tjm08803

get him gobbling big time, then shut right up. Decoys are good, but i dont recommend them. I know you see on tv all the time birds running right into the decoy and stompin the **** out of it, but not around here. Birds around here are very "stressed" to say the least. The natural thing that happens in the woods is that the hen is suppose to go to the gobbler anyways. So if that big gobbler sees the hen (the decoy) or hears you calling, and he is in seeing distance, he will usually hang up everytime. Get him screaming coming in, and then at about 100 to 150 yards, before you can see him, shut right up. He will come in looking, thinking that the hot lady is heading away from him. Remember, the older the bird, the smarter he is. It takes wits to outsmart a big ol tom. As far as crossing barriers, believe me, if that gobbler is fired up, he will fly across the damn grand canyon. But if it seems like he really wants to stay on the other side (other side of a ridge like you said), get over there with him. Granted that you dont get to close, but definitly get where he wants to be. Greater chance of rolling him over that way. Stick with it, and the best of luck to you.

Great success guys, keep it going. The details of the first bird were: 10 1/2 inch beard, inch spurs (had some hook to em), and forgot to weight it. Im going after my second bird tomorrow with the ol Z-7. Took a bit of a breather after the first week. Went out three mornings, two longbeards and a jake on the ground (note that two of these were my dads). Got my dad all tagged out, jakester and a slob longbeard (26 pounds, 10 inch beard, and hooks like you wouldnt believe). Got that hunt all on video as well. Best of luck to those tackling the rest of the season.

smoked a dandy. 10 1/2 inch beard, special thanks goes out to my pops. I was suppose to be callin him in a limbhanger this morning, but that is not the way he likes to roll. Great guy. Some real nice looking birds on here posted by others.

thanks for the posts guys, I like to see that some people agree with me here. It is hard to face the truth, but sometimes reality has to be sought out. I feel that wet springs are the worst for turkeys. My buddy had a hen already nesting this year, probably last week it was. Then we got a little bit of snow, probably just enough to cover the eggs, and the hen ended up deserting the eggs. I dont think coyotes would be the top blame. If we just got a few mild springs, that would probably be huge. On a side note, tomorrow is the day before the opener. Talk sweet to them gobblers tomorrow night, and get them dreaming about some hot hens. Lets go out and still enjoy it while we can. AIM STRAIGHT, SHOOT STRAIGHT, GO GET EM BOYS!

I agree. it definitly depends on the area you are hunting. I know there are some fantastic areas in New York to hunt turkeys, and hey I love Wyoming County as one of them. But, the other areas, well turkeys are being wiped out completly from them. Wyoming County is definitly growing into one of them, which makes my standpoint a little different from others.

and i dont see where the wording in the first post was offensive what so ever. just trying to raise awareness.

Its the attitude from hunters like yourself that causes stipulation. I was just trying to raise some awareness, and then you tell me somthing like "dont go out hunting, ill still go out and shoot em all up hahahahahaha" You seem to be real easy to get along with, "not the greatest of first posts"

I know that DEC does helicopter runs all the time looking for wildlife. And seeing how turkeys are becoming a serious issue in some areas of New York, you would actually question that they are concerned? All you have to do is put 2 and 2 together. I have talked to plenty of DEC officers in my time, and I have thought numerous of times of becoming a DEC officer myself. I just hope that the DEC is actually planing something here (possibly shutting the season down at some point), and not putting this issue on the backburner.

Wasnt trying to start anything, and surely will never pay and disrespect to this great sport of hunting. Im just saying it how it is, disagree or agree all you want. When you look at the big picture, there numbers are going down (just as fast as they went up). And its true about the DEC, so you dont have to question that at all. Believe me, I know that other areas have outstanding populations, you dont have to preach me on that. BUT, look at the big picture here. Be a critic of my post (isnt that the whole idea of forumns), and anybody can pull up numbers on county kills with the click of a mouse. "hopefully this being the lowest.............."

Well I hate to be completly pessimistic here, but things are heading south for turkey hunting. I wont go into details about my accomplishments as a hunter because it will mainly sound like I am boasting, and thats not what I want to do. The real problem here is the decling population of New York Turkeys. A family friend told me yesterday that the DEC has been going out on helicopter runs trying to get a count for turkeys (or at least locate some). Lets put it this way, they didnt find too much. The DEC is actually thinking about shutting down the season eventually for a year or two (could be a terrible rumor, but honestly think about it). They cant believe it got to be this way. Dont get me wrong, there still out there, I have turkeys in all my hunting spots. However, I used to go out in my front yard 10 years ago and hear turkeys in mulitple directions. My dad an I would look at each other and say, "OK which one you wanna go after today." Now we go out just praying to hear one. Obviously, the biggest issues are terrible weather for hatchings, predation, and even hunters. Hunters account for about 20000 birds a year. If the season was shut down for a year, that saves that many birds. That would be HUGE for the turkeys. Hey, I'll be out there May 1st, and more than likely calling in a limb-hanger for pops. But, turkey hunting is turning into a serious issue. If we dont act on it, in 5 years, we will all be left scratching our heads....