Most deer hunting now a days , is just waiting on deer . Scout around , pick a spot for the tree stand , climb up and wait . Deer do a lot of cruisin' at night , pickin' up peoples scent . We all agree that older is generally smarter . So the majority of old bucks shy away from any areas of human activity , head for the thickest of cover for bedding, and are rarely seen .
Now them old turkeys , they sleep all night , and cruise around all day lookin' for food , fight , and of course breeding in the spring . But , if they are fortunate enough to reach the third year and beyond , they too are very smart , wary , cagy , elusive , suspicious , stubborn. Their nature is different than deer .
The 5 year bucks and toms are in a class by themselves .
I'm impressed when I see a huge old buck as well as an old longhooked gobbler . But how either was taken is what tells the real quality . Many of the huge old bucks are killed by mistake . I mean , the hunter, usually a waiter , happened to be in the right spot . Few of these giants fall to hunters that are on foot hunting for the brute .
The old longbeard that is fooled with good calling , good set up , and patience is the finest of trophies . The old longbeards that fall to the lifelike decoys , sometimes envolving no calling , is in my opinion a disgrace to the sport and the turkey . I've seen the videos , when the hunters are yelling at the tom that is whipping their decoy , trying to get his head up for the shot ,,,,,,,,,,I like to see the birds in action like this , but would never kill one in such a manner .Why not? Because it requires no skill at all to be able to stick a decoy out in a field . Show me a hunter that can set up on these fields without a deke and a blind , and fool an old longbeard inside 40 yards and I'll take off my hat to the feller .
Don't mis understand my post . I know that I have NOT reached the skill level that I would like to attain concerning any type of game and hunting . It just rubs me wrong that so many folks come on like some super talented hunters in this age of tricky gimmicks and gadgets , decoys , blinds etc , etc . , that are designed to make everything easier , supposedly fool proof . In essence creating a generation of lazy hunters , while relieving the duped of the money and pride .
Poll