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Turkey Season in a Saddle

d_rek

d_rek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2014
Messages
2,495
Location
SELP Michigan
Well Ice Fishing, because of the abnormally high temps, is wrapping up in short order here in SELP Michigan. I've got one more day to pull a few perch through the ice then it's time to start thinking about... spring turkey season!

This year will be a year of firsts for hunting Turkey. I've hunted them two seasons now (shot a few hens in the fall but no trophy toms) but only from a ground blind and only using a shotgun. This year i'll be using my bow AND hunting them from a saddle.

I've been practicing with a mouth diaphragm call in the car a lot as I figure it will be difficult to manage a box call and scratch pad while hanging in the saddle.

Since i'll be turkey hunting the same property I hunt whitetail on I already have pretty good knowledge of their roost and feed patterns. This will also give me a good opportunity to scout for deer sign and setup some new stand locations on the property. I plan on setting up my dekes 15-20 yards from my stand. I have a couple of great trees in mind already for stand locations that will give me excellent background cover. I'll be 20-25 ft up on the tree. I'm going to use rage 2-blade mechanicals.

I'd be curious to know what is your "go to" setup for turkey hunting from a saddle. I have a pretty good idea of what i'll be bringing but i'm always interested to see what other guys pack in and out for their hunts.

Here's my setup:
-1 or 2 avian-X decoys (feeding Hen and strutter jake combo). Although i've had good luck with the feeder hen drawing in birds.
-Diaphragm mouth calls
-wooden box call
-tenzing 720 lumbar pack
-gerber field knife
-8x vortex vanquish binos
-leopold 600i ranger

Hoping to put a tag on a nice tom this year! I had multiple sightings of a giant double bearded tom during 2014 deer season and have started to see birds in the fields on the property.
 
this will be my first year to attempt to hunt turkey from anything other than the ground,too. I am planning to use my bow, but I'm not opposed to the old shotgun if things don't go my way. I'm catching some good birds on my trail cams using the same trail/draw from the same ridge bordering a 3yr old clearcut that's become my favorite deer spot,too. I don't usually use decoys because I just don't know anything about how to go about it. I'm not sure how the saddle will fit my turkey hunting, since I often cover some ground while using a diaphragm. We'll see how it goes. The saddle (or rather a rock climbing saddle) worked fine a month or so ago when I shot ducks coming into the little pond/wide spot in the creek on my property the beaver made. Now that I have a more comfortable saddle, I can sit longer. I actually sat in it for six hours on Sunday including a nap at twenty five feet.i just gotta find a better place to put my arms because they were just hanging down (i was basically lying down on the backrest and saddle) so my arms and shoulders were sore when I woke up like I had slept on them all night
 
Sorry one other thing I am really excited about is that I won't have to worry about scent with turkey. Granted I don't want to go stinking up my whitetail hunting grounds but It's much more relaxing knowing I don't have to practice my extreme scent control routine and can instead focus on the enjoying the hunt and the woods.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just got in from scouting a nearby property I just got permission to hunt. Only a four acre tract but it's adjacent to property I already have. There new one is top of a small ridge with old hardwoods surrounding a seven to ten year old pine thicket with an old home site/meadow. Found where the birds i can hear from my property are roosting and now I know where I'll be Saturday morning.
 
A friend and co-worker of mine shares hunting ground with another guy. Or they share amongst themselves anyway. I never met this guy but my buddy sent these pics from his partners Turkey season so far. I wish I wasn't working seven days a week right now. Maybe I'll get out to get a bird or two before the month is out. I haven't shot anything other than possums, squirrels, and a couple rabbits since duck season a couple months ago.
These turkeys were taken with shotgun, but I'd still love to have been the one who shot them. Maybe I'll get a chance to get out next week. We'll see
 

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Been out scouting twice and have only located a single roost location on one of my hunting properties. Unfortunately I probably wont tackle this spot in a saddle as it located in some scotch pines and I would have to spend all day trimming a lot of branches just to prep a few shooting lanes. If this spot was going to double as a deer season location I might put forth the effort but I think i'll probably renege on the turkey saddle hunt and setup the pop-up blind this year. I'll always have the opportunity in the fall to pop a turkey from the saddle...
 
I love that pic of the bird in front of the waterfall!

My turkey season is limited this year as well. I may only be able to get out 1 day around home this year. My schedule settles down the week before memorial day and our season closes by then, so I think I may do a short backcountry trip up in NY for memorial day weekend because their season is open til the end of May. There will be no scouting for that one but I'll just be happy to get out there.
 
redsquirrel said:
I love that pic of the bird in front of the waterfall!

My turkey season is limited this year as well. I may only be able to get out 1 day around home this year. My schedule settles down the week before memorial day and our season closes by then, so I think I may do a short backcountry trip up in NY for memorial day weekend because their season is open til the end of May. There will be no scouting for that one but I'll just be happy to get out there.
Click to expand...

Yeah that waterfall picture is Nice. The guy gets to hunt places in this state that regular everyday citizens can't. Often he is actually paid to rid business parks, etc of game animals or nuisance animals or what not. I think the turkeys are on private property though, andi think he's already tagged out Turkey hunting (we get 5). Our season here in the northwest corner of SC is only the month of April so I still got a couple weeks to try to get out there. Hopefully next weekend.
 
essdub said:
redsquirrel said:
I love that pic of the bird in front of the waterfall!

My turkey season is limited this year as well. I may only be able to get out 1 day around home this year. My schedule settles down the week before memorial day and our season closes by then, so I think I may do a short backcountry trip up in NY for memorial day weekend because their season is open til the end of May. There will be no scouting for that one but I'll just be happy to get out there.
Click to expand...

Yeah that waterfall picture is Nice. The guy gets to hunt places in this state that regular everyday citizens can't. Often he is actually paid to rid business parks, etc of game animals or nuisance animals or what not. I think the turkeys are on private property though, andi think he's already tagged out Turkey hunting (we get 5). Our season here in the northwest corner of SC is only the month of April so I still got a couple weeks to try to get out there. Hopefully next weekend.
Click to expand...

Man I'm jealous!

Good luck! Take some victory shots yourself! :cool:
 
Yeah. My friend said the guy has tagged out as of today. Plus I saw the picture today of his last bird and two hogs he shot today. And Turkey season is almost over now for us and I have only been able to go out one time. Work sucks. I wish I'd been born rich instead of beautiful sometimes
 
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