| Author | Message | ||
| pirate
|
Anyone want to help/take a 1st year t-hunter in the Richmond area get a bird before the 18th??? I've tried 3x's with no luck and have all my tags in my back pocket! My wife is beginning to think I can only kill ants and doves! Please let me know if anyone would like to go out! | ||
| Piedmont Gobbler |
Sorry to hear about your troubles Pirate. Maybe a bit of advice is in order. First, there have been over 20 days available for hunting this season. If you went three times it sounds like you only went Saturdays. Turkey hunting is not a sport you can go out casually and hope to kill a bird. Yeah it happens but infrequently. I still have my tags and have gone out no less than 11 times. Half of these included a 2.5 hour drive to my favorite hunting spot meaning I had to leave the house at 3 a.m. Listen, this year has been anything but typical for a large number of us here. Yeah some guys got theirs and that is to be expected, but silence was the word of the season for most of us. Intense scouting will reap rewards before the season. Strutstopper and I made several 1-2 hour trips to potential hunting sites prior to the season trying to pattern a flock and have nothing to show for it. All I can say is, the last few times you go, bring a fishing rod, cuz only half the day is gone when you get skunked in the woods and you still have alot of daylight left to let the fish make you feel better. Good Luck. PG | ||
| Ken |
One thing to remember with late season gobblers is that they will come in, but 99 percent of the time they will come in without making any gobbles, clucks or yelps. What I'm trying to say is that you should stick with a spot that has a lot of sign, call very, very little and listen a ton. Listen expecially for the sound of someone walking. That is often the only thing you'll hear as a gobbler approaches your late season setup..Shoot me an e-mail and visit our site: www.kltaxidermy.com I might be able to go with you one day. | ||
| pirate |
Hey PiedmontG- Not to sound rude buddy, but like my first sentence stated that I am a 1st yr t-hunter. I don't have the privelage of going during the week and my weekends have been limited due to family(5mth old). Also, I was casually asking if anyone wanted to offer their "experienced" help not begging for it! | ||
| RazorsEg
|
Pirate, noone was trying to critisize you for only going 3 times.Try and have a little better attitude with others and you will go a lot farther on this site. All Piedmont was trying to tell you is that you being a first time Turkey Hunter to not expect to kill a bird after only having been out 3 times. All of us have been there with or without experience.All of us have have other priorities. I have not been able to hunt the last 2 weeks because of work and coaching baseball. Good luck on the rest of your season,Remember, it is not always about the kill. If you can, I would take Ken up on his offer | ||
| MANYBEARDS |
Pirate, to give you a better sense of what turkey hunting can be like.....Yeah, I killed a nice bird this year, however, it took 19 days of hunting to do so. I have calculated approx. 130 hours THIS SEASON ALONE to (hunting, scouting, traveling to and from, planning, and studying topo maps. It's not easy and it takes alot of time and dedication, but if you are to consider yourself a SERIOUS turkey hunter, you must make the time and be dedicated. Then you will be rewarded. Even if the GODS don't smile upon you and you don't tag a bird after all of this work; your investment, experiences, and knowledge you have gained during the course of a season is worth well more than its weight in gold. This post is not a dig at you, just a little education as to how difficult and time consuming turkey hunting is. | ||
| pirate |
Once again, you guys are taking this alittle too serious. My original post was of a funny nature and the intention was to ask if anyone would want to show a new guy the ropes of t-hunting and maybe bag one in doing so during this last week! You guys need to chill and lighten' up alittle! | ||
| Anonymous |
I'd say that about does it for your chances of getting someone to dedicate a day coaching a new turkey hunter.....when they could be doing their own thing. I'm gonna go chill. | ||
| Anonymous |
It's not a hobby it's a passion! He won't last long around here. | ||
| pirate |
Hey Anon! I am the quietest and nicest person one can meet. Bottom line and last post on this topic, MY ORIGINAL POST WAS IN JEST AND OF LIGHTHEARTEDNESS!  | ||
| 4DBIRD |
OK Gentlemen let us ALL have a civil tongue. Pirate we do have a lot of serious turkey hunters here, that are very nice and are very helpful to newcomers, I am sure Piedmont was not being mean or vicious in his first posting. Pirate on your end of this, most of the backlash came after your second posting and then your third. I am sure that some of the inflection was lost in the writing ( this is a major problem with emails) of your first email. Do not want to beat a horse to death, just want to help if I can. | ||
| Dmiller |
Hey all hope you have had a great year. I have to a point it's the last week and i'm still going to try and get one. My question is I have been out over half of the season this and started out with 8 gobblers about two weeks before season and now none are gobbling, we haven't even got a jake to gobble only old tom's. But here the past two and a half weeks they aren't gobbling at all only hearing hens. Was wandering if any one else is having this problem as well. I'm hunting in Frederick county, virginia and in morgan county, west virginia and it's the same thing both place's. Ya'll got any advice in trying to get at least one to talk back to me? | ||
| Coach |
First thing Dmiller, all those hens your hearing are probably other hunters. Right now the Hens should be sitting and not roaming around so much. Its my guess, but I betcha a lot your place is getting a lot of pressure. (just a guess) your right this time of year not a whole lot of gobbling. The best thing I have found is to find a place with a lot of sign, setup and be prepared to sit a while. Call every 15 mins or so, Not to load, and keep your eyes open and stay alert. 9 times out of ten your be luck to hear him walk in on you. But if I had one piece of advice, it would be to sit at min. 1 hour at each of your setups. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Coach | ||
| knight_va
|
yeap PASSION....DRIVE....DESIRE....all these come to mind as why I hunt turkey... As a freind on another board says.." I don't hunt turkey because I want to, I hunt them because I have to"!...that about says it all...started scouting this year in early to mid March.....been 4aming it from the opening day on......because I must!....Pirate.. good luck in you pursuit of the bearded bird.. U will score in time... I went 2 yrs before I tagged my first one.. Its hard not hearing birds.. I understand that.....trust me I really do...all of us here have been in ur shoes....Its late in the season..the toms are bunching up again & its tough now period... veteran or newbie alike....If u want it enough & stay with it u will get ur first bird soon......The folks here are the niced & most helpful u will find......take advantage of the combined yrs of experience on here......dont get excited when someone offers u advice instead of out right offereing to take u smack dab into their honey hole that they have spent years finding........turkey hunting requires one thing above all PATIENCE!...good luck! Max Rowe 540-851-0887 | ||
| pirate |
Thanks for you kind words Knight/Max. I appreciate your honesty. Well...maybe I'll luck out this Fall or next Spring! Va is pretty neat in the fall to be able to hunt Turkey and Deer simultaneously! | ||
| Piedmont Gobbler |
Pirate, I was not trying to be condescending or vicious. I was just saying that many of us here have spent a great deal of time in the woods and are in the same predicament as you are. I have been hunting turkeys for 28 years and I can appreciate your frustration. Sorry you can't go more often I usually burn up about half my annual leave per year turkey hunting. The other half is for the family. Good luck. MIKE | ||
| Duane Fonner
|
As a first year turkey hunter myself, I can understand your frustration. Been out at least once a week since the season started. Haven't seen a bird yet. But I've talked to a few. I just feel lucky that I have the time to get out in the woods. I work in Arlington and I'm surrounded by concrete and buildings. Whenever I get down on myself for not bagging a bird I try to rememeber how awesome it is to just BE in the woods at sunrise to see and hear all that is going on. A couple of weeks ago I was hiking out (empty handed) and saw a bald eagle fly past 15ft off the ground. THAT made getting up at 4am worth it to me. Best of luck. | ||
| Coach |
By the way if took 8 years before I harvested my first Bird. Public land is tough Coach | ||
| mtnbuk
|
Pirate- It's tough being a working stiff and only getting to hunt half days on Saturdays. I have the same problem. I've hunted all of the Saturdays and slipped in 2 quick hunts before work early in the season. It's hard to put your finger on the pulse of what's going with limited hunting time. 30 years of turkey hunting taught me a few things & I fortunately killed 2 birds this season and passed on a few others - including a one-legged gobbler last week! The day will come when Virginia will join the majority (I think) of other states and allow all day hunting and hunting on Sundays. I just hope it happens while we can take advantage of it. Well, the season's done and over now. How did you finish up? MTNBUK |