new player

[mark hay]

i wasted a lot of precious time in the woods years ago because i misunderstood one of the well known bigshots. he said that a hunter could get away with making noise ,,that is it didn't effect the birds,unless of course they saw you. now i didn't go through the woods like some bonehead ,dragging my feet ,,,but  i certainly could have been more SMOOTH . wild is wild ,,no matter the critter or species. we are in their living room and any out of the ordinary SOUND will get their attention.
so we can walk like we are on the sidewalk downtown or we can pick and choose each step; not brush up against trees and bushes; NEVER ALLOW YOU BRITCHES TO RUB AS YOU STEP. what are britches? YOUR PANTS LEGS.
hunted with a fellow that insisted on wearing one of those vests that allows you to just sit down anywhere ,,had a backrest  ,,,AND A DAMN RUBBER GAME BAG that always made noise like a pair of wet hip waders.we tried several times to sneak in and trick this 2 yr old loudmouth. he'd be hammerin' away andas soon as we started into that little holler he'd shut up. i gave the best i could for calling,,,nothin'.finally i went alone and took my time and put on a real sneak,,,,real quiet. pickin'my way through 60 yards of spring leaves on the trees and shrubs.stopped when i reached a dense stand of young maples,,,with a deer trail cuttin' through one side. no tree to set up on where i could see down that deer trail, so i just sat down and crossed my legs. waited 'bout 15 minutes before calling. then i gave out the most faint purr. i doubt any hunter could have heard it beyond 25-30 yrds. less than a minute and i see his legs below the lowest maple leaves. i was holding the 870 with my left hand and my right held the stiker. i eased the striker to the ground and slowly grasped the gun. HE STOPPED JUST BEFORE HE REACHED THE DEER TRAIL. turned and walked back to wherever he came from. now you talk about shakin',,,i was afraid that 870 would begin to rattle. waitedten more minutes and offered up another purr,,,not as long as the first and ended with a faint cluck. less than 1 minute there are those legs again. i've got 1 shot ,,,down that deer trail. the trailwasn't wide ,,you've seen them ,,maybe 10-12 inches. he had that neck strtched and head turned and was lookin' into the path as he came into veiw.    27 yrds; the last thing that 2yr tom saw was 2 ounces of 6's being chased by 12 inches of fire. he never made one sound in that ordeal.
had i carelessly just walked in there ,,,i would have walked out with all my shot shells .QUIET FELLERS

[silvestris]

Ken Morgan wrote a book in 1987 called "Turkey Hunting, A One Man Game.  In that book he wrote a chapter called Stealth.

He wrote: In order to be more consistently successful at turkey hunting, you must develop the following skills and attitudes:

1.  You must not be in a hurry.
2.  You must be lucky.
3.  You must learn to blend inot the woods scene.
4.  You must be quiet when moving and waiting.
5.  You must be alert and recognize game sights and sounds.
6.  You must recognize good places to hide and wait for a gobbler.
7.  You must be able to shoot a gobbler when the time is right.
8.  You must know how to shoot a gobbler correctly.
9.  You must learn to turn down bad shot offerings.
10. You must pass up some gobblers which present themselves to be shot,  and you must share your opportunities with your friends.

This chapter goes into each of the above factors in some detail and is a terrific read for one desiring to learn proper etiquette in the turkey woods.

[trkyklr]

nice read mark & by the way 'round here all pants are britches,rooster,no harm intended no damage done,i dont know how you could confuse this young good lookin feller for that ugly ol' fart....lol...& last but not least, hey silvestris, how many turkey books are in your library?

[silvestris]

Three that I can put my hands on at a moment's notice: The Wild Turkey and Its Hunting by McIlhenny, Turkey Hunting, A One Man Game by Kenny Morgan and Tenth Legion by Tom Kelly.  I have a few others stored in boxes that were ok for a one or two time read.  Through the years I have found that these three books give me about all I can use by way of the spoken word.  I see the contents of these books as I hunt and expecially as I am forced to make decisions.

When I read this topic, the Stealth chapter of Morgan's book screamed, "read me again".

[trkyklr]

nothing like a good read while killin time waiting on the spring season,ive got several books on the subject & im sure ill collect more in the future,i think my next purchase will be McIlhenny.his name has been popping up in several of my conversations lately so i think its time to read it.

[silvestris]

Remember, you can read it free at Google Books.  Also keep in mind that Mcilhenny did not write the meat part of the book, the hunting part.  That came from the field notes of Charles Jordan, the man who just may have had the best understanding of the Wild Turkey of any man with the possible exception of some native Americans.  Mcilhenny was more of a composer than a writer.  Anyway, we all owe him a great debt of gratitude for preserving Jordan's knowledge.

[trkyklr]

thanx for the reminder,but i will probably purchase it just to add another turkey book to my collection  you recomend any others?

[silvestris]

I have not read them, but I would think anything written by Tom Kelly would be a good read.

[Treerooster]

There was a recent edition of McIhenny's book published under a different title. I can't recall the exact title but it sells pretty cheap. If all you want is the content rather then collecting, then you might look into it.
 
Another good book is "Illumination in the Flatwoods" by Joe Hutto (also going fairly cheap on the used market I think). Its about a guy that raised a clutch of wild turkeys. He spent a lot of time with them and the book can help give you a wild turkey's perspective of the world. 

[mark hay]

evenin' Mr. New Player and all
i'd like to throw out a senario to you. then i'd like you to tell me how you would call or move or anything.
there is a stand of cedars about 500 yrds long, lying on a gentle slope. from the lower side of the cedars to the high side is about 250 yrds. at the high side , where the cedars stop, the slope shoots nearly straight up for about 40 - 50 ft. hardwoods and some undergrowth grow all along this sharp ridge top. once on top , the ground gently slopes away and cedars start again at about 25yrds and continue for a little more than 100 yrds then open up into Big hardwoods , on rolling ridges. before the leaves come out one can see up to 200yrds in some places in the hardwoods.
Now the locator call has sounded and 1 bird gobbles loud at 100 to 150 yrds. you wait a while and start with very faint and short treeyelps.3 birds gobble on top of your hen.
you take it from here with the birds on the ground and coming.
(i hope i've given you enough description)