Stay calm when turkey hunting

When everything comes together, and the bird cooperates, this is the result.

Watch some television hunting shows about chasing gobblers, and many of those good old boys can control their nerves although some hyperventilate a bit as a nice gobbler gets closer. They may get excited but they almost always appear cool and rock-steady.

They shoot gobblers with what appears to be calmness. I know some hunters who hunt a dozen states every spring, and they have plenty of time and experience to hone their skills to avoid moving at the wrong time or to make some of the other costly mistakes made when gobblers close the gap between out-of-range and time-to-shoot.

I've had gobblers almost trip over my feet, brush against my elbow as I sit with my back to a tree, and stand within three feet of my shotgun barrel and gobble in my face.

Be prepared for a gobbler and don't flinch when it comes.

Are my nerves better than yours? I can't answer that question, but when I hear a bird approach, stop to spit and drum, I know any movement or noise on my part would end this hunt fast. Once a bird came very close to me along a fence, and was near enough for me to grab had I been dumb enough to try.

Most people who grab supposely dead long-spur gobblers off the ground by the legs when the bird is still flopping usually only make that mistake one time. A bird with good spurs will rake deep cuts in your hand, and most require a visit to the hospital.

I was ready for that sneaky bird, and once he put a couple of trees between us, and stopped to fan out and display, I knew this hunt would end with a big and dead gobbler over my shoulder.

He gobbled once near the decoy, and when the deke didn't respond, he lifted his head to look around, and I shot him. Is this coolness under fire or just a matter of experience?

Look sharp for circling strutters but don't move your head.

To my humble way of thinking, it is more experience than ice water in my veins. There has been some times when I haven't had a chance to test my mettle against a wise or gobbler because my season started with high winds and snowy weather, and birds didn't work well.

There have been many times when a bird may circle. Your eyes can only track a bird just so far to the right or left and you lose sight of him. Just because you can't see the bird doesn't mean he or one of his chums can't see you. Grit your teeth and hang tight.

These are times when so-called "nerves of steel" come in mighty handy. My hearing helps make up for my poor vision, and I can hear turkeys walking behind me and that helps me know their exact location. The trick then is to remain absolutely motionless, and wait for the bird to circle around in front of the shotgun. Sometimes they do and other times they don't. It's a part of the hunt we can't control.

Think of yourself as a statue: immobile, rigid and incapable of making a movement or sound. Trust me, it's tough to do when a gobbler gets right behind you and rocks your head and hat with a tremendous gobble. Expect that to happen, and be prepared for it. If a gobble doesn't come, that's great, but it's smart to be ready to avoid jumping.

Talk yourself into a state of immobility until the shot.

Imagine the bird is searching for a hen. Your shotgun should be to your shoulder and balanced across your knees long before the gobbler gets close enough for a shot. The stock should be against your cheek, you eye lined up over the front bead, red-dot sight or scope. Once the bird is in the right spot, pinch off the safety between a thumb and forefinger, ease the finger up to the trigger, aim and shoot.

It's sometimes amazing how motionless and quiet you can make yourself if you concentrate on it. Just take the occasional deep breath, ease it out softy, try not to hyperventilate, and enjoy the experience for what it is, an exceptional opportunity to experience absolute calmness before the shot.

Then, if you shoot straight and a big longbeard lays on the ground 30 yards away, feel free to let loose with a silent scream of wonder and joy. An audible scream will probably spook other nearby birds out of the county and ruin any chance for someone else to score.

Turkeys often will stand and look when a shot goes off or they may run 20 yards, stop and turn around to look at their fallen friend.

Occasionally they will take off and fly far out of sight before landing.

A loud scream will send birds wildly on their way. So learn to conquer your nerves, and it's surprising how easy turkey hunting can be ...at least once in a while.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Solitary turkey hunting

More than one hunter with birds this close is one too many.

Make no mistake about it. By nature, I am a solitary hunter. Sure, I call turkeys for my wife, and some friends, but I enjoy being alone when turkey hunting.

Once, several years ago, a gobbler was 75 yards away and moving my way fast through the spring woods. He was fixated on Henrietta, my whupped-up-on hen decoy, and seemed committed to a quick romantic dalliance with her.

The longbeard was almost within shooting range when a morel mushroom picker walked up behind me, and bellowed: "What are you doing out here in the woods? What are you up to. I think I'll call the law."

The gobbler heard the human voice, hit the skids, jumped to the left, ducked behind a tree, and quickly disappeared from sight. He was as lost as last year's Easter egg from that time on. I was never able to locate that bird again.

Gobblers or a longbeard with hens are very spooky.

Other people chatter and talk. Some, like the above anecdote stated, are mushroom pickers. Many have no clue about turkey hunters, and it's just one more reason why one must be careful in the turkey woods.

Hunting these big longbeards is considered a one-man game. On occasion I'll take one or two people hunting, but dislike taking more than one. And frankly, I'd much rather hunt alone than with someone other than my wife.

The sad fact is that turkey hunting, which begins in a couple of weeks, is not a community event. It's not meant to be a social affair, a gathering of friends with similar hopes and desires. This gobbler business means absolute silence, no moving, and it also means a keen knowledge of how to set up on a bird and how to call it in.

Seldom will two hunters score during the same hunt. A guide and one hunter can work but one guide and two hunters soon becomes a lesson in frustration.

It's difficult for two people to shoot at two different birds.

There is much to be said for turkey hunting alone. You choose your hunting spot, and if the birds head the opposite direction, the hunter gets up, starts running while hoping to get ahead of them without being seen. It occasionally works, but most of the time it doesn't.

It's not easy, but it's much easier for one person than for two or three. Me and two others tend to get in each other's way, and often someone will move when they should be sitting still. A fidgety hunter will spook every turkey long before they walk within shotgun range.

Some hunters want to idle away slow time by chatting. I don't want people talking to me because I must listen, and don't need to hear stories of their earlier hunts, what he expects from this hunt, or to answer hunting questions when we should be motionless and silent.

My spare time on a hunt is spent trying to get someone into a bird. Sometimes it just doesn't work, and other times, the gobbler comes to the call like I have a rope tied to his neck. Now may be the time to state that I am not a for-hire guide. I only take family and good friends hunting, that is, if I have already taken my gobbler.

I prefer hunting alone although I often take my wife and she shoots.

Hunting alone has much going for it, and frankly, it pleases me immensely. It allows me to go where I want, make decisions whenever they become necessary, and there's no need to worry about someone else and their feelings, whether real or imagined.

One might say it's selfish, but who cares? It's my hunt, it's my time, and if I choose solitary hunting, so be it. It's not a case of being antisocial; it's a matter of knowing that one turkey hunter is far more effective than two or more people hunting together.

The odds improve greatly for solitary hunters. The only reason I take another person out for wild turkeys is that I enjoy watching them shoot their first gobbler. Both hunting alone and calling a bird for another hunter are selfish actions. I do them reasonably well on calm birds and with people who pay attention and don't move or talk.

People know I have bad vision, and they are counted on to help me spot incoming or circling birds. No words need to be spoken. An elbow nudge gets my attention, and the movement of a relaxed finger gives me the direction. The birds often are spotted first, but it doesn't always happen in a wooded area with heavy vegetation.

My instructions are simple, and should be easily understood. Sit still, don't move, sit with your back to a shoulder-wide tree, pull your knees up, rest the shotgun against your shoulder and across your knees, and listen to what is whispered to me.

I tell them that as the birds approaches us or my decoys that they cannot move, even if they have the mother of all back pains. Be still, don't make a sound and wait for the gobbler to move directly in front of the shotgun at 20 to 35 yards.

A sharp but barely audible putt is made when the gobbler is in the right position for a killing shot. The sound makes the bird stop, and its head goes up to look for danger. Be ready, and shoot the gobbler where the head and neck join. Hunters are warned to keep their cheek down on the shotgun stock, and don't lift their head when they pull the trigger or the shot will go high.

There will be plenty of time to palaver and talk once we leave the hunting area. Often other turkeys will have been with the dead gobbler, including other gobblers. Shoot the bird, sit still and don't move, and let the other birds wander off on their own.

Doing it this way doesn't alert them to humans in their midst. A shot could be confused with thunder, which turkeys hear all the time. It's the motion and noise of a moving hunter that jumps out from in front of a tree that sends birds heading for the next township.

Hunting a strutter can be hard. It's harder with another person.

Hunting alone removes all of these potential problems. It's one man, going one-up with a gobbler, and without any consideration for anyone else. It's making personal decisions, and living with them, whether they are right or wrong.

The case has been made for hunting alone, and although I take two to four hunters out every spring, I haven't figured out how to hunt error-free yet. Maybe I should hire me a guide and learn something new. But I won't because I enjoy the quiet solitude. It's what keeps me focused and willing to put up with too little sleep during the short spring season.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Ethics and turkey hunting

Shooting a gobbler friom a car window is illegal

Shooting a gobbler before legal shooting time starts is a serious breach of ethics and laws. Dumping a gobbler after shooting time ends is equally wrong. Killing one with a rifle is illegal in this state although legal in others.

The advent of 3 1/2-inch 12 gauge shotguns and the heavy 10 gauge magnums with ultra-full choke tubes have made longer shots possible. I watched a gent unload one shot at a gobbler that would have kept coming had he not shot at 80 yards, and the bird flew away with the guy chasing it with two wild shots.

Only a fool would shoot at a bird that far away

Here was the dude who ignored my warning that the bird was too far away to shoot. He took an unbelieveably long chance and missed the shot
"I think I rocked him," he told me, somewhat proud that he may have buried some pellets in a bird that got away. I had told him to wait until the bird was 35 yards out, but he shot at over 80 yards and tried to convince me the bird was within range. Was it an ethical shot, or a Hail Mary shot? The latter is my thought.

There's no excuse for ultra-long shots. Allow the bird to approach within range, take your time, and when his head comes up, shoot. If the bird approaches, his head and neck tucked down, don't shoot. Birds often will go out of strut, straighten up, and lift their head after gobbling. The chance of wounding a bird is high until the head is straight up.

It's unethical to call to a bird if you know another hunter has been working it. Common sense, which plays a major role in hunting ethics, dictates that the newcomer should hunt elsewhere for a different bird.

I watched a big gobbler approach a highway, cross and head toward my hen and jake decoys. My set-up was 350 yards off the road, and the bird came off the road shoulder and out into the field. It then began to strut, gobble, and started my way again.

Most hunters, if they knew someone was watching, would never shoot a treed gobbler. It's just not an honest way to hunt. So, if we always believe that someone may be watching our actions, we follow the rules.

Ethics are legal and moral standards by which other people judge hunters. Shooting a gobbler from a car window is not ethical nor is it legal. Shooting one from someone's front yard, running out, grabbing the bird and racing back to the car for a fast getaway is not only unethical but illegal.

Turkeys are sure-nuff noble birds & ethics are needed

I had a chance several years ago to cheat. A huge gobbler was working my way, slowly but surely, and the minute hand was ticking slowly down to the end of shooting time. A soft little whining yelp teased the bird and he paused to gobble, do a little dance step and all it did was slow him down.

Ethical turkey hunters wouldn’d shoot this road-crossing gobbler

Ethical turkey hunting means hunting legal. For instance: we can't pot a gobbler from a roost tree, before or after dawn. Granted, some people might get away with it but it is unethical and illegal activity.

The gobbler had a beard that tickled the ground but was 55 yards out. Three minutes of legal shooting time was left, and I hoped he would get moving and take several fast steps closer. He could then dawdle along for another five yards, and be in range before shooting time ended.

He took two or three more steps, stopped again, went into a semi-serious strut, folded up his wings, and stood at 45 yards. It was now down to seconds: 10... 9 ... 8... and finally my watch said shooting time was over. Five seconds later the bird quickly walked to within 25 yards of me, stopped, and stood broadside with his head up for a full minute.

Watch gobblers and wait for the right moment to shoot.

Could I have shot? Absolutely. Did I shoot? The answer is no. Who would have known if I had cheated by less than a minute?

That answer is simple. I would have known, and every forkful of breast meat would have stuck in my throat. I couldn't have eaten that bird if I had violated ethical and legal codes of hunting conduct.

There are certain things ethical hunters will not do. A car came down the road, stopped when it saw the gobbler and pulled onto the shoulder. The driver leaned on the horn and startled the bird. It started coming again, and this time one nut-case yelled out the window while the other honked the horn. The gobbler lit out on a dead run, crossed a big field, and disappeared from sight.

Hunter ethics wasn't the issue here but instead, it was a clear case of hunter harassment.

You know, I know, and poachers know that conservation officers are spread too thin and it's hard for them to enforce all the laws. So, if anyone will help police our ranks, it must be you and me. Ethics must stand for something, and if ethical behavior goes out the window, where are we then?

Civilization must stand on a strong foundation of common sense and ethical behavior. If we lose one, the other will surely follow. If they both go, the world of hunting as we know it will falter and fail.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors