I’ve got my very first bow hunt coming up in October and your channel has been incredible for those of us like myself that didn’t grow up hunting and need to learn the basics!
If you're having to hinge cut trees to get forage down to a deer's level you have a shade problem. I bought an old overgrown farm 3 years ago. It had become choked with privet, yaupon, oak, sweetgum, pine, smilax, cedar, grapevines, kudzu, huckleberry, and all the usual mess. I started by clearing the only area that was still sort of open and wasn't covered in toung timber. I burned a hillside to reduce the dead material and make things easier to clean up. Then I did a timber reduction of about 50 percent of the young oaks, mostly pin oak, left every white oak or red oak I could, all sweetgum and black gum because it sprouts like dammit, throws shade and just isn't a favorite of mine. And all of the privet and yaupon got uprooted and burned. During this I discovered that deer absolutely LOVE young smilax(Greenbriar) sprouts. When I started there were mostly just trails through the privet and yaupon understory where the deer moved through, going to feed in the sort of open area. Now, since sunlight can actually hit the ground, there are deer tracks everywhere and signs of them feeding on all the new growth that the light caused to sprout. And the crazy thing is that I'm not even trying to improve it for deer but more for quail, which are almost non-existent around the place. Got deer walking through the yard, not a quail to be found, maybe one of these days.
I use socks that have a metal heating unit that runs throughout the sock. You can turn it off and on at the top of the sock, there’s a box that has batteries in it. These don’t get too hot and they make my feet super warm
I actually bumped into a guy that blobbed about 6 worms on a circle hook and caught a 70lb flathead at the biggest spillway Iowa, he realsed it because it had about 10 lbs of eggs in it.
I've made just about every mistake a turkey Hunter could make over the years, the only difference is now I still make mistakes but just not as much as before but none the less I make my share of mistakes messing with these Keen eyed critters and that's the whole point of doing it.
Went out for the first time on May 9th the day before my bday. Did a bunch of purrs every 15 20 minutes and had a tom come in silent. 8 1/2 inch beard and dropped him in a field at 50 yards at 5:25pm Those federal premium tss ain't no joke son!
Most of my birds have been killed with a 30 year old ithica 12 gauge with a built in modified choke, a pot call that’s been sanded one too many times, and a pair of foam decoys i bought from the local sporting goods mini storw for five bucks a piece. It’s all about the method.
I have an old bow that I'm converting to a bowfishing bow. It has a drop away rest on it and I didn't know if I have to switch it out to a roller rest specifically for bowfishing arrows. Is it necessary to switch to that rest or am I fine with the rest I have?
I would switch it out, only because one built specifically for bow fishing has less chance for something to go wrong. I’m just picturing the rope getting caught on it somehow because it moves. Maybe someone who uses a drop away on their bow fishing rig would disagree and it’s fine.
Many hunters I've interacted with are about as smart as their target species. I kid you not I've had deer, squirrels, turkey, and raccoons follow me around within forty yards when I'm just walking around checking cameras. Why? Because I'm obviously not failing at sneaking through the woods like a predator trying to score a meal. I'm relaxed, slow, and not acting funny. They're clearly curious about what I am and up to and don't present a threat. And the guys who always crawl around like they're a jaguar getting ready to pounce snapping their heads around like they're short on a fix every two seconds always tell me I'm lying because everything in the woods sees and hears them trying to woodland ninja as they helicopter their equipment around like they're trying take off during crunch time😂 Sit still, shut your yap, use your ears before your eyes, and exercise basic patience. If deer aren't walking right past you, squirrels aren't running across you, and turkeys aren't walking up to you you're moving too much and being too noisy. I swear, if you're doing it right you barely need to move and your biggest enemy is fighting the oncoming nap lurking around you.
Still on the hunt for my first turkey. I was calling with no responses for about an hour and suddenly a tom showed up about 30 yard ahead of me. But i couldnt get my gun on target because I spooked him trying to get it off my lap. I didnt see him again after that 😂
Setup is very very important…try to position yourself where he is in range when he becomes visible…patience is extremely important…I carry a small folding stool to sit on…I can’t sit on the ground at my age and stage…I have had many come in silent only to be busted when I decide to move…got a nice one 4 days ago, classic we texted back and forth…I laid down my box call when he was about 100 yards out…I was behind a huge poplar from him…he started skirting to the right and when he cleared the edge of the poplar 💥 awesome hunt!
I'm going to an actual turkey chair this year. So much more comfortable and free standing so you don't need to find a tree that you can lean on. We have lots of rocks and pines that get sticky and lots of ants. So with the chair I can just set up. We'll see how it works.
In AZ we just started on Friday. The next hunt hasn't even started. Wish we could start earlier most years. This year though half the roads are still closed.
keep the vest, attach a pad to it. depot sells green ones for gardeners that is thick and cheep compared to hunting seats. also, if you got the ground to roam, you can call and be mobile, once in a toms "zone" if you will, he might gobble and if so sit and wait, your day is about to end.
Yeah I'm dealing with everything you have talked about in this video. These gobblers have been so stubborn this year and I've only had one come in and he was just a bit to far for a shot. But it's been fun
Don't over call. That's why I only use slates and a box. Because it makes me not be able o call constantly when he gets close. It's hard to hold your gun on your knee and call with a slate at the same time...Also just because you had one gobbling and just like it happened to me a couple days ago, I was within 100 yards of him off the roost and he drifted away gobbling, doesn't mean you did anything wrong. I shut up and gave him 15 minutes of silence and he went silent so I backed out and tried another angle. But with him on the river, there's only so many ways you can go. so after another 30 minutes I left. There's nothing wrong with backing out and giving up. You can't kill him unless he comes to you, but you can bumble your way around and bugger it up. Back out and try another one, or another day.
I agree, patients is key. Keeping still is very important. Way less calling then most. Bow no blind, lay down hen and a small jake. Avian X laydown and a Flex tone Jake. Position the hen so when he climbs on he isn't looking at you, the jake 3 or 4 feet behind her, off to one side. That way while his sub partner is beating up the jake and he is on her you can get a double, big one fist, the sub will pile on him when down.
Good advice my first Tom was 3 years in. We roosted that bird and got him first thing in the morning no calling no moving just setup once and he flew down at 5 yards it was magic, this year I've had a hen lead three Tom's away from my calls I used the terrain got within a couple hundred yards was patient and just didn't have all day to wait around the challenge is what makes turkey hunting fun
We are allowed to hunt until 7pm in Ontario Canada. I’m grateful for that. I take my folding camouflage chair and tuck it in the tree line. Very comfortable!! I find if I take a short nap then scout my surroundings I sometimes spot the turkeys close by. Maybe they are curious about my snoring. 🤣
I made the mistake of making some yelps while not even being ready for a Tom to come in. It was very late that morning and I was packed up and walking back towards my vehicle. I stopped and made those yelps and got immediately cut off by a Gobble. And, it was extremely close! I tried to quickly find a spot to sit where I had some minimal cover but it was too late. That Tom was on me in a blink. Next thing I heard were Putts and he was out of there. Lesson learned. Be ready because you never know how close a bird might be and you may not have time to even sit and get your gun ready.
