I will not roost one and shoot him off at first light but if he pitches to another tree and will not hit the ground after a lengthy session. Then it's time to let that ol' 3 1/2" mag do the talking and persuade him to come down. I'll give them the roost tree as home base but that's all. Oh... I will crawl to one that is hened up and bush whack him.

10-4

i had one on the limb at 30 yds at first light last season. i thought about it but decided to let him pitch down. he actually ended up flying off the roost and going away from. it was his lucky day.

I've done the crawl and stalk before. I had one in a food plot in the middle of a stand of pines with about 20 hens strutting. It was pouring down rain (I love hunting turkeys in the rain) and I was glassing from about 200 yds away when I saw them. I moved as close as I could and set up. I could see him and the hens. I made a few calls and he was not interested at all. So, I eased out of my vest and put the commando crawl on him. I crawled up to a small berm that was created when the plot was made. I peeked over it and he was about 70 yds strutting around the hens. I waiting in the pouring rain, without rain gear, for about 45 minutes till he and the hens fed around close to me. I slid the 870 3.5" over the berm and bang/flopped his arse at about 30 yds. 10.5 beard and 1 1/8 spurs, over 20 lbs. I felt more satisfaction in killing that bird than any other I killed that year. If you can put a sneak on a wild turkey and get away with it, I say you have done something and deserve to take a shot at him.

I will shoot them off a limb and not think twice about it. Just my opinion.

Sounds like a bunch of dry-fly fishermen seeking specific wild trout with bamboo rods, coats and ties, and anyone else is a slob.

They're animals. Have some respect and ethics but don't treat them like idols. Good grief.

I wouldn't shoot one off the roost but I ain't a big Turkey hunter anyway. I have an uncle who hunts em like he is mad at em and would kill one any way he could.

Thats right. I have done it but probaly would not again. Back in the old days when turkeys started gobbling a lot earlier than they do now anyone could walk up under the tree and shoot one out and thats what made it a NO-NO. I just don't find them gobbling that early very often in the past 15 or 20 years.

Ive done it once! I had a bird I had hunted for about 3weeks of the season. Could not close the deal. He was an old bird that just wouldnt let anything else gobble. I went to my uncle(who got me started and whom I respect)and ask him what he would do. He gave me his opinion and I went with it. Not sure if I would do it again, but I will say that last week of season was a blast once all those other turkeys started gobbling. Staying awake nights on end over a dang bird will make you do strange things. I don't think turkey hunting is all about getting up early, but I do believe it is about locating and calling them in. Ive had a lot of fun and exciting hunts in mid day and in the afternoon.

Here is a question for ya'll as well.
Would you shoot one on a greenfield if he wasn't gobbling and you knew he was just showing up there everyday??

yep

Bill he is already pissed at em;he's had the calls and stuff out for a week or two already;his anger will build the next few weeks and then he will unleash the fury come March 15th.

Ive never shot one off a limb but had a couple thru the years that wouldnt have had it in there best intrest to let me get that close to there roost. I wouldnt do it to a regular turkey thou. As far as the greenfield I have done that a time or two but not in a long time. I hunted an area they didnt gobble & my stradagy was to find them strutting & get as close as possible & try to call them the rest of the way. I cant remember ever shooting a turkey I didnt call to at least once.

Breeze I always let a yelp out after I bushwack one also.

LOL. I ain't never seen anyone love something like he loves killing turkeys. If there is anyone better than him at it I ain't seen em.

He is way behind then.

He is way behind then. [/quote ] this guy definitely doesn't need the practice.

Back to the main questions. To the older most ethical turkey hunters I run with, theres only two ways to respectfully kill a turkey. Either set up on him gobbling or walk out on a ridge & blind call one up. Thats about it to them. If a greenfield is involved whatsoever its looked at as at least a parcial bushwack. I try to go by those rules but when the weathers not right & the turkey are not gobbling on my off day I have a real hard time with that. Until I retire & can become a "fair weather" hunter I think you gotta make do with what mother nature gives you on your days off. We are out there to kill turkeys so its a toss up. You go out in high wind & rain & glass fields & powerlines for 4 hours to finally find a gobbler. Then crawl on your belly getting soaking wet useing whatever you can to beat his eyes to get close enough to call him 30 yards off his little strutt zone & fill his head up with turkey shot. Are you can go home waiting 5 days till you hopefully get better weather? Witch one would seem to be the best turkey hunter in that scenerio. I definately prefer calling in a gobbling bird & dont care enough about killing them for a straight up bushwack but im also not going home because of low pressure or bad weathers got them shut down on 1 of the handfull of days I get.

Breezi, I agree completely. You gotta do what you gotta do when youre out there. Like I said I have only shot one off of a limb and it was an extreme. I did however take the time to find exactly where he was roosting and my best way to sneak in for a shot. I did it in the evening and I knew where he was flying up. I did call to him that evening on his way in to roost, but as usual he had a bunch of hens with him. I also do not try to hunt greenfields and I guess it's because I was taught by an old turkey hunter who said that wasnt really turkey hunting. I have on occasion though because of bad weather sat up and blind called on a field. Sometimes no matter what you try those crazy birds can still make you look stupid and at the end of the day I just feel blessed to have had the opportunity to chase them and thankful for an old hunter that took the time to take me!

I bet he is awesome then