# I'm not a virgin anymore!!!



## Wolf_Dancer34 (Nov 14, 2006)

Thought that might get your attention!!! :yikes: I have officially bought my first turkey license! I said I would probably never go turkey hunting since time wise it would interfere with my steelhead fishing. I am totally clueless as to how to go about hunting/shooting one. I often see them close up from my tree stand in the fall but by then they have seen me as well...Gobblerman I just might have to call in your expertise on this one. If anyone can give me the 5 min. crash course in turkey hunting I would greatly appreciate it...:lol:


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

Congrats...consider yourself hooked! The anticipation and heart-pounding action of turkey hunting is like no other feeling in the woods! As far as conflicting with steel, well, they should be winding down by turkey season. Stay tuned to the turkey forum for the next several weeks.....you will learn everything you need to know.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

I think we can probably work something out on getting you clued in on the basics. I live in Mears

There is a turkey festival in Baldwin on March 31. They have classes on the basics of turkey hunting. There are a great group of guys there that are more than willling to help you out. Also dealers selling calls etc.


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## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

Wolf_Dancer34 said:


> Thought that might get your attention!!! :yikes: I have officially bought my first turkey license! I said I would probably never go turkey hunting since time wise it would interfere with my steelhead fishing. I am totally clueless as to how to go about hunting/shooting one. I often see them close up from my tree stand in the fall but by then they have seen me as well...Gobblerman I just might have to call in your expertise on this one. If anyone can give me the 5 min. crash course in turkey hunting I would greatly appreciate it...:lol:


Call me or I'll come up there and call for you. You will be hooked for life! I'm counting down the days as we speak. Practicing on the calls, reading up on the turkey mags, calling my brother in Missouri daily, have the properties set up for this spring. Have the hotel booked for Kansas, the bags are almost packed, looking forward to the Huntin Time Expo and the MWTHA show in Baldwin.

Yep I'm a little hooked!


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## Thunderhead (Feb 2, 2002)

This will get you started in the right direction. 
Best of luck. 

Pre season scouting has always been the best way to ensure a successful hunt. 
Here's a few things I've learned along the way.
Birds will pretty much use the same trees over and over again till disturbed. Look for the obvious signs. Gobblers will usually sleep in separate trees but still somewhat close to the hens.
Search for feathers, turkey dung, scratchings etc......you'll know the roost trees when you find them. 
Tom Turkey droppings are shaped like a " J " and are about 2" long whereas hen droppings are round and circular in shape.
Birds also like to pitch down into fairly open areas in the hardwoods, so look for clear cuts with big trees nearby. Pines in high country and cottonwoods or big ,live or dead oaks with the large " open arm " type limbs in the low lying areas are a good bet in bird country. 
Food and water play an important role in locating roosting trees so keep that in mind while scouting.

Look for scratchings and loose feathers which will tell you the way the birds are heading to their feeding areas or dusting bowls. The leaves will be kicked back in the opposite direction that they're going. A Gobbler track is about 4" long from the heel to the tip of the middle toe. Also, the tips of the feathers from a Gobbler are black. The tip of the hen's feathers have a lighter, brownish color.

An owl call or rooster pheasant cackle at night is a good roost locator. 
Right at sun up, nothing beats a sandhill crane, crow or pheasant cackle.
Midday calling I'll use all of the above. If all else fails, a loud sharp cluck every 20-25 seconds on your slate will usually entice a silent Tom into cutting loose.

Another good tactic to roost birds is to scan field edges an hour or so before dark. Birds are getting in one last snack and will be heading to bed soon. Watch where they go into the woods. The roost will more than likely be within 100 - 150 yards or so.

One tactic that works very well once you've located an active roosting site is to wait till the birds are roosted and take a loud noisy stroll right thru the middle of'em. 
Bust the flock in all directions. The birds will roost alone and in unfamiliar trees. 
Come morning they'll be ready to rejoin their friends after spending a long, lonely night.
Set up close to where you busted'em and at daylight start off with a few very soft tree yelps, followed by a fly down cackle.
No locators are needed in this situation, you already know that they are somewhere close.
Once down, a few soft cuts, clucks, and a purr or two for good measure will more often than not, put a bird in front of you.

Everybody likes to entice a Longbeard to cut loose with a thundering gobble, it's fun !
But, using a mating call before season is one of the worst mistakes a hunter can make. I hear this constantly at the various hunting shows and seminars I attend around the country each year. 

Guys will locate pre season birds by yelping with their box, slate or mouth call. 
NEVER use a yelp or mating call to locate a bird before season starts. A gobble call, owl hooter, crow, pheasant cackle or my favorite, a sandhill crane call will do the job without actually calling in a bird.
As a rule of thumb, a mature Tom will only be called in 2, maybe 3 times in it's life. If you locate with a mating call , he will answer and eventually come in to find no hen. 
Strike one.
In my opinion, a Longbeard is the wariest of all critters, don't educate'em.

A few more rules I follow are that I never call from the road. This happens alot on state ground.
Alot of rookie hunters will call from the road. If this is happening in your hunting area, get out in the woods and call from different locations.
Location being the key word here and very important ,especially on hard hunted birds. While hunting, call from a location where a turkey hasn't been called to before. Cluck, cut and purr. Yelp sparingly and call softly.
Try something he isn't used to hearing alot.
Don't be afraid to try new things and be different than everyone else. 
Use locators and calling techniques that are new to you, chances are that they're new to the turkey too. A wise old Turkey hunter from Ma. once told me that the bird is the one true judge of your calling. He also added that " Every deer thinks a man is a stump, every turkey thinks a stump is a man. " Words I live by in the Turkey woods.

Spring Turkey season is a great way to introduce a youngster or spouse to the outdoors.
Warm temps along with birds singing at the tops of their lungs and watching the new woods babies all walking around on their spindly legs make for a very enjoyable outing.

But, most of all, just sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy your time afield . It's a magical time. A time of renewal, reflection and a chance to match wits with one of our state's most challenging and magnificent birds, The Michigan Spring Gobbler.
Life is good.


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## Big Nic (Apr 23, 2004)

Nice post T-head . Good advice for beginner and the more seasoned hunter
as well , a good read . Will have to give the Sandhill call a try , that is a new one on me.

Have tried a few of the locator calls you mentioned( crow , owl hooter )
even a peacock screamer but was not savvy to a Sandhill call.

I have also had success with a goose flute as a locator. A hard sharp greeting heeeer- oooonk will quite often produce a gobble if Toms are nearby.... like you said just something different.

Thanks for all your advice in this forum , your knowledge benifits us all
whether new or old turkey chaser.I always look forward to your posts.


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## Still Wait'n (Nov 25, 2005)

Great post Thunderhead. 
I'm new to the sport also. I just purchased my first turkey licence. I am wondering if I scout my hunting area now, what it will do to the birds in the area, and if they will still be there in the spring? How much scouting is too much? 
Thanks and keep the great posts coming. I like to hear about the different shock calls.


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## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

Great Post Thunderhead!


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## Big Nic (Apr 23, 2004)

S W , 

I'm not sure there is such a thing as too much scouting:lol: but the idea is to find some birds. When you do find the birds proceed with extreme caution...
or you *WILL* get busted. 

Once you located a flock of birds , mark it , save it to the GPS or whatever you need to do to re-locate at a later date. Then cautiously back out and go try to find another flock in a different location.

IMHO you don't need to re-visit a found flock every day , this will surely get you caught sooner or later. Concentrate on finding several roosts so that you have a couple back up locations if your #1 source gets mucked up .

I'm no expert like Thunderhead but in Turkey hunting as in most areas of life common sense rules. Find the birds , mark the location , and get the heck out as quietly as you can , and go find some more birds.

Good luck on a new adventure , spring Turkey hunting is one of the best times of the year to be in the woods !!!!! ENJOY


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## Still Wait'n (Nov 25, 2005)

Thanks Big Nic,

I have found one flock in my area feeding in a field in the afternoon. But I have'nt found where there roosting yet. Right now I'm guessing that they are coming down and heading toward a river bed then doubling back to feed. I just don't want to get in there and spook them too bad. 

Thanks


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

The birds you are seeing now are winter flocks. The may or may not be in the same areas come spring.

They could be miles away. They are where they are now primaily because of feed.


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## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

Thunderhead and BigNic,

Thanks for your posting to the other gentleman. Both post will help me out this spring. That is if I get lucky enough to get a license.


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## Bucknasty (Nov 5, 2004)

My friend and I bagged our first birds last year from camo popup blinds- even caught'em on videotape. If you find a great spot and want to have a fun and comfortable hunt, consider one of these items. 

I'd recomend the edge of a food plot or a field where you have enough brush cover, and where you can trim liberal shooting lanes. Keep it stealth, but make it shootable. Hunting from these pop ups will work out great for if your teaming up someone.


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## anthology86 (Nov 24, 2006)

I'm also joining the group of guys who lost their virginity this January.. at least as far as buying the license goes, still havent gone afield, obviously. Anyway, could you guys post a little more info that Baldwin Turkey Festival, maybe a link? I could really use some help. When I was deer hunting I kept watching about 15-20 flying down at dawn, kinda thought I should get me one. Anyway, more info for that festival will help. Thanks guys!


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

Bucknasty said:


> My friend and I bagged our first birds last year from camo popup blinds- even caught'em on videotape. If you find a great spot and want to have a fun and comfortable hunt, consider one of these items.
> 
> I'd recomend the edge of a food plot or a field where you have enough brush cover, and where you can trim liberal shooting lanes. Keep it stealth, but make it shootable. Hunting from these pop ups will work out great for if your teaming up someone.


Congrats on getting your first birds last year. Actually with a blind you do not need to keep it in the brush, Turkeys are one of the only animals that will walk right by a blind in the middle of a wide open field without getting spooked...it's strange. If you see birds using a field consistently do not hesitate to put your blind out in the field the next day....normally they won't even care that it is there.


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## Wolf_Dancer34 (Nov 14, 2006)

Thanks everyone for helping a girl out. Lots of good information. Sounds like alot of what I had in mind was the right thing to do and common sense goes a long ways. And yes I did just purchase a new pop up blind this year. I left it out a lil to long and the squirrels decided they needed a lil taste of it so have a few repairs to make. LOL I cant wait to get my butt back out in the woods and give it a try... This time of year I start having withdrawals from not being in the woods..


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## Thunderhead (Feb 2, 2002)

Still Wait'n said:


> Great post Thunderhead.
> I'm new to the sport also. I just purchased my first turkey licence. I am wondering if I scout my hunting area now, what it will do to the birds in the area, and if they will still be there in the spring? How much scouting is too much?
> Thanks and keep the great posts coming. I like to hear about the different shock calls.


You can never scout too much. Turkeys don't react the same as deer do. If you spook a deer, it will remember. Turkeys forget what spooked them 10 minutes after the fact. ( I'm not talking about getting shot at, this is what makes birds call shy, that and guys using a hen yelp before season and the Tom comming in and finding no bird. )
I'm talking about bumping'em while walking. 
Remember, Turkeys can't smell either, so that's a definate plus. If they could, nobody would ever bag one. 

As was mentioned, the birds you are seeing now are still in their winter grounds and will more often than not move to a different location at ice out.
I start my serious scouting the last week of March right thru opening day.
Then, when I'm not hunting, I'm still out there everyday looking and listening.
Food sources/habitat are always the key when scouting birds.

Another good locator call I use all the time is a Mallard Tone Pheasant Call.
A good squirrel call works great too.
You can pick up a Pheasant Call off ebay pretty cheap.


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## Thunderhead (Feb 2, 2002)

Still Wait'n said:


> Thanks Big Nic,
> 
> I have found one flock in my area feeding in a field in the afternoon. But I have'nt found where there roosting yet. Right now I'm guessing that they are coming down and heading toward a river bed then doubling back to feed. I just don't want to get in there and spook them too bad.
> 
> Thanks


For what it's worth, I've found that birds will travel pretty much the same routes and will travel in a big circle during the course of a whole day.

Fly down, head to feed, mid day head to strutting areas and or dusting bowls and then make their way back to their roost a different way then what they used to come in. 
Just my observations..........maybe an instinct to not let predators pattern them ??


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## Wolf_Dancer34 (Nov 14, 2006)

Gobblerman said:


> Call me or I'll come up there and call for you. You will be hooked for life! I'm counting down the days as we speak. Practicing on the calls, reading up on the turkey mags, calling my brother in Missouri daily, have the properties set up for this spring. Have the hotel booked for Kansas, the bags are almost packed, looking forward to the Huntin Time Expo and the MWTHA show in Baldwin.
> 
> Yep I'm a little hooked!


Hey feel like playing hooky on monday. I have to go to general rv which is down your direction and thought if you had time we could run a few bunnies if you like. I would love to show off my male for you. If you would like to go would like to head out in the morning since it is such a long drive for me. Please give me a yell and let me know. I usually check my mail at some point during the day.


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