Am I losing it?

[turkeygirl]

After 2.5 years since the last turkey I shot, and not having a turkey even really close to my gun since. I am almost not looking forward to the spring season, which is sad. This past spring, I only saw one gobbler in the area I hunt, and I saw him again in the fall with 3 hens. There was no gobbling this past spring and it was as if there was no "gobbling season" this past year. I've seen the signs of turkeys up there this winter and I keep hoping there is more than one gobbler around and the foxes/coyotes don't get him. I know several miles from my house, my mom and I have seen a huge flock of turkeys on land that I don't have permission to hunt on and I think that since the land I hunt on got logged 2 years ago, alot of the turkeys just moved out of the area. I know maybe I should check out state land, but in May,especially this May, I don't have much time to travel to a new hunting spot. Final exams are always the first week of May and I graduate this year and will probably start my internship. Does any have any helpful tips or any encouraging words? Should I just kick my butt into gear and start scouting some state land now? I know there is state land about 45 minutes away that has good turkey hunting, but that is the problem, it is 45 minutes away. I shouldn't be bummed out, but it is hard when I see how alot of the members on here score on birds or at least see some, I don't hear or see a thing. I won't give up because after all it is hunting, but I need a turkey morale boost

[gitcha_some]

45 minutes is not that bad of a drive if its got good turkey hunting, i wouldnt even think twice about the drive if it was a good spot

[Born2Hunt]

I feel your pain. For years we did not have a place to hunt turkeys so we did it on state land. This was probably 15 yrs ago when there was not any birds in the area. Not hearing or seeing any birds we gave up turkey hunting untill a couple years ago. I asked farmers in the area and they were happy to let me hunt their land. Now the problem I have is I almost have too much land to hunt. Oh well looks like I have to use more vacation days to hunt more land. My point is take time, make friends with the local farmers and land owners and ask to hunt turkeys. Most people hunt deer and not turkeys so quite often they give you the go ahead to hunt.

[HeviShot]

You are having a turkey hunting drought.Hang in there and things will turn around.I had the same problem with deer this year.Keep at it and don't give up.

[huntn4bucks]

You're not losing it...turkey hunting is tough. I know how hard it is to try and fit hunting into a college schedule...believe me...I've been there. Just remember that school comes first and fit in the turkey hunting when you can. What am I saying...that's not what I did. LOL

As far as hunting spots, my closest turkey hunting property is 30 minutes away from my house. I have two other places I turkey hunt and one is an hour away and the other is about an hour and fifteen minutes away. If you want to routinely score on turkeys, you have scout a lot and be where the turkeys want to be.

Best of luck TG.

[borch]

Keep your chin up!

There's more to turkey hunting than killing turkeys!

I had a blast last spring and never pulled the trigger. I didn't have a lot of time to hunt and the birds were very quiet. But the last day my son and I work several toms and chased one around all afternoon trying to outsmart him. It didn't pan out and my son was pretty frustrasted. Then I told him I wouldn't trade chasing a crafty old bird with him for anything in the world.

For some reason his spirits picked out a bit.

You're due. The birds will work their way back. If they don't you'll just have to drive a bit farther to get one.

BTW,

It's never too early to try finding new places to hunt. Certainly the birds will move but if you make some relationships with area landowners you'll stand a better chance down the road.

Have a great spring!

[MrWiggely]

TG, give me a holler around spring time. I think I am around 45 min. from you. If you can make the drive around here I can hook you up.

What state land are you refering to? The state park, or McCarty hill?

Wigs

[redbeard]

45 minutes ain't nuthin'. I travel 110 miles one way because the turkey huntin is better. Sure I could do it closer but why? It means so much to me, I'd travel twice that if the chances of bringin bird home increased 10 percent.

I mean, the odds are against you in the first place. Do everything you can to increase those odds and the best thing I've found to do that is property eat up with turkey.

Hang in the turkeygirl. I anxiously await the day you get to pose with that big ol' longbeard for all of us. And I expect it to happen, you do the same

[13littleones]

Are you losing it.......? not sure.........but if I was to say that.........bring me to the E-ROOM!!!

Here is my 2 cents...

1. If you are going to hunt public land.... The county you hunt "MUST" be one of the top 5 counties in the state as far as the harvest report shows from the previos years....

2. To make the odds in your favor on public land..... IF the season opens on MON........ Hunt on MON... big advantage in your favor....

3. If you can't hunt opening day on public land... hunt the first weekend on public land.....skip the second weekend on public land (do to the pressure) and hunt the the property you know , which puts the odds on your favor again.... Then go back to the public land on the 3rd weekend......advantage to you again .........

4. If you decide to hunt public land the second weekend.......... bring hand grenades or preferably a howitzer......again odds are in your favor....

[turkeygirl]

Thanks everyone:-) There are several pieces of state land near by where I live. Hanging Bog, Bush Hill, and another one I can't remember the name of. This past summer Andy and I were hiking over in the Bush Hill state land, and I found a hen and her nest. She flew off the nest and there were 13 eggs. I think near spring i'll start check the land out there, because obviously there are turkeys there if the hen had a nest and if the eggs hatched. Obbviously competition will be a problem but I figure if I scout early and know where to be opening day, I'll be ok. Of course, I'm going to check the farm land I hunt first and see what is on it this spring.... Thanks everyone for the advice

[AdrianJHare]

TG , this problem could very well have something to do with the food sorce in the area you live in that year or couple years.

Turkeys will travel to find feed and nesting areas. Places that you normaly hunt could change because of this type of thing. If local farmers change crops every couple years, nut and berry crops happen to be on the low side, or even nesting areas changing can all cause the local birds to move towards a better area for their needs.

With the farmers and Nut and berry crops changing from year to year, there could be a chance that birds could travel right back to your home area. I would think this would have more to do with your problem, other then you going into a slide...BT

[Rhino]

Turkey hunting addicts have one thing in common. They'll go wherever they have to and do whatever it takes to have close encounters with ol' gobbling birds. Killing turkeys is a bonus.

The club I joined some 15 years ago now is 85 miles from my house and an hour and 40 minute drive to the camphouse from home. I joined this particular club for the outstanding turkey hunting it offered. There's closer places to hunt for me too but it's hard not to go where you feel confident you'll probably hear birds gobbling their heads off.

I'll bet if you can find someplace that has a good turkey population you'll have a change of heart about your lack of enthusiasm for turkey hunting right now. 45 minutes isn't squat to travel to have a gobbling bird make the hair stand up one the back of your neck. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing like hunting gobbling turkeys and with spring turkey hunting days being so limited, I'll do what I have to do to make the most of those days afield.

BTW, there were several years when our club's turkey population was reduced due to a breakout of blackhead in that particular area. During those lean years I found and hunted another place that was 30 minutes further away from my house along with a few other places that weren't as good. I'd still have that place as a backup place to hunt if not for the owner deciding to get his grandchildren into turkey hunting. I guess we were having too much fun on that place chasing turkeys so he keeps it all to himself and his family now. Anyway, I'm always looking for other quality turkey hunting opportunities that will compare to what I already have. Always keep some feelers out for more turkey hunting options because you never know when your main place to turkey hunt will have a drop in the population of the birds.