Successful tips and tactics to seal the deal

[Gut_Pile]

M2's thread got my mind going on what we could possibly talk about and it possibly not turn into a pissing match. So this is what I came up with

What tactics have you used in the past that are a little outside the box to successfully kill a gobbler? What is your favorite thing to bring a turkey those extra 30 yards? What have you done in the past that you look at your buddy after and say "man, can't believe that actually worked"?

Fire away...I'm all ears

[walt4dun]

I like to hunt field birds on windy days as you can get away with a lot more movement.
If you can bring a buddy you should as field birds always seem to hang up and strut out of range and the wind may afford one of you the opportunity to slip away calling and bring him in.

[Sportin' Woodies]

Shoot the jake that's 10 yards in front of you. When he flaps it will bring in the gobbler.

[Spur hunter]

They don't always flap. Most times when you are intentionally trying to double you will get the "bang, no flop" kill.

[jevans]

Shoot the jake that's 10 yards in front of you. When he flaps it will bring in the gobbler.

Solid advice

[M2Field]

M2's thread got my mind going on what we could possibly talk about and it possibly not turn into a pissing match. So this is what I came up with

What tactics have you used in the past that are a little outside the box to successfully kill a gobbler? What is your favorite thing to bring a turkey those extra 30 yards? What have you done in the past that you look at your buddy after and say "man, can't believe that actually worked"?

Fire away...I'm all ears

Buddy of mine swears by this but I have not tried it myself.

He takes a plastic grocery bag and ruffles it with his hands to sound like a hen scratching in the leaves. Have to say it does sound pretty authentic.

He said he's had gobblers come running in without making a sound on a turkey call.

[Rebelyeller]

My preacher kills the mess out of birds like this . Also crazy soft calling .

[SaltMuck]

Killed several belly crawling out in a field holding a jake decoy out in from of me. Get maybe 20 yds out in the field and get their attention by moving the decoy or calling once. They either ignore it or race to me. Pretty exciting to drop the decoy when they get within 10 yrds or so.

[Tuffy]

"Sloppy Seconds" after 10:30 am after the folks that have stirred them up have left the area and the hens have wandered off. Loud & Often and moving forward to meet the bird if he's coming a ways. Moving, in general. Hens don't stay still when calling.

[GreenHeadRocker]

For the extra 30 yards you say? You know that answer.

[Relentlous]

I haven't been turkey hunting but for 4 years now, but I learned from the best. I learned to close the distance on a bird, and hardly come off the call. It works for me.

[trkykilr]

9 replies and no pissing, damn!

Most of the birds I hunt are in woods where you can kill him when he can reasonably expect to see you. That makes a big difference. My general turkey hunting philosophy is to wind a bird up til he's about to explode, then shut up and mind fuck him. He's like a 14 year old when a girl goes radio silent on him. A lot of times they try to run you over, and hopefully come from far enough out that they can't pinpoint you to the exact tree. That leads to strutting for a sec or two in a spot, then moving forward to the next spot until he gets in range.

When he doesn't come that little extra, you've got a problem on your hands. In really flat swamp bottoms, this will usually happen when he finds a little bit of a high spot, especially in the sun. They know that on that spot they are visible, and they will spit/drum until she shows up. After a bit they will start to gobble, and walk off if she doesn't show up. I am not a great "soft caller". The mouth call I use is stiff and an aggressive cut. It's not made for soft.

When he hangs up out of sight, I will turn my head away from him or scratch the leaves behind my back. I want the sound of the call and the scratching muffled to him. This gets a lot harder when he's visible, because I'm visible to him. I will try to yelp with my lips closed. If I can scratch leaves, I do.

Sometimes, it is better to let him walk off and reposition.

The one thing I think I have improved on with experience, is to cure this with the setup. I have learned to be better at seeing those potential hang up spots, and taking a little risk to get to them. Using terrain to eliminate them hanging up or taking away their excuses for hanging up is something I've gotten a little better at. When I'm alone, which is rare, I am extremely aggressive moving on birds. I am sure I bump some, but I try to keep them gobbling, and those subtle 10 yard moves can really be effective.

Long winded on a great topic Willy. The correct answer is TSS

[YoungBuckTX]

patience has kills more birds for me than anything else

[Coastal Woodie]

Shoot the jake that's 10 yards in front of you. When he flaps it will bring in the gobbler.

That is the gospel truth.

[M2Field]

I've really been working on "the charge". When they hang up wait for them to get behind a tree or brush and charge them as fast as you can. You'll have to be ready to take a running shot or shoot them out of the air. Just try not to trip. One time I tripped and my gun barrel stuck about a foot in the ground. Now that I can shoot 3 1/2 inch shells I may not have to get as close to them. I enjoy practicing in the backyard with a toy gun.

Just be careful with this method. You can end up like this.

[JBK]

9 replies and no pissing, damn!

Most of the birds I hunt are in woods where you can kill him when he can reasonably expect to see you. That makes a big difference. My general turkey hunting philosophy is to wind a bird up til he's about to explode, then shut up and mind fuck him. He's like a 14 year old when a girl goes radio silent on him. A lot of times they try to run you over, and hopefully come from far enough out that they can't pinpoint you to the exact tree. That leads to strutting for a sec or two in a spot, then moving forward to the next spot until he gets in range.

When he doesn't come that little extra, you've got a problem on your hands. In really flat swamp bottoms, this will usually happen when he finds a little bit of a high spot, especially in the sun. They know that on that spot they are visible, and they will spit/drum until she shows up. After a bit they will start to gobble, and walk off if she doesn't show up. I am not a great "soft caller". The mouth call I use is stiff and an aggressive cut. It's not made for soft.

When he hangs up out of sight, I will turn my head away from him or scratch the leaves behind my back. I want the sound of the call and the scratching muffled to him. This gets a lot harder when he's visible, because I'm visible to him. I will try to yelp with my lips closed. If I can scratch leaves, I do.

Sometimes, it is better to let him walk off and reposition.

The one thing I think I have improved on with experience, is to cure this with the setup. I have learned to be better at seeing those potential hang up spots, and taking a little risk to get to them. Using terrain to eliminate them hanging up or taking away their excuses for hanging up is something I've gotten a little better at. When I'm alone, which is rare, I am extremely aggressive moving on birds. I am sure I bump some, but I try to keep them gobbling, and those subtle 10 yard moves can really be effective.

Long winded on a great topic Willy. The correct answer is TSS

Thanks for sharing!

[uga_dawg]

Agreed on ignoring one and moving backwards when one is hanging up.

The biggest bird I killed liked to come to 100 yards, put on a show, and then always walk away. The day I finally killed him I circled around and followed him. I made some soft calls and he answered but continued moving away. I kept him talking mainly so I could keep up with his location. After following him a few hundred yards, I stopped and setup shop. When I first saw him he was running back to me to figure out why I stopped. It worked but was nerve racking as I was worried he was going to back track.

[Arrowman]

I ain't giving up my secrets.

[coonsqualler01]

The ol' pickett fence move is one of my favorites. Agree on hushing up, sometimes the strain is more than they can bear.

[Spur hunter]

There have been plenty of turkeys that I killed that died simply because I just sat there another ten minutes. When you don't know what else to do then don't do anything... has worked more times than all other tactics combined. I don't care what you do, you will pick it apart and come up with 50 things you should have done. But if you move, hit that whatever call louder or faster or whatever other tactic or move and bump that turkey then you will kick yourself for the missed opportunity. If you have plenty of opportunities in a season it is easier to chalk up to experience and get past. If it's one of two or three chances it will sting worse to mess one up with a boneheaded move. Turkeys don't wear a watch and can't reason. They react. If I have a number of toms located to choose from I may hunt them more aggressively if I think there isn't a bunch of pressure on them. If it's a lone tom on public land where I've had trouble finding others then I will hunt him more carefully. Simply because of the effort it will take to go find another. Carefully means not bum rushing him, does not mean taking a stand and deer hunting one. Some folks can't see there is quite a bit of territory between running and gunning and hunting slow and carefully. I'm somewhere in the middle and try to adjust for the conditions. I also get too darn wrapped up in turkey hunting forums just before the season starts.