That is great and hopefully they will co-operate when you are out hunting for them.. Good luck and we all hope the both of you have success. this year..

Someone was also driving up and down the road educating turkeys. I could hear them call on a box call and then get in the truck and drive down the road. Two weeks before youth season.

That is sad news and makes a lot harder for a youth to get to see a bird.. It still can be done but with a whole lot of waiting.. One of my areas they do the same thing each year.. I have still gotten birds out of it. Unfortunately it makes for a lot less calling and a lot longer waiting as the birds come in very nervously.. It is hard to understand why some people will keep doing this every year..

A lot of guys just dont get what turkey hunting is all about. They see the videos, which only show the parts we all love which is the action, but they dont see the fact that turkeys are not gobbling a heck of a lot more than they are gobbling. It can be very frustrating.

Two of my friends from Arkansas went down to Mississippi for a week and they only heard 2 birds. One of the guys will walk miles and miles in the woods and for him not to see but 3 hens is very unusual he is a turkey killing machine. They hunted up and down Mississippi and everyone they talked to said the turkeys where not doing anything.

They also done some run and gun and he said all they done was waste gas. They tried to sit and stay where they seen fresh turkey sign and nothing. They where hunting on public ground.


3 weeks and counting for MO opener!!!!! I can't wait!!!!

Hope everyone on our team that is out hunting is having a good time and having a safe hunt to me that is the main 2 things about hunting anything, yes we all would love to harvest a nice Tom but it don't always work out but if you had fun then it was a successful hunt in my book!! Everyone be SAFE out there!!

Went out looking around one of my private property's that I have permission to hunt, and did not see any fresh turkey sign. I know that they are somewhat close b/c u heard the first gobble of the season not to far from there. Hope they show up

I hunt private land here that is open to the public.. It is owned by the paper companies and the public gets to hunt it.. Which makes it about the same thing as public land as most the land here is privately owned.. I know what they mean bigc870 as well as swampbuster.. People going around testing their calls out or antis trying to make sure the seccess rate is cut down.. I can not say for exactly who is doing what sometimes.. Although I know a few hunters that will travel threw there testing their calling skills out.. It all makes for a hard hunt..

Once again I have the first full week of our season as a vacation week but I have to wait until May before I can hunt.. I will be hunting in one of those tough hunting areas myself.. I have had some great luck hunting them even when I end up discouraged at times.. It does not stop me from enjoying my time away from it all.. Good luck everyone, enjoy your hunting, and most importantly stay safe..

Also the missing 2 have until tomorrow to sign back on.. If not they will be getting replaced i believe..

Ok, quick question: This past fall they did some HEAVY clear cutting of the property where I hunt. Probably 200 acres. Mostly around the outer perimeter of the property. Would you setup on a long fescue/clover field where I traditionally setup, which is in the center of the property with some adjoining pines (often used as roosts) or move over a couple of hundred yards and setup on a high spot in the cut-over where visibility is higher? I'm leaning towards the old tried and true spot but keeping my eye/ears on the cut-over to see if they are utilizing that. There's a small field adjacent to the cut-over and they would often have a strut zone/dust bowl on the edge that is now next to the cut-over. All the other 3 sides are still as they had been. Just not sure how that huge opening is going to impact their movement. I think they'd like the opening for security and bugs but would still prefer the hayfield for security and cover. Thoughts?

Stopped by the national Forrest this morning. First stop I heard two different turkeys gobbling from the roost. Second stop I heard three different turkeys, one was by himself and two were together. Third stop I could hear one way off in the distance gobbling. Now if I could only keep every other hunter out of the national forest I would have a good chance at killing some of those turkeys.

If I was unable to scout it out one morning before the opener I would stick with the tried and true. Since 200yds is all that separates the two spots should be easy to reposition if need be.

I would setup near the clover field at first to see what happens.. But keep in mind turkeys up here turkeys love the cuttings just like a lot of other game does.. I have got and seen a lot of turkeys in the cuts.. They like the new growth as well as all the bugs that are in them.. Also as swampbuster has stated 200 yards is not all that far away if your decide to move.. Just be careful of spooking them when you change locations..

Well I'm planning on leaving about a half hour early for work tomorrow and stopping of at a piece of land and listening for gobbles. I'm pretty excited about this piece of public that I hunted last year and nobody seems to hunt back in there. I'll let you all know what I hear.

Good luck Jepcho, hopefully they will be talking in the morning

Good Luck Jepcho... I hope you hear a few of them.. That is pretty much what I do here.. I just go back a ways where others do not bother to go to..

Have not been able to scout and listen for a few days. Saturday morning is suppose to be bright and sunny. Will be listening and scouting then for sure.

Our season opens on Monday. Hopefully I'll get out next weekend. Been seeing several Toms on the way to work following the hens like love sick puppy dogs. Good luck to yall and stay safe!!

Hawgman ahs been added to your team

txjourneyman has been added to your team

Thank you Arrowmaster..

Welcome to the team Hawgman and txjourneyman!! We are glad to have you!!

backwoods13 has been added to your team. I have given you an extra and will add others if they sign up to other teams. Phil can you PM your new members?

Well I went out the last two mornings and didn't hear anything either morning. I'm not too concerned yet because I know they are in there. But at the same time it's reassuring to hear something. I did drive around tonight I saw several strutters, a few that I can hunt. I see we got some new team members. Hopefully we hear from them.

Ok will do thank you..

..

I agree it is a little early to put to much stock in not hearing much gobbling, but the main thing is you are see birds where you can hunt, I'll take seeing them in my area over hearing the gobbling any day when I go preseason scouting. But it is nice to know where they are rousting.

I am going to try and go listening in a couple of areas I hunt either this weekend or the weekend after youth season which is April 11 and 12 and my season starts on the 20th so I have plenty of time.

I just have to drive so far to get to where I hunt one place is 140 miles round trip and the other is about 180 miles round trip. So it is to costly for me to take more than a couple preseason trips. But the birds are always at either spot but the closest one they have been doing so logging the past couple of years and I am not sure if they are done. If they are i expect this spot to have alot of birds with the new clear cut sections, some are grown up but other are pretty clean so there should be some nice ambush spots in there.

I used to think logging messed up a spot for hunting deer or turkey but they logged these woods right so far anyway. I seen more deer in there this last season than I have ever seen in there in about 8 year, I hope the turkeys are in there in more numbers this spring.

I have a plan right now on how I am going to hunt this spot, but I would like to ask for some input from you folks. This spots has clear cuts that are grown up and clear cuts that where really clear during deer season and all the clear cuts have good timber around them.

My plan is to go in chase the gobblers and if no luck, setting up on a spot that has grown up clear cut and set up close to the edge of about 40 or so yard from the clear cut in the timber they didn't touch in hopes of them funneling through these areas.

Tell me what you think!

I have sent out the pms and also sent of to blackheel to get some posting done..

I hunt right in the cuttings here after the birds have been hunted as well as sometimes the very first day of it.. I would set up where you have an idea on where they are traveling and close to the opening unless they have been pressured,, Turkeys like the cuttings as well. But as we all know they can be hard to catch in one area or another.. At least here they can be because the travel around a lot.. Good luck guys..

It suppose to be clear and cold in the morning, can't wait to get out there and get in the woods. Still scouting. Next weekend is youth weekend, and then the big kids get to play the next weekend

Just got back from four wheeler riding around my house. Stopped on top of this big hardwood holler and just watched the bottom of it and saw what I think was a hen in the bottom of it. Might have to try and listen there one morning

Good Luck with taking the young ones out!!

I also hope you good luck hearing a few birds.. I have heard that in some areas they have already quited down and on the hens?? I am not sure whether or not they have though.. Here our youth day is the Saturday before our season opens up full swing.. May 2nd is youth day and then May 4th is opening day for all.. It runs the entire month of may for us with a 2 bearded bird maximum and a fall hunt for 1 bird of either sex. That is a 2 bird maximum for the entire year..They both can be shot in the spring season however.. That takes some of the fun out of it during the fall season.. But, it is what it is..

Heard a few birds this morning, didn't really seem to be gobbling all that well. It was a little windy, so I might have not been able to hear them.

This afternoon my daughter shot a shotgun for the first time. She shot several times, and was not scared of it. I was really worried that she might be scared, but she did good. Her last shot she had several in the kill zone. I am so proud of her. Just wanted to share

Good for her swambuster !! It is good seeing the young ones out trying there luck! Every young person out there hunting is the future of hunting.. I am glad she is not scared of it and hopefully will be able to blast a cap on one and get a tag filled!!

swambuster that is good news!!

My two sons took to shooting guns fairly easy.oldest son took to shooting early my dad bought him a bee bee gun when he was 4 years old he started with him just hitting the bottles and cans when he got good at the he would put the bottle cap upside down on the bottle and told he to shot it off without hitting the bottle and at he was a little over 4.5 years old making amazing shots. He is just lights out with any gun we have ever had him shoot, he will get out 200yrds with a rifle and when he shots he will say if the scope is right it is 1" and 1" left I asked him how he knew that and he said that is where I pulled the trigger. He is the best marks man I have ever seen and it is not because he do that but the even longer range shots with his AR15 with out a scope.

My daughter when she was 11 years old it took what seemed like an hour to shot a .30-.30 for the first time and she didn't want to shoot again that day so I didn't push her. Two days later she asked me to take her out shooting, she missed her very first shot at a deer but it didn't run off and the second shot she double lunged it and she has taken 6 deer and has only missed with her first ever shot. I am so proud she enjoys deer hunting but she has no desire to turkey hunt. I hope she take it up soon but I will not force her she is 15 now.

Sorry about the long post but I just a proud dad.

Hey that's great bigc870, thanks for sharing

Went out listening close to the house this morning and heard one close to some private property that I have permission to hunt. So I know that turkeys are in the area. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter morning.

I was asked to check in. Been busy. Had the stomach bug make a run through the house too which was none too pleasant. We open on the 11th. Youth day was this past Saturday. My nephew and I hunted all day in not the best conditions. Came close about 9 am when a tom came and skirted us. Got him to 35 yards or so but he would never stop in a clear opening. The afternoon was basically 5 hrs of sitting with no action. He and I will be hunting together Saturday.

It is good to hear from you blackheel!! I am sorry to hear about you getting a hit from that flew bug.. I know it is a bad one.. I had some small hits from it and someone told me about an over the counted med called cold-eze or something like that.. I went and got some to try and it knocked it away.. It is like a throat lozenger or something that contains zinc in it. It actually worked great for me but does taste all that great..
I am also sorry to hear about the luck you and your nephew had.. But at least you got to see one.. Anyways stop by once and a while the stories helps us that has to wait get the edge on for a bit..

bigc870 I am glad to hear of your daughter out trying the gun out!! You have to love it when you hear of the kids going out hunting... I hope you both have some luck fall your way.. Keep it safe and enjoy the hunting..

I am glad to hear that the turkeys are in your area swampbuster!! Hopefully the will reward you when it is time!

I hope everyone has had a great Easter Day !! We had a decent day as well I went and visited my sister who's daughter showed up with her little fella.. I played around with him for a little bit and had a coffee and came back home..

On the way down I saw a nice tom strutting his stuff for some hens.. They were on top of the snow this morning as it has been a cold day up here today.. Where they were was in a no hunting are as the guy does not want anyone to hunt there.. But almost right beside it is a nice hunting area and a line that we can hunt.. So hopefully I will be able to find one in May..

Right now my wife has taken off to pick up my daughter and they are heading to the hospital as she maybe having a baby tonight.. I am not sure though so I will be waiting to see..

I hope everyone has had a nice day today.. Happy Easter everyone!!

Seven more days and a wakeup till the killing begins.

It is always good to hear the stories about getting those kids out in the outdoors be it just shooting or in the woods. For me its one of the greatest feeling to have a first timer of any age take their first turkey.

Happy Easter

Where are you starting your season camokenny?

Here in Iowa, then a quick hunt in neb (one day) last weekend of april I will be in MO then back in iowa for my last tag then back to Neb to finish up there. I am so ready to hit the woods.