Woods or fields.

[land 1]

Dry cardboard? you are def cooking them wrong wild turkey is not dry or tasteless ,,, either breast on the grill soaked in your choice of marinade or fried turkey strips using italian bread crumbs .... dont over cook!!! and 410 its your choice but like one guy said its like using a 22 on a deer at least go with a TSS load not a regular # 6 2 3/4

[Enigma]

I concur with @G-Man that the quickest way to blow them off a property is to run and gun. It only takes a day or two of excessive calling and being seen while moving around and they'll be gone or get lock jaw and go quiet. Makes it 10X harder to kill one.

As @Pygmy posted. I prefer fields actually. For the reasons he mentioned and others. I learned to hunt them in fields so thats what we do. Usually at a corner or funnel off the roost a couple hundred yards in a hub blind. Scouting is key to know their general direction of travel.

Some people can't take sitting in one spot or a blind for 6 hours. I get it. It can be tough. But if you're in an area with good turkey numbers that haven't been harrassed it's only a matter of time until one shows up that wants to die. Anytime between fly down and noon. Light calling every half hour or so will usually bring one in. 

I usually hunt with a client or a friend so snacks, drinks and naps help pass the down time in a blind. I joke that when you hunt with me it'll be leisurely, a most "gentlemenly" hunt lol. The other thing I really like is when you see a bird aways off, get his attention and he takes his time getting to you. That buildup of tension before you kill him is icing on the cake. 

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by Enigma

[squirrelwhisperer]

20 hours ago, rachunter said:

I’m surprised they never opened wertheim for a few weeks there all over that place. Then again they’ll probably wait until it’s out of control and hire sharpshooters to kill them. Lol


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Makes no sense. I hear turkeys every morning from my deck and actually had them in the yard on several occasions but can't take them from my neighborhood. The few times I have set out to take a bird, I didn't even see one. Admittedly, I have no clue about turkey hunting. I just hope to see some birds one day while they are in season and I am in my stand, unless I get an invite from someone that knows what they are doing like @blackbeltbill that can show me the ropes and help me get one. 

[Lucky118]

1 minute ago, squirrelwhisperer said:

Makes no sense. I hear turkeys every morning from my deck and actually had them in the yard on several occasions but can't take them from my neighborhood. The few times I have set out to take a bird, I didn't even see one. Admittedly, I have no clue about turkey hunting. I just hope to see some birds one day while they are in season and I am in my stand, unless I get an invite from someone that knows what they are doing like @blackbeltbill that can show me the ropes and help me get one. 

Had to get out of bed and chase them off this morning. 10 hens and 3 toms. Toms kept gobbling under my window literaly  5 ft from my head so annoying. Lol

[Buckmaster7600]

I concur with [mention=899]G-Man[/mention] that the quickest way to blow them off a property is to run and gun. It only takes a day or two of excessive calling and being seen while moving around and they'll be gone or get lock jaw and go quiet. Makes it 10X harder to kill one.
As [mention=320]Pygmy[/mention] posted. I prefer fields actually. For the reasons he mentioned and others. I learned to hunt them in fields so thats what we do. Usually at a corner or funnel off the roost a couple hundred yards in a hub blind. Scouting is key to know their general direction of travel.
Some people can't take sitting in one spot or a blind for 6 hours. I get it. It can be tough. But if you're in an area with good turkey numbers that haven't been harrassed it's only a matter of time until one shows up that wants to die. Anytime between fly down and noon. Light calling every half hour or so will usually bring one in. 
I usually hunt with a client or a friend so snacks, drinks and naps help pass the down time in a blind. I joke that when you hunt with me it'll be leisurely, a most "gentlemenly" hunt lol. The other thing I really like is when you see a bird aways off, get his attention and he takes his time getting to you. That buildup of tension before you kill him is icing on the cake. 
 

I’ll go against the grain here and say that pressure affects gobblers very little. I’ve bumped gobblers by being aggressive and chasing them only to muff it up and kill the same bird the next day a bunch of times. Maybe you won’t get 10 chances at the same bird but I’ve killed lots of them by being very aggressive.


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[Enigma]

19 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I’ll go against the grain here and say that pressure affects gobblers very little. I’ve bumped gobblers by being aggressive and chasing them only to muff it up and kill the same bird the next day a bunch of times. Maybe you won’t get 10 chances at the same bird but I’ve killed lots of them by being very aggressive.


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Not saying it can't happen and not saying it's not productive being aggressive. I've done just like you said on a couple of occasions myself. Just saying most days I tend to wait them out and try not to have a big impact on the area.

One thing some people also don't realize is you're also having an effect on the behavior of the hens when you get busted being aggressive. Yeah that hot tom with a head full of testosterone might come back the next day, but if he's henned up and she's leading him around and she's skittish, that just makes it tougher.

Alot of it depends on the property I'm hunting, the time in the season (early or late) and what I feel like the birds might be acting like that day. I guess I'll clarify by saying that if I end up a half mile or mile away from the roost and I find one I'll push him and try and get on him. But I try not to do that close to the roost. Somewhat like a bedding sanctuary for deer I guess. I try not to push them around close to the roost and they will usually stay there for the whole month of May. Just my experience. 

[Enigma]

49 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

Moving often + Slowly will not Bump Turkeys if you know what you are doing. I never liked the pharse-- Run + Gun.  If it is just 1 Man who knows how to move Through the Hardwoods + Wetlands- Bumping Turkeys is very low.

"If you know what you are doing" is the key phrase there. And most people don't unfortunately. I'd also add that for every one time someone gets busted and actually sees birds run off there's probably three times you get busted and didn't even know they were there. Just sayin . . .

The rest of your post I agree with. Especially the point about enjoying your time afield. 

[Pygmy]

Back in my running and gunning days, I had almost unlimited acreage to hunt on...  I still  could hunt probably several thousand acres, both lightly hunted public and private, if I were still able to cover the ground....

Now i am limited  to a couple of hundred acres pretty much due to my physical ability..Moving around on those properties would definitely be counterproductive...

[Pygmy]

14 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

At age 62,I still maintain a 3 day a week weight Training routine.  The one Steve Reeves followed. Some Martial Arts and Boxing each early morning.  Stretching the whole body 3 days a week. And Hiking often. With nice weather-- Biking a few days a week. Sounds like alot- but a little here- a little there. I actually  Train at least 20 minutes or so before each Turkey hunt to get it in.

   My Mother's  last Hike was at age 74- so hopefully,I can be a moving Turkey Hunter for another 12 years or so.  I also Mountain  Bike in on a Turkey Hunt if alone. Saves alot of energy on constant long walk ins.

   

  

Ten years ago ( at 62)  I could still  pretty much do my moving hunt also,  but it seems I have gone downhill quickly since then...  I wish The Mermaid hadn't taken down the trapeze over our bed...

[Buckmaster7600]

Not saying it can't happen and not saying it's not productive being aggressive. I've done just like you said on a couple of occasions myself. Just saying most days I tend to wait them out and try not to have a big impact on the area.
One thing some people also don't realize is you're also having an effect on the behavior of the hens when you get busted being aggressive. Yeah that hot tom with a head full of testosterone might come back the next day, but if he's henned up and she's leading him around and she's skittish, that just makes it tougher.
Alot of it depends on the property I'm hunting, the time in the season (early or late) and what I feel like the birds might be acting like that day. I guess I'll clarify by saying that if I end up a half mile or mile away from the roost and I find one I'll push him and try and get on him. But I try not to do that close to the roost. Somewhat like a bedding sanctuary for deer I guess. I try not to push them around close to the roost and they will usually stay there for the whole month of May. Just my experience. 

I hunt my property with just me on it, heavily hunted private, heavily hunted public, and public that I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that goes near during Turkey season and I have yet to see where hunting pressure affects turkeys actions. Aside from the loud mouths getting killed.

Maybe areas I haven’t been are different but I personally believe hunting pressure changes turkeys behavior is complete BS.


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[DirtTime]

I've decided to set up in the meat isle of a few stores with one of those licknstick soft rubber toy guns. I'm almost guaranteed to fill a tag there. I won't even have to pluck it or breast it out.

[Pygmy]

1 hour ago, DirtTime said:

I've decided to set up in the meat isle of a few stores with one of those licknstick soft rubber toy guns. I'm almost guaranteed to fill a tag there. I won't even have to pluck it or breast it out.

I LOVE it when you talk dirty.....

[Danny]

Planning on hunting the woods not to far from the fields, lots of pines and beech trees