| Author | Message | ||
| turkeypicker |
Guys: I've noticed a slight change in approach by a lot of spring turkey hunters these days. Some call their hunting style "running and gunning." I suppose I hunt the "old fashioned" way. I pre-season scout (primarily for gobbling birds), and then I plan out my hunts, at least for the first week. Of course my plans often change. Lots of mornings I get to the end of the driveway and start having second thoughts about which area to hunt. I've actually flipped a coin once to determine which area to hunt (LOL). Anyone else ever have this problem? I usually go to an area I've heard birds pre-season, and "make a round" walking in the area listening (usually from an elevated ridgeline) for a bird. I often cover several miles on foot at daybreak (hooting early-calling later) trying to locate a bird. If not successful I'll generally settle into a popular spot (preferably near scratching)to call some if I don't hear a bird. I must admit I don't have much patience if they aren't talking though. Sometimes I will come out of the first area and drive to another spot and walk in (calling occasionally at good spots). Usually, once I go to an area to hunt, that's where I hunt for the morning. In recent years I've noticed the road riding "run and gunners" more and more. Some are very successful. Most ride, rather than walk, stoping occasionally to call aggressively and listen for birds. The road hunting to locate birds just does not appeal to me. I just can't hunt this way. Just curious...what's your game plan? | ||
| Ryan Tucker
|
I pray a lot!!!  | ||
| shopson |
I hunt a small piece of private property, also hunted by others, that generally has a good flock. I will roost them Friday night and hope I get my eleven year old an opportunity.Am hoping to get us into a situation where we could double. That would be the ultimate for me. My usual game plan is to single out a boss tom and hunt him every chance I get til I get him or the clock runs out and he wins. My three best birds I heard on opening day and did not get them til the final week of the season. | ||
| GN |
Picker- I aproach the hunt a lot like you. If the weather is "iffy" I check the weather channel first thing for rain on radar...I then go east or west t o deal with rainfronts. I have about ten areas to hunt on private land..some are 20 miles away, some are 60.. And a ton of area on public land. I think the morning you just described is what I would persoannly call run an d gun...ie, walk a lot, listen a l ot ,prospect through the day. Perhaps I will drive to another close by place and walk through it too. I do not have a lot of friends who like to walk as much as me to turkey hunt. Course they do not find as many morels as me either. The four-wheeler/truck/car call and then drive and then call and then drive and then call methods are not what I descibe as run and gun...I do not know what I that method is really. Itsure does let a lot of birds hear differnet kinds of turkey calls though. | ||
| TScottW99
|
if i'm hunting near the house it's all public land. I have already started scouting and have found the birds where I last saw them last spring. I will hopefully locate several differn't gobblers in the area I hunt in case someone beats me to my spot. In the first part of the season I tend to "run & Gun" in that I will locate call and walk alot looking for the birds. As the season goes on I tend to slow down, working longer with a bird, blind calling, and going further in and staying put. If I go back to where I grew up I have a lot of private land to hunt and land locked National Forrest. Every year there are three ridges that hold gobblers. I dont' get much scouting in up there but have always been able to locate them. I usually locate one and will attempt to work him trying to stay in that one area. | ||
| Ryan Tucker
|
I always keep a close eye on weather and have a few areas that are good in bad weather. I also generally move a lot at daylight trying to find a bird. When I do locate one I'll stay with him a while. My judgement on the time of the breeding cycle determines what I do if I can't get on a bird. If I think birds are henned up I find a good area that I know about from scouting and dry call. If not, then I'll use a method of running and gunning. Of course, then I use my above stated method. | ||
| HODY |
I am for the most part the run and gun hunter. I like to stay in an area if possible, but a few times a year I use the mountain bike to move quickly but quietly in areas I have not scouted much to try to locate one. I enjoy walking but there are a few areas that the mountain bike is great to get way back deep in an area fast before daylight. I have taken some razzing over this, but it certainly has been successful. | ||
| TScottW99
|
I met a guy last year in the National Forrest who had a mountain bike with him. I was jealous as I carried my gobbler out and he passed me just a pedaling away.... | ||
| Freddy McGuire (Vaturkey)
|
I'm pretty much like you turkey picker... Lots of preseason scouting... During the season I have had some success roosting birds in the evening- that makes it easy to know where to go in the AM. If I have not roosted a bird sometimes I can't decide either... | ||
| Limbhanger |
last year i scouted 8 days at least 6 hours a day.....hunted four days 3 gobblers.....all on national forest with other hunters around.....i shoot most of my birds around 10am....the best thing i have found is to get into a known turkey area (you'll know this through scouting)....build yourself a little blind to get into...get there in the dark and wait'em out....most hunters run around the woods calling like crazy but they'll leave in a few hours..that when i wake up and start my hunt....i'll give a few calls every 15 min. and wait.....till 12 or till i've gotten a bird.....if all else fairs ya i know this will work ....works good in the late season too most birds will come in quiet..... | ||
| BigKuntry
|
I think the best call I have used for Spring is the call excited and shutup call. The curiosity will generally bring them right in, you just have to be patient.. | ||
| strutstopper
|
I'm planning scouting a lot around the area I hunt and taking some time off from work the first week and then later on in the season as well. I like 'runnin & gunnin' if you can find old logging trails or sometimes clearcuts. It lets you slip in quietly and you can cover a lot of ground this way. If you call sporadically (every 75 yds.) and there are birds in your area, you should be able to locate some. If the woods are thick, I like to set up right where I think a gobbler has been struting or where hens are dusting. In Spring, if you find the hens, more than likely you've found the gobblers too! | ||
| many beards |
can anyone reccomend a starting point for public land hunting in VA. I will be hunting VA for the first time this year. I had good success in my home state last year, including my 1st mature fall gobbler. I am looking to expand my season by hunting Va. Primarily the Northwestern portion, maybe say..... Augusta Co. or that surrounding area. Your help is greatly appreciated! | ||
| strutstopper
|
MB, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest is about 1.6 million acres. There ought to be a few turkeys in there!!! It covers western VA from the North to the South. Also, there are a number of WMAs in VA that offer decent hunting (if you can get away from the crowds). I'm not sure about the ones out that way. The following is a link to the WMAs in VA. http://www.dgif.state.va.us/hunting/wma/index.html Hope this helps. Strutstopper | ||
| Piedmont Gobbler |
Hey Stopper, you free this weekend? | ||
| many beards |
Thanx strutstopper, at this point I'm looking at the George Washington. Any good starting points for that forest? Nearby towns, etc. | ||
| GN |
Mr Beards- if you will go up to the upper left corner of this page and click on "vaturkey talk" you wil l then see a page that has "old topics" on there and then if you will scan those pages you will see topics such as "hunting around Augusta" or Hunting Around Staunton..it cover your topic , but other may have more recent info. | ||
| strutstopper
|
MB - I've scouted the Lee Ranger District just South of Front Royal up near No. VA quite a few times. I run into other people, but I also see some good sign. It's can get pretty steep, but the birds are there... |