Box Call

Each day after my hunt is over, I sit at home and reflect on what went right and what went wrong and how I can do it better next time. I also jot my thoughts down in a turkey hunting journal that I have been keeping for the last three years. By doing this after each hunt, I'm able to record many details that I would probably forget had I waited until the season was over to think about and try to remember. When the season does end, I take my journal and read over each entry and try to come up with the most important items that I learned during my hunts. Here is an example of what I learned this year. Think back over your season and share with us the most important things you learned.

1. Weather can affect nesting times and later nesting means real hens for the gobblers to follow making it tougher to call them in. Another related point is a high hen to gobbler ratio makes for tough going.

2. The odds of calling in a bird go up if you have the patience to pick a good spot, call periodically, sit still, and listen. I now understand what I had read some time ago that patience and sitting perfectly still will kill more birds than fancy calling. On 5 separate occasions, I had gobblers come into me because I stayed in one spot, where I knew their were birds, and had heard no gobbling on the roost in the morning.

3. I personally need to practice my close in calls (cluck, purr, soft yelp). I did good with the fairly loud calls in getting toms to commit, but think I could have done better when they got to about 50 yards or so. I was taught this lesson by a real hen on the last day of the Pa. season. She came in behind me and began clucking to my soft yelps. I started immitating her and we held a conversation of clucks for about 10 to 15 minutes. I was very surprised at how her answers were really only loud enough for me to hear. She didn't cluck any louder than necessary. When she headed down over the ridge from me, she yelped, but again only loud enough for the turkeys in her immediate area to hear. I also immitated her yelp and about 5 minutes after she left, a silent tom came sneaking into my cousin who was set up about 20 yards from me. He downed it with one shot.

4. As stated on another post somewhere that I read and I agree with, a tough turkey season will make a better turkey hunter out of you in the long run. You get to try more things and hopefully find some new things that will help you in the future.

germain

I learned no matter how many there are stay away from road gobblers.They've been spooked and called to so much they aren't even interested in calls.Severe case of call shy.

Threetoe

I learned that persistence, patience and sticking to it will eventually bring about the outcome I desire.
I learned that doing the right thing, even when it's hard, will always make me the winner.
I learned that helping others will come back to me ten fold.


This was a MAGICAL season for me.

Bill

jrbsr

I learned to be very carefull hunting on public land.

Some one else might shoot your turkey after you call him in.

Oh well next year.

MDManiac

I learned to have Confidence in Calling
I Learned to be very sneaky setting up as well as listening intently for that gobbler
I learned to scout the birds before hand
I Learned that shooting a turkey is the greatest feeling in the world

huntnma

i learned to go to land i havent hunted, i can be just as successful......i also learned i know a great bunch of folks.....thought they were, but i got proof , lol.....

Rem1100

I learned that I'd forgotten that "always" and "never" don't apply to turkey huntin'....

moose1915

1- many turkeys can be worked AFTER 9 or 10 am
2- foggy morning, hunt the fields
3- a bird can be 30 yds away gobbling his head off and sound 1/4 mile away when the "green is up"

4- if you think you know how many birds are on a given piece of land, add 3 or 4 MORE that you didnt know were there...

rybohunter

Hunt every chance you get all season long
Have as many places to hunt as you can
Pay attention while you are out. What happens today can greatly determine how well you do tomorrow

Bluegunner

I learned that doing what other hunters won't usually do because of the extra effort required will sometime get you the bird. Ex. Hunted the Black Hills for two days with the same results that the other hunters were having - Birds would answer and them go the other way! Decided to try a different tactic - took an hour to climb to the top of a small mt. and worked my way down from the top. On the trip down I had a Tom goobling like crazy below me in the first five minutes. He was headed in and I went to set up and rolled a rock from under my foot and the Tom departed. Tem minutes later another Tom answered and was coming hard. This time I got set and he steped into view at about 10 yds. and I thumped him.
I believe my making the effort to do something that required extra effort was the reason for the change. I have found that road side Toms will respond differently when I circle and approach from the side away from the road.