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Turkey Killing Tips

jagermeister

jagermeister

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mrex said:
Back in the mid 90's, the Indiana spring season came in 5 days a head of us. One year, we killed a bird in Southern Indiana the first hour of the opener. By the time we got to a check station, there was a line out the door. That morning I watched a 31 and 33lb turkey get weighed on a certified scale...looked like f'n terradactiles. The first check in station in Ohio was at the Waterloo Wildlife Research Station in the Waterloo State Forrest. Over the 40+ years they weighed birds there, they never had one top 24 lbs.

A trophy gobbler is one with a full fan and a long beard. Ive had my feelings hurt by many a 2 year old. The heaviest birds are usually the 3 year olds and everything has to do with available food and agriculture. The birds we hunt in Ohio today are decedents of birds trapped in Missouri at the Mark Twain and relocated to SE Ohio. We traded them grouse for turkeys.

The older, (and in theory), wiser birds with 1.5"+ razer sharp spurs usually don't weigh all that much for the same reason a rutting buck doesn't...they spend their spring fighting and chasing tail.
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This is the reason I never understood why guys always brag about the weight of their longbeard. Usually, the heavier the bird, the younger it is and the less breeding it's been doing. Hunters seem to exaggerate pounds on a turkey much like they do deer... Lol... According to a lot of deer hunters, Ohio is absolutely crawling with 300 pound (dressed) bucks. lmao

I don't doubt there are 30# turks in Ohio... but by the time our season rolls around, they've already lost 5 pounds or so. I'd say, if anyone shot a 30# turkey in Ohio, he's a gay turkey.
 
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mrex

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And then there are birds who want to be called to. Every hunt is different and a gobbler’s mood can change with the wind. Many times over the years we’ve left uncooperative birds, then, come back to them later in the day and they come in on a string.

Here’s a few more unedited clips from my son’s senior project. This hunt took place on the last weekend of the season. Ryan is the hunter, I’m behind the camera and world champion caller Matt Morrett is doing the calling. We watched a hen walk by this gobbler off of the roost and pay him no attention. Once she leaves, Matt starts to call aggressively and the bird follows the script.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ork5dCV6oVY&feature=youtu.be

This scenario is a lot more likely to happen later in the season.
 
hickslawns

hickslawns

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That was great Mike! I am taking notes. Your boys seem to be pretty ate up with the hunting. Not a bad thing at all. Hope they all have another good season.
 
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mrex

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hickslawns said:
That was great Mike! I am taking notes. Your boys seem to be pretty ate up with the hunting. Not a bad thing at all. Hope they all have another good season.
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Phil - the best advice anyone can give you is to pair up with an experienced hunter in your area. You will cut years off of the learning curve.
 
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mrex

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JD Boyd said:
You got anymore videos to post up???...I could watch them all night!
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No help tonight Doug, I'm out of town on business for a few days. If I had a means of viewing Hi8 video I could post up all kinds of turkey footage. From 1988 to 1993, I filmed a bunch of hunts and accumulated over 300 hours of turkeys on film. I did a limited amount of video work for HS from 1997 - 2006...unfortunately, I sent most of the good stuff directly to their editor. I'll see what I can dig up when I get back. Remind me in the fall to post up some of our deer hunts.

Another tip...every now and then, immediately after a Tom gobbles, throw a few soft yelps back at him. Some hunters will say this is a bad idea as it creates the illusion that your coming to him, however, it's not a bad idea to make a gobbler feel good about himself. The idea is to create the illusion that your interested but he needs to meet you half way.
 
Mountaineer

Mountaineer

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Mike.

How are you getting your vids from hi 8 tape onto your computer and then onto here?

I have a lot of videos but they are on the old vhs cassettes.

I did film my buddy 2 years ago take a publicland hook spur on my.mini dv but I would have no idea how to get that on here.

BTW..great vids. We seem to be the same age and grew up hunting old school
 
jagermeister

jagermeister

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mrex said:
And then there are birds who want to be called to. Every hunt is different and a gobbler’s mood can change with the wind. Many times over the years we’ve left uncooperative birds, then, come back to them later in the day and they come in on a string.

Here’s a few more unedited clips from my son’s senior project. This hunt took place on the last weekend of the season. Ryan is the hunter, I’m behind the camera and world champion caller Matt Morrett is doing the calling. We watched a hen walk by this gobbler off of the roost and pay him no attention. Once she leaves, Matt starts to call aggressively and the bird follows the script.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ork5dCV6oVY&feature=youtu.be

This scenario is a lot more likely to happen later in the season.
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I just noticed on facebook that Matt Morrett recently joined up with Zink Calls. Pretty cool!
 
brock ratcliff

brock ratcliff

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Jesse said:
Seriously? We still have another 3 weeks to go!?!
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Opening day will likely be similar to what we normally have the last week of season IMO. Mother nature doesn't work off a calendar, and she is saying it is the first week of season right now!
 
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mrex

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Mountaineer said:
Mike.

How are you getting your vids from hi 8 tape onto your computer and then onto here?
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The last clip was raw footage downloaded to my PC, directly from a Mini-DV camera and then to youtube. If I can get my hands on a Hi8 player, I will post up some more video from 20 years ago.
 
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mrex

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JBrown said:
I just noticed on facebook that Matt Morrett recently joined up with Zink Calls. Pretty cool!
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Matt's last day with HS was Friday. Eddie Salter left HS back in January and is now the front man for Down-n-Dirty Outdoors. Eddie has a new show coming out soon on the Sportsman Channel called "Turkey Man." Both guys will be attempting to film hunts in Athens Co this spring.
 
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