Calling vs. stalking

[WhitetailAddict11]

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.

Edited April 20, 2015 by WhitetailAddict11

[G-Man]

I would never stalk a turkey, it's potentially dangerous. Getting ahead of one and setting up and calling is fine if thats what you meant. But calling is the best when minimally needed using woodsman ship to get close.

[gfdeputy2]

I agree with G-Man I never stalk a Turkey

[WhitetailAddict11]

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.

[gfdeputy2]

Maybe different hunting private land in NY but here in NH all land that is not posted is considered public. You never know who is hunting in the area or has a bead on that bird & does not see you always safer to have the bird come to you

[growalot]

You guys must hunt some pretty big and low hunted properties...

 

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,

 

[Pygmy]

For me, the calling is what makes the sport so special.

 

I'd rather call in a bird and have someone else shoot it than bushwhack one myself.

 

If calling was not involved, I'd quit turkey hunting and go fishing.

[jjb4900]

driving around looking for birds to "intercept" sounds wrong in so many ways.........

[growalot]

Yep...that's why I say I'm going to camp to catch turkey..hunters every single year....had one guy dumb enough to get out of his truck with a client to stalk me...scared the crap out of him when I popped out of the bushes.. he then trying to cover himself took the guy to the property across the street. 15mins...declared there were no birds and they left everyone knows that property is patrolled daily...felt bad for the old gent from Florida with him...he looked pretty embarrassed.

[WhitetailAddict11]

Maybe different hunting private land in NY but here in NH all land that is not posted is considered public. You never know who is hunting in the area or has a bead on that bird & does not see you always safer to have the bird come to you

 

 

You guys must hunt some pretty big and low hunted properties...

 

 

driving around looking for birds to "intercept" sounds wrong in so many ways.........

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. 

For me, the calling is what makes the sport so special.

 

I'd rather call in a bird and have someone else shoot it than bushwhack one myself.

 

If calling was not involved, I'd quit turkey hunting and go fishing.

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!!

Edited April 20, 2015 by WhitetailAddict11

[Pygmy]

driving around looking for birds to "intercept" sounds wrong in so many ways.........

Don't be so quick to condemn.

 

Not everyone is limited to a little postage stamp of property.

 

Many of us, especially those "locals" who grew up in rural areas and are friends with lots of landowners , have permission to hunt large areas of land.

[growalot]

I think he may have meant in terms of safety......

[Pygmy]

I don't see safety as a big issue here unless someone is stalking turkey "sounds".

Setting up ahead of a gobbler that you have spotted to cut him off isn't any more dangerous than setting up in the woods and calling.

[growalot]

Agreed but that is what he said...

 

 

driving around looking for birds to "intercept" sounds wrong in so many ways.........

 

[dbHunterNY]

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.

 

I've often glassed birds working in a direction then burned boot rubber to get ahead of them, setup, and call them into where they're already generally headed.  I've rarely had good luck straight up stalking a bird.  they just see too darn well.  more of an ambush like you said but I think using a visible decoy with calling in that sense seals the deal.  I've had toms come through bar ways blind to the decoy and be literally a few yards from me.  too late for them though.  I've tried the same thing without a decoy and at times they can't see so they just holler back not close enough to be in range or clear for a shot and expect me to go to them.  that's the natural way things happen with a real hen that's interested.  from there it's follow the leader unless she goes to nest.

[dbHunterNY]

Maybe different hunting private land in NY but here in NH all land that is not posted is considered public. You never know who is hunting in the area or has a bead on that bird & does not see you always safer to have the bird come to you

 

no here in NY any land Posted or not is considered public but by law all private land unless completely untouched and not Posted is considered to be inaccessible without permission.

[G-Man]

So just ambushing a turkey? You must hunt till noon,birds by me are in woods till 9 or 10am, I'm done by 830 and back home...hunt smart not hard....

[jjb4900]

in my opinion, if you take the calling, gobbling, strutting and the whole show out of spring turkey hunting, you pretty much took all the excitement out of it and are just out there to kill something..............don't get me wrong, if I happened to have an opportunity to kill one by chance that involves none of that I'll take it, but that would never be my intended method of hunting. I would hate to accidentally "intercept" one that another hunter has been working and ruin his hunt or have that happen to me............if your both out there and just using calling and setup skills to see who brings the bird in, different story, but to drive past and jump out and go after it is not for me.................and I realize that many have access to huge pieces of land, so that's a non issue.

[Pygmy]

Point taken, jjb...As I said in my first post, if it weren't for the calling I'd quit turkey hunting and go fishing.

Also, that's the reason that I never hunted Osceolas..They don't gobble a lot, and hunting them is more like hunting deer than turkeys.

If I am going to pay to hunt out of state for another subspecies, I'd want to hunt birds that gobble a LOT, like Merriams or Rios.

[mike rossi]

I would say stalking and intercepting are different. If you (think) you are stalking a turkey, you are really stalking a turkey hunter's call or his decoy. 

 

Stalking  is dangerous, and although intercepting might not be quite as dangerous; if you are trying to intercept a bird on public land you are being discourteous to other hunters. 

[wildcat junkie]

Stalking is dangerous, and although intercepting might not be quite as dangerous; if you are trying to intercept a bird on public land you are being discourteous to other hunters.

One may be "intercepting" a bird coming into another hunter's call.

[Five Seasons]

calling is more rewarding. I have no problems with getting up and stalking. Actually I enjoy that about turkey hunting versus deer hunting. If I hear a gobble far away around 8 I can get up and stretch my leg instead of just sitting there bored for 2 more hours.

 

I haven't been much for road side calling. We have miles of dirt road here on public land and frankly the road callers bother me. Once last year they actually screwed me up on a bird coming in... I guess I find it disrespectful to other hunters and sort of lazy. But stalking on private land or empty public land is totally fine and pretty fun.

[Five Seasons]

I don't see safety as a big issue here unless someone is stalking turkey "sounds".

Setting up ahead of a gobbler that you have spotted to cut him off isn't any more dangerous than setting up in the woods and calling.

 

I agree. I don't see the issue unless you're wearing and red and blue bandana and gobbling... which would be weird as you should be calling to sound like a hen.

[WhitetailAddict11]

I agree. I don't see the issue unless you're wearing and red and blue bandana and gobbling... which would be weird as you should be calling to sound like a hen.

Agreed Belo, this is something I have always said myself. Safety of course should always be in the forefront of your mind but if you're stalking another hunter during the spring then you would be stalking the sound of a hen which doesn't make any sense. Sure there are guys that use gobble calls but I have yet to here a gobble call that doesn't sound completely ridiculous. Gotta love the guy that ruins a perfectly good gobbling morning by shaking his damn gobble call a little after first light and shuts them all up for the rest of the morning... -__-

[gfdeputy2]

no here in NY any land Posted or not is considered public but by law all private land unless completely untouched and not Posted is considered to be inaccessible without permission.

 

I know what you mean we hunt public land in NY

IN NH it is recommended you ask permission but not needed if it isn't posted so you never know who is out there with you