Just wondering if theres anyone that leaves the groundblind at home and hunts turkeys the spot and stalk way with trad equipment.I've did it using a g n.before.
Thats the only way thats fun for me. Don't kill as many as others but sure is nice when you put one down.
Yep, done it a few times in my days. They feed along in our fields here and you can get in front of them and hidden well it can easily come together.
I've done it a few times too. I haven't shot one that way but, I'm sure you could with a little patience.
That's my method,along with running the hiking trails on public land and stopping and using the yelper, then if I get a response,go to the bird. The hardest part is the draw. I get caught almost every time making the slowwww draw with the recurve-hearing the alarm "putt" and away he goes.-- But it sure is fun that way!
LOL. Ya I've tried. It's more like they spot and no stalk. :) Jawge
You gotta define your terms. On the one hand, i won't shoot at a spring gobbler I haven't called in. On the other, I rarely use blinds (save for the ones I construct on the spot). So, if you define spot and stalk turkey hunting as hunting without a blind, I do it all the time... but I still count on my calling to get the tom into bow range. Cheers, Don
It is illegal to stalk a turkey in the Spring in Penna. The rule is Hunting by calling only-no stalking. Pa. had a lot of rules like that. If you use a blind it must completely enclose the hunter on all four sides and from above. I don't make them, just follow them.
Ive attempted to stalk them a dozen times---and detected before I could get w/in Bow range- except once, -that is if you call 40yds bow range. Anyway I did manage to lob one in on a big Tom. He flew off w/ my arrow, and than went down a 150yds out. He was a good one 10" beard, and fine eating. I figure Ive used up all my alotted luck on Turkey. Their ability to pick up the slighest movement makes the spot and stalk method unrealistic. Ive never tried the spot,set-up,and call method--but Iam thinking I really like the idea of that. Got be be some high drama in that-- and I can see this as challenging, w/ the bonus you might actually get an arrow in to one of them,now and again.
I crawled up on a big tom last spring....... I mmmmmiiiiissssst
Spot and stalk for everything I hunt-not in it for the meat, although the freezer is pretty full. LOL!
Now this might be cheating or unsportsman like to some but Turkeys around me are scattered though out the big woods and are always on the move so I drive the back roads with the windows down and honk my horn once in a while until I hear a turkey gobbles back in response. Honking your horn works. Next time you see a group of toms along the road honk your horn at them and they will answer you right back. Anyway I'll drive down the road a bit and park and sneak as close as I darn and try to set up to call, with turkey calls, I leave the car horn behind.
I've done it and gotten within bow range a few times (couldn't take the shots though), but if I'm hunting where there's even the possibility of other turkey hunters I wouldn't dream of it.
nope, last season i was in my treestand bowhunting and turkeys came up along the creek bed. to be honest all i did was move my camo boot a few inches and they left in a hurry!
i havent refined my stalking enough to attempt turkey stalking .
got my first with a bow when he wouldn't responed to my calling and i saw him turn and head for his favorite wood lot. i double timed it to get in an ambush position . he came right to me and i even saw him pick up his last meal, a nightcrawler. i drew when he went behind a tree and i let him pass just a little before letting go.
yup the hunt is what it's about for me. taken plenty with the gun so i'm try anything with my bow.also i hunt the last season and it starts to leaf out and makes it easier to hide and stalk.
have fun guy and gals and i look forward to the stories to come.
charlie
I have done it several times and failed hundreds of times. Be willing to fail alot but when it comes together its great. My country can work well for it. Washouts and canyons make it better for this. One tip is when they do see you you better be at full draw,
The Pennsylvania rule is there for good reason. In the Pa. woods, in the spring, you can't see very far. Folks sneaking through the woods, making turkey sounds, are more likely to be working toward another hunter than a turkey. And, frankly, I don't want to be in a closed blind in Pa. Spring Turkey either...I want to be able to duck quickly. 8^).
These were across the road from my house this morning..only part of the flock.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/oldearcher46/turkeys002.jpg)
You cant legally stalk turkeys here in PA.
Although I do know from experience just being in the woods you that if hear a flock feeding in hilly terrain, then move in on them from behind a cover like a hill, you can then rapid advance and find yourself in the middle of a flock.
I've accidentally gotten within 20 yards of some big toms on two different occasions. I didn't have my bow either time, and they were outa there like a bat outa hell.
I think it would be pretty hard to stalk up on one, their eyesight is amazing, but it's doable. I'm gonna try to kill one this spring with my bow.
Zack
I prefer not to use a blind, but am going to this year because my 3 y/o daughter will be going with me.
For me, the most effective setup is a jake mounted on top of a hen. Position the dekes so you have something between you and the bird when you draw. The decoys also keep their attention focused on something other than you. I try to call as little as possible without decoys. If they're looking for you, the odds are in their favor! :archer:
Every now and then.....Ya get lucky!!!!! :eek:
To be totaly honest,I've been hunting turkeys with both a bow and a gun for over 30 years,and lost count of the number of birds I've killed.(I stopped counting after 20 something)Odds are your gonna be "stalking" turkeys for a LONG time before you kill one!!!!! Your best chance would be to learn to call,and what they call "Run & Gun" (bow?).
You locate a Tom and call to him. If he answers you,find a tree and sit. If he comes in shoot him. If he doesn't come in,and moves away from you he probly has a hen with him. Not a problem,you just get up and head out making a large loop that puts you in front of him,then find a tree and sit,then call. If he comes in shoot him. If you call to him and he answers but does not come in,he is probly on a bench,in a woodroad,or clearing,strutting and gobbling waiting for you(the hen)to come to him. If you try to "stalk" in to him,he WILL see you. This is fact!!!!! Not "if" not "maybe".....He WILL SEE YOU. He is LOOKING for you.(the hen) So,now here is what you do.....move 90 degrees to one side,find a tree and sit.Then yelp 3-4 times,no more,make him gobble.If he's coming in great if not, move back about 20-30 yards. Sit and yelp 3-4 times again.If he comes in great,If not,move again,sit and yelp. What you want to do is make a circle around him,while zig-zaging closer and farther away each time you sit. Sooner or later, he WILL get flustered,and he WILL come looking for you.
When he comes in,shoot him..... Good Luck!!!!! :archer:
Using hilly terrain, in the right situation, it's not too hard to get within range...but getting a good shot off is another story....
I think you'll be missing out on what spring turkey hunting is all about by stalking them though...
I`m with Guru on this one. That Gobbler singing and playing the game is what I love about Turkey hunting.On the rare occasion I can run an arrow through one is better. Its hard for me to sneak up on a half blind pig ...I would`nt have a chance on a Swamp Rooster.RC
The difficulty of drawing on a gobbler at close range is why I'm using a blind this year. Maybe I can actually kill one now!
Don I hunted them for for a few years exclusively years ago,with out a blind...never did kill one because I couldn't get a "good shot" at one without being busted just before I released. But i learned an awful lot about hunting them!
So I went back to shotgun for a couple years...just wasn't the same a seemed way too easy after hunting/learning with a bow.
2000 I bought my first DB blind, and since then I think I've killed 15 birds(3 fall birds). The ability to get a good shot off made all the diff. in the world!
That being said, with all I've learned over the last 8 years or so, with a good comfortable stool, a gillie suit, and a full strut decoy...I really think I can kill some birds without a blind.
But I also have very limited time to hunt and I REALLY LUV fried turkey cutlets!! I also have a little boy that wants to spend a lot of time with me this spring....so my Darkhorse will get some action again this spring!!
Either way it's great hunting :jumper:
Jack Brobst, from Bangor, Pa., killed turkeys every year without a blind. He used the longbow and usually sit in front of a large tree.
His wife was also pretty good at arrowing turkeys here in Pa., and these eastern birds are as wary as any.
blinds in the spring and stalking/ambush in the fall for me here. We had our first fall season last year and they were in big flocks and acting kind of dumb and happy. They follow some daily movement patterns and you can set up ahead of them. I got within about 10 yards of a couple and it was a blast. I also mmmmmmmmisssssed an opportunity.
Jack Brobst killed 51 birds without a blind. He set up so they would have to pass a big tree to get to his decoys, enabling him to pull. He also would set his decoys in the breeding position, he was doing that 20 years ago. He was a true pioneer in hunting turkeys with a bow. He told me he shoot most of his birds under 10 yards.
I talked to Jack some years back- a remarkable fellow. He used silhouette decoys at that time, and said a full-body decoy wasn't necessary. We shared stories about the coyotes that attacked our decoys!