How many of you have been told what-not's turkey's will an won't do????? I must have been told a dozen I'll start it...


1. Turkey's won't go up hills.

2. Turkey's alway's roost in the same tree.

3. Turkey's are call shy. ( I have never believed this)


Earl

I've always heard the old timers say birds won't come downhill. Always set up above a gobbilng bird. Both versions are myths. When in doubt about where a bird wants to go I still like to set up level or uphill of a gobbling bird...personal preference.

I had old timers tell me if a bird really anwers your calling he will show up at that spot where you called sometime during the day. My patience never was quite good enough to test this, but I beleive it to be myth.

You can't call a gobbler across a large stream or river.

Turkeys always flydown towards the east.

Freddy kills a turkey every day he goes. This is a complete myth

Already a myth busted! "You can't call a gobbler across a big stream or river." Have seen a whole flock called across a body of water of significant size by ol' Three Toes himself. So, for the mortal hunters among us, yep, pretty much a truth. For the likes of ol' Three Toes, he had em walking on water!

The dreaded east wind affect on turkeys. Very hard to overcome an East wind, atleast in my hunting career. Read about success being had such situations, but just have never seen it happen for real.

A turkey can see you, act like they didn't, then put a tree large enough to hide them between you and them and then slip dead away. Used to call them groundhog turkeys, appearing to vanquish before my very eyes swearing they must have went into a hole!

Yes but what about "Freddy kills a turkey everytime he goes with the unknown turkey slayer"...not a myth my friend!! That is legend!

Biggest myth by turkey hunters is you can tell whether adult or jake by his gobble. Another: jakes don't drum.

Everbody who has a lot of time invested in spring turkey woods can cite examples of why some passed down "rules" have proven to be false in a given situation. Thus dismissed as being merely myths. Two words that have no application in the turkey hunters rule book are "always" and never" . More later on this topic.

"Always go when you can, never stay home when you are free to hunt."

Rule #1 in my book.

I'll have to agree to disagree with Grey on the "call shy" deal. I've hunted public land birds for over 35 years and I've encountered many "call shy" birds. What made them call shy...was it a behavioral response, genetic code, instinctual, or merely situation? I guess I am not certain, but call shy birds are not a myth in my world.

I second the groundhog turkey. I don't know how they can get away like that.

I won't say this is 100% true but I'll take my chances when this happens,
Since I stay in the same spot that I set up in all morning almost all of the time I have seen this scenario play out quite often...I think.
I've had many birds answer me off of the roost and then shut up for long periods of time (with hens I'm guessing) only to come back to and announce himself "available" 2,3 even 4 hours later.
I say "I think" because most of these birds gobbled on their own in the same direction where I last heard them so I assumed it was the same bird.



I know GN, we're 0 for 2 the last 2 times we've been...but just like above, I'll take my chances

Barry i happen to agree that often (not always, but often) a bird that answers you on the roost will likely show up sometime later in the day. it is true that you can not always be sure that it is the same bird that answered as well as eventually came in, but i do think more times than not it is the same bird. opinions only, no facts.

freddy and I disagree on the "call shy " thing. i think birds hunted often by the same hunter can recognize the tone and cadence of a call and , if they have had (witnessed, heard) a bad experience related to that call they are less likely to react positively to the call if they hear it again. hens are the watchdogs that really worry me on the call shy business. A three- four yr old hen has probably seen more than one gobbler die from some hen calling that she recognized was not part of the local flock talk and thus she will shy from similar calling and lead gobblers away with her. opinions. not facts. but l hold this opinion as true...... freddy says l am wrong.

As to the uphill downhill thing I think they will go where they want to, up or down. I do think the odds of the hunter getting spotted are substantially higher when the turkey is looking downhill than when he is looking uphill. thus the turkey is more likely to see a hunter or more importantly not see a moving hen when he looks downhill--both reasons not to come downhill to calling or a stationary decoy. . opinions

fly down to the east? i think the gobblers are three to one more likely off the roost to end up early on an east facing hillside than a west facing hillside...they love to strut in the sun early. and the hens like the sun early too Seen this too many times to believe other wise. not always but by far the majority of the time....opinions based on a a lot of observations.

one "myth" that has not been mentioned is that "you cannot call birds downwind". I have found this to be true most of the time ...particularly a heavier wind. in a field with decoys it is not as much of an issue, but in the woods the odds are very much against you if you are downwind in a heavy wind in your set-up position. again an opinion based on a lot of observations. I think birds are wary of going downwind because they lose use of one of their principal defense mechanisms-hearing - when they go downwind, and therefore they dont like to do it.

nothing personal against others who may view things differently-just my ooinions, based on observations......

Disclaimer: The following is only my opinion and thoughts. We can all agree to disagree and live happy prosperous lives.


Yes I agree with what you say about behavioral response and all. Also agree with GN on the same hunter using the same call and the hen as the watchdog. I like Freedy, Freedy jump in here and give me some moral support.

If birds are really call shy then what tactic is needed to bring one to the gun? I heard folks say they are call shy but need to use just soft calling (still calling to the bird). Some say one must be more aggressive with call shy birds (still calling to the bird).

The point I was stating is that birds can never become call shy because they call to one another all the time to communicate whatever they do. I do not think unless someone makes a really bad call (but we have all seen or heard that the worst caller kills a huge gobbler) that a bird will just turn and run when he or she hears a yelp.

If birds become call shy, unless using decoys folks would not be killing them. I hear when I travel that the birds in the area are call shy. Well, we still call and kill birds.

If nothing else they become human-shy. On public lands especially with a lot of human activity. I do not believe turkey's know a human is making the call, until maybe they investigate and see first hand.

This call shy myth has been around many years. I believe that it has nothing to do with calling, its all the human activity walking here and there, going after a gobbling turkey and bumping them. I believe hunters are unaware how many turkey's come to a call silently or just making light clucks and pick up movement without the hunter even having a clue they were detected.

A lot of folks I believe get to the point where they think birds are call shy. True some turkeys just do not go to other real turkey's calling. But then are afraid to make calls , any calls, aggressive, soft or whatever their style. If I believed in call shy I would be afraid to make any call.

Someone brought up in another thread that calling from the same place is maybe an alert to a bird that something may be amiss. I believe that it also contributes to, well I called and he responded but then went quit and never came in. Which I have heard a lot of folks say he must have been call shy.

This is a debate that I know has been going on since I started hunting and I am sure will continue long after I am gone.


Earl