# What a strange state we are.



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Thee weeks away from the turkey hunt and this upland game forum is nearly void of any turkey talk. Forums all around the country are alive with chatter about turkey hunting. I simply don't know what to think. Is the fad ending? Just seems strange to me.


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

"A turkey is just a turkey, they're lousy." I feel like a lot of guys believe that. They've shot a few and are calling it quits. 

I also think that the winter has delayed all the turkey talk, but then again this forum isn't as gobblin' as it used to be. 

Turkey hunting is way fun and it makes you a better elk hunter. IMO


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## SureShot (Oct 2, 2007)

I wish the fad was ending...less competition for me. 

I'm just worried 50 other guys are watching the same groups of birds I've been patterning for the past month. I wish I could find a sleeper group out of the way that nobody else knows about, but that hasn't happened so far.

I am excited to see them starting to strut and gobble. I think the timing is going to be perfect for the opener in a couple of weeks.


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## OriginalOscar (Sep 5, 2016)

Somebody said they all winter killed; starved, raptors and roads.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

BPturkeys said:


> Thee weeks away from the turkey hunt and this upland game forum is nearly void of any turkey talk. Forums all around the country are alive with chatter about turkey hunting. I simply don't know what to think. Is the fad ending? Just seems strange to me.


Didn't you hear? Almost all of them died this winter, so everyone turned their LE tags back in. We're still more than a month away from the general season.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

OriginalOscar said:


> Somebody said they all winter killed; starved, raptors and roads.


Goofy first mentioned a lack of birds where he was at and I mentioned our local flocks are gone as well. Some still find alot of birds... but I've looked a bit where there are usually dozens and haven't seen a bird since Jan 1. I'm going to save my work vacation days for more summer camping / fishing and not hunt them this year.

-DallanC


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

I'd bet that if we had a "shed hunting" forum it would be alive! With the value and popularity of shed hunting, I'm surprised anyone hunts turkeys anymore.

but, that just means better hunting for those of us that look forward to a set of spurs more than a set of sheds!


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm looking forward to it. But it keeps turning into a chore year after year of getting closer to a tom, but then something goes wrong. Last year, it was me missing...


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Guys I work with didn't draw a turkey tag this year that are pushing 5 points in the bank, so I don't think it is dying. I didn't draw a tag this year, but I didn't have any points, so that is to be expected. I still plan on doing the OTC hunt. My wife killed her first turkey on the OTC hunt last year, so that was cool. We never could get the big tom we named "Turkzilla!" Killed a couple with the scattergun, but I'm gonna try to get it done with a bow for the first time this year.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

DallanC said:


> Goofy first mentioned a lack of birds where he was at and I mentioned our local flocks are gone as well. Some still find alot of birds... but I've looked a bit where there are usually dozens and haven't seen a bird since Jan 1. I'm going to save my work vacation days for more summer camping / fishing and not hunt them this year.
> 
> -DallanC


My family's farm down by Cedar City has scads of turkeys on it right now. Even if I drew a tag this year it wouldn't matter though. By the time the turkey hunt starts in a few weeks, they will have scattered to the four winds and you'd be hard pressed to find even one.


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

Good Luck JuniorPRE 360 this is the year you'll kill a tom!


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

I'll be going in two weeks, turkey hunting is one of my favorites.


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## plottrunner (Apr 3, 2008)

colorcountrygunner said:


> Guys I work with didn't draw a turkey tag this year that are pushing 5 points in the bank, so I don't think it is dying. I didn't draw a tag this year, but I didn't have any points, so that is to be expected. I still plan on doing the OTC hunt. My wife killed her first turkey on the OTC hunt last year, so that was cool. We never could get the big tom we named "Turkzilla!" Killed a couple with the scattergun, but I'm gonna try to get it done with a bow for the first time this year.


:shock: For what unit? We drew southern region with no points.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

plottrunner said:


> :shock: For what unit? We drew southern region with no points.


The only people who didn't draw with 4 points last year were those applying for the CWMU hunt (must be a dang good one, by the way, to be drawing at 10 points). Either that, or they applied as a group with hunters who had fewer points.

https://wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame/turkey/2017_turkey_bonus_points.pdf


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## richard rouleau (Apr 12, 2008)

Well i did not draw i will be hunting in may here in southern utah


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

katorade said:


> "A turkey is just a turkey, they're lousy." I feel like a lot of guys believe that. They've shot a few and are calling it quits.


This^^^^^^^^( we've killed about 20 Toms over the years )

While turkeys really do make a fun spring hunt,
They are no were close to what the big game hunts offer.
Or even the spring bear hunts running at the same time,

This year, The boys and I all drew Southern LE turkey permits,
and the kids absolutely love hunting them, so we'll go. have fun.
But part of me wishes we were spring bear hunting this year instead .


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

goofy elk said:


> This^^^^^^^^( we've killed about 20 Toms over the years )
> 
> While turkeys really do make a fun spring hunt,
> They are no were close to what the big game hunts offer.
> ...


I've never been bear hunting but it does interest me, I don't want to put in for a tag in Utah/spend the money to travel and kill them. I'm with you I've killed/been apart of killing 30 or so turkeys. Some of my friends get really excited for turkey camp, but the last couple years I've been more excited to help friends kill there first bird etc, and with turkeys it's not if you'll kill one it's when, they're smart but at the end of the day they are still just an oversized chicken, there habits and there lack of sense of smell, will get themselves killed. But they are a good cure for cabin fever! I'm sure your boys are going to stack some toms up this spring! Good Luck!


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

I'm headed home to hunt Easter weekend. Should be a good warm up for Utah, birds have been on fire back there. 

I haven't met a serious turkey hunter out here yet, but I am sure they exist!


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

SCtransplant said:


> I'm headed home to hunt Easter weekend. Should be a good warm up for Utah, birds have been on fire back there.
> 
> I haven't met a serious turkey hunter out here yet, but I am sure they exist!


What do you mean, I know of at least three other guys right here on this forum alone that are "serious" turkey hunters. And that's not even countin the boys that think hidin in a ground blind is real turkey huntin. I will admit that the numbers are down, six fellers from this forum dropped out this year alone 'cause it's just to boring, and two others quit 'cause they didn't draw for the all important LE tag... but hopefully we can pick up a couple new guys to help take up the slack.


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

BPturkeys said:


> What do you mean, I know of at least three other guys right here on this forum alone that are "serious" turkey hunters. And that's not even countin the boys that think hidin in a ground blind is real turkey huntin. I will admit that the numbers are down, six fellers from this forum dropped out this year alone 'cause it's just to boring, and two others quit 'cause they didn't draw for the all important LE tag... but hopefully we can pick up a couple new guys to help take up the slack.


Just meant met in person through work or other social activities. Let's not get started on ground blinds lol!


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

SCtransplant said:


> Just meant met in person through work or other social activities. Let's not get started on ground blinds lol!


 I like this guy already.


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## Mallardhead12 (Oct 17, 2011)

Just got started last year. Didn't find a single turkey all of the general hunt (on public) so I'm hoping this year I can at least locate some turkeys. 


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Mallardhead12 said:


> Just got started last year. Didn't find a single turkey all of the general hunt (on public) so I'm hoping this year I can at least locate some turkeys.


 Go look for them this week. If you can find them, they will likely be within a couple miles of where you see them right now. They usually move up a canyon or creek from where you see them now. They need water (pond or creek nearby), roosting trees, and some open meadows to do a little strutting. If you can find some now, go back there at first light during your hunt and listen for gobbles. Move up the canyon 1/2 mile get out, turn your truck off, and listen again for 10-15 minutes. Don't make a sound, they do not respond often to guys yelping while their diesel truck or 4 wheeler sits there and idles. Have witnessed that on 7 or 8 different occasions now. They drive off and within 5-10 minutes they are gobbling again.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

If I get to excited about going out with my youngest daughter on her first hunt my work will send me out of town. Should be a good hunt for her though because it's going down on privite property thick with birds. 

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## Mallardhead12 (Oct 17, 2011)

toasty said:


> Go look for them this week. If you can find them, they will likely be within a couple miles of where you see them right now. They usually move up a canyon or creek from where you see them now. They need water (pond or creek nearby), roosting trees, and some open meadows to do a little strutting. If you can find some now, go back there at first light during your hunt and listen for gobbles. Move up the canyon 1/2 mile get out, turn your truck off, and listen again for 10-15 minutes. Don't make a sound, they do not respond often to guys yelping while their diesel truck or 4 wheeler sits there and idles. Have witnessed that on 7 or 8 different occasions now. They drive off and within 5-10 minutes they are gobbling again.


Thanks, toasty. I'm going to try and get out this weekend and into next week for sure. Any tips on where to start looking? Im definitely willing to find the birds just thinking about where to start.

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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Mallardhead12 said:


> Thanks, toasty. I'm going to try and get out this weekend and into next week for sure. Any tips on where to start looking? Im definitely willing to find the birds just thinking about where to start.


 I know this sounds general, but pretty much every canyon along the I-15 corridor has turkeys in it, even the small ones. The big canyons will have turkeys in the small canyons as you travel up them. Just start driving up the canyons, find a little creek and follow it a little ways. I don't know Tooele area at all, so I can't help you there.


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## boulderman (Apr 30, 2010)

SCtransplant said:


> Just meant met in person through work or other social activities. Let's not get started on ground blinds lol!


I love my ground blind. It keeps the rain and snow off me and I can move around all I want. Unfortunately the turkeys don't seem to like it as much as me 

On a serious note, has anyone seen any turkeys on the Monroe this year? After hunting the Boulders for 2 years and only seeing a few turkeys and getting snowed on constantly, my friends and I want to try somewhere new. We do have a guaranteed turkey spot in southern Utah but it's too easy and the camping sucks.


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

I can move around all I want not in a blind. That's why I don't like blinds they only work in one type of situation, and with hunting turkeys the last thing I want to do is limit myself.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

The only reason I can think of for using a blind on a turkey hunt is if you have little kids that can't sit still. I am always on the move when I hunt as I only ever hunt public birds that change their pattern every day. Setting up in a single spot would not work because they always go the opposite way that I am set up. I prefer to leave the blind, decoys, and little kids at home for spring turkey hunting.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Archery tackle + turkeys = blinds


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

The first turkey that ever came to me on the ground did it a long time ago. I sat there with my hands shaking and my breath short and my heart hammering so hard I could not understand why he could not hear it. The last turkey that came to me last spring had exactly the same effect, and the day that this does not happen to me is the day that I quit.

—Tom Kelly


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

goofy elk said:


> Archery tackle + turkeys = blinds


True... I took this picture out the window one morning... sadly, it was during the elk hunt waiting for the elk to come in. Stupid bird! Distance was 6ft.

-DallanC


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

SCtransplant said:


> The first turkey that ever came to me on the ground did it a long time ago. I sat there with my hands shaking and my breath short and my heart hammering so hard I could not understand why he could not hear it. The last turkey that came to me last spring had exactly the same effect, and the day that this does not happen to me is the day that I quit.
> 
> -Tom Kelly


I hope to experience this - this year. This will be my 4th try at a turkey and I can never find them with a tag and shot gun on me. But once the seasons over and I'm just out screwing around riding horses or setting trail cams, you better believe there are toms scrabbling for cover left and right.

Man, do I suck at turkey hunting...

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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

I took a decent bird on last years hunt. I didn't draw an LE tag and wife is due with our first child May 14. Bout sums up my turkey hunting season this year haha always next year!!


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## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

I've killed 13 turkeys in Utah this century, and can't wait to make the trip back out to hunt this spring. It's one of my favorite states to hunt turkeys at the moment. 

I think the tradition is still young in the state, and perhaps folks still haven't learned the fun way to hunt them for the most part maybe. Once they get a taste of that, they'll be hooked.


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## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

SCtransplant said:


> I'm headed home to hunt Easter weekend. Should be a good warm up for Utah, birds have been on fire back there.
> 
> I haven't met a serious turkey hunter out here yet, but I am sure they exist!


I'm headed to your home state this weekend. Just packed my camo and overnight bag....

Hopefully I'll get the chance to work one.


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## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

toasty said:


> I prefer to leave the blind, decoys, and little kids at home for spring turkey hunting.


Hard to beat a mano y mano duel with a tom turkey on his home turf with nothing but a call and a gun. The way spring gobbler hunting was meant to be played... and still the most satisfying way to play the game, IMO.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

hawglips said:


> Hard to beat a mano y mano duel with a tom turkey on his home turf with nothing but a call and a gun. The way spring gobbler hunting was meant to be played... and still the most satisfying way to play the game, IMO.


Well said. 
Many new hunters, and I suppose some more experienced one also, use tactics that detract from the grand "mano y mano" hunt for the turkey. The use of ground blinds is probably the worst thing they can do unless they simply want to "make a kill" and NOT experience a true turkey hunt. I know, they want to use their bows and arrows in a vain attempt to heighten the hunting experience, but ground blinds are just way over the top. I kind of relate their use to comparing gill netting to say fly fishing. Sure, you get the fish, but...
So, young and new hunters, my advise is to be patient, practice your calling and listen to other turkey hunters for advise. Forget the latest "gadgets" and just get out there and out smart that bird...that is true hunting.


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

hawglips said:


> I'm headed to your home state this weekend. Just packed my camo and overnight bag....
> 
> Hopefully I'll get the chance to work one.


Awesome! The Fairfield County river bottoms are home to me.

Good luck and keep us posted!


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

I keep one of those "half fence" type of roll-up blinds in my pack. We use it frequently. it's easy to pull out and set up when needed. I've had hens come and stick their beak through the little holes in it. 
I also keep a blanket that we can throw over us pretty quickly if needed. Plus, it helps with warmth when the kid is cold.


By far, the most fun turkey I've killed, we didn't need or use the blind. There was no time for it. We hit a gobble after using a locator call. I made a couple more cackles, and could tell the tom was running up the mountain to us. I got behind an aspen, and just called a couple more times. That tom never slowed down! He just run right up and looked down the barrel of my shotgun!

That hunt lasted a total of 25 minutes. 20 of that 25 was spent hiking in and out.
It was one of those hunts that should have been recorded.


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## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

SCtransplant said:


> The first turkey that ever came to me on the ground did it a long time ago. I sat there with my hands shaking and my breath short and my heart hammering so hard I could not understand why he could not hear it. The last turkey that came to me last spring had exactly the same effect, and the day that this does not happen to me is the day that I quit.
> 
> -Tom Kelly


Classic!!

And encapsulates things very nicely.


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## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

SCtransplant said:


> Awesome! The Fairfield County river bottoms are home to me.
> 
> Good luck and keep us posted!


Got on roost gobbling turkeys, but couldn't get it done. Near York SC.

It was a blast.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Alright, next year I'm gonna have to bring the kids to visit the grandparents in the spring. If my box call and shotgun happen to fall into my luggage...well, it would be rude to ignore them, right?


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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

I am getting excited for the general turkey season! One of these years I'm going to hunt out of state and try to get another leg on the grand slam.


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