I have a leafy suit, and this spring a ghillie suit, the burlap strand type. Turkeys pay no attention to the leafy suit, I guess because it looks like a real pile of leaves, but the ghillie...a hen saw me 50 yds away and headed for the hills! I am thinking this may be better for deer and color blind animals...
any experience w/ turkeys and the burlap/jute type ghillies?
Any pics? Let us decide: leafy suit vs. ghillie suit
There is nothing in the woods smarter than a old hen. She sees everything. I have sat on a stool with old army camo and have had hens walk within feet of me. They will react to movement and color. You must not have blended in colorwise or you moved.
Nope, didn't move, I heard her feeding toward me from a long way off. I was sitting on a downed log in a pile of 3 downed logs. I think maybe they are there so often that she knew something was different. Not sure, but she saw me a mile away!
Don't know what happened. Did you have good background cover and stay in the shadows? My old Shaggie suit has helped me put several Easterns on the ground in a variety of situations. I hold tight until the birds walk between me and the decoys. I try to shoot when they turn their backs and strut. If they don't fan I shoot them in the back where the wings meet the dark back feathers.
(http://brothersofthebow.com/othergame10.jpg)
What kind of finish on your bow, what color fletches on your arrows. Not a turkey, but I had an old doe see the white fletches in my quiver leaning on a tree. She never saw me, she stomped, stared and finally blew and took off. She knew something was out of place since the last time she was there. Turkeys make deer look like they are on Valiumn. Bill
I had 4 different jakes within feet of me this year while I was in my ghillie and my son was in a natural ground blind with a shotgun. He never could connect, he's got a lot to learn about when and how to move...but they never blinked at me "in the open" in my ghillie even while calling. I had them stare straight through me looking for that hen.
That said, I don't know if this trad only hunter will ever be good enough to kill a turkey with a stickbow in a ghillie. Only hope I think I have is getting a gobbler at full strut to show me his vent; with his fan covering his face I might have a minute chance.
Yer my new hero Gary! That's one of the top hunting accomplishments I can think of.
Having never used a Ghillie, if I were using any type cammo & the game hunted shied from one & not the other I'd use the one that didn't draw attention. Frank
You gotta love those hen's..Give it another go..Have faith..I've had hen's walk right up to me gillie suited up. I think there nose's are getting better...
It was likely a postioning error. There were no leaves out yet and I kind of felt out of place...It can be difficult finding appropriate cover and then sit off of the ground so I can maneuver the longbow. I think I will try a curve and get lower. I will have to try again.
Never used a ghillie but had Toms, Jakes and Hens 4 or 5 yards many times in my Leafy suit this year. It was awesome.
Ahhh! Bigfoot!
The turkeys easily spotted me in my ASAT leafy suit this spring. I have not tried a ghillie suit, but I am going to. Because turkeys see color, I think the brown and tan ASAT suit may have stood out from the green in the spring woods. If the colors had matched better I might have had a better result.
Allan
Olive, Green, and some Brown in the spring in Pa seems to do the trick. I like to wear different camo on bottom and top to break up even more. The woods in the early season have no leaves and you have to get by a tree or cover to break up, later there are so many leaves it doesnt matter.
Did you have decoys out?
I have a real nice leafy jacket and hat that blends into the woods around here great. Still those turkey eyes catch me time to time and nearly always get me on the draw one reason I end up shooting them in the back as the try to get away alot.