Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk ALTurkey Talk -- Beards and Spurs seasoned turkey hunters

You want to come hunt some Kentucky public land this weekend? Show me how well that skill of patterning works for you? I'll tell you right now, it won't do you a damn bit of good. Patterning doesn't work, unless you hunt one place religiously. And that's my point.

Duh. If you're talking 1-2 days, then of course, Austin, your time is severely limited, no doubt. You didn't put that qualifier on your earlier statements. You can still, even in that short of time, pickup on a "pattern" in terms of how a bird reacts (not his route, maybe, but if a bird hangs up in a spot on you, for example - that's his pattern), and kill them on the 2nd day. I've done it, and I promise you, it works.

BTW, I would love to go to KY w/you sometime; I saw your post, and although I can't make it happen this year, maybe next year I can go. I would love the challenge. Unless you don't like scrappy, argumentative "old men" going along on a hunt. We'd probably have to split-up 'cause I could easily see me & you getting into it, arguing about how to hunt a bird! LOL

Public land is where I got my start, and I still hunt public lands today. I ain't scared. Fort Hood, TX & hunting 420,000 acres taught me a lot.

I had a tough season cause I had bad land and stopped hunting April 15th pretty much. I might explain why sometime in the near future.

I actually tagged out last year, but we had great ground with a ton of birds.
I tagged out there almost every year, but there werent many hunters and a bunch of birds.
I killed a bird last year out of a blind there, but calling them and decoying them into a big 5 acre food plot where Id get their pictures or drove up on em in my truck.

I got a guy from here one too where he shot him out of a blind, but we called him in after having another one get by us earlier.

On my show they paid me to use them as they sponsored us, and we had those big guys to carry them so we used them alot. Those were those double bulls, and thats what my friend and I both shot birds out of, a double bull blind.

I always will have 1 -2 set up on foodplots/fields for rainy days or hunting with kids or beginners.

Also, as a guide and outfitter I used pieces of camo burlap Id carry and quickly set up in front of my client that would hide their movement.

I still carry a little primos blind that i stick into the ground with me every where I go. It weighs about a pound. Ive shot many a gobbler who snuck in or came in behind me thanks to that little blind.
Last year 4 of my birds I was just either against a tree or got in there in the dark where they roosted in a creek and stuck my lil primos blind into the ground.

One I shot right at flydown he landed in front of me, I just was leaning against the tree as I saw him in the tree before he saw me. No blind.

One of the others was right at flydown, but I set up in a creek bottom and a different bird (2 actually) came running in from behind me. Luckily I was behind that lil Primos blind, as I had to get my gun up as they were going past me.

The other I fanned and called in along a big food plot...spotting him in there first with a hen or 2. No blind.

The one I shot out of a Double bull blind as a guy from here also shot one up at the other end out of the same field behind my lil primos stick in the ground blind, but that was after he beat us the day before and we knew what he was doing.

And the last I was in the hardwoods in the afternoon and ran into a bird and split him from his hens and then went a little further, waited 30-45 minutes then called him in where he lost his hens,..I did use the lil primos again there I believe.

So my opinion is yea..Ill use a blind in a flash.

It hides you from a turkeys number one weapon..his eyes! If I have one spare minute in a set up before calling, I set up a piece of material, break a few pine branches , pull up a dead branch or two..cut a palmetto frond or 5..and stick it in front of me! Anything that will break me up and hide any hand movement, or raising my gun.

But then again, Ill crawl like a snake if i have to, see where they are going and bushwack em if I can, and if I walk up on one and see him first as I round a corner or come over a hill..I hammer em. I dont use a sling on my gun, just for that reason..I want it in my hands if I do get that lucky.

So..maybe gobblers right.. maybe Im just a turkey killer. But dang..it sure feels good when I kill em anyway I can...and Id of crawled, bushwhacked or deer hunted them to get one this year.

IMO those little blinds that you just stick in the ground are great. I like hiding from their eyes, especially as I like to use a slate alot, and it takes 2 hands.

To me it is smart..like using scent proof soap, scent proof clothes etc to hide from a deers nose.

Or using a tree stand when deer hunting instead of hunting from the ground.

I know some guys that kill a pile of birds every year, and they are '' seasoned ''. These same guys also have good land, a bunch of days to hunt, a bunch of states to hunt. These guys also use fanning, decoys, blinds, still hunt, call birds in the old fashioned way too, and they even hunt roost trees in the evening.

Me, I don't fan, rarely use a decoy, and think it's not really ethical to hunt roost trees, but I don't look down on them too bad. I don't agree with some of the tactics they use to kill, but it's their choice to do it, and mine to not use those tactics.

Great Post here, boys. Well said. Although, I think you can get pics of turkeys and feel confident that they are in the area, I don't reckon you can pattern a turkey the same way you can a deer. Course if the birds are frequently in the area you don't need no camera as turkeys leave more sign behind than anything else in the woods.

All I know is there sure is a lot of interest on here regarding how to grow Chufa patches for nobody to be caught dead hunting on one of them.....

Word!

I plant 8 to 10 acres of chufa every summer. I have never killed a
gobbler IN a chufa patch. I have got on a gobbling turkey near
a chufa patch and called him up and killed him though.

Most of our chufa patches are decimated by February.

Like being ok with killing one before first light that lands in the road in front of you, I don't consider the little stake, cloth blinds to be the blinds I am talking about. I never set mine up this year but I often use it in the afternoon. The ones that make me roll my eyes is the big bull blinds and such, fully enclosed. Like a deer stand..... Mostly immobile. I understand folks that NEED one and cameras and such, but I am impressed when videography is done without one and am impressed by a bow kill without a blind!!

You can tell by the activity in this thread turkey season is over. Sure is depressing.

Ain't over for those of us blessed enough to live close to the Tennessee line. I killed a good'n this morning

I would say you did brother....congrats again!!!!!!!

I don't live close to the line, but I'm headed that way next week. Congrats on the bird!

Heading to NC tomorrow for some mountain birds!

I wouldn't consider myself a "turkey Hunter", but in my opinion guys that regularly bush wack birds either don't know how to turkey hunt, aren't physically able to turkey hunt, or they are to lazy to learn to turkey hunt. But I certainly don't care if folks do since I'm not a turkey Hunter. Flame away!

That's like parking my truck 1/2 mile from the dove field, stepping out out and shooting a dove sitting in the road in front of the truck. Not what the hunts about at all.

LOL

We all just wanta hold then in the area.

Yep, one less boar tom north of the border . Ol' tom had spurs longer than Tom Horn's.

It's more fun to me if I don't know where he is until I hear him gobble on the limb. I love hunting a piece of ground I've never sat foot on before. I'm fortunate enough to have several turkeys to work with and some time to hunt them. Our great state doesn't want anybody to kill more than 5 and they give us 46 days which is plenty of time to do it if you get to hunt a fair amount and have some turkeys to work with. That being said I'm gonna try to make it as fun as possible.
If I could only hunt a few times a season I'd try a lot harder to pattern them. It's more fun to me to just go hunting though.