WhitetailAddict11

simply put, yes

Interesting responses, you all are very safety conscious as you should be! Surprisingly, road riding/stalking is a very common hunting method around here because a lot of the countryside is a good mix of timber and large ag fields. Although road riding may sound unlawful, as if people are driving around to bust one off the side of the road real quick and then drive away, that's not at all what I mean by it. I'm referring to road riding as driving the perimeters of properties where permission has been obtained and looking for gobblers that are in a position to be stalked in those fields. Hunting pressure is moderate on all properties. I agree, calling is very enjoyable to me and all part of the challenge. It is in my opinion that far more factors come in to play when attempting to call in a tom in comparison to stalking one. To be fair, I do plenty of driving the roads myself, I certainly do my share of driving around, but I set up to call a bird I've spotted rather than stalking him simply because thats what is more challenging/fun/rewarding to me. locating and setting up on birds I have roosted the night before or located in the early morning hours is by far my most preferred method, text book hunts right of the roost are the ultimate thrill in turkey hunting!!

To be clear, stalking in this case would be without calls or decoys. Simply sneaking up on a bird close to a wood line or cutting one off that's headed through a tractor bar way for example that enters an adjoining field.

Me and my buddy can never agree on this. I find calling a gobbler to the gun to be more difficult than road riding/stalking one that's along a head row or in an open field, that's headed towards a known location where he can be cut off. He also says it's more of a rush to hunt that way where I find it to be much more of a rush to call a gobbling tom in. For the sake of argument (and healthy discussion) it would be preferable to choose one and your reason why. Splitting hairs is forbidden lol.

Have called in many birds with and without decoys but in my experiences, a decoy drastically decreases the chances of a bird hanging up AND when calling to the hens of a henned up gobbler, it's fairly necessary that they be able to see the nasty ol' hen who's talking smack to them. I have had a lot of great hunts both successful and unsuccessful using a single delta feeding hen.

This is a great pattern, wouldn't even worry about getting another choke, unless your worried about taking longer shots. Between myself, my father, and my hunting buddies, a few dozen toms have been killed over the years and maybe 2 of those were 35+ yards. Heck my best buddie's gun patterns very poorly and he's got more long beards than you could shake a stick at.

Agreed. Two years ago I did not even hunt the last week and a half of the season because you literally could not find a turkey and we have very good turkey hunting here in 5r/5j.

Authentic owl call works good, not a huge fan of voice hooting, seems to do more harm than good. Never had much luck with a crow call.

The last few springs I have watched birds strutting since late March and even seen some breeding done during April. Those years were typically poor for hunting because by the 3rd week of May you couldn't hear a turkey let alone see one because they were pretty much all set with breeding. Activity is very slow this year from what I'm seeing on scouting trips or to be more accurate, what I'm not seeing. Hopefully that just means we'll nail the breeding season right on the head this year and enjoy a full month of good hunting once May arrives.

Stillwater/saratoga lake area have nice farm country with good number of birds. The Charlton/Galway area is nice as well. Washington county just across the Hudson is an even better option as it is 100% farm country and depending on where you are in saratoga county, a fairly quick drive.

Not a fan of them. Completely accurate realism isn't necessary in a turkey decoy, but these things are down right stupid looking. Nothing but a money maker. Buy something a little nicer man.

Gotta love when she brings her boyfriend!

Over the years of my turkey hunting endeavors I have found it very enjoyable to watch a hen, or a group of hens, go on and carry about their business on mornings where they are very vocal. As a turkey hunter, what's better to learn from then the ultimate bait herself? I have always found the allure of calling a Tom to the end of the gun barrel one of the most enjoyable and addicting aspects of turkey hunting. Using the language of the animal and constantly trying to master it is as fun as it gets. Is there anyone else out there who enjoys a nice spring morning of hen activity and chatter, aside from the always aggravating situations where they have a tom or two with them who won't leave their side?

Although I prefer diaphragms, my Primos box cutter has called in more Tom's than I can count. Whether I have killed them or I haven't for one reason or another, it's the one call that never seems to fail me. I did pick up a Matt Van Vise custom diaphragm last year though and this thing is pure wild hen!

FOR SALE: Savage Model 12FV 22-250 w/ Burris Fullfield II 3x-9x-40mm -This rifle has no more than 3 boxes through it. Lightly hunted for 2 coyote seasons and still in mint condition. Crowned bull barrel with over-sized bolt and savage accu-trigger. Very accurate gun that shoots like a dream, hate to let it go but want a bit lighter rifle. $750 OBO

Been keeping my eye on a group of 30 or so, 3-4 long beards in the mix. They roost and spend most of their time right along a cow pasture and fly right down into the cow pies left by the cattle at sunrise for an easy bite, or after the farmer comes through with the manure spreader. Watched them strutting up a storm about a week ago, but hens didn't bat an eye which wasn't surprising. Looking forward to may

Don't get a red dot man, those things look great on the Outdoor Channel but suck in the real world. They are tough to see around when your down on your gun and looking for a bird that's close but out of view, if you walk up on a tom and have to shoot quick you have to turn it on first (he'll be gone by then), not to mention, shotguns take a beating in the turkey woods, so if you knock your sights off it could cost you a bird, i.e. It's a b**** to crawl with a red dot on your fun. Oh and don't forget about your heavy breathing fogging it to all hell when a bird flys down into your lap at first light in a crisp morning. Stick with open sights man, they're the ticket for spring turkey hunting.

Get yourself a Quaker boy push button

Talk about a tease!! It's almost not worth it during the regular season to set up all the decoys and blinds just to put it all back away after the first 3-4 groups which could take 45 mins

Hey all, I'm just wondering what others thoughts are about the HIP harvest information that is asked when you call in every year before early goose. I'm not sure how they can assume they're getting any sort of accurate estimate of the number of birds shot the year prior when the highest option it asks is "did you shoot 10 or more" or whatever it says. I kept track of the number of geese we shot this year amongst our hunting group and we total'd out at 131 honkers. I'd say 75-80 of those birds were shot by just me and my buddy alone because most of our hunting group this year was new to waterfowling and wing shooting. My point being, when NY asks me how many birds I shot this year when I register next season, it's going to be completely inaccurate and I can't imagine it's helping biologists get a real sense of how what the bag limits should truly be, which IMO should be 4 birds a person during the regular season.

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

Great deer!

I like Charles as well but I have to agree with Phade. Years of research have shown little to no connection between the moon phase and the rut. I was never really convinced of the possible connection to begin with. One thing's for sure though, the temps are right and the winds are brisk, time to log some long sits in a stand. Good luck Mike.

Have scouted the Ballard road property before and was not impressed by what I saw. Never hunted Moreau but there's plenty of room to put some walking in and possibly stumble across a nice buck.