You hunting Turkey's this year? (Poll)

You hunting Turkey's this year?

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Got the email from Utah about upcoming Turkey hunts, so I was curious as to who all plans to hunt Turkey's this year? What state(s)? I never have hunted a Turkey. One of these years I need to give it try, maybe take my wife. She'd like that.

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Utah’s spring general-season turkey hunt begins April 29, and permits are now available. (The youth hunt is April 26-28.)
 
Thinking of turkey season is what gets me through winter. After months of gray, it is nice to see the hills green up, the flowers come out, and feel the sun on your back. The hunting itself can be interesting, or it can be dull, depending upon how you do it. If I had to sit in a blind overlooking a crop field I would take up bass fishing instead, but calling wild birds in the woods is another matter. You have a lot to look forward to. The excitement is all about learning the habits of the birds and figuring out what they are doing with each call or simply from their silence. Since the fun is in the lessons learned, unsuccessful hunts are often the best of all--which is great because inexperienced hunters will probably have a LOT of fun. Those who measure the quality of their experience by the tonnage of turkey consumed don't last very long as turkey hunters unless they hunt tame birds on private lands. My own favorite seasons are those where I find a bird that I cannot kill, yet spend a lot of time trying. Try it. I would bet that you and your wife will enjoy it. I suppose it is like archery elk hunting made logistically simple.
 
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Decided wyo shed hunting wasn't worth it and since I can't even go with my dad and cousin because of their stupid new seasons I'll go hunt turkeys instead.
 
Yeah I get a turkey tag in KS and got a landowner tag for my in-laws place in Nebraska. Granddad has a Kansas and Nebraska tag and might shoot one in Arkansas too.
 
Anyone who enjoys hunting rutting elk oughta give turkey hunting a go. It's just fun if you get them talking and then calling one in is a rush. The end product is just a bird, but the action is pretty cool. I don't buy a general tag in Utah because by that season they aren't talking much, but the early tags are pretty fun.
 
I'll be hunting my home state of Missouri as usual. Turkey numbers used to be phenomenal in the area I hunt, but have plummeted the last 7 or 8 years. It is a 2 gobbler limit, which I filled almost every year for close to 20 years, but I've been happy with one for the last several years.
 
South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri this spring ! I can get only stand so much fishing !!! If they are cooperating and talking good it can be a great time. If they get henned up it can be a miserable hunt, you never know !
 
I’ll do the same thing I do every year. Buy a turkey tag, see some stupid turkey while walking into my bait, fling an arrow at it without ranging it, miss, lose my arrow and mumble under my breath “ F I hate turkeys” then never notch my turkey tag.

So, yeah. I’m hunting them this year
 
Couldn't live in Alaska, no thunder chickens. Comifornia, Georgia, Idaho turkey this spring. Anytime something makes noise in the woods, and you can call em too you, then shoot and eat. Why wouldn't you hunt them!?
 
SS! said:
With spring bear hunting, salmon fishing, antler hunting, etc why would anyone go chase a turkey?
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Most of us only get spring bear tags once in a while. No salmon to fish for, and picking up forkie horns just doesn't cut it.

SS!, if they lived in your neck of the woods, I'm sure you'd make room to squeeze turkeys into your Spring agenda.
 
Utah - I've never hunted them. I've Kinda been protesting-ly waiting for a price drop to $20 for me to jump in. Buying a Turkey tag for about the same price as a deer tag doesn't seem right.
 
Ice fishing gear has been put away, currently hitting the snow geese, and looking forward to turkey season here in SD in a month. The family has three shotgun tags and three archery tags this year. My wife has a tag and so looking forward to spending some time in the woods with her.

This is pic from two years ago.
My wife and middle son doubled up on birds right away opening morning on the eastern side of the state.
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At the exact same time my youngest son and I also doubled up on birds on the western side of the state! All 4 birds were shot within 5 minutes of each other.
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I’ve shot so many over the years that I’m not really interested for myself. But I really like calling them in for others, especially young hunters, it’s a great way to get them interested in hunting. We have over the counter tags and lots of turkeys here in Maine.
 
Jeremy2019 said:
Yes will have 3 tags in Oregon again this year, always try and find a special one, multiple beards, melanistic are checked off the list. Albino Tom is my new goal found one a couple years ago but never could get him killed.

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Albino Tom? Cant you get those in the butterball section at Walmart?:ROFLMAO:

How about a bearded hen? have you checked that one off the list yet?
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Great photos. The turkeys all begin to look the same, but I like seeing the different types of country we all hunt. Merriams in the Juniper/Pine, Oak Woodland for others. Anyone here hunt the palmetto? It would be nice to hunt it all.
 
SDBugler said:
Albino Tom? Cant you get those in the butterball section at Walmart?:ROFLMAO:

How about a bearded hen? have you checked that one off the list yet? View attachment 139621
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I really want a white one so I can get it mounted and put it next to my melanistic, figure a solid black and solid white toms all strutted out would be a really awesome scene.

Have not killed a bearded hen seen a few scouting but never when I have a gun in my hand. Although I have never seen one with that good of a beard tho ones I've seen are Jake size, one like that might get me a little more interested.
 
I will only get to hunt MS & maybe UT this year if time permits. I have gone to OR for the past several years & due a new job, I won’t get to make it this year. Good luck everyone!
 
bullskin said:
Thinking of turkey season is what gets me through winter. After months of gray, it is nice to see the hills green up, the flowers come out, and feel the sun on your back. The hunting itself can be interesting, or it can be dull, depending upon how you do it. If I had to sit in a blind overlooking a crop field I would take up bass fishing instead, but calling wild birds in the woods is another matter. You have a lot to look forward to. The excitement is all about learning the habits of the birds and figuring out what they are doing with each call or simply from their silence. Since the fun is in the lessons learned, unsuccessful hunts are often the best of all--which is great because inexperienced hunters will probably have a LOT of fun. Those who measure the quality of their experience by the tonnage of turkey consumed don't last very long as turkey hunters unless they hunt tame birds on private lands. My own favorite seasons are those where I find a bird that I cannot kill, yet spend a lot of time trying. Try it. I would bet that you and your wife will enjoy it. I suppose it is like archery elk hunting made logistically simple.
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About 20 years ago I hunted a single Tom that I affectionately named Recon. I bet I went in after that bird 14-16 times by myself both mornings & afternoons. I finally confided in a turkey hunting buddy that mentored me 30 years ago that I needed his help to kill that bird. We tag teamed that bird another 4 or 5 times together & he even chased him solo for a few hunts. By the end of the season he was still alive & I had managed to kill just one bird.
I learned a lot from ol’ Recon after spending most of that season trying to harvest him. It became personal & I learned respect that year. Not only for him, but for all game that I pursue. Of the many birds that I cherish fond memories for, that particular bird will always have a special place in my heart.
 
gahunter said:
Yes, Hunting Georgia and Iowa first season
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I've deer hunted Iowa, but never turkey hunted it. Was thinking I would use a turkey hunting trip as a scouting trip next time.

Are tags OTC? Draw? Limited number of first come?

Good luck and kill a big 'un!
 
Joe2Kool said:
I've deer hunted Iowa, but never turkey hunted it. Was thinking I would use a turkey hunting trip as a scouting trip next time.

Are tags OTC? Draw? Limited number of first come?

Good luck and kill a big 'un!
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The tags are a draw and any left over tags are first come first serve. You also have to put in for a specific zone. They have four different seasons. I always put in for the first season. It’s a short four bday season and it runs Monday- Thursday. It’s a bit of gamble due to the weather but i have always drawn this season and had good luck.
 
Helped my wife fill her shotgun tag opening morning about 20 minutes into the season.

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Within a minute of her harvest, my son and his fiancé filled their shotgun tags about 3 miles away. It was his fiancé's first big game harvest!

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I went back the next day and filled my archery tag.

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My son went out last night with his longbow. Missed at 39 yards, otherwise we would have filled all our tags on opening weekend.
Time to get the boat out and chase walleyes!
 
If you guys haven't tried it, debone your whole bird. Put light and dark meat together and then grind with bacon. Wild turkey bacon burger is fantastic... game changer for everyone I know who has tried it. Use it as burgers, sausage, whatever, it is just good. Congrats to all that have filled a tag.
 
My son put the long bow aside and got out the training wheels and filled his archery tag last night. It was the lead tom out of a group of 15 toms that came in to his set up.
That was our family's last tag to fill so unfortunately we are done early this year.
This bird was the largest of the five birds we got, 10.5" beard, 1.75" spurs, and it had a couple tailfeathers with white bars on them.
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First year I can remember that I have not gotten out to Turkey hunt. Always something coming up and the next 10 days are full also. Hopefully be able to hunt the last day or two of archery.
 
Its been tough with the weather and toms being all hen'd up... Finally had a tom leave his hens Friday morning and my little 28ga. performed flawlessly....
Had a great time this year chasing these birds...

I'm not sure why I keep getting a "server error try again later" while trying to post a picture...
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Nebraska birds

The bottom picture was day one, dad shot the bird. Grandpa wanted in the picture.

Second day, first picture:

I called in a group of 8 Jake's, dad had bought his second tag and I got a general tag in advance because I knew my in-laws cattle were going to be calving and dad in law gets paranoid about his cows so no huntin out there. Was waiting for grandpa to shoot, and he wouldn't. The Jake's started to figure out that we weren't hen turkeys so I decided I'd punch my tag on a Jake. Dad rolled his right behind me. We were giving grandpa a hard time when a couple birds sounded off so we sat back down and called em in. Four long beards came in but because of the way my grandpa positioned himself he couldn't see them approaching. He would have had one walking across his legs had he waited but the other three went to the left and came in view but a marginal shot. He thought that would be his only chance so he shot. He didn't connect.
 
This morning went out for my Kansas bird. Two gobblers creeping along the edge of a corn field and I closed the gap. For some reason I didn't see the third bird come across the corn and when I raised up I saw him out of the corner of my eye so I swung for him and shot over the top of him. He jumped, tried to shoot on the wing, missed, tried to rack another shell and the forearm on my model 97 Winchester split in two.
 
Nice birds everyone!

First year that I can remember where I did not make it out turkey hunting. Had plans to, just never worked out. Too much family/personal stuff kept popping up. Next year I will be back to it.
 
I was unsuccessful in Nebraska this year, but my FIL managed to get one. I got two Tennessee birds. And some turkey taxidermy work after the season.

Oh well. Got the "file too big" error message on one of the birds. Got him with a nice Weatherby O/U that mom's husband gifted me at Christmas.

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My two granddaughters and their first turkeys. I hate hunting from a blind, but at 8 & 9 these two needed to shoot off a rest. Took three different hunts to make it happen. We had gobblers coming in from three directions and they got their birds 5 minutes apart. You can see the excitement on their faces.
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BradA said:
Those are pretty cool how do you make them ?
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I'll give the basics here:

1) Borax the beard.
2) Band saw trim shells and legs.
3) Punch primer out of shell.
4) Put spurs on a wire and boil, 10 minutes ish, with a healthy squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid and big pour of Borax.
5) Trim skin and scrape bone.
6) Repeat step 4 if necessary - You don't have to change the water.
7) Put 40 Volume Creme (buy at Sally Beauty Supply) on spur bones. Let it sit overnight.
8) Wash/brush off cream and repeat step 7. Usually twice will bleach em good enough.
9) Spray paint spurs, still on wires, with high gloss clear paint. Shake em the first couple minutes after painting so you don't get drips off end of the spur. Two coats is usually good.
10) Braid some 3/32" (2mm) strands of leather. I like the suede. Larger strands are difficult to stuff thru the bones and the beads and the shells. Buy the leather at craft store, like Hobby Lobby. Buy some beads while you're there!
11) Thread/loop the leather thru the shell, beads, and spurs like you want em. A knot on the end helps keep the leather in the shell.
12) Trim the beard and test fit it in the shell,
13) Use a hot melt gun and squirt some into the shell. Then stuff the beard in and hold it a minute. Wear a glove and use low setting. Hot will melt the shell.

I took a couple of pics while I was doing these. I'll post them in a follow-up.
 
These pics aren't necessarily in order, but you can get the picture (Ha ha! Pun intended).

I usually wait until I get several before I do them. If you're not as picky about matching the beard with the spur and shell, you can put a bunch of spurs on one wire and it goes quicker. For this batch, I was doing some for other people and needed to keep them separate. Hence one set per wire.

One of these pics shows the spurs after boiling but before bleaching. One shows them on the cardboard soaking in the peroxide cream.

And for good measure, I included a pic of my turkey trophy shelf.

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Thanks for showing and telling us I will have to give it a try in the next turkey I kill.
 

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