Okay, I know a lot of people say turkey hunting is really challenging, but I'm a bit skeptical. Last weekend I was at the shooting range and had a cease fire called while we waited for a turkey to walk across the range (and this is not the first time this has occurred to me). Had another turkey waiting up by my car when I left the range (even strutted for me when I walked up). I've been running out in the hills behind my house and had turkeys fly into a nearby tree ... they stayed put as I ran up to the tree and took a closer look. Have had a whole flock sitting in the middle of a major (and busy) road driving home one afternoon ... didn't move for cars.

I guess I'm just miffed because every encounter I've had with turkeys seems to dictate they have a death wish. I mean, The deer at the shooting range and in the hills behind my house run away like a typical deer. So ... are turkey in the Bay Area just dumb?

They are VERY hard to hunt in the public land that most people have at their disposal. Like you, I've had many walk right up during outdoor range trips and had to cease fire, but don't forget that those birds are tame to both the sound of people and the sound of gunfire since most ranges specifically prohibit hunting. It's a similar situation in residential areas where they are abundant and mostly unshootable.

When it comes time to go after them in public land where they get called to death and chased from sunrise to sunset...not the same behavior at all. They are call-shy and very elusive compared to the range birds. It took me going on a small patch of private land where they are virtually unhunted before I got my first one. That was after quite a few failed trips on public land near my house.

I've done all my best work over a feeder. Trying to stalk turkey is virtually impossible. I've been successful once, or maybe twice. Calling them is cool, but I'm not a very good caller.

They are hard to hunt, just not big in the brain department.

Hunt turkeys down South anywhere, and you will see what a challenge it is. Most places that have Merriam's and Rio's- it is pretty easy. Go where there are easterns or Osceolas that get hunted regularly- and you have done something when you kill one...I have hunted them in 30 states and 3 countries, and there is a huge variance in how wary they are from place to place...

I tend to believe ther getting smarter every season [ Eastern's ] That is why I hunt them with a passion they are a challenge for sure.

Turkey's have eyesight and hearing that is truly hard to fathom. I too have seen deathwish birds, but when they are wary, they are VERY wary.

My experience is only with Wisconsin birds (eastern), but I think I would be safe in saying that they are like most wild animals: they can become habituated to a certain level and type of human activity. For example, there may a flock feeding a few yards off the side of the road, and as long as I keep driving past them, they will not take any notice of me. They are used to cars doing that. But if I slow down or stop, they will bolt.
I love spring turkey hunting and find it especially challenging on public land. As others have said, they have senses of sight and hearing that are phenominal. If they had a sense of smell like a deer has, they would be virtually imopossible to kill while hunting.

In Wi.this year,we had such a early spring that most of the Toms were henned up by opening.It is almost impossible to call a henned up Tom.The only one I could call in was a Jake.I let him walk.Getting a mature Tom to come in is a real Trophy.

IMO, a turkey is a perfect example of a paradox. Eastern turkeys. On the one hand, they can be wary and elusive, and on the other, they can be dumb as a box of rocks.

Last one I killed was in WV. I thought I was calling one but two came in together. I shoot the bigger one and as it was flopping around, the other turkey started jumping on it and trying to spur it. I had to walk up to the one turkey and holler at the other before it would leave.

Another time, I called one in at a trot. I mean he was hot. He came up behind a blown down pine tree and I got all ready to shoot as soon as he stepped into the clear. How he busted me, I don't know but he stepped behind that blow down and I never saw or heard him again.

My best day was when whitetail deer hunting on a lease near Eldorado, Texas. I had hunted there before and had a favorite stand. That stand was taken and I was assigned the worst stand on the lease. The ground, box, stand was within five feet of a dirt road. I was mad from the time I got in it.

As the feeder went off I saw a lone doe come in and nibble around. By mid-morning, about 0915, a jeep came slowly driving up the road with hunters. I reached out the stand's window and shook hands with the driver as he sat behind the wheel. That's how close I was to the road.

I was complaining about the shitty stand I had, when he said, "give it another 30 minutes. Turkey usually show-up around 0930", and he drove on by.

Almost to the minute, I looked back down the road towards where he had come and five gobblers were walking towards me. They got within about 50 meters and peeled off towards the feeder. I stood my rifle up against the wall of the stand and pulled my S&W .41 Mag out.

As the gobblers fed, I waited until two of them lined-up together in my sights. I fired, and one dropped. The other four took off. While I was sitting there waiting for the gobbler to stop flopping, one of the others came back and stood watching his dying buddy. I nailed him with the next round. As I was sitting there catching my breath, thinking what a strange and wonderful morning it had been, I looked back opposite the way the turkey had come and there stood another of the gobblers in the road at about 30 yards. I slowly raised the pistol again, and dropped the third turkey like he had been hit by lightening. I walked back to camp with three birds, and a nice story for the guys.

It is a tale of two lands in Missouri....

Private and public and the two are akin to apples to oranges.

Private land birds with no pressure are dumb to hunters and I can kill them easily.

When I hunt the heavily pressured Mark Twain National Forest near my home the birds a flat spooky and you cant call very much or they won't come in plus you don't get away with any mistakes with public birds.

Hard? You bet!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
It is a tale of two lands in Missouri....

Private and public and the two are akin to apples to oranges.

Private land birds with no pressure are dumb to hunters and I can kill them easily.

When I hunt the heavily pressured Mark Twain National Forest near my home the birds a flat spooky and you cant call very much or they won't come in plus you don't get away with any mistakes with public birds.

Hard? You bet!!!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I've hunted them twice here in Montana. Both times it was very easy...like I was shooting chickens in some farmers field. So easy I've not shot another in a dozen years.

Makes the hunting shows with the guys all camo'd up...blowing on calls...laughable. I've also had days when trying to fill a muley DOE tag seemed near impossible too. LOL.

It surely depends on area and hunting pressure. They sure as heck ARE smart.

FN in MT

They are not a great challenge. The two that I've shot here in my county were both more like killing a pet than anything else. Walk up to within five feet an pull the trigger. The fish and shame planted them about fifteen years ago and they have done very well but they don't get hunted enough and are more likely to be found in back yards than the woods. I've heard that the turkeys in the south east corner of the state are much wilder and more of a challenge to hunt.

I wish I had the link but there's a great video of a turkey attacking a police car !!
They do get used to things such as the sawmill here where they come up to various noisy machines without fear .

Me and a couple of friends were driving down a country rd when we came across a group of turkeys in the middle of the rd. We slowed down and stopped in front of a big tom who promptly started strutting and hissing at the car. My buddy Ed slowly got out of the car went down on all fours and started to crawl towards the tom clucking and pawing the ground. Needless to say the tom attacked and started spurring ed and slapping him with his wings and pecking him on the head. Ed finally got his feet under him and beat a hasty retreat back to the car. Ed was covered with scratches and cuts and covered with dust, basically he looked like he was ran over buy a truck. I laughed so hard that my sides hurt for days after. What really hurt Ed's pride was the victory lap that the tom took around the car. Ed learned a hard lesson, mess with a tom and you will get the spur.

Sevens,

Calling the Big Turkeys in is the challenge! They will bust you in a heartbeat if you bat an eye. If they could smell like a deer you would never kill one with a shotgun. On the other hand you can use the lay of the land( a ditch or gully) and slip right up on them. Turkey in our area have so many hens with them that it's really hard to call the Boss Gobbler. They are gobbling less every year and that takes a lot of the fun out of the hunt. I called three in for my friend Al and he said he got more excited than when he shot a Huge bear in Russia.

Hawkeye47

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
If they could smell like a deer you would never kill one. Hawkeye47

I remember Ben Lee said that very same thing and it is very true.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
If they could smell like a deer you would never kill one. Hawkeye47

I remember Ben Lee said that very same thing and it is very true.

I kinda thought Ben Lee said you'd never even "see" one. Here is a good SI article on Lee, my fellow Alabamian:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c...G1121500/1/index.htm

As for the difficulty of turkey hunting, rios and merriams are fun, osceolas and easterns are down right difficult and, sometimes, impossible.

Ever seen the elk in Yellowstone? They stand on the road and you have to honk to get them to move. How about the buffalo in the African National Parks? My cousin who has done photo safaris couldn't understand what the big deal was about hunting African buffalo (you just drive up to them and shoot, right?).
Animals will learn to tolerate close proximity to humans if unmolested but if they are hunted it's a different story.

Hard to avoid hittin' em with the truck where I live

quote:

Originally posted by Blacktailer:
Ever seen the elk in Yellowstone? They stand on the road and you have to honk to get them to move. How about the buffalo in the African National Parks? My cousin who has done photo safaris couldn't understand what the big deal was about hunting African buffalo (you just drive up to them and shoot, right?).
Animals will learn to tolerate close proximity to humans if unmolested but if they are hunted it's a different story.

Hunting pressure breeds smarter birds, the dumb ones die early leaving only the smart ones to breed.

I have killed many here in SEMO....never killed a smart one, they always get away.