Those of you that have gun hunted in the past.......and transitioned into bowhunting as well........do you ever miss carrying the bang stick? I don't reallyon the deer hunting side, but whenturkey hunting.............I still really like to carry the gun sometimes. I can look back at last spring nowand really appreciate the awesome bird I took with the bow.............but now that I've accomplished getting it done this way I still just enjoy carrying the gun sometimes as well.

Don't get me wrong, when I'm in the mood to sit and wait them out, I love to carry the bow and a blind..................but sometimes I just want to run and gun and get myself into active birds rather than wait for them, and I really just like to carry the gun for this. Something about it just remindsme of those days in highschool sittingout on a spring morning, with active birds around me knowing I'm gonna be late for school..........but for the next half an hour it just didn't matter.When running and gunning I happen to get into a LOT moreactive birds as compared to waiting them out, and actually working the active birds is what I enjoy most about the pursuit of them. Whether I kill them, or someone else kills them, or if no one kills them and I just get a good show.......I don't really care. I just want to work active birds sometimes, and I still enjoy killing them with the gun.

Yesterday as I placed my order for a new turkey gun,I felt that others would think I was selling out, but honestly.........after the bird I killed w/ the bow last year I feel that I've already gotten it done and and achieved that goal of a true war hammer with a bow.I'll do it again at some point, but for this year I just don't feel the need to. This year I want to focus on helping others get onto birds and if I get some time for me I'll bring the new toy.

So onto the new toy.................after the two birds wecalled in last year for him (his first two), I've gotten Jawshooter hooked enough on birds that he wanted his own turkey specific gun this year.I sold him my current Mossberg setup and am replacing with a new one. I should have the new oneby this weekend to pattern (I'm hoping) and I honestly can't wait. It's been a loooooooong time since I've ordered or bought a new gun but I'm really looking forward togettingthis one.

This thing = bad news for turkeys.

Mossberg 535 ATS Turkey Tactical Series - 20" ported barrel - 3.5" chamber - Realtree APG




I also picked up the mount kit, rings, and a Mueller Multi Shot 2-7x33 with the illuminated circle dot reticle. This gun will primarily be a turkey gun, but will also be my go to predator calling gun when in the timber. I'll also likely pick up a slug barrel for the shotgun only counties in NY, and to have as a backup during rifle season. The scope should work well in all of these situations. Mueller has a fantastic reputation among the predator hunting community and I've been anxious to try one for quite a few years.

Sweet..You didn't sell-out. You "Bought in"!

That's why I always state how personal hunting is.

See....I've taken turkeys with a shotgun before......and if I'd had the shotgun with me last year.....I'd have been tagged out within the first week. it took me 25 hunts and a lot of trial/error to put one on the ground with my bow.

I appreciate your fervor to be in the mix with the birds. I like that, too. But I look at most of my hunting as.......challenging myself more and more.....the more I get into this (deer and turkey hunting with the bow and arrow). That's why I wanted to try traditional.

Two different ways to hunt turkeys, though.....and I could see why you like the run and gun style, also. Rob won't put his gun down.....because he likes that, too. I'm a little more passive as a turkey hunter......MAINLY because I think the birds I'm hunting demand it.

Good luck. Looks like a great weapon. Congrats.

My uncle has the same gun, kicks like a pissed off mule with the 3.5's in it, but I'm sure you knew that.Nice gun.

I just hunt with whatever weapon is in season. Works for me.

Not a sell out at all. I started hunting deer with a bow first and then started hunting with a gun later. While I still enjoy taking a deer with my bow more, I do love the few days of gun season we get here in Illinois. There is just something about that makes it special. Maybe because more people gun hunt, so we always have a big deer camp. Tons of fun! I love sitting on the stand opening morning and hearing all the shots going off, maybe I am wierd, but I do enjoy gun hunting. So, if you are a sell out, then so am I.

If, I turkey hunt, it will be a very real possibility that I take the scatter-gun. Like I said it's a 24$ tag and realistically I may get 3-4 sits in the season.

If I had the option of some 25 hunts it may be different. That one blown chance may be the only one I see.

You didn't sell out. I sometimes wonder how many decent bucks I could have had if I would have been carrying the "bang stick" instead of the bow....BUT I get over it.

I've never officially spring gobbler hunted with a bow so this will be my first. I've always enojyed gun hunting them though. Gun hunting gobblers doesn't guarantee a kill anyway.Sometimes I feel they would be hard to kill with a rocket launcher.[8D]

I do have one question though. What the hell are you doing on my team if you're gonna be gunnin' it this spring?[8D]J/K....good luck man!

I dont miss carrying the gun cause i hunt with a bow, than rifle,than muzzleloader so i get to do everything.

This place, http://www.nitrocompany.com/pattern.htm,has some awesome 3.5" turkey rounds. I havethe Mossberg 535 ATS Deer/Turkey combo.

I can walk out my back door into the bottom and hunt a bit before work, GR8, and I can hunt every evening until dark, all on foot.

And the reason I said it was personal.......is I'd rather not kill one......if I can't do it on my terms (bow). Taking one isn't that important for me to try and up my odds (And I'm not saying that's WHY you or anyone would take the shotgun). Choosing to hunt 'em with a gun is great. It's a different WAY of hunting them that a LOT of people enjoy. The tactics you can employ by being so mobile (and aggressive)attracts a lot of people to this method. Have fun.