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Turkey Hunting - My first time out!

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Turkey Hunting - My first time out!

Old 09-23-2011, 08:39 AM
  #1  
Spike
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Smile Turkey Hunting - My first time out!

I am brand new to hunting! I have always been a pretty hard core animal lover, but I come from a family of hunters (including my mom & sister), so this year I decided to pick up a gun and tried it out. I decided to start with turkey hunting! My cousin is in her first year of hunting as well, and she bagged her 1st turkey in the spring hunting season. She went with her dad the first time, and thought she had the hang of it so her and I decided to go hunting together. We had no prior experience with any of the different types of calls. We made several attempts at the box calls, and the slate, but they didn't sound right. So after an hour of sitting in the blind I grabbed my smart phone and looked up "fall turkey calls" on my mobile youtube app. We mimic'd what we heard on the "How To" videos, and within 10 to 15 minutes of calling the proper way we had 4 turkeys heading our way! They came out of now where and fast! The Tom split from the hens and headed toward our decoys. As he was crossing in front of us about 25 yards out I took my shot. Thanks to all the practice shooting I shot him right in the neck! Perfect shot! Unfortunately we weren't 100% on what to do after that... you'll see in the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm1D0...feature=colike

Last edited by trishamarie1104; 10-17-2011 at 05:27 AM.
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:27 AM
  #2  
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Welcome to Wild Turkey hunting 101,and congratualations on a fine bird taken on your first hunt this spring. First,the best way to finish the bird off if your shot does not is to stand on his neck this will finish him off quickly. Clubing it in the head is not the way to end his suffering quickly. If the gun was loaded it's not a good idea to use it as you were,so never use a gun as a club for your own and others safety. I would advise going out with a seasoned hunter next time to avoid some simple errors due to a lack of hunting knowledge. Turkeys are not dumb they just arn't as smart as us at times but if you continue to hunt them you'll find this out soon enough.I think the Toms are beautiful birds from the neck down but after that well they are found wanting. I hope you had someone teach you to clean and harvest the meat,it's not bad when cooked properly. I prefer only the breast meat myself. Take care and good job getting your birds,learn all you can from this site and other good resources on hunting this great bird. I also enjoy your video,the screaming and jumping got me to laugh just a little but over all you handled it pretty good. Also go to the thread called My Life As A Turkey and I think you will gain some insight into the life of these birds.

Last edited by doetrain; 09-23-2011 at 09:47 AM.
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:48 AM
  #3  
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Thank you for all the info! =)

Yea, in retrospect I would have done a LOT of things differently! lol It was a great learning experience though! I did step on his neck for about 30 seconds, and as soon as he stopped moving is when the video starts and I stepped off. The gun was loaded, but I did check and double check that the safety was on...but yea...you are definitely right. I could have totally blown off my head, and in that case I would've had a video of me shooting my own head off. lol

My dad helped me clean the turkey (I definitely got my hands dirty, but he handled the innards for me), and we will be cooking it up for Thanksgiving! =)

Thanks again for all the helpful info!

Last edited by trishamarie1104; 10-17-2011 at 05:28 AM.
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Old 09-23-2011, 11:27 AM
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i'm not going to sugarcoat this because i only have a few minutes so don't be offended.....................................i'm happy to see that you guys are getting into hunting but the video was disturbing....especially the part where y'all are using a loaded gun as a hammer of sort....SAFETY FIRST ALWAYS!!!!
happy that y'all checked the safety but just because you had your safety on it doesn't mean you're safe.....i almost blew my head off one year during muzzleloader season because i assumed i could trust my safety....things happen so just be smart about things.
also, birds are going to flap, mostly it just nerves...step on their heads and give it a minute or so....never grab a bird by its neck cause his legs are still free and getting spurred is something y'all don't want to experience....spend time on here reading and learning, take constructive criticism without offense, practice calling and shooting, and spend more time with experienced hunters and eventually it will all work out....and one day you'll come to see that the wild turkey is one of the most beautiful birds in the world.
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Old 09-23-2011, 11:29 AM
  #5  
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ps: is it even legal to use electronic calls in your state? hope so....i know they are illegal here in florida.
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Old 09-23-2011, 12:28 PM
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Yea we realize we needed more experience, and both of us were completely shocked that they even came to over to us. In retrospect I would have done a LOT of things differently. Like I said in the response to doetrain I did step on his neck for about 30 seconds before the video started and he stopped moving completely. That's why I was so shocked when he started moving again....as you can see in the video.

Maybe i wasn't clear on the whole calling thing...we didn't use my smart phone to call the turkeys. We watched the youtube video's on how to do it correctly, and then we used our box call, and slate call to do it the proper way. I didn't even know electronic calls existed...I've never seen them at any hunting stores.

I have practiced shooting a lot, and had gun safety drilled in to me from my father. The first thing I did after I shot the turkey was put the safety on...

Everyone has to start somewhere...you can't possibly know it all on your first hunt.

Thanks for the info.
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Old 09-23-2011, 12:59 PM
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that's true....gotta give you kudos for getting out and doing it...just want you to be safe and learn all you can...best of luck to you guys!!
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Old 09-24-2011, 05:02 AM
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If your father drilled gun safety into you , then why would even think about using it as a club ? I suggest taking a hunter safety course,most states it's mandatory if born after a certain date....not only would you learn alot but it's fun.
Like Fl.Huntress said...."Think it's great that you're out there trying", kudos but it's not about the kill, I mean it is, but that's the final reward for your hard work...to me, you just went out there to show the world two women can do it and you did, but You have to respect the game you hunt. By choosing the turkey because it's annoying,ugly, and stupid is disrespectful to me right off the bat, they are anything but...by going into the woods very little preparation is also disrespectful....watching you bash it's head in with the butt of the gun was disrespectful to your kill and very upsetting, if you had done a lil homework or gone with someone that had experience, you would of known that it was a good shot, the head was down, it was just nerves, so there was no need for the bashing.Education is the key....you're right, I don't think anyone would expect you or anyone to know it all the first time you enter the woods, it's all a process...kinda like driving, you study first, you just don't jump into the drivers seat and go...I'm still learning and I'll be the first to admit that I still makes mistakes,but I always handle my weapon in a safe manner and I always respect the game I am hunting.When I first this post, I thought cool, add another woman hunter to the team, but when I saw that video, I was embarrassed, not only for you and your cousin but for all the women hunters out, but I know too many good/ethical women hunters and I'm sure you'll be one of them one day too...I'm not trying to be mean or hateful or damper your moment but this hit a nerve...I hope that you did learn from this and that y'all will grow into safe, knowledgable huntresses. I am glad y'all weren't hurt.Congrats on a fine first Gobbler.

Last edited by huntnma; 09-24-2011 at 06:28 AM.
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Old 09-25-2011, 11:57 AM
  #9  
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Don't judge me based on some typed words or a 3 minute snippet of my life. I have a great respect and deep love for all animals. Which is why I have never been able to stomach hunting, shooting, and killing an animal of any sort. I think ALL of them are beautiful in their own way. I also have a great respect for hunting...the game, the talent it takes, and the danger of it.

I have a sense of humor...I joke about a lot of things. I was saying a lot of the above in jest...the turkeys being ugly, dumb, and whatever...jokes...srsly...I literally have hundreds of turkeys in the area where I live. Too many...they cause traffic back ups. Especially when they wont move, and in some cases lay down in the middle of the street while I'm sitting there honking. I have also joked that I have a vendetta against the turkeys for making me late for work on many occasions...jokes...again. Population control with turkeys along with many other animals is necessary. Which was part of what inspired my idea to start hunting...

It was NOT my idea to "conk it in the head" with my gun, which is apparent in the video. She had already shot a turkey so I trusted her instruction. Like I said above...I stepped on the turkeys neck after I shot it, and didn't remove my foot until it stopped moving for a few seconds. I did research a LOT. I specifically looked at what to do after you take a shot... on a well known hunting show that is how the hunter did it. He stepped on it...others have said you "wring" the neck. I also learned how to field dress, and call turkeys before I went, but I had forgotten how they were supposed to sound as I didn't have any turkey calls of my own to practice on. You can ask my husband...I prepared myself for weeks before I actually went out.

I have gotten nothing but good comments from all of the women and men hunters, or non-hunters regarding my story. Of course most of the hunters made sure to ruse me for using my gun as a club, and told me I'm a dumb**s and could have shot my head off, but pretty much everyone has laughed their butts off at my stupidity...maybe I should change the title to "what NOT to do when you shoot a turkey".

I set out to accomplish something new in my life and I did. I am proud of myself. I may not have done it the right way, but now I know what to expect.
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Old 09-25-2011, 02:18 PM
  #10  
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Originally Posted by trishamarie1104
Don't judge me based on some typed words or a 3 minute snippet of my life. I have a great respect and deep love for all animals. Which is why I have never been able to stomach hunting, shooting, and killing an animal of any sort. I think ALL of them are beautiful in their own way. I also have a great respect for hunting...the game, the talent it takes, and the danger of it.

I have a sense of humor...I joke about a lot of things. I was saying a lot of the above in jest...the turkeys being ugly, dumb, and whatever...jokes...srsly...I literally have hundreds of turkeys in the area where I live. Too many...they cause traffic back ups. Especially when they wont move, and in some cases lay down in the middle of the street while I'm sitting there honking. I have also joked that I have a vendetta against the turkeys for making me late for work on many occasions...jokes...again. Population control with turkeys along with many other animals is necessary. Which was part of what inspired my idea to start hunting...

It was NOT my idea to "conk it in the head" with my gun, which is apparent in the video. She had already shot a turkey so I trusted her instruction. Like I said above...I stepped on the turkeys neck after I shot it, and didn't remove my foot until it stopped moving for a few seconds. I did research a LOT. I specifically looked at what to do after you take a shot... on a well known hunting show that is how the hunter did it. He stepped on it...others have said you "wring" the neck. I also learned how to field dress, and call turkeys before I went, but I had forgotten how they were supposed to sound as I didn't have any turkey calls of my own to practice on. You can ask my husband...I prepared myself for weeks before I actually went out.

I have gotten nothing but good comments from all of the women and men hunters, or non-hunters regarding my story. Of course most of the hunters made sure to ruse me for using my gun as a club, and told me I'm a dumb**s and could have shot my head off, but pretty much everyone has laughed their butts off at my stupidity...maybe I should change the title to "what NOT to do when you shoot a turkey".

I set out to accomplish something new in my life and I did. I am proud of myself. I may not have done it the right way, but now I know what to expect.
When all you put up are your words and video, that's all I have to go on...I wasn't judging you , just sharing my observations/opinion.
I tried to be respectful ....
I know Management is a must.....but the way you came across for your reasoning had nothing to do with Management.All I saw was that they were ugly,dumb,and annoying.....not mention one of management.
I'm glad everyone is supporting you, I do believe I did as well for the most part.You should be proud of yourself, minus the gun bashing of course, You killed a heck of a gobbler and it was a good shot.Just because one person shoots an animal does not make them a pro, your cousin could of gotten you killed.
Have you taken the hunter safety course yet ? It is something everyone needs to take,You'd really enjoy it if you haven't taken it already.

Last edited by huntnma; 09-25-2011 at 02:23 PM.
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