Turkey hunting season is long, we have a lot of good turkey hunting habitat and members may hunt without competition. The worst thing that can happen for members that go turkey hunting is for two members to conduct minimal scouting and both pick the same farm to hunt on the same day. While this is possible, it is not likely as turkey hunting being a true art form requiring a skill level that limits overall turkey hunting to dedicated hunters. For non-residents that plan to go hunting without scouting such conflict is even less likely as the MAHA staff will place them on the right ground. Ridge runners, stalkers, ambushers all have the same opportunity to hunt as they see fit. Contrast this with a guide service that tells where to sit, does the calling and when to shoot, all typically within sight of a feeder. All the hunter must do is follow instructions and not miss. Within this Association the self guided wild turkey hunter is provided the only resource he requires, that is good land with birds. Once on the lease land, the hunter achieves success or failure on his own.
The most skilled enter the woods without scouting, decoys or manufactured calls. These turkey hunters use their voice to locate and call in the toms. This turkey hunting skill level is rare and represents the truest art form. Achieving this level is simply impractical for those that have other activities in their life. The few of these turkey hunters that we have met are dedicated to the birds beyond the understanding of most of us. Stalkers are the next skilled as they are capable of maneuvering into position undetected. The ability to move silently and quickly enough to get into shooting range must be admired. Some do so with calling in the toms for the last few yards and others simply go it with only camouflage and good stalking. We have met several of this type of turkey hunter and the common denominator for all of them is they had grown up in the country as kids with nearby flocks. As one explained when he was turkey hunting as a kid "...we didn't know any better... No one taught us the proper way to hunt turkeys and without any equipment other than the handed down shotgun, stalking was the only way we had to turkey hunt."
Ridge runners seem to be the mainstay of the Appalachian turkey hunter. These turkey hunters walk through the woods listening for a single gobble and then maneuver into position to set up to call in the tom. This style appears to be the most effective for those areas of thin turkey densities. Roost ambush is by far the most common turkey hunting method for those areas of intermittent wood patches, open fields, wooded creek bottoms with good turkey populations. Scouting is the day before to locate where the birds go to roost. Sneak in very early the next morning close to the roost, set out decoys and then hen call at fly-down. These turkey hunters also have the fastest success meaning the most toms in the truck over the fewest days. |
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