dealing with the pressure

[greenhead23]

I read over the guidelines on posts about public lands and I don't think I'm breaking any rules with this post, so here goes.

I tried my hand on turkey hunting public land for the first time last year.This wasn't by choice, but a result of losing a lot of private land access due to having to move to a different part of the state. Well, the season didn't go exactly as planned, at all. To put it bluntly, that public land kicked me in the teeth.

I went through my regular spring routine of scouting, listening, and planning as much as I could and was fairly optimistic about the season. All that optimism was completely snuffed out on opening day when a fellow hunter decided to slip in between me and the bird I was working and shoot him out from under me. This would be 1 of the 3 times that would happen to me that season. Those run-ins with other hunters were obviously the most frustrating, however, the problems did not end there. On several occasions I experienced hunters scaring off my bird either by walking in on me or over-calling. I even had one guy follow me into my spot. Not to mention that it didn't take long for every gobbler on the place to start tucking their fan feathers and running every time some random Joe Blow let out his favorite yelping sequence on his brand new slate call.

Now I'm not trying to get you to tell me where the best public turkey hunting in the state is, and I'm also not trying to whine. I understand this stuff happens on public land. I just want to know yall's opinion on the best way to deal with it. I'll never claim to be the best turkey hunter to grace the presence of the spring-time woods, but I do know what I'm doing and I have consistently harvested turkeys on the private land I hunt. This public land stuff is just foreign to me.

any thoughts yall have on the subject (sarcastic or not) would be appreciated.

Thanks guys!

[JLT]

Hunt all day. If you can't do that get there about the time everyone leaves and stay as long as you can.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

The further off the road you go, the less you have to worry about. In recent memory, probably three years or so, I have seen one hunter who was blowing a crow call in 30 mph winds. I gobbled at him (because I knew exactly where he was at and coming from and the woods were open to see his approach and I wanted to see what he'd do) and he ran 50 yards past me as I stood in the wide open. He'd blow that crow call like a Stuttgart duck calling champion, run 50 yards, blow it and listen; he did this until he was out of sight. I slipped down into the hollow below this road where I know birds like to go to after feeding in the morning. Not 10 minutes later, I heard him coming back- just a tootin' on that crow call. All I could think about was how I felt like a turkey probably does: glad he was up there and I was down here. About ten minutes after he left a bird gobbled once as if almost on cue to announce the jackass was gone and all was safe. Shortly thereafter I killed him.

I don't think pressure is as bad as it used to be. Folks just don't hunt as much as they used to and it seems that the number of turkey hunters has dwindled. Perhaps in this modern day society where folks like to have things quick and easy, turkey hunting has been looked over as too difficult. Where you can plant green patches and flood corn fields to kill game, a turkey cannot so easily be fooled. Sure you can plant some chufa, etc, but you still have to call him in. And on public land you cannot plant chufa, so you are confined to art of hunting him. So many just do not try it for very long. And I know turkey hunters who would never dream of hunting birds on public lands- too hard, no way. Fine with me.

It is an art form that must be learned. I personally don't think the pressure is as near as bad as it used to be simply because of that.

I'd be interested to hear other folks' opinions- is the pressure more or less or about the same?

With that said, put your butt on the ground and hunker down. Call sparingly and call wisely. Walk far and walk all day. It will happen. Do not expect to have many birds like the private land ones- the ones who are tearing it up and who gobble right up until you pull the trigger. More than likely it'll be a silent affair. Not always, but more often than not when a bird is draped over your shoulder, you'll find that he came in like a lot of public birds do: paranoid as hell. You'll also find a bit more satisfaction (or at least I do) when a public land bird is coming out with you. I believe a public land bird is a notch that is a little bit bigger and bolder on the old killin' board than a private land bird. That's just my opinion. Doesn't mean it's right, but it's right to me.

Notice where the highly pressured areas are and stay away from them. Find areas less frequently visited and park far enough away to make anyone who passes by think you are elsewhere. If they pull up in the same vicinity then who cares if they come in on a bird you're working-they were going to do it anyway, regardless of whether or not you parked where you were going to go in at.

If you hit logging/access roads then be prepared to have company. Hunters love roads. I have noticed that turkeys in my hunting grounds shy away from them.

That's why I love years like we had last year. It was very sporadic gobbling activity that was way below normal. Folks left the woods a few weeks in and never came back.

This year looks to be a bit different. I heard six birds in the same area Sunday morning and I am nearly certain all were two year olds. This season will be fun but possibly frustrating due to the "run and gun'ers" tearing the countryside up with their impatience and aspirations to kill a quick and easy bird. What they fail to realize is when they haphazardly cover ground in pursuit of another bird- a greener pasture- they litter said ground with education and future frustration. They're usually motivated sellers when they decide to liquidate turkey hunting equipment to acquire duck hunting gear.

One thing is for sure: the crowds can't be as bad the duck hunting ones. Can't be.

[Hole Hunter]

Great advise and a good read.

[Ster]

The further off the road you go, the less you have to worry about. In recent memory, probably three years or so, I have seen one hunter who was blowing a crow call in 30 mph winds. I gobbled at him (because I knew exactly where he was at and coming from and the woods were open to see his approach and I wanted to see what he'd do) and he ran 50 yards past me as I stood in the wide open. He'd blow that crow call like a Stuttgart duck calling champion, run 50 yards, blow it and listen; he did this until he was out of sight. I slipped down into the hollow below this road where I know birds like to go to after feeding in the morning. Not 10 minutes later, I heard him coming back- just a tootin' on that crow call. All I could think about was how I felt like a turkey probably does: glad he was up there and I was down here. About ten minutes after he left a bird gobbled once as if almost on cue to announce the jackass was gone and all was safe. Shortly thereafter I killed him.

I don't think pressure is as bad as it used to be. Folks just don't hunt as much as they used to and it seems that the number of turkey hunters has dwindled. Perhaps in this modern day society where folks like to have things quick and easy, turkey hunting has been looked over as too difficult. Where you can plant green patches and flood corn fields to kill game, a turkey cannot so easily be fooled. Sure you can plant some chufa, etc, but you still have to call him in. And on public land you cannot plant chufa, so you are confined to art of hunting him. So many just do not try it for very long. And I know turkey hunters who would never dream of hunting birds on public lands- too hard, no way. Fine with me.

It is an art form that must be learned. I personally don't think the pressure is as near as bad as it used to be simply because of that.

I'd be interested to hear other folks' opinions- is the pressure more or less or about the same?

With that said, put your butt on the ground and hunker down. Call sparingly and call wisely. Walk far and walk all day. It will happen. Do not expect to have many birds like the private land ones- the ones who are tearing it up and who gobble right up until you pull the trigger. More than likely it'll be a silent affair. Not always, but more often than not when a bird is draped over your shoulder, you'll find that he came in like a lot of public birds do: paranoid as hell. You'll also find a bit more satisfaction (or at least I do) when a public land bird is coming out with you. I believe a public land bird is a notch that is a little bit bigger and bolder on the old killin' board than a private land bird. That's just my opinion. Doesn't mean it's right, but it's right to me.

Notice where the highly pressured areas are and stay away from them. Find areas less frequently visited and park far enough away to make anyone who passes by think you are elsewhere. If they pull up in the same vicinity then who cares if they come in on a bird you're working-they were going to do it anyway, regardless of whether or not you parked where you were going to go in at.

If you hit logging/access roads then be prepared to have company. Hunters love roads. I have noticed that turkeys in my hunting grounds shy away from them.

That's why I love years like we had last year. It was very sporadic gobbling activity that was way below normal. Folks left the woods a few weeks in and never came back.

This year looks to be a bit different. I heard six birds in the same area Sunday morning and I am nearly certain all were two year olds. This season will be fun but possibly frustrating due to the "run and gun'ers" tearing the countryside up with their impatience and aspirations to kill a quick and easy bird. What they fail to realize is when they haphazardly cover ground in pursuit of another bird- a greener pasture- they litter said ground with education and future frustration. They're usually motivated sellers when they decide to liquidate turkey hunting equipment to acquire duck hunting gear.

One thing is for sure: the crowds can't be as bad the duck hunting ones. Can't be.

I enjoyed reading that post. Just to throw in my two cents about your comments, I would like to add that patients has been a very difficult thing to master with regards to turkey hunting.

Unlike most of you (probably), I didn't grow up hunting. It wasn't until I finished education, started a family, became financially successful and purchased a 1500 acre pine/hardwood property that I decided I was going to become a hunter. I am still very much a novice. I have taken the old theory that I can buy my way to success to heart. I know very little about turkey hunting, but no one has better equipment. LOL

I started turkey hunting four years ago. I have killed three turkey's in that time frame. The first with the help of someone that I asked to come help me learn how to do it. The other two I bagged on my own. I have learned a lot over the past four years, and I must say that it has been a lot of fun. This may sound really strange, but some of the best moments/hunts that I have experienced, I didn't even pull the trigger.

The phrase that really caught my eye in your post is when you mentioned the concept of hunter patients. That has been the most challenging aspect of turkey hunting for me. I can practice enough calling to get a good rhythm and sound. I can get to where the Turkey's are, and I can have all the necessary equipment and then some to aid me in the process. But Patients, has been a tough battle to overcome.

My guess is that if it's something that I struggle with, it's something that most others do as well. Maybe the way to approach public land turkey hunting is simply to have more patients than everyone else.

[randywallace]

As a general rule I see more pressure on wmas that nf land. The nf land is also generally in larger blocks which allow me a bigger area to move around in without hitting a road. As someone said above turkey hunters love roads (particularly run-n-gunners). So I stay away from them. If you are going to follow the roads do it on a mountain bike and get a couple miles in.

Check burn plan maps. A lot of hunters will avoid a burned area but I have killed birds while the area was still smoking in spots. Not sure if it is the roasted nuts or bugs that emerge from the heat but turkeys love a fresh burn.

It is also worth looking for places where birds roost on public land but head toward private fields every day. Killed a bunch of birds in a narrow hollow leading to a private hay field. I had to go a long way to get there but it was worth it.

[Caveman]

The ideal situation is to have some private land spots and some public land spots to hunt in my opinion. In years that your private land has no action you can fall back on public spots. I enjoy the additional challenge of killing public birds, but that is just me. Unless you have a spot that is infested with turkeys, killing turkeys(not ambushing) is hard work and not sexy. I am glad duck hunting has gotten so popular to take peoples minds off turkey hunting. If you can repeatedly kill public land birds in Mississippi, you have mastered the art of turkey hunting in my opinion.

[uncleC]

I don't hunt public as much as I used to but when I do I don't get there until 8:30 or 9:00.....you'd be surprised at the number of turkeys you hear gobble at mid-morning when the majority of hunters have left for the day......especially a couple of weeks into the season....

[SWAG]

I hunt public and private, but spend more days on public for sure. You have been given some great advice. Also I will throw in the later season to go along with hunting later in the morning. Seems like as days grow longer and temps begin to rise, people find other things to do...fishing, gardening, ballgames, etc.

[greenhead23]

I should have posted this 2 weeks ago but just haven't got around to doing so. I laid this long beard to rest on March 19 at 12:50, right in the heart of some Mississippi public land. He gobbled first at straight up noon, taking me right around 50 minutes to coax him into gun range. This was hands down one of my most gratifying kills, and without a doubt a hunt I'll remember until the good Lord calls me home. Thanks to all who gave me advice!

[turnemloose]

Awsome!!!

[turnemloose]

Awesome!