am i just crazy???
 

hi,
I want to start by sayin im a hardcore turkey hunter. I often have nightmares that I oversleep opening morning of turkey season, so maby that will help the rest of this post not sound so rediculas.

The night before opening morning I take everything off my dining room table. I bring all my decoys, calls, gun, shells, clothing, boots, vest, even underpants in to the dining room and spread it out over the dining room table, so it is right there when I get up in the morning. Now this is the part im kinda emmbarased about. As I said I am terrified of missing opening morning so I set 7 alarms. I use a mixture of alarm clocks, my phone, and some windup clocks. the sun rises at 6:30 in sw mo durin spring season, but I set all my alarms for 4:00. I get dressed and sit in my chair and drink coffe until 5:00. and after all that I finally get to turkey hunt.

so my question is. do other people prepare like this, or am I just crazy?

Face it. You're addicted. Look for your nearest chapter of THA. :)

advices are always good to get but follow what your heart says

yes I do the same for all hunting...

I do the very same thing, only my fear is usually that I will forget something important. Gun, ammo, proper clothing, decoys, food and water. My nightmares usually involve having a turkey come in and suddenly realize I forgot to bring ammo for my gun. I always triple check for ammo. The turkeys are also usually about ten feet tall in those dreams as well.

Somebody please help me with my addiction!

Yup, your pretty crazy ---but there are lots of
us out there that in our own way are right there
with you. Best of luck this spring. By the way
my lucky number is 13---so you might want to change
your number of alarm clocks---smile.

Were all crazy man, any die hard turkey hunter prepares just about the same. I do!!!!!

Not crazy, just a little paranoid.

I only have two alarms,my clock goes off and my wife pushes me out of bed.LOL

I'd say Obsessed...more than paranoid...lol

Sounds about par with me also.

I WOULD say that you ARE nuttier than a squirrel turd... BUT you are in SW MO! For those that have never turkey hunted the Ozarks of MO they THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! :arms:

For 20 seasons from 1985-2006 I had the PLEASURE & GOD GIVEN PRIVILEGE of having a 10k+ acre section of family land to turkey and deer hunt on just south of Mountain View, MO (just east of West Plains). There simply IS NOT a FINER region to turkey hunt on the GLOBE!!! Over the years we had names like Memphis area call makers Roy "Golden Gobbler" Rhodes & Frank Cox, Chuck Jones of Knight & Hale who was originally from West Plains, Mr. Robert "The Last Call" Clifft of Bolivar TN and several other "industry experts" up to hunt on the ranch and ALL of them were simply AMAZED after a morning or two of "Missouri Music"! I was 16 when I killed my first bird up there in 1987 and I took MANY birds up there over the next 2 decades. The 2yr old birds weighed well over 20#s and toted 10"-11"+ beards. The 4+yr old birds ALL weighed OVER 25#s and usually had 11.5"-13"+ bears as well as 1.75" spurs (if they hadn't wore them down on those steep, rocky ridges)

DEAR GOD would those birds THUNDER!!! :rock: Like I said it was a large ranch and with the rolling terrain we could hear and chase birds for MILES but usually that was never necessary. We'd just start the day on a few choice listening areas and typically very quickly were "in the action". Did I mention those birds were VOCAL??? :eek2: Even when Chuck Jones came up he was AMAZED. He said, "You know where all I've been and I thought I'd seen it all but I've NEVER heard or seen ANY place like this ranch. Yall got a pretty special place here!" (Sadly in 2005 a death in the family, lawsuits and lawyers put an end to all that within a year or two! :nonono2: )

BUT I don't cry over the spilled milk, I just relish the 2 decades I enjoyed and learned there. I hope some day to get back up in the Ozarks with my now teen aged boys and let them likewise hear that "Missouri Music"...

A gobbler by anyother gobbler just AINT the same as they are in the Ozarks!!! :s2:

I hear ya. it is a privlage to hunt turkeys here every year.

A turkey hunter is just a duck hunter with his brains knocked out.
RR

buckman I Do the same thing at hunting camp... I mt my vest on table set out my close and boots and re pack vest that night making sure I haven't forgot anything and sometime triple check things... but come morning im ready!!! let get it on baby

Sounds about right. I think I usually start that process a good week earlier. My wife always wants to know why all that, "stuff" needs to be out so early and when it will be cleaned up. I don't have a good answer for her!

After many years of marriage,my wife has learned to just ask "and when does this season end"?LOL

My wife has somewhat learned to just deal with it ever since she got a taste of some fried turkey nuggets. I divvy the meat up into serving size quart freezer bags to make it last all year long. I only have one bag left. Almost time to restock.

I hate getting up before 8:00am I did the dark:30 for 25 years...

She used to ask that but now she knows when one season ends there is always another one about to start.

Not crazy just Very addicted!
I cant sleep well the whole time I turkey hunt because I cant stop planning the next days hunt, I set 3 alarms two on my cell and 1 one my clock then I keep waking up.

SLEEP IS FOR THE NONE HUNTING!!

You are a turkey hunter so yeah.....you are crazy.

If you have never read Col. Tom Kelly's book "Tenth Legion" order a copy or download it on the Kindle app on your phone or book reader (may even be able to get an app to read it online, I don't know)

He pretty much sums up how obsessed we are as a group. My season really start just before the end of duck season (especially if it has been a slow year). I make calls in my spare time so my mind slowly starts drifting toward March. By February I have watched every Primos video I own and I am getting ready for the NWTF convention.

After that I have 4 weeks before Opening Day. I will spend that time prepping my vest multiple times, making some calls, shooting my guns, studying Google Earth on land I already know, printing multiple copies of WMA permits, contemplating on where I want to hunt opening day (minimum 1.5 hour drive to nearest WMA for March 15th opening), put 10 different items in my shopping cart on BassPro.com only to cancel my order at the last minute, polishing my guns, oiling my boots, practicing my mouth calls at work, changing the oil in my truck (I do this just for turkey season), talking turkey on Huntingnet.com, cooking the last turkey from previous year (if there is any), checking my camo, and waking up (without my alarm) at 4 am every morning because my natural alarm is telling me that turkey season is coming.

So yeah.....you are crazy. Heck this year I bought a travel trailer and the fuel that kept that fire to buy one burning was the thought of using it to go hunting far off exotic places in the US!

I read the Tenth Legion while on vacation last year. Great book and a must read for us turkey addicts.

you aint crazy just prepared it is better to expect the best and plan for the worst imo..

and now my brother on the other hand thinks hes prepared as long as he has a gun, shells, and a roll of toilet paper:wink:

as long as he has a gun and shells he will be okay and he should pray he dosent have to use the toilet paper..though it is better than poisen ivy:happy0157:

yes poisen ivy can give you a good case of the flaming butt:kt:

o man it does i have personal experiance not fun and am noy doing again anytime soon

Of course you're crazy, we all are. I always clear off the kitchen table the week before the season opens and start setting everything out on the table. I make lists all over my house of things not to forget and things I still need to do.

But this about sums up the week before opening day for me. The night before, I usually don't even get much sleep. I'll crawl in bed early so that I can be "well-rested" in the morning, but that usually just leads to me playing every turkey scenario ever in my head. Last year, I don't think I even fell asleep until just after midnight. Then I literally woke up and checked my phone every 10-15 minutes. My alarm went off at 2am, and it was time to get up and go. I had to almost drag the boyfriend/cameraman out of bed, and yet I was about bouncing off the walls with excitement. I ought to just spend that night in the woods, I'd probably at least get a little sleep that way.

And can't say I've ever read Tenth Legion, but I'll be ordering it shortly. Can't get enough turkey anything this time of the year.

thats about how i am. i will fall asleep at about 2 oclock and my alarms set for 4. there is just nothing like the feelin of turkey season

Well I think we've all done something similar before.

I took a week vacation last year during the first week.. Wouldn't you figure I never got close to a bird.. I have the same week this year as well and hoping for better luck.. I did get 2 birds last year though and one of those was after working a night shift.. One just never knows what will happen out there turkey hunting..