[B-W D-end #94]

my game plans have changed over the past few years to become more of a sit it out and wait guy rather than run n gun. i feel that you spook too many turkeys you didnt even know were there by runnin and gunnin too much. what do you guys think?

 

[buckhunter1]

Run and gun when weather is cold or rainy and on nice warm mornings I like to sit tight

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[FredT]

I am very flexible. I sit and wait at first to get a feel of what the birds are doing. If they are kinda close, I sit. If they are coming closer at all, I sit and wait. If they are far off and not moving, but gobbling, I move in on them without calling. If I heard a gobble and called a bit, I will sit quietly for awhile before I move.

I got one at Salt Fork once that gobbled and went silent. It walked in on my left and all I heard was a spit and feathers dragging in the dirt. I knew what that sound was. At 25 yards I waited for for him to show his fan and butt so I could move the gun. When the head was visable again, well.

I had one that would gobble constantly at a far distance. I decided to go after him. (public, Upstate NY) I went through a long field, across a 2 lane road, down an embankment, through a flooded pine grove, across a stream, across a small canal via a fallen tree trunk and found the bird. I laid down on the ground just on the other side of the canal and called him right in to 15 yards. It was a cool NY morning and each gobble produced a plume of steam out of his mouth.

All of my other birds were somewhere in between these two true stories.

 

[scott trout]

my adhd causes me to be more of a run and gunner!:irked:

 

[B-W D-end #94]

yeah sometimes i want to stay put, but i suffer from the same undiagnosed ADHD problem....and il end up takin a hike. i guess you guys are right that each tactic has pros and cons and it really depends on the situation at hand. I still think that ive bumped some birds inadvertently trying to cut the distance between myself and a gobble too much. the two birds ive killed in my life have been just sittin tight, lettin them come to me. who knows though? maybee this season il have to get one run n gunnin. thats turkey huntin, and thats why i love it

 

[B-W D-end #94]

FredT- nice stories by the way. this past muzzleloader season at salt fork i bumped a huge tom, he was in the woods off Fogle road. ever turkey hunt fogle? ive never tried it but i might this year

 

[bluedog]

I think both techniques can be very effective. Neither is better or worse. A lot depends on how much property you have to hunt too. I don't own enough land to run and gun very well. But I have a friend who hunts a lot of different private properties. He might start out by sitting and trying to get a bird off the roost, but after that he is all run and gun. He will work one property for an hour or two and then move on to the next. He says he knows he spooks birds by running and gunning, but that doesn't bother him. He is looking for that one hot bird that wants to come to his calls. He is very successful too.

Maybe it's just because my farm really isn't big enough to run and gun on, but I am definitely a sit and wait them out type of hunter. Even when I get on a bigger piece of property, I may only move two or three times over the morning. I love sitting still and watching all the song birds and the squirrels and the deer and the 'possums, etc. That is as much what spring turkey is about for me as actually hunting a turkey.

 

[archer1983]

My style is run n gun but this might be the year to wait them out. I never heard the first bird this morning.

 

[FredT]

FredT- nice stories by the way. this past muzzleloader season at salt fork i bumped a huge tom, he was in the woods off Fogle road. ever turkey hunt fogle? ive never tried it but i might this year

Yes, Fogle is a nice road. Just about all park from one end to the other.
As soon as you come onto it from 22, go past the the old fishery pond and where the road makes its first right hand turn, there is a large pine grove up the hill on the left at the end of the fields. Always has birds. Alot of people know that too.

The far end holds birds also.

 

[DanT]

Run 'n gun style is more fun, that's for sure but from my experience, patience has killed a lot more turkeys.

 

[antiqucycle]

Sort of depends on where your hunting. If you have private property and you positively know no one else is hunting I see nothing wrong with moving to gobbling birds. However, when your set up right, birds gobbling, the last thing I want to see is some idiot running toward the birds "aka run and gun" and ruining my chances. This happens frequently on public hunting areas and is flat out dangerous. the run and gun guy blasts away when he sees a decoy and shoots another hunter.

I also find run and gun clowns are very poor at calling and flat out clueless about turkey hunting. Once on private property, two clowns with Iowa plates walked 2 miles from their truck to ruin my day when I had 7 different gobblers in a field.

 

[Huntdog]

Run n Gun is a lot of fun, but make sure you're the only one hunting in that area.

 

[Darron B]

Patience kills a lot of turkeys.

Not to mention trying to run n gun in the wind is a waist of time. You can't hear them.

To really RNG you need a vast amount of space. Most properties here in Ohio don't allow you to do that very well unless you are hunting a large piece of state property.

 

[firstflight111]

I am a sitter I know were most of the birds are I can wait them out ..running and gunning is never part of my game plan ..IMO I DONT THINK ITS SAFE..

 

[AirForceGuy85]

I corner camp and sometimes tube.

(some will get this, some will not. If you don't get this, don't feel bad. It just means you spend as much time outside as I SHOULD spend outside and don't)

 

[TRuffing]

I'll sit tight and wait if i'm hearing them, but if the turkeys arent where you are go to the turkeys

 

[archer1983]

I don't know how you guys can sit there and deer hunt them. I'd rather watch paint dry.

 

[B-W D-end #94]

FredT- yes i am familiar with that pine stand, behind those pines in the oak woods is actually where i bumped the tom this muzzle season. looks like i might give that spot a shot this year, thanks for the info.

AirFOrceGuy- i too am guilty of camping on occasion LOL

Dont get me wrong, I still love runnin n gunnin, but i often have to share the woods with other hunters. :irked: too many people running around a piece of woods will really stir it up and throw the turks off. Oh well, its like gambling pretty much, you dont know how your luck will turn out. just listen to the Clint Black song "Good Run of Bad Luck"

 

[at1010]

Yes, Fogle is a nice road. Just about all park from one end to the other.
As soon as you come onto it from 22, go past the the old fishery pond and where the road makes its first right hand turn, there is a large pine grove up the hill on the left at the end of the fields. Always has birds. Alot of people know that too.

The far end holds birds also.

My uncle hunted it once,and said there was a ton of birds off that way! I always liked it for deer but that was a long time ago!

 

[B-W D-end #94]

hey Al, hows the athens area lookin this spring?