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2012 TRKYSLR SEMI LIVE SEASON AND INFO
Moultrie Mobile
2012 TRKYSLR SEMI LIVE SEASON AND INFO
Turkey
Contributors to this thread:
trkyslr 06-Mar-12
trkyslr 06-Mar-12
joehunter8301 06-Mar-12
joehunter8301 06-Mar-12
joehunter8301 06-Mar-12
jhansen851819 06-Mar-12
joehunter8301 06-Mar-12
joehunter8301 06-Mar-12
trkyslr 06-Mar-12
RosinBag 06-Mar-12
Hawkeye 07-Mar-12
TREESTANDWOLF 07-Mar-12
BOHNTR 07-Mar-12
trkyslr 07-Mar-12
Outdoordan 07-Mar-12
Nick Muche 07-Mar-12
WylieCoyote 07-Mar-12
Nick Muche 07-Mar-12
trkyslr 07-Mar-12
trkyslr 07-Mar-12
Nick Muche 07-Mar-12
trkyslr 07-Mar-12
joehunter8301 07-Mar-12
Paul@thefort 07-Mar-12
joehunter8301 07-Mar-12
Mark Watkins 07-Mar-12
Nick Muche 07-Mar-12
trkyslr 07-Mar-12
trkyslr 07-Mar-12
elkmtngear 08-Mar-12
joehunter8301 08-Mar-12
Bowfreak 08-Mar-12
Reflex 08-Mar-12
chucknduck 08-Mar-12
mikesohm/magnus 08-Mar-12
joehunter8301 08-Mar-12
trkyslr 08-Mar-12
Mark Watkins 08-Mar-12
Hawkeye 08-Mar-12
Hawkeye 08-Mar-12
Nick Muche 08-Mar-12
mikesohm/magnus 08-Mar-12
trkyslr 08-Mar-12
labxtreme1 10-Mar-12
trkyslr 10-Mar-12
joehunter8301 10-Mar-12
trkyslr 10-Mar-12
trkyslr 11-Mar-12
joehunter8301 11-Mar-12
joehunter8301 12-Mar-12
joehunter8301 12-Mar-12
Mark Watkins 13-Mar-12
trkyslr 13-Mar-12
njbuck 13-Mar-12
trkyslr 13-Mar-12
trkyslr 13-Mar-12
trkyslr 13-Mar-12
trkyslr 13-Mar-12
joehunter8301 13-Mar-12
midwest 13-Mar-12
joehunter8301 13-Mar-12
trkyslr 14-Mar-12
trkyslr 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
njbuck 14-Mar-12
trkyslr 14-Mar-12
trkyslr 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
Bowfreak 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
trkyslr 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 14-Mar-12
joehunter8301 15-Mar-12
trkyslr 16-Mar-12
Nick Muche 16-Mar-12
trkyslr 16-Mar-12
joehunter8301 16-Mar-12
labxtreme1 17-Mar-12
trkyslr 17-Mar-12
writer 17-Mar-12
turkey talker 17-Mar-12
trkyslr 17-Mar-12
trkyslr 17-Mar-12
trkyslr 19-Mar-12
Hollywood 20-Mar-12
trkyslr 20-Mar-12
joehunter8301 20-Mar-12
mikesohm/magnus 20-Mar-12
trkyslr 20-Mar-12
joehunter8301 21-Mar-12
Lefty15 21-Mar-12
trkyslr 21-Mar-12
trkyslr 21-Mar-12
Nick Muche 21-Mar-12
Lefty15 21-Mar-12
elkmtngear 21-Mar-12
joehunter8301 22-Mar-12
trkyslr 22-Mar-12
otcWill 22-Mar-12
joehunter8301 22-Mar-12
chuckles 22-Mar-12
Paul@thefort 22-Mar-12
trkyslr 22-Mar-12
Ermine 25-Mar-12
Turk 25-Mar-12
white oak 25-Mar-12
trkyslr 25-Mar-12
Lefty15 25-Mar-12
trkyslr 25-Mar-12
trkyslr 25-Mar-12
ol gobbler 26-Mar-12
trkyslr 26-Mar-12
trkyslr 26-Mar-12
AZBUGLER 26-Mar-12
joehunter8301 26-Mar-12
trkyslr 26-Mar-12
Nick Muche 26-Mar-12
trkyslr 26-Mar-12
elkmtngear 26-Mar-12
trkyslr 26-Mar-12
elkmtngear 26-Mar-12
joehunter8301 26-Mar-12
joehunter8301 26-Mar-12
badlander 27-Mar-12
trkyslr 27-Mar-12
nijimasu 27-Mar-12
joehunter8301 27-Mar-12
trkyslr 27-Mar-12
trkyslr 27-Mar-12
trkyslr 27-Mar-12
trkyslr 27-Mar-12
joehunter8301 27-Mar-12
joehunter8301 03-Mar-13
BOHNTR 03-Mar-13
otcWill 03-Mar-13
joehunter8301 03-Mar-13
writer 06-Mar-13
trkyslr 06-Mar-13
writer 06-Mar-13
TurkeyBowMaster 06-Mar-13
joehunter8301 06-Mar-13
HUNT MAN 07-Mar-13
TurkeyBowMaster 07-Mar-13
From: trkyslr
06-Mar-12
I will start this now and keep it going through the season. I will post tips, tricks, and hunts as they unfolded. This upcoming season I will be hunting with joehunter once again and a few other known bowsiters, so it should be fun, entertaining, and hopefully you guys will find it educational. So let the spring madness begin...

-When trying to locate a gobbling bird, let mother nature help you in shock gobbling nearby birds. When you are covering ground and a hawk screams you should instantly stop in your tracks and listen. On several incidents I have heard birds shock gobble and they gave away their location. I have hunted with guys who would keep walking or talking when a hawk screamed or a crow blasted off that they Didnt hear the gobble in the distance.. Hope this will help you this spring in locating birds when before you covered up the rope ninjas roar when they sounded off.

From: trkyslr
06-Mar-12
Any comments and added info is welcome. Good luck to all the turkey slayers out there!

06-Mar-12
This should be fun. Might I suggest really looking deeply into shot placement on birds. It is very important to know where to shoot the birds. I think many guys lose birds because they don't really know where to aim and make a less than perfect shot when they think they made a good shot.. Last yr trkyslr an I killed 8 birds between the 2 of us an farthest ran 25 yards. Big broadheads will help but only so much. We both shoot fixed heads (vpa and muzzy) and take close shots. I will post a few shot placement pics in a bit. Good luck everyone.

06-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
Here is one shot placement pic I put together...

06-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
another...

06-Mar-12
Thanks Joe.

06-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo

06-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
on the quartering to bird in this pic i would go just a tad farther back than where the dot indicates. 2-3 inches and he would die within sight.

From: trkyslr
06-Mar-12
One thing you notice in those shot placement pics is the kill zone is straight up the legs or between then depending on the angle. I think most lost birds are due to shots to far forward in the breast. Back in the day I lost a couple birds doing just that.

From: RosinBag
06-Mar-12
This is going to be Turkey Hunting 101 for me as I don't know anything about turkey hunting. Keep this going Joe and Chris and maybe I will just learn enough to screw a something up.....

From: Hawkeye
07-Mar-12
Agree on the shot placement comments :) Up the leg is the ticket!

07-Mar-12
This will be the first year trying with the bow. Great idea guys, looking forward to all the tips!

From: BOHNTR
07-Mar-12
Awesome stuff. guys.......I'm taking note!

From: trkyslr
07-Mar-12
- General blind placement can help depending on where you hunt. There's lots of different turkey hunting environments so a few basic blind placement tips are; try to set the blind with the sun behind you as this will dramatically darken the inside which will help mask your movement, if possible try set the blind next to another object or have stuff (trees brush rocks combine etc.) behind the blind in the direction the birds will be looking at your setup. Now I have done the wide open hilltop setup and it's worked but on a few occasions I've noticed birds notice the blind sticking out like a flare at night. One quick last thing to hide your movement is have the window only open enough to where you have plenty of room to shoot through. Closing the window down a few inches also helps on keeping it darker inside and masking your movement when drawing. I try to do all these little things as I place my decoys "8 yards and in" and have birds that close.... Later

From: Outdoordan
07-Mar-12
Cool stuff on here Chris! Thanks and good luck!

From: Nick Muche
07-Mar-12
Ah yes, it is about that time again.. Only another month or so.

From: WylieCoyote
07-Mar-12
Awesome!! Thanks a Lot.....infomation I have needed many times.....course, in most of my turkey confrontations I missed the entire bird !! I always set the decoy at about 35 yards out.....being as close as 8 yards is a whole new concept for me....can't wait to try your great advice....

Thanks again !

Joe

From: Nick Muche
07-Mar-12
I set up my decoys as close as 3-5 yards... I like them birds close!! I put the hens out a bit farther, but what the Tom coming into investigate is interested in is usually the Breeding pair, Jake/Hen combo as close as I can get it to the blind while still allowing me a good shot. Close is always the ticket, no matter how close you put the decoys, they will come.. They have no clue that you are in the blind!

From: trkyslr
07-Mar-12
Nice info nick! I was gonna save it for later but I'll comment on my "8 yards and in" theory and setup. Like nick I place my decoys close and want my birds close. Majority of the time I set up my Dsd Jake and submissive hen at 8 yards. I'll put a feeder off to the side about 6 yards and then my stand up hen at 1-2 yards from the front of my blind. My reasoning for the stand up at touching distance is when a bird is within twenty yards preferably whooping on the Jake, if he happens to catch my movement I feel when the standing hen at one yard does not spook, he won't spook. He will stay or become relaxed. He feels that the movement is not a threat. I also like the Jake at 8 yards because I feel more comfortable shooting them at that distance and making good shot placement at that distance. For me shooting a bird at a couple yards there's a little more room for error on shot placement in regards to standoff. That's just my own liking.

From: trkyslr
07-Mar-12
I should also clarify I dont always do this flock setup as mentioned above. I like this flock setup early morning till late morning. I will use this setup later in the day if I've located two or more longbeards together. Later in the day if I find a workable solo bird I like to setup just the standup hen and maybe add the feeder hen. Usually during the day one solo longbeard who's gobbling is in search of the company of hens for love, not a fight.

From: Nick Muche
07-Mar-12
LOL... I would have said something similar, but my tags are usually filled by 9am :)

You are right though, mid day hunts I will not typically use a jake or tom decoy, just hens. As the afternoon drags on and I am still out there, you can bet I will use the same as the morning set-up.

That is some good info Chris, most people would never even think about that...

From: trkyslr
07-Mar-12
And in the past I have setup on solo birds with the Jake deke and they came in and whooped on it till they got killed. Gotta love the dsd Jake... And yes IMHO the quality of a decoy makes a difference in how a bird will react. During my first 12 years of hunting Turks I used collapsable flambeau Jake decoy and killed birds with it, but out of those ten years I would say only a handful oF times did they come right in and engage it. Since I've been hunting with the dsd Jake (4-5 years) I have been apart of 60-80 kills where all the bird came right in and attacked the decoy. To me that difference says it all and makes the cost of a dsd not an issue.

07-Mar-12
When scouting a big advantage you can gain on Turks is locating the roost area. It varies from area to area but in my experience turkeys seem to generally roost in the same area year after year so if you can find that area it gives you a huge advantage when starting your hunt in the am. And typically birds prefer the biggest trees to get high above danger and feel safe. So natruallu that's what I try to locate. I have even seen instances where they roost on power poles and such to get as high as possible. Roost trees or areas can be found by sitting on a ridge where you can hear a long ways and listening at first or last light. Birds will gobble in the evening on the roost too but typically not as much. But all you need is to hear them once or twice to locate the area. Unlike deer or other 4 leg critters turkeys don't move once it's dark so where ever you left them the night before that's where they'll be come daylight.  Sometimes I like to use a shock call to get them to sound off on the roost and give away their location. Just about any owl, crow or natural squawk in the woods will work. Trkyslr will kill me for sayin this but I sometimes use my elk bugle to locate em. Believe me it works great. Just a pain to carry a big tube around.  So when scouting if you can locate the predominate roost areas you will have a big jump on the birds and instead of runnin all around tryin to find birds you can get in early and setup and be right in the action for a good hunt. 

From: Paul@thefort
07-Mar-12

Paul@thefort's embedded Photo
Paul@thefort's embedded Photo
Hard to tell shot placement with all of the feathers still on. Try this. Shot with an expandable head broadside shot.

07-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
This is a bird I shot last year. I dont have any better pics I wish I took more of some of the better shots we made but this will give you an idea. I shot this bird low and back as you can tell. Arrow came out a little higher and forward than the entrance on the other side. Broke both legs so he was anchored there but I wish I would have hit him a little bit higher. About where that chunk of skin is missing is ideal on a broadside bird. Anywhere between there and the wing joint. I will take some live shot of birds and as we put birds down I will do a full anatomy autopsy of them to help guys better understand where the vitals sit from all angles.

From: Mark Watkins
07-Mar-12
Great stuff guys! Keep it coming! Your experience/thoughts on evening hunts (where legal)?

From: Nick Muche
07-Mar-12
Hunt near the roost, but not too close.. You don't want to ruin the following mornings hunt. I like to hunt between where I know they are feeding and the roost.

There are many answers to this, but I bet that would be the most common.

From: trkyslr
07-Mar-12
Mark, here in nor cal we can hunt till 4 pm. From my experience from 3 pm on it seams the birds head back towards their roost site, so find a good spot they travel and wait them out. If I could hunt them later here I think I would use the flock decoy spread as it birds that separated mid morning start to get back together before they head to roost. That's what I've seen while watching the birds near my house.

From: trkyslr
07-Mar-12
Definition of the "Death gobble" - it's mid morning or later in the day and you hear a bird continuously gobbling every couple minutes or every ten seconds. That bird 99% of the time is wanting a hen to respond and give away her location so he can meet or find her for some mid day action. This birds gobbling will let you close in and set up on him and with some seductive hen talk he'll strut into your set up and get an arrow through his boiler room..... The death gobble.

From: elkmtngear
08-Mar-12

elkmtngear's Link
"Definition of the "Death gobble" - it's mid morning or later in the day and you hear a bird continuously gobbling every couple minutes or every ten seconds".

I love it! I have tagged quite a few birds over the years, because they couldn't help themselves...they had to make "the Death Gobble"! Good stuff, Chris!

Best of Luck, Jeff

08-Mar-12
Mark, In response to evening hunting as trkyslr said we can't hunt past 4 pm here but I have spent many hours scouting in evenings an trying to learn more about birds behavior. If I was able to hunt evenings I would prob find the known roost area and figure out which route the birds come from in the later hours and setup a couple hours before you expect to see them and patiently wait. Finding the roost tree is key for evening hunts. Good luck.

From: Bowfreak
08-Mar-12
My method is simple. Go to an area where you know turkeys frequent and setup your blind. Use at least a strutter (add a hen if you like). No matter what you do hunt from 10am-2pm if legal. If that means you have to sleep in and not get into the woods til 9am or so...do it. Call very sparingly and don't move. You will kill as many turkeys as you have tags if you have enough patience to hunt like this.

I have killed a boat load of turkeys and very few have been before 9am. I have shot 9 out of my last 10 gobblers with a bow after 9 am and one as late as 2:30pm.

From: Reflex
08-Mar-12
To touch base on the evening hunting strategies, set up between feeding and roosting areas as said before. For a typical evening hunt, I'll get there three hours before sunset. In the first half of the evening, I feel my chances are decent that I can call a bird into the decoys. As it gets closer to dusk, the birds start to group up and I have had very little success calling in birds. The most important thing would be to scout and see how the birds are traveling back to the roost trees. Unless the birds get spooked, they tend to take the same general routes.

From: chucknduck
08-Mar-12
This is awesome. This will be my first year hunting turkeys. I'm determined to do it with my bow. I'm getting a blind and a couple of decoy. Keep the info coming.

08-Mar-12
on paul the forts picture look at all the area of the head and the neck. off with their heads take a look.

08-Mar-12
Mike, with all due respect my buddy started this thread as an informative thread to help guys an give them know how. Not as an advertisement for Magnus. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if this thread stayed that way. Thanks everyone!

From: trkyslr
08-Mar-12
Maybe I should of clarified this but my "2012 trkyslr semi live season" thread is to be educational, informative, and NOT and thread for guys to advertise their own product on. I'm trying to keep it open for everyone without any negative bickering which happens when you start talking/comparing products... So that being said if you wish to advertise your product start your own thread and dont hijack others.

Mike, yes your product works but some bowhunters may just prefer body shots. Feel free to chime in if you want about shot placement with head shots. I'm open to that but I would appreciate the product advertisement on thisthread to be minimal ..

From: Mark Watkins
08-Mar-12
I have only bowhunted turkeys for the past 6 years..still learning! We seem to have considerably more success in the evening hunts (until sunset.....legal in South Dakota) killing probably 60% of our birds after 4:00PM than we do in the morning hunts. These are Merriams, which I have heard are not quite as callable as Easterns?....whcih we have found to be fairly accurate. So, it is similiar to hunting whitetails....focus on the travel corridor, if they will come to a call great, if not they are headed to the roost and we still might get a good shot at them. Thanks for the feedback!

From: Hawkeye
08-Mar-12
"My method is simple. Go to an area where you know turkeys frequent and setup your blind. Use at least a strutter (add a hen if you like). No matter what you do hunt from 10am-2pm if legal. If that means you have to sleep in and not get into the woods til 9am or so...do it. Call very sparingly and don't move. You will kill as many turkeys as you have tags if you have enough patience to hunt like this."

"I have killed a boat load of turkeys and very few have been before 9am. I have shot 9 out of my last 10 gobblers with a bow after 9 am and one as late as 2:30pm."

+1 Bowfreak

That advice right there will kill you more turkeys than anything else....if you can shoot straight ;)

From: Hawkeye
08-Mar-12
"My method is simple. Go to an area where you know turkeys frequent and setup your blind. Use at least a strutter (add a hen if you like). No matter what you do hunt from 10am-2pm if legal. If that means you have to sleep in and not get into the woods til 9am or so...do it. Call very sparingly and don't move. You will kill as many turkeys as you have tags if you have enough patience to hunt like this."

"I have killed a boat load of turkeys and very few have been before 9am. I have shot 9 out of my last 10 gobblers with a bow after 9 am and one as late as 2:30pm."

+1 Bowfreak

That advice right there will kill you more turkeys than anything else....if you can shoot striaght ;)

From: Nick Muche
08-Mar-12
Bowfreak is spot on, but I will add that I have killed my fair share of birds shortly after fly down as well. However, a good majority of the turkeys I have killed were between the times that he stated.

Another little piece of advice... Patience has killed more turkeys than skill... Get yourself a comfortable blind chair and a good book :)

08-Mar-12
one thing i might add is get yourself some good turkey decoys, they do make a difference. i have taken quite a few birds all with bow and i set my decoys very close 5 yds or less from the blind. the best combination for turkey decoys for me, has been a jake and a breeding hen. works every time. thanks

From: trkyslr
08-Mar-12
Roost calling early season birds- this following information is considering you have birds already located in the roost and your set up on them. majority if not most Of the time during early season birds are grouped up, toms, jakes and hens. As the birds wake up and start gobbling I'll do a few tree call assemblies just to give away my location of vocal hen. I will then listen carefully for the boss hen to start calling. She will usually start with tree yelps and as it gets closer to fly down she will get louder and more vocal. I will mimic her calls with my own to piss her off and to keep the gobblers interested in me. I will then listen for other hens to start calling and the solo flap of wings. This means they're getting very close to flying down. When I hear this I like to be the first hen off the roost so I will do a few fly down calls and flap my turkey wing to simulate hens flying down. Once I'm on the ground I'll start with occasional yelps and assembly calls. On several occasions probably half the time the gobblers get so excited they fly down first and are in my set up, or the hens pitch off and land on me (ask Ike about that one ;) ...) if the hens come in usually the gobblers follow. O e thing you will catch on is I am aggressive with finding birds and calling birds. You might be thinking " man that's way more roost calling then I would ever do but take my word it works!

Now keep this in mind this is what I like to do early season.. Late season when toms are solo or don't have hens or only a few I change my roost calling techniques. I'll get to that later during the season. Hope this helps. Gobble gobble!!!!!

From: labxtreme1
10-Mar-12
trkyslr has a great point! I've had a lot of birds come in to aggressive calling on the roost.. Youll have to excuse this part but due to limited opportunity for myself after taking others and a missed shot i took both toms the day before season close.. first bird down was a tom dropped at 12 yds the second flew down after the shot went out 300 then a hen flew down, tom 2 came back and was taken 15 min later there were over 20 birds roosted first 2 were toms by excited calling before fly down.

This method does not always work and used too often can get the hens to fly the opposite directions with toms in tow. It's getting closer!

From: trkyslr
10-Mar-12
Roost calling continued- so after doing the above mentioned calling sequence the hens fly down away or 100-200 yards from your setup and have the gobblers with them. This is a time to be very patient and stay put. When birds hit the ground they seam to spend 30 minutes to an hour fighting for dominance, breeding, feeding, strutting etc. until they decide to start on their daily journey or circle. During this first half hour the birds usually do this activity within the same area and move around. This is a great time to call in a 'satellite' gobbler. Another thing calling in the 'satellite' bird Is not always bad when trying to get a limbhanger. A lot of times I have seen that satellite gobbler to be an older bigger bird that was pushed away from the flock by a group of two year olds. Unlike bull elk who majority of the time try to acquire dominance by themselves, gobblers and even Jakes will challenge other gobblers by grouping up. This happens a lot.

So point is when the birds don't fly down to your location keep yourself known with sweet hen talk and stay put that first hour because that's a good time call one in.....

10-Mar-12
One thing I tend to notice when pre season scouting is birds tend to show up in places you don't see them any other times of the year. Turks usually will stick to a small area if left undisturbed and remain in big flocks thru the summer, fall and into the late winter months. But around the beggining of march (for some states this time differs) I notice smaller flocks (15-30 birds) start showing up where I never saw them during deer season. I think part of the reason is hens like to find isolated areas to nest and they are moving to new areas in search of this and gobblers follow. As the mating season gets deeper into the year I see smaller groups as hens start nesting but that comes usually midway into season.

But my point is just because you didn't see any turkeys last deer season on a piece of land doesnt mean they won't show up in the spring. And I also notice birds usually show up in same general area yr after yr too. So don't think there aren't birds at ur deer honey hole once the grass turns green an the flowers bloom. Birds are hot around my home now I am gettin excited.

From: trkyslr
10-Mar-12
Good info Joe. Jf can't wait on Turk,,,, and Turk season too! ;) haha

From: trkyslr
11-Mar-12
While I was busy at home with my daughter, Joe was outnscouting and tying up some longbeards to trees for me ;) ...... I'm sure Joe will post some pics.

11-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
Well today was a good day scouting. I was hoping to get more close up strutting pics to help with shot placement on strutters but I will work on that later this week hopefully. Here are some high fence birds that I saw today. Gets me excited

12-Mar-12
couple big boys from across the canyon i saw

12-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
guess i should add a pic

From: Mark Watkins
13-Mar-12
We need our morning turkey lessons!

From: trkyslr
13-Mar-12
I'll get it posted soon... I'm in a class rt now!

From: njbuck
13-Mar-12
Great info guys, for someone who can not consistantly kill turkey, there is a wealth of info here.

Here are a couple of questions...........

1.) When you guys are talking about early season vs. late season, can you be more specific? Our season here in NJ is the end of april and beginning of may. I know that this is after some other states seasons end. How do you go about calling for them later in the season?

2.) Where I hunt, the turkey consistantly roost in the same patch of trees, 99% of the time. I typically set up within 100 yards or so of them but they typically never seem to come into my set up. They normally gobble their heads off while in the roost but seem to go quiet once they are on the ground and then i cant for the life of me get them to come into my set ups. I have been using a jake and two hen collapable decoys. It sounds like i might have to invest in a DSD jake and submissive hen. I have tried calling aggressively, staying quiet and nothing seems to work. What would you guys try in this situation?

3.) What do you guys do when the birds are quiet and not responding to your calls in the mid morning?

From: trkyslr
13-Mar-12
Njbuck, my response to your first question is this. Season in nor cal what I'm referring to as early season is march 31 opener. This is where I use my above mentioned roost set up. Being your season is the end of April I'm thinking prob half your hens are starting to nest and groups of birds are smaller but that can change each year. I hunted Illinois during that time period one year and ran into a lot of smaller groups of birds consisting of a couple longbeards with a couple hens. During that time I would try to setup in a well used turkey travel route or strut zone and call sparingly. Now if a bird is hot to your calls be more aggressive until he gets within 100 yards then call very soft and make him come find you. IMO during this time of the year mid day I have found lots of hot longbeards that seem to love my aggressive type calling consisting of loud cuts and yelps.. Once they close in I'll tone it down a bit.

From: trkyslr
13-Mar-12
Njbuck, second question- try my above mentioned roost setup.. If your birds are roosting inthe exact same spot they usually have one maybe two spots they prefer to fly down too. Scout them from a distance before season and watch to see where they land. If you hunt with a blind I would go out a couple days before season mid day and put up and blend in your blind. Come open g morning get in there early and try not to SPOOK the birds by walking in to late or making noise. If you have them scouted out and are set up where they like to fly down to take their temperature on your roost set up calling. If the birds are quiet ca only as much as they are.. If they're hot and vocal you should be vocal.. And remember to try and be the first o e on therein d when it's fly down time.. They hear you fly down, they're convinced you sound like a turkey, and see the decoys be ready...... Hope this helps

From: trkyslr
13-Mar-12
Njbuck, mid morning if birds are quiet it's because they have hens or it is very warm temperature wise. If they have hens try and get one to shock gobble and then move in as close as possible to set up. Guy I hunt with has taught me a lot a bot sneaking in close like 50 yards if the land will allow it... Find the birds and get as close as possible, then start with some soft calling. If the birds turn on and get hot (this mean they gobble multiple times at you and start gobbling on their own) you should get a little more excited with your calling. I've found that a lot of times this will eathier pull the toms away from the hens to you or it will bring in the hens with the gobblers in tow... Another tip for mid day birds if it is sunny and warm is to set up in the shade or in the woods where it's cooler.. This is what a turkey wants to be and setting up in the shade of a tree with your decoys or in the woods is natural ... Good luck!

From: trkyslr
13-Mar-12
Sorry about spelling but i had a few minutes for lunch and was typing fast haha....

13-Mar-12
Good info trkyslr.

From: midwest
13-Mar-12
I hunt like Bowfreak and Hawkeye mentioned above. I check my watch and call every 15 minutes. Just a small series of loud yelps out of both sides of the blind using my old Lynch box or Aluminator.

It's pretty exciting when you look up and a long beard or two just suddenly appears from nowhere. I think most guys lack the patience to "wait 'em out" and always want to move over to the next field or over the next ridge to see where they went after fly down and end up spooking birds. If you are where you know the turks like to strut and spend time, it's just a matter of time until one comes in.

13-Mar-12
Midwest that's how I used to hunt them also but it gets real boring and trkyslr showed me his style of run and gun and I will admit it's alot more exciting. Turkey Huntin is exciting when birds are gobbling an fired up an that's how I want the hunt to be. Waitin em out does work good tho if you have done ur job scouting and have the patience needed. I did it for years.

From: trkyslr
14-Mar-12
Midwest that is very good info... To add to that If I know a birds inthe area I'll work him to death and wait him out if I feel I have a chance.... But on that same note and Joe will verify this, if I'm not getting any responses or I can't see a bird in working distance I'm the first one to pick up, lay some tread, and go find a hot bird. I am very fortunate to have several properties/ranches/farms/ what ever you want to call them within a half an hour at most from each other. If I'm not on a hot bird I'll go find one whether that means hiking my nards off or driving to a different ranch. A few years ago I hunted with a guy and first thing we did not get any roost action. He told me the birds would come by our setup by noon and all we had to do was wait. That was at 630 am. Well it was 730 am and I wasn't going to wait any loner especially till noon with no birds gobbling in the area. So we packed it up and went to another spot..... Long story short by noon we had located several hot birds which took a ride in the back of my truck. So my point is yes waiting birds out does kill them, but I like to cover as much ground as possible increasing my odds of finding that hot workable bird.....and yes if I only had one spot to hunt I'd have no other choice then wait them out till they were on the property I could hunt... My thinking when I'm hunting and no turkeys are responding and i can't find one to save my life is .... There's a hot bird out there somewhere that wants to die I just need to go find him.

From: trkyslr
14-Mar-12
Haha... I think Joe and i posted last posts at same time.. Ya were obsessed! ;) soon very soon!!!!!!!

14-Mar-12
Let the obsession continue..

From: njbuck
14-Mar-12
Thanks for the input guys, I cant wait to chase some long beards this spring! Keep the tips coming.

From: trkyslr
14-Mar-12
I've seen and heard a lot of hunters that like to face their Jake decoy facing them so when a longbeard challenges it he's face to face with the Jake and facing away from you... Well my theory is a little different on this.

If I have a bird located or responding I like to guess on his best or most direct route to my location and face my Jake decoy slightly in that direction enough that when that bird comes in he will see the James head/neck from a distance. I think from a distance it just looks more like a turkey and I've noticed first hand when a Tom sees that red and white Jake head from a distance he will close in sooner knowing a wimpy I trader is with his future hens. I have also seen where a bird comes in slowly from behind the Jake decoy and on e he got to the side of the decoy and saw his head he got pissed and ran in... Just something to think about for Jake placement/position. ....

From: trkyslr
14-Mar-12
Sometimes little things can make or brake a birds reaction to your setup!

14-Mar-12
Might I add to that I prefer to shoot turkeys broadside it just seems to me that there is a slightly bigger kill zone and I can pick where to aim better on a broadside bird. If the decoy is slightly quartering or broadside to you then chances are when the bird confronts the decoy head on then you will have a broadside bird to shoot.

From: Bowfreak
14-Mar-12
Good info guys. I developed my method over time (I am not real smart so it took a while) hunting a few pieces of ground with a lot of open areas. When I was a run and gun type of guy I usually tagged out the first few day BUT I educated a bunch of birds in the process. Turkeys were watching me and being spooked much more often than I thought. By hunting stealthily like this you can continue to shoot birds all season as long as you or your friends have tags. This couple with the fact that I am getting old and decrepid makes it a no brainer for me. LOL!

14-Mar-12
Bowfreak I agree 100%. My best ranch that I used to hunt I treated it that way. I wanted to hunt it all season and keep the birds not spooked so I waited them out more and didnt pressure them. But there was some public land real close and I had an issue with tresspassers all the time and the birds got spooky anyways. So I know where your comin from. Here is a shot placement pic on a quartering away non-strutting bird. One thing to keep in mind is the vitals sit in the top half of the bird so you would rather shoot a tad high than a tad low. I have been a victim of hitting too low myself and watchin the bird get away. A shot a tad high will result in a spine hit and drops the bird instantly. The vitals are tucked in behind the wing of a standing broadside/quartering away bird. Its best to put the arrow right where the red sits and I would bet money you will see that bird die in sight. Unless you opt for the head shot but thats a whole different story.

14-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
Sorry once again I forgot the pic

14-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
On a bird that is broadside strutting I prefer to draw an imaginary line horizontally from between the beard and neck and vertically up the legs. Where those cross is a good aiming point on a strutting bird. It can be tricky to know where to aim because the bird looks so big. But if you keep in mind where the wing meets the body aim just a few inches behind that point at the same level you should be in the gravy.

14-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
On a bird dead away non struttin I like to aim pretty much mid body about level with where the beard would sit. If you hit your mark you will sever the spine and drop the bird instantly.

14-Mar-12
Quartering to and head on birds are my personal least favorite shots because the feathers and breast can sometimes slow your arrow down and I prefer a pass thru. But I will take the shot anytime. Once again on strutting birds aim midway between the beard and neck and I typically try to drive the arrow right thru the center of the bird from this angle. Use the legs as a reference and try to run the arrow right between them as trkyslr said before. You do that and it will be mash taters and gravy for dinner with your bird.Hope this helps. Good huntin everyone.

14-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
sorry here is the pic to go with the last post

14-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
Here is a broadside strutter vs a standing bird. You can see where you need to change aiming points a little bit in order to keep the arrow in the kill zone.

From: trkyslr
14-Mar-12
Good stuff Joe!!!!! For guys who needed some pointers on shot placement there's some good pointers and reference pics...

14-Mar-12
When I drew it up on my computer screen it looked higher but the strutted with the yellow crosshairs I would actually aim a tad higher. Prob right just below the top of the red. Sorry.

15-Mar-12

joehunter8301's embedded Photo
joehunter8301's embedded Photo
So I made the change to the picture I was talking about. You can tell it is a small change maybe 3 inches at most but that is all it takes to make a difference in a wounded bird that gets away and a bird that dies in sight. Their vitals are that small. Good huntin.

From: trkyslr
16-Mar-12
Locating shock gobbling birds.... This for locate g birds mid morning through the afternoon. From my experience a gobbler will respond and gobble more to a turkey call then a crow, hawk, etc. Locator call. Sometimes this is due to being tight lipped cuz of hens or weather. When I'm trying to locate a bird I'd rather have him shock gobble to a non turkey locator call, so I'll first hit the locator call medium volume.. No response I'll hit the same locator loud and aggressive about 10 seconds later... If I do t get a response ill wait about three to five minutes before I then throw out some turkey calls. I wait this long cuz a mature gobbler wi catch on to hearing a crow call and followed right away by a turkey call as not natural and you probably will spook/educate him. Once I turkey call to locate a bird I start off with a few yelps and clucks.. Listen and if no response after about 20-30 seconds I'll get more aggressive with louder yelps and cuts... This usually gets a response if a bird can hear me... If I don't get a response I lay some boot tracks over the next ridge and try it again till I find a bird.

From: Nick Muche
16-Mar-12
You guys ever head shoot them? I used to body shoot birds, but once I started shooting them in the head I don't think I will body shoot them anymore, less I need a follow up for some reason.

From: trkyslr
16-Mar-12
Nick for 2-3 seasons I tried head shooting them with both heads meant for head shots and I could never get them to fly right. And believe me my s&/t was tuned and shooting darts. In 3 years I was probably 3 for 10 on birds within 20 yards using those things... So I said no more and went back to broadheads for body shots.. Since then I'm around 9.5 for 10 on kills to shots.... I like the higher odds for me.

16-Mar-12
Too small of a target for me to persuaded to aim for. I have shot at a few birds heads with standard BH and both times they dodged it or i missed. That was some years ago and since I really have focused on good body shots my kill percentages have gone way up. If trkyslr is 9.5 for 10 then I guess I would be 9 for 10 LOL :-)

From: labxtreme1
17-Mar-12
A lot of good information on this thread! its getting close to time to chase the big birds! one topic I haven't seen addressed is when do you draw, especially if without a blind? generally I try to wait til they are stutting facing away or quartering away with attention on decoy or another bird... any other thoughts for use?

From: trkyslr
17-Mar-12
Labextreme1, thanks for bringing that up. I do like to challenge myself to at least one 'natural' setup kill with no blind a season, some seasons more. First off you need to be camo'd up and have some what decent camo pattern. For turks this a little more important then deer since their vision is amazing and they are goin to be close... And of ya they see color ;) next thing is to try and setup with something either behind you or up against the side. When that birds coming in you gotta be very still. One thing I do that I think has helped me get drawn on birds within 20 yards in a natural setup is to be in you early bow draw position. This is where you have your bow out in front of you release on and the only thing you need to do to come to full draw is pull back that release arm back from it's position. Looking at an archer do this from the front you don't see much movement at all. I'll try to get pics of this to help the visual leathers under stand very soon ;) I've done this with birds broadside where I could see their eye and they still didn't notice me. I will try to wait and either draw when their fan is in between me and their head, their head goes behind a tree, or they are attacking the decoy. When a bird is attacking a decoy or a shot dieing bird I have walked right up to within one yard of them until they saw me because all their attention was focused on their fight.. Hope this helps.

From: writer
17-Mar-12
Interesting bunch of does and don'ts, but are never any "everys" or hardly ever any "nevers"in turkey hunting.

You're hunting a bird with a brain the size of a quarter-teaspoon that's filled with a gallon of hormones and paranoia.

That said,...a turkey, is a turkey, is a turkey when it comes to sub-species. Things like the terrain, hunting pressure and breeding cycle have a lot more to do with how birds act and react than their zip-code.

I've had Osceola's that seemed as simple as barnyard birds when they were well-scouted on opening morning and I've had my ass kicked by late-season Merriam's the landowner's kids had messed with almost every day for weeks....and vice-versa.

We've brought a lot of birds in to aggressive calling that didn't come in to the three yelps, two clucks, and wait 15 minutes thing. Always start working pretty mellow, but if that's not working, gradually kick it up a few notches.

Calling a lot and calling aggressively are two different things. Long strings of "lost" calls from a good slate don't have to be overly loud, or intimidating, but has brought a lot of birds to pellets and broadheads.

Knowing how to make slow, coarse jake yelps on a raspy mouth call will eventually bring in some longspur that otherwise wasn't budging.

Good woodsmanship is more important than good calling, but a great woodsman who is also a great caller will kill the most birds, day after day.

You're never as good with your mouth call as you think or as lousy as your wife and neighbors say. To find out, place a tape-recorder about 30 yards away in the woods and record your calling.

What you're saying with a call is more important than how you actually sound...excited, soothing,challenging,.. Anybody who doesn't know how to do good cutting, especially when trying to strike birds mid-day, is missing out.

Anybody sounds like a world-champion when they're already sitting where the tom's wanting to go, anyway.

A lot of turkeys will "shock" gobble at exciting cutting and yelping that won't make a peep to a locater call.

Using perfect camo is over-blown,...holding your butt still is not. Most squirrel hunters have tales of leaning against a tree, on shadowy side, and having a turkey walk by a few feet away. Even in the best camo, if you get caught turning your heaed a bird can see the movement waaaayyyyyy out.

Nick said something about using a comfortable blind chair and a book to remain patient...he forgot to add THERMOCELL!

If you don't learn something every time you're in the turkey woods, you're not paying attention. :-)

17-Mar-12
This is ethere any sites or would anybody mind putting up a demo of some of the different variations of cutting and yelping. I know the difference between the two, but for those of us who "think" we know the different variations, it would be good to hear.

I know I have alot to learn when it comes to the variations.

From: trkyslr
17-Mar-12
Writer, good info and thanks for posting. Believe me If time permitted this would already be a 1000 post thread, however, family, school, job, and everyday life keeps me from doing just that. Again very good info!

Turkey talker, you tube turkey yelps, turkey cuts, and so on and you'll find 1000's of great vids on call sounds and the real thing. And most call sites have videos with those sounds as well.

I appreciate any input on this thread and look forward to keeping everyone posted with how my season goes and what happened to make my hunts successful or a bust ;)

From: trkyslr
17-Mar-12
Turkey talker, after thinking of your question I thought of another thread idea. I've seen threads on elk sounds and calls so how about one on turkey calls and sounds. Ill start it for ya named " post your turkey calls and sounds" and maybe it will get some posters....

From: trkyslr
19-Mar-12
Another tip on roost set ups... If you are say within 100-50 yards of a bird in roost and your decoys are in view of the bird from his roost, I don't always do a fly down cackle. When hens do a fly down cackle they start it from their perch so it's not natural to do it from the ground if you are close enough to the birds that they can pin point you or your decoys. If I'm that close I'll simulate a hen that didn't do a fly down cackle (which is most hens) and flap my turkey wing a couple times then begin with some crisp yelps, as if A hen just hit the ground. A lit of times a bird will hear this, see your decoys, and be interested enough to pitch off or not. I've found out his works well when I'm very close to the birds roost.

Now if the terrain is thick and my dekes are not in clear view I will usually do one or two fly down cackle series.....

From: Hollywood
20-Mar-12
First day of Spring.

There's turkeys strutting all over Elk Grove this morning, both sides of I-5.

It's gettin' close!

From: trkyslr
20-Mar-12
Ha Hollywood, you know if they cross the highway to the east those rio's turn into marriams for scoring rt?!!!

20-Mar-12
No trkyslr that's mule deer get it right!!!

20-Mar-12

mikesohm/magnus's embedded Photo
mikesohm/magnus's embedded Photo

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