Couple questions.

Does anyone have recommendations for a high quality pot call with a slate surface?

Also, I'm planning on hunting public land this coming season and I've had lots of issues in the past. I give it up for quite a while because of this. The problem I've had is when I start working one, other hunters will either hear it and move in to work it themselves and/or spook it off in the process, or I'll have someone just walking through and not have a clue I'm there, or a Turkey is there, and completely blow the hunt. This has happened without fail every time I've worked a bird, except one.

One way I've tried to work around this in the past is to go during the week when there's less people. Sometimes that doesn't even work, one time it did work, but I'm not always able to go during the week.

Do you guys have any ideas, tips, tactics, for working around this issue to be successful. I appreciate it in advance.

Hunt in the middle of the week and call as little as possible. If the bird answers you he knows exactly where you are. If he’s gonna come he will find you. Calling to much alerts other hunters and makes public land birds spooky.

I’ve hunted a lot of public land and can honestly say it’s very seldom that another hunter has screwed me up when I’m working a bird. Maybe you should get further from the truck or concentrate on places where there is not much access from other parking areas.

Atoler is right. I’m very strategic with how and where I park my vehicle. The more land you can block off for yourself the better...... without being a jerk of course 😀
I’ve had hunts messed up a couple times but not many.

I’ve only had very few hunts on public land that didn’t have another hunter trying to move into my setup. The distance I walk didn’t seem to matter, either.

I’ve never had issues on public land but I hunt places no one “thinks” they’re are turkeys. Also I’ve had most of my success between 10-2 not off the roost.

Amen.

This is my experience. No matter how hard I worked to get away from folks, someone would move in on me, or randomly come walking by. The time that I haven't had someone move in on me was during the week. This maybe what I have to do, but I wont get to do it often. You wouldnt believe the locations people drive from on the weekends. 3-4hr drive is nothing for a skyline Turkey hunter. I've met people from all over the state Turkey hunting there.

I'm with you on the limited parking type spots. It's something I need to focus on if I hunt the weekend.

You should try skyline sometime. Hunting after 10 is a good idea, I'm gona give it a try. So are you hunting birds you located earlier in the morning? How do you make it work?

Good advice. So if he answers once and is bird willing, will he still find me even if I dont call anymore? Or should I give a follow up call or 2?

Dont park your truck in the same spot in your favorite area over and over. Lost a good spot by doing this.

As the season goes on, a gobbler starts losing his hens to a degree as time passes & the hens go to nest. They can be vulnerable to calling way up in the morning as his hens leave him & he gets lonesome. He may or may not have gobbled on the roost- if he has- good, you at least know his area. If you have heard him in the morning at daylight but haven't been able to call him up for whatever reason, try him later in the morning & he may be ready to come on to you if his hens have left him. Afternoons can be real good to for even more reasons. Be ready for fast shots at times when hunting them later in the day. Sometimes they can come running & catch you off guard. Have killed several like this that came in fast but never gobbled. Heard them in the leaves & drumming. Wind can also hurt you a lot when going after them like this. You need to really listen hard & also know what to listen for other than a gobble.

If you think you've walked far enough away from the road/parking area to avoid other hunters, walk that much further.

when you do kill one, stop and spend 10-15 minutes and pick up EVERY. SINGLE. BIT. OF. EVIDENCE. Pick up the spent shell, pick up the wad if you can find it. Pick up EVERY FEATHER. If there's bare dirt with blood, kick some dust over it to cover the blood. Leave as little evidence as humanly possible.

As others have said, pay close attention to where, and how you park. I will try to lead people where I want them to go by parking in one place and then circling around to a different area. I'll even make sure to leave obvious boot tracks going in the opposite direction for a bit before hopping out of the trail to a spot where I won't leave tracks, then backtrack. .....distract and mislead.

Yep, he already knows where you are. It’s ok to call a few more times. Just remember the more he gobbles the more hunters you will draw.

I hunted in a club this past season where they had a 100 acre piece that was surrounded by public land. I killed a couple birds off the public land surrounding it by using the 100 acre club piece to get me in deeper, quicker.

One thing I learned is that you cannot make the bird gobble much. If hes gobbling...folks are coming. I toned my calling down a lot and was a lot more patient on waiting the bird out.

I also learned to get a lot closer in my set ups to the bird before calling him so I had less of a chance of being cut off by other hunters. Usually 100 yards or so before I ever made a call to him.

Everyday I had folks trying to come in on me though. Everyday.

Theyd be crow calling and hooting from my truck parking space at first light everyday as well. Literally right at my truck. I saw the one guy a few days in a row right at my tailgate trying to see if I had one gobbling. Id be in a log landing SMDH watching the guy.

Opening am one guy cut me off on a bird ON the private land. He definitely crossed the line to shoot it too.

You Have to hunt a lot different then public land or folks will be all over you screwing up your hunt.

Park on public, hunt the private

Great advise guys, thanks, keep'em comin

Public land hunting has become more like mall shopping. It's crowded with morons.

It's still going to be just as crowded haha

Ethics tends to be a foregone thing for most. They will park right next to you, walk the same way they saw your light go in the dark, even had some this year have the nerve to ride up on a bike and tell us they were continuing on down the trail (turkeys were roosted down said trail 200 yards). This was a mile in and we been sitting there in the dark for an hour and staged ourselves on the trail just to stop the morons from messing up our hunt.

Happening up on someone by accident is one thing. Going the same direction where you know there is a limited amount of property and there are folks already there is just complete disregard for the other hunter. (Example.... parking lot is at the trail head on a lake peninsula, and there’s already 2 trucks there when you get there)

The biggest thing about encounters on the public is that you really have no right to tell the other hunter that they can’t go on and do what they want. They have every right to be there, same as you. However, a good shaming for their inconsiderate actions, can sometimes help them see that they have crossed the line and sometimes they will back off. What always gets me is that they walk a mile down there and when you confront them they act all innocent with the “I had no idea anyone was here” spill. Really ? The big red truck didn’t clue you in? How bout the big white truck parked next to the big red
one?

My advice to you is to get there early. I mean 3 am early. It’s like anything else in life. Want it more than them. Hunt on days with less than ideal weather. Bluebird days with cool weather gets everyone out. Hunt the days that others won’t. Most of the time, the weather will allow some time
For decent interaction at different times of the day. Stick with it, don’t quit at 9 am and if you know there are birds, but don’t hear anything, stay in there. You may be surprised that one might fire up at 10 am or later once his hens leave him. First and foremost, scout. Not just before the season, birds move during the season and they change as spring progresses. The more you scout, the more you learn the woods. Knowing the woods is important to be consistently successful.

Don’t just give up when messed up. Be patient. A lot of times the turkeys may go back to doing what they do on an hour or so after being spooked. That don’t mean they will run to your call, but they may settle down just enough to give away their location a time or 2.

Not worth it....

Too much to read. Somebody summarize.

Lots of people on public land
People don’t care about other people
You get out what you put in
Woodsmanship matters more than calling ever will, especially on public land

👍 great advice and totally spot on.
Why didn't you just say THAT?!?

Secrecy is before you kill him. Unless there is another one in there.

If I had to do all the stuff y’all say you do to hunt public land I think I’d just take a couple weeks off and then quit.

For real.

Hell I wish I could quit...my springs would be a lot more relaxing and peaceful. I wouldn't have recurring dreams about turkeys year-round. I could do a little more fishing.

But that's like telling a Meth addict "If I had to do all the stuff y'all say you do to score a hit of meth, I think I'd just quit". Good luck with that shucks.

I always thought that hiding the truck or parking it in a different place than you are hunting would backfire more often than it would work. If I am headed to a spot and there is already a truck there, then I will go somewhere else. If you are hunting a spot and the truck is somewhere else, I might come in on you with no idea that you are around.

I always thought there were more hunters like me than the slob hunters who will purposely come in on top of you. But I admit I have no experience at Skyline.

These same stories play out on private land / hunting clubs every year. Plenty of clubs with more pressure than most public land. When you got 5-8 hunters on 1000 acre lease on Saturday morning, it’s worse than public land.

I’d love to have a big tract of public land to hunt. I’ve ended up in an area of the state without any big public area for turkey, within a reasonable driving distance.

This is probably why everyone drives up to skyline. I've literally met people from all over the state while Turkey hunting. Deer hunting has alot of folks too, but they seem to be mostly from within a 50mi radius. Turkey is another story though. They come from all over. No distance is too far.

I got a PhD on turkeys on Hollins Mgt Area in the 70s. Plenty of birds, enough hunters but not too many like now. Those birds were EDUCAATED!!!! Finished out my degree on Wilcox Co birds, second toughest birds in the state behind ANY Mgt Area birds.

Public land birds? Call softly and little. Get close and TRY to get it done fast if at all possible. Or just wait em out and get it done after the idjets have gone home/to work. Keep yer mouth shut about where the birds are, or were. Try a different call than the usual idjet. I've used an old snuff can with good results on public land...even those birds haven't heard a real snuff can.

don't see that anybody answered this Q of yours ... LOTS of choices ... if i had to buy one today - i'd check out Houndstooth's pot call - https://houndstooth-game-calls-2.my...-calls/products/houndstooth-walnut-slate

i ran one a couple years back at a show at Woods & Waters in Tuscaloosa & liked it quite a bit

All good info. Thanks yall

Takes some patience for sure to hunt Skyline.

Cody woodsman green slate with a carbon tipped or diamondwood striker

Remember there are two rules in turkey hunting public land...

Number 1...You can't give out any information!

Number 2....refer to Rule number 1!

I dont find and tell, but I'm under the influence that there are no secrets on skyline anymore. No matter how desolate of a place you think you found by hiking for forever, someone else knows about it and they hunt it. There might be some secrets in bankhead, but skyline has humbled me as far as that goes.

x2. I made this mistake this past year. Never again.