Patience?

A general discussion area for turkey hunters.
User avatar
guesswho
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 5426
Joined: July 11th, 2011, 7:50 pm
Location: Bumpass VA, moving to Fuget KY

Patience?

Post by guesswho »

How important is patience in the game of this spring gobbler hunting thing? I see people on forums rank it as number one a lot. Some will go as far as saying the three most important things while turkey hunting is patience, patience, and patience.
Double Naught Spy!
RCD's Owner----------------Badonka Deke Prostaff
MoHo's Prostaff-------------Lighter Than HTL Shooter
The Storm Whistle Prostaff
Official Member Of The Unofficial Firedup Turkey Calls Prostaff
User avatar
Hoobilly
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 13330
Joined: August 15th, 2011, 10:15 pm
Location: Argos Indiana
Contact:

Re: Patience?

Post by Hoobilly »

knowing when to have patience is greater than just patience patience patience :thumbup:
Don't start none, won't be none!

https://foxtrotammo.com/
User avatar
ICDEDTURKES
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 8583
Joined: July 8th, 2011, 10:27 am

Re: Patience?

Post by ICDEDTURKES »

Sal is a dental hygienist and has lots of patients, but I cannot say anyone of um has ever helped us to kill a turkey..
User avatar
MKW
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 1346
Joined: August 31st, 2011, 10:18 am
Location: SC

Re: Patience?

Post by MKW »

I, personally, think patience is WAY over-rated in turkey hunting. I prefer persistance. I also think scouting is another factor that is over-rated. I believe in scouting land, but not turkeys. If I had the patience to deer hunt turkeys, I guess I'd scout a lot more. :D

Mike
Ultimate Predator
User avatar
ole5beards
Posts: 687
Joined: September 23rd, 2012, 1:33 am
Location: Alabama

Re: Patience?

Post by ole5beards »

I rank it high on my list. You can kill birds without patience that gets proven year in and year out the first 2 weeks of the season. However you will never CONSISTENTLY kill birds without it.
Pass the biscuits!!
savduck
Posts: 953
Joined: July 29th, 2012, 11:18 am

Re: Patience?

Post by savduck »

MKW wrote:I, personally, think patience is WAY over-rated in turkey hunting. I prefer persistance. I also think scouting is another factor that is over-rated. I believe in scouting land, but not turkeys. If I had the patience to deer hunt turkeys, I guess I'd scout a lot more. :D

Mike

Yes, this!


I think there are times to be patient and times not to. I think after you have chased them a while, you get a second sense of when to be patient or not. Lots of guys sit waiting on that gobbling bird and dont tag out because he never shows up. im gonna get up and do something.
User avatar
MKW
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 1346
Joined: August 31st, 2011, 10:18 am
Location: SC

Re: Patience?

Post by MKW »

I guess I see it that the way most folks on forums talk about patience is that you need to wait out turkeys. Sometimes it takes me several hours to kill a turkey, but I'm certainly not "waiting him out". It may take me an hour or more to move 40 yrds, but I ain't waiting for him to make the move to me. So, I guess I am patient in the turkey woods, just not the way most describe it.

Mike
Ultimate Predator
User avatar
HuntnMa
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 3040
Joined: August 27th, 2011, 8:06 am
Location: Florida

Re: Patience?

Post by HuntnMa »

I think it's key but if I hear him gobbling or I know where he is, I'm moving as close as I can and then I'll be patient.
Image
User avatar
Jaybird
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 2103
Joined: June 23rd, 2011, 8:40 pm
Location: Iowa

Re: Patience?

Post by Jaybird »

Patience is a must in my hunting for Iowa/Kansas. Small patches of wooded land, surrounded by a lot of open ground,making running and gunning a sure way to get busted. I seldom get busted like I use to by scouting, knowing where I have to set up, and staying put.
ImageImageImage
User avatar
vaturkey
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 3617
Joined: June 27th, 2011, 10:54 pm

Re: Patience?

Post by vaturkey »

IMO Patience really pays off during the mid morning ! :struttin:
User avatar
Stinky J Picklestein
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 1731
Joined: July 29th, 2011, 1:12 pm

Re: Patience?

Post by Stinky J Picklestein »

Jaybird wrote:Patience is a must in my hunting for Iowa/Kansas. Small patches of wooded land, surrounded by a lot of open ground,making running and gunning a sure way to get busted. I seldom get busted like I use to by scouting, knowing where I have to set up, and staying put.
Exactly! If you only have permission to hunt 40-80 acre properties, moving around too much is a quick way to ruin things.
User avatar
guesswho
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 5426
Joined: July 11th, 2011, 7:50 pm
Location: Bumpass VA, moving to Fuget KY

Re: Patience?

Post by guesswho »

I was wondering because two of the turkey killing'est SOB's I know have zero patience. Even on small tracts and public land. I think it helps to have it, but I also think you can patience yourself out of more kills than you can patience yourself into.
Double Naught Spy!
RCD's Owner----------------Badonka Deke Prostaff
MoHo's Prostaff-------------Lighter Than HTL Shooter
The Storm Whistle Prostaff
Official Member Of The Unofficial Firedup Turkey Calls Prostaff
User avatar
MKW
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 1346
Joined: August 31st, 2011, 10:18 am
Location: SC

Re: Patience?

Post by MKW »

guesswho wrote: I think it helps to have it, but I also think you can patience yourself out of more kills than you can patience yourself into.
I agree with that 100%.

Mike
Ultimate Predator
User avatar
Hobie
Posts: 375
Joined: October 12th, 2011, 5:41 pm

Re: Patience?

Post by Hobie »

My name is Job and I have no patience(get the pun).I am high strung and even in the woods I am going to try and do what it takes to kill a bird.With that said I fill my tags each year with out a problem.If I hear a bird I will sit and wait for him to make a move or me to make a better set up on him I think its more my woodsmanship then patience that kills most of the birds
Last spring in NY I watched a bird for 2 hours in the middle of a field strutting it took his hens too leave before he came it was not patience for me to sit there it was more common sense knowing when that hen leaves he shall come
I thought you would be BIGGER
timbrhuntr
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 2008
Joined: August 28th, 2011, 7:13 pm

Re: Patience?

Post by timbrhuntr »

Patience!! Patience!! Man I was starting to think it was set-up, then woodsman ship, then calling, now patience (which I am quickly losing). I wish I could go back to when I never read all this stuff it was much easier and less confusing when I was just ignorant and I guess lucky :scratch:
User avatar
Hognutz
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 8192
Joined: June 28th, 2011, 5:29 pm
Location: S.E. Wisconsin. Global Flatulater

Re: Patience?

Post by Hognutz »

If I know that there is a bird to be played, I can hang out until one of us wins. On the other hand, if I don't hear or see anything that remotely resembles a gobbler, I can, and do get bored pretty fast and move on.
May I assume you're not here to inquire about the alcohol or the tobacco?
I am the man from Nantucket.
“Leave the gun, take the cannoli” -Clemensa
When attacked by a group of clowns...Go for the Juggler!!
User avatar
hawglips
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 3794
Joined: July 7th, 2011, 9:58 pm
Contact:

Re: Patience?

Post by hawglips »

guesswho wrote:I think it helps to have it, but I also think you can patience yourself out of more kills than you can patience yourself into.
Impatience is one of my best turkey hunting tools.
RaspyD
Posts: 222
Joined: September 7th, 2011, 11:25 am
Location: Winchester, VA

Re: Patience?

Post by RaspyD »

Hognutz wrote:If I know that there is a bird to be played, I can hang out until one of us wins. On the other hand, if I don't hear or see anything that remotely resembles a gobbler, I can, and do get bored pretty fast and move on.
Yep, I'm patient once he commits...until then, I'm looking to make something happen.
User avatar
Turkey Talker
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 3665
Joined: June 7th, 2011, 9:20 pm
Location: Green Swamp Florida

Re: Patience?

Post by Turkey Talker »

This isn't deer hunting.
If a bird isnt into the calls, Im on the move trying to get infront of his path.
Chances are if he is gobbling and going the other way he either is A. going to water B. he is covered up with hens, or C. He has a strut zone that he prefers in that time of the day. Focus on sparking the hens interest and get in front of them.
I have tried the patience game....its boring and inconsistent. Majority of birds I have killed was from running and gunning and or getting around on them and setting up in their path.
Granted a few silent ones may have slipped in to where I was after I left, but I just assume that they were jakes :lol: .... After all, I'm only after the breeding toms anyways.
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
BrentM
Posts: 125
Joined: July 17th, 2012, 12:02 am
Location: Jackson County, Alabama

Patience?

Post by BrentM »

You have to be patient until the turkey dictates otherwise.
User avatar
ICDEDTURKES
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 8583
Joined: July 8th, 2011, 10:27 am

Re: Patience?

Post by ICDEDTURKES »

hawglips wrote:
guesswho wrote:I think it helps to have it, but I also think you can patience yourself out of more kills than you can patience yourself into.
Impatience is one of my best turkey hunting tools.
:thumbup:
User avatar
hawglips
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 3794
Joined: July 7th, 2011, 9:58 pm
Contact:

Re: Patience?

Post by hawglips »

In addition to not sitting and waiting too much, I also don't run and gun very much. Unless the situation calls for it. But I use moving as a "call." Real hens don't sit and call in one spot very long, so I don't either.
User avatar
SCtrkyhntr
Posts: 369
Joined: January 11th, 2012, 9:36 pm

Re: Patience?

Post by SCtrkyhntr »

ole5beards wrote:I rank it high on my list. You can kill birds without patience that gets proven year in and year out the first 2 weeks of the season. However you will never CONSISTENTLY kill birds without it.
I disagree with this. I know folks that have very little to no patience when it comes to turkey hunting and they have killed turkeys consistently for years.

I can have patientice when I think it is needed but I am not going to sit by a tree and cluck and purr for hours when the closest bird I have heard gobble is 500 yards away. If I am working a bird and he gets to 80-100 yards and stays at that distance, I have enough patience to deal with the situation. But if the bird is 300 yards and not moving, I don't have patience to sit there and wait him out without making a move.
drenalinld
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 1330
Joined: December 10th, 2011, 8:37 pm

Patience?

Post by drenalinld »

Like several who commented, I think persistence is a better weapon for me than patience. I think of it as calculated aggressiveness. It definitely spooks turkeys to plod around aimlessly just to be moving and calling loudly. Any strategy will work some of the time. My strategy is this, if I think I can get closer without spooking the gobbler, I do it. If he has not moved closer in 30 minutes and sometimes less, I am trying to plan a move that will give him a little different choice of places to chase hens. I tend to believe any gobbler can be called up, it is just up to me to find the combination of correct calls and location that will spark his interest enough to get him in gun range. There are those that hunt with the idea that if a gobbler responds to your calls, he will come back to find that hen later and you should sit and wait for him to do it. This may be very effective for some, but I cannot sit in one place that long. I may kill that bird in that spot later that day but it will be because I come back to check the area in a few hours. I like to kill that sucker while he is with his hens and let them watch! Sometimes it will be getting the hens to respond and other times it may be getting in the right position or making the right call at the right time that the gobbler cannot resist. I have killed a pile of gobblers that I have hunted from daylight to 10, 11, even noon or after and finally get in a position he comes to. Many of those times, hens were with the gobbler so it was not just a case of hens leaving the gobbler and him being suddenly lonely.

For me, I would say my keys are: Positive attitude, persistence, woodsmanship, and calling. By positive attitude I don't mean life is great, everything is good, but rather I always expect to kill the gobbler. A little bit of MKW's arrogance or as I like to think of it confidence is huge for killing turkeys in my opinion. If you expect to kill it and believe this sucker is going to die today, your odds go way up as opposed to I hope to get him before season ends. I like the way Ronnie put it in one of his threads. When he gobbles, I think "today's victim"! Certainly does not mean I always get him, but I expect to. I also have hunted open country in KS and NE quite a bit in the last ten years and move a lot there as well with good success. In many cases in what looks like wide open country there is enough terrain or a ditch that will allow changing locations. It might not even be closer to the bird or birds, but may end up being a location they will be more likely to come to. I like to try different strategies for sure. As we have all experienced, sometimes you get to the new location and call and the gobbler responds from the location you just deserted. The patient hunter who likes to stay put would have killed that bird, but I think the percentage I kill by moving is greater than the number that go to the setup I deserted. Even when they do that, I am still in the hunt. He is responding. Man I am getting fired up, I love the cat and mouse game!
drenalinld
Gobbler Nation
Gobbler Nation
Posts: 1330
Joined: December 10th, 2011, 8:37 pm

Patience?

Post by drenalinld »

One more thing, bumped turkeys can still die and sometimes sooner than one might think. I do understand, however that that can be different on small properties.
Post Reply

Return to “Gobbler Talk”