What Odd Things Have You Learned?

[mark hay]

[:D]  I'd be honored to try,,,,,but I couldn't do your part justice ,,,,I could never operate that ol' locator call of yours ,,,,,''Big stick an' a wore out truck''.[;)]

[shaman]

Well I'm not sure this falls under the category of anything knew that I've learned, but it was certainly strange to watch.  I was up in the treestand with #3 son on the Yute Opener this past October.  He was looking for his second deer.  We heard a turkey fly down off the roost way off in the distance and then well after sun-up we heard something coming down the track that runs in front of the stand.  It was a gobbler-- just a young one fresh out of Jakehood with a stubby little beard. He passed out of the cedars and into full view.  He caught sight of us and became instantly flustered.  I believe it was all the Hunter Orange that set him off.  He stood there and looked at us and then he went into a full strut and then gobbled. Well, sort of.  It was an odd gobble.  It sounded all choked off and strained.

Have you ever seen a dog that was scared of its own farts?  That was what happened to this turkey.  he busted up a few inches off the ground and then went around in circles.  He then went back into a strut and gobbled again.  Now he was really weirded out, and it was like he had an animal on his back.  He couldn't figure out where that sound was coming from.  That's how it went.  He'd chase himself in a circle for a bit, strut, gobble and repeat.  We watched him for about a hundred yards before he passed out of sight.  A half-hour later, we spied him again out in a field and he was still doing the same dance.

Could it be that we saw a gobbler learning to gobble?

[heinzc]

I always found it odd that turkeys don't seem to mind me being in the woods when I don't have a weapon in my hand.  Many times I can get within shooting range and they will just let me walk by like I don't even exist.  Of course it is at these times when you run into the limb hanger and he appears to have a bright smile on his beak. 

[Heinrix_54]

I learned to trust your shotgun and your ability to shoot it.

Hunting early season, public land gobblers in north central Iowa is a struggle most of the time. It more resembles deer hunting, since most of the birds are henned up and won't gobble much if at all, you need to be able to pattern their daily travels. We don't have nearly the numbers up here that people have in other parts of the country, but one plus is that they are still in their winter flocks and you can see large amounts of birds in one area.

Last year I got set up in a river bottom in the middle of a rather large brush pile. I had the birds patterned pretty well and decided that most of the times the birds travel from their roost down to this little part of the bottom before flying over the river to feed and strut in a corn field.

I got in my spot well before sun up and waited it out. The birds gobbled a few times on the roost and shut up almost completely after fly down. After about a half hour I heard the flock milling around in front of me but the area is pretty thick and - out of strategy - I wouldn't be able to see the turkeys until they were in gun range. A mixture of hens and jakes popped into the open about 20 yards away and I knew the group of three toms would follow. Soon they emerged but the cover was too thick for me to get a decent shot. The three toms cleared the cover and one made the mistake of periscoping his head. I was in sort of a peculiar position when I fired and the recoil from my 835 loaded with 3 1/2 inch Hevishot knocked me off balance. I regained my composure and was shocked to see three red heads still standing!!! I fired another shot as they rubbernecked it away and flew across the river but missed the mark.

Completely disheartened I arose and and gathered my things. As I glanced back to the area of my double miss I witnessed a long beard laying dead behind a gigantic oak tree!

I had rocked that boys world, but due to the size of the tree wasn't able to see him when he hit the dirt after I gathered myself post-recoil.

Good thing I didn't connect on that second shot because I would have had a difficult time explaining why I had just shot two toms but only had one tag in my pocket...

[Virginia Boy]

Dewey,

Great advice on #3. I started doing the same thing about a year ago or so. Works great when the moment of truth comes, you're shaking like a leaf, and the last thing you have on your mind is ACCURATELY figuring distance. I sit a stick in the ground out at about 35 yds. and know if he's inside that, he's down. I also know where my dekes are at - usually about 15-18 steps, so they work well as a measuring stick, too. Like 'em right at the dekes .

[Cut N Run]

ORIGINAL: Virginia Boy

Dewey,

Great advice on #3. I started doing the same thing about a year ago or so. Works great when the moment of truth comes, you're shaking like a leaf, and the last thing you have on your mind is ACCURATELY figuring distance. I sit a stick in the ground out at about 35 yds. and know if he's inside that, he's down. I also know where my dekes are at - usually about 15-18 steps, so they work well as a measuring stick, too. Like 'em right at the dekes .

 
We have a low berm that was made when some debris was pushed up into a pile along one of the logging roads near a ridge the turkeys like to hang out on.  We added some brush and made a decent ground blind out of it.  Probably 20 gobblers have been taken from that location over the years.  To help judge the range I took a 150' rope and measured off 50 yards to several trees in front of the blind which I marked with a spot of yellow spraypaint.  It definately helped...until they burnt off some of the underbrush around the planted pines and scorched away those dots.
 
50 yards seems closer in the open and a lot farther off in heavy woods. I also took a small narrow nylon strap and tied it to a tree 35 yards in front of the old sawdust pile I like to hunt.  I've never shot a turkey close to that distance from that spot, but it sure does help figuring out how close they actually are.
 
Jim
 
 

[EMSDJ2]

3 days left of deer hunting I was walking to my stand.  Seen a coyote about 100 yards.  I still had unfilled turkey tag so i got on my slate call.  Few strokes of the striker and here he came.  I was still on the ground when he approached the side of the timber.   2 strokes of the strikers and he came into the timber and stopped behind a big tree at 20 yards.  I drew my drenalin back and whacked him as soon as he stepped from the tree.  The 2 blade rage found it's mark and the coyote only went 40 yards.  Sure wish it was a deer or gobbler but after taking 2 yotes with my bow this year maybe I saved some turkeys lives.

[Fan Club]

Some seldom discussed tactics or situations-
 
1. When nothing answers your calling, don't forget to look behind you every few minutes. We've all been taught to reposition ourselves to face an incoming turkey that is gobbling. It's the proverbial no brainer. But a silent Tom can and will approach from any direction. I've tagged several silent Toms that came into my setup from behind that I was lucky enough to spot first. One of them was a gobbler that had outwitted my buddy for a week and he had dared me to try and kill. I'm still smiling over that one.
 
2. For PRIVATE land only. You can move directly toward a turkey and close the distance with the right cover. Sure, most of the time a wait and see approach works best to avoid bumping birds, especially on small parcels. But I learned a more aggressive style of hunting from my mentor and it can be done. If you are in a ditch or tree row and a relaxed gobbler goes behind a distant brushpile, you can move directly at the bird as long as you do it quickly and quietly. Nothing will get your adrenanlin pumping faster than knowing there's a gobbler 20 yards away on the other side of an obstruction and waiting for a shot. I know this maneuver rubs a few calling purists the wrong way but I've tagged a handful of gobblers with this tactic and they have been among most my exciting hunts.
 
3. Again, only for PRIVATE land and closely related to # 2. You can move on open pasture birds after they have gone over a rise. You will have to quickly and quietly close the distance, keep your head up and begin to stoop long before you reach the crest of the hill. When you can peek over the top and see the birds, drop to a prone position, get your gun up and begin calling. Often the birds will circle back but you will have to shoot as soon as you see the gobbler's head. Once the tom can see back down the hill but doesn't spot the source of the calling he will be gone in a flash. This one is another heart pumper but something you will never forget when you tag a bird this way.
 
These last two are very aggressive tactics and should be attempted only where you know it is 100% safe to move. They are not for everyone and if you don't agree with them, don't use them, simple as that. As I said, these tactics are seldom discussed in the usual realm of turkey hunting but certainly qualify as "odd" things that I have learned.

[turkeydoghunter]

Hens gobble and long beards yelp in the spring.....shell you crack me up you should have let them walk and finished business then called em back...cut and run you need flow max...lol [:D]no call works every time and turkeys are unpredictable

[Bobbyparks]

I learned that you can cram a 30"' long pig in a 24" mailbox and that even big boys can move quick and scream like a sissy when you trick them into thinking they're checking  the box to see if any other guest signed in and the head falls out on their hand and it slides out and lands at their feet.

I learned that shooting the bird 25 yards away is much easier if you remember to chamber a round before he comes in and not after.

I learned the first day I ever turkey hunted and lucked into killing a bird that to say to your partner that "theres nothing to it" might be the stupidest thing you could say and it automatically means you want get a good look at a gobbler for the rest of the season much less kill one

I learned that its not good to have that fresh hot cup of coffee you just bought from the Quick Trip between your legs without a top on it when you hit the speed breaker before you get out of their parking lot and that doing it once in a lifetime is more than enough

I learned that tying your game carrier in the back of your truck hanging out over the tailgate at 5:00 in the morning after you drank too much whiskey the night before is not a good idea unless you don't mind having it fall out and dragged at 70 miles and hour, scratch the crap out of your new truck and reshape the carrier that was borrowed.

I also learned it can actually take two whole minutes to figure out whats happening and that you can see a lot of sparks thru your sideview mirrow.

To follow others comments about taking care of business in the dark and in one interesting case for me involved laying my black flashlight down and then moving enough to be somewhat disoriented requires nerve and confidence to be sure what you're reaching down to pick up

You did ask "What odd things,right"?