Anybody spot and stalk turkeys

[woodchucker]

Every now and then.....Ya get lucky!!!!!       :eek:  

To be totaly honest,I've been hunting turkeys with both a bow and a gun for over 30 years,and lost count of the number of birds I've killed.(I stopped counting after 20 something)Odds are your gonna be "stalking" turkeys for a LONG time before you kill one!!!!! Your best chance would be to learn to call,and what they call "Run & Gun" (bow?).

You locate a Tom and call to him. If he answers you,find a tree and sit. If he comes in shoot him. If he doesn't come in,and moves away from you he probly has a hen with him. Not a problem,you just get up and head out making a large loop that puts you in front of him,then find a tree and sit,then call. If he comes in shoot him. If you call to him and he answers but does not come in,he is probly on a bench,in a woodroad,or clearing,strutting and gobbling waiting for you(the hen)to come to him. If you try to "stalk" in to him,he WILL see you. This is fact!!!!! Not "if" not "maybe".....He WILL SEE YOU. He is LOOKING for you.(the hen) So,now here is what you do.....move 90 degrees to one side,find a tree and sit.Then yelp 3-4 times,no more,make him gobble.If he's coming in great if not, move back about 20-30 yards. Sit and yelp 3-4 times again.If he comes in great,If not,move again,sit and yelp. What you want to do is make a circle around him,while zig-zaging closer and farther away each time you sit. Sooner or later, he WILL get flustered,and he WILL come looking for you.

When he comes in,shoot him..... Good Luck!!!!!      

[Guru]

Using hilly terrain, in the right situation, it's not too hard to get within range...but getting a good shot off is another story....

I think you'll be missing out on what spring turkey hunting is all about by stalking them though...

[RC]

I`m with Guru on this one. That Gobbler singing and playing the game is what I love about Turkey hunting.On the rare occasion I can run an arrow through one is better. Its hard for me to sneak up on a half blind pig ...I would`nt have a chance on a Swamp Rooster.RC

[Don Stokes]

The difficulty of drawing on a gobbler at close range is why I'm using a blind this year. Maybe I can actually kill one now!

[Guru]

Don I hunted them for for a few years exclusively years ago,with out a blind...never did kill one because I couldn't get a "good shot" at one without being busted just before I released. But i learned an awful lot about hunting them!

So I went back to shotgun for a couple years...just wasn't the same a seemed way too easy after hunting/learning with a bow.

2000 I bought my first DB blind, and since then I think I've killed 15 birds(3 fall birds). The ability to get a good shot off made all the diff. in the world!

That being said, with all I've learned over the last 8 years or so, with a good comfortable stool, a gillie suit, and a full strut decoy...I really think I can kill some birds without a blind.

But I also have very limited time to hunt and I REALLY LUV fried turkey cutlets!! I also have a little boy that wants to spend a lot of time with me this spring....so my Darkhorse will get some action again this spring!!

Either way it's great hunting    

[George D. Stout]

Jack Brobst, from Bangor, Pa., killed turkeys every year without a blind.   He used the longbow and usually sit in front of a large tree.
His wife was also pretty good at arrowing turkeys here in Pa., and these eastern birds are as wary as any.

[beachbowhunter]

blinds in the spring and stalking/ambush in the fall for me here. We had our first fall season last year and they were in big flocks and acting kind of dumb and happy. They follow some daily movement patterns and you can set up ahead of them. I got within about 10 yards of a couple and it was a blast. I also mmmmmmmmisssssed an opportunity.

[wollelybugger]

Jack Brobst killed 51 birds without a blind. He set up so they would have to pass a big tree to get to his decoys, enabling him to pull. He also would set his decoys in the breeding position, he was doing that 20 years ago. He was a true pioneer in hunting turkeys with a bow. He told me he shoot most of his birds under 10 yards.

[Don Stokes]

I talked to Jack some years back- a remarkable fellow. He used silhouette decoys at that time, and said a full-body decoy wasn't necessary. We shared stories about the coyotes that attacked our decoys!