the red heads coming. 
4. Had been hunting for years, but had limited time because of athletics, so out of all the hunts I got to go on with my brother and dad we could never seal the deal. That made it so much better when I killed them by myself and rubbed it in their face. Ironic how the birds were always unkillable when we were hunting, but the next day my dad came home with the bird.
5. I think turkey hunting should be an olympic sport.
6. I am a horrible judge of distance in fields and have passed on 3 monster gobblers because I thought they were too far, but when stepped out were around 30 yards. I guess better safe than sorry.
7. One vacation made me miss opening weekend and I actually teared up a little when I saw a bird strutting and couldn't go. Unfortunately you can ask my wife. She thinks it's ridiculous.
8. Prettiest hunt I was ever own I had two big birds strut to 20 steps. Unfortunately it was my wifes turn and she couldn't handle the pressure and she shot the top of tree from nerves. I still can imagine those two big strutters.

List could go on for way to long.


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## KY Red (Jan 26, 2010)

pnome said:


> Hm, that could be a serious situation there.  If you deliver on opening weekend, that means every opening weekend from now on, he'll have to be at home for the kids birthday.
> 
> 
> I got married a couple of years ago. The bride to be wanted a spring wedding, I said, "How about June?" She wanted April, I said, "Spring turkey season is in April." We were married by the weekend, March 10th. I couldn't take a chance of being off turkey hunting somewhere, and have to come home for an anniversary.


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## nhancedsvt (Jan 26, 2010)

KY Red said:


> pnome said:
> 
> 
> > Hm, that could be a serious situation there.  If you deliver on opening weekend, that means every opening weekend from now on, he'll have to be at home for the kids birthday.
> ...


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## win280 (Jan 26, 2010)

CortGirl said:


> You might be at a close tie with my husband. We're having to buy him a cell phone to keep in his pocket during opening week. Why? Because I'm due around opening day. I've told him I don't care if he shows up covered in camo, dragging a fighting bird with him...but he'll be sorry if he's not at the hospital!
> I've got a search team ready to go look for him should he decide not to turn the dern thing on while he's out there.




All you going to do is fuss at  him and tell him its his fault your in the condition you are in.
It would probably be best if he stayed in the woods until all the hollering and such is over, and help you home in a few days:.


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## trkyburns (Jan 26, 2010)

pnome said:


> Hm, that could be a serious situation there.  If you deliver on opening weekend, that means every opening weekend from now on, he'll have to be at home for the kids birthday.
> 
> Looks like it's time to bribe the ob/gyn to induce the week prior.



Interesting you should say that.  Ok, here is a little story about me....

My daughter was born April 1st 3 years ago.  I only got to hunt a few times that year.  My wife didn't want me to go on opening morning and the weekend after that because she was actually due earlier (the baby was late - she takes after her daddy).  I was as nervous as I've ever been those two weekends hunting knowing that I could be in huge trouble if she went into labor and I was in the woods.  

So I decided to plan better for our next one... 

I actually had to sit my wife down and talk to her and explain to her why we couldn't "start trying" in July or August this past summer (because 9 months later... well, you know).  She finally gave in and I think she understands now.  Turns out it was actually a good thing we didn't because she has some serious health issues that were discovered shortly after (in October) and we were told to absolutely not try for another baby until she is better and that it could have been very detrimental to her health and the baby's if she had gotten pregnant...  

So you see, it is entirely possible that my turkey hunting addiction saved her life.


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## pnome (Jan 26, 2010)

trkyburns said:


> So you see, it is entirely possible that my turkey hunting addiction saved her life.



And I'm sure you let her know that too!


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## DaddyPaul (Jan 26, 2010)

My name is Paul and I kinda dig hunting turkeybirds.  

1.  I got married on April 3rd, rarely am I around on my anniversary, my wife gets it.
2.  My wife's birthday is March 27th, I am rarely around, my wife gets it, or maybe she doesn't get it.
3.  I don't know how many birds I've killed but it ain't enough.
4.  I go #2 in the turkey woods A LOT.  Something about the excitement gets me "moving".
5.  I have killed most of my turkeys with a mouth call, or at least that is what they came to, I killed them with my gun/bow (only 1 bow kill).
6.  Lately I've been trying to kill birds with new calls that I haven't used on a kill before....Strumpet, Trumpet, etc.
7.  I wear a vest, 'cept when I'm creeping.
8.  I carry way too many calls in my vest.
9.  Sometimes I don't carry enough calls in my vest.
10.  Baby wipes are an essential part of my arsenal.
11.  I always have my Lamar Williams paddle caller with me.
12.  My vest is loaded right now and ready to go.
13.  I'm the best caller...............in my house right now.
14.  I've "given away" a bunch of birds through the years.
15.  Most I've seen die in a year was 17 I think?
16.  Most I've killed in a year is.......well a few.
17.  I shoot a single shot, but I shoot it fast.
18.  My Encore kicks like a son of a gun.
19.  I've limited out in Florida the first two times I sat down...twice.
20.  I rarely kill one on the opening day....usually guiding.
21.  I've had some great times in the turkey woods.
22.  I've had some times that weren't as good as others, but the worse are always better than working.
23.  I suck on a trumpet call, that's kinda how you work them.
24.  I'd pay $100 right now to be able to run a Strumpet like CrnBrd. 
25.  I like the little stools people use when turkey hunting, I just hate toting them.
26.  I call too much.
27.  I call too loud.
28.  I call too loudly way too often.
29.  I like making noise, that's why I love turkey hunting.
30.  If I couldn't call I'd rather take up counted cross stitch or knitting.
31.  I never tuck my shirt in while turkey hunting, bad mojo.
32.  Sometimes I tuck my pants in my boots, others I roll with them out.
33.  I once killed a turkey in my work clothes (khakis and Polo) on my lunch break.
34.  I didn't go back to work on #33.
35.  I used to chalk my box calls too much.
36.  I plan to steal gblrklr's Walnut paddle caller one day.
37.  I plan to steal his Dad's single sided hunting call too.
38.  I plan to kill a limit in Florida with my bow this year.
39.  I said that last year.
40.  I've had the pleasure to share a tree with Huntinfool and he does love to turkey hunt.  
41.  I used to be on Quaker Boy's Pro Staff.
42.  I resigned due to personal reasons.
43.  Those reasons were I discovered custom calls sound much better, especially the ones that sound good.
44.  I love Legacy mouth calls.
45.  I've made about 10,000 mouth calls here at home.
46.  I threw away 9,999 of them because they were horrid sounding.
47.  I was once threatened with a lawsuit by a callmaker.
48.  I'm still waiting on the papers.
49.  I have never been a part of a double.
50.  I've never killed a multiple bearded bird.
51.  I've "given away" 5 of them son of a guns though! 
52.  I've killed two turkeys with no spurs.
53.  I killed a jake on accident once, well it wasn't really an accident, I meant to shoot him, just thought he was a mature bird.
54.  I hate to see someone hold a turkey by his head, not sure why?
55.  I can't stand people who just sling them around after they kill them, show them some respect.
56.  I can remember going 14 days in a row on my lease without hearing a gobble.
57.  I killed one on the 15th.
58.  About three or four years ago I hunted every single morning in Florida or was othewise in the woods messing with birds.
59.  I'm going to get my kids in the woods more this Spring, promise!
60.  I should have bought that Dawkins paddle call in Unicoi a few years back.
61.  I like mornings way more than afternoons.
62.  I've met some great folks turkey hunting.
63.  I've met some crappy folks turkey hunting.
64.  I once hunted with Dale Rohm for 3 days, he was about 74 then and everytime I slowed down to allow him to catch up, he ran into me!
65.  Lamar Williams showed me what a box calls was all about, I had it ALL WRONG at first.
66.  TKM is a gobbler's worst nightmare (you can pay me later bud)!
67.  I'd love to share a tree with a bunch of y'all on here someday.

All for now.........................


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## Booner Killa (Jan 26, 2010)

Lovin it Paul!!! After continuosly keeping up with this thread the last two days, it's pretty dang obvious there are some dudes around here that seriously GOT IT BAD!!!


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## Gut_Pile (Jan 26, 2010)

Daddypaul....i'm with you and I don't know why....but I also hate to see someone hold a bird by his head. My nerves also get my stomach movin too.


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## emtguy (Jan 26, 2010)

1. turkey hunting is 90% knowing where they are travelling, 9% patience and 1% calling

2. until you have  killed a turkey with a bow without a blind you have not accomplished the most amazing thing in hunting.

3. i'd rather hunt from 3 p.m to almost dark thanin the morning

4. morning hunts are more fun but less succesful to me

5. if you get a turkey to answer in the afternoon sit down because 9 outa 10 times he is coming.

6. i own 1 mouth call that i was given and dont know the manufactor so i can buy another one so i have used it for last 3 years

7. carryin someone turkey hunting for the first time is like giving someone heroin, they gonna get hooked!


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## fredw (Jan 27, 2010)

This is a great thread!

1. I didn't decide to start turkey hunting until my 60th birthday.

2. My first turkey hunt was with Jody Hawk on a WMA.  I got to hear my first gobble that morning but some sweet talking hen cut him off.

3.  I discovered that there are more important things to do than to fish during the spring.

4.  My son and daughter in law have their birthdays (both on March 21st) celebrated early.

5.  I haven't discovered a call type that I can pass up.  I don't have a trumpet yet but I do have mouth, box, pot, scratch, and wingbone.  Some I can use (or so I think)....others I am still trying to learn.

6.  I love this forum this time of the year.

7.  When someone recommends a book here, I go to google and search for a copy.  The library is growing.

8.  I am a rookie turkey hunter.  I have a lot to learn.

9.  I am an addict.  I admit to it.  Gave my lady friend a calendar with the dates from March 21st to May 15th blocked out.

10.  Did I mention that I am a turkey hunting addict?


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## Gadget (Jan 27, 2010)

DaddyPaul said:


> My name is Paul and I kinda dig hunting turkeybirds.
> 
> 1.  I got married on April 3rd, rarely am I around on my anniversary, my wife gets it.
> 2.  My wife's birthday is March 27th, I am rarely around, my wife gets it, or maybe she doesn't get it.
> ...






wow.......... haven't seen you post this much in about 5yrs..


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## Slings and Arrows (Jan 27, 2010)

I've been hooked for 30 yrs
I love to talk with animals.  
A large part of my call collection is from calls found on WMAs
I use a diaphram and slate or glass (many times simultaneously)
The anger I feel when another hunter walks up on my set up is diffused when they say "You really sound like hens"
I enjoy sharing a tree
I enjoy having a tree to myself
I will now blame my misses on Tenptrs Benelli
I am blessed with a son who is now 6 and he is into it all
Some say I'm good, some say I'm just lucky.  I know I'm lucky.


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## dfhooked (Jan 27, 2010)

I must confess as a Turkey Hunting Addict, I keep coming back to check this thread...... But i do feel a little repreive to realize I aint the only one


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## bowtechnole (Jan 27, 2010)

As I am a late bloomer to the turkey/deer woods, this will be my fourth season chasing birds.  By far, way more addictive and humbling than deer hunting for me(Also only my fourth season).

I hunt by myself generally, and have no mentor or teacher.  I am learning by trial and lots of error.

I generally only use a mouth call, however I have one of just about everything in the vest(slate, box, locators, etc..)

I will sometimes use decoys, depending on the location of where I'm hunting.

I have killed one bird the year I started.  I went for the first time and called two toms to 60 yards and had them hang up.  Went back two days later and called the same two toms in and blasted the bigger of the two.

I go as often as I can, which is generally only weekends, but their is the occasional mid week hunt.  I would love to go more than that, but family responsibilities deem otherwise.

I have called in birds for other people, which is pretty cool also.

I have called birds in to me since those first two hunts, but for one reason or another, I have yet to close the deal again.

I have yet to miss a bird, as I have only fired one shot, but I'm sure it is bound to happen at somepoint due to the law of averages.

I find it truly amazing that a bird with the brain nearly the size of a pea, can and often does, outwit a hunter.

I also find it amazing that this same bird can make a man forget about many of his responsibilities for two months or so in order to chase it through the woods and fields at daylight, day in and day out.

Good Luck to all this up coming season and I look forward to checking back on this thread.


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## returntoarchery (Jan 27, 2010)

sman said:


> ...when one of us kills a bird we hold the phone over the bird while he is still flopping and don't say a word just make the other person listen for a minute.
> 
> Everytime with out fail one of us calls the other one that killed the bird a dirty word.



That thare is funny.


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## georgiabuckbuster (Jan 27, 2010)

Been turkey hunting since 02 when my dad started me on it
Didnt get a bird until 05 
My first bird was a jake killed with a single shot with low brass 8s
at first all we ever used was a box call
I then started learning to call with my natural voice
I am better than most with my natural voice 
I can yelp,cut, purr, gobble,cackle,spit and drum,hoot,peacock yell all with my natural voice
I also like to run a mouth call and a slate call
I do not wear a vest when hunting 
To date i have killed 8 birds 6 gobblers and 2 jakes
I have called in two birds that ended up being someones first bird for them
I use decoys but not very often.
I will gobble at a bird as a last resort.
My goal for this year is to get my nephew his first bird and to go back and have a go at an old 3 bearded friend that put the stuff on me last year.
I dont get to hunt as often as i like due to my job but if my guiding job works out this year i will get to hunt more this year.
I can remember when i killed my first gobbler it all happened in about 10 minutes and i thought it was easy hehe didnt get anything else that year.
i have never limited out in a season
thats it for now


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## trkyburns (Jan 27, 2010)

This thread is great.  I guess I will go ahead and 'fess up too...

My name is Kevin and I am a turkey addict.  

1.  I have been a turkey addict since I was very young 
2.  I started tagging along with my dad when I was 6 or 7
3.  That was 25 years ago
4.  This will be my 19th season truly hunting on my own and calling for myself
5.  I killed my first turkey, a jake, when I was 14 when my dad let me and my brother skip school to hunt with him
6.  I have since killed way more turkeys than my dad, who was my original turkey hunting mentor and still is
7.  I don't know for sure how many turkeys I have killed, but I know I am close enough to hit the 50 bird mark in a few more seasons if they are really good seasons
8.  When I read the thread on here last year by Arrow3 about his beards getting messed up by some sort of mites, I thought to myself, "man I would be devastated if that happened to me"
9.  This past fall I discovered that my beard collection had suffered the same fate.  I was able to salvage most of them by taping with electrical tape and they are now in the freezer.
10.  I am afraid to take them out of the freezer for fear that they might fall apart again.  Therefore, they will likely stay in the freezer for the rest of my life.
11.  I once killed 4 turkeys with one shot.  IT WAS NOT INTENTIONAL.  (2 gobblers & 2 jakes)
12.  I hope no one from DNR is reading this.  If so, please understand I DID NOT DO IT ON PURPOSE.  And while I was immature and proud of it at the time, I can honestly say I am now ashamed of it.
13.  That experience has caused me to be overly careful when taking a shot, to the point that I usually wait too long before pulling the trigger
14.  I have missed at least 9 times
15.  I do not own a box call and never have
16.  I did not like box calls until I tried a Scott's Cutter last weekend.  His is the only box call I will own when I do buy one.
17.  I have a problem throwing away used mouth calls.  I still have some that are over 10 years old that aren't usable anymore.  I can't bring myself to throw them away if I called a turkey in with it and killed it
18.  My daughter, who will be 3 in April, told me that she wanted me to get her a turkey for her birthday... she requested a pink one if possible
19.  Does anybody know where I can kill a pink wild turkey?
20.  I think I am decent, not great by any means, on a mouth call but that is mostly all I use
21.  I sometimes use a slate call for purring and calling softly when a bird is in close
22.  I have been busted by gobblers too many times when trying to set down the call and striker and get my gun up
23.  You'd think I would know better by now
24.  I'm sure I have killed birds without a lucky leaf in my vest, but I can't remember doing so
25.  A lucky leaf is the first leaf that really catches my eye on the ground in front of me on opening day every season.  The lucky leaf is only good for one season, after which time it is crumbled up and the pieces are left in my turkey vest.

I could go on but I'll stop.  I feel much better after admitting all of this.


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## returntoarchery (Jan 27, 2010)

trkyburns said:


> 18.  My daughter, who will be 3 in April, told me that she wanted me to get her a turkey for her birthday... she requested a pink one if possible



take her with you.  

http://www.camoclothingonline.com/site/1603000/page/873348


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## win280 (Jan 27, 2010)

I have been attemping to kill gobblers since 1982. Seriously since 1999.
I don't practice enough.
I owl with my voice.
I owe all I know about turkey hunting to Ken Wester,Dale and Terry Rohm
I try to keep up.
I will not let my family interfere with my turkey hunting.
I only hunt gobblers that are smarter than me.
I will not quit until I get busted or hit a property line.
Learned that "its hard to say" is an honest answer to the question.
Can't kill to many birds in a lifetime(within states regulations)(4 rios and 10 easterns so far)
I carry to much "stuff" with me hunting.
Need to learn when to slow down.
I am a little fish in a big pond.
I can call good enough to kill a gobbler if he wants to die that day.
I would rather be turkey hunting that working.
I call with a mouth call and box call. 
Gobblers don't cooperate enough.
I am addicted also


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## trkyburns (Jan 27, 2010)

win280 said:


> Learned that "its hard to say" is an honest answer to the question.




I couldn't agree more.  Also, "it depends on..."

I've learned there is never one right answer in turkey hunting.


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 27, 2010)

I'll add this to mine. 
I'll always tell you exactly where I killed him.....where I 
killed them in the past and where I think he will be in the morning. 
Except only one time and if you are Rick Bramblett. Then I will say "wait right here" and I will leave you in full camo set up against a tree while I fish hook around that gobbler and kill him while you were waiting on me to come back 
Good times


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## gblrklr (Jan 27, 2010)

gblrklr said:


> Another great thread, we're rolling now!
> 
> My name is Justin Williams and I have been hunting turkeys for about 30 years.
> 
> ...



I thought of some more.....

My first two calls, bought at the same FL chapter of the NWTF convention in Winter Park were a Ben Lee, lead framed mouth call and a Lewis Stowe hand held slate with a corncob striker.

My dad, my son Tate, and I killed 3 mature gobblers in two mornings on a South Florida WMA.  Dad's had 1 5/8" spurs.  It was about 98% luck. Don't ask where, I won't tell.

I can't use any of my Farmer calls like Zach can.  

Something is bad wrong if you find me hunting in the rain.

I once paid $40 for a Neil Cost box call, complete with a leather holster, from Neil.

I hoot with my own voice.

I got lost, I mean "turned around" for a few hours last spring.

I own a very good GPS, unfortunately it was at home.

I once forgot my wife's birthday.  It is March 20th and I had gobblers on my mind.  I had a minor recovery later that afternoon, but the damage was done.

Daddypaul isn't going to get my walnut paddle call and he really is going to be upset with the square end one I got yesterday.

I called in the first gobbler I ever killed.

I have only shot one gobbler that I didn't at least have a part in calling to the gun.

I am sure I'll think of more.


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## boparks (Jan 27, 2010)

Ok

I was hunting in Texas years ago and shot my 3rd bird. I had a long walk out and at some point I dropped the bird on the side of the road and later my vest and gun and binocs.

As I was driving back I saw 300  or so yards away a gobbler in strut.

I stopped and watched him go in and out of strut and realized my gun should be just this side of him and that if I could slip out of the car and work my way to the gun and pull this off it would be worth the 4th bird fee.

I opened the door and slid out like a snake and crawled over into the brush sticking the living crap out of myself with a cactus before I made it 30'.

I ran , duck walked and crawled using brush the cover and taking plenty of mesquite hits. I remember thinking I hope he's a big bird for all the trouble. I even crawled over an peeked out and glimpsed him nad saw that he was still there and fanned  out.

Finally right when I was starting to think I mis judged where my gun was I found it, crawled back out to the road, eased my gun up and watched the fan of the bird I'd shot earlier rise and fall in the Texas wind.

Maybe this is more of a "Confession of an Idiot"


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## TenPtr (Jan 27, 2010)

boparks said:


> Ok
> 
> I was hunting in Texas years ago and shot my 3rd bird. I had a long walk out and at some point I dropped the bird on the side of the road and later my vest and gun and binocs.
> 
> ...



Funny stuff right there!


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## Gadget (Jan 27, 2010)

boparks said:


> Ok
> 
> I was hunting in Texas years ago and shot my 3rd bird. I had a long walk out and at some point I dropped the bird on the side of the road and later my vest and gun and binocs.
> 
> ...





 That's good Bobby........ real good. 








TurkeyManiac said:


> I'll add this to mine.
> I'll always tell you exactly where I killed him.....where I
> killed them in the past and where I think he will be in the morning.
> 
> Good times




I do the same.........  I always share information with the guys in my club, enjoy sharing the details of my hunts, I feel sad for the guys that think they have to keep all their hunts a secret and can't swap stories with fellow hunters; you know the guys that never see or hear anything all season.... Funny thing is, in my club those are the same guys who never kill any turkey.

 I gave away an Osceola last year on public land, there was only one guy in our camp who hadn't killed a turkey. We'd been hunting several days and were getting towards the end of our camping trip, I had another tag left, hunting ends at 1pm everyday, I located a gobbler late in the afternoon in a remote area that no-one had been messing with, thought I had a good chance to kill him, that evening I saw how depressed Mike was getting since everyone had killed but him, I told him right where the gobbler was and to go there the next morning, he ended up killing him the next morning..... P.S. I barely know Mike, only met him the year before and this was my first time sharing camp with him.


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## J Gilbert (Jan 27, 2010)

I'm no where near as experienced as you guys, but here goes..

This will be my 2nd serious turkey season

I managed to kill the first two birds I called in myself last season, all of 2 seconds apart

After the gobbling I heard that morning, I'm hopelessly addicted already

Birds gobbling on the roost turn me into a giddy little school girl

I haven't worked in over a month and still plan on buying turkey gear I can't afford

I wish I was half as good as the worst diaphragm caller that's posted on this thread thus far

I've already started planning the times of the year when I can get married, so I don't miss a weekend in the woods 

I'd kill for a Bob Lee Gobble Box like the one I used to call in my birds last year

My dad used the same call to call in his first turkey 20 years ago

I'm going to school no matter what right now, so when turkey season rolls around I can spend a few days in the woods


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## Fuller (Jan 27, 2010)

I think the only thing people might find interesting about me as a turkey hunter is that I will never shoot more than 1 bird on a hunt. If a group comes in, instead of killing 2 or 3, I would rather try to call the others back up and have some fun another day.


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## boparks (Jan 27, 2010)

Fuller said:


> I think the only thing people might find interesting about me as a turkey hunter is that I will never shoot more than 1 bird on a hunt. If a group comes in, instead of killing 2 or 3, I would rather try to call the others back up and have some fun another day.



I commend you on that practice. Its a good sportsman way to be

The exception might be if it's late in the season and your short on birds. In that case the ole "Whack em and Stack em " procedure may be in order


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## win280 (Jan 28, 2010)

For all the Texas  hunters.
Watch for rattlesnakes.
Don't hunt in a thunderstorm.
Don't hunt in an ice storm.
Watch for rattlesnakes
Do take extra padding for your boots and back side as everything wants to stick you .
Watch for rattlesnakes.
Turkeys DO roost on powerpoles.
Turkeys do catch fire in a thunderstorm while roosting on a power pole.
Mesquite trees are the devils tree.
Rattlesnakes will try to bite you from 6' high while resting on a fence post.


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## boparks (Jan 28, 2010)

win280 said:


> For all the Texas  hunters.
> Watch for rattlesnakes.
> Don't hunt in a thunderstorm.
> Don't hunt in an ice storm.
> ...






Win280....I see you have enjoyed the Texas Experience.

Its not for sissies thats for sure


And theres nothing like seeing 18-20 birds roosted on a power pole.


Oh yea...think you forgot to mention...watch for rattlesnakes


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## win280 (Jan 28, 2010)

Forgot to mention.
I love hunting turkeys in Texas


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## Jim Thompson (Jan 28, 2010)

my confessions...

I have been turkey hunting since about 93 or 94

missed the first ever bird I called in that first year

although I had the bug to be in the spring woods and was there every chance I had, I didnt really get excited about it until I killed my first one...about 11 years later! 

I cant call worth a flip but keep on doing it

I carry too much crap

if they are not gobbling I get bored easy...but can sit in a tree stand all day and not see a deer and be happy

I cant stand the seat that comes on a vest and keep it up for a back rest...I like the lil stool.

I only use decoys when bubbabuck is beside me...cause he swears by them

I always use locator calls

I prefer single shot guns

my gun is two tone, stainless and blued and I dont care

I caught heck from a member here one year cause I had yet to kill a turkey, but passed on a bunch of jakes over the years...he didnt believe me

I still have yet to kill a jake, but dont care if anyone does.

wont shoot one off the roost

would love to shoot one from a blind

hearing a birdie gobble is almost...almost the most exciting thing in the woods, right behind that first glimpse of a beast buck







although I spend as much time as possible in the spring woods and love hunting them, hearing them and killing them, I still to this day only do it cause deer season is not in


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## Gadget (Jan 28, 2010)

Fuller said:


> I think the only thing people might find interesting about me as a turkey hunter is that I will never shoot more than 1 bird on a hunt. If a group comes in, instead of killing 2 or 3, I would rather try to call the others back up and have some fun another day.




Same here I only shoot one per hunt, most states only allow one gobbler a day, Georgia is the exception, would like them to make it a law, it's a rule at my hunting club..... only one per hunt!


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 28, 2010)

Gadget said:


> Same here I only shoot one per hunt, most states only allow one gobbler a day, Georgia is the exception, would like them to make it a law, it's a rule at my hunting club..... only one per hunt!



Really? Thats interesting.  I guess it would be no big deal but at the same time I enjoy dragging one back to the truck only to have to hang him in a tree and go after another that is gobbling!


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## Gadget (Jan 28, 2010)

TurkeyManiac said:


> Really? Thats interesting.  I guess it would be no big deal but at the same time I enjoy dragging one back to the truck only to have to hang him in a tree and go after another that is gobbling!




You can! Notice I said  "one per hunt", not per day.


We used to have it "one per day" then changed it to "one per hunt" which allows you to kill multiple birds a day, it just can't be on the same hunt, this has worked very well for us. This was prompted by a situation where we had 6 toms MURDERED on one hunt out of a food plot that was just planted by a couple that were not turkey hunters but opportunistic deer hunters. The turkey were baited and ambushed.

Because of this, you also are not allowed to plant any food plots during turkey season, which causes an area to be baited. There's no good reason to plant food plots during turkey season anyway, they can be planted before or after just fine.


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## Gut_Pile (Jan 28, 2010)

I got another one

I'm not sure if I will ever shoot a turkey with a bow. I have seen and heard of way too many birds getting away with a bow. I know it is a great tool to use to kill a bird but I just think it is very hard to get a good shot. I commend the people who have done it for you have achieved a great accomplishment, but is just not for me.  I just love shooting them with my gun. I don't even like to watch them get shot with a bow on TV or videos...unless they do it Swahili style with no blind and still run and gunin....that is cool to watch.

Not sure why I'm like this, but I just really like to monkey flip them once they are inside forty yards


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## Huntinfool (Jan 28, 2010)

> my gun is two tone, stainless and blued and I dont care



Perhaps....and I'm just postulating here....that is why it took you about 11 years to kill that first bird?


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 28, 2010)

Gadget said:


> You can! Notice I said  "one per hunt", not per day.
> 
> 
> We used to have it "one per day" then changed it to "one per hunt" which allows you to kill multiple birds a day, it just can't be on the same hunt, this has worked very well for us. This was prompted by a situation where we had 6 toms MURDERED on one hunt out of a food plot that was just planted by a couple that were not turkey hunters but opportunistic deer hunters. The turkey were baited and ambushed.
> ...



Ahhh.... i see.  
Stinkin' deer hunters.


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## Double Gun (Jan 28, 2010)

muckalee said:


> I am from the old school.  I divulge nothing.  I might have heard a bird gobble one time two years ago, but I cant be sure.
> 
> If you ask me where I killed him I will reply either "private pond" or left side of the county road.  I will leave my close turkey hunting friends a wingfeather in their truck door to let them know I got one.  Most folks dont even know I turkey hunt!!!  But I do, and I do it a lot.  Everytime I do it, I love it, and I want to do it again.



 I know where you are coming from.

This will be my 52 nd year. I am still laughed at wearing my carhart bibs and antique camo top as some of my friends call it. Just blend in.

Still use my grandfathers 2 double barrel Fox's 2 3/4" (Sterlingworth and Ansley) Also a good friend (deceased) Longrange LC Smith 3" double.

Box, trumpet (went high tech from a wingbone) pot call, some not much mouth, cow horn and a little scratch box.

No portable blind or decoys.

The only thing now is that once used to be hills are now mountains .  Na still love the mountain hunting, but the last couple times I have thought twice.


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## boparks (Jan 28, 2010)

Rick and TM, 

I believe we're all on the same page.  Earlier on I've shot 2 birds with one shot and shot 3 in one day but on separate excursions  on a day birds were hot and I could do no wrong.....Problem is its over too quickly when you only can kill 3 birds.

I'm with you in that I personally won't shoot a second bird when they've come in together.  They would be too easy, they hang around and expose themselves, they even attack the bird you shoot. 

Now if I'm doing one of the Fall hunts where theres big limits I'm not sure what happens. There have been times when I told myself I'm not going to shoot this bird and somehow my gun went off...Go figure

For me one call in regardless of the incoming headcount equals 1 bird to shoot.

Disclaimer: Late season or last day and tags left to fill equals.....open season.


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## boparks (Jan 28, 2010)

muckalee said:


> I am from the old school.  I divulge nothing.  I might have heard a bird gobble one time two years ago, but I cant be sure.
> 
> If you ask me where I killed him I will reply either "private pond" or left side of the county road.  I will leave my close turkey hunting friends a wingfeather in their truck door to let them know I got one.  Most folks dont even know I turkey hunt!!!  But I do, and I do it a lot.  Everytime I do it, I love it, and I want to do it again.






I believe if we were in muckabee's hunt club we'd have to team up and implement a "Water Boarding" program


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## Jim Thompson (Jan 28, 2010)

Huntinfool said:


> Perhaps....and I'm just postulating here....that is why it took you about 11 years to kill that first bird?




nah thats only recently  in the old days it was a single tone gun...an no it wasnt stainless


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## Al White (Jan 28, 2010)

Here's a few tips from personal experiences..
1 - Gobblers do not like hen decoys attached to little remote control trucks.  
2 - Don't walk up behind someone you are guiding while holding a black snake and say - look at this.
3 - If he's still floppin, don't pick him up by the legs.
4 - Decoy's can really screw up a hunt
5 - Decoy's can be aweswome
6 - Copenhagen will ruin a mouthcall
7 - A full choke does the job
8 - Fancy shells don't kill em any deader
9 - The gobbler usually goes where you just were.
10 - That second shot after you miss is just useless


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 28, 2010)

boparks said:


> Rick and TM,
> 
> I believe we're all on the same page.  Earlier on I've shot 2 birds with one shot and shot 3 in one day but on separate excursions  on a day birds were hot and I could do no wrong.....Problem is its over too quickly when you only can kill 3 birds.
> 
> ...



Bobby, you can call me Jason  
I have only killed multiple birds in a day I believe 3 times. I have never killed two at a time though. Each time I was either on my back to the truck and had one sound off that I worked and killed or I relocated to a different part of the property and killed a second one. 
Not hijack the thread but see these two birds. I killed them 2 hours apart and on different areas on the property. See how different the color pattern and the bands are!
Sorry for the off topic. This thread needed a turkey pic though!


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## trkyburns (Jan 28, 2010)

TurkeyManiac said:


> I enjoy dragging one back to the truck only to have to hang him in a tree and go after another that is gobbling!



Or hang him in a tree right where I killed him and go after another that is gobbling...

In the all too rare event that I kill one textbook style early morning, there is no way in heck I am going home yet.  I love it too much to pack it in early no matter what (unless I had reached my limit).  

But I never shoot more than one bird in one set up _(except for that one mistake over 10 years ago which will never happen again and that I now regret posting on here)_.  If two come in together, one of them will live to see another day and maybe even both of them given my history of missing.


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## hawglips (Jan 28, 2010)

Al White said:


> 8 - Fancy shells don't kill em any deader...
> 10 - That second shot after you miss is just useless



Hmmm.......

Maybe there is a connection between the shells and second shots....


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## Al White (Jan 28, 2010)

> Hmmm.......
> 
> Maybe there is a connection between the shells and second shots....



Could be...    I have called up a few throughout the years for alot of people, and have seen quite a few misses.  You name the shell and gun - it doesn't matter, but i've never seen a second shot actually get one.


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## Huntinfool (Jan 28, 2010)

Al White said:


> Could be...    I have called up a few throughout the years for alot of people, and have seen quite a few misses.  You name the shell and gun - it doesn't matter, but i've never seen a second shot actually get one.



Happened on my first longbeard....with a pump 870.  Shot right over his head at 15 yards and followed up with a 3.5" hammer to the head at about 35.

It picked him up and threw him 3 feet when it hit him.

Haven't needed that second shot since.  But I would imagine that, more often than not, they are wasted shells.  I'm living proof, though, that it can and does happen.  That's one reason I want the best pattern I can get.


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## boparks (Jan 28, 2010)

Jason.. Good looking birds and it was time for a photo.

Yea my 2 bird /one shot thing wasn't planned and I noticed 2 heads lined up with my bead right as I pulled the trigger.

I've had to avoid doing it again a few times since. 

Man if I get a bird early I stuff him somewhere and go after another. Once I shot one at 8:00 and stuck him against a log, went cruising, came back and set down 30 yards from the log and cold called for a while. Had another bird come in and jumped up on the log next to my dead bird and I shot him off the log (scouts honor) 

Sorry if I got us off topic on the thread as well


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## hawglips (Jan 28, 2010)

Al White said:


> Could be...    I have called up a few throughout the years for alot of people, and have seen quite a few misses.  You name the shell and gun - it doesn't matter, but i've never seen a second shot actually get one.



I did it two years ago with T98s.  I missed the bird clean at 35 yds and hit the big beech tree up high behind him.  (Dang, that pattern looked pretty on that tree!)  He ran up the hill and looped around to the right, but stopped to look back at that tree.   Big mistake.  So, he went home with me.  

I did it another time back in '02 on my first osceola with Winchester 6s.  I stood up to get a shot over the palmettos at a bird 15 yds away, rushed the shot and missed, but got him on the second one before he could get gone.


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## win280 (Jan 28, 2010)

On just the right day when the sun,stars and moon are alligned just right I can locate a turkey and kill him by someone slamming the truck door.But I think that was a 100 yr event.


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## boparks (Jan 28, 2010)

I've had the right Planetary Alignment twice that I can remember and a bad line up about the same number of times

Once in Cedar Creek and once out West

Only 4 times have I taken a second shot if I missed the first time...or maybe I blocked some of em out..don't know...I'm the idiot that stalked my own dead bird

I've had to chamber a round once  after I tried to pull the trigger because I had forgot to earlier and that was alot like a second shot..if that counts.. I killed em


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## win280 (Jan 28, 2010)

boparks said:


> I've had to chamber a round once  after I tried to pull the trigger because I had forgot to earlier and that was alot like a second shot..if that counts.. I killed em



I would call that a planetary alignment and a 2nd shot.


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## TurkeyManiac (Jan 28, 2010)

I'll add a couple more 
I have pulled the trigger on two seperate occasions only to dry fire b/c I didnt jack a shell in the chamber when I got to the woods.
-One of my coolest mornings was hunting with my father about 5 years ago. I called him one in off the roost, he shot and missed him clean. We then relocated just 100 yards away and 30 minutes later I called up 2 more gobblers. When they were in range I heard "CLICK........tic, tic, tic.....BOOM".  My father's single shot had dry fired, he reached up and pulled the hammer back for a second time and then pulled the trigger and the round fired.   Dead bird...    freaky huh?


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## Gut_Pile (Jan 30, 2010)

short stop said:


> Over the   past   30 yrs  chasing birds    .
> Theres   been  many a  day  I have sat on a  stump  and  pondered  over  who  was smarter .....    The bird  with a brain the size  of   a nickel   or myself    with all my infinite  wisdom  and  knowledge   simply sitting on the   stump     alone  and  empty handed   ...



bad thing is when you convince yourself ol pea brain is smarter


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## Sugar Plum (Jan 30, 2010)

Huntinfool said:


> You better hope there's not a gobbling bird in those woods that morning girl!  Either that or you better pray he kills that bird early.....I have a feeling he might be "stuck in traffic."



I've threatened him with severe injuries should he not be able to make it


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## dusty80 (Jan 31, 2010)

This will be my 22nd year in the woods. 
I have killed a lot of toms.
You don't have to sound like a Grand National Champion to kill turkeys.
Toms are like drunk girls at the bar, its what you say that gets them in the truck, not how you sound saying it.
If I am healthy I WILL limit again this season. 
Some toms can NOT be called into range.
I don't run around bragging that I am a good turkey hunter, beards and spurs speak for themselves.
I learned the trade from some of the best that's ever lived in SE Ga.
I could sit around and listen to seasoned hunters talk turkey all day.
I love hardwoods and the sound of a gobble echoing thru them.
I don't miss.
I will limit again this year.
I'd rather paddle down the creek and hunt than walk.
I've killed 2 birds that had 5 beards. The one in my avatar would be #4 NT in the state if I'd had him officially scored.
I like seeing someones eyes light up the first time they hear a gobble or see a tom go into full strut.
People get way to caught up with gadgets!


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## JHannah92 (Feb 1, 2010)

I hate turkeys for three reasons.  They are smarter than me.  They make me look/feel like an idiot.  And they are smarter than me.

I've been turkey huntin for about 8 years.

I've only been good at it for about 3.

I'm better now than last year.

I've killed 6 turkeys.  4 Jakes and 2 Longbeards.

I haven't killed nearly enough turkeys.

I was laid off for 4 months this past year, starting the week before turkey season.  Best season of my life.

My first longbeard had 2 beards.  I killed my first jake 4 days before that.

People look at me funny when I come into class wearing camo with turkey blood on my boots.

Last year I was stuck hunting on public land all year.

I heard birds every morning.

I killed the bird in my avatar on said public land.  First bird I've killed when I was by myself.

I lost my old, dog-chewed crow call last year.  I bought it the day before my first turkey hunt.  I've never heard one that sounded so realistic.

I gobble and hoot year round.  My girlfriend thinks I'm nuts.

My roommates hate when my mouth calling wakes them up.

I love turkey hunting more than you.


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## DukeBoy30 (Feb 2, 2010)

great stories


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## J Gilbert (Mar 18, 2014)

Some funny posts in this thread, bumping it up to the top for some of the new members to see


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## The Fever (Mar 18, 2014)

Thanks for digging this up.

This is my 3rd season hunting turkeys and the first year I have really put all into it I should have. 

My first ever hunt I had a gobbler in range he caught me moving at 10 yards and ran off into the distance in a zig zag pattern that made me utterly sick. Never to this day have forgotten what that looked like. I remember his beard and everything. 

Never missed because I never have pulled the trigger. 

I have a ton of calls but only use a pot and a box call.

I hope to get my buddy his first this year.


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## gregg (Mar 19, 2014)

Been hunting turkeys with my dad since 1968, on my own since 1977, killed a LOT of birds.....more importantly my dad is still chasing them at 81 years old, crazy man hobbles after them to this day, just visited him this week at the camp and loved sitting around a fire hearing the stories of years past. His love of hunting sure got in my blood and glad it did.


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## mauser64 (Mar 19, 2014)

One time I intentially made some sour notes while calling to a gobbler that was across the Oconee river from me just so I could see what it was like to have one hang up.


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## J Gilbert (Mar 19, 2014)

The Fever said:


> Thanks for digging this up.
> 
> This is my 3rd season hunting turkeys and the first year I have really put all into it I should have.
> 
> ...



Good luck this season, stay after them hard and I'm sure you'll get it done


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## spurrs and racks (Mar 19, 2014)

My daddy is responsible for my actions in the spring.

He left me in 2006 at 83 years old and killed a pickle jug full of many bundles of beards. (Something I'll never accomplish)

He taught me to hunt turkeys alone. He never used a decoy. I thought I wanted to one time. I burned them in a fire when a wise old gobbler stopped out of gun range and stretched his neck up high and walked off giving me the 'One eye".

I'm 54 this year and called up my first bird at 14. 

I use a mouth call and nothing else. I have called up birds with a pot call, but I like my hands on my gun and my gun in the "ready" position.

I've taught my son this game we both love, and with any luck at all I will live long enough to see my grandson kill his first.

I like a campfire, and a wild turkey drink with it.

I like to hunt boss gobblers, they are easy to find, and they have the hens and will not come to the gun for at least 3 weeks.

I have my daddy's auto5 browning he packed all the years I tracked behind him.

It is put up, and I hunt with an 1100 rem mag w/ Rhino

I shoot lead, like my daddy did.

I want to hear God, in the top of a tall pine tree Saturday morning.....a shed a tear because my father cannot be with me.

Then I'll be glad because my son can share this with me.

People who hunt over bait, and/ or have other folks call turkeys for them are not turkey hunters.........

And not a member of the legion.

s&r


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