THE NEW TURKEY HUNTERS

[GLS]

I have nailed late season old birds with serious hooks in areas that had been crawling with hunters over the season. On a given day, the wisest, most call shy bird will lose his mind and come in like he was born yesterday. Bam!

[turkeyinstrut]

I have nailed late season old birds with serious hooks in areas that had been crawling with hunters over the season. On a given day, the wisest, most call shy bird will lose his mind and come in like he was born yesterday. Bam!

+1 Just got to catch him on that "Given" day.

[Prospector]

Lol: Once hunted a bird and after spotting him was complacent in setting up for the shot. Long story short he saw me and spooked before I could close deal. I figured him for a 2yo and since I had been successful elsewhere already I wasn’t super hot to shoot. Anyway, nephew called up asking for a hunt so roosted this one, sat to him next am and wouldn’t you know it; he wasn’t a huge bodied bird but dang if those spurs weren’t 1.25 inches easy , sharp and matched. That’ll learn me to judge, ha, ha!

[jdjnicholson]

Then there is me....

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[southern_leo]

Then there is me....

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I'm sure it's just severe beard rot and he had huge hooks [emoji3]

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[appalachianassassin]

Then there is me....

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jake in the fall it looks like

[Tail Feathers]

Doesn't Jeff Budz run towards the birds? Seems I read that in an article. He's a superb athlete in addition to being a turkey killing machine. I think he has more slams than anyone ever?

[quavers16]

Don't know. I know, I have seen Spring hunters in a full out sprint to get to where that Tom is gobbling. They never see me. I never saw this in the 90s. I hike year round- so for myself, I try to get back a good 1 1/2 miles. A few Springs back, I biked on in on my Ranger Mountain bike and a guy showed up in my field- way on the other side. I got a nice Tom that day and when I got to my locked up bike- this other guys mountain bike was parked right next to mine! This is one of my older posts- but I see this subject is probably common nationwide as far as sprinting hunters being seen by other silent-set-up turkey hunters. Really not much one can do- just get in good shape so you can get back of beyond. Almost timed out here on this library computer...

[GobbleNut]

I'm getting too old to sprint through the woods anymore,...more of a fast waddle nowadays,...but my approach speed is all dependent on my assessment of the need to get to the location I think I need to be at by the time I think I need to be there. Most often, that occurs with roosted birds, how far away they are, and how quickly it is getting light,...and where I think I need to get to be set up.

If I get a bird to gobble 15 minutes before daylight a mile of more away in open country, you can bet your sweet patootie that I am going to push myself to my limits to get close to him before it gets light enough for him to see me coming. At a minimum, I want to get close enough to have his location pinpointed so if he comes out of the tree, hits the ground, and shuts up like they often do, I will not be wandering around wondering if I am close enough to him to initiate a conversation.

All too often, a bird will gobble a few times on the roost but will shut up when on the ground. Not getting close enough to a bird when he is gobbling to know where he is and assess the terrain he is in before he shuts up can make for a frustrating experience. If the need is there, I will make haste to cover ground to a bird when conditions call for it. In my younger years, someone might have defined my ability to cover ground as "sprinting", but not so much anymore.

Having said that, if I am on my way toward a gobbler and somehow become aware that someone else is on the bird, I will break off the approach,...while uttering a few choice four-letter words.

[appalachianassassin]

Doesn't Jeff Budz run towards the birds? Seems I read that in an article. He's a superb athlete in addition to being a turkey killing machine. I think he has more slams than anyone ever?

yes....he has killed 98 slams. larry proffit has killed nearly 70 and over 30 world slams. he is just an old man with a trumpet call. he does have a lot of folding money though, he lives right down the road from me.

[appalachianassassin]

Doesn't Jeff Budz run towards the birds? Seems I read that in an article. He's a superb athlete in addition to being a turkey killing machine. I think he has more slams than anyone ever?

yes....he has killed 98 slams. larry proffit has killed nearly 70 and over 30 world slams. he is just an old man with a trumpet call. he does have a lot of folding money though, he lives right down the road from me.

[augasman]

I'm calling BS on this entire thread.

[GobbleNut]

larry proffit has killed nearly 70 and over 30 world slams. he is just an old man with a trumpet call. he does have a lot of folding money though, he lives right down the road from me.

30 WORLD slams? He has killed thirty Ocellated turkeys in addition to thirty or more of the other five subspecies of Meleagris Gallopavo? I'm not saying he hasn't, but that is pretty hard to fathom...

[timbrhuntr]

So 98 registered slams at 15 bucks each bird that's 98 times 4 times 15 that's almost six grand. Also 98 slams if you shot 2 Florida birds in spring and fall that's max 4 a year so that's 4 a year for 24.5 years to get to 98 slams . Dang 4 Florida birds a year for almost 25 years pretty good !

[appalachianassassin]

larry proffit has killed nearly 70 and over 30 world slams. he is just an old man with a trumpet call. he does have a lot of folding money though, he lives right down the road from me.

30 WORLD slams? He has killed thirty Ocellated turkeys in addition to thirty or more of the other five subspecies of Meleagris Gallopavo? I'm not saying he hasn't, but that is pretty hard to fathom...

royal slams.....sry. not sure if hes ever hunted ocellated

[GobbleNut]

larry proffit has killed nearly 70 and over 30 world slams. he is just an old man with a trumpet call. he does have a lot of folding money though, he lives right down the road from me.

30 WORLD slams? He has killed thirty Ocellated turkeys in addition to thirty or more of the other five subspecies of Meleagris Gallopavo? I'm not saying he hasn't, but that is pretty hard to fathom...

royal slams.....sry. not sure if hes ever hunted ocellated

Still pretty impressive...if nothing else, just from the logistical standpoint. I like to turkey hunt as much as anybody, but putting up those kinds of numbers would start to seem more like work than fun.

[guesswho]

Not many people have killed 98 Osceolas. Gobblers anyway.

[soiltester]

larry proffit has killed nearly 70 and over 30 world slams. he is just an old man with a trumpet call. he does have a lot of folding money though, he lives right down the road from me.

30 WORLD slams? He has killed thirty Ocellated turkeys in addition to thirty or more of the other five subspecies of Meleagris Gallopavo? I'm not saying he hasn't, but that is pretty hard to fathom...

royal slams.....sry. not sure if hes ever hunted ocellated

He says he'll "NEVER" hunt a peacock .. oh, I mean Ocellated
Going to be a fun trip this year again in Mexico, when he heads to complete another Royal Slam in 18

[ICDEDTURKES]

One of my preferred tactics. I ran 10.8 hundred meter dash. It's getting harder as I age to catch up to em.

[appalachianassassin]

30 WORLD slams? He has killed thirty Ocellated turkeys in addition to thirty or more of the other five subspecies of Meleagris Gallopavo? I'm not saying he hasn't, but that is pretty hard to fathom...

royal slams.....sry. not sure if hes ever hunted ocellated

He says he'll "NEVER" hunt a peacock .. oh, I mean Ocellated
Going to be a fun trip this year again in Mexico, when he heads to complete another Royal Slam in 18

I didn't think he had ever hunted ocellated. I knew he didn't like em.

[soiltester]

One of my preferred tactics. I ran 10.8 hundred meter dash. It's getting harder as I age to catch up to em.

That's 109.261 yds in10.8, so ya' shoulda' had yer' hands full of them gobblers!!

I'm kinda' like the big bull & lil' bull story, I'm gonna walk in and get em' all ... yea right

[quavers16]

I have 2 areas in New Jersey and 3 areas in New York that are a good 1 1/2 miles from the parking area. They are public of course, so I early in each Spring Season, I get up at 2am as I want to be first to park and and the first to my Hot areas. 5 Gobblers each Spring is my goal and is plenty . Slow moving in at 58- but I am always first to my area. I guess General NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST said it best-- Get There The Firstist With The Mostist!

[Grumpy]

I'm calling BS on this entire thread.

Yup, we need a BS emoji flag to fly when needed

[hobbes]

98 Osceolas sounds logistically impossible, but maybe that kind of thinking is why I've not even hunted them.

[Grumpy]

I have 2 areas in New Jersey and 3 areas in New York that are a good 1 1/2 miles from the parking area. They are public of course, so I early in each Spring Season, I get up at 2am as I want to be first to park and and the first to my Hot areas. 5 Gobblers each Spring is my goal and is plenty . Slow moving in at 58- but I am always first to my area. I guess General NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST said it best-- Get There The Firstist With The Mostist!

The early bird get the worm and a shot gun blast......