Nah man you’re good. I’m going up towards the end of November. The guys I’m going with do it every year and routinely kill pretty good numbers of snows. It’s the only time it all works out for out FD vacation. Our season down here is closed that week so we are hitting the road. Killing is the least important part of the trip for us all now. We usually get to do plenty of that here in NW Tennessee. Knock on wood. So we just go for the experience and times together.
Looking for SD Pheasants~Hunt Swap?
- Thread starter HunterRye
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Goosemaster
Well-known member
I can put you guys on to a turkey hunt that will blow your mind!!
Miforester
Well-known member
I could imagine that would be bit more boring if that is possible in the air. Worked with these guys a few times and others with bambis.
Nol Goose!!
The white ones in the fenced area ….Don’t Count!
Weimdogman
Well-known member
My cousins stopped to ask a rancher if they could hunt turkeys on his land. He replied sure I will show you a real Hotspot! Be here tomorrow morning at 7 30. They thought that is well after dawn but rancher probably will do chores first so they offered to help with morning chores. He said great see you at 7 30. They were a little confused but agreed 7 30. They show up he says load your guns and let's get going. Walk down behind the barn and there are 60+ turkeys all over the vacant corrals. Rancher is all excited , shoot em shoot every damn 1 of them. Cousin never admitted how many they shot but says it must not have been enough because they were still doing "morning" chores at 4pm
Goosemaster
Well-known member
Hmm. I'm talking about hunting. Not shooting behind the barn.My cousins stopped to ask a rancher if they could hunt turkeys on his land. He replied sure I will show you a real Hotspot! Be here tomorrow morning at 7 30. They thought that is well after dawn but rancher probably will do chores first so they offered to help with morning chores. He said great see you at 7 30. They were a little confused but agreed 7 30. They show up he says load your guns and let's get going. Walk down behind the barn and there are 60+ turkeys all over the vacant corrals. Rancher is all excited , shoot em shoot every damn 1 of them. Cousin never admitted how many they shot but says it must not have been enough because they were still doing "morning" chores at 4pm
birddude
Well-known member
I can't resist telling this one. Met a guy who talked like he was a great hunter. He even opened up a bow shop. As we were talking, I mistakenly mentioned a large sectioned of national forest where I turkey hunted. That spring He told me that he shot a rare color phase tom. The minute I saw the mount I knew something was off. It was marked like one of those black tame turkeys almost like a Rio but not quite. That fall I was driving to the before mentioned forest and saw a group of tame birds in a barn lot. I even stopped, looked and thought no way! The following year He got busted for shooting a tame bird from the road! The guy with the turkeys and the game warden was waiting on him in the barn!!
Goosemaster
Well-known member
It takes years to get good at turkey hunting, as well as pheasant hunting. Sometimes wild turkeys will breed with tame turkeys, producing a hybrid turkey. These will usually not be able to fly.In relation to your comment, my cousin shot a tame turkey on my uncles farm up wolf point way.Lol
5 stand
Well-known member
I do the drawing in June and apply for statewide. They have changed the rules (as of last year) and you have two 5 day options (just like pheasant hunting). I need to clarify I do not hunt snow geese (but I do see the fields they are in, there pretty hard to miss), So I do not ask for permission to hunt them on private, no experience there. If you do pursue private access look into - on x app.
Thanks for the info 5 stand. We only hunted WPA's the years we did it. I was not aware of the rules change, so I'll look into. Subscribed to On-X a few years ago, mainly for turkey hunting - but use it all the time now..................actually used it as a tool to protest our RE taxes in 2020!
I wish they would map Alberta!! Appreciate your feedback
I wish they would map Alberta!! Appreciate your feedback
5 stand
Well-known member
Stole this , might be of help.Thanks for the info 5 stand. We only hunted WPA's the years we did it. I was not aware of the rules change, so I'll look into. Subscribed to On-X a few years ago, mainly for turkey hunting - but use it all the time now..................actually used it as a tool to protest our RE taxes in 2020!
iHunter
iHunter is the all-in-one digital hunting companion for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts across Canada. Landowner maps for AB, SK, and MB and Public Lands Subscriptions for all provinces are available for an additional fee.
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gimruis
Well-known member
I turkey hunt every spring and its easily the most frustrating season I regularly hunt. Nothing else is even close. I can see and hear them every day I hunt for days on end, but I can't get one close enough. I move my blind, try various decoys, call, don't call...doesn't seem to matter. I just watch them fly down from the roost onto the field and observe them for hours. I don't archery hunt for deer, but I have to imagine that would similarly frustrate me because of the limited range. Last year I saw over 50 turkeys in 4.5 days of hunting, which was the most I've ever seen during a spring season here in 16 years of turkey hunting but not a one came within shotgun range.
The very first year I went turkey hunting I filled my tag with a nice tom at 7:15am. Since that first season, I have not filled a single tag on the first day of the season. LOL
Open windows in a blind create black holes, turkeys notice that and shy away from my experience. Camo netting or something similar to cover the open window and then cut a slot for shooting thru seems to help. Turkeys are not smart, just very alert and great eyesight. One in a flock spots something and putt putt the whole group is instantly alert. The slightest glare off anything, bingo your busted. Frustrating for sure but keep trying different things and it will become easier.
birddude
Well-known member
They are definitely evolving. Survival of the fittest, I guess. I've hunted them every year since the first season here. In the beginning I thought I was pretty good at it. All I had was a used box call and some camo from the army surplus store. I had to order a cassette tape on how to call from a magazine. I killed a nice tom every year for years on public ground! Now I have the best camo you can buy, YouTube, a vest full of calls, and decoys! And I feel pretty good IF I kill a jake!!
gimruis
Well-known member
Someone told me after last season that they aren't spooked by a blind sitting in the middle of the field. I've always placed my blind so that it blends in with the surroundings without sticking out like a sore thumb - like amongst trees, the edge of a field near brush, etc. Is this true? More than one person told me that they'll walk right past the blind that's in the middle of the field.
birddude
Well-known member
I've heard it both ways. I wouldn't know for sure as I've never had a store-bought blind. But now that I'm older I cover as much ground as I can until around noon then build something to hide my leg movements and use the old call and nap method for an hour or two. Then hobble back to the truck, go home and nap some more!!
"Stole this , might be of help"
Thanks again 5 Stand, I will look into for sure. If it's anything like On-X, that would be a Godsend. Around 40 years of doing that dream trip, missed 2020 covid year when travel was banned, and a year going back to school. We made it last year, not fun dealing with covid tests to and from, but the duck hunting was spectacular. The geese were still north of where we hunt while we were there, such is hunting & how things go. Haven't seen ducks like that in a good number of years. Certainly wouldn't mind dumping those municipal district landowner maps!! Blessed to have many good friends up there, so half the trip is social
Thanks again 5 Stand, I will look into for sure. If it's anything like On-X, that would be a Godsend. Around 40 years of doing that dream trip, missed 2020 covid year when travel was banned, and a year going back to school. We made it last year, not fun dealing with covid tests to and from, but the duck hunting was spectacular. The geese were still north of where we hunt while we were there, such is hunting & how things go. Haven't seen ducks like that in a good number of years. Certainly wouldn't mind dumping those municipal district landowner maps!! Blessed to have many good friends up there, so half the trip is social
Hi Gimruis, Could not agree more with the challenge of turkey hunting. Caught the turkey hunting bug about 22 or so years ago, and like all hunting, it is a continuous learning experience. Perhaps the best learning experience for me was patience. In the first few years, I would get impatient and move around 9:30 or so..............it seemed like every time I moved, I was busted by a tom not far away! There are times moving is necessary, but I truly minimize doing it. Even if I hunt off a roost I'll often stay put - I'm predominantly hunting easterns. I buy the best decoy and wrap it with a turkey skin from A-Way hunting products................get about two seasons and then replace......well worth the $50. Early season I'll set a jake often with hen decoys, but late season is 1 or no hen decoys. If hunting a field edge, I'll tuck in about 10-20 feet, and then make sure I'm as little exposed as possible. I've had toms that simply won't come to the decoy spread, where the jakes and hens come right in. There is no doubt they become decoy shy; so I'll try to pattern them, and remove the decoy.............I'm too damn stubborn to walk away from a challenge! Last year was my first year of retirement, and was able to do a bucket list DIY Merriam hunt last spring with a great friend........................something I had been plotting for the last 4-5 years before. Man that was fun, and completed my grand slam! I am thankful to have such an understanding wife, although I remain envious of BB! P.S. I subscribed to the "only shoot toms" practice early on. That can be tough at times!
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True! Had a Wisconsin buddy call me two seasons ago - frustrated - the birds would not come to his field edge set up, they were walking down the middle of the field. I told him to move the blind as close to where he thought their field path was- He killed a tom a day or two after....................blinds just don't seem to bother turkeys. I rarely use them (Only with rain forecasted), but when I do, it always amazes me
gimruis
Well-known member
Ya I run into this problem regularly too. So I'll ditch the decoys and calls and just wait. Then its more like deer hunting, hoping to catch one on a daily travel route. It has worked in the past too, just not the last two seasons.
Nice Merriams Turkey by the way.