Get Ready

[clwg97]

Know your effective range. Birds will sometimes look closer than you expect, they will also look farther than you expect.

Know what a turkey looks like in the woods, you will not see the whole turkey, you will see parts of it. The first turkey my dad called in for me I could never see until he started walking away.

Enjoy the first turkey of your career, it seems like its the easiest one you will kill and gets you addicted. The second or third one seems like the hardest one to kill.

 

[megalomaniac]

That was where my latest question came from.... He sticks his head over the hill and I shoot him only to walk up and find a dead jake.... How do I avoid this?

You don't shoot until you see a visible beard. In TN the only thing that makes a bird legal is a 'visible' beard. Doesn't matter if it's a hen, a jake, or a 5yo tom... HAS to have a visible beard to be legal.

Sometimes the law is poorly written... but its the law.

In MS jakes are illegal for adults to shoot. Had an acquaintance kill a subdivision pet this morn. 7 came running into his decoy, 3 with legal beards and 4 jakes. One of the birds attacked his decoy and it spooked the rest, so he couldn't shoot the biggest in the bunch and blasted the 2nd biggest. He called me worried he shot a jake and wondered what to do. Although it was an early born jake (less than half in spurs, last feather on each side of tail fan short, wing patch juvenile, wing feathers tipped in black) it had a 6 3/4 in beard with 1 strand 7in. I told him he was all legal (if beard is 6in or greater in MS that meets criteria for legality)

Moral of the story know what is legal in each state you hunt... because what is defined as a legal bird is very different from state to state.

 

[Pilchard]

Next question….

Don't tell SCN, but I didn't have time to get my 20ga setup to shoot TSS as he suggested. I have 3 other guns that I plan to shoot next weekend to see which one patterns the best and I'll limit my shot to whatever my ethical range is based on the gun that shoots the best.

So, when patterning a shotgun, how do you decide what your range is? I've got a bunch of splatter type targets and I'll shoot each gun with the different turkey loads I've got… but what measure is used to determine maximum range?

Is it number of pellets is a certain sized circle as I've read in here? Is it number of pellets in the kill zone on one of these targets?

Honestly, I'm thrilled to even get to go and would consider my hunt a success to just hear a bird gobble but I want to make sure I understand my capabilities before I have my gun pointed at a live bird.

 

[megalomaniac]

Next question….

Don't tell SCN, but I didn't have time to get my 20ga setup to shoot TSS as he suggested. I have 3 other guns that I plan to shoot next weekend to see which one patterns the best and I'll limit my shot to whatever my ethical range is based on the gun that shoots the best.

So, when patterning a shotgun, how do you decide what your range is? I've got a bunch of splatter type targets and I'll shoot each gun with the different turkey loads I've got… but what measure is used to determine maximum range?

Is it number of pellets is a certain sized circle as I've read in here? Is it number of pellets in the kill zone on one of these targets?

Honestly, I'm thrilled to even get to go and would consider my hunt a success to just hear a bird gobble but I want to make sure I understand my capabilities before I have my gun pointed at a live bird.

Once your are certain your point of aim is point of impact in a 10 circle, id consider 75 pellets to be 98% kill... whatever that distance is to keep 75 pellets in that 10in circle, that is your effective distance.with that particular gun/shotshell/choke combo.

 

[Harold Money jr]

If you're right eyed, put your left shoulder against the tree. When you set up on a bird and you think you know where he's gonna come, try to line him up with your right shoulder kinda to the left of your left knee. Your body should be facing about 30° to the right of where you expect him. You'll have much more room to swing your gun especially to the right. Oh don't swing ANYTHING until his head is behind a tree and be sure to expect he'll put his head behind the tree and peek it back out from behind the tree. They'll catch you a lot if you're a slow learner like me! Obviously if you're left eye dominant it's backwards to what I just said.

 

[Boll Weevil]

^This post reminds me of something I wish I'd have known decades ago: practice ambidextrous shooting while seated. It's really not that difficult, but countless toms have been spared because they came in on the "wrong side." If you're comfortable shooting off either shoulder the only wrong side is directly behind you.

 

[Pilchard]

Next question:

What time do turkey's normally start gobbling on the limb?

For example, sunrise was at 6:36am this morning. If it were legal to be hunting this morning, and you didn't have a bird roosted, what time would you be at your listening spot trying to locate a bird?

 

[tellico4x4]

Next question:

What time do turkey's normally start gobbling on the limb?

For example, sunrise was at 6:36am this morning. If it were legal to be hunting this morning, and you didn't have a bird roosted, what time would you be at your listening spot trying to locate a bird?

They were on the ground by 6:33 this morning .

 

[knightrider]

Next question:

What time do turkey's normally start gobbling on the limb?

For example, sunrise was at 6:36am this morning. If it were legal to be hunting this morning, and you didn't have a bird roosted, what time would you be at your listening spot trying to locate a bird?

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.

 

[Andy S.]

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.

Heard my first bird at 6:06 this past weekend when out listening. I was shocked. 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.

 

[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.