Get Ready

[knightrider]

Heard my first bird at 6:06 this past weekend when out listening. I was hocked. I was "thinking" I had 10-15 minutes before first limb gobble. I was wrong, and glad I was there early. SW TN, ag fields mixed in with thickets, so light appears little quicker than dense hardwoods.

I try to be heading away from the truck atleast 1 hr before first light according to how far im going in, man i cant wait to actually be hunting instead of just standing around listening

 

[MickThompson]

Be at your listening spot before it starts cracking light, some days they will gobble in the dark somedays not until the first crow caws and somedays not at all.

One of my most memorable hunts was like this. I wanted to sneak in early to blow the bedded deer out before they could wind me and spook a turkey after daylight. I was slipping under a full moon an hour before sunrise when a gobbler about blew the hat off my head and continued to rattle the limbs in the dark and all they way to the gun barrel.

 

[Pilchard]

Possibly my last stupid question for the year. I went last weekend and saw 5 lone hens and two long beards. Unfortunately I had already given up and was walking back to my vehicle when I saw the Toms.

I was walking through the middle of a field and they were on the edge of the field and ran into the woods.

I can get back out there next week at about 5pm. Is it reasonable to believe those birds should be in the general vicinity? I saw them at about 1:00pm.

The alternative is to go striper fishing so I'm trying to figure out what to do.

 

[Hduke86]

Possibly my last stupid question for the year. I went last weekend and saw 5 lone hens and two long beards. Unfortunately I had already given up and was walking back to my vehicle when I saw the Toms.

I was walking through the middle of a field and they were on the edge of the field and ran into the woods.

I can get back out there next week at about 5pm. Is it reasonable to believe those birds should be in the general vicinity? I saw them at about 1:00pm.

The alternative is to go striper fishing so I'm trying to figure out what to do.

Could be or they may be 2 miles away. On a situation like that I know turkey season ends soon but fishing is always opened so I'm going to hunt as much as possible until end of season.

 

[TheLBLman]

. . . . . so I'm going to hunt as much as possible until end of season.

It's a rational thought, but . . . . .

I've killed one longbeard earlier this season, and there are very, very FEW survivors in my hunting areas. In large part because so few 2-yr-old or older birds, most my hunting buddies haven't yet killed one. This is the main reason I didn't go a few times when I could have over the past week.

Lastly, the "end of the season" has for many years been this past weekend. Weeds & hayfields are now taller than turkeys. Snakes are active, mosquitoes & ticks now much worse than a month ago, etc. I'm fine with now going fishing instead of turkey hunting.

 

[Hduke86]

It's a rational thought, but . . . . .

I've killed one longbeard earlier this season, and there are very, very FEW survivors in my hunting areas. In large part because so few 2-yr-old or older birds, most my hunting buddies haven't yet killed one. This is the main reason I didn't go a few times when I could have over the past week.

Lastly, the "end of the season" has for many years been this past weekend. Weeds & hayfields are now taller than turkeys. Snakes are active, mosquitoes & ticks now much worse than a month ago, etc. I'm fine with now going fishing instead of turkey hunting.

I hear ya on the low turkey numbers and critters being out. I've yet to pull the trigger on a bird myself. I took my 12 yr old son twice and was blessed with textbook hunts on them that resulted in two dead longbeards for him. I've ran up on a few copperheads and one timber rattler this year so far when taking some buddies hunting trying to get their first ever birds. Fortunately I haven't had ticks on me crazy bad this year but I have been more disciplined on applying permethrin to my clothes. I'm actually ready for some fishing and cooler waters. I'll be heading out a week from today and will be in West Yellowstone, Montana for a couple of weeks. I planned on wearing out the Madison River and some other streams in the area. The weather there now is my favorite with highs in the mid 60's and lows in the mid 30's.

 

[TheLBLman]

I hear ya on the low turkey numbers and critters being out. I've yet to pull the trigger on a bird myself.

I couldn't call myself a conservationist if I killed another turkey this year in my main hunting areas of Stewart Co. I have thousands of private acres to hunt with only a handful of friends. But the turkey population is low, and despite great efforts to bring back the quail, they've gone nearly extinct. My fear is whatever is preventing quail to thrive, is also hitting the turkeys.

One of my friends is a very avid & accomplished turkey hunter who hunts (and typically limits out) in multiple states. He hunted in KY the 1st 3 days of our TN season this year. He had his 2 KY birds within 3 days. He then shifted over to TN for several days of hunting. As of yesterday, he had not killed a bird in TN (hunting mostly the same places I turkey hunt).

Another of my hunting buddies (SCN) is also a very avid & accomplished turkey hunter, and we've been hunting many the same birds this year. I'll let him tell you his thoughts, but my thoughts are there are so very few longbeards, but several jennies they've still been hanging with.

And for whatever reasons, the 2-yr-old or older Toms have simply not gobbled much this year. Maybe this is just evolution, as those inherently most vocal, don't live as long.

Has made for tough hunting, as we have no desire to kill a jake. That's the only good news, i.e. there seems to be about twice or thrice as many jakes now as we had longbeards at the beginning of the season. Next year should be "better", but still a far cry from times past.