Turkey help in NC

[LongbowGuy83]

It seems I always have questions and so few answers to others questions. But here goes another.

Having never hunted turkeys, I am determined to do it this year. When I say never, I mean never even with a boom stick. I've been told by a hunting buddy that I need to try a shotgun first but I really want to use my longbow. He tells me that you have to run and gun them sometimes. I've seen guys post pics of ground blinds set up. I'm assuming ya'll know where the turkeys are. I've seen sign but in several different spots on my 130 acre tract I hunt. I guess it boils down to HELP!!! Should I try a ghillie? We can't bait or hunt over an area where bait was unless it's been gone for 10 days. Are turkeys pretty methodical? Any help is very much appreciated. I have yet to take anything traditionally so maybe turkeys aren't the place to start. The guys kinda get a kick out of me using traditional gear anyway, so that just makees me even more determined.

Sorry for the long version. Thanks in advance.

[T Lail]

Caleb, if you can get hold of Larry Long and talk to him he will tell you all you need to know....I think he has taken 17 turkeys with a bow.....he was working in Charlotte but I have heard he was pretty sick.....he lives in Locust NC and I am sure his number would be in the book.....try and get hold of him and you won't regret it......  

[LongbowGuy83]

Yea, I saw him at the "HY" gun store in Charlotte last week working. I didn't even think of him. I will go by and talk to him. Thanks Tony. See you next month I hope.

[Friend]

Many questions and many possible answers and some better answers than others and not one perfect answer for every situation.

About taking one with a shot gun 1st, I wouldn't know. Never have harvested one with a shot gun.

[LongbowGuy83]

Originally posted by Friend:
Many questions and many possible answers and some better answers than others and not one perfect answer for every situation.
 

Now I'm really confused.   :confused:

[HOWITZER]

Not that I have a ton of experience taking turkeys with the bow but…if your hunting them this time of year concentrate on their food sources and roosting trees.  I’ve only killed one with the bow and that was in the spring when they tend to be easier to call to you.  My experience in the fall was always with the gun and one of the best techniques I found was to “bust” a big flock up.  By that I mean get close to where the birds are either by sitting and waiting them out or by sneaking through the woods and listening for a flock, then run at them barking and going crazy like a mad man…I know your thinking this is crazy but wait…wait about 10 minutes after you got them to scatter in all directions and sneak about twenty yards in the direction you saw a few fly off or run off and sit down and give a few soft calls and before you know it you may have turkeys trying to peck your eyes out.  Some guys do this with a well trained dogs but I found that a person works just as well.  Just one way I’ve had success.  Otherwise I like the idea of getting in between the roost trees and food source with good camo and just waiting for them to return to roost for the night.  Hope this helps a bit…good luck.

[$bowhunter$]

in the spring (when calls are most effective) ill go out in the eairly moring while its still dark give some crow and owl calls to see if i can get them to gobbly in there roosts. once i know where there roosting ill sneek up real close and sit. thats where good camo becomes really important. at light thell fly down just give a few soft calls and thell usually strut there way right to ya. ive never got 1 with a bow always with a gun but i plan or trying it this year with my curve. good luck to ya,


steven

[Friend]

LongbowGuy33 - 'Now I'm really confused.'

You should get plenty of great guidance hear.
But try to think of the info as viable possibilites. Hunting turkey strategies can be like taking a multiple choice test. There are seven viable answers and three possible best choices, however the turkey makes the choice, which in-fact may be none of these.

I have only taken 31 with a bow and they continue to take me to school. If I could shoot, then that number would far more than double. It is a good thing that I like school. I must because I love the pursuit of these wonderful creatures.

[Mitch-In-NJ]

My best results come from good scouting.  They seem to roost in the same place or places as long as nothing disturbs them (humans, high winds) so I find the roosts first.  I find it is easiest to do this in the morning because the gobblers are gobblin'.  I also try to find where they fly down.

Then I scout the night before going out and make sure of where they roost that night.  I setup the next morning close to, but not on, the roost / flydown area.  Usually about 50 - 100 yards or so away depending on the terrain and where I THINK they might travel.

Since I hunt both public and private land I use natural blinds and I also carry some netting or a 3 panel popup blind.  I don't really run and gun but I do move now and again.  Usually I pick a spot and don't move unless there is a compelling reason to do so.  Also, I prefer to hunt weekdays (less guys around) and normally have to be out of the woods by around 9AM so there's not a lot of time to run.

I call very little.  A little cutting but mostly purring.  I carry several calls because some days one gets a better response than another.

Normally I don't use decoys after the first two weeks.  Seems it makes the toms hang up more than it makes them come in.

But they are strange birds.  Some days they hit the ground and go one way.  Other days the go the opposite way.  Some days they stay put for an hour or more.  Some days they disperse in 15 minutes.

That's the short version of how I hunt turkeys.

Good luck.

[FOXXNTROUT]

I typically walk public land FS roads and call some till I get an answer. If I can figure out which way it is coming from I set up quick with a hen and put myself behind a homemade grass blind. I carry a very small folding seat. I have called and they were less than 100 yards off and getting set up is high anxiety, but it makes it more fun.

[Friend]

**One of my basic main strategies for morning hunts on heavily pressured land**
   

1.   Scout before and during season – Birds may change patterns due to available food sources, mating cycle, weather and hunting pressure.

2.   Set-up where the birds want to be in the 1st place. You want to keep in mind that you need the birds  15 yards or closer.Give it more than couple times before moving on. Until fifteen yrs ago, I would always attempt to set-up in the morning on a roosted bird and far more times than not the gob would sound as if promising to come in then, just head another direction or have me in a position that presented no shot. It has now been routine for me to walk past gobbling birds to my set-up.

3.   Attempt to totally brush blind-in naturally. Nearly all hunters walk by in later season w/o even knowing I was there- some even as close as 5 yards. Have an extremely comfortable set-up. Heavily pressured birds have proven to me that they will shy from a blind even if it is significantly brushed –in. Successfully have even put out a blind w/dekes in the open of one corner of the field, thus pushing them my way. Staying put has definitely improved my odds and resulted in several harvested birds that came in totally silent after not having gobbled once and even up to 1 ½ hours since I last called.

4.   Leave decoys at home after 1st couple of days. Have successfully used dekes during season to push birds towards my set-up.

5.   Learn at least to cluck and soft yelp. More importantly, learn to be extremely frugal with your calling. If you can hold out up to an hour that would be great.
-have arrowed a bird that stepped out ~ 125 yards, clucked once – he gobbled once and watched him walk w/i 15 yards, then took the shot. Patience is truly a virtue when it comes to hunting turkeys.

6.   Allow the bird to approach to w/i 15 yards and take the very 1st good shot placement opportunity.

Some of these methods sound a little extreme. My trad buddies taught me much of the above and they still have some tricks up their sleeves.  One justification for using this strategy is that my harvest %  and shot opportunities has escalated significantly. The other is that my trad buds always seemed to get at least 2 -3 times as many shot opportunities as I did. One of them was able to get into position to take 16 shots in one season. Other seasons, I recall them, together taking up to 20+ shots. I don’t want to address their shooting skills however I  just want to get in close with a gob. I’m usually begging for just one opportunity.

[madness522]

Hey Caleb if you need Larry's phone number let me know.

[the longbowkid]

i have hunted turks for several years but last year was the first with a longbow. the ghille isnt necesarry, nor is a blind. the best way to do it is to set up with a solid obstruction like a root ball, or even a row of trees, between you and the bird youre calling in. and as he comes into view shoot. I got a shot at 9 feet last season, but my facemask slipped and i muffed the shot.
good luck
LM

[the longbowkid]

also, it really helps if you can roost the bird/ birds. if you dont know, roosting is where you go out in the evening before the hunt and call just before dark, and the toms will gobble on the roost, therefore telling you were theyll be the next morning. I also use a decoy religiously, but place it behind me and the bird usually blows me off heading for the decoy, giving a chance for a shot.
good luck again,
LM

[wollelybugger]

Most important is to know when to quit calling. There is a time when you got a bird interested that you have to shut up and let him come looking for you. Be patient, it can take them a long time to come to your call, dont move for at least a hour after you hear him gobble.

[LongbowGuy83]

Thanks for all the info guys. I like all the ideas so far. I'm definitely gonna try these different approaches.

[Skipmaster1]

A pop up ground blind helps a LOT. It really lets you get away with some movement. If the birds are hunted hard there, then I would brush it in and use the shoot through mesh. I hunt birds that get very little pressure so I leave the front open and set it up anywhere. Decoys are hit and miss and you have to learn to adjust your calling to the birds mood. It is very easy to over call though....but somedays thats what they want. The biggest key is to stay as long as you can. I have sat all morning without hearing a bird only to have one gobble right near me and come in at 11am.....also have had them never make a peep when they come in.

I think turkeys and trad gear go together great. I have been hunting them with only my longbow for the past 2 seasons and have taken 6. let them get close and use a good sized broadhead, they are tough animals but most of the birds I shot went down in sight.

[huskyarcher]

Ive hunted turkeys my whole life. never killed on with a bow though, i live and hunt in ashe county, which is just up the hill from you i assume.

Turkeys are straight up retarded to groundblinds. you can literally put it out in the middle of a wide open field. The best way ive heard of, is roost one, or have some where you know they will be at some point during the day, set up some decoyse and wait. they are very curious creatures. There is a craze for strutting decoys as of right now, i have one, and i must say that they work both ways, some birds get mad and charge you, and then you have less dominent birds that shy away from them.

Probly the most effective way is what me and my dad call "rambo" ing toms. Wait till they go over a hill, and run to the lip of the hill get ready, and pop up slowly...they will always throw there head up and look a second before they run, Which if you quick is all you need.

Overall in my experience i would say that turkeys can be the smartest thing youve ever hunted and on the same day can be the stupidest thing youve ever hunteed.

My best advise (with a bow) would be a blind.(keep in mind i havent killed one with a bow...yet.    ) But if you decide to stoop to a boomstick, ramboing is most effective.

On a side note, i have plenty of tijme to hunt, and if you have a place to go down your way, i would be mor e than happy to guide andcall for you. I love every minute of it. PM me if your intersted, God Bless!!!
Dalton

[LongbowGuy83]

[LongbowGuy83]

Originally posted by huskyarcher:
Ive hunted turkeys my whole life. never killed on with a bow though, i live and hunt in ashe county, which is just up the hill from you i assume.

Turkeys are straight up retarded to groundblinds. you can literally put it out in the middle of a wide open field. The best way ive heard of, is roost one, or have some where you know they will be at some point during the day, set up some decoyse and wait. they are very curious creatures. There is a craze for strutting decoys as of right now, i have one, and i must say that they work both ways, some birds get mad and charge you, and then you have less dominent birds that shy away from them.

Probly the most effective way is what me and my dad call "rambo" ing toms. Wait till they go over a hill, and run to the lip of the hill get ready, and pop up slowly...they will always throw there head up and look a second before they run, Which if you quick is all you need.

Overall in my experience i would say that turkeys can be the smartest thing youve ever hunted and on the same day can be the stupidest thing youve ever hunteed.

My best advise (with a bow) would be a blind.(keep in mind i havent killed one with a bow...yet.        ) But if you decide to stoop to a boomstick, ramboing is most effective.

On a side note, i have plenty of tijme to hunt, and if you have a place to go down your way, i would be mor e than happy to guide andcall for you. I love every minute of it. PM me if your intersted, God Bless!!!
Dalton

The Rambo-ing, as you call it, is what my friend was suggesting. Except via shotgun. I actually might take you up on it. I hunt Lincoln county so that's a little drive but we could tag team them. Looks like about 2 hours. If you're definitely interested, maybe we'll hook up. Maybe even do some pre-season scouting. Thanks for the advice.