I was told...

[Jå§ðñ ﻴﻺ]

That when you shoot a turkey that you should stay where you are if you didn't kill it out right. Wait for it to find a place to hide because they won't go far after they had been shot. They will hide in the roughage relatively close to where you shot them.

However they say that if you rush out then they will fly or run a long ways.

So is this true? What are your techniques?

[admin]

I haven't been Turkey hunting yet Jason, so I can't help you with this one. But I'm sure you will get plenty of responses.

[Rookie_Rover]

There are obviously going to be several schools of thought on this, but here is what I have observed.

The best technique is as soon as you fire, keep your eyes on the bird if any way possible, and get another round into your weapon and get to the bird as soon as you can. You are VERY correct that if they are not completely dead that they will seek out a hiding place, which really sucks because we are dealing with an animal that can hide in a space a lot smaller than you'd think!

As soon as you fire, get up, and quickly move to the bird. Reloading on the move. (This is why a pump action or Semi-Auto shotgun is prefered, you can chamber a new round without having to fumble with anything.)

If you made a decent shot on the bird, the odds are pretty good it will not fly off, and most likely wont run.

Also, another aspect you need to think about is how your weapon performs. I have a Remington 870, and I am comfortable with its performance at 40 yards. So, if a bird is more than 40 yards away, I will not take the shot.


Here are a few tips I have picked up from forums like this one that you may find useful. ;D

Find out how your chosen weapon performs, and stay within the ability of your weapon.

If you change ammunition brands, you need to once again find out how it performs. This does not mean go out, fire one round and call it done. If it is a shotgun, pattern it everywhere from 20 yards till the pattern is too thin to kill a turkey. There are various targets on the market (and many free online) that you can get to help with this, let me know if you would like a free one.

GET A CUSHION. I learned last spring that something soft under your butt makes a world of difference. Most turkey hunting is done from the ground, and you don't want every rock, twig and stob to be making you wriggle.

Get a call, and learn to use it! I have a slate call and a box call that will be my go to calls for this season. Two individual calls that will make many of the same sounds, and why two calls? With one call it is tough to make the same sound in two different tones, with two, I can easily create the sound of multiple hens in my area, which will seem much more appetizing to the big toms.

At least two months before the start of the season, start watching TV and such sitting in the floor, knees up, with your back against the couch. This is to get your low back and butt used to sitting under a tree for hours at a time. Find a comfy position, with both knees up, and sit there. Try to remain as still as possible also. Yes, it may sound stupid, but when the bird of a lifetimes walks into the clearing outside your shotgun range looking straight at you, that is NOT the time to be wriggling around because you are uncomfortable or not used to sitting in that position.

DONT WEAR LEATHER BOOTS!!!!!!!!!! How many times do I have to tell people. Leather holds EVERY scent that it encounters. If your dog rubbed against your leather boots at home, you might as well take the dog to the woods, because according to the animals he is already there.

One tip I learned on another forum from a guy who has killed at least one turkey per year since he was 16 (And he is in his mid 60's!): Watch the turkeys moving BEFORE you select your bird, and take it. If you see your bird looking back often and moving slowly forward, you may be well advised to wait about firing, because there is more birds to come. Dominant birds do not always walk out in front, so the bigger more dominant tom may be a few yards behind the one who is walking out in front. Usually, if they bird is looking back and moving forward, if there is another bird, the bird in front will make soft sounds to the more dominant bird, almost like saying "ok Pop, the coast is clear here", BUT, the front birds do not always "talk" back to other birds as they move.

Learn the flocks. The hunting season in TN is 44 days. This means that I have a total of 321 non-hunting days to find, and predict the movement of my flocks. Obviously, I cannot use all 321 days, but, if I make an effort to try and get out and see about the birds once every week, I am getting 45 opportunities to pattern them, and find out where they eat, sleep, "frolic", etc. Do not go out at the same time each day, try to offset it. If you went and watched them from 6:15-7:30 AM last week, then go to where you last saw them at 7:15 and pick up where you left off. This is what is known as scouting, and it DOES help immensely. You can't hunt something you cannot predict. Get a notebook, and write down everything you see. If you notice that they love one waterhole, and that they have for a while, you may be well advised to use that as part of your plan.

During scouting, do not make the mistake of getting too close. If your bird hang out in one area, you do not want them to relocate because of you human pressure. Observe from a distance through binoculars, etc.

For now, this should give you something to study for a while. If you have any morequestions, ask away. Somebody here will help ya. ;D

[admin]

Thanks TJ

[Rookie_Rover]

admin said:

Thanks TJ

That's what I'm here for.

[buffalocounty32]

when we shoot a bird, is it tries to fly we shoot again...it its just flopping we run out as fast as we can and stand on the birds head so it cannot get away
********beware they like to spur********

[lockmaster]

All sound advice from RR. I have hunted turkeys for many years and don't find anything in his post that I didn't agree with. They will hide unless you "get on top" of them as soon as you shoot. If you sit and wait and the bird isn't hit good you may never find it. A poorly hit bird will run great distances if it can't fly and will hide if it is "feeling bad".

[Rookie_Rover]

Thanks Lock, and it means a lot to hear that from someone who has a few years of experience giving me that kind of response.

Ok, now I have been thinking about this particular post some today, and something didn't feel right/ I actually started thinking "I think his info was good, because it did sound right for some reason." After I went back and looked at it one more time in detail, I caught what it was.

That info IS right, but for deer, not turkeys.

Think about it, if you run up on a deer you just shot, he will go a LONG ways if he is still in fairly sturdy condition, or hide if he is slightly under the weather.

Not really relevant to anything, but it has had me puzzled all day, and I like to share what keeps me pre-occupied, LOL.

[4pointer]

When that bird hits the ground, I'm on my feet & headin straight too the bird,, If the second shot is needed.
use it.. Don't take a chance,,
Great info RR

[olddog]

If you knock a bird down and he raises his head SHOOT him again, they can get gone in a hurry.

[DocHolladay]

I agreed with everything except the scent on the boots. I dont worry about scent when turkey hunting. I do not believe that their "noses" are even close to a deers nose, if they can smell at all. Last year was my first turkey hunt and I wore "Off" to keep the ticks and what few mosquitos were out away from me. I never had a problem with the turkeys smelling me. The deer that were in the field didnt seem to mind, they were even nosey as to what it was, trying to find where the scent was coming from.

I make sure I have my gun patterened, the turkeys patterned, good cammo on, be still, and be patient. They dont always come the first time out. You may have to hunt several days to see the tom in the field or forest where you saw him while scouting.

Last year, I had been seeing the birds in this one field, regularly. On opening morning I went there and got set up and never saw the first bird. I heard them over on the neighbors property, but never saw them. I went back almost every weekend for 3 weeks and some days during the week. Sometimes I saw the hens but the gobbler was in the edge of the woods where I couldn't see him, gobbling his head off to me, but never appeared. I ended up giving them a break and went to a couple of other properties to not see or hear any birds. The first weekend in May I went back to the same field I started in, got there after light because it was foggy as all get out. I ended up catching the turkeys as they were just coming into the field. I started calling and they began to make thier way towards me, but the tom wanted to hang back. I started cutting softly like I was farther away than I was. That got his attention, as I think he had already bred the hens that were with him. He thought he had a new one and she needed to be bred. Well, here he comes and as they say, the rest is history.

Good luck and dont give up. Your day will come and you will be nothing but smiles when it does.

[teambateau]

Practice, and make a good shot.