run and gun or sit and wait?
 

age old question guys.i have been using a combination of both.ill try to get one off the roost first,then i will cover some groung cutting and using locators to find a bird.by 11 am or so i will set up on a hot spot i know turkeys travel with dekes and do some sparse calling and wait it out.i have had success with these methods.how about you guys,what methods do you use and why?

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

gun hunting I am a run & gunner for the most part but I will mix it up depending on the weather & the hunting preasure. If I am bowhunting I am a sit & sit some more type of hunter! Both of them have advanatages & disadvanatges. If I am hunting in an area with a lot of other hunters I generally sit tight longer & my calling is more toned down.

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I have a routine I usually use. In the morning I will try to get them off the roost. Then succesful or not depending, I will try to stalk them birds or different ones I locate. I will do this throughout the day. Then during the evening I try to roost the birds and maybe get one. The reason it seems so rushed it because I have a few select days to get a bird so I'm all business!! Good luck, - Buckhunter

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

Good Question! I guess it takes a mixture of both to be successful. We all like the run-n-gun cause it's more fun and alot easier on our posterior region. But the truth is if we were all honest we do better after fly down playing Sitting Bull. The exception might be If you are hunting several thousand acres all by yourself with no one to bother us. Unfortunately these Video Makers who have turned turkey hunting woods into a circus act with everybody and their brother who owns a shotgun into a weekend warrior. They are the ones to blame for high pressure run-n-gun hunters of the 21st century. Run-n-gun has it's plaace but should probably be a last resort or and end of season proposition. Have you ever been working the big boy on piblic ground and had some redleg beginner blow a crow call from the road trying to strike-up a gobbler. Your 4 hour grudge match with big daddy is over because redleg is too lazy too get up at 3:45 for the 23rd day in a row and walk 6 miles so he drives around a screws up everyone elses hunt. I only run-n-gun when I'm exausted all my other hunting options. I would rather spot and stalk.



Gobble, Gobble......Bang!!!!!

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

Depends on the bird and the circumstances. One thing I have learned is that if you chase them all over the country, you'll never catch them. The ABSOLUTE best way to kill a bird is be where he wants to go before he gets there. You cannot make a bird go somewhere he doesn't want. Later in the morning you can get away with some run and gun, maybe catch a bird in the right mood.

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

buckhunter 14,here in illinois we dont have the advantage of a evening hunt,i hunt until 1 pm and never give up no matter what the weather for 3 days.im really kinda of clueless on late afternoon and early evening turkey hunting tactics.i know for sure you better stay alert because a gobbler could sneak up on you quick,it has happened to me and im sure alot of you.the old rule,sit 20 minutes more than you want to sit,birds will come in quietly.

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

Run and gun. try and find a bird off the roost. If we don't get that bird, we start locating. by about 9 or 10, we sit near the fields where we know they'll be, hopefully get them to walk past or call them away from their strut zones. when its rainy, we glass the fields and try and spot and stalk.

slayer

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

Quote;Unfortunately these Video Makers who have turned turkey hunting woods into a circus act with everybody and their brother who owns a shotgun into a weekend warrior. They are the ones to blame for high pressure run-n-gun hunters of the 21st century. Quote;

I agree with TDB_OUTDOORS, and with all day hunting becoming more prevalent there is so much "Run & Gun" going on, you can't buy an afternoon Gobble a weak into the season. Too much agression causes them Gobbs to get mighty wairy.

I like to try bringin him in off roost, if thats a no-go, I'll take a little break and get to his Strutt Zone while he's hened up. About 10:00 or so give a few hard Cutts and sit tight. This will get er done more times than not. I've even tried to stay in bed late and just go with the Strutt Zone Tactic, but thats just not guna happen. Save the "Run & Gun" for the last few days of season.
Another thing I do to keep the birds calm is to not go running to a kill when a multiple number of Gobblers came in. If you see his head go flyin like its ready to seperate at the wadles, he's as good as dead. Sit there and let him flop. The other birds will show you what a "Alarm Putt" realy sounds like and they'll boogy on out of there. Now you can retreave your Gobbler and still have huntable birds

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

i do both.....mainly i will hangout and try to call the gobblers to me....

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I like to scout them and then hunt when they move so I mostly sit and wait while I call-but then I am an old man and my run and chase days are probably behind me

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I agree with the general concensus, try to get one off the roost, or within an hour or so after flydown, then try to catch them running hens/strutting. After that, i may just wander aimlessly hoping to run across one, since we cant get our birds to gobble after 9:00 or so to save a life.

Mat

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I'd be willing to bet that I would have had a greater chance of tagging out if i didn't run and gun so much. Having said that I had a whole lot of fun doing it and it kept me interested for the whole morning. Some people are just better at sittting still for hours. It's one of this years goals, to stay put longer.

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I try to get one close to the roost but my best luck on mature birds is actually walking the tops of the ridges and calling from about 2 hours after sun up to noon when we have to stop hunting. I stay high away from the fields and call every 300 yards or so. Often I hear an answer way down low near the roads and have pretty good luck getting them to come up to my level. I hunt public land and the birds probably learn most of the hunters stay down near the fields. Interestingly enough I have tagged most of my larger gobblers between 10 and 11 am.

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

What ever the situation calls for! You've got to be flexible and willing to try something different sometimes. I'll sit and call for the first couple of hours then get up and move, calling and glassing as I go. Sooner or later, you'll get into some action if you can cover enough ground!

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I cover as much country as possible as fast as possible while they are at the gobbling peak..which is early morning.

RE: run and gun or sit and wait?
 

I always try to get in the woods about 30 minutes before daylight. I then get to where I'm going and wait a little bit for him to gobble on his own, or if that dont work use a crow call. After I hear him gobble once or twice I set up my decoys and get between them and the gobbler and hope he comes to me. I have a relatively easy hunitng area because there is a railroad track that runs throught the middle of my hunting ground where the turkeys like to go to strut after flying down off the roost, so I had at least some idea of where they are going. I like to sit and call the bird in as it seems like more of a challenge, but its easier and less tiring also.