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First time turkey hunter looking for birds

5K views 30 replies 7 participants last post by  PRED 
#1 ·
I'm a first time hunter looking to fill a turkey tag this coming spring. Ive done a lot of research on where to find birds in the state and I'm thinking about heading to the south central area of indiana, around morgan/monroe and brown county. Has anyone personally had luck there? does anyone have spots they know of that are better than others? Any info would be greatly appreciated, I'd love to make 2017 the year I get my first bird.
 
#4 ·
I have farms and hunt Owen County , This area is Loaded with birds . The population is again growing after one season of really wet year that kind of halted the growth of the population . That year we had alot of birds on the nest when we had major flooding that washed the nests away . But you are good in this area now , The population has rebounded . Happy Hunting !
 
#6 ·
northern part is loaded too. you just need permission where some live and roost. if you get that you are almost guaranteed success! better do your homework a week ago though. youll need to find where they roost and watch them from a distance a couple mornings. youll see a preference to what way they like to come down.(most likely with sun at their backs) set up 100yrds from there a 1/2 to 1 hour before first light. if you calling is good it will be over before you know it!

turkey are easy prey for us with the ability to reason. i always heard how hard they were to hunt my entire life. what a joke that was. deer are ten times harder to hunt than turkey. turkey have bionic eyes and thats it. use a ground blind and you can use a bow(user name suggests you like that lol) without any problem.

wish you luck on your first bird bowanarrow! it is a rush that first time.
 
#9 ·
i have had turkey looking in my blind window at 6ft away, trying to figure out what i was. been surrounded with them and they had no clue i was there. with a blind you are invisible to them. every one of them i have shot with gun or bow has been within 20yrds. if they had the nose and ears of a deer they would be a formidable prey. they do not. they have bionic eyes though so you better not even blink. lol
 
#10 · (Edited)
Indiana average deer harvest...120,000 Indiana Turkey harvest average...11,000
Average success rate for deer...70% Average success rate for turkey.....20%

---mic drop--- LOL

Turkey hear extremely well, as well. Plus, I can't shoot a turkey with a rifle 150 yards away like a deer. Sense of smell means nothing at that distance and if you're down wind.

I've had deer walk 75 yards from me as I was sighting in my .22. True story.
 
#14 ·
oh now! deer vs turkey harvest dont even apply because of the huge hunter numbers difference. the success rate probably suffers from people just learning in this state. lots of new turkey hunters every year(im guessing on that) and they need to learn.

its all in the blind, IMO. they have great eyes and thats it. that is all im saying. after shooting them for a couple years i find them fun as all get out, and tasty but not really much of a challenge. i have helped 3 buddies call in their first birds too, and they were all oblivious to the blind. this year one of those buddies is taking his 13yo daughter. i would lay money on getting a call the morning of youth season. i would not lay money on her(or anyone else) getting a deer.

here they come from the south.

and here they are stomping the dead fall bird, of my first season, with a bow.

had to set in the blind another 30min before they went away. lol

get a slate call, a blind(even if its only burlap camouflage on some sticks), and a hand full of hot 4s, and your set. go get your first bird!!!!!
 
#17 ·
oh now! deer vs turkey harvest dont even apply because of the huge hunter numbers difference. the success rate probably suffers from people just learning in this state. lots of new turkey hunters every year(im guessing on that) and they need to learn.

its all in the blind, IMO. they have great eyes and thats it. that is all im saying. after shooting them for a couple years i find them fun as all get out, and tasty but not really much of a challenge. i have helped 3 buddies call in their first birds too, and they were all oblivious to the blind. this year one of those buddies is taking his 13yo daughter. i would lay money on getting a call the morning of youth season. i would not lay money on her(or anyone else) getting a deer.

here they come from the south.

and here they are stomping the dead fall bird, of my first season, with a bow.

had to set in the blind another 30min before they went away. lol

get a slate call, a blind(even if its only burlap camouflage on some sticks), and a hand full of hot 4s, and your set. go get your first bird!!!!!
Exactly. I don't use blinds. They suck. No challenge in that. Dragging a blind around would be no fun. Blinds are for kids, newbies.

Success rates don't matter??? Since when? Numbers don't lie. If there's more deer hunters hunting versus turkey hunters, those deer hunters are harvesting 70% of the time. Turkey hunters 20% You can't dispute that. Look it up. Indiana deer harvest reports. Indiana turkey harvest reports.

I'm just saying deer hunting is really just deer killing. Rifle + deer 150 yards away = success.
 
#15 · (Edited)
You said it right there. Ditch the blind and tell me turkeys aren't a challenge. Blinds have taken away a lot of the challenge in turkey hunting. I suggest them for kids and beginners but it is so much more fun to go after them on the ground without the concealment of a blind. Put your skills to the test this year since they are too easy for you . Not trying to be rude with you so please dont take it that way.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Exactly. I don't use blinds. They suck. No challenge in that. Dragging a blind around would be no fun. Blinds are for kids, newbies.

Success rates don't matter??? Since when? Numbers don't lie. If there's more deer hunters hunting versus turkey hunters, those deer hunters are harvesting 70% of the time. Turkey hunters 20% You can't dispute that. Look it up. Indiana deer harvest reports. Indiana turkey harvest reports.

I'm just saying deer hunting is really just deer killing. Rifle + deer 150 yards away = success.
 
#19 ·
I get what he is saying about success rates not mattering to an extent. You have to figure in all of the lifetime permit holders out there that get counted in the hunter numbers and never set foot in the turkey woods. So to an extent it's not a true representation as the success rate is probably a little higher than what it shows. However the same goes for deer hunting as well. Like I said before. I think that blinds definitely have their place in turkey hunting. That's how my wife killed her first couple of birds and a young boy that I took as well. Actually if it wasn't for the blind we never would have gotten that bird close enough for a shot with all of his movement. I just have a hard time hearing how turkey hunting isn't challenging at all from someone who sits in a blind all the time and that is what they base their opinion from.
 
#20 ·
I understand totally. I pride myself on concealment and patience. A blind hides everything. That's fine for newbies, youth or women (zero patience, lol). It's not for me. I love the chase. Having one sound off and getting set up. Last year, I had to set up in less than 4 minutes. Had 3 hens on top of me. Then the gobbler 3 minutes later! It was a rush.
 
#21 ·
everyone has opinions. nothing wrong with that. the guy wanted some help getting his first turkey. i told him my opinion on the best way to get it done.

my opinion was that its harder to fool ears, eyes, and a nose, than it is to fool just eyes. complaining about my strategy, is like a trout purist refusing to use worms. same as some bow hunters looking down on crossbow hunters. i didnt realize choosing the best way to get something done was so wrong. lmao

hunting is not a game/sport, to me. it involves taking a life to sustain another life. that should not be taken as lightly as a game. its unfortunate that the name "sportsman" was attached to hunting and fishing. IMO

i didnt think about the lifetime licenses counting in hunter numbers. i guess that would be true too. i meant there are lots more first time turkey hunters involved in the success numbers than deer. also, you can only shoot 1 turkey, were as i normally take 2-4 deer. and by the way i never had a tree stand or blind till about 10yrs ago. so most of my deer, in the last 40yrs, have been on the ground without a blind. i started my son off the same way. more because i worried about him being in a tree than "sportsmanship". i do think it made him a better hunter though. ill give you that one.
 
#22 ·
Like I said Pred. I wasn't meaning to be rude with my comment to you. I actually agree with you when it comes to turkeys being oblivious to ground blinds. hopefully this new hunter is able to tag a bird with all of the tips he has received! After all that is what this thread is about.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Well. I guess we can agree to disagree.

I will say this, since you assume turkeys are deaf, you should throw away all of your turkey calls. You won't need them. You don't have to "fool" them into thinking you're a hen.(y)
Plus, it will be more of a challenge for you, given turkey hunting is too easy for you. Sure, turkey hunting may never be as "challenging" as placing a deer stand 30 feet above the ground over looking a cornfield fresh with waste corn from the fall harvest using a rifle and scope.....but......some of us enjoy it.
BTW. The success rates are based on, just that, success. Meaning 1 deer harvested by a hunter = success. Deer number 2,3,4,5 so on, is irrelevant. Last year 2016 Indiana....7 out of 10 deer hunters were successful. 2 out of 10 turkey hunters were successful. You claimed "turkey hunting is 10 times easier". Numbers suggest otherwise.

Anyway, I'll keep my turkey calls. They seemed to work great 3 years ago when I called in a tom from 200 yards away. I guess he "saw" the call. :LOL::whistle:

Good luck everyone. Hunt 'em hard!
 
#24 ·
nah your fine DDoss. been on the net long enough to realize some just only see it one way.

decker:
:rolleyes: now I "believe turkey to be deaf"? "dont use calls"? I "shoot deer over baited corn fields"? I use "high powered rifle to shoot extended distances"? and "numbers dont have any under laying factors(in this case they are huge!)"? my! you jump to a lot of conclusions, sir.
if you are into challenges, try wearing a coyote suit pulling a string of bells from the tail. put a stalk on a flock, in a barren open field, and get within bow range. lol
ill say it again. they have bionic eyes but thats it. thats kinda a fact bud.


i hope the thread starter gets a good laugh from this back and forth as well as his first turkey. good luck bownarrow620!
 
#25 · (Edited)
nah your fine DDoss. been on the net long enough to realize some just only see it one way.

decker:
:rolleyes: now I "believe turkey to be deaf"? "dont use calls"? I "shoot deer over baited corn fields"? I use "high powered rifle to shoot extended distances"? and "numbers dont have any under laying factors(in this case they are huge!)"? my! you jump to a lot of conclusions, sir.
if you are into challenges, try wearing a coyote suit pulling a string of bells from the tail. put a stalk on a flock, in a barren open field, and get within bow range. lol
ill say it again. they have bionic eyes but thats it. thats kinda a fact bud.

i hope the thread starter gets a good laugh from this back and forth as well as his first turkey. good luck bownarrow620!
You're missing my point. You have stated multiple times that turkeys ONLY have "bionic eyes", so why do they sell dozens and dozens of different turkeys calls??? Do turkeys "see" this sound? Interesting.

Like I stated, turkeys have extremely good hearing. You saying otherwise is nonsense.
 
#27 · (Edited)
From the NWTF website.

Hearing

"Hearing supplements vision by attracting attention to the source of a sound." Eriksen said. "Hearing allows the bird to detect a threat if its eyes are occupied on finding food. Wild turkeys have an uncanny ability to locate the source of a sound. When they identify a noise, their immediate response is to look in the direction of the sound, allowing them to react quickly to predators or other environmental factors."

"Outstanding hearing is an asset to all prey species. Dickson's compilation of wild turkey experts reveals that a wild turkey's hearing is acute, although its external ear lacks a flap, or pinna, which concentrates sound waves. Field observations suggests turkeys hear lower-frequency and more distant sounds than humans."

Your "fact" is crap. Educate yourself. Bud..
Telling a new hunter that a turkeys hearing is nothing to worry about is just irresponsible.
 
#28 ·
not missing your point at all. again i dont mean they are deaf. they just dont have the ears of a deer is all. this opinion comes from experience rustling around in a blind. you cant get away with that with a deer as easy. so simply put i meant they dont hear as good as deer do. thats the fact i referred to.

only one rifle killed deer to my name(he was 30yrds last year), sorry.

can we will leave this as is before the rants get this thread shut down.

there should be a deer vs turkey thread, for this debate.
 
#29 ·
A deer vs turkey thread would provide some good conversation. I have to disagree with you on the hearing though. I have often been amazed at how sensitive a turkeys ears are. I think I have even busted birds because they have heard me walking through the leaves to set up. I'll leave it at that. Maybe after the season we can start up a general turkey convo. Good luck in the morning guys!
 
#31 ·
well if science says they hear good then so be it. im just going by what i have observed for many years in the field watching. still think deer are harder to hunt than turkey no matter what science says. lol

2 guys arguing is hardly getting anywhere. hopefully when the deer vs turkey thread goes up we will get some others to chime in. not a lot of people on this site though it seems.

hope you both scored some breasts yesterday! lol
 
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