Some encouragement? Feeling defeated

I grew up in a non hunting family. I got interested in hunting about 6 years ago. Started out with deer and 2 years later I gave turkey huntingna go. I'm from northwest alabama. I am hunting Mulberry Fork WMA and Bankhead.

This season is my 4th season going for turkeys. Year 1 I missed a bird in Illinois that my uncle called in. Never saw another bird that season.
Year 2. Spooked 1 out of the roost and never saw another. Heard a few but they weren't interested.
Year 3. Called 2 gobblers in on day 2 but I moved a bit to take the shot and that's when I saw the second bird who busted me.
Year 4. Called 3 jakes in on Tuesday. They came in completely silent after sitting for 4 hours and caught me off guard.

Really struggling to find the encouragement to keep going. Was just wondering if anyone has any tips to keep the mind positive when you just keep striking out. Feel like turkey hunting is more of mental discipline than anything.

Congrats to all who have been fillings tags though!

Find some land with lots of turkeys and not lots of turkey hunters

Won't help you at all this year, but you should apply for quota hunts in Florida and have fun. Turkey hunting is awesome when you hunt places that are loaded with turkeys. The one four day trip I took down there a couple years ago was more satisfying than two full seasons of trying to kill birds off of public in Alabama.

Nate, You have only been turkey hunting for 6 years and it doesn’t sound like you’ve had a whole lot of opportunities so your learning curve is going to be steep. Unfortunately you can’t learn how to be a good turkey hunter until you make some mistakes that you mentioned in your post above.
My word of encouragement is this. If you truly love turkey hunting, then stick with it. If you don’t, quit. There’s plenty of other things you can do in the spring 😁

Pure Gold as far as advice.

That thread at top of page first time hunter advice has a lot of good info. Do you hear many in Mullberry when you go?

This is called paying your dues , and it will get easier with time and experience. You will never get that experience if you give up. Remember…… that turkey has to win every time, you only have to win once.

Just think how sweet that first bird will be.

It seems so obvious, but it's so true. Hunt where they are. Lots of them.

Ive been turkey hunting for 40 years and will still like to find the land with lots of turkeys and not lots of turkey hunters.

Watch The Colonel and the Fox on youtube should get a little inspiration.

Foldemup is giving outstanding advice

And in short - if you see a turkey - never move - not a 1/2 inch. Wait till they go behind a tree or hide their head behind a fan before u raise gun cause they will see you move every time

If possible - try to go with a good turkey hunter. I was lucky to hav kenfolk that had killed 500 birds 30 years ago and i had a best friend that was awesome turkey hunter!! I had a lot of hard knocks when i started as a teenager learning on my own too

My hunting Now i mainly dont hav turkey - but just hang in there - i understand your frustration

Lastly and this dont near-bout cover everything - go pattern your dang shot gun. I missed about 5 birds as teenager before i killed - thought i was worlds worst shot. Somebody finally said - hey dummy - go pattern your shot gun. I did and found out i had the worst scatter gun ever made. You want to be able to put 15-20 pellets in a turkey head at 45 yards and now w tss - that really sucks - but can kill. Find what your gun shoots best. If it cant shoot good - get one that can

With calling - less is more

And 4 hour sits are brutal - i never done that!!!

This is pretty good advice. Lots of turkeys and no hunters is all but impossible to find these days. Patience, learning when to move and not to, and where to set up is the biggest things…other than calling to much and to loud. Lots to learn every time you step foot in the woods. Either you enjoy it, or it annoys and makes you mad. Sometimes both. If you leave pissed off more times than not, I hope you enjoy golf or fishing.

I should hav said this - i dont blind call or sit in one spot callin often - but if i do - i sit about an hour - to hour and half

So much to tell - hav good cover around u - but u dont want a thicket - hav stuff behind u to break u up or sit on a big tree and i like to hav lanes to shoot in or a lane or open area - not all thick around me. If he answers you some - dont be afraid to go silent for 20-25 min and make him hunt you. If he shuts up completely - likey he is either coming r a hen has intercepted him

Google hen turkey calls - make sure you sound like hen. Clucks and yelp your most basic calls and easy to pur on a slate - i would not get any fancier than that for now and if he does not answer one call - try another - some times they like certain tones bettr and hav a crow call for locating/checking

You are either helpless in the grip of your compulsion or you are not and take up other avenues.

I’ve had plenty of rough years, makes the success all the more rewarding.

Having plenty of Turkeys to fool with makes it fun, otherwise it’s a grind.

The frustration either drives you or drives you away,

Good luck!

1). Hunt with someone who has years of experience. (To start with)
2). Hunt where there are plenty of turkeys.
3). If you can’t sound like a hen, make sure you get the cadence right. Hens in general have a faster cadence than a Jake. (Hens don’t always sound the same either)
4). I would suggest starting with a Lynch box call. They sound good and are extremely user friendly. You can advance after you master that. I use a Billy White’s hustlin hen in combination with a mouth call.
5). If a bird has been answering you regular and shuts up, GET READY!
6). Take plenty of time to pattern your gun. Apex 7-9 blend works best for me.

Golf

Disc Golf!! I’ve learned more from my own mistakes than I have from anything. Great hunters can teach and tell you a lot.

It doesn’t matter how long you hunt, or how many you kill, sometimes the slumps come. If you don’t want to endure the long dry spells, you should quit now.

Believe me when I say I know exactly how you feel. I got into it in 2013. A buddy took me a couple times at his place then I started going it alone on some highly pressured public land. I didn’t hear my first gobble until sometime in S3 and didn’t kill my first one until next-to-last day in S6. Killed #2 the next day, on the last day of S6.

S7 was slow, without much action but killed #3 on the same public land toward the end of S7.

Didn’t kill anything in S8, 9, or 10 but got close a few times here and there.

Last season, S11, I killed #4 on private land and it was one of those perfect textbook hunts that couldn’t have gone any more perfectly.

So far, this season has been completely devoid of any evidence that turkeys even still exist other than 1 brief interaction with a lone hen.

It’s frustrating when you hunt land with low density and/or high pressure. I almost quit several times and there are still days I don’t particularly enjoy it but it’s more of a helpless addiction than an enjoyable hobby. I promise though, when you shoot one in the face and his head snaps back like Barry Bonds just hit him with a bat, it’s absolutely worth it. It’s the most satisfying feeling I’ve ever experienced.

It’s short-lived though, then you need another hit like a crackhead

If you can learn how to get in tight to birds without spooking them, you will start killing them. Proximity kills turkeys. Elmer fudd can get a longbeard to peak over the top of the ridge, that he and his hens are scratching on. But it takes a gobbler that's in the right mood, plus a lot more know how, to call one from several hundred yards away.

Public lands (wma’s) are usually measure by man-days (how many days the average man has to hunt to kill one). 15 days and under is considered pretty good. So in other words, on a public tract, it may take a couple weeks before killing one (and thats pretty good/normal).

Sounds like you’ve been close. Keep at it and you’ll seal the deal.

If I was learning a new outdoor hobby I would go with fishing. Too many turkey hunters now. Plus, you can't kill them without a special $10 shell, a tricked out shotgun, tactical vest, and expensive camo.

With all that being said, there are 2 main errors in turkey hunting.

1. you are moving too much (both small scale and large scale)
2. You are calling too much.

Fix those 2 and you will start killing.

Dang, 15 days... I think I'd quit too.

A lot of good advice above.

Encounters are everything. A surgeon does not become proficient doing 1 surgery every 2 weeks. A baseball player does not become a good hitter taking BP once every 2 weeks. You got to be in birds to learn what to do, when to do it, when not to do what, etc.. Experience is the best teacher. I started hunting on public land in the 80s when I was the only turkey hunter my age that I knew. My dad was a forester so he knew 2 or 3 older guys but that was it. I had access to lots of land and lots of turkeys and not many hunters so I was able to get schooled every day. I could get on 2 or 3 diff birds a day sometimes and find a way to screw it all up. BUT eventually things got good and I was killing them fairly regularly. Those days are long gone. The folks on here that consistently kill birds every year have 2 things in common: A place that has plenty of birds and because of the consistent encounters over years of hunting, are just good hunters. Keep going every chance you get. It’ll come together eventually!

That may not be the most encouraging words but the hard truth is it’s 10x harder to kill a turkey now than even 10 years ago and 50x harder than when I started in the mid 1980s. Good luck!

It's a disease and a sickness. My first piece of advice for anyone wanting to get into it is to find something else and I'm being serious.
Now,,,, if you just have to be a glutten for punishment and you get kicks out of a stupid bird out smarting you more times than not, running on lack of sleep and pretty well having your life consumed by them then you need to find a hunting buddy who knows what they are doing.
Spend as much time in the woods with him as possible and learn to be a woodsman and how these birds interact and react. it will take YEARS to learn these birds and when you think you have it figured out they will humble you again.
But,, when it all comes together and you have those mornings that we are all looking for it is better than any drug on the market. Just don't give up and continue to learn.
tip: don't call loud and if you are wondering if you are calling to much,,, you are. know the difference between a cluck and a putt. One is good and the other is not. Know all the sounds they make so when you hear it you will know what it is and what it means. Toms don't just gobble.

my2cts

Killing turkeys requires good calling, a knowledge of the terrain and a good place to hunt. As mentioned it is a hell of a lot easier to kill a turkey if you can get close. Watching the bird putt and run/fly off is part of the learning process when you try to get too close.

Time is the other factor. Certain days the birds gobble and respond to calls. Other days it doesn't matter. I always tell younger hunters that there are a few days each turkey season when anyone can kill a turkey and tomorrow is that day.

My dry spell came to an end this past weekend and I am once again a turkey killer.

You are right about certain days being better. Some days you could fill your limit. Other days it is like there isnt a turkey in the county. Kind of like fishing before the livescope became a thing.

Hang in there man you're not alone, I'm right there with you on public land. I didn't grow up in a turkey hunting family and started on my own in 2019. My first time out I stumbled into a wad of gobblers and thought damn this is going to be easy. Boy was I wrong! My calling and setup was completely wrong and they made me pay for it and I got to watch 4 gobblers putt and mosey off never to be seen again. I learned at least 5 good lessons that day.

S1 included boogering up those gobblers and I got in the game with 1 other bird and missed. S2 I worked a bird only one time. S3, S4, S5 I only got in the game with a couple birds and couldn't seal the deal. This is my sixth season, and I have only heard distant gobbles in my 12 or so hours of hunting this year.

My hunting time has been severely limited due to school and clinic, but I'm still after them. I don't have any hot tips or tactics other than you gotta get out there and make mistakes. Just know you're not the only one struggling, but I understand the frustration when you see the same guys posting kills year after year. Rest assured though, they paid their dues to become turkey killers and I have to remind myself of that.

The pull chain on my light in my office is the 12ga shell from when I missed that first bird. The 20ga was from another dumb shot. It's a reminder every morning to "make it count!"

Thanks for the words of advice and encouragement. Helps a lot knowing other people struggle just as much when starting out and go through slumps. Couple of questions I do have. I took a couple days off and feel motivated to get back out there. I hunted Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday from 0400 to 1300. Setting that alarm for 0330 on my off days is rough, esp when my workdays it is set for 0400.

1. Everyone says, don't call too much. On average I try to wait 20 minutes in between calls. I rarely ever call more than that. My theory is that if they are coming in silent, I don't want them to pinpoint where I am. If I hear something moving in the woods, should I avoid calling and just assume they know I'm there. (If it's a turkey and not a deer of course). Anytime I hear something moving around out of sight, I just scratch around in leaves and may purr really lightly on a pot call. I can't purr with a mouth call no matter how much I try.

2. I am shooting Winchester XX #5 3" out of a Remington 870 Express. Pattern is pretty really tight out to about 40. When I first started I bought a .640 choke from Carlson's. I want to get a different one that won't be like a baseball at 15 yards. I have found that where I hunt, I am rarely ever going to have a shot at 40 yards so I'd like a bigger pattern close up. How much does small foliage effect your shot? Let's say you're set up and there is sapling in the lane, would that load clear a sapling no problem?

Here is a scenario I had Tuesday when those birds came in silent on me. Got out there before sunrise. Heard gobbling several hundred yards away. They were hammering. Probably gobbling 30 times in 15 minutes. I looked at my map and figured they were on a ridge above a creek. I moved on them and got to the next ridge, however that ridge was super thick. I figured I was about 80 yards from the bird cause he hammered off while I was on that ridge. Figured it was gonna get to 80 degrees and they may hit the creek bottoms due to heat. I slipped down into the creek bottom but it was wide open and narrow. I couldn't find a spot to set up that I felt like I was concealed and if they walked the creek bottom they would be looking at me 100 yards away. I moved back about 200 yards and sat up in better cover where the creek bottom opened up. That's where I sat for 4 hours to have them surprise me. No spitting, no drumming, and no gobbling. I think the creek bottom was still too open and they didn't have to look really look around for the hen so they only spent about 2 seconds scanning the area. When they walked back off I tried to call a bit to see if they would recheck but they never looked back. No putting and no running. They just slowly walked off down the creek. Any suggestions on what I might have done differently?

Someone will be along shortly that's is WAY better at this than I am, but I'll offer my $0.02...

it sounds like you guessed correctly if they went exactly where you thought they would go. But you have to think like them. If you know where they're going and where they're coming from, you have to setup in a place that, once they get to where they can see that area, they're already in range. If a gobbler is looking for a hen and doesn't see one where he thinks she should be, he's going to leave. So once those birds got to where they could see that bottom, you need to be in a place where they're already in range.

Once they started wandering off because they didn't see a hen where they thought they should, it was going to be hard to call them back. What I would have done is let them get safely out range where you didn't spook them (rule #1 is DON'T SCARE THE TURKEY), then instead of trying to call them back, try to determine what direction they were headed and attempt to circle way around and get ahead of them (that's often a lot easier said than done, but it's about the only chance).

But, as long as you didn't spook them, it sounds like you have a pretty good idea what they like to do and you can adjust the setup next time.

^^

I would never sit 4 hour but that great determination. I know when a set up sucks - sometimes u go w best u got. If u can see 30-35 yards n the thick stuff u may can sit there. A pair of snipers can help u build a quick cover when in the open. You are very accurate on them knowing exactly where u sit. I use diff tricks. Turn my head out to left and call if i want him to think i over there and if i can shoot over there. If not right on me - i turn head away from them a lot and call - rarely aim right at him and call unless i moving toward him and not set up yet. If they stop gobbling - i may set 45 min r so to give him time to come - then i gone to check for next gobb. If i heard a hen W him - i will not wait that long unless she was answering me. I try to never sit n Wide open unless i hav a hem decoy - them i get covered up good so cant see me

Always check your aim radius - dont hav a sapling close where u cant aim out to left or right - pre aim before he gets there to make sure can shoot
If u feel busted - i never call - free education
Good to get in same ridge - getting on the creek sounded smart - they strut down those a lot in bottoms

I will give a few examples of what I consider ideal set ups. These have one thing in common. The turkey has to come into range before he can put eyeballs on you. #1 On a hill when turkey has to come over a terrace to see. #2 Around a curve of a road in thicker pines.

A trick on the roads is to call at him and then move up 50 yards if he answers. Gobblers often like to pause out of range and scope out the area. Nice when he pauses in your lap. When moving in on a stationary bird try not to go directly to him. Veer right or left before calling again. If the hen is going to the gobbler, he has no motivation to move.

I killed a limit of turkeys 5 years in a row and called up gobblers for others. Last year I killed zero. Couldn't have called a bird at the Butterball farm. This year started the same. Called in one 2 times and couldn't seal the deal. Took a caller behind me to make me a killer again.

It is awfully sweet when it works!!!!

I would have gotten on that same ridge he was on, by using the roll of the land to keep me hidden as I approached. That might mean that you have to wait a couple hundred yards away, until he pitches down, then move in on him.

If he went quiet, and I lost track of him, I normally go somewhere else for a few hours, then come back through & see if his attitude has changed. Blind calling in the woods, without a blind, is boring, but it's also a really good way to spook birds coming in quiet.

I would have tried to circle them but it was like 12:45 when they walked out of sight. Couldn't do much with 15 mins left to hunt, so I just backed out and hoped no one went there next couple of days. Sadly had to work the next two days. I tried the tactic again when I went back but heard a bird in the distance but never saw or heard anymore after 0800.

How many hunts have you been on this year? All on public?

4 full days and 1 from. 8 to 1.

This is all solid info! Another thing I'll add is you've got to screw up alot more times in your life to get better at turkey hunting.

I have been twice this year. Saw a goobler strutting, and called, he wouldn't budge. I eased down towards him more, using cover, and never could get close enough. He eventually left, either he saw me, or he changed locations. I couldn't see him to tell.

Went the next time, set up on the strut zone from above and a gobbler walked thru the field I walked thru to get to the strut zone about 20 minutes later. I had a camera on it, and called several times, not a peep, or a bird. Moved and set up on another spot, got settled, and had some hens come in and they spotted me.

Got tired and left. I had gobblers on cameras in 3 different spots, never heard a peep all day. Normally I can get one to gobble back if I call. Just nothing.

As for deer hunting, I am 57 and have hunted since I was a teenager. Last season I saw 9 rack bucks on my lease, which is the most I have ever seen since I have been hunting. Sometimes the planets all align and its a great season, sometimes, not so much. Keep at it. You will feel a feeling of great accomplishment when you succeed, and if it was easy, anyone could do it.

You’ve probably had more come in than you know about. Ideally when he comes into view he’s in range.When they go quiet for awhile check him with a crow call or hawk scream.Calling is the smallest part of the game you want him to walk not gobble. If you move closer remember to lower your calling or he’s going to sit there thinking hen is coming to him.

Dead on

one needs to seriously temper their expectations if they’re not able to hunt nearly every day of the season ... weekend warriors during turkey season are lucky to get more than an encounter or two ... in your OP you’ve had encounters every season - but not many ... that’s on par with infrequently hunting ... don’t take this as a criticism - that’s not my intention - but to have more encounters/chances, you have got to be in the woods a whole lot more ... when i was first ramping up 25 years ago, i went every morning i could - consequently, i had a lot of chances to “practice” bc i had a lot more than one encounter per season ...

i can’t count the number of times i’ve gone, after going days & days hearing/seeing nothing, thinking to myself that i’m wasting my time, and then as luck would have it, my persistence paid off & i got a bird ...

^^^ This


Keep at it. If everybody could kill a public land bird after a few hunts, then everybody would be doing it. Public birds are tough for veteran hunters. Even more so for beginners. You’ve been close. Just log in the hours and it’ll get done

^^
I use to tag out reg on hard hunted tuff wmas

Hunt my place now 90% of time i do not hav a bird on the place. Last week i called to one across the line - was shocked he did not cross that train track to get to me 🤣🤣. I never had a snowball chance - dont even count that as sitting down to one hundreds of yards from me and across a train track

I wish i still had hard hunted kinterbish wma - killed there regular - they had gobblers present on the land. And i use to kill demop wma when i lived closer. Like it better than mine now - been a while since i actually had one on me this year.

Encouragement??? You say you want to be a turkey hunter? Suck it up. It will either make you or break you. Quit whining that it’s hard, no participation trophies in turkey hunting. If it were easy, democrats would do it. 🤣🤣🤣 I’d go ahead and quit. Maybe take up needle point. Just kidding, keep at it. The stars will line up and you will get one and then another and another, lose you wife, most of your money, your sanity, etc. If the good Lord decides to give me another season, I’ve been blessed to do it 50 years. Still always looking for the next one…

Turkey hunting is like doing Heroin but worse. They say with Heroin you try it once and get the best high of your life then you keep trying it to try and recreate that high but it’s never as good as that first high so you wreck your body and spend all kinds of money doing Heroin.

Turkey hunting is worse because you go once you hear a bird gobble you see him strutting you army crawl trying to get in range of him because you only have 20 minutes until 1pm on a WMA. Then you go 10-15 more times trying to recreate that rush of adrenaline but it doesn’t happen just like with Heroin. The difference is you finally go again and you have 3 birds gobbling on the roost so you sit down and call softly to them one comes in on a string and starts strutting, spitting, and drumming at 40 yards it’s one of the greatest rushes you’ve ever experienced so much of a rush that you rush the shot and miss. Next thing you know you’re sitting on a hill side waiting to hear one gobble while typing a reply on this thread. At least that’s my experience

You’ve had more encounters than most will this season.
Sounds like you’re getting close. You’re above the average in encounters for the season already.
Stop moving be aware of your surroundings.
Break up cover behind you.
I like to have cover in my right side so I doubt have to worry about being picked off from that side (as bad)

The field mouse is fast but the owl sees at night

🤣